26 Breaking the seal
When the night arrived, White and Ruan Yanxi headed off to the pagoda at the top of the peak. An elder greeted them at the entrance and led them to the highest floor. Han Bingde was standing in front of an array drawn on the ground. It was a massive and complex array, not something that Ruan Yanxi could dream of making. High-grade spiritual stones were placed as key points of the array. The aura they emitted could be felt even from far away. White examined the array and hummed in appreciation.
"We can begin any time," Han Bingde said. "Go sit in the center."
Ruan Yanxi sat with his legs crossed with Han Bingde behind him. White stayed outside the array, watching with great interest. Han Bingde placed his palms on Ruan Yanxi's back and channeled his spiritual energy through Ruan Yanxi and the array. The array shone brightly and the energy within the spiritual stones flowed outwards and into Ruan Yanxi.
With Ruan Yanxi's permission, Han Bingde entered his sea of consciousness. He immediately noticed the seal. Parts of it already dimmed and some had disappeared but it stubbornly refused to unravel. Han Bingde analyzed the seal. It was unlike any other seal, he had seen before. It used ancient runes which were rarely used in this current age. The structure of the seal itself was also different from a common seal. Still, the basic was the same. With his years of experience, he noted down the weak points easily thanks to White constant suppression. His spiritual energy hit and broke those weak points. The already fragile seal crumbled like sand. But it didn't leave quietly, instead, it launched an explosive spiritual attack. Han Bingde retaliated and created a barrier to contain the blast. When the explosion ended, he slowly lowered the shield, expecting the seal to put up another fight. Thankfully, it didn't.
The sea of consciousness shook. Han Bingde quickly escaped and pulled back his spiritual sense. Ruan Yanxi crumpled to the ground, his face pale and sweat rolling off his foreheads. The spiritual stones lost their light, turning into a muddy black. The array dimmed and deactivated. White gathered Ruan Yanxi in his arms and nodded at Han Bingde. "Thank you."
"No need." Han Bingde watched the two of them leave the room. He stayed there as he calmed his disturbed flow of spiritual energy. He merely dealt with a fraction of Seir's strength and it was already a handful. He was not looking forward to deal with the real thing. Han Bingde sighed as he wondered what terrible fate befall on his old lover, Andrea. That pride and fiery temper, there was no chance of her lowering her head despite facing against an ancient god.
White took Ruan Yanxi back to their room and laid him on his bed. White prepared a bowl of warm water and a clean towel. He removed Ruan Yanxi's robe which had been drenched in sweat and wiped his body. Ruan Yanxi's eyes moved frantically under his closed eyelids. All the memories which had been suppressed by the seal were now flooding Ruan Yanxi's consciousness. If this kept going, Ruan Yanxi would fall into another comma as he tried to process the memories.
*
Ruan Yanxi had been trapped in a storm. Countless voices and figures swirling around him, making him unable to think. He was tugged from all sides. He saw a bloody sword and a woman dying on the ground.
"Why?" Ruan Yanxi asked. He tried to reach them but he suddenly fell into a deep hole. A boy in a golden robe looking down at him as he fell. A ruthless and merciless look clashed against his soft visage.
"Worthless bastard," the boy said.
Ruan Yanxi was falling and falling until he suddenly landed inside a prison cell. Chains wrapped around his wrist binding him into the wall. A man appeared in from of him. Ruan Yanxi tried to see his face but it was covered in shadow.
"Why can't you understand?" the man asked.
*
White put his hands on Ruan Yanxi's chest and forehead. His vessel within Ruan Yanxi began to resonate. Ruan Yanxi's spiritual power had gone chaotic because of the torrent of emotions and memories. White pushed back against the flow of memories and suppressed them. The wave of memories turned into a small stream. Ruan Yanxi's labored breaths eased.
*
Suddenly everything went silent. The man disappeared and Ruan Yanxi found himself standing in front of a small tree. A woman was standing beside him. She placed a hand on his head and carded her fingers through his hair.
"You must remember to be strong and resilient. Though the world may not be kind, you must not give up. Be like a tree that grows strong against the harsh wind and the torrential rain."
Ruan Yanxi looked up at her kind and soft gaze. He felt something stuck in his throat. "I will."
When Ruan Yanxi woke up, White was sitting beside him with a book in his hands. He glanced away from his reading when he felt Ruan Yanxi's gaze.
"How do you feel?" White asked.
Ruan Yanxi's throat was dry but he forced out an answer. "Tired."
White noticed his discomfort and offered him a cup of warm water. "You have been sleeping for a week."
"That long?"
White hummed as he flipped another page. "You would've gone into another coma if I didn't interfere."
Ruan Yanxi remembered when the moment the nightmare stopped. "That was you?"
"Who else? I'm still suppressing the rest of your memories. I figure it's better to recover them slowly instead of going falling into a year-long coma. You promised me a fight, remember?"
"… Hmmm. Thank you."
"Instead of empty words of gratitude, you should make me another meal. I'm feeling a bit peckish."
Ruan Yanxi, "…" He just woke up and this guy already ordered him around. Ruan Yanxi sighed. He should've known that White would never waste any chance to exploit him.
