Black Greed

THIRTY SEVEN

The underground altar became a battlefield.

Wei MeiLan groaned in annoyance. "Eleven things plus to crazy people against two cultivators? This is why I said it's good to have a backup."

"Master..." Lan YuXia defended herself with her sword.

"A'Xia, if A'Cheng and Lan Huan are unable to come, I'll make way for you to escape. Do you understand?"

"But Master..."

"I'm not accepting your refusal. So if I say go, you will leave!" Wei MeiLan swung the sword to keep the black figures away.

Who would have thought that her usual good disciple won't follow her orders and ends up getting wounded, leaving him frustrated and afraid.

******

Lan XiChen and Jiang WanYin already finished their fight aboveground and followed them. The scene was grotesque, disgusting, and unpleasant. It was beyond their expectations; the brutality, that harsh treatment.

Then a tremor cut him off from his thoughts and rushed off to where Wei MeiLan would be right now, but what they saw was a shock.

Lan YuXia pale as her robes while Wei MeiLan with blood stains from her mouth and nose, both unconscious. Li ChangJin is unconscious too, and Li Duan is nowhere, only patches of black smudge on the floor everywhere, like an evidence of something that exploded on that spot.

Jiang WanYin rushed towards them and checked them both. Relief passed to his face after he checked Wei MeiLan, but he paled when he checked Lan YuXia. "No, no, no!"

Lan XiChen sensed something was wrong until he saw that a small resentful energy is still latched at the wound, with poison evident at the edges.

Lan YuXia died from an unknown poison while trying to defend her master.

Wei MeiLan tried to dispel the resentful energy from the wound but the poison was triggered, thus sending Lan YuXia to her immediate death. She ended up using all of her spiritual energy, that sent shock at the surrounding, causing tremors that they felt earlier, exhausting her and collapsed beside Lan YuXia.

Lan XiChen took a deep breath to calm himself. Jiang WanYin was in deep shock to see another person died.

But then, a miracle happened. Their somber faces went elated at the scene unfolding in front of them.

Lan YuXia is still alive. Jiang WanYin was unable to read the weak pulse of Lan YuXia and mistook it as her being dead already.

She gasped of a breath and confusion is etched on her face. "Wha-what happened?"

Jiang WanYin helped her sat, supporting her upper body gently.

"We thought you died," Lan XiChen said. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I protected master from an ambush behind her, using my body as shield. I-I didn't know it was coated with poison and the resentful energy will latch on me. She told me to escape and find you, but I changed my mind and disobeyed her. Before I closed my eyes, she was glowing. Other than that, I don't remember anything." Lan YuXia tried to move towards. Wei MeiLan that Lan XiChen moved.

Jiang WanYin stopped her. "She's unconscious, everything is all over, we can go home now."

"I think, my master knows," Lan YuXia said.

"Know what?" Jiang WanYin asked to her.

"That A'Xia will die, that's why she told her to leave," Lan XiChen answered for them. "She warned me to keep her safe, no matter what. But I can't help but follow my urge to let YuXia follow her. At first, I thought she was joking, but when misfortune comes to her, I instinctively send YuXia to her, to make sure she'll be safe.

"I know that she doesn't want it, but she gave up and let it be, thinking probably of ways to keep YuXia safe. Then this happened. She doesn't want any person she value the most to die, again."

"Clan Leader Jiang, you know what I'm talking about. Despite of prejudice scorn she will face in cultivation world, she continued to move forward and let everything unravel. She decided to help you, despite of being branded as the most hateful person's sister."

Jiang WanYin's mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to suck in some air from the water, being speechless.

"That's foolish." That's the only thing that Jiang WanYin managed to say.

"Perhaps," Lan XiChen didn't agree or disagree. "But you don't know what's inside their minds and you cannot control them according to your desire."

He picked up Wei MeiLan gently. "It's time for us to return. I hope this will be the last. Third brother will arrest the perpetrators and serve them justice."

Carrying both ladies back to Lotus Pier, Lan XiChen released a sigh. "You did well this time, Wei Qing," He kissed the top of Wei MeiLan's head. "But this time, I won't let you have grievances once again."

Jiang WanYin was studying Lan XiChen's behavior curiously. The twin Jades of Lan are quite opposite in attitude, being warm and cool in demeanor as cultivator, but Lan XiChen can do more for Wei MeiLan without her saying anything, enduring everything just to make her happy.

This wasn't the first time that they will both come home bringing the two ladies injured, but they can only lament inside how the women in their lives do this in extreme in order to protect everyone.