WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 32 Freedom

Jiang Cheng begins to stir.

XiChen is holding him close, rubbing his back warmly.

Wei Ying thinks if he doesn't ask her now, he might never get this chance again.

"Xiannu...we are going to help you, please rest assured. But I need to know: if there were many of these JingLing created, how come they are so hard to find? Where have they disappeared?"

The fairy pales. She is almost completely white now, the only colour on her body is on her beautiful wings, trembling with fear.

"Young Master...do you have a way to ward this place? But I fear I have been too careless! We should not have been discussing anything about the JingLing out in the open." She laments, looking around in fear.

Wei Ying has already pulled out his trusty talismans and throws them in all five directions with such an expert proficiency that causes her to raise a brow.

"Oh..." Wei Ying blushes, and it's the cutest thing Lan Zhan has ever seen. "I'm used to doing them..." He offers, by way of explanation. He does not tell her why...

"But why are you afraid?" He asks her, quickly changing the subject.

"I have to admit, I have not been as honest with you as I should have been." She says. "But since you have kept your word and are going to help me...I should tell you the following because it might save your life."

A chill unexpectedly runs down Wei Ying’s spine. He is not scared, because a cultivator of his calibre has seen many unusual things and he cannot be scared of mere words. But his instincts kick in and he finds himself listening intently.

If he has learned anything in all his lives, it is that the Universe gives signs and it is up to each individual whether to heed them or ignore. Wei Ying has always followed the first part.

"What do you mean?" He asks her carefully.

"I found many JingLing through different forms of perseverance...but they were damaged." She says cryptically, lowering her voice.

"How so?" Wei Ying has to come closer to hear her properly. He is intrigued, mostly because this fits in with what he suspects has happened to their JingLing.

What if she knows something about its condition? And more importantly, what if she knows the cure? It is entirely plausible.

"The normal procedure to activate a JingLing is by rubbing the surface of its confinement. But all the ones I found were useless!" She hisses out of frustration. "And then, I found out why." She leans closer.

Wei Ying doesn't think she's lying...she's too frightened for that.

"Someone is hunting them." She says.

Her words hang in the air ominously.

"Hunting them? How do you know?" This is something to worry about, Wei Ying thinks, if her guess is right.

"I know...because I have spent the better part of my life looking for them as the only way to secure my release. And then all of a sudden, anyone who knows anything ...they're all vanishing. Coincidence? I think not."

Wei Ying considers this.

Only those who advanced in life did not believe in random occurrences.

Those that stayed in the same place for the duration of their lives, those that made no progress...those were the ones who spent their lives in denial. Choosing to be lazy.

The fairy is like him, he realises with instant clarity.

"Someone is specifically looking for JingLing and one by one, eradicating them. They were made by the Great Immortals, so they cannot be destroyed...but they can be rendered unusable." She lowered her voice even further. "As much as we travel, we get news from all over. The JingLing are sought after anyway, but when they were being hunted for the sole purpose of making them impotent, the ones who trade in them went underground. No one talks about them now, at least not in the open." She was as serious as could be, fear hanging off her words. "That was part of the reason I did not say the name out loud."

"Do you suspect someone from the carnival is doing this?" Wei Ying asks her, now on edge.

She shakes her head.

"I have heard tales."

"What kind of tales?"

"There are the outlandish ones of course, but have you ever heard a story so bizarre, so strange, that you cannot believe it? And when you find out that it is true? What then? How do you feel?" Her voice was barely discernable now.

Wei Ying wasn't sure how to answer her now.

The hairs on the back of his neck were upright and goosebumps broke out over his arms.

"What did you hear?" His voice matches hers, in volume.

If she was afraid of something or someone hearing, in spite of warding the place, then Wei Ying didn’t want to take any chances.

"I have collected bits and pieces and constructed a tale of broken parts. Separate and heard alone, they perhaps mean very little...but together? That's a different story. I am going to tell you everything...and let us see if you reach the same conclusion as I." Her voice had a mesmerising quality to it, as she began to recall from her memory.

"Be careful." Lan Zhan says to Wei Ying, his lips resting on Wei Ying’s temple, at the side.

Neither wanted to take their eyes off the little fairy.

Wei Ying chances a look at XiChen and Jiang Cheng. The latter is awake now and listening just as intently as the rest of them. Wei Ying wants to talk about this, and the other happenings with his brother, and soon but now is not the time.

He misses getting feedback and thoughts from Jiang Cheng, he even misses the irrational anger and scathing remarks, but even more importantly, he has an idea that what is coming will directly affect Lotus Pier...and by proxy Jiang Cheng. He has Feng Li Pao and his family in Gusu...but still.

He gets the feeling that after they let Xiannu use the JingLing to free herself, they will never see her again. If that becomes true, then they need to milk her for everything she's worth because this opportunity will not come easily again.