125. Dance Of Two Dragons
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The story of Yin Xiaolong began in the Mortal realm, two years before his birth, in a cold and deep blue place, a place so deep that natural light could not penetrate its depths.
However, with a few powerful formations, sunlight and moonlight came pouring in, and at the moment, the silvery moonlight shimmered down in light waves, enhanced by magical glowing plants and sea creatures.
This surreal place was deep beneath the waters of the East Sea, at the heart of which sat a magnificent underwater palace, lit with thousands of brilliant lamps, and decorated with every precious sea gem one could think of.
The Palace walkway was lined with actual pearls and paved in pure silver, and the palace itself was gigantic, with the form of several sea clams fanning around a large and glittering central clam.
The sea creatures swimming around here, and even the sea weeds, glowed in the dark with many vibrant colours, adding to the unique beauty of the place.
But this breathtaking beauty was still inferior to the interior of the Palace itself, which was decadently, but tastefully gilded, and it encompassed some few hundred servants, most of which were busy running here and there at the moment,
welcoming guests who were appearing into the safe and dry front hall of the Palace.
Beneath the sea was of course... wet, but by channeling one's qi, it was all too easy for immortals to breath and avoid getting wet.
However, this technique would be tiresome and annoying to hold up for long periods, so to ensure above water guests had no problem visiting, feasting, or even lodging beneath the sea, all underwater residences were constantly cleared out with the most powerful formations, keeping the water at bay,
and plenty of air within.
And at the moment, this palace was teeming with thousands of wedding guests, here to witness a momentous occasion.
The Eastern Sea Palace's Grand Hall was an unbelievably large hall which made the guests resemble ants. The hall was elegant and beautiful, with intricate designs along every wall and pillar, each lined with pearls, silver, and numerous glinting jewels.
The guests were all beautifully dressed, each representing their different clans, and they marveled at the rich and ornate surrounding, while discussing the controversial wedding at hand.
"I can't believe it!" One guest exclaimed, gently twirling his liquor cup, making his wine swirl. "This is the first dragon-dragon match in over a millennia!"
"Say something we don't already know!"
"I hear they waited twenty thousand years for each other!"
"Ei?! That's no joke!"
"But aren't they... afraid...?!"
The cause for fear was understandable.
Dragons were perhaps the highest of all divine creatures, and in Sky Realm's history, the most enviable match had once been a Dragon-Dragon match.
But because of this prestige, numerous dragons forced a union, which led to a problem where the offspring of such matches could go either way. They would either birth a dragon of immense power, or birth a weak being whose body couldn't handle the powers they were born with...
These countless failed matches were passed down in history, and most dragons came to fear being matched with another dragon, opting for the popular Dragon-Phoenix match, till phoenixes became too scarce, and dragons simply wed who they pleased!
Which was why this crowd of guests were surprised that the Eastern Sea King was welcoming a fellow dragon as his new bride.
Why take such a risk?!
At the throne sat Zhurong Haotian, the Sky Emperor, and though his now bearded face still bore clear signs of his grief, it was hard not to spot his excitement!
"Sky Emperor! I'm honoured to have you at my humble wedding!" The groom linked his thumbs, curled his fingers inwards, and bowed in a salute.
"Oh please! No need to be so polite! I wouldn't miss a Dragon-Dragon match for anything!" Zhurong Haotian waved him away with an excited smile that didn't match his station!
The groom shook his head with a smile. He was dressed in elegant blue and green robes, lined in silver and some strange fabric which glowed and made the robes flow and ripple like water.
He was Yin Luyue, the Eastern Sea King.
The wide doors opened then, and a beautifully dressed lady stepped in to 'oohs' and 'aahs'. Her face was veiled, but her pure silvery-white hair was nearly sweeping the floor.
Yin Luyue flushed at the sight of her. "A-Lian..." He said her name in a whisper and held out a hand, welcoming her.
She was about to run over, but another hand reached out to stop her and a somewhat annoyed guest stepped in.
"You improper child! Where have you kept your granduncle?!" It was a slightly younger Old man Bao!
The crowd giggled at the spectacle as Old man Bao led her in.
This was clearly a love match!
The bride took Yin Luyue's hand, and the wedding began, with the Sky Emperor personally moderating!
Part of the wedding was similar to a mortal wedding, complete with the three bows - one to the Sky Emperor, one to Old man Bao, and one to each other.
When the groom lifted the bride's veil, there were even more 'oohs' and 'aahs' as she was so beautiful, and several guests had matching red splotches on their cheeks.
"Heh! No wonder this fellow waited twenty thousand years for her!"
The veil lifting was followed by an amusing tea ceremony of flying cups which the bride and groom had to catch without spilling! ....before presenting them to the Sky Emperor and Old man Bao respectively.
But there was more...
Gasps erupted from the crowd when the bride and groom suddenly transformed into full dragons!
Yin Luyue was a brilliant Jade-green dragon to *fit his name, and the bride was a brilliant white dragon, matching her hair in colour.
(*Luyue - Green Moon)
It was now that all understood why the hall was so oppressively large!
The two dragons were enormous, dwarfing the guests to tiny sizes, but the guests couldn't be bothered as they watched the ultra rare dragon dance, both dragons coiling around each other in a swirling spiral.
The two dragons ended in balanced crescent circles, their auras forming a perfect green and white Yinyang, and the guests roared and cheered in applause.
It was as if sheer joy had descended and everyone seemed happy!
But there were a few displeased faces...
Most notably Yin Luyue's first wife, a beautiful Mermaid, and current Queen of the East Sea.
Many knew the story.
Yin Luyue trained under Old man Bao, so he and Bao Qinlian had grown together and he had loved her for years...
But the East Sea dragons had a binding marriage agreement with the East Sea Mer Clan, and breaking this agreement would lead to a war and the death of thousands in the Eastern Sea.
So left with no choice, Yin Luyue, the then East Sea Crown Prince, had married the Mermaid Princess.
This marriage agreement also prevented him from accepting any concubine for at least twenty thousand years, and by now the Queen had borne him two sons.
But Bao Qinlian had understood and waited for Yin Luyue, despite Old man Bao's warning, and she was determined to wed him, even as a Concubine...
However, Bao Qinlian didn't realize she had stepped into a nest of poisonous snakes...
After two years of bliss, she lay in an elaborate bedchamber, on an ornate clam-shaped bed, and after several hours of labour, an infant's cry rang out, as she gave birth to a white-haired little baby.
Everyone, including Qinlian herself, sighed with relief.
"It's a boy!" The attendant announced, and the air was suddenly filled with joy!
But in the next moment, Qinlian suddenly bent over the side of the bed and a torrent of blood poured from her lips. Her maids gasped at the sight.
There were strange worms crawling in the blood!
And Qinlian had fallen unconscious...
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"Young East Sea King, forgive me... I haven't seen this poison before." An old immortal bowed his head, acknowledging his inability to help.
This was Lord Medicine, Deity of Medicine.
He had been requested to help and was now alone with the couple and their newborn.
Qinlian still lay unconscious, while Luyue stood beside her with worry.
"It's some sort of Gu Poison- a mere mortal poison, but I can detect mer-blood as the poison's base. A powerful merman poured most of their essence into this poison, making it a thousand times more potent to an immortal." He explained to Yin Luyue.
"Your wife might have detected it sooner, but because yours was a dragon-dragon match, she didn't leave the child to fate and often fed him most of her spirit energy. But don't forget, a dragon is at her weakest during pregnancy.
"All this made it impossible for her to detect this poison, and it's too late to cure it now."
Yin Luyue staggered. "Can nothing be done? I'll do anything at al-!"
"Young East Sea King, hear me out first..." Lord Medicine sighed. "She can be cured, but you must make a bitter choice. You see, the poison has already spread to the infant as well."
"No!"
"Unfortunately, so. We don't have time. The Lady is frail and the poison has spread too far in both mother and child. They might be gone in under an hour, and I have just one Grade-Nine Star pill.
"It can cure any ailment, but it takes almost two thousand years to refine it. That means I can only save one of them... Who will you choose?"
Luyue didn't hesitate. "I choose A-Lian! Save her!"
But...
"I choose the baby!" Qinlian's weak voice came from the bed, and they turned to see her awake.
"No!" Yin Luyue instantly protested, running to her side. "We can always have other children! I won't lose yo-!"
But Qinlian shook her head. "Did you forget? A dragon-dragon match is too risky... That boy is a true, pureblood dragon with almost no flaws... Will you waste it? What if I can't have any more children after this?"
Luyue, "I don't care! I won't love you any less!"
Qinlian, "But I'd hate myself... I'm his mother! And he's all the more precious because he's your son!"
"A-Lian!" Luyue went over to take her hands. "Twenty thousand years... We waited twenty thousand years to be together! Are you asking me to simply let you go?!"
She squeezed his hand, and there were tears in her eyes. "I'm begging you to let me die as the mother of your child... Let me go as someone who created something so wonderful with you...!"
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