39. Doubt
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By the time Sect Leader Xu and the Sect Elders found the disciples, it was fully dawn, and the ordeal was practically over.
Three elders met most of Weiyan's original group midway, and the possessed disciples were cured.
Two of the elders used the dark aura within them to trace the evil spirit responsible, but it led back to a pile of ash... One of the eye-eater's wraiths, and they found similar piles of ash in the nearby settlement, solving the mystery of multiple evil spirits.
It had all been the eye-eater's wraiths.
Xu Lin's group had followed Luoyin's advice and thus had not encountered a single beast along their way. Another set of three elders found them and guided them back to Yue City. By then, Xu Min and Xu Haoyuan had already awakened, thanks to Luoyin's Pills.
The two scouts from Xu Haoyuan's original group had also been found, hiding somewhere in the forest, but unfortunately, one had already died...
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, two elders and Lord Xu himself found Weiyan, Luoyin, and the others.
"Yanyan!" Xu Fengyan ran over to Weiyan, a tracking talisman in his hand. "Yanyan! Are you okay?!" She had risen to greet him, but he stopped her, gripping her shoulders in concern. "Are you hurt anywhere?!"
She shook her head. "I'm fine."
"We're saved!" Xu Lian exclaimed, stretching, and Xu Wen and Tao Yun shook their heads.
The three had stirred after Luoyin collapsed, but only fully awakened just as Immortal Yin Xing was vanishing, and they now cupped their hands and bowed, greeting Sect Leader Xu and the elders.
"Forego the formalities!" Sect Leader Xu ordered, his aura suddenly flaring. "The sect owes you all an answer, and I won't rest until we uncover the mysteries behind this mission!"
"Ehehe, Sect Leader, your aura, your aura!" One of the elders reminded him, and he smiled apologetically.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" He looked around. "Where is Xiaoyin?"
An uncertain look crossed Weiyan's face, but Xu Lian pouted,
"He was taken away by an immortal!" Immortal Yin had vanished with Luoyin just as they woke up.
Lord Xu and all the elders turned to Xu Lian...
"WHAT?!!"
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In Yue City, Luoyin was already back at the Yan House, lying in bed, while Yinying touched a wet cloth to his head.
"I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have let him go on that mission!"
"How long will you blame yourself?!" Yin Xing asked in annoyance. "'Let him'?, you say? We both know he won't listen, once he sets his mind to something!" He checked Luoyin's pulse yet again.
"Besides, it's his own technique that landed him here..."
Formless demons were tricky to deal with. They had no core of their own, so there was nothing to destroy, and they clung to the essences of their numerous victims.
As a former immortal, Luoyin realized this, and the only way to truly defeat a Formless demon, was the 'Purge' technique which he had used.
But the technique required power beyond mortal levels, and his mortal body and core could not handle such power.
So he used the same trick he had used to empty 'Luoyin's' core back then, and had spiritually connected his spirit veins and meridians to the Starlight furnace, while absorbing as many of his pills and herbs as possible.
The only problem had been time.
He had cut the technique short, because the eye-eater was about to kill Weiyan, so all that power had linked back to Luoyin's own core, nearly killing him.
As for Yin Xing, after sensing Bailong's essence the night of his resurrection, he had secretly searched for him in the stars, and finally found a piece of his essence within Zhang Luoyin.
Yin Xing would have shed a pail of joyous tears, but had to hide his emotions so he wouldn't alert anyone, and he fought off his desire to come to Yue City.
However, the previous night, as he looked at his brother's new star yet again, he had seen the Formless Demon and knew he had to sneak away...
Only to find Luoyin near death!
"Tch! He wouldn't exactly have died..." Yin Xing grudgingly added. "He knew he was linked to you, so he swallowed a counter pill to preserve his life, no matter how bad his condition.
"Luckily I arrived in time to prevent too much damage."
A grim expression settled on Yinying's face. "This brat... still thinking of others in that situation!"
The two watched Luoyin in silence.
'Who is Xu Weiyan?!' Yin Xing wondered, not liking the fact that Luoyin had nearly died because of her.
Naturally, he had peered into Weiyan's star, especially after she had stabbed Bailong on Caoyang!
He knew everything about who she was and where she came from, and he would have been mean the previous night, if she hadn't been desperately trying to save and protect Luoyin.
But he wondered why Bailong had dropped his guard around her on Caoyang in the first place.
Also, Yinying had said Bailong was experiencing Zhang Luoyin's emotions...
But that wasn't possible. According to Zhang Luoyin's star, every single bit of him was gone, except his grievances and the rage and hatred attached to them!
Did that mean his brother felt something for Xu Weiyan?!
Had it begun on Caoyang?!
Was that why he had dropped his guard?!
Yin Xing sighed.
'First, the enemy of Sky Realm, and now the mortal who killed him... Why must older brother's love affairs be so dangerous?!!'
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Meanwhile, every being under the stars slept in some way or the other.
Sleep was a way to rest tired bones, relax the mind, and refresh body and Spirit...
...and Zhurong Tianlong, Sky Emperor and ruler of Two Realms, was no exception.
Except... His slumber was anything but restful and refreshing.
His dreams found him at Sky Palace's East Balcony, which stretched wide and elegant, its carved jade railings cool to the touch.
From this balcony, a part of Central Sky Realm could be seen in its breathtaking beauty, with endless expanses of floating islands, golden rivers that shimmered under the moonlight, and celestial palaces resting atop the waters or upon drifting clouds.
Lotus ponds reflected clear starry skies, while Vermillion Birds soared through the night, emitting colourful glows against the dark blue sky.
On the balcony, Tianlong exhaled softly, steadying his hands, as his fingers moved in the dream, deftly strumming the strings of an intricate guqin.
Back in the day, he, Fei Yun, and Bailong would come here to play music or read poetry... or drink - whenever they could hide it from the Sky Emperor!
But he hadn't come here since 'that' incident...
In the dream, the strings vibrated beneath his touch, obeying his every move - each note carrying the hint of a memory.
Across from him, Fei Yun sat with the pipa resting against his knee, his long sleeves pooling like silk against the polished tiles. The Fate Immortal's gaze was unreadable, but his fingers danced effortlessly, plucking a melody that seamlessly blended with Tianlong's own.
Yet Tianlong sighed in discontent...
The duet was immensely beautiful, and no soul could find a fault.
But after tasting the Floral Realm's sweetest honey, one couldn't simply appreciate regular honey.
Something was missing, and as the duet climbed a swelling crescendo, his heart rose with it in anticipation, till...
A soft sound joined them - clear and beautiful, like wind rushing through bamboo leaves.
A flute!
Tianlong's head snapped up.
There, balanced on the elegant railings, Yin Bailong reclined in his usual careless grace, a white jade flute to his lips.
His sea-blue robes were unbound at the collar, his silver-white hair cascaded freely, as though no time had passed at all, and his melody joined theirs, the music wrapping around them like an endless promise.
Tianlong's chest tightened. "A-Bai..."
But then blood splattered onto the white jade flute, and there was a sudden eerie silence.
The flute slipped from Bailong's pale fingers, clattering to the marble floor, and a hole in his chest bloomed bright red.
He swayed and his eyes furrowed in disbelief, his expression filled with betrayal as he looked right at Tianlong.
"A-Tian..." An immense sorrow laced his voice. "You harmed me...?"
And then he fell off the balcony, his blue robes vanishing from sight.
"Bailong! No-!"
Tianlong jerked awake.
His breath was ragged, and his golden silk bedding was twisted in his grip.
'It was a dream...' He relaxed, after glancing round the elegant bedchamber. 'It was just a dream!'
Yet an uneasy feeling settled in his chest.
Bailong's accusatory look remained clear in his mind, and he could still hear the faint echo of the flute.
Since the incident thirty thousand years ago, he had certainly dreamed of Bailong before, but only when happier memories taunted him in his sleep.
Bailong had met him first, and even if he removed Fei Yun, there were countless happy memories with Bailong.
But instead of those pleasant dreams, a ghastly nightmare had visited...
Didn't nightmares like this plague the guilty? He wasn't guilty!
Was he?
Back then, he had been wrapped in a haze of betrayal and hatred... Bailong's actions had led to the death of his wife, his unborn child, and his sister, Zhurong Fen, who was also Fei Yun's love.
He and Fei Yun had turned the full force of their hatred on Bailong and those around him, and as Sky Emperor, it had also been his duty to eliminate Bailong, Sky Realm's greatest threat for millennia.
But time had long blurred the lines of his hatred and betrayal, and all that remained was an empty void which insisted on filling itself with the happier memories of three young and free companions.
But then there was this nightmare...
All these made Tianlong question himself.
Had they really been right back then?
Had he begun to blame himself in some way for what happened?
'But why?' He asked himself.
He was certain of Bailong's guilt...
Wasn't he?!
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