Everything was faint when Xiao Tian opened his eyes. It was like he was reliving his nightmare. The first time, he had been a swordsman, practising the arts in the solitude of the mountains, when they were all assaulted by a group of masked invaders. His master was nowhere to be found, and his martial brothers were massacred.
They had been murdered over gold and a f
Dongyue slipped her out of her garments readily. He took her by the hand, leading her to the end of the room. He pulled on a small hidden lever in the Temple to reveal an unseen exit. This exit, surprisingly, took them into another room, a bathroom. It had not occurred to her how he had found out about this room’s existence, or why Muxue Yan needed to build a bathroom in his temple. As an extension of his mind and wishes, bricks and earth did not make the structure, but the power he had come to own after being corrupted by evil.
As with the announcement the other day, drums sounded again to assemble them at the hall of Muxue Yan’s chambers. By now, Xiyu was beginning to realise her biological father had regained most, if not all, of his lost powers. Her ‘mother’ had often told her stories of how the chained man in the mountains had met his demise.Now that she thought of it, what had those tales, that she had heard so clearly even from others, said? The chained man had been betrayed by his kin. Though she was unclear of the identities of the people who had gone against him, she knew their combined powers had to be akin to his, or even more powerful to overwhelm him. She would never fathom the pain of betrayal.Beside Yan, Dongyue was her only kin now, having forged the union of a soul and ritual bonding along with marriage. The union would strengthen their ties in time to come, and if they performed dual-cultivation, they could work their ways to become an unparalleled pair.&
It felt like only yesterday they had come to Xuancang Mountains. Now, it was time for the couple to bid their goodbyes to the structure, that would always remain a mystery to Zhan Dongyue. Save for making a few final arrangements, the three of them, along with Xiao Tian, were prepared to seal the temple and return to the island. Xiyu was mindful of how long it had been since she had left the island into the portal that led into the Xuancang Mountains. She missed her lands and her people, but a question remained in her mind. Would they ever be able to return to Xuancang again, if they wished? “Is everything ready?” Xiyu asked Dongyue. She noticed how forlorn he had been after she had revealed the truth of how the bulls had treated their companions. However, there was nothing much he could do at this point, and Yan had already decreed for the bulls to be executed for treason some days ago. “Master is still by Goddess Ao Yun’s coffin, bidding his goodbyes,” Comm
In the island of Muxue…Cold and large eyes, a striking figure
HOURS AGO"There's a turbulence, young master Dong," a low voice said, interrupting a tall and slim figure with a silvery mane, reading on the deck of the trading vessel. The young master was unusually calm, and even after how the ship was shaking, he maintained his calmness and continued reading.
Dongyue looked up at the elderly dwarf who had arrived along with the crowd. On the first impression, the man appeared to be the village mayor due to the seriousness of his attire. He clasped his hands and bowed as how his mother had taught him as a child, “My sincerest greetings to Old Mister.” His companions followed suit.
Xiyu monitored the travellers helping themselves to servings of her sumptuous fish porridge. The rice porridge was cooked on a traditional pan and contained special ingredients, many of which could not be found outside the island. Furthermore, the fish that served as the meat base of the meal was caught from a small stream with magical properties. She assumed that the magical properties would pass into the water used to cook the porridge and prove beneficial to the exhausted travellers.
The serenity of the night intrigued Dongyue, who was taking a walk to calm his senses. He had just arrived in this strange island, and what could be the better way to satiate the explorer part of himself by finding his way around?He hadn't expected anyone to be around. It was the sixteenth lunar day of the month, and the eight moons were slightly short of a full moon each