A serenade of the past

Chapter 11

Wei Ying took a breath, thinking it was over until they saw four more pieces of seal appear inside the array.  

“There’s more?” Sizhui panted.

“Don’t let up, everyone! It’s not over yet!” Lan Qiren warned.

They repeated the process with all pieces of the seal until they had finished making the Stygian Amulet pure.

___________

The room was filled with the sounds of panting. Everyone present in the room was exhausted. They couldn't move at all and decided to take some rest. Some of them were slumped against the wall and others were lying on the floor with their eyes closed. 

Wei Ying slowly opened his eyes, not realising that he had closed them. He struggled to his feet; he was feeling better than before. The first thing he did was make his way to the array and realised that the 5 pieces of Stygian Amulet had transformed. In the center of the array floated three Jade pendants, a white flute and a ring.

Each Jade pendant was colored differently and represented an animal. They took the forms of a white dragon, blue dragon and purple snake respectively. 

The White flute was different; it was emitting a sort of pure energy that everyone could feel. Wei Ying could feel it calling out to him. The energy made everyone feel mesmerised. They had never sensed this pure energy ever before in their lives. The flute had golden flower designs carved into it. As for the fifth piece, the Ring, it was an exact replica of Zidian except it was in black.

The others had started to recover from their fatigue. They got up and staggered towards Wei Ying, eyeing the seal with interest. One of the pieces suddenly spoke. "Master, Thank you so much for saving us."

Wei Ying blinked. For a moment he was unsure who had spoken. "Ah, there’s no need for your thanks. Did you change your appearance?”

This time Wei Ying heard the voice of the flute. "Master, we thought it would be better to conceal ourselves so that no one would know we are actually the Stygian seal. But even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to touch us. Now that we have been purified, we have our own consciousness as well. We are free from negative emotions, and free to be ourselves. We can become human if we want to.”

“Huh?” Jingyi said, rubbing his eyes. “This is so strange, just like everything else. Anyone surprised?” he joked. Sizhui shook his head and laughed.

Nie Mingjue tilted his head and asked, "Then why are you not changing into humans already?”

“Not enough food,” Jingyi said. “And not enough good wine to go around.” Lan Zhan gave him a stern look.

This time it was one of the 3 Jade pendants that spoke up. "We await a name, which must be granted to us by our masters. The name that is granted will also change our appearance accordingly. All 5 pieces of us are also connected. We can be used as a way to find someone if they are in danger. And we do not require food or wine.”

Wei Ying hummed. He knew that he wanted the flute and ring. And he would give the Jade pendants to his mates. 

Jiang Cheng had been staring at the ring for a while and couldn’t hold himself back. "Does the ring work the same as Zidian?”

The Ring answered Jiang Cheng's question as it hovered inside the array. "Yes, I work in the same way as Zidian. I can be used to repel evil souls and spirits, as well as making someone confess the truth."

Wei Ying grasped the 3 Jade pendants, removing them from the array. He turned towards his mates. He handed the White Dragon Jade pendant to Lan Zhan with a smile on his face. "Lan Zhan, I will give you this."

Everyone was shocked as Jiang Cheng felt his heart skip a beat. A strange feeling had taken hold of his chest. He didn't know what was happening. Why was he feeling this way about Wei Ying? 

He watched Wei Ying hand the Blue Jade Pendant to Lan Xichen with a pang of envy. 

“Jiang Cheng, here’s yours,” Wei Ying handed the Purple Snake Jade Pendant to him and flashed him a brilliant smile. “See, purple suits you well!” He clapped Jiang Cheng on the back before walking away.

Jiang Cheng felt his cheeks turn red. He couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

“Go forth and grant us a name. We are ready." the Purple pendant in his hands spoke. With a jolt, Jiang Cheng was brought back to the present moment.

Lan Zhan held up the Jade Pendant Wei Ying had given him. He would have seemed expressionless to those unable to read him, but his mates knew he was very happy. 

"Lan Baixing will be your name. If I call Baixing, or ‘white star’, you shall respond.” Lan Zhan ordered.

The Jade pendant Lan Zhan was holding started to glow brightly and floated in front of him. Slowly but surely, the pendant began to transform. Soon Lan Baixing stood there where the pendant had been moments ago. His eyes glowed bright red, his white hair swaying slightly from the breeze. His robes were white like Gusu Lan Sect. It was clear that Lan Baixing was an Alpha. His scent was strong like an Alpha and his eyes were filled with untold strength.

The next person who named the Jade token was Lan Xichen. 

“You will be Lan Longwang, meaning ‘dragon king’. It is my pleasure to work with you.” Lan Xichen spoke gently to the seal.

As soon as the name was spoken, Lan Longwang transformed into a human. His eyes glowed red like Baixing’s, however, his hair was blue. He carried the scent of an omega.

“Jiang Guang, guide me,” Jiang Cheng spoke with determination. “Show me the way forward.”

Jiang Guang appeared, his hair purple in color and flowing past his waist. 

Everyone watched, fascinated with the events happening before them. 

Wei Ying stepped forward.

“I’m not good at long speeches and deep meanings. But we will find out the truth of what happened in the past, and we will all live. So I will name the flute Wei Chenqing and the ring Wei Zhenxiang. Zhenxiang, or ‘truth’.”

Chenqing's eyes were blue in color. His hair was black with golden streaks. His softer scent pinpointed him as an omega. Zhenxiang's eyes were also blue, but his hair was purely black and dark as night.

Wei Ying shared a glance with Lan Zhan, who had a small smile on his face. Soon enough, all the pieces of the Stygian amulet changed back. Wei Ying put the ring on his left index finger and adorned his waist with Chenqing.  His mates took their Jade pendants and hung them around their necks.

“The ceremony is complete,” Lan Qiren spoke up from the back of the room, surveying everyone with his solemn gaze. “But this is only the beginning of our fight. Our enemies remain undefeated; do not let your guard down.”

Lan Zhan's white jade pendant is called Lan Báixīng (Baixing means white star).

Lan Xichen's blue dragon Jade pendant is called Lan Lóngwáng (Longwang means dragon king)

Jiang Cheng's purple snake Jade pendant is called Jiang Guang (Guang means someone who guides the path forward).

Wei Ying's ring is called Wei Zhenxiang (Zhenxiang means truth), his flute is called Wei Chenqing.