163. Two Lifetimes.
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Atop the roof, Luoyin and Yinying had just witnessed Weiyan turn Qin Yuelian into a complete waste, burning away her cultivation!
Yinying drew a concerned breath and placed a hand on Luoyin's shoulder. "Xiaobai... You must take extreme care to never offend the Lady in the future!!"
"Umh, umh!" Luoyin nodded in agreement!
Down below, Qin Yuelian finally struggled to her knees, staring at her hands which couldn't muster even a single shred of energy.
She was clearly still a divine lotus, but one with no power at all, and with a lifespan of a few more decades at most!
Wasn't she worse than a mortal in this state?!
'No...! No! It's not possible!'
She tried and tried again to channel energy, but there was simply nothing!
All her cultivation and strength gathered over a Millennia...
All of it was gone?!
"I won't accept it!" Qin Yuelian choked, spraying a splatter of blood onto her hands. "You lowly... mortal bxxch...!!" She rasped. "How dare you...! How dare you harm me?! I'm a Millennia old Divine Lotus...!! Floral Deity of the Heavens! How dare you...??!!"
"You keep mentioning that word 'Millennia'." Weiyan spoke, looking down at the rasping Qin Yuelian.
"Then let me ask you. After a Millennia of existence, who cares about you now?"
The question hung in the air as Qin Yuelian's eyes widened even more.
Weiyan sighed.
"You neither cared about blood ties nor connections of the heart. You tried to kill your own grandniece, and would have succeeded if she wasn't more powerful and evil than you were... And then you killed your own sister.
"Now you've lost all the strength you had, and all of Sky Realm knows you've gotten your hands so dirty... Even the Floral realm must have learned how you slayed thousands of flowers every year, and all this would be revealed across the Mortal Realm as well...
"So I'm asking again... Who cares about you now?
"Who would chase after me to avenge you? Who would even come to claim you if you died here? Zhurong Fen? Hmph. Be thankful if she doesn't *hurry you on your way...
(*kill you)
"Clearly there's nothing to show for your millennia of existence!" Her words landed in the heavy silence, ringing like a death bell in Qin Yuelian's ears.
Weiyan swivelled, intending to walk away, but one simple step sent a sudden current through her body, seizing up all her muscles.
The gold phoenix appearance shattered as her aura seeped away, pouring out of her like a sieve.
'Oh no! I forgot... This body is too weak for such power...!' Weiyan realized as she fell backwards, prepared to hit the ground.
But she fell into a pair of familiar arms, and an incredibly warm feeling settled in her heart.
"A-Yin!" She said as Luoyin dipped, smoothly lifting her into his arms and instantly transfering his qi to stabilize hers.
Luoyin turned to glare down at Qin Yuelian. "Don't be an eyesore here! Roll!"
With a stomp of his feet, he indeed sent Qin Yuelian rolling far from them and out of sight!
"A-Yin, it's really you!" Weiyan's hands automatically went around his neck, her eyes welling with tears.
"Umh." Luoyin simply replied.
Now that Weiyan was right in his arms, Luoyin's tongue suddenly felt too heavy for any coherent speech.
Two Lifetimes sat between them...
Thousands and thousands of years sat between them, along with joyful and sorrowful experiences both as Immortals and Mortals...
'What does one say at a moment like this?' He wondered, a lone tear running down his own cheek.
He wanted to tell her how much he had longed for her through the endless years.
He wanted to tell her how there had been no real joy in his heart until she reappeared as Xu Weiyan.
He wanted to say lots and lots...
But did any of it truly matter now?
He was simply overjoyed to hold her like this!!
And besides...
Shouldn't a man also maintain his composure at times like this...?
However, as Weiyan's arms tightened into a hug, and as she quietly sobbed into the crook of his neck, all such composures were forgotten!
"WEIWEI!!!!" He suddenly wailed. "I missed you so much!! Everyday was so difficult! And for thousands of years...!
"...a- and sadness...!
"...and I couldn't see your face...!
"...and endless misery...!
"....a- and it never went away.........!"
Still atop the roof, Yinying shook his head.
"X- Xiaobai... Do you still have even a single shred of manly Pride left?!!" He asked as he promptly vanished from there, leaving these two lovebirds alone!
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Several minutes went by but neither Luoyin nor Weiyan had let go.
In fact Luoyin settled to the floor, holding Weiyan in his arms like he had done on that miserable night thirty thousand years ago.
"Yanyan, you must promise me..." He began at present, remembering how she had faded away in his arms. "Never ever give your life to save mine again! My heart won't take it, and sacrifice or not, I'll follow after you next time!"
Weiyan instantly opened her mouth to protest.
Afterall it was only natural to step in if Luoyin was ever in any danger, and she would willingly give her life for his!
But she paused...
Then simply nodded an, "Umh", while fighting off a fresh onslaught of tears.
She remembered her own righteous anger at him after he left Yueyan to protect them.
Or worse, the thousand years of torment she herself passed through when she thought he was dead in the past!
Her heart hurt thinking of the thirty thousand years Bailong had spent in that lonely existence, and even more hurtful was the awful feeling that he would still be trapped in that unending loneliness, if she had never gone to Caoyang as Xu Weiyan...
But then her eyes widened in sudden realization as she recalled plunging the Zhan Yin dagger into him.
"I hurt you...!" She turned to him, tears welling in her eyes, but Luoyin swiftly took her hand.
"Yanyan, you also know you were controlled by the necklace. I blamed you at first because I was petty... But I knew it was never your fault! And besides..." He smirked, placing her hand on his chest.
"This heart is already yours... You can stab it a few more times! Just promise to never leave again!"
"You-!" She glared at him incredulously, but his hand went around her neck and he swiftly leaned in, his lips covering hers in a searing kiss which instantly made her forget all protests...
Weiyan let out a gentle sigh as Luoyin eventually broke the kiss, a cheeky smile on his now reddened face.
"Ehehe, Wife, the sorrowful post bears no weight! What's ahead is more important, isn't it?" He pulled her into a fierce hug. "For example, is it still 'Weiwei'? Or is it 'Yanyan' now?! I really can't decide which it is now...!"
Weiyan could not resist a soft chuckle, and would have shaken her head if it wasn't now nestled against his chest!
But the love exploding in her heart made her own hands wrap around him tight.
Two lifetimes with this unbelievably marvelous person...
What in the three realms had she had done to deserve him!
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The tender moment was suddenly interrupted by a strange hum, and brilliant blue lines briefly flashed beneath Luoyin and Weiyan.
The two hastily pulled apart and rose to their feet as several demonic auras appeared in the distance.
"Hmph. We've ripped off her cloak so she can't keep still any longer!" Luoyin scowled bitterly scowl.
The state of Yu Shui City was already precarious, but with the Star Edict, Zhurong Fen was now like a cornered dog.
There was no telling in which way she might bite or leap over a wall!
"Laoying!" Luoyin suddenly called.
"Xiaobai!" Yinying reappeared and leapt down, trasforming to the massive black tiger before his feet touched the ground.
Weiyan's eyes widened in delight. She hadn't seen Yinying in over thirty thousand yea-!
'Wait........!'
Her eyes narrowed as she recalled Zhang Luoyin's so-called 'granduncle'.
'He's been in the house the entire time!'
And then her eyes lit on Yinying's black fur.
'The fur on *Mingguang!' She realized. 'So all along -!' Yinying was the 'monster' that she and Tong assumed was hiding in the house!
(*Light Tiger Cub)
Weiyan scowled mildly, connecting the many times Yinying, or even Luoyin himself had seemed suspicious during the past year!
"Ehehe..." Luoyin guessed what she was thinking. "Th- There was no other way, no other way!" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry for hiding my identity!"
Yinying bowed his head to the ground. "My Lady! Please accept my proper greeting after so many years!"
"Laoying, please do not bow your head to me!" Weiyan hastity waved the greeting away. "Whether in the past or present, you remain an elder in our family..."
Mounts and other members of the Beast Clan simply never got such an honour, and Yinying was thankful he was in his tiger form...
Otherwise his teary eyes might clearly be seen!
Luoyin placed a talisman on Yinying's large paw. "This will reverse summon you to the arena." He was suddenly serious. "Zhurong Fen might make a desperate move so activate a powerful Bell technique around the Baishan mortals for now! We'll lead the Yu Shui Citizens to join them!"
"Umh!" The talisman burned and Yinying vanished at once.
Luoyin swivelled to Weiyan and held out a hand. A small jar of pills appeared and floated over to her.
"Your body has no immortal fortification, and now that my pearl has reawakened, it would only kill you slowly! Take two of these first, and you can freely draw power from the Pearl for a while!"
"Umh." Weiyan simply nodded and didn't hesitate to swallow two of the pills.
Luoyin tugged her against him, his hand going around her waist. "It will take a few minutes for the pills to work, so hold on." He softly spoke into her ear.
Weiyan flushed mildly as Luoyin teleported with her.
Surely he hadn't needed to speak so close to her ear!
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