98. Pieces In Place
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Fei Yun had gone to sleep with Zhurong Fen in his arms...
But that night, a sudden chill awoke him, and he realized the one in his arms was pale and cold as ice.
"No! A-Fen! A-Fen! What's wrong? What's happening?"
"A...Yun." She weakly opened her eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry we couldn't be happy." Her eyes closed and her body went limp.
"Don't blame your friends..." She said on her last breath, and then faded away in his arms...
"No." Fei Yun shook his head in disbelief. "Nooooooooo!" He threw back his head and roared at the fresh and raw pain in his heart.
But he suddenly found himself staring at the empty window.
It was still daylight, and barely any time seemed to have passed at all, but he could remember every second, minute, and hour he had just spent with Zhurong Fen.
The dream- whatever it was, was a picture of what his life should have been...
But here he was in an empty room, imprisoned for a thousand years, as Tianlong, Zhurong Fen's own brother, protected Bailong, her murderer!
'Yin Bailong!' Fei Yun internally raged, spitting out blood. 'I will never let you go!!'
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At the same time, in the mortal realm, a handsome young man painted beneath an umbrella which shielded him from the sunlight.
As he hummed an odd tune, the lush and vibrant scenery surrounding him slowly appeared on his paper with each skilled brush stroke.
He sat before a thick grove of trees and bushes, with a nine tier tower in the distance, and lazy clouds in the sky, and with a final stroke of his brush, the scene had been replicated near perfectly on the paper.
"Your painting has improved through the years." An echoing voice rang out, and a black crystal butterfly landed on the paper.
He sighed. "Surely, it's not beautiful enough to *attract butterflies."
(*Culturally tied to harmony between art and nature... If a painter can capture nature's essence, then the butterflies might mistake a painted scene or flower for a real one...)
But the butterfly simply flew off, and he heard on the wind:
"Return to Yu Shui City..."
He sighed again and looked between his painting and the natural scene.
"At least it's finished." He said as he rose to his feet.
But just then, a small ferret darted out of some bushes, and it sniffed around before the trees.
The painter's brows furrowed.
"If you wanted to be in the scene, you should have simply said so..." And with a single swish of his brush, the ferret vanished.
But on the painting, somewhere before the trees, a ferret had appeared...
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Meanwhile, *Yu Shui City was a vast and beautiful place, named after a large crystal clear lake near its center, which reflected the skies perfectly, making it resemble an impossibly large piece of the finest jade.
(*Literally Jade water)
Yu Shui City was considered an extremely lucky place, with natural beauty, rich harvests, vibrant trade, countless treasures, and a good and constant flow of pure energy, yet there were no cultivators in the City!
In contrast, the cities around were drab and full of natural disasters like plagues, droughts, floods, fires, and even unprovoked landslides, yet a cultivator or two would defy the odd to visit, pass through, or even dwell there.
In fact, the top Sect Cities couldn't compare to the riches and energy within Yu Shui City, yet they ran entire sects with hundreds of cultivators and disciples, but not one could be found in Yu Shui City!
However, though this odd coincidence bothered Yu Shui City's residents, they weren't overly worried because life in the City itself was too good, verging on miraculous.
There were no beggars in the city, no dirt, and the fruits and flowers bloomed all year round, even in winter.
Everyone was happy, and no one was poor.
What was wrong with a few oddities?
Even the government of Yu Shui City was different from the rest of Baishan, and it was strictly ruled by a single family with absolute power.
No one challenged them, and all who dared to do so in their history till now, always vanished without a trace.
But the citizens didn't mind- Even their families never minded...
Everyone was happy, and no one was poor.
Even the weather was odd.
It was never too hot. The rain fell with strict timing, almost as if someone had scheduled it. It was never too cold, and when it snowed, it never reached the ground, and nor did it bother their roofs.
And yet again, the citizens didn't mind...
Everyone was happy.....
And no one was poor..........
On this perfectly hot afternoon, a richly dressed man sat at his desk, writing a letter.
Or more accurately, his brush moved on its own, making ugly meaningless jargons on the paper, while he blankly watched.
He waved his hand and the brush stopped, as the letter folded itself and slid into an envelope.
"Come in." He said, and a servant appeared. "Deliver this to the Chu family."
"Yes Master." The servant bowed and took the letter, but then nearly fell because it was suddenly heavy.
"Please forgive me!" He quickly apologized, fear evident on his face, but the Master simply smiled.
"It's okay, don't worry so much. You can leave."
But the servant shivered as he turned to leave, placing one panicked step before the other, and sure enough, he barely reached before a sudden wave of aura killed him, spattering blood over the floor and the letter.
"Come in." The Master said again, and another servant appeared and bowed, hiding his shivers.
"Deliver this to the Chu family."
"Yes Master." The servant bowed and took the letter, careful not to react to the weight, and he hurried away with it.
"You're still so ruthless..." A voice echoed around him, and he looked up to see a black crystal butterfly land on his desk.
"Mistress! It's been a while!" He exclaimed, placing one hand atop the other and bowing to the butterfly.
"Prepare yourself." The voice simply replied, and the butterfly flew to his shoulder. "We're expecting guests..."
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Back at Jade City, the Luoyin who returned to the Jade Cloud tea house was withdrawn, but he quickly put up a cheerful front.
"I'm back!" He announced, bowing to the elders.
"Xiaoyin, how are you?"
~"Xiaobai, how are you?"~
Lord Xu and Old man Bao had asked at the same time, though Old man Bao asked through telepathy, a mild strain of worry between his brow.
Luoyin sent him an imperceptible nod before replying aloud.
"I'm fine!" He said with a smile and went over to sit. "I simply met an old 'friend'!"
But they were all still worried and stole glances at him, as he lifted the now lukewarm tea to his lips, taking what must be an unpleasant sip.
But he and Old man Bao were still secretly discussing...
~"Hmmm, you can blame me for this... I wouldn't have let him approach, but some things can't be avoided forever."~
Old man Bao was right.
The thought of Tianlong or Fei Yun finding him had weighed on Luoyin since his awakening, like a shadow which followed him everywhere.
But after meeting Tianlong, unpleasant as it might have been, a part of that weight had been lifted.
~"And besides,"~ Old man Bao sent him a level look. ~"Doesn't this solve a problem you have?"~
Luoyin's raised a brow. '...a problem I have?'
Luoyin suddenly dropped the teacup, startling the silent teahouse.
"Father-in-law, Everyone, I apologize! I will listen to your words... Please permit me to return to Yue City!"
There were relieved sighs around.
"Hao! Hen hao!" Lord Xu nodded. "Everyone makes mistakes, but being able to retrace our steps after veering off, is a valuable quality indeed!
Don't worry too much. We can always discuss ways to make the City safe, and now the Wulin has even sent word to Sky Realm. These enemies wouldn't be able to act as they please anymore!"
'Simply too optimistic!' Luoyin thought, but he allowed it for one simple reason.
If Tianlong knew he was innocent, then at least he wouldn't be bringing the Sky armies after him or Yue City!
Meanwhile, Weiyan wasn't meeting his eyes, though he could feel the change in her aura. Xu Min on the other hand, gave Luoyin a nod of approval, while Xu Wen and Xu Lian high-fived themselves.
"See, I told you...!" Xu Lian whispered to her twin. "The fastest way is to make him feel guilty!"
Luoyin and the other immortals could easily hear every single word, and it was so similar to something Yin Yue had once said that Luoyin and Yin Xing could only shake their heads!
'She didn't change!'
After that, they moved as one to a decent restaurant somewhere else in the city, for a much needed lunch.
"Wait! How did you find me?!" Luoyin remembered to ask as they ate, and Xu Wen sent him a rare cheeky smile.
"It was a reverse summoning formation!" He proudly stated. "I finally succeeded in making one, but I didn't tell you, so you wouldn't be guarded!
"We suspected you were going away, so I had Weiyan Jie place the target on you- Ahem! Though I don't want to know how she did it without your notice..."
There were light snickers around as Luoyin shot a narrowed look at Weiyan, but she looked away, her face nearly resembling a plum in colour!
'Hao-ah... You've gotten bolder!' He thought.
She had planted it on him during the kiss!
At the time, Weiyan had indeed been lost, but her fear of losing him had reminded her to act.
Luoyin himself had felt something hot merge into his neck, but even now, he couldn't imagine paying any attention to it... Not while...
"Ahem!" He simply kept eating.
Xu Wen's talisman wasn't as strong as Luoyin's, so they only kept arriving after he already left, and it could only transport six people apart from the caster, hence their few numbers.
But seven was an impressive number for any teleportation or transportation talisman, and Luoyin sent Xu Wen a proud look.
Xu Wen had practically forced his way into being Luoyin's 'disciple', but it was quite rewarding!
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