Li XiWang shrieks and scrambles back.
The Flower Demon stands up straight, satisfied that the child is going to remain quiet for now. She storms out and Li XiWang takes this opportunity to summon her guqin.
She's feeling too panicky with her heart racing faster than exploding firecrackers.
Rumi was watching her and the pressure was building: why couldn't she think properly!??
What was the melody she needed to fight the barrier?
Rumi sensed how she was feeling and crawled behind her. His little skinny arms came around Li XiWang's waist and he hugged her from behind.
"I…I can't remember the notes!" Li XiWang admits, her voice breaking at the end.
Rumi rubs his cheek against her back. He wants to reassure her but he has no idea which words to use…and Li XiWang has never had trouble with understanding him.
"Mistress! It is Chord Assassination Technique…but if you don't know the specific sequence…then I'm afraid your musical cultivation will not help." DaErduo said, shifting back into his four-limbed body.
Tears of frustration gathered in her eyes, and Li XiWang brushed them away roughly, upset with herself.
"I just…I need to do something! I can't just sit here, waiting for Her to do something!" She whispered urgently.
"You mean…to give our side an advantage?" DaErduo asked.
"Yes…we can't just remain inactive…waiting for Her to use us against my parents…and there's no way she doesn't mean to do something terrible…" Li XiWang dismissed her Guqin, so disappointed with herself.
"Perhaps this problem requires a different type of finesse." DaErduo encouraged her. "If we can find out what exactly she wants…it might help your fathers with a counter offer."
"So…you think I should talk to her some more?" Li XiWang asked.
It wasn't a bad idea.
"Hmm…indeed. If we can learn what she wants, we might be able to warn your parents aforehand, thereby giving them the advantage over her…and even if it seems a small thing, it might be the very detail to save us. Please think about this, Mistress. I think I hear her coming back!" No sooner than he finished speaking, DaErduo quickly transformed back into a dust mite and hid in Li XiWang's robes.
But I'm only a kid…Li XiWang thinks, desperately trying to think about what to ask the Flower Demon.
And whatever it was, it had something to do with the JingLings that were strewn about the cave, discarded as though they were useless and relegated to trash.
The Flower Demon surely had no regard for them.
And was that the key?
The JingLings? Did she want the one they had at the Jingshi?
If that was the case…what was she going to do to that cute pink face? Those beautiful eyes that smiled so innocently when getting Father Wei's noodles from Caiyi Town…
Li XiWang wanted to protect it.
Maybe because it was so innocent, without blame…but she strengthened her resolve and sat straighter as the Flower Demon came back into the cave.
She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to talk to someone who already disliked her.
"What do you want from my parents?" Li XiWang makes her voice sound much stronger than how she actually felt.
The Flower Demon sprawls on a chair opposite the barrier which separates them. She raises an eye to study Li XiWang, before answering.
"I want the JingLing he has. You both…" she flicks a finger towards them. "Are just my guarantee that your people will keep their word. It's really quite simple."
"So you're just going to swap us over?"
"Yep. Once I get what I want, I'll leave you all alone. That JingLing doesn't even belong to you all, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Li XiWang says, thinking about it. "My parents found it themselves…it was buried in the ruins of a temple…how is it yours?"
"Whenever I do…what I do…my spells leave a trace. I can follow back on every single JingLing…I have changed!" She said proudly. "And that one is mine!"
"Why are you doing it, though? I don't understand that, most of all."
"You wouldn't understand. You're too young .. the world hasn't sunk its claws into you yet…you think everything is sunshine and rainbows and good times. Wait till you get punched in the face with reality." She cackles…and it's an awful sound, completely opposite to happiness it's supposed to convey.
It sounds heartbreaking.
"Why? What happened to you?" Li XiWang asks her, so eager to hear what she has to say, that she nearly forgets about finding out vital information from this Demon.
"Me?" She laughs bitterly. "I fell in love…that's what happened to me." She announces.
There's a jar of some kind of liquid on the ledge next to where the Flower Demon is sitting. She doesn't bother getting a cup, she pulls out the cork with her teeth and takes a deep swallow, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
The action reminds Li XiWang of her fathers; Father Wei would do the same thing, and Father Zhan would wipe his mouth before Father Wei could do what she just did.
The Flower Demon looks so world weary, as if she's had enough of…well, everything.
"I don't understand." Li XiWang admits. "Falling in love is supposed to be a good thing. It makes people happy. That's for sure!" She says innocently, comparing what she knows to be true, with what this Flower Demon is saying, instead.
"And how would you know?" The Flower Demon scoffs at her.
Rumi growls loudly.
"I know…because I see True Love every single day. It's definitely a good thing." Li XiWang crosses her arms over her chest.
"Explain!" For the first time, the Flower Demon actually looks interested in what she has to say.
YOU ARE READING
WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon
RomanceThings have settled down for our favourite couple and they're just getting used to living in the domestic bliss that Wei Ying always dreamed of. However, there is still the question of Jiang Cheng and his mysterious curse, the JingLing that can't re...
