89. Regret
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A little later, Tianlong dismissed the Sky Generals, who took Jin Lan with them, and he stood at the cliff in silence with the War deity.
"You can say what you want freely." Tianlong eventually broke the silence. "I was indeed 'young and unwise'."
The words 'young and unwise' had been the War deity's words to him in the past, warning him that 'not all that was seen in the heavens were as they seemed', and to be careful of being manipulated as a young emperor...
Back then, the War deity had personally known Yin Xiaolong, and had warned the emperor.
"The brightest lights breed the darkest shadows, but the eyes follow only the light, barely noticing the shadow... Do you really believe he's guilty?!" He had asked. "You know more than anyone that he's more likely to go against heaven to heal and protect, than do something like this...!"
But Tianlong had simply replied...
"War deity, pardon me for not taking your words seriously, but if Yin Xiaolong is the Demon King's incarnate, then wouldn't he be controlled by the Demon King's evil? Is he still the Yin Xiaolong I know?!"
The War deity had simply shaken his head, recognizing his young emperor was locked behind layers of grief, worsened by the recent rifts in he and Yin Xiaolong's friendship, and the fact that Yin Xiaolong indeed hated the now dead Sky Empress....
At present, the War deity merely sighed. "No being under the vast skies can claim a life with no missteps."
"I regret not listening to you back then!" Tianlong admitted, a sad note in his voice, but the war deity calmly sighed again.
"Unfortunately, there's more to regret..."
"What do you mean?" Tianlong turned to him, his crisp icy irises glistening with unshed tears.
"Lightning warns of approaching thunder, but we get so accustomed to lightning that we sometimes find ourselves surprised by thunder." The War deity stated.
"It's the same way we take the mortal realm for granted, forgetting they are the easiest ways to tie our own hands- the most powerful tools enemies could use against us, or to grow their strengths.
"Most immortals look down on mortals and dismiss their words and worries easily, and this unfortunately includes the immortals we have in their Wulin.
"But much like thunder, I suspected this enemy didn't simply appear, so last night, I scoured as many mortal reports as possible, and this cloaked woman has indeed appeared in past reports..."
"What?! When was this?!" Tianlong demanded, his eyes widened in shock. "And why has no one brought this to my attention?!"
"She's usually mentioned in passing, by random mortals, especially around the black dragon attacks, but rather than place these mentions within the black dragon reports themselves, they are filed away among mundane mortal reports, and passed off as drunken or fearful ramblings,
or dismissed as a mortal simply seeking attention.
"But then I came across a recent report which surprised me... One which involved the entire Wulin, yet most of them, including the two immortals in the Wulin, dismissed it as yet another mortal seeking attention.
"It was several months ago, in the late autumn. The mortal, Xu Weiyan, encountered an eye-eating demon..."
Tianlong slightly staggered at the mention of Weiyan's name, but the War deity resolutely continued, telling him about the eye-eater incident which the Wulin had dismissed.
And this included how Xu Weiyan insisted the cloaked woman had summoned and controlled the black dragon, and that same cloaked woman had used the eye-eater to lure her to Caoyang, giving her the necklace and dagger which led to Yin Xiaolong's death...
She had also insisted that Yin Xiaolong was a white dragon, not black, and that he had been imprisoned on Caoyang all along.
More than anything, this proved his innocence, and Tianlong staggered, a tear running down his face.
'So much information has been lying there all along, and I never looked...'
He couldn't even blame anyone for keeping all this from him.
Given his recent suspicions and discoveries, he should have checked, but he subconsciously looked down on mortals, and never bothered with their reports unless brought before him.
He had even dismissed Xu Weiyan's words because he had subconsciously been angry that she killed Bailong!
"I was foolish...!" He confessed, recalling his righteous anger thirty thousand years ago, and how he had slain thousands on Caoyang and coldly sentenced Bailong without looking back.
He was no better than the hidden enemies...
As Sky Emperor, people placed their lives in his hands, but he had murdered the innocent and harmed such a dear friend...
Because of his own stupidity.
The regrets swarmed around him, and he sat heavily on the floor.
'What have I done?!!'
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Yue City, Mortal Realm...
While accompanying Luoyin and Yin Xing to meet Lord Xu, Weiyan never met Luoyin's eyes, and afterwards, she suddenly vanished, leaving them behind.
'Sh- she's still angry?!' Luoyin wondered, suddenly at a loss, and he considered something he hadn't bothered with in far too many years.
How to coax one's wife...
But wait! Didn't he plan to leave?
Wasn't it best if Xu Weiyan wasn't speaking to him?
The thought left a painful tightening in his chest, and his brows furrowed.
Why had his feelings for Xu Weiyan taken such a mighty leap...?
"Elder brother! Why don't you treat me to a meal?!" Yin Xing's bright and sunny voice jarred Luoyin from his dark and cloudy thoughts. "You surely know all the good places in this city by now!"
Luoyin scowled at him. "I know where they sell roasted carp! There's even this special place for a variety of spicy fish soups!"
"Ah, peh peh peh! Brother! I'm suddenly not hungry anymore!"
But after giving Yin Xing a lacklustre tour of a few places, lunch hour arrived and Luoyin led him to a tiny obscure restaurant with the bold name of 'Golden Phoenix'!
"Pfft!" Yin Xing stifled laughter as a perfect roast duck was placed between them. ~"Elder brother, I thought you picked this place because the name brought back memories!"~ He said through telepathy.
~"This roast duck looks golden, but it's hardly a phoenix!"~
~"Pfft! Sh- Shut up!"~ Luoyin bit back his own laughter.
Xu Min had introduced Luoyin to the place, and he had indeed been impressed by the name, only to discover that 'Golden Phoenix' referred to the fine golden colours of their roast ducks, pheasants, and chickens!
He had been forced to remind himself that most mortals knew nothing much about immortal tribes and clans, and while they knew phoenixes were rare and revered, it was a vague concept, and certainly not the cup of tea of a common mortal trying to make a living!
And besides...
"This place has something you liked!" Luoyin said, and slightly nodded towards the server who approached with a dish of seasoned seaweed, water lilies, and rare snails.
"Elder brother! You remembered!" Yin Xing exclaimed with glee and instantly dug in.
"I haven't eaten so freely since I left the sea!" He said between mouthfuls, and Luoyin shook his head.
~"Heh! Is this still the image of a Night Deity?!"~ Luoyin grinned, eyeing Yin Xing's cheek-fuls of food!
But seeing his joyous face made Luoyin think...
'What is Yanyan's favourite food?!'
And that was how he spent the rest of lunch trying to remember what Weiyan may or may not have liked eating on Caoyang!
Towards evening, Luoyin took Yin Xing to a tavern on the outskirts called 'Journey's End', hinting at the fact that guests would often get too drunk to continue their 'journey' once they entered!
The two brothers sat at a corner table, each with four jars of wine before them, but though the wine was present, Luoyin's mind was absent, as he wondered...
'Does Yanyan like to drink?! What type of wine would she like...?'
Meanwhile, Yin Xing had noticed his elder brother's amusing distraction throughout the day.
"Aiya, 'there's food, there's wine, but the mind dwells elsewhere'!" He teased. "Didn't Yinying say you were affected by 'Zhang Luoyin's' emotions? Ei? Then why are things worse now that the grievances are gone?!"
Luoyin sent him a glare, but he himself wondered the same thing...
Naturally, he had recently acknowledged that Weiyan had affected him from Caoyang, and he had drawn even closer since then.
But from yesterday, his feelings for her had soared to interesting heights...
What if the grievances had been suppressing his own emotions all along?!
Yin Xing shook his head.
"Elder brother, will you really be able to leave Yue City?" He asked seriously, and the question hung in the air between them as Luoyin settled his thoughts.
Just the morning before, he and Weiyan had walked to the Arena side by side, and he had marveled at how far they had come...
At Caoyang she had been his prisoner, with a million things between them, and after his death he had blamed her...
But the day of his awakening, she had saved him from evil spirits, and then went as far as sneaking into the Zhang Residence to care for him.
Barely another day passed and they were somehow engaged.
Since then, it was as if the hands of fate toyed with every passing glance between them, and as they walked to the Arena, Luoyin subconsciously considered giving up all thoughts of cultivating immortality, and living a quiet happy life here with her,
his only worries the trifling things mortals must deal with...
But the appearance of the Floral deity and the cloaked woman had dispelled that illusion, reminding him of his identity.
There was no end to the dangers that might approach Yue City, simply because he was here.
"It's not a matter of whether I would be able to leave... It's that I 'must' leave." He finally responded, though it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
What right did he have to endanger Xu Weiyan or so many other people?
"I'll avoid her from now on!" He finished and downed his wine, pouring himself another. "We'll leave after ensuring the city is decently safe."
Yin Xing merely sighed, pouring himself a cup as well.
He hadn't understood his brother and Yan Liwei in the past, but after reuniting with Yan Linfeng recently...
He couldn't think of anything that would make him willingly part with Yan Linfeng, and after leaving here, he intended to find her at once!
Which was why he recognized the signs as he eyed his elder brother above his cup.
Compared to the last time Yin Xing was here, his brother had somehow forgotten Yan Liwei...
'Can he really leave Xu Weiyan behind?!'
Telling him Yan Liwei was alive somewhere would certainly make leaving easier for his brother, but was that the right move?
On one hand, leaving Yueyan seemed logical, because as Luoyin had said, three immortals couldn't go against the entire Sky Realm armies.
But the other hand was scarier...
Yin Xing hadn't solved the mystery behind why Xu Weiyan had so easily broken through his brother's defenses, and why she possessed Five-Colour Flame.
What if, by some strange design, Xu Weiyan turned out to be Yan Liwei?!
After all, only a few deities were permitted to recall her face.
In his case, he only remembered who she was, because as Night Deity, his Master had been needed for the memory seal, and Yan Liwei's star now rested somewhere within Sky Palace.
The instant Yin Xing became Night Deity, those memories had flowed into him, but like Bailong and Liwei's family, he could remember her, but had no chance to recall her face.
Everybody else didn't even know she existed!
If she was indeed alive, then she could be anyone!
Yin Xing sighed, pouring himself another drink.
Interfering might breed regrets, so it was best to let his brother's heart move on its own...
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