Yin And Yang |WangXian| Avatar AU

5| Biling Lake

The skies darkened with the absence of the sun's radiance but dimly illuminated with the moon's softness. Clouds accompanied the lonely moon. It smiled down its light upon the gentle waters where a boat of a fisherman was afloat. This was Biling Lake, a territory belonging to Gusu near a town called Caiyi. Two lanterns were lit, hanging on the pillars that held the roof up. Stillness and peaceful silence ensued as the fisherman patiently waited for his catch. The rod made small ripples in the water, then suddenly plunged deep and was nowhere in sight. The hook had caught something.

The man felt the tug and began to pull the rod, thinking of it at first as a regular fish. It surprised him, as much more strength was required from him. He now noticed this was no ordinary fish. His boat began to spin under the command of whatever his hook caught. He was panicking, unable to see how he could just let go of the rod. Fortunately, it broke off and saved him from getting pulled into the lake's water. The man took heavy breaths, and huge beads of sweat formed all over his face. He looked at his hands, all shaking. They were all bruised from the grip he put on the fishing line, with small wounds that threatened to bleed out.

"What's that thing under the water?" he asked himself.

Bubbles formed and popped in the direction his back was facing. He heard this and turned, sweat forming all over his face. The number of bubbles appearing grew rapidly. They seemed to appear and vanish faster than ever before, but then they stopped. It was unnervingly quiet. To his horror, the corpses of dead people floated to the surface. A few more came, scaring him further into death. Without warning, a water serpent emerges from deep under, turning the water violent and flipping the boat over. A scream from a helpless man echoed into the night air.

-

In the town of Caiyi, leaves fluttered down from the trees and made very small ripples upon contact with the water. There were wooden boats that floated above, mostly filled with vendors selling their products to be purchased by interested customers.

Nie Huisang was onboard a boat that passed under the stone bridge adorned with moss and vines. He was lightly fanning himself with his ink-painted fan as he breathed in the freshness of Caiyi town's air. His eyes continued to admire the change of scenery, having been stuck at Cloud Recesses with stressful lectures to go through.

"Bridges riding over the stream, houses resting by the river—Caiyi Town is worthy of its name." Nie Huisang said it aloud to himself. He then closed his fan when he heard a familiar laugh. He turned around to see the source.

It was Wei Ying, sitting by an outside table and chair near a restaurant, along with Jiang Cheng. Standing a few feet away from them was Jin Zixuan. His arms crossed over his chest as he watched his servant work, preparing the necessities he would need once they sailed into the town's wide river stream.

"What a stroke of luck with heaven on my side! The little prude is busy investigating, and the old prude is attending the discussion conference in Nie Earth Clan." Wei Ying said this, referring to Lan Zhan as the little prude and Lan Qiren as the old prude.

Due to his obnoxious voice, Jin Zixuan boarded his rented boat and sailed away from the two waterbenders of the Yunmeng Jiang Water Clan.

"Once luck strikes, it's unstoppable!" Wei Ying happily said. A smile was glued to his face. He scooped up and ate a spoonful of the sweet frozen dessert served on a flat plate in front of him.

"Luck?" Jiang Cheng asked, his head resting on his palm for support. "You've offended the whole Lan Air Clan. After Old Man Lan returns, nobody will bury your corpse."

"You've already buried my corpse so many times; what's wrong with once more? Besides, who cares about what happens after death? Seize the day before then! It's a bright spring day, and a crispy ice dessert with rich milk incense lies before us. Why not just indulge?" Wei Ying replied as he took another big bite, smiling wider than before as he dramatically savored the sweet taste.