93. In An Instant.
.
"My Lady! What are you doing?!" Tong was aghast.
It started a few hours ago...
After overhearing Luoyin's plan to leave, Weiyan had disappeared as quickly as she had appeared, forgetting the breakfast she had planned.
In a matter of minutes, she had dressed and led Tong into the City.
"My Lady, what are we doing here?" They were before an inn.
"Nothing. I just want to spend the night drinking..."
And so several jars of different wines were bought.
After that, Weiyan disappeared on her own, instructing Tong to oversee the kitchens to prepare a large dinner.
And so a slew of dishes were prepared.
It was evening by the time Weiyan returned...
"My Lady, will you eat and drink all this?!" Tong asked, but Weiyan simply smiled, helping Tong lay down the wine and dishes.
.
In that time, Luoyin hurried through the classes with Xu Wen, the Sect Elders, and the Sect Warriors learning from him, making sure he left a decent number of drawings for his more complex formation flags,
and he had written down the basic rules and pillars behind drawing talismans for different purposes.
"Such an outstanding young man!" One praised.
"A rare talent indeed!"
"Ehehe, Seniors, you flatter me!" Luoyin scratched the back of his head, looking like a carefree youth.
But then he pulled Xu Wen aside.
"Xiaowen, don't forget everything I've taught you! Remember, there's almost nothing under the sun a talisman or formation can't achieve... You've just not drawn the right pattern, or cast the right seals!"
"Umh!" Xu Wen replied with a nod. But he felt even more uneasy. "Shixiong, are you really not planning to leave...?"
Luoyin lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? Not pretending you don't know anything anymore, Umm?"
Xu Wen's expression turned anxious. "Sh- Shixiong, I don't know what might have happened, but isn't this something we can solve?! Unlike the past, you have friends who long to help! We won't let anything harm you!"
Luoyin had never seen Xu Wen like this, and he wasn't sure how to tell him that these same 'friends' were one of the biggest reasons he had to leave this place...
More accurately, if he dared mention it, he might actually cry, and even now, he was recalling every occasion that had drawn him closer to his circle of friends, from the Eye-eater incident, to their numerous visits afterwards, to each tournament stage, and all his outings with Xu Min in particular.
..
He recalled their light-hearted banter, their laughter, overcoming the challenges with them, and how quick they were to jump to his defence in time of trouble.
But he steeled his heart...
If he could survive losing two friendships spanning over thousands of years, then he could survive leaving for the good of these ones, couldn't he?
So he shook his head and merely placed a comforting hand on Xu Wen's head. "I didn't belong here from the start. Almost every meeting under the skies heralds a parting."
Xu Wen had just opened his mouth to protest, but with a mild gust of wind, Luoyin had vanished...
.
Luoyin reappeared in the Pill Pavillion a little later, where he handed several recipes to a rather happy Head Alchemist who barely stopped himself from dancing about in glee!
But after Luoyin left, the Head Alchemist had a skeptical look on his face.
Luoyin's reason for suddenly handing him a stack of recipes was something vague about how more people working on it would bring in more profit.
True, but unlikely.
In the cultivation world, people jealously guarded their recipes, and sometimes whole families and clans were built upon a single recipe.
Luoyin had guarded most of his recipes before now, yet he simply handed him not one, but several recipes...?
It was the same with the Yue City herb garden, where Luoyin had handed them a long list of useful herbs ignored in the Mortal Realm for so long.
Either way, it was dark by the time Luoyin returned home, and he drew in a breath, taking in the place.
'Another nest abandoned...' He thought, considering how many past homes he had left behind.
"Master!" Meng Qiu bowed a greeting at the doors. "The Lady asked me to invite you over for dinner!"
Luoyin drew in a breath.
It was just as well. Invited or not, he would have found a way to see her before leaving...
Meanwhile, Tong walked in to find Weiyan sprinkling a suspicious powder into several wine jars.
"My Lady! What are you doing?!" Tong was aghast.
"Umh? Trapping someone." She replied with a straight face.
"M- My Lady, it's not what I'm thinking, right...? Are you planning to drug the Master?!"
"Umh." Weiyan nodded.
Tong shivered, noting the many new lanterns lit round the room. "My Lady, you're a little scary when you set your mind on something!"
But Weiyan was already swirling the contents of a jar, mixing the wine within.
Fate was determined to play tricks...
She had planned to naturally draw closer to Luoyin in time, but he planned to leave at midnight, and leave her behind!
They had been married for over two weeks now, yet hadn't crossed any lines, and she was left with only a few precious hours.
Perhaps if a line was crossed, he wouldn't leave her behind...!
And even if he insisted, she would find another way to follow him!
If the fates were determined to tear him away, then she would blatantly defy those fates and stick to him!
.
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Luoyin knew he was in trouble the instant he stepped into Weiyan's room.
The room was lit with soft lotus-shaped lanterns, and an odd scent filled the air.
He sniffed. 'Rouge?'
And not just a little rouge, but a lot... Like someone from a *flower house had been visiting.
(*brothel, gyobang, et cetera)
But he eyed the wine jars as another underlying scent hit his nostrils, and he nearly coughed.
'It's been a long time since anyone dared poisoning me!' His wife had certainly prepared an interesting meal for him!
He took another step in, and the sudden strum of a Pipa string broke the silence.
A few steps later, and the air was filled with delightful music, as Weiyan played the pipa.
Luoyin's eyes found her seated in a corner, the moonlight shining on her through the window, as her fingers danced across the instrument.
He might have believed such a magnificent sight wasn't deliberate, but she was surrounded by more of the lotus lanterns, strategically placed to bathe her in their golden glow.
Her hair was left hanging down like a beautiful dark curtain against her pale skin, and her robes were a bold fiery red and orange, slightly showing her shoulders...
It was a sight even righteous deities might not be able turn away from, and Luoyin had taken a few steps towards her before he caught himself!
'Not good!' He thought, as blood rushed to his head, and he touched his nostrils to find he had a nosebleed. 'Is this learned from the flower house?!'
Being around Xu Weiyan on a regular day was difficult, but being around her when she was being this deliberate, might be the end of him!
"Ahem! Y- Yanyan!" He quickly turned and headed for the table. "Why don't we eat?!"
Weiyan's fingers stilled over the strings and she silently blew out a frustrated huff.
She had indeed gone to learn these things in a flower house, while enduring the teasing of the amused courtesans who made jokes on how a 'white swallow was changing its colour'!
But despite all that, their suggestions hadn't worked!
Still, there was hope, and the Pipa vanished as Weiyan's eyes lit on the wine jars.
She rose and walked over to him, making sure to sit right beside him, and Luoyin stiffened at her closeness.
"A-Yin," She began, reaching for a jar and filling two cups of wine. "...I prepared some good wine to celebrate-- er... th- the victory over the invaders!"
"Pfft!" Luoyin instantly swallowed his laughter. 'Even if it wasn't me, can she really fool anyone?!'
But he accepted the cup of wine she held out to him and boldly drank it.
He wouldn't be worthy of his past titles if such flimsy poisons could work on him!
However, he caught her hand when she attempted to drink the wine.
"Yanyan, must you harm yourself to poison me?" He calmly asked, and her eyes widened in surprise.
He took the cup from her hand, downed the wine, and dropped it. "Please don't do these things for my sake. Don't dirty your hands, or go to places that make you uncomfortable.
"Can't we simply enjoy the moonlight?"
'He knows everything!' She realized, watching him rise to his feet.
Yet he wasn't angry, and instead, he gently tucked one side of her hair behind her ear, before turning to walk away.
But his finger had lightly grazed her ear, sending a current through her, and her eyes narrowed.
'Will I simply watch him leave...?'
'No!'
Luoyin had barely taken two steps when Weiyan appeared in his front, and before he realized what was happening, she swiftly rose to her tiptoe and boldly planted a kiss on his lips.
Luoyin froze, suddenly light-headed, and an overwhelming feeling surged through him as he stared down at her flushed face in shock.
Her kiss had been feather light... merely like a dragonfly teasing the water's surface, but it was enough to topple high walls, and just like that, thirty thousand years of self-control came crashing down as Luoyin grabbed her waist and tugged her closer,
his head dipping and his lips claiming hers in a kiss.
The kiss deepened as he forced her lips opened, and his hand curled tighter around her waist, pulling her so close that not even air could slip between them.
Weiyan's fingers trembled as they pressed against his chest, but far from pushing him away, they curled around the folds of his robes, clinging on for dear life.
His lips moved against hers with a fierce hunger- suppressed over thousands of years- and Weiyan's heart pounded so loudly that she feared it might explode.
His warmth, his scent, the way he held her- it was too much, and her fingers crept upward, grasping his neck with a gentleness which only fanned his own flames, and he backed her against a pillar as an insistent pressure built in his lower region...
His free hand rose to cradle her cheek, deepening the kiss even more, and for a brief moment, he allowed himself get lost... Allowed himself the dangerous idea of staying here - that he could have her and hold her like this, never having to part.
But he caught himself quickly, and he suddenly tensed up, pulling his mouth from hers, their chests heaving breathlessly in the silence.
"Enough..." He whispered, his near golden gaze looking down at her.
Weiyan looked up at him, dazed and flushed, her lips slightly parted. But before she could form any words, the edge of his palm gently struck a point on her neck.
Her eyes fluttered, briefly registering her confusion, but then she collapsed against him, unconscious.
Luoyin caught her before she fell, swiftly lifting her into his arms, and he carried her over to the bed, gently laying her down on it. He adjusted her sleeves, ensuring she was beneath the covers, and then brushed her hair away from her face.
He briefly caressed her still flushed cheeks, and then bent over to press a final kiss on her forehead.
"Forgive me, Yanyan...." He whispered, his brows lined in sorrow.
And in the next instant, he was gone...
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