85. The Biggest Reason
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Back at the Arena, Luoyin reverse-summoned himself again, but Sect Leader Xu, Lord Huo, and the disciples were no longer present, and an annoyed Sect Warrior told Luoyin off for being outside.
"Get back to your home! Sect Leader Xu has ordered everyone below Sect Warrior to stay indoors!"
"Ehehe, sorry, sorry!" Luoyin hastily left, intending to return home, but he suddenly sensed a dense aura.
'Demon aura...?!'
He moved quickly and came to the same cliff the cloaked woman and floral deity had been.
'This is -!' The aura in this place wasn't just any regular demon aura.
It was the same dense demonic aura which had caused the change in his dragon colour back then.
An extremely powerful demonic aura, the likes of which had no business in the mortal realm.
After the fall of the Demon King, more than five hundred thousand years ago, Shadow Realm was sealed, locking the demons there.
Then during a past civil war in Sky Realm, those seals had been opened to let demons out, so Bailong had personally sealed it and reinforced the seals, ensuring the demons were sealed for good.
Through the years, there had been cracks here and there, especially from the much older seals, so demons did escape from Shadow Realm, but the Fate Mirrors detected any high-level demon activity in the Mortal Realm, so only low-level demons dared come here.
Most high-level demons either directly attacked Sky Realm for some reason or the other, or preferred to stay back and rule in Shadow Realm, fighting for power in the lawlessness of their own realm.
But this aura here...
Luoyin did not believe in coincidences, and he had had a growing suspicion since the night he sensed the dragon.
He had suspected Lord Mo might involve a demon or shady immortal, and he had warned Sect Leader Xu, but he never imagined anything with this level of power...
This aura was powerful enough to make Luoyin genuinely afraid, and it had nearly defeated him once.
So Luoyin drew the most likely conclusion...
His hidden enemies had found him!
"Hmph, if it isn't my silly disciple!" A snide voice spoke from behind, and Luoyin swivelled to find Immortal Kai Zhen, his usual smile in place.
"Master!" Luoyin hurried over to greet him, but an oppressive aura forced him to his knees midway.
"Insolent! So you still call anyone 'Master'?!" Immortal Bao appeared, an annoyed look on his face.
"Yo, if it isn't High Grand Immortal Bao." Kai Zhen fanned himself. "Old man, won't you retire? Still going around, trying to steal other people's disciples?"
"Calling me 'High Grand Immortal', and then daring to insult me..." Old man Bao shook his head. "Do you still want your life?"
"Heh! Bullying a junior will only make you petty! I dare you..." Kai Zhen challenged. "You'll only make Xiaobai prefer me!"
"You -! Ahem!" Old Man Bao lightly coughed into his sleeve. "Grand Immortal Kai, you're not young either... Why are you still trying to steal my disciple? Not only is he my disciple, he's my great grandnephew... Aren't you going too far?"
"Ei ei, don't try using blood ties to confuse the poor boy! There's no blood relationship between us, yet he willingly gave me the *three bows!"
(*Direct disciples customarily offer their Masters three bows to acknowledge them as 'Masters'!)
"Heh! Who won't give you the three bows? As the deity of wealth, even talentless sods would want to be your disciple, but without your power over wealth... Will you even get a single bow?!"
"You-!"
Looking between them, Luoyin shook his head...
'Are these still the Ancient Immortals older than my father?!'
But he linked his thumbs and curled his fingers inward.
"Master Bao! Master Kai! This ungrateful disciple pays respect!" He said, bowing his head to the ground.
"Ungrateful indeed!" Immortal Bao suddenly kicked Luoyin, sending him flying. Luoyin caught himself, then vomited a spray of blood.
"I was grieving for you, only for some little swallow to fly over and tell me you're alive, married, and in possible danger again! Are you taking advantage of me because my lovely grandniece spat you out before her death?!"
Luoyin smiled through bloodied lips. Immortal Bao, mostly referred to as 'Grandpa Dragon' for being the oldest dragon alive, was known for being gruff and mean.
But anyone close to him knew he had the biggest heart of all, and most of his misfortunes came from a lifetime of sacrifices for others.
Luoyin rose, linked his thumbs and bowed again. "Ehehe, Master, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! It wasn't my intention! I sent that silly shrimp with word long ago, so I had no idea you were still in the dark! Blame him! It's all his fault!"
"Elder Brother! I thought you said you wouldn't call me 'Shrimp' anymore?!" Yin Xing's protest echoed before he appeared. "And how could you just offer me up as the scape-goat! You also sent me to -!"
"Shush!" Luoyin stopped him. "How can you speak here, when elders are discussing!"
Immortal Bao held out a hand and his weapon, a sky-blue sword not too different from Luoyin's own, suddenly appeared and then duplicated itself. "Hao! Why don't I punish you both, then?!"
"Ah, no, master!" Luoyin hastily ran away, the swords chasing he and Yin Xing.
Yin Xing, "Old man Bao! It's really not my fault!"
Luoyin, "Master! Did you forget I'm a mortal now?! Will you really kill your own disciple?!!!"
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The sun had set, and Luoyin walked back to the Yan house with Yin Xing.
The two opted for the longer route through the back forests, careful to avoid the Sect Warriors and Elders who still patrolled to ensure the City was safe.
But Luoyin had also picked this path because Yin Xing was refusing to go invisible!
"Tch! Silly fellow! Do you think I don't want you all to visit?!" Luoyin was complaining. "The Night Immortal suddenly visits a mere mortal, and then two notorious Immortals come out of hiding to visit the same mortal... Don't you know it would draw even more attention?!
"Might as well invite the Sky Emperor for snacks and wine!"
"Ehehe, elder brother, calm down! It's because it's too late already..." Yin Xing said, and then filled Luoyin in on his encounter with the swallows and how the Fate Immortal had confronted him.
"I expect Fate Immortal Fei has likely followed me here by now, so hiding from him is pointless, and we already know the hidden enemies have found you... This only leaves the Sky Emperor, but not for long.
"Whether it's Fate Immortal or the hidden enemies, both will try using the hand of heaven against you, so they'll reveal your identity to Sky Emperor as well, and Old man Bao even says the demon king himself might be involved..." He sighed.
"My original plan was to take you away from here, but I'm reassured because Old man Bao and Immortal Kai Zhen are watching over this place!"
Whether Luoyin liked it or not, Yin Xing and the elders were determined to stay by Luoyin's side and protect him.
However, Luoyin let out a forlorn sigh as a worry he had ignored all day crept back in, and he eyed his now blank wrist.
He hadn't even noticed when the Spirit-binding oath completely vanished...
"Just as I finish the grievances, more worries arise..." He mused aloud, thinking about the day's events.
Both Immortals had mentioned the Floral deity and a strange woman hidden in a cloak- likely the same one the eye-eater called 'Mistress', and this strange woman was the most likely source of the Demon aura.
Was she the Demon King?
Had the demon King also been reborn as the cloaked woman?
Immortals Bao and Kai had also found countless red dew flowers planted around the City which would have immersed it in poison, killing every soul even if the invasion had failed.
Luoyin considered what might have happened if Immortals Bao and Kai had been absent today...
Yue City might have been destroyed because of him...
Sect Leader Xu, the disciples, Xu Min, and Xu Weiyan... All might have perished because of him!
He stopped walking.
"I don't think I should stay here..." He said, an immensely sad look on his brow.
"Even if you and Masters Bao and Kai are present, we can't go against the entirety of Sky Realm's armies, much less whichever unknown enemy might manifest from the shadows."
"It would be best for 'Zhang Luoyin' to disappear before it's too late... I won't use his identity to harm those he loves." He resumed walking.
It was odd.
If he had solved Luoyin's grievances months ago, he would willingly leave without a care, but now, the thought of leaving left a bitter taste in his mouth, and a weight in his heart...
"Elder brother..." Yin Xing's own expression showed his concern, and a dark gloomy cloud hung in the air, making him unsure of what to say.
Yin Xing sighed again, following after Luoyin.
Perhaps it was for the best.
Mortals couldn't comprehend the might of immortals, and if anything happened to him or the two elder immortals, the people here would stand no chance.
"Elder brother, cheer up!" Yin Xing said, running to catch up. "We can all go back to Old man Bao's place since Sky Realm can't find it! Let me tell you, it's still the same as you left it! Beautiful and Surreal!"
Realizing Yin Xing was trying so hard to cheer him up, Luoyin offered a smile. "Hao! Let's go there! But I hope those swallows won't be present! I draw the line at that awful fellow!"
The 'awful fellow' in question was Yan Lutian, the strange swallow who had stared at Luoyin that morning.
He was one of the Swallow Princes, Yan Liwei's and Yan Linfeng's older cousin, and thirty thousand years ago, he and Bailong had been willing enemies, as he had been Yan Liwei's original fiance.
When Bailong had first accompanied Liwei to the Swallow Clan to ask for her hand, Yan Lutian had been swallowed by jealousy, especially with Liwei's new status.
And after drowning in fine wines, he had tried to force himself on Liwei...
Leading to a beating from both Bailong and Liwei herself.
And there was a chill atmosphere whenever Lutian and Bailong met afterwards.
Now, more than thirty Thousand years later, Yan Lutian had more than repented, and Yan Linfeng had sent him and a few other swallows to warn Luoyin, which led to the Swallow Song that morning.
But Luoyin had already foreseen the danger, so he only saw Yan Lutian as an unpleasant pest!
"You've still not forgiven him?!" Yin Xing asked incredulously
"Hmph! We're fine with our current relationship!" Luoyin replied with no hesitation, and he relished the memory of attacking the swallow that morning!
Atop a roof, some distance away, a swallow sat with a few burned feathers, watching the two as they walked away.
The Swallow's expression would have matched Luoyin's, if birds could make such a face.
'Tch! Such a petty, ungrateful, fellow! I blame myself for flying so fast to warn him!!'
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After sometime, Luoyin and Yin Xing reached the Yan house, and Luoyin suddenly felt a weight barrel into him.
"A-Yin!" Weiyan's arms had suddenly encircled him, and his eyes widened in shock as his heart raced, a pleasant warmth going through him.
This was it...
This person was the biggest reason he didn't want to leave Yue City, and he recalled his time at the Hunting grounds, especially under the influence of Mo Zhen's despair poison.
At that time, Luoyin had identified losing Xu Weiyan as one of his worst fears, and now apparently, the thought of leaving her could also bring such a bitter taste to his mouth.
'Xu Weiyan... What do I do with you?!'
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