44. The Yin Immortals
.
Starry Pavillion, Sky Realm...
The window to Yin Xing's bedroom shot opened as a gust wind blew in, and a streak of blue light followed, landing at the foot of the bed.
Yin Xing stood there and glanced down at his sleeping form, or rather, his clone's sleeping form.
To avoid suspicion, he had left a clone here, making sure it acted like a drunk, so no one would interact with him too much...
He waved a hand and the clone vanished, but before he could even sit, Tai Yue came running.
"Master! You're back!" Only Tai Yue knew Yin Xing had gone to the Mortal Realm. "Just in time! 1st Immortal Yin is here! I've stalled for as long as possible!"
"Yin Zhi? Why didn't you bring him here to 'see me' sleeping?"
"I did, but he said he had no interest in meeting a clone!"
Yin Xing swept out of the room. "Let's go!"
The Guest hall of Starry Pavillion was elegant and elaborate, with exquisite furniture, soft, comfortable cushions, and dark painted walls dotted with small glowing gems to emulate the stars.
In this place, one indeed felt like they had stepped into the night sky, but at the moment, Yin Xing felt like he was stepping somewhere in shadow realm, with his own brother being the worst of demons.
He stepped into the hall and Tai Yue followed, a pot of fresh tea in his hands.
At the head of the hall, Yin Zhi boldly occupied his seat. "Little brother... How was your trip to the Mortal Realm?"
Yin Xing gave no reaction, but behind him, Tai Yue nearly dropped the teapot.
Yin Xing shot Tai Yue a reprimanding glare, then settled into one of the guest chairs, as Tai Yue hurried to pour fresh tea for both of them.
Tai Yue bowed and left as quickly as possible.
Yin Xing lifted his cup and breathed in the fragrant tea. Then he sipped some of it, taking his time before speaking.
"1st Immortal Yin, have you come here to make false statements with no evidence? I've been asleep... Too much Berry Wine."
"So distant and formal!" Yin Zhi smiled. "How can you discard blood ties? Did you forget I'm your older brother?"
Yin Xing resisted an urge to slam his cup down. "I wonder who disregards 'blood ties'. Five Siblings, and all that's left is me and you. Three gone, directly or indirectly by your hand..." His irises rose to squarely meet Yin Zhi's gaze.
"Are you reminding me to identify you as my brother, or threatening me to recognize you as the worst of enemies?"
"Hmph." Yin Zhi lifted his own cup. "Now who is making 'false statements with no evidence', hmm?"
Yin Xing scoffed. "Dare to do it, but not own up to it? All you have is ambition, but not much sense... If you want to deny killing father, 1st Brother, and my twin, or deny having anything to do with *3rd Brother's fate, then do so with someone who would believe you."
(*3rd Brother - Bailong!)
Yin Zhi's angry aura filled the room, but Yin Xing barely flinched.
"Starry Pavilion is not a place where you can run rampant." He quietly said, and Yin Zhi got the warning.
Strength wise, Yin Zhi was stronger, but Hierarchy wise, the Night deity outranked the East Sea King.
"Hao!" Yin Zhi's aura died away. "I'll get to the point. Did you find Yin Xiaolong in the Mortal Realm?"
Yin Xing's eyes widened ever-so-slightly, but Yin Zhi didn't miss this, and he smiled.
"So he's alive..." He suddenly appeared right behind Yin Xing, his weapon, a large blue spear, at Yin Xing's throat. "I can kill you here, and no one, not even the Sky Emperor, will ever know.
"Tell me where Yin Xiaolong is, and I can spare your life!"
"Aren't you getting too excited?" Yin Xing asked, and the cup in his hand suddenly clattered to the floor as his body disintegrated into a pool of water, leaving a gleaming red scale on the table.
"A clone?!" Yin Zhi thundered. "You coward! Show yourself!"
"I'm over here." Yin Xing stood by the door, one hand behind his back. "You can attack this one as well... It's another clone." He had replaced himself with a clone before coming here.
"You see, while other fishes discarded their scales, I always kept all mine. They make the best clones. Can you guess how many they are after thousands of years? Do you want to try destroying them all?"
He turned around to leave. "Hmph. My real body is still in the Mortal Realm, 'looking for' 3rd brother, but unlike you, I hope he's alive! You're wasting your time, if you think I know where he is. Whether you believe me or not, is up to you!"
And with that, he vanished, but there was a mild whoosh, and three fairies suddenly appeared before Yin Zhi.
"Ei? What am I doing here?"
"I don't know! I was just heading to the Astronomy dome!"
"Me too!"
The three fairies noticed Yin Zhi, just as Yin Xing's voice called out,
"1st Immortal Yin, Since you're here, please take your spies back with you!"
The three fairies were indeed spies Yin Zhi had placed in Starry Pavilion, and they quickly bowed to him.
"Master! Please forgive us!"
Yin Zhi waved a hand, and they flew across the room. "Useless pieces of garbage!"
He turned to the door.
Was Yin Xiaolong really not alive?
.
.
Sky Palace...
Tianlong opened the wide doors of the East Balcony.
He had sealed the place off ages ago, not even letting the fairies come here for cleaning, so dust, cobwebs, and ivy now decorated the place.
Still, he could see it in its former glory, and as his feet trailed the dusty floors, memories ran ahead of him...
There was the time Bailong had composed a new tune. "Come on! Let's play it together!" He excitedly placed the song before them, his dimples deepening in his joy. "A-Yun, the Pipa introduces, and carries the main melody! A-Tian, we alternate with the harmony from the second movement.....!"
There was the time he and Fei Yun had endlessly teased Bailong, after he became the youngest Core Deity and Lord Medicine. "A-Tian! A-Yun! How can you tease me like this.......?!"
There was the time Bailong had managed to get thirty jars of Berry Wine and Fox Wine!
Tianlong, "You got both kinds?!"
Bailong, "Yes! Where's the fun in drinking only one?! Five jars of each per person!"
Fei Yun, "Heh! The term 'drinking like a fish' was made for you! I was surprised the other day, when *Xiaoxing asked where Berry King's fields are... So he is learning from you?!"
(*Xiaoxing - Yin Xing!)
Bailong, "Heh! Nothing I can do if that shrimp insists on learning bad habits! Here, here! Cheers!"
That night, the three friends had gotten ridiculously drunk and raised a ruckus in the Palace, earning them a good and proper beating from the Sky Emperor!
The memories were endless, and Tianlong let out a forlorn sigh.
'A-Yun is right... It has really always been Bailong.'
The one who had individually approached both of them, and then introduced them to each other... The glue which had eventually held three of them together, pulling them out of their respective shells...
Tianlong's silver irises suddenly darted to his left as another Immortal appeared.
He was Immortal Xiu Qing, an elder with short gray hair, dressed in red and white robes.
"Sky Emperor." Xiu Qing dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and linked his thumbs in salute. "As you suspected, The Night Immortal went to the Mortal Realm and was at Yueyan mountain for a long while."
"Oh? The same region with Xu Weiyan?" Had Yin Xing gone to question her? Or...?
"East Sea King is spying on the Night Immortal and Fate Immortal," Xiu Qing was saying, "...and he went to challenge the Night Immortal today, but nothing happened.
"As for the other matter..." Xiu Qing seemed hesitant.
"Speak." Tianlong ordered.
"The Snake Clan issue from back then was indeed orchestrated by the Late Empress, Immortal Jin, and a few others."
'Snake Clan issue...' Tianlong felt a mild ache in his heart...
The Snake Clan case had been the beginning of the end... The first major wedge between him and Bailong.
It had never been resolved, and thing spiralled for the worse after that...
"Keep looking." Was all Tianlong could say. "Dig into the other cases from back then as well."
"Understood, Sky Emperor!" Xiu Qing vanished in a flurry of wind.
Tianlong left the East Balcony, but stopped the first servant he saw.
"Have someone renovate the East Balcony." He simply ordered, earning him one of the most surprised looks he had ever seen.
But his mind had moved on to another matter.
'Why exactly did Xiaoxing go to Yueyan mountain...?'
.