104. Invitations
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Back at the Yan House, Luoyin sneezed as a few maids passed by him, giggling into their hands.
'Face...' He mused, glaring after them with no small bitterness. 'I've... I've lost all face!'
Face was one of the most important things to most mortals, immortals, and even demons.
(*Face here is like respect, pride, esteem, steeze, that kind of thing, so terms like 'saving face' means to save oneself from disgrace, or, 'He's not giving me any face' means he's not respecting or acknowledging me, or 'what face do they have?'
, which means the 'they' in question have fallen from grace or should be too ashamed to take a certain action, etc!)
One's face was almost as important as their life, and the nobler the figure, the more important their 'face'.
Half a year ago, no one would have batted an eyelid if the name 'Zhang Luoyin' had popped up in some embarrassing tale. What was new?
From his mother's death, Zhang Luoyin had lost one battle after another, followed by the false rumors that he damaged his own cultivation, and by his sorry state in general.
But now, though it wasn't his intention, a few grand things were associated with Zhang Luoyin- often welcomed with disbelief, but grand nonetheless.
So his name could be said to be 'nobler' than before...
Which only made this worse!
"Heh! Did you see those fireworks last night?!" A few scholars discussed.
"Who didn't?! I even wrote down all the words!"
"Let me see!" They crowded around.
"Was it deliberate?!"
"Is it? If you replace a few characters in *'Pig soup warms the soul', then it might be 'Love for you warms the heart'...? And when you do the same for that poem...!"
(*猪汤暖心 - Pig soup warms the soul\heart, a stretch, but looks similar to: 爱你暖心 - love for you warms the heart. The poem has similar misunderstandings!)
"My brothers! Isn't this a grand confession to Xu Weiyan...?!"
And thanks to those scholars, and the drunken ones from the previous night, word had spread around the city, dashing Luoyin's hopes of claiming it was all some elaborate joke...
"Heh! At least he knows he's the pig who dug up the cabbage!"
"Ahahaha! I'm suddenly craving something fried!"
"Fried Swallow!"
And the jokes hastened to jump from one end of Yue City to the other.
Even at the Yan house, Luoyin had to endure the amused glances of the servants, and when he escaped to his room, Yinying awaited to tease him mercilessly.
His friends didn't spare him, and over the next few days, he heard everything from,
"Zhang Yin! Fancy some pig soup for lunch? Or...?"
To,
"Yin gege, hope your 'twisted desires' won't really 'fry' Weiyan Jie!"
To which even Xu Wen blankly asked,
"Shixiong. Would that be stir fried or deep fried?"
Not to mention the Immortals who teased him endlessly. Old man Bao and Immortal Kai still hadn't agreed on whose disciple he was now!
But there was a bright light which eclipsed the shameful horizon.
He was much closer to Weiyan, and spent as much time as possible with her.
Sometimes the two could be seen at the garden pagoda, sharing wine and snacks in each other's arms, watching the clouds or stars.
Sometimes, they would play a near-heart-stopping duet, much to the delight of the servants, who always gathered to listen.
Sometimes they walked hand in hand through the city, charming the eyes of onlookers, and at such times, Luoyin insisted on buying anything that caught his eye, showering Weiyan in gifts.
Luoyin did not believe he could be happier than this. 'Surely, this is the happiness most spend a lifetime to attain!'
With Weiyan, the disciples, and the simplicity of Yue City around him, Luoyin really could not imagine a better life...
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As a proper disciple of the Yueyan Sect, Sect Leader Xu demanded Luoyin go on a few missions...
Luoyin, "Father-in-law! I'm just a fellow who can't cultivate!"
Sect Leader Xu, "Nonsense! Have you forgotten? You yourself said the Immortals healed you and trained you!"
Luoyin digested his own lie. "But- but! Will you really tear a young couple apart?!"
"I admire your constant desire to be around Yanyan, but I've run out of excuses!" Sect Leader Xu gave his head a little shake. "The elders are determined to test you, and as the new strongest junior, Yanyan herself must resume going on missions! "Come. Tell me your cultivation level?"
"Ehehe, must I reveal it...?"
A few seconds later...
Luoyin's cultivation level was so high, it nearly sent Sect Leader Xu into a fit of convulsions!
"XIAOYIN- ! HOW DARE YOU REFUSE TO GO ON MISSIONS??!!"
Well, there was no refusing after that, though Sect Leader Xu thankfully kept his cultivation level secret...
As for the missions themselves, Luoyin could choose a few with Weiyan, but most times, it was in the hands of the Elders, who secretly began sending him on the more difficult missions as a test.
The days flew by on swift wings.
Summer warmth descended on Yueyan mountain.
The Senior disciple Tournament and Sect Warrior Tournament came and went, both without the dramatic incidents which had accompanied the Junior counterpart.
There were frequent rains and thunderstorms, reminding all that Yue City indeed sat atop a high mountain, and the rains brought an increase in ghost and evil spirit activity, as a few landslides unseated even older graves along the mountain.
But despite the increase in missions, most relished the lush, beautiful summer landscape in Yue City and the region as a whole.
.I'm
The cicadas and crickets battled in full chorus, summer flowers bloomed, the scent of lotuses filled the air. And whenever they could, Luoyin and Weiyan spent their evenings in the garden, admiring the fireflies flitting about like descended stars...
The days however, were impossibly busy!
After each successful mission, the number of Luoyin's 'students' would increase, and he was now teaching several elders! He and Lord Xu also discussed and tried out several ways to secure the City, and the immortals helped him test how strong all his arrays were.
Between that and the missions, or his own cultivation, or refining pills, making talismans, and finding ways to monitor Weiyan's and his friends' cultivation, Luoyin was more than ready to run home after dark, determined to spend his evenings with Weiyan at least.
And if an evening of warmth and wine bloomed into a heated night of adventure, then he certainly held no complaints!
One day, Luoyin headed for the Xu central residence for his usual classes, but his feet froze just outside the front gates.
Across the distance, he could hear a certain conversation from Sect Leader Xu's study...
"...but it makes no sense!" An Elder thundered. "First, they asked for the Junior disciples, and now they want the rest as well?!"
"Why have they moved the Baishan Tournament to Yu Shui City?!" Another raged.
"It's even worse than we feared..." Sect Leader Xu spoke. "Since it's the Baishan Tournament, then even elders and Sect Leaders will be present. If anything happens, the entire Baishan will fall!"
Sect Leader Xu glanced around their worried faces. "This is no time to freeze. We can all assume that the Wulin is not the 'Wulin' we know, and there's likely some hidden influence.
"Rather than freeze in a panic, let's direct our energies to prepare for the worst case scenario...!"
Outside, Luoyin's brows drew together, nearly touching in the middle.
So far, Sect Leader Xu had been careful not to mention anything about Yu Shui City around Luoyin, going as far as ensuring no one else did.
But Luoyin had not once forgotten the conversion he had eavesdropped on, and as a shameful habit, he had begun listening in on all the Xu and Sect Elders' conversations.
Still he hadn't learned much.
Immortal Kai had gone to Yu Shui City himself, but hadn't been able to cross the City gates.
Old man Bao went with him after that, but the City had vanished leaving no trace of its presence.
Then it reappeared once Old man Bao left, almost as if it was taunting them...
Meanwhile, Yin Xing had swapped consciousness with one of his clones at the Starry Pavillion, then he and Tai Yue, his vice, had spent several weeks trying to uncover everything they could find about Yu Shui City.
"Elder brother, it's even worse." Yin Xing informed Luoyin after his return. "This particular city hasn't shown up in the stars for thousands of years... We can't even see its origin, and something is generally wrong with the stars themselves!"
A grave silence hung.
"Only one entity in our history has successfully blinded the stars."
"The demon King."
"Exactly! And you might be right about the City's fortune. According to the stars, it was completely destroyed thirty thousand years ago!"
Luoyin's brows nearly flew into his hairline. "Thirty thousand years ago?!"
Yin Xing nodded. "Precisely the day the Late Empress and Late Floral deity were murdered!"
Luoyin, "What happened to the City?!"
Yin Xing sighed. "There's no single trace or record. Not a hint of any disaster. The entire City simply fell to ruin and vanished from the stars! Tai Yue and I needed to study complex charts and spell to even glimpse its shadow amidst the stars!"
"Is it some kind of Ghost city?"
"Even Ghost Cities are clearly reflected in the stars..."
At this point they could do little more than speculate.
But one thing was clear.
Yu Shui City was far too suspicious...
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In the following week, the fifteen victors of the Sect Tournament awoke to find an elaborate glowing scroll hovering by their beds.
Within was a formal invitation to the Baishan Tournament- one of the grandest occasions in all of Baishan.
Lord Xu, the Xu and Sect elders, and a few other dignitaries received the invitation as well.
And across all of Baishan, similar sects were swept with such invitions.
The Baishan Tournament was about to begin!
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