97. A Beautiful Dream
.
'Zhurong Tianlong!'
Amidst the scent of flowers, and the roaring sound of a waterfall, Luoyin stared at his old friend for the first time in thirty thousand years.
His light brown eyes narrowed, meeting Tianlong's icy grey eyes, which looked immensely sad.
But Luoyin wasn't moved.
He had expected to fear Tianlong...
That was logical.
Tianlong was a Grand Immortal, while he was a mere mortal.
But the instant his eyes met Tianlong's, an unbelievable rage flooded him, and reasonable fear was flung far away- perhaps somewhere beneath the roaring waterfall.
Even he hadn't expected this level of anger, and he calmly raised an eyebrow.
"Ho? You're the one who wanted to meet me? We've met, so I'll be leaving now." And he swivelled to walk away.
"A-Bai, wait!" A desperate look crossed Tianlong's face and he quickly followed, but maintained some distance. "I- I'm sorry! I've come to apologize!"
For some reason, those words enraged Luoyin even further, but his feet did halt.
"Please do not use such a familiar term... And what makes you think I want to hear such words from you?"
'Because you do.' A voice replied. 'You've waited to hear it for so long.'
Luoyin pushed it away. "What makes you think I'm interested in your apology?" His voice was still calm, but it echoed around the clearing, causing a mild rumble.
Tianlong drew in a breath. "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't excuse me, but I fell for the Empress's manipulations and ended up listening to the words and incitement of others!
"I know an apology of words is weightless, and I owe you several lifetimes of Atonement, but I will do everything in my power to make things right!"
A silence passed, the breeze teasing their hairs and robes.
But then Luoyin resumed walking. "Some wrongs can never be righted..."
"Bailong!" Desperate, Tianlong cast his gold-lightning barrier to prevent Luoyin's exit, but the sight made Luoyin momentarily freeze, as the memory of his death on Caoyang replayed before his eyes.
'Oh no!' Tianlong felt even worse, as the Bailong he remembered had barely been afraid of anything...
"Do you think such a flimsy barrier can hold me?" Luoyin snapped, his ire rising. "You've clearly forgotten who I am!" His irises flashed golden in that moment, and the wind picked up speed.
The faint outline of a large white dragon swirled around him, before rushing at the barrier, which instantly shattered.
Luoyin had merely intended to use one of his more powerful talismans, so he was a bit surprised.
'How... How has my dragon aura reawakened?!'
.
At the Tea house, Weiyan felt a mild discomfort as the pearl within her hummed to life.
But rather than flare as usual, it gently pulsed in place... like a constant heartbeat.
'It's about time I found out what it is!' She decided, making a mental note to explore the strange orb after they returned.
But for now, she was finding it hard to maintain her anger.
Not when she was so worried for the one who had annoyed her in the first place!
'A-Yin... Be safe...!'
.
Back at the waterfall, Tianlong was also stunned, but Luoyin snapped out of it first, and with a swift move, he cast his crystal barrier between them.
A barrier Tianlong knew he couldn't break fast enough to keep his friend from leaving.
"Bailong!" Tianlong desperately called out. "Won't you even hear me out?! It wasn't just one or two years! Will you discard a friendship of several thousand years?!"
"Hao!" Luoyin swivelled to face him, his brows nearly connected at the center.
"Who heard me out all those years ago?! Didn't you also discard this so-called friendship?
! If I had died on Caoyang, where would you have put such a long-lasting friendship?
! Wouldn't you be convincing my funeral plaque? !
"And would your so-called atonement raise the dead?!"
"It was a misunderstanding!" Tianlong seemed more desperate, his own guilt washing over him. "There were so many incidents pointing to you... More than a few witnesses saw you that day! And we all-, no, I saw you transform into a black dragon!
"A- And the black aura was traced right to Caoyang!"
"Oh? It's not like you hadn't guessed that all those incidents were designed to blacken my name... And even if my colour indeed turned black, I'm more hurt by the fact you could easily believe the murderer was me!
"We weren't on the best of terms by then, but you really believed I would harm your dear ones! And that I would go and wreak havoc in the Mortal realm!" Luoyin's voice rippled like thunder.
"We live in a world where it's not farfetched to deceive the eyes or the mind, yet your first and only conclusion was that I was guilty?!"
A silence passed, then two...
Tianlong sighed. "I have wronged you. I'm willing to atone in any way you want-." He attempted falling to his knees, but a mild force hit him, and he staggered backwards. "You-!"
"I'm not someone great enough for the Sky Emperor, ruler of two realms, to kneel before me. Whatever Yin Bailong you knew has already died on Caoyang. I'm a mere mortal you don't know... far too lowly for your golden knees!"
And with that, he vanished from sight.
Tianlong grasped his chest, as a tear ran down his face.
One careless mistake, and he had slain innocents...
One careless mistake, and he had lost a dear friend forever....!
'No!' Tianlong wiped away the tear.
He wouldn't let this wrong remain unresolved.
He had harmed Bailong, but he would do anything to atone!
.
.
Meanwhile, a black butterfly had watched the teahouse from afar, and then it followed Luoyin to the waterfall.
But the instant it spotted Zhurong Tianlong, it shattered like a crystal, and over mountains, seas, and even the borders of realms, the cloaked woman drew in a sharp breath.
She was within a dark hall, surrounded with dying flowers, and she sat in the lotus position, meditating before a hovering crystal mirror, shrouded in her black aura.
She suddenly heaved and coughed out blood. 'Tch! Blood is really a weakness!'
She rose to her feet and leisurely walked over to a window, the only source of sunlight into the hall.
'Hmph. It's time to put a few pieces in place...' She thought, and with a few hand seals, three new black crystal butterflies were formed, and they flew off into the skies...
.
Fate Hall, Sky Realm...
Fei Yun listlessly paced his room.
Ten days had not passed since his imprisonment, but it already felt like a month.
Would he spend his days in endless regret?
He had lost Zhurong Fen, and now her killer would live a full mortal life, happy with his own love?
It wasn't fair!
"...it's not fair..." A soft voice spoke, startling him. "...why couldn't we be happy...?"
It was a familiar voice!
"A- A-Fen...?" Fei Yun swivelled around, searching for the source of the voice, but he didn't notice a beautiful light-blue butterfly fly in, filling the air with dazzling blue particles which swirled around him.
He stopped in a daze and turned to the window.
Standing there was Zhurong Fen as he remembered her, a small striking face with delicate features, crystal gray eyes, and a smile just for him.
She had light-blue hair which fell past her waist, and her robes were a delightful gradient of soft blues and pinks, making her resemble the rarest of blooms.
Simply being around her put him in mind of a flower, and his room was suddenly filled with the mild scents of spring blooms...
"A-Fen...? Is it really you?" He cautiously reached out, and he gasped when his fingers brushed her cheek.
'She's real!'
'Am I asleep?!'
He wasn't new to dreams of Zhurong Fen...
Since her death, he dreamed of her every night, though they had stopped since his imprisonment.
This was because the dark-heart flowers around Fate Villa had secretly been removed, but Fei Yun didn't know that.
All he knew was that he no longer dreamt about Zhurong Fen, and yet here she was!
And he could touch her...
"A-Fen!" He took her hand and yanked her into a fierce hug.
"A-Yun! What's wrong?" She asked, her voice tinged with worry.
He pulled her away and stared in surprise.
'She can speak as well!' In his dreams- or nightmares, he mostly relived the moment of her death, as held her lifeless body in his arms.
Or sometimes, she would be in a field of flowers, but those flowers would turn bloody when he approached, and she would suddenly slump into death.
Or sometimes, she would turn away and leave before he could reach her, a sad look on her face. He would gave chase, but she always faded away before he could reach her...
But here she was now, calling his name as if nothing had happened- as if no time had passed at all.
"A-Yun," She leaned up and pecked his cheek. "I was only gone for a day... No need to act spoiled!" She playfully slapped his arm and moved past him.
"Come! I brought tea, wine and flower cakes!"
It wasn't possible!
Fei Yun wanted to question everything, but he didn't dare.
His own Logic could end this beautiful dream, and he didn't want to wake up.
So he followed after her, like she was the pouring rain after a long drought.
He sat with her, ate with her, drank with her, and chatted all day, into the night...
But he took her hand at every opportunity, determined to hold on so she couldn't leave again.
"A-Yun! I'm not going anywhere!" She slapped his hand away once, then put a piece of cake in his mouth, laughing at his shocked expression.
That night, they slept in each other's arms and Fei Yun hoped this beautiful dream lasted forever, and as he kissed the top of her head, he thought,
'If it's a spell from some enemy to deceive me, then I willingly surrender myself to it!
'Just let it last forever...!'
.