62. Fates And Florals
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Sky Realm...
The Evening breeze was warm and airy, gently swaying the glowing trees right outside a large golden hall, intricately decorated with every known motif about life, fate, and balance.
On one side of the hall was an odd arrangement of chairs, with one large throne-like seat in the middle. On the opposite side of the hall was a large yinyang, before which stood three large and round gold mirrors.
This was Fate Hall, which sat right in the heart of the Flowing Villa, Immortal Fei Yun's abode.
At the moment, Fei Yun was unbothered by the gentle breeze, which occasionally blew in stray glowing petals, and his irises were darting between the three large golden mirrors.
These were the Fate Mirrors, and between them, he could see all that could be seen in the Mortal Realm.
But he was neither all-seeing nor all-knowing, and he couldn't even look into all three mirrors at once...
There were also things which shrouded the eyes of fate, though they were mostly Immortal interferences or Demon activity.
Either way, Fate had a blindside, and Fei Yun did not like it.
As fate immortal, it was Fei Yun's duty to report any Immortal or demon interference as quickly as possible. It was also his duty to monitor words, actions, or events that could lead to the doom of mortals. Then he ran those instances by the Night Immortal.
If it could be found in multiple stars, it was ordained by the heavers and ignored. But if it was an anomaly, then immortals were quickly sent to intervene or handle the matter.
And for thousands of years, Fei Yun had handled his duties flawlessly and impartially, except in the case of one mortal, cursed to be endlessly reborn into a life of suffering.
But the instant Yin Bailong died on Caoyang, Fei Yun's dormant hatred had arisen, and he had begun using the Fate mirrors to ensure Yin Bailong stayed dead.
At first, he felt a mild but empty pleasure when no trace of Yin Bailong could be found in the Fate Mirrors or in the Stars. But then, mount Caoyang had remained floating, and all Bailong's other spells had not dissipated till now.
And then he had recently sensed Bailong's dragon pearl...
Fei Yun was certain Bailong was alive! But,
'How do I find him?!' He wondered, struggling to suppress his frustration.
Attempting to search through all fates would take tens of thousands of years, but knowing what to search and listen for was equally as difficult.
Presently, he listened for the words 'Bailong', 'Li Wei', or any other words related to Sky Realm, but unknown to mortals.
Yet he found nothing!
~"I can help you find your enemy..."~ A soft voice spoke into his head, startling him.
"Who's there?!" He swivelled, sensing around for any presence.
"Are you going to attack me?" The voice softly asked, right next to his ear, and Fei Yun stepped away in surprise.
He scowled when a beautiful older woman appeared.
Flowers were woven into her long grey hair, and she was dressed in light floral pink and red robes, matching ruby red lips.
Fei Yun cupped his hands in a perfunctory bow. "Floral Deity. What brings you."
The Floral Deity, Qin Yuelian, smirked at him. "Does it hurt you to address my title? Afterall..." She reached out to caress his face, but he stepped away.
"State your purpose, please."
"Why so distant?" She vanished and reappeared in his chair, the throne-like seat on the opposite side.
"A-Yun, I was simply going to say that I understand how you feel..." Her voice remained soft, but it echoed across the hall. "A-Fen was my grandniece, you know. We have the same enemy, so why don't we work together?"
"Oh?" Fei Yun scoffed. "Did you really see her as your grandniece? Didn't you also call the Empress your 'grandniece'? Where were you the day A-Fen and the Empress were killed? And didn't you also announce yourself as Floral Deity shortly after they were found dead?!"
His voice had steadily risen, but Qin Yuelian smiled at him. "Are you doubting the Sky Emperor who deemed me innocent?
"But I understand... After all, the desires of one's heart are not so easy to dismiss. Are they?"
She sighed. "Now that it's come to this, I might as well tell you. The floral Kingdom isn't as peaceful as everyone assumes, and A-Fen and I were the only ones at Grand Immortal level, so I had to step in as Floral Deity."
She drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. "I should also tell you that A-Fen seemed anxious... Like she knew the Sky Empress was in danger." Qin Yuelian suddenly appeared right next to his ear again.
"And the night Immortal is involved as well." She whispered. "Why do you think you can't find Yin Xiaolong in the stars? Hmm?"
He swivelled in surprise, but she vanished, her aura leaving with her.
'Tch!' Fei Yun couldn't help an immense wave of annoyance...
He was half Bird, half Flower, as his mother was from the Floral realm, a distant cousin to the Royal Family.
As a result, Fei Yun spent quite a bit of time in the Floral realm, and even in the palace, which put Grand Immortal Qin Yuelian, sister of the then Floral Deity, right in his sight, and like almost every other immortal, he had held her in awe and reverence.
But the more he stayed in the Floral Realm, her looks towards him had changed, verging on the seductive, and she found every opportunity to touch him.
This made him feel highly uncomfortable, as she was far older than him.
By then, Fei Yun had already befriended Zhurong Fen, so as Qin Yuelian got bolder and bolder towards him, he began keeping his distance from Floral Palace.
Unfortunately, Zhurong Fen awoke the same rare Ice Lotus powers her grandmother, the Floral Deity possessed, so she was sent to live in Floral Palace to become the next Floral Deity, which in turn, brought Fei Yun's presence back to the Palace.
This angered Qin Yuelian.
First, the man she fancied was in love with her grandniece, and then the same grandniece was set to rule the Floral Kingdom before her...
Qin Yuelian had bullied Zhurong Fen endlessly, and there was no end to Zhurong Fen's complaints to Fei Yun, so he had long seen past the innocent facade Qin Yuelian displayed to everyone else.
Shortly after, the Floral deity had died, and Zhurong Fen had ascended as the new Floral Deity.
But then Zhurong Fen died as well, and Qin Yuelian became the Floral Deity.
Fei Yun had always suspected Qin Yuelian was somehow involved in Bailong's attack on the Floral Kingdom that day, but he had never been able to prove it.
And now she had come to 'help' him find Bailong...
He didn't trust her for the briefest instant!
However, something she said rang true.
The Night Immortal SHOULD have found a trace of Bailong in the stars by now...
'Xiaoxing... Are you hiding something?!'
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"Thousands of flowers in full bloom..."
The poem was befitting of the Floral Kingdom, most especially the Floral Palace's throne room, which was startlingly beautiful!
The throne room's walls were adorned with live, never-wilting blossoms, and hanging decorations made with ivy and wreaths of divine flowers, all which filled the air with softly glowing will'o'wisps, and the mild scents of a thousand blooming flowers.
During the day, the ceiling opened up to the skies, letting in the sheer brilliance of natural light, but at night, like now, there were hovering lotus-shaped lanterns at the sides, filling the hall with a warm, ethereal glow.
The floors were made of gleaming stone, with soft carpets woven with thread-thin vines and flowers, and presently, a pair of elegant sandaled feet appeared on them, then proceeded to walk towards a throne carved from a single piece of violet jade.
The throne had a majestic lotus at the head, and behind it was a magnificent woven screen displaying a moving image of mountains and waterfalls, with cherry blossoms drifting on the breeze.
The feet stopped before the throne, and their owner instantly fell to her knees, revealing herself as Floral Deity Qin Yuelian.
This Floral Deity knelt before her own throne, linked her thumbs, and bowed her head in respect.
"My Mistress! I've delivered the message!"
On the elegant, but empty throne, another figure appeared to reveal the cloaked woman sitting majestically, drumming her own fingers on the arm of this throne.
"You've worked hard through the years." She said. "Sacrificing your pride and immaculate reputation for me."
Qin Yuelian bowed lower. "It is what I should do, my Mistress!"
"Hmph." The cloaked woman scoffed. "That fellow really thinks you fancy him, doesn't he? How proud... He really believed a deity as old and powerful as yourself could be moved by his flimsy existence."
"Yes my Mistress!" Qin Yuelian bowed again. "It's all because of your wisdom! You knew exactly how he would act back then, and I'm sure he won't disappoint us now...!"
The cloaked woman's face couldn't be seen, but it was as if her smile filled the room, making the flowers bloom brighter.
'Night Immortal Yin Xing... My dear Fate Immortal... Neither of you must fail me...!'
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