5.20 Banishment; a holiday

Shu XinYi who was following silently behind the group, didn't react. He knew what must be going on in Bane's mind. Bane's main goal was to initiate a war that could still be done even now. Bane would try to escape, he had already realised that the Pearl on his neck was fake. It's no use trying to find the little dragon with this fake thing.

If Bane escaped right now with the fake pearl, who everyone thinks of as real; the dragons would definitely go for a war. As they would have every reason to go to war with murderer escaping with the "real" pearl. Even Saye wouldn't be able to solve that situation, with both the killer and the child getting away from their hands. Obviously Bane wouldn't just be able to escape from within this crowd. They were still inside the palace grounds, if Bane wanted to escape without leaving a trace he would have to use magic.

In the Elven kingdom Magic and sorcery was banned, only a 2 few certified users could use magic legally. That's why magical resources were scarce and not easily available. Obviously Bane wouldn't be stopped by this. But how can Shu XinYi let his fish escape the net he so efficiently played.

Bane had stopped in a place for a while fiddling with the pearl as the audience curiously watched. Bane undid his sleeves and from one of the hidden pockets flowed out a substance akin to shimmering dust. Only 4 people in the audience noticed it, Levay and the 3 dragons. Before they could even react Bane had chanted a spell and thrown the dust over himself.

"NO!" Levay said in panic. If the culprit escapes then he could only dream of peace talks.

The audience finally understood what the situation was. They watched as the dust settled expecting to see an empty space yet Bane was still standing there with closed eyes and a trimphat smile.

Once Bane opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, his expression finally changed to that of panic and pure helplessness. How am I still here? Did an S class magic fail? That is impossible. His questions were immediately answered as his hand was twisted and his knees were kicked forcing him to bend down.

"My Leige, I ask for forgiveness for this subject has used magic to stop Mr.Bane from escaping." Shu XinYi said as he continued to hold down Bane.

Levay came forward to see the situation, "What is happening Calian? Explain properly."

"My Leige, once this subject saw that Mr.Bane was using magic over the dragon pearl; this subject went to retrieve moon water from the study. My instinct warned me that Mr.Bane could use more harmful magic so I had to use the moon water." Shu XinYi said respectfully.

All including Bane knew what moon water was. It was a magical relic formed after several decades and could be used to diffuse any magic. Heh, you are an idiot for telling me the name of the relic, Bane thought. Knowing that it was specifically moon water, Bane had the perfect way to counter it. He would just have to wait for 2 more minutes. Master Ilseu you really dig your own grave to prove loyalty.

Shu XinYi behaved as if unaware of these thoughts of Bane. He swiftly removed the necklace and gave it to the dragons. Levay didn't say anything all this while.

"What the heck! This pearl is fake. Where is the real one?" The 3 dragons said one sentence after the other.

"Hahaha I will never hand it over. Your little dragon will die and I, an elf, will kill him just like I killed his family." Bane said with much confidence. Even if he didn't have the real pearl, the dragons didn't know this. Now once he escapes the dragons would keep looking for Bane, and no peace treaty would be signed until he is caught. The helplessness and confusion Bane had felt when his magic failed, turned into confidence and trimph.

With this foolproof plan in mind Bane freed himself from Ilseu's grip. Very quickly he fetched an other kind of magical dust from his pockets and chanted a spell to once again cover himself in the dust. Although the amount of dust was only a handful, Bane's whole body had been fogged by the dust. No one could do anything. The moon water works well only during night, it's effects are weak during the day and wear off fairly quickly. If Bane chanted the right spell then it would have 0 chances of failure.

This time Levay wasn't panicked at all, he was worried about something else instead. The dragons were thinking of the report they would have to make of this occasion. Much of the council just wanted to get this over with and go back home. Shu XinYi was just standing with crossed hands and a straight face. Once the dust settled, except for Levay and Ilseu; all were surprised to see Bane still standing in the same situation again, with closed eyes and a trimphant smile. Dejavu much?

"Mr.Bane has your little dragon's pearl as he admitted. You can take him with you and use your ways to find out about where your little dragon is. I think the council can agree that we all hold him accountable and are offering him up for you to handle. Only under the condition that peace talks can be started." Shu XinYi stated without taking in Bane's losing expression, As he gave the empty bottle of moon water to a nearby person indicating that he had used the moon water again this time too.

He looked to the council to disagree, none did. He looked to the 3 dragons to object, they didn't as one of them restrained Bane. Then Shu XinYi looked at Levay who just nodded to say, "You may take him back to your kingdom. The council is dismissed. I want the reports of the council and the court hearing in my study by late everyone. Calian, show Mr.Bane to the cells and arrange for their depart with the Dragons. Later you may meet me in my study."

Obviously Shu XinYi knew why Levay was worried. Shu XinYi had not used the moon water at all. He only said it to trap Bane, it was necessary for the dragons to think that FengYi's pearl was still under Bane's control. Although because of this the dragons would have to keep Bane alive to get the location of the pearl, but in what conditions he would be kept alive? That was easy to figure out.

What Shu XinYi had used on Bane was not magic that required anything extra like water, dust or spells. He had used a pure spritual power to diffuse Bane's magic. It was a very powerful and dark spell that only dark elves could use and using this spell could not only diffuse magic but damage spritual veins of any elf. To use it in the midst of the crowd in the middle of the day without anyone noticing could only signify how powerful and experienced the sorcerer must be. Levay would obviously have trust issues with Ilseu who can use this kind of magic. Thankfully, except for Levay, no one caught on.

After doing all that Levay had instructed, Shu XinYi went back to meet FengYi. Only after he cooked for him did he went to meet Levay.

Shu XinYi entered the study and stood inside quietly, as he watched Levay work. Levay too focused on reading and evaluating the reports. Only after an hour did Levay finally remove his glasses and set everything aside. He organized all the reports and then his desk. When there was no work to do Levay sat down on his chair again and started doing Caligraphy. Levay didn't know how to approach this subject. He could understand where he learned this magic from. Him and his mother lived in a broken village that sorcerers so readily used, it was not a surprise that Ilseu came to learn from them.

Levay also couldn't just let the matter go, Ilseu did do a crime punishable by banishment. "Zither and Yuè are coming back tommorow. Arrange for Mr.Bane's depart with the dragons before that."

Shu XinYi bowed to say, "Surely, My Leige. This subject believes that there is something else that has worried My Leige."

Levay stood up to angrily say, "You know I will forgive you. You know I have no other choice. The whole council has not one member that I can fully trust. Funnily enough none of them are dark elves and none of them are sorcerers yet I have decide to trust someone who is all that. Do you know how inappropriate your actions of today were?"

Shu XinYi bowed again to say, "My Leige, this subject had to use proper means to capture the culprit. Mr.Bane's knowledge of our lands exceeds all of us. Even if we stripped him away from all magical relics, Mr.Bane still would have escaped. The dragons would blame us for it."

Levay rubbed his temples with an irritated expression, "Then what do you suggest I do with you?"

"The punishment for my crime is banishment My Leige. You can Banish me for 2 weeks if that makes you feel any less angry. I would still say as Ilseu this time, that I have not once thought of betraying the kingdom or you Levay." Shu XinYi honestly said.

Levay was surprised at how serious Ilseu sounded. He never calls him Levay, so this must be some special occasion. Still a 2 weeks banishment is not a bad idea, "That's one way to ask for a holiday Master Calian." Levay said to lighten the mood. Funnily enough Shu XinYi didn't retort he just widened his eyes in embarrassment.

Levay chuckled, "I understand. I too need a break from all this sometimes. But for now I'll hang on, then I'll take one long break. Haa. Let's have some dinner."