51. The Fall.
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At around this time, Bailong also wondered why he was so comfortable around Xu Weiyan.
But Xu Weiyan had come here to kill him.
There was no way a mere mortal could kill him, but he had sensed the dagger with her, so he knew he should be cautious, and yet...
'Hmmmm... Have I lived too long? Become careless?'
'N- No way -! Do I have a death wish?!!'
There was just something about Xu Weiyan which brightened up his long and tediously unending days...
He had spent thirty thousand years on this mountain, most days of which he would open his eyes and think, 'Ah... I'm still alive.'
And then he would drag himself off to work in the greenhouse. No smile brightened his face unless his servants were present, and he never cared for meals, sometimes going without a bite for weeks on end...
...well, except for Li Rui's tea tray which somehow always found him...
But these days, Bailong awoke looking forward to the day, and even dutifully ate lunch at least with this mortal assistant of his.
And so he convinced himself it was okay.
'It's fine... Just for another day...'
And more time passed...
Weiyan had temporarily given up on killing Bailong, and was beginning to truly settle on Caoyang, even stepping out of her own shell to try speaking to the other servants.
A few were downright hostile, while a few gave her curt, overtly polite replies.
But she made one tentative friend- Li Rui, the servant known for chasing Bailong around with a tea tray!
He made it clear he was befriending her because she was by Bailong's side.
"Master Bailong takes care of everyone, but not himself... I've made it my goal to prepare his favourite teas and get him to drink it when and if I can! You can help bring it to him!"
Either way, through Li Rui, Weiyan learned more about Caoyang, and that the regular looking servants like himself, were descendants of normal fairies who had been on Caoyang before it was sealed away.
"Among us are flowers, birds, fishes, foxes, and other creatures! We were-, well, in my case, my father was hired by Master Bailong before the mountain was sealed..."
Apparently Bailong owned the entire mountain, as he once bought it as his home. The mermen and immortals present were normal employees brought here by him, but the snakes had already lived on the mountain.
"I don't know why humans keep coming here..." Li Rui confessed. "Master Bailong keeps to himself and doesn't make trouble! Who could hurt such a great person?!"
Weiyan wondered whether to mention the Black Dragon's rampage on the Mortal Realm, but she thought better of it.
She herself needed to look into the matter.
But fate had other plans...
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It was on one brilliant summer day.
The atmosphere was gloomy throughout the Palace, and Lady Xia didn't even let Weiyan head to the gardens.
"Leave him alone for today!" Lady Xia ordered. "I won't bully you. Water the plants around the dragon statues, and then go back for a rest."
Weiyan did as she was told and watered the plants. But she couldn't help a heavy feeling in her heart, and she eventually went to find Li Rui for answers.
"This week is considered the saddest on Mount Caoyang because it's set aside to mourn the original settlers on Caoyang... Our Ancestors who mostly died in a past tragedy." He explained, then dropped to a whisper.
"Everyone is also sad because the Master is sad... No one is entirely sure, but we hear he lost a loved one on this day specifically..."
Weiyan eventually returned to her living quarters, but as the hours flew by, she became more and more restless.
At the hour daylight turned to eve, an immense sadness settled in her heart, growing in pressure till she could no longer breath, and she fell to the floor unconscious.
By the time she opened her eyes, all she heard were endless whispers, and her vision was blurry and skewed.
Immortal Pei's necklace glowed a bright red on her chest, and she rose to her feet, which automatically moved, one before the other, in a trance-like state...
At the same time, Bailong stood at a hidden pagoda, somewhere west of the Palace, staring up into Sky Realm's starry night sky.
It was the day his love, Yan Liwei had died, and he always spent it alone, so Lady Xia stood a far distance away at the garden's entrance, ensuring no one approached him.
But an uneasy feeling made Lady Xia glance around, as a soft breeze blew right by her, but she saw nothing.
Meanwhile, at the pagoda, Bailong turned when he heard someone approach.
At first he saw nothing as well, but with a bright red glow, the necklace on Weiyan's neck slowly became visible, and so did she.
"Xu Weiyan, it's you?" Bailong should have wondered how she was there, or how she had even found this place.
The Garden leading here was secluded and barred from everyone else.
Bailong should have also wondered why Xu Weiyan was standing so still and staring at him in such a serene way.
And more importantly, this was a day he usually spent alone, and he would normally have yelled at anyone who dared approach him on this day.
But instead, Bailong acknowledged something odd.
He wanted Xu Weiyan here!
The bitter winds in his heart calmed at the mere sight of her, instantly making him feel better.
'What is wrong with me?!' He wondered. 'There's no way I'm moving on from Weiwei...?!'
Feeling conflicted in that brief moment, he swivelled and turned his back to her, ignoring her slow approach.
But it was in that brief moment that he felt the strange dagger plunge into his back...
Meanwhile, Weiyan drew in a sharp breath, suddenly awakening from a strange nightmare.
But was she really awake? She wondered as her irises dropped to her hand.
Why were her hands covered in so much blood, holding a dagger stabbed into...
Her eyes widened as she noticed the long silvery white hair turning red as it soaked with blood.
'No!' Weiyan shook her head in horror and stepped away, bringing the dagger with her.
Bailong spewed out a spatter of blood and turned to her.
"Xu Weiyan, you-!" But then he swiftly pushed her aside and caught a sword between his two fingers.
The attack had been headed right for Weiyan, and holding the sword was Lady Xia, who glared at Weiyan.
"You ungrateful b**ch!!!!" Lady Xia had felt a disarray in Bailong's aura, and arrived just in time to see Weiyan pull the knife out of his back.
"How dare you hurt him?!!" Lady Xia thundered, sending a spell at Weiyan which would have killed her for sure.
But Bailong appeared before her, and it hit him instead.
"Brother Bailong, She stabbed you!" Lu Xia raged with angry tears pouring down her face. "She's trying to kill you, but you're still protecting her?!"
"Don't harm her." He quietly ordered, and then fell to his knees, coughing more blood.
He turned to Weiyan in fury. "Go!" He thundered, and a force pushed her backwards and away from them.
Weiyan barely caught herself, but not without injury, and she vomited blood as well. By the time she looked up, Lu Xia was already by Bailong's side, trying to help him up.
Then everything froze as they heard thunder rumbling, and angry dark clouds covered the starry sky.
All the grasses stood on end, and droplets of water rose to hover in the air.
The hair on their skin also stood on end, and static rippled through their hairs.
"Tr- Tribulation!" Lu Xia cried in dismay, as a faint bolt of gold lightning zipped across the dark skies.
"This is Tianlong's golden lightning. Don't worry, I can avoid it." Bailong weakly assured. "... I've handled it before. I'm faster than-."
But before he finished, the first blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky, heading not toward him, but right at Xu Weiyan!
Everything happened in slow motion...
Weiyan saw the lightning heading toward her, saw Bailong move, and then heard Lu Xia cry out: "Brother Bailong! Nooo!"
In a blink, a giant white dragon stood before her, writhing from the force of the powerful gold lightning.
"Wh- white dragon!" Weiyan gasped and fell to her knees, finally understanding why everyone called him 'Bailong'.
She was also just realizing that he hadn't once worn black since they left the Lava Sea.
'But how?!' She wondered. She had seen his black colour in the Lava Sea!
"You idiot! Move!" Lu Xia had appeared beside Weiyan and yanked her to her feet. She leapt away with Weiyan. "You're lucky he wants to save you, or I'd kill you on the spot! They're using you to target him!"
True to her words, the next lightning bolt came after them, and Weiyan mustered all her strength to push Lu Xia out of harm's way, but faster than a blink, the white dragon still appeared above her, taking on the brutal lightning.
"Nooo!" Lu Xia cried, running toward him, but Bailong used his tail to fling both of them away.
However, the lightning began coming faster and faster from every angle, and he flew in wide arcs or circles, slithering through the air in a silver streak to block them.
After the final lightning bolt, Bailong fell limply to the grass, and a single silver tear fell from his eye to the grass. 'This is the last time I can be in this form.' He thought sadly, realizing this was his end, as he changed back to his human form.
Weiyan fell to her knees, and tears freely ran down her face, as she watched Lu Xia run to Bailong and cradle him in her arms.
"Brother Bailong!" She wept openly, hugging him to herself.
Bailong fisted his hand as she cried, grabbing a clump of grass. 'And this is the last time I can be here like this...' He thought, and he shut his eyes, fading away into a mass of silvery particles which rose to the sky and dispersed.
"You cruel-hearted witch!!" Lu Xia fiercely accused after crying for a while. "You saw it yourself, right? Was he a black dragon? Even if he was, he has been imprisoned here in peace for thirty thousand years! Why won't you people leave him alone?!"
Lu Xia rose to her feet. "Count yourself lucky! He wanted you alive, so I won't kill you! But find a way to survive on your own! Good luck getting past the Lava Sea! I hope Lord Heifeng eats you whole!" And with that, she leapt into the air and disappeared in a streak of light.
Meanwhile, Weiyan had barely heard her.
Once Bailong had dissipated into particles, she had been struggling to breathe, and she raised a hand to her heart, which felt like it was breaking into a million pieces.
She indeed felt guilty. Like she had made a grave error, but this was different, and she heard Bailong's voice like a whisper in her ears saying: "Wei Wei..."
She gasped, as it became even harder to breathe, and it felt like her entire world had come to an end... like there was no longer a need to open her eyes and see what was left of it.
She slumped into a faint, and all was silent...
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