“Take these, Fifteenth.” Fifth, a connoisseur in alcohols of all kind, handed me two bottles of wine.
I took them in my hands, each one resting in the bend of my arm. To welcome Master back, my seniors and I were holding a feast for him. I really should be trying to master the art of healing but I was just too excited to concentrate.
Mu Rong had left earlier due to some personal business but he said he would visit later. In return, I was hoping I could introduce him to Master and help to clear the misunderstanding.
I did wander, though, more than a few millenniums later why Master had attacked Mu Rong….. From my understanding, Master was not the kind to just attack anyone and although I had been out for the majority of the fight, I was sure that Mu Rong had tried to fight the monster himself, hence giving no suspicious reason for Master to be hostile towards him.
Just as I was pondering this, something hard hit me from behind and my senses immediately went blank.
Such a serene and alluring melody the patter of rain made that it had serenaded me to sleep.
I was leaning against the lounge chair when I woke up, much in the same position as I had been when I was awake however long ago that was but I sought out the familiar torso that had been there as well.
I caught sight of him just as he was leaving and rubbed my eyes to clear the blurriness away. Quickly, I picked myself up and followed him as quietly as I could, hiding behind poles and walls at every stop and turn. There was no particular place he seemed to be going as he passed the gates of the Heavenly Sky.
We both descended down into the lower immortal realm where I continued to follow him. A good time passed before he turned and spotted me. I quickly tried to hide myself behind the tree I was at but it was too late.
“How long are you going to keep following me?” His voice was as stern and stone-like as always.
I gave a nervous laugh before answering, “Me? I wasn’t following you.”
He wasn’t convinced. “You say that now after following me for quite awhile.”
I gave a surprised look. “You knew I was following you?”
When he didn’t say anything, I finally took this chance to look around and see where we were. I gasped and exclaimed, “I know where this is!”
At this, Baijun was curious. “Oh?”
“It’s true! Zhu Ren once took me here on one of his odd trips!”
“Then did Lord Zhu Ren tell you that this place is on the border between the mortal and immortal realm?”
I nodded my head. “This place passes time like the mortal realm but the surrounding elements are part of the immortal realm.” There was a small cabin built beside a lake that was surrounded by the trees of the forest. I only hoped that the mortals inside slept peacefully without worry as night fell.
Darkness came with night and with night, magic. The lotuses in the pond sprouted open and glowed beautiful hues of blue, the night helping them illuminate even more. Although it wasn’t my first time seeing them, it was always a sight to see and be fascinated about.
I edged near the water, hoping to get an even closer look at them while the Baijun unconsciously followed behind. “Baijun…. You….. Do you know what the lotus symbolizes?” I asked as I reached out to one.
He came up beside me, his hands behind his back and answered, “Of course. The title of Ancient God isn’t for looks.” H knelt beside me as a lotus willingly wandered to the omnipotent being. “Rebirth…. A lotus symbolizes rebirth.”
I watched him, memorized by the elegance and demeanor he withheld as he gently picked up the lotus out of the pond.
Amazed, I scooted closer to him to observe the plant.
“However, we cannot merely disturb the peace of nature at our own convenience. Everything has its own place, its own role, as we immortals do.” Baijun gently released the lotus and it floated away. I watched it go and just as he stood, I followed in suit.
“Where are you going, Baijun?” I asked behind him.
Without turning around, he answered with a question, “You are still going to follow me around?”
“Of course not, it just so happens that I’m going that way too!” I countered arrogantly.
“Is that so?” He said.
I gulped, going against my savior, was that how I repaid a debt? What was I to do now? Too afraid to go back and correct myself, I quickly followed the menacing figure, hoping that I had not just made a grave mistake.
“However, we cannot merely disturb the peace of nature at our own convenience. Everything has its own place, its own role, as we immortals do.” The God of Conquest gently released the lotus and it floated away. He watched as the flower made its way to the others, a slow but smooth journey. He then stood up, getting ready to leave, the Phoenix Princess in suit.
“Where are you going, Baijun?” She asked behind him.
Without turning around, he answered with a question, “You are still going to follow me around?”
“Of course not, it just so happens that I’m going that way too!” I countered arrogantly.
“Is that so?” He said, smiling to himself with silent amusement. Not giving her a chance to answer, he began to leave, knowing that she would follow, leaving a good 2 feet distance in between.
“Where are we?” Baijun and I stood before an open area inside a mountain. It was a flat plain valley with a large lake at the center.
“You were coming here without knowledge of what this place is?” He said, catching me in my lie.
I gulped and stood in silence.
“Regardless, you should not come here alone or at all.” Baijun told me.
Now that I think about it, this area was out of place. Dark hues of red and black skies hung over the valley and no life grew, whereas just at the bottom of the mountain, it had been a smooth night accompanied by the moon abundant with growth. Jagged rocks, seemingly deadly, lined the perimeter of the lake and the lake itself gave off a foreboding omen.
Was there something in the lake, I wondered to myself.
I watched as Baijun approached closer to the center. The lake began to send ripples in what seemed as an objection towards his presence. Then, more movement erupted the surface of the water and a figure emerged from the depths, carrying an obsidian-made trident.
It was a fishman, particularly of the shark species, and he looked quite menacing. Gills designed his face and sharp angular fins lined his arm. His hands and feet were both webbed, allowing for easy movement in water. And he withheld above average features.
Who is he?
“Lord Baijun.” The fishman got on one knee and put a hand to his chest, owing allegiance.
“Has anything strange begun to happen, water deity, Rong Yu?”
I tiltled my head in confusion, what was a fishman doing here, as a water deity as that? They were known to be free spirits of the ocean, not keepers of some lake located inland.
“Reporting to Lord Baijun, crows crowd the mountain tops and the lake waters ripple more frequently. The earth itself has begun to rattle.” The water deity reported.
“The seal is beginning to break.” Baijun concluded.
Curious to see what they were talking about, I peaked over Baijun’s shoulder. Doing so, I caught the attention of the fishman, who stared directly at me as I did him. Baijun noticed the water deity’s divided attention and turned to me.
“This is water deity, Rong Yu, former general of the fishmen, who now serve as a vassal state to the Yang Clan to atone for their sins.” He then turned to the fishman and said, “This is Phenix Princess, Tai Shu Yang.”
Rong Yu bowed his head in discrete acknowledgement as he seemed to scorn both Baijun and I, a hatred boiling in the depths of his eyes that could never be expressed.
“He is the guardian of this lake and reports anything that goes amiss.” Baijun explains.
“Guardian of this lake?” I repeated before taking a look around the place again. “Is this someone’s grave?” I asked.
Baijun turned away to look at the lake before answering, “No, it is a prison.”
Returning from the Heavens above, Sheng Ci Yu descended upon his Feilong Mountain in a hurry. Although he could not see from afar, he could sense chaos had taken control. None of his disciples were present to welcome him back, nor was that eager and enthusiastic Fifteenth anywhere, which already proved to be unusual already.
He landed and still had not been greeted by any of his disciples so he called for the Senior-most. “First.” The disciple with the most years in training, appeared, his appearance unkempt.
“Master!” The disciple bowed in surprise yet with relief.
“Has something happened?” The God of War was quick to ask, sensing the unusual situation.
“It’s Fifteenth. He’s gone missing.”
“Fifteenth? Missing?” He had to think to himself for a moment, his aloof attitude suddenly rocking unsteadily from another emotion’s landing.
“Yes, we can’t find him anywhere. We’ve been looking for 5 hours now.” The Senior disciple reported, deep concern taking root in his creased brows.
“Why did you not alert me?” Sheng Ci Yu questioned.
“We did not want to make Master worry, and you were on your way here regardless.” His disciple answered.
“Come with me.” Ci Yu ordered the man along and together, they entered the temple.
From left and right, the great master’s disciples searched high and low, calling “Fifteenth.”
“Where have you all searched?”
“We’ve looked under every rock and every crevice but he is still missing, I believe he must have been kidnapped but there was no detection of a trespasser among the barrier.”
Sheng Ci Yu thought for a moment, thinking of all the places Fifteenth liked to be in until one of his disciples said, “Who could get into Feilong Mountain without being detected?”
“No one.” One of the other disciples answered.
“That’s right.” Fourteenth concluded, deep in thought.
Then, Senior pitched in his thought, “Unless….. This person is someone who is residing in Feilong Mountain.”
Everyone looked to Master for an answer and he knew just what they meant. “Follow me.”
I woke up with a start, a dull pain eluding from the back of my neck where I had been struck. I shook my head, trying to banish the drowsiness and looked around.
This wasn’t the temple. Sure, there were high walls of rock but I knew the structure of the temple like the back of my hand, there was no room like this in the temple.
“It is good that you have awaken or else I might have had to unfortunately throw your body down the ravine without torturing you first.”
A lady’s voice erupted quite sharply from behind. I turned to see a lady and two attendants standing before me. The lady who had spoken was dressed in pure white, a line of flowers running down the side of her torso was the only hint of design.
“You… Who are you? What do you want with me?”
The lady’s two attendants confronted me, both carrying a mean demeanor.
“How dare you!” One of them scolded.
“You are speaking to Her esteemed Ladyship, Flower Goddess Cu Lu, who fought together with Lord Sheng Ci Yu in conquering the world for peace-“
I almost choked on my own breath. Did she say Flower Goddess?! What was a god like that doing on the battlefield? When she should be tending to early Spring and Summer?! But now that I think about it, I do remember Senior mentioning someone who fought alongside Master, who seemed to take great pride in it and used it to her advantage, specifically in the field of romance, something I cared not a scrap of air for. She took her admiration so far that she insisted she reside in Feilong Mountain but I didn’t think I would meet her today! Or ever!
“Hey! Listen to our goddess when she is speaking to you!” I got scolded again.
I turned to the goddess infatuated with Master to see what she had to say.
She elegantly dusted herself off as if my attention had somehow caused her to become dirty before saying, “Recently, you have become more and more of a nuisance and an eyesore to Ci Yu, so I have a proposition.”
She had already had me disinterested at “recently” but I continued to listen to what she had to say.
Instead, it was her attendants who spoke for her. “Because our goddess is merciful, from this day forth, you shall follow her ways and practice her teachings so that she may tame that wild and barbaric heart of yours.”
“This is not even a proposition, you are forcing me!” I said, astonished at their absurdity. “Plus, I only have one master and that is the God of War, Sheng Ci Yu!”
Disregarding my outcry, the two annoying attendants continued, “If you do not accept it, our goddess has no choice but to imprison you here forever.”
I would still be imprisoned here even if I became one of you guys! I scoffed off at their ridiculousness.
“Preposterous!”
That got my attention, real quick. I sat up straight unconsciously, startled.
“Sheng Ci Yu is brilliant! A war strategist as well as a kindhearted master, what use does he have for a naughty and senseless disciple like you?” Although we shared the same idea except for the last part about me, it was a little too much. Her adoration for Master, was no doubt, unrivaled as well as insane.
“You are right, Master is brilliant, which is why I cannot become your disciple. Just Master’s left hand alone, the non-dominant one, is enough to take down a thousand of you. Why should I become a disciple of some goddess who cannot surpass that of my Master? No, he is the only Master I will have, in this life, and the next.” I declared.
She stood up, angered by my firm announcement. “There are more ways than one to make you submit. If you will not accept my proposition, then I will make you willingly accept it. How long do you think you will last? I’m betting 2 hours.” She sneered at me before ordering her attendants to take me to the torture hall.
“Yes, my Lady.” They both bowed and then made a grab at me. I was quick to dodge their grasp but not quick enough to escape the Flower Goddess’ spell. She sent a flowery scent into the air that invaded my nostrils and in seconds, my muscles went limp and I had no power over my body.
I slumped to the ground and the attendants, each one taking a shoulder, dragged me to the torture hall. Even my jaw had gone slack, disallowing me from speaking, so the drag to what seemed like my deathbed was silent and weary.
When we finally reached our destination, they brought me to a set of steps leading up to the base of a waterfall. They marched me up and dragged me into the pond created by the cascading waters. It came up waist deep as they pulled me along and plopped me right under the waterfall. I was drenched in less than a second as they reached over and began to chain me in place with chains built into the wall of the rock surrounding the base of the waterfall. After securing me in place, they hurried back to the bank of the pond and descended down.
Reporting to their goddess, the “Ci Yu” maniac turned towards me and waved her hand in the air.
Immediately, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulder as my strength was returned to me but my movement was restrained by the chains. “Let me go!” I demanded as I tried to pull from the chains.
She ignored my request and explained to me what was going to happen. “The water you are in right now has been mixed with specific deadly flowers I have grown. The extracts from Yellow Hyacinth and Marigold mixed with water will slowly but surely absorb your powers.”
Yellow Hyacinth?! Marigold?! These were flowers of jealousy! Deadly flowers if used correctly for that purpose could serve my end. It had to be none other than the Flower Goddess herself who knew such things with her expertise with plants. I would surely die before the night ended. But…… Rather I die than claim anyone else as my master.
So I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to hold in the heavy breathes that would follow resulting in the saturation of my energy.
“Hmph! Let’s see how long you will last.” The jealous goddess turned away, leaving me to drown in her poison.
~☾☽~
Five long hours passed by. Continuous gallons of water down poured onto my head and shoulders, to think that I had survived this far, was a miracle to say the least.
“Do you concede?”
My head jerked upwards at the sound of another person’s voice. “Never!” I barely managed to say.
“Then I have something that might ease your death.” She snapped her fingers and a strong flower-like smell wafted through the air. “I will wait to hear your last heart beat.”
The smell filled my nostrils and with no energy to fight back, my head drooped down; suffocation began its course as I fell into oblivion.
He walked with a purpose that propelled him forward quicker and quicker. Behind him, followed his eldest disciple in age, his 1st disciple, and Fourteenth.
Disregarding his crime of trespassing into the Flower Goddess’s domain, he hastened to what might be a tragedy. A smell filled his nose, one that he was familiar with especially in war. The smell was so poisonous, it could physically wound his disciples. Without turning to his followers, he ordered them to cover their noses.
They did so with a handkerchief and moved forward. The scent of poppy would not hurt him in anyway whatsoever, but his concern grew over the matter of the smell’s presence and its reckoning.
Past the unguarded cave entrance, he and his disciples descended into the lightly illuminated darkness. When they came to a fork in the cave, Sheng Ci Yu didn’t have to even think about which way to go. He followed the scent, his leading guidance, and soon came upon his fellow neighbor.
“Ci Yu?!” Startled to see her idol, she stopped just as she turned away from her torturing prison.
“Is my disciple here?” It was put more as a statement than a question.
Shocked, the Flower Goddess, responded back with a question. “And what business would I have with your disciple? How could you accuse me of such things?” Trying her best, she tried to guilt him by showing how disrespectful he was being.
Not wanting to hear what excuses she had, the Ancient God merely said in a stern voice, “If it is true, and you have denied it, you will face hard consequences.” He pushed past her and her attendees, ignoring her protests as he entered the other section of the cave.
In place, the followers aligned themselves as a wall to block the Flower Goddess from following their master in.
At a loss, Cu Lu could only watch from the entrance, the scene of which she believed to be betrayal.
With his following disciples blocking the entrance, Ci Yu could advance without the annoyance of the Flower Goddess.
Just as he had feared, the smell of poppy. The smell was increasingly stronger here than outside, he had hoped he was not too late.
A waterfall cascaded down into a pool and chained under the waterfall was Fifteenth. The God of War entered the pool and with a flick of his hand, he broke the chains holding his disciple.
Fifteenth, free of the chains holding him, fell forward but before his dead weight body could submerge into the water, Ci Yu caught him.
“Fifteenth.” No response.
He was out cold. The God of War felt for his pulse, faint but still present. He was furious as he picked up his disciple in his arms and hurried to the entrance.
“Fifteenth!” His other disciples called out in concern as Ci Yu came out.
The God of War was more than ready to leave to get medical help for his unconscious disciple but he knew that if he didn’t stop to say it, then he would not get another chance to draw the line between him and his old war-accompanying companion.
“Four days from now, Mount. Gelin Danni’er. Let us settle things between us for the last time.” With that, Ci Yu advancecd, leaving behind the distraught goddess, whose expression had become stricken with regret and grief.
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