12. The Flare
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Weiyan staggered a step at the sight of Yin Xiaolong's human form.
"Huaagh!" Yin Xiaolong yawned and stretched. "I didn't need to transform to beat him, but it's been ages since I fought in my original form... feels great!"
He was dressed all in black, but his hair was a long flowing white which fell past his waist.
His face was something Weiyan could only describe as perfect, with matching dimples on each cheek, and startling golden brown eyes which studied Weiyan from her head to her feet, making her blush and feel rather inadequate.
She had never before paid attention to men or the features that made women flock to them, but the phrase 'golden sunlight on a snowy day' instantly entered her mind.
And added to that, Yin Xiaolong's face was..... familiar?
'Zhang Luoy- ?
'Not possible!!' Weiyan tossed the thought away.
The person before her was certainly the black dragon, an immortal who seemed to glow, even while surrounded by the bright lava.
No way he was related to Zhang Luoyin!
Besides, she hadn't seen Luoyin's face in years... Who knew what he looked like now?
Weiyan overcame her shock, and she shook herself as the necklace glowed and hatred filled her heart again.
She glared at the black dragon, remembering why she was here, and she stood up.
'No one in history has successfully met Yin Xiaolong!' She reminded herself, feeling more determined to kill him.
"Black Dragon." She began, shakily lifting her sword and pointing it at him. "Your tyranny must come to an end, and your reign of fear must be stopped. I won't spare you!" She finished, but Yin Xiaolong merely shook his head.
"Tsk tsk tsk. If I defeated an enemy you could not dream of conquering, how dare you call yourself my opponent?" He snapped his fingers and Weiyan's sword became so heavy that it fell to the ground, nearly bringing her with it.
"You-!" Weiyan tried to lift it, but couldn't even get it to budge.
"Don't bother, that is the 'thousand ton' spell. Even a regular immortal can't lift it. Lucky for you, you have some skill and somehow crossed over to this side, or you would have become snake-food before I arrived." He continued, as if he couldn't even see her struggling.
"Also, what did you do to annoy Xiao Hei? He usually just scares away the wiser mortals, and he never goes past the midway point."
But at Weiyan's lost expression, he sighed and turned to leave.
"Follow me, if you don't want to die here. I put Xiao Hei to sleep, but he will eventually return with double his fury."
'Xi- Xiao Hei?' Weiyan thought in a daze.
Surely he wasn't referring to the giant snake!
But she snapped out of it.
"What about my sword?!" She yelled after Yin Xiaolong, feeling a bit foolish, but with another snap of his fingers, the sword lifted itself and followed him.
"One more thing." He stopped a distance away and turned to her. "If you call me 'Black Dragon' again, I'll feed you to Xiao Hei myself!"
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Back in the present, Weiyan sighed.
That meeting had been an ill-fated one, and while the world rejoiced over the death of the infamous 'Black Dragon' and how she killed him, Weiyan was wrapped in confusion and turmoil, not sure what to believe...
'But it's too late.' She reminded herself, staring at the stunning sun rays which didn't match her mood.
'I already killed him...'
"My Lady!" Tong's cheerful voice snapped her out of her thoughts, as she bustled in with what weiyan considered unnatural energy.
"My Lady, everyone is singing your praises, and thanks to you the Xu Clan's face has been elevated! Even the servants who looked down on you before are saying they always expected greatness from you!" Tong rolled her eyes. "Now no one will dare bully you again!"
"Umh." Was all Weiyan said, looking back out of the window.
"But my Lady, must you marry?" An annoyed look crossed Tong's face. "I will go as far as saying, 1st Young Master Zhang does not deserve you! In your absence, which servant didn't see him sneaking around with the 2nd Young lady?!"
Weiyan raised a brow. "My sister?"
Tong nodded. "She has been telling the Zhang servants that she's the rightful 'Zhang Furen', and that you seduced 1st Young Master Zhang! My blood nearly boiled!"
"Hao, hao." Weiyan patted Tong's head. "Don't get so annoyed. You'll get early wrinkles."
"Hmph!" Tong still puffed her cheek in anger, as she tidied up, but she didn't notice Weiyan offering a rare smile out the window...
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Later that day, Bailong sighed in annoyance.
He had meditated for most of his morning, but Zhang Luoyin's body was indeed too useless!
Feeling lost, he sent Yinying to look for any herbs he could find.
"Laoying, remember that no one must see you! You look like a cub now, but even a Shadow Tiger cub is extremely rare!"
"Heh! Who do you think you're talking to? Once I decide to hide myself, even you might not sense me!"
Yinying vanished and Bailong resumed cultivating, but his meridians were so far gone that every second was as painful as chewing needles.
He spat out blood whenever he tried manipulating the least bit of qi, and if he tried absorbing qi, it flowed out of him thanks to his damaged core.
It was a few hours after trying and failing, that he finally felt a small spark within.
Bailong bore the pain and instantly redirected qi towards it, but the little flare fought off the qi and zipped away through his meridians.
But every fibre of Bailong's being told him that he had to catch that elusive flare, and he quickly cast a different set of hand seals. Seals for an immortal technique.
'Little flame, don't think you can escape!' He said and began executing the somewhat complex seals for the technique.
Ordinarily, humans would never be able to handle it, and they might damage their core for good, but Luoyin's core was already badly damaged.
Added to that, Bailong had spent years mastering this technique, and he knew what aspects of it could be used in any given situation.
At the moment, he only needed the technique to manipulate external qi, so it wouldn't harm his body.
He held one palm a small distance over the other, then moved them around each other, gathering and molding external qi in his hands. Then he waved his arms clockwise and anticlockwise, ending with his palms facing each other, each time in reverse.
A small but dense ball of qi formed between his palms and then split apart, each bit narrowing into twelve tiny qi needles. He used two fingers to guide the needles, and they circled him in synchronized arcs, eventually surrounding him, ready to enter his body from different angles.
Bailong crossed his index and middle finger, as he centered the last needle right in front of his stomach.
Then he focused on the little flare as it erratically zipped through his meridians, and he concentrated till he could feel the flare's every move, till he became one with it and could predict where it was going...
'Now!' He thought, and with a call motion, he used two fingers to pull the stomach needle into his body.
He coughed out blood on the impact, but it stabbed right through the flare. The flare was weakened, but still escaped, heading to another location.
But Bailong was ready for it.
'Spleen channel! Lung channel! Small Intestine channel! Stomach! Triple Burner! Heart!...'
It went on and on as he followed the flare.
He spat blood each time, but he never hesitated to send in more of the needles, weakening the flare each time, till he finally sent in three needles at once.
The three needles stabbed through the flare till it stopped moving and hovered in space.
But Zhang Luoyin's body was a lot weaker than Bailong thought...
He felt an immense pressure on his heart, like it had seized up.
'Am I going to die again?' He wondered, as he keeled over, losing consciousness...
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High Afternoons were usually quiet in the Zhang residence, but not this day.
The Zhang family received a surprise, as Sect Leader Xu, Xu Furen and Xu Weiyan all came for a visit.
Lord Zhang and Zhang Furen personally came out to welcome them, and they all exchanged greetings at the household gate.
Lord Zhang turned his attention to Xu Furen, who greeted his wife.
"Xu Furen, you're growing younger everyday!" He teased. "Won't you tell us your secret?"
"Lord Zhang, you're jesting!" Madam Xu replied, but couldn't help but blush. "Our time is past! How can you say such a thing before one of the children?" She asked, and they all laughed.
"Ahahahaha! Modest as always!" Lord Zhang gestured toward the manor. "Please come in. Come in!" He said, leading them all to a garden pagoda...
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