Chapter 58: Single Melody
The mourning lasted for a night. XuanWu approached his highness Wei Yue who was tending to a blind woman at his care. As she approached the Emperor, she gasped when she saw the blind woman. Immediately, she conjured a knife on her hand and kept it hidden from sight. Wei Yue noticed this but he kept calm as usual.
"You're highness, what are you doing with that woman?"
"XuanWu, I know you have the intention to kill this woman but can't you hear her plea first before you make rash decisions?"
"But you're highness... She's drank a Shura's blood. It is an incurable disease."
"Yes XuanWu but look at her now... Her allies have defiled her. She's deserted now."
XuanWu left a sigh and the weapon from her hand disappeared in the wind. She looked at the pale woman and asked her a question.
"Are you sent by someone here?"
"No. I came at my own volition using the power that I have left."
"Very well then, who was your master and why did he left you in such a state?"
The woman could not speak. Instead, blood flowed from her eyes that seems to be tears. Wei Yue took another sheet of cloth and replaced the bloody blindfold.
"He- He's Lu XueCao. An infamous demonic cultivator."
Wei Yue's eyes grew wide. Lu XueCao was the one who started the past war 100 years ago when XuanZheng and ShaoTian's battle shook the earth and sky. Everybody thought Lu XueCao died but that was just as the myth had said... He took his remaining followers and sucked out their soul siphon dry to replenish his lost powers. And now...
"What is Lu XueCao's true intention? Why did he dug out your eyes?"
"He said that my eyes can peer into the future and placed it on the sixth Shura's."
"T-This... This is trouble. I must return to the ninth heaven and discuss this with other higher positioned immortals."
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Bringing out an Erhu, Xi Yuyao played a soft tune slowly bellowing the strings back and forth with her other hand intricately placed on the strings. The melody was that of a soft yet mournful music which filled the air with emotions of loss and grievance. FeiXian heard the tune and immediately looked far away where the sound is coming from. It was nearing dawn and a sliver of light beyond the mountains can be seen. The light reflected on cliff where Zhao Min was cremated and it shone brightly upon the marked grave.
"FeiXian I- I need to be alone for now."
"Hao. Just call me if you need me."
"Alright."
FeiXian went to where the Erhu's sound was coming from while YingLuo remained in front of Zhao Min's grave.
As FeiXian took few more steps, Yuyao noticed it and stopped playing. The Erhu from her hand disappeared and she stood up from the large stone where she sat beneath the peach trees.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ayi I just came to listen to the music."
"Hmm... Alright. It seems like you have no intention in harming me."
"My sister RuoMin, she plays an Erhu just like you do... She had became the Lunar Empress and we're bound to led astray by fate. I haven't seen her anymore after the siege of the Jade Phoenix's kingdom."
"Funny. I love playing Erhu and you have the same face as my late brother."
"I- I'm sorry for your loss."
"Don't be... Elder brother ZiJiang chose that fate for himself. He badly want to protect Old Jianghu from disaster. After all, the mortal part of him stays intact."
FeiXian's brows curled. He was confused but he thought that he had heard the name 'ZiJiang' before. After a while, a memory struck his brain and thought about the things that had happened when a she-demon wanted to murder Wei Yue.
"Ayi... Do you know someone whose name was Lu Jie?"
"Lu Jie was my late brother's lover."
"That's it! Now we have the answer!"
"Answer? What do you mean?"
"That Lu Jie you speak of haven't died. She tried to murder our highness Wei Yue."
"Oh no...
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With exasperated breath, XuanZheng lifted up the black flute in her hand and played a single melody. Blackish dust-like materials started levitating out of ShaoTian's body. She knew very well that the substance from the ancient evil tree harms pure blooded immortals but still yet she continued to play the flute and transfer the dust on her body. After the whole process is complete, her body absorbed the dust that made her lost her balance and fell back. Luckily, MoXiao was standing at her back.
He caught her as a single drop of blood flowed from her nose.
Black marks suddenly shown itself on the right side of her face. LanRong looked at her with a worried look yet she remained indifferent despite of the pain.
A while later, ShaoTian opened his eyes and at the sight of XuanZheng holding the flute in her hand, he suddenly went enraged and grabbed a dagger in his hand pointing at XuanZheng but MoXiao acted fast and deflected the dagger from his hand.
"Why is she here? Didn't she tried to kill us?"
"Father... You are mistaken. She's here to help us."
"She's the worst of the worst. She tried to kill every mortal just to satisfy her greed."
XuanZheng stood up from the floor. She was weak yet she remained true to her promise and that is, to deliver ShaoTian from death.
"I will not explain myself. I know that you won't believe every word that spouts out from my mouth..."
"XuanZheng... You are cruel, you are vile... You're the worst of the worst so now, give me one good reason why you wanted to help us."
"Because I'm your only hope."
Silence surrounded the air. No one dared speak any word. All eyes are fixed between XuanZheng and ShaoTian who are seriously locked in internal conflict.
Minutes passed and ShaoTian finally had to speak up and break the ice.
"Hao. If you intend to help us, you better not do something shady. If I find out that you're up to something bad, I'll never let you go."
"As you say so. ShaoTian."
ShaoTian excused himself and MoXiao followed him outside the room while LanRong and XuanZheng remained inside. When XuanZheng saw that they were all alone, she scrambled and hit her back on the bedside. LanRong saw as the poison had already climbed to her neck buy XuanZheng refused to be healed. Wiping the blood that she coughed with the sleeve of her robe, she reached for the edge of the bed sheet and pulled herself up.
"Ayi XuanZheng... You must not overdo yourself."
"I have to do what needs to be done. I started this war and I'm here to finish it once and for all."
"But Ayi, it's not your fault that the ancient evil tree still rises. It's my father's and Guan Yu's. Why do you have to take the blame for it?"
XuanZheng shook her head and a drop of tear fell from her eye.
"Because I was selfish. Because I was greedy. If I haven't resorted in using the ancient evil tree's power and got deceived by your father's words, then none of this would've happened."
LanRong felt her agony and regrets. Somewhere deep in her heart, she felt a thorn pricked inside. She wasn't responsible for his father's actions, however, nobody could choose where they are born to... No child can choose what kind of parent would they want to have.
Her hands reached out to XuanZheng's back and gently massaged it. XuanZheng never felt more relieved. For the first time, after all eons, someone finally took her side. All the hate and anger subsided away as she wrapped her arms subconsciously on LanRong's.
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"Sect Leader Gu, all of the preparations are ready."
A veiled woman knelt in front of XiNiang as she held the Nether Secret Record in her hands.
"How many figures does the Shura's army have?"
"As we've counted Sect Leader, It was probably thousands."
"Hao. When we're faced with them and we are almost outnumbered, lead them to the Falling Plums Valley."
"But Sect Leader..."
"Do as I say. Put all your faith in me."
"Yes Sect Leader."
After the tension, the disciples excused themselves to prepare for the upcoming battle.
Beyond the pristine waterfalls and picturesque view of the Shifting Flower Palace, thousands of women disciples armed with their hidden weapons trained themselves thoroughly. The veiled women did not only study Old Jianghu's finest dances and music but also the most deadliest martial art of all...
The Seven Styles of the Flower Goddess.
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A cough escaped Lu Jie's mouth as she drank up the elixir that Wei Yue personally made to enrich her soul siphon without having to consume any human or immortal.
"It's the most bitter medicine I had ever tasted!"
"Lu Jie... If you want to recover your soul siphon, you must empty this elixir."
"F—Fine... I'll drink up the elixir."
Carefully handing the elixir to her mouth, Wei Yue made sure that no liquid might be spilled. However, Lu Jie would always throw up the decoction. Finally, he thought of a way to make her drink it.
'She's blind so she wouldn't see it coming.'
But, his mind had been bothered with second thoughts.
'If I'll do that thing, my bird beak might touch her lips and... Oh no! That cursed thing!'
Wei Yue accidentally dropped the bottle and it broke into pieces on the floor. Lu Jie heard this and thought that Wei Yue might be angry with her.
"Your highness... Are you angry with me?"
"Oh no... I just— I dropped the bottle accidentally."
"Is that so? I know that you are angry, we demons can sense emotions... Even though I couldn't see you, I could tell that you're angry."
Wei Yue's blood shot up to his cheek.
'D—Damn... She peered into my emotions. P—please self... S—stop feeling any emotion at all.'
He held his palms and slapped his face continuously. Lu Jie heard this and asked Wei Yue again.
"Your highness have I offended you?"
Wei Yue threw silent tantrums in the air waving his hands back and forth.
'T—This girl.... How could she!'
"Your highness, if I have offended you, may I drink that medicine one more time? I'll make sure not to spill even a little."
Wei Yue stopped throwing tantrums and summoned a servant to fetch a cup of the decoction. He gently handed it to her and she drank the whole cup of liquid without spilling any bit.
Forcing herself not to throw up, Lu Jie immediately gulped the medicine. She felt her soul siphon burned up once again and this time, she was feeling fine once again.
"Your highness. Thank you."
"I've brewed and decocted the medicine itself. It's bitter but I can assure you that it will fill back your soul siphon into full."
"W—What materials have you put in this elixir?"
"Phoenix tears."
"P—Phoenix?"
"Yes."
"M—May I touch the face of my savior?"
"Alright."
Wei Yue did not decline. He moved closer to Lu Jie and let her touch his face. As Lu Jie felt the feathers and beak of Wei Yue, she retracted her hand and started to shake...
"Your highness... You— Your head..."
"This is the curse that haunts any ruler of the Jade Phoenix. Are you afraid of me?"
Expecting that Lu Jie would be afraid of him, Wei Yue averted his eyes away from her expressionless face. However, her hands reached out to him and touched his beak and traced the feathers on his head.
"I am not afraid."