91. Chase
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A little later, Luoyin left the Xu Mansion and met with Yin Xing, Immortal Bao, and Immortal Kai, in the same outskirt inn where he had served tea to Immortal Kai after awakening.
Yin Xing and Immortal Bao had dressed to blend in and Immortal Kai was back in his beggar appearance!
Immortal Bao waved a hand, which sent a mild, but powerful force spreading outward. "This way, no one, not even the Fate mirrors, can eavesdrop on us."
"Wah!" Luoyin exclaimed. "Great! As expected of my Master!"
"Tch. This brat with multiple masters..." Immortal Bao said, but he seemed secretly pleased with the compliment!
"Where is Yinying?" Immortal Kai asked. "I haven't seen him since."
"He's in dream state." Luoyin replied. "It's the only way he can meet Yiguang."
Before he left with Weiyan for the Final Stage, Yinying had sent him a telepathic message, saying he would enter dreamstate for a while.
After that, the four discussed the recent happenings, with Yin Xing sharing the fruits of his investigation.
It was more of the same affair... The sky empress had deliberately sown discord between Bailong and Tianlong, and had been secretly meeting with Immortal Jin, an old Immortal who once had his eyes on the Sky Throne.
"I didn't find out about the cloaked woman, but I did find out why the Empress was in the Flower fields that day..." The Empress had been found dead in one of the Floral Realm's Flower fields.
"Three bird clan maidens at Sky Palace heard a paper crane fly in, inviting the heavily pregnant empress to meet, but she refused and seemed frightened!" Yin Xing was saying.
"The maidens were all surprised by this, especially when the Empress suddenly vanished from Sky Palace the next morning! And after the empress was found dead, two of those maidens were also found dead, and the third completely vanished.
"I checked the records for her name and traced her to the Bird realm, hidden in an abandoned aisle, and I had to swear a blood oath promising no harm would find her."
"How careless!" Luoyin protested.
"I- It was necessary!" Yin Xing defended. "It was the only way she would say anything!"
"You little shrimp! Are my words now meaningless?! I told you not to do anything dangerous!" A worried expression had settled on Luoyin's face. "What if something happens to her in your absence?!"
Yin Xing was suddenly apologetic. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" In his lengthy years, the only thing he had seen defeat his powerful elder brother was 'Loss', so he couldn't dare be flippant with his own life.
In fact, Immortals Bao and Kai were now studying Luoyin with a bit of worry
If anything happened to Yin Xing, Luoyin would endlessly blame himself, same as he had done for everyone else he had lost...
"I left several clones with her." Yin Xing was assuring him. "One is made with a scale close to my heart, so it's powerful, and will alert me if anything is wrong..."
Luoyin reached over and patted his head. "I didn't mean to scold you."
He poured out four cups of wine, handing one each to Immortals Bao and Kai, and then one to Yin Xing.
"Of the Yin family, excluding me who is now mortal, only you are left, because I don't acknowledge Yin Zhi. You're also the Night Immortal, monitoring the fate of three realms...
"Don't endanger yourself for my sake. My decision to leave here isn't solely to protect the mortals," He looked round at them all. "But everyone here."
The elder immortals narrowed their eyes at him, but Yin Xing spoke before they could say anything.
"I know... I apologise with this wine!" He said, holding up his cup of wine.
"Uhm! I apologise with this wine as well!" Two brothers drank wine, slamming down their empty liquor cups.
But the two elder Immortals shook their heads.
"We've lived far too long...!"
"Umh! Infants are trying to protect us now!"
"But I've been meaning to say," Yin Xing suddenly began, "...this mortal wine is really like water! Have a taste of this!" He waved a hand and two jars of Berry Wine appeared.
The scent hit Luoyin's nostrils, and he was instantly elated. "You had this all along and didn't share?!!"
"Not my fault! I still don't know how a mortal might react to it!"
"Nonsense! I won't be defeated by a few cups!" Luoyin had already reached for one jar. He tossed out the wine in the older Immortals' cups, then happily refilled all four cups again.
And two brothers drank some more!
A whole jar later...
"Old man Bao! Do you know A-Xing is the core deity of this Sect?!" A completely drunk Luoyin grinned. "Ehehe, there's even a large jade statue of the night deity at the Zhang residence! I was scolding it the day I opened my eyes!"
"Don't remind me!" Yin Xing hiccuped. "That's how I knew you were alive... How could you give me such a *big gift?! It nearly gave me a backlash...!"
(*kneeling or bowing is considered a big show of respect, and 'a man's knees are golden'. A junior, or someone lower won't dare accept such a 'big gift' from their elders or someone far more powerful!)
Again, the two elder Immortals shook their heads.
"I finally agree. He's your disciple." Kai Zhen said with a nod.
"Don't push him to me only when he's like this!"
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The Yan house was silent that night, and the brighter lanterns had been dimmed.
Tong's light snores filled the air, as Xu Weiyan sat by her window looking out into the night, the light tiger cub snoozing on her lap.
It was indeed silent, but her thoughts were loud, constantly recalling when Luoyin had dusted her sooty hands the day she had tried cooking.
Or the way he had taken her hand this morning, encouraging her.
Or how he had lifted her into his arms on the training grounds...
She flushed and sighed softly, and the tiger stirred in his sleep, just long enough to give her a sleepy and yawny smile, before shutting his eyes again.
Weiyan smiled at him, noting he was now a bit bigger. Then she stroked his white head, and gently lifted him and placed him by Tong, who lay sleeping on the couch.
She quietly left the room with no destination in mind...
...but wasn't even surprised to find herself atop one of the roofs overlooking Luoyin's courtyard, specifically the roof over the round archway, facing his door.
She had always loved Zhang Luoyin, but now...?
Now she couldn't string more than a few words in her head without his name appearing. Nor could she envision the grandest of scenes without seeing his face.
Sun or moon, she wanted to be with him.
Minute or hour, she wanted to be with him.
To share his happy or sad moments...
To listen to his worries...
She longed to shelter him from rain or snow, or place herself between him and the world's dangers.
A light breeze ruffled her hair, and she thought of more things she would like to do...
Like run her hand through his hair, toying with the silvery white streaks...
Or caress his face, pressing a finger to his dimple...
Or stare into those light brown eyes, as she reached up for a kiss...
She slapped her own cheek, steadying herself on the roof.
These thoughts frightened her, but attempting to get rid of them was about as successful as trying to catch moonbeams in a net.
So she would cling to Luoyin, even though she knew she didn't deserve it!
She had been too complacent through the years, never fighting for what she wanted, and she had particularly taken him for granted, somehow assuming he would remain hers in those early years.
She had stupidly walked away when he cancelled the engagement, but now...
Now she was determined to chase after him- to follow him through all three realms if that was what it would take to keep him!
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The next day...
Yin Xing once said, '...something that follows you...' simply as a joke to tease Luoyin.
But at dawn Luoyin learned the meaning of those words as he opened his eyes to find Xu Weiyan sitting by his bed, watching him sleep.
She was dressed in a beautiful set of peach robes, and her long lustrous hair draped over her shoulders, guiding his eyes to her narrow waist.
'What beautiful dream is this...?' He wondered, as his gaze returned to her face.
The morning chill turned warm, and his eyes fell to her lips....
But then his eyes narrowed when those same lips began to move.
"You're awake?" Weiyan asked with a little smile and a light flush which did amazing things to Luoyin, making him hastily look away, while firmly tugging up his covers to hide his middle region.
He was instantly jarred awake.
"Ya- Yanyan! Why are you here?!" He asked, mentally adding, 'How can you show this kind of vision to a man so early in the morning?!'
"I've brought you breakfast..." Weiyan simply replied. "I'll wait outside while you dress."
And she left like that!
...while Luoyin was left to hold up two fingers and begin channeling his qi.
'Mind is calm, energy is harmonious... Clear the mind, subdue ambition...' He mentally chanted, getting himself under control!
Breakfast after that went well... at least as well as Luoyin could hope, as his eyes kept straying to Weiyan's lips...
'Control yourself!' He inwardly berated, tearing his eyes away from her face (ahem, lips) yet again!
"Ahem, I'm full." He said after eating only a few bites.
Weiyan's face seemed a bit worried, but she merely nodded as he rose from the table and hurried away.
'I must avoid her, I must avoid her...!' He reminded himself.
'Hmph. Easier said than done!' That same inner voice taunted him, but Luoyin scowled.
'Go away!' He thought, firmly settling himself into a much too distracted meditation...
This at least helped him analyze the growth in his powers, and he noted with some satisfaction that he could now perform a number of immortal spells without issues.
His far-seeing technique could now see well beyond Yue City, reaching the base of Yueyan mountain and the cities around, though it spent a decent amount of qi.
Considering Yueyan was a giant of a mountain, it meant he could now see distant miles, but even without the technique, he could also hear the slightest sounds from about two miles away if he wanted to!
However... This new discovery led him to hear a slight commotion right within the Yan house, and he quickly left his courtyard, only to find that Weiyan was moving into the yard next to his!
"Ehehe, Yanyan, don't you like your yard?" He asked as she passed by, easily carrying a large vase which was too heavy for Tong and the other maids. "I specially prepared it for you..."
"It's too far away." Weiyan replied with a straight face. "S- such distance is no good for harmony between... c- couples." She finished, and with a flush, she hurried right on by, heading in to drop the vase.
'Ei?!' Luoyin drew in a shocked breath, and he would have actually fallen back in a straight line, but fortunately Yin Xing appeared, placing a steadying hand against his back.
"Ha! Elder brother, I'm genuinely looking forward to the next few days!"
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