The Devil Lotus 8

"Lao Hu?" Yu Lingyu muttered thoughtfully, letting her touch his body as needed. Meanwhile, Wu Xuan standing nearby looked like a landmine about to explode. Yu Lingyu, who finally understood something, stood up and tried to leave, but the woman stopped him.

"Be careful Wen Gongzi, He looks very fierce."

"Don't worry. I'll get to you later." Smiling at her, he put his right arm around Wu Xuan's shoulder and walked forward, shaking the folding fan slowly.

"Let's find out about this Lao Hu." Yu Lingyu said.

Wu Xuan did not answer. With his arms folded across his chest, he was quietly furious.

"Lao Hu is not from the Lotus Sect. He is a broker." Finally, he said. "I heard about it."

"Oh, broker. Let us try."

Without waiting for a moment, Yu Lingyu rushed to the peony platform on the top floor of the pavilion. What the woman said was not false. He saw a solitary figure sitting in a dimly lit corner, sipping tea, his face hidden by a broad hat. This time, Wu Xuan was quick.

"Master Lao," he said, stepping forward. "I hear those with coin have the answers."

Lao Hu looked at Xuan, his eyes wide open like marbles in the dim light. "Answers can be found," he said harshly. His voice was soft and hard to hear, like the crushing of dry leaves. "But the price—"

Wu Xuan placed some gold pieces on the table. His speed even caused an earthquake on the small table.

Lao Hu's eyes shone with lust.

"Any price." Wu Xuan was a wasteful elite.

"Wen Jian, don't stay there. Come here." He called Yu Lingyu. huh? Why is he wearing that freaky mask again?

Yu Lingyu hurriedly approached them. "Sorry. I don't show my face much." He apologized to Lao Hu in a deeper voice than himself. "Is this Wen Lu Jian? From Luoyang?"

"I am Wen Lu Jian. From Luoyang." Yu Lingyu offered his greetings. "Oh." Lao Hu whispered as he stroked his long beard.

Lingyu wasn't sure if this Lao Hu was the Lao Hu he knew before, but now, he was sure.

The Lao Hu in front of him was the Lao Hu he knew.

"We need to find someone." Yu Lingyu said as he placed the small head ornament that Xu Jin had given him the other day on the table. They should all be in one place. So Lingyu hoped that Xu Jin's amulet would work. "Please pursue it."

Wu Xuan?????

"So, you know how I work. Doesn't that mean you know the truth about me, Wen Gongzi?"

Yu Lingyu smiled. "It's none of your business. We're paying you, so just do the job."

Lao Hu observed Yu Lingyu for a while. Then he quietly picked up the jewel and stood up. "We'll meet here after two more incense sticks. Also, let's talk about the price of the job after it's done." Lao Hu said.

"Yours wish." As Yu Lingyu shook his head in approval, Lao Hu quickly blended into the crowd and disappeared after a while.

"Do you know him?" Wu Xuan asked, putting a piece of candy on the table into his mouth.

Yu Lingyu only shook his head silently.

"What are we going to do until he comes?"

"Wu Shixiong, haven't the disciples of Juyao Peak arrived yet? Where do you think they are?" Yu Lingyu asked in a thoughtful tone. "There is no information from Lingxiao Sect disciples either."

"They can't be caught too, can they?" Wu Xuan said, but there was no worry in his voice. "Can't be sure." Yu Lingyu said, standing up.

"But Wu Shixiong, why aren't you worried at all?"

Wu Xuan smiled. "Well, I don't have much to worry about in this world." He said, swallowing another bite of candy.

"I was born to protect someone. I only care about that person."

Yu Lingyu frowned. "Then why do you treat me so well?"

"Yu Shidi, have you no idea who I've been talking about for so long?" Wu Xuan's eyes lit up. He was waiting for a reply from Yu Lingyu.

"I am?"

"Wu Xuan, who are you?"

Wu Xuan stood up after shaking off the candy powder from his robe. "Someone you know." He said with a smile on his face. But Yu Lingyu saw all too well the pain behind that fake smile.

"I'll tell you one day,"

"One day I prepared myself."

***************************************************************

"In here? Crimson Phoenix Pavilion?"

Wu Xuan said with slight surprise.

Yu Lingyu was stuck in a dilemma. The Crimson Phoenix Pavilion was such a busy place. How can apprentices be imprisoned without anyone noticing?

"Mr. Hu, please guide us." Wu Xuan pleaded.

"Hmmm," Lao Hu let out a whimper, shaking his hand.

Seeing this, Wu Xuan put two more pieces of gold in his hand.

 "Follow me,"

"Wu Shixiong, you haven't run out of gold, have you?" Yu Lingyu asked, looking at Wu Xuan who was blushing red with anger, slowly following Lao Hu. "Don't worry. There's more." He growled, following Yu Lingyu like an angry cat. Wu Xuan had spent more than ten pieces of gold on Lao Hu's information. Yu Lingyu couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Wait!" Yu Lingyu said, stopping where he was. His eyes darted discreetly through the crowd in the Phoenix Pavilion. "Is something wrong?" Wu Xuan asked, following his gaze.

"I think, I saw Hong Li. Ah, forget it, I must be seeing nonsense." Shaking his head, Yu Lingyu hurriedly ran to Lao Hu who was waiting for them. "Who is Hong Li?" Dazed for a moment, Wu Xuan regained his senses.

Lao Hu was leading them to a room on the lowest floor of the pavilion. It also looked like a normal cabin, and nothing seemed amiss.

"Here," Lao Hu said, pausing.

"Inside a playhouse?" Wu Xuan, who was already blushing, muttered reluctantly.

 "Look at the carpet." Lao Hu said.

It had woven flower vines, and the handiwork was very calm and beautiful. "It is a lotus flower." Yu Lingyu said, studying its patterns. "The lotus flower and the four daggers, that's the symbol of the Lotus Sect."

Yu Lingyu slowly opened its doors. The room was heavily perfumed, making it difficult for them to breathe. He turned to Lao Hu to thank him, but he had already left. Sighing, Lingyu took off his mask and closed the room doors.

The room was decorated with dark red curtains. Wu Xuan pulled his sword out of its sheath slightly as if sensing danger.

"This," picking up a small jewel from the corner of the room, Yu Lingyu presented it to Wu Xuan. The crescent-shaped silver hair ornament, isn't that what Wu Xuan often wears?

"Yu Yi." Abandoning his sword, Xuan grabbed the jewel. "I gave it to her to let me know if there was any trouble." Wu Xuan said, looking at the necklace around his neck, which had a similar design.

When did he do that? A problem arose for Yu Lingyu.

As if happy to have found their other half, the two jewels appeared silvery. The necklace represented a half full moon and when the two jewels were combined, a full full moon was created.

"We're in the right place," Yu Lingyu said with a slight shake of his head, scanning for a secret mechanism. But his attention was interrupted by a sudden voice as Wu Xuan pulled out his sword without hesitation.

By the open doorway, a tall, pale figure stared in awe. She was dressed in crimson and had a cold hood around her neck.

"Hong Li? So, I saw no nonsense." Returning to her senses, Hong Li quickly closed the doors to the chamber. After facing the entrance for a while, she slowly turned to face Yu Lingyu.

"Ah-yu," she whispered softly. "You should have stayed away. It's not too late to escape." She did not dare to look at Yu Lingyu's face.

Wu Xuan was surveying the situation and was even more surprised by what Yu Lingyu did next. Taking a few steps forward, he embraced Hong Li as if he were a long-lost friend. Even so, Hong Li seemed trying to move away from his touch. "Ah-yu, go now." Hong Li muttered, trying to push Yu Lingyu away.

Wu Xuan faked a cough as if to indicate that he was still there.

"He's my friend," Yu Lingyu said, pulling away from Hong Li. Wu Xuan did not understand what to say, but he slowly shook his head.

"Oh"

"I looked for you everywhere, I didn't expect to meet you here." Yu Lingyu slowly muttered with tearful eyes.

"But," Wu Xuan said with a hint of doubt. "Is it just a coincidence that I met you in the very bowels of the Lotus Sect?"

Hong Li gave a small smile to indicate that she was not a danger. Yu Lingyu stared at the girl in front of him with clenched hands. She looks as warm and friendly as before. But her eyes, which had danced with joy, now held the glow of the dark shadows, and the jade pendant he had gifted her years ago rested on the uniform of the Fierce Lotus Sect, instead of the uniform of Jun Peak.

"Hong Li...." he muttered in disbelief. "You- how could you, how could you do this to me?"

"Everyone changes, right?" Hong Li asked slowly, smiling with teary eyes. "You've changed too, Ah-Yu."

His features, etched with worry and anger, were a far cry from the mischievous friend she was once familiar with.

"Go," Hong Li pleaded. Her voice was hoarse from tears and sobs. "Save yourselves. The Lotus Sect will not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way."

Yu Lingyu was emitting sparks from his eyes. "They have my juniors," he shouted. With every word, the air was pierced by a shard of ice. "I'm not like you Hong Li! I won't betray my friends."

It was the first time Wu Xuan had seen Yu Lingyu's this behavior. He had never seen Yu Lingyu, who was calm and peaceful, behaving so painfully or violently.

The desperation in Lingyu's voice tore Hong Li's heart. "Maybe I'm wrong. He hasn't changed at all." She muttered to herself. The fierce loyalty that bound him to his loved ones, his loyalty that she admired in their careless days, had not changed at all. However, now it was like a poisoned chalice that threatened to consume them both.

"Someone is coming," Wu Xuan said as he readied his sword. A cold wind wafted through the room, accompanied by the strong scent of lotus incense, a harbinger of danger. "They're coming." She moaned softly. "Ah-Yu, go now, please. You'll be killed if you're caught."

Her words were true. Shrouded in dark illusions and secrets of ruthless ambition, the Lotus Sect was not an enemy to be trifled with.

"Hide," she said, pushing Yu Lingyu and Wu Xuan towards the couch. "Get under the bed, quick!"

As they entered it, the doors of the chamber burst open with a loud bang. "Shixiong," Hong Li said, trying to keep her words as firm as possible.

"Hong Li Shimei, has anyone come here?" A harsh, hoarse voice arose. Yu Lingyu huddled under the bed, could see nothing but their feet.

"There was no one there when I arrived." She answered slowly.

"Watch out! That bastard Wu Xuan is here."

Although Wu Xuan's face was not visible, Lingyu felt the insulting expression on his face. He must be wondering how the man who said those words could be fed to the crocodiles.

The Lotus Sect's disciples slowly muttered something else and left, leaving Hong Li alone. She let out a long sigh of relief as Yu Lingyu slowly came out from under the bed.

"Are they looking for me?" Wu Xuan asked with a provocative smile, raising an eyebrow. "So, you Wu Xuan, I didn't expect Ah-Yu to have such a powerful friend." Hong Li said turning her head towards the door. She only took a step towards it, and the doors opened rapidly again, if Yu Lingyu hadn't pulled her back at that exact moment, she would have been split into two pieces by now.