WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 52 The Dead

Chenqing rings out across the dark waters, shrill and direct, reaching those whose ears thirsted to be called.

Suddenly, the deep, black waters begin to swirl with activity as resentment energy begins to grow. Dark tendrils of powerful spirits hungry with need, crawls out of the depths of the murky waters, searching for prey.

And then the Dead rise up, out of the lake.

Bone and rags, dripping with intent, they listen intently to the call of their Master.

"Do you accept this last service, to defend your old home, Lotus Pier and the clan you used to belong to? The Jiang Clan of Yunmeng, under whose protection you lived and died?" Wei Ying calls out in a somber voice.

Many voices ring out as one, clear with their answer.

"We accept."

Wei Ying smiles, a cold, chilling grin, a smirk of competence.

"Very well. Finish her." He commands, his lips returning to play the notes which would instruct.

A raging green fire erupts and swallows the air around them, a shrill scream that resonates along the black waters, and attacks the enemy.

EmoHua has never seen anything like this before.

Every flower she releases is devoured by the black smoke, expunged into nothingness instead of the powerful poison they once held. She launches attack after attack, and somehow, this angers the malicious spirits hunting her; they swarm around her and in a single attack, the resentment energy enters her body.

Through the nine cavities of her shape, she is helpless to stop it, to stop them as her eyes begin to bleed, followed by her nose and ears until her body is filled with resentment energy.

There is a second of calm.

And then it explodes out.

The green fire is waiting for this very moment, and when that happens, it incinerates every speck of skin that used to belong to the entity called EmoHua.

There is nothing left of her.

The green fire vanishes as if it had never been there, and the black smoke forms the figure of a person, barely discernible, just the misty shapes of limbs no longer a solid body.

It bows to Wei Ying.

He bows back.

This…This is what Lan Zhan admires too, within the multiple wonderful attributes of the man he loves, it is his kindness and respect towards all things that holds a dear place in his heart.

"Have we fulfilled our debt, Master?" The shape asks.

"You have. Would you like me to play one last song for you? To help you on your way?" Wei Ying asks sincerely.

"Yes. We who have dreamed of rest…of moving on. We are grateful for this last chance to assist." The figure bows once more, and then turns to where Jiang Cheng is standing next to XiChen.

It bows once in his direction, too, and then it drifts back to where the rest of the black smoke is waiting.

Wei Ying lifts up Chenqing to his lips and plays a haunting melody.

As they watch, the smoke begins to disperse.

And then, WangJi joins in, complimenting each note Wei Ying plays with one that underlies and supports, giving strength to their message.

Wei Ying opens his eyes when the last note hangs in the air for a moment, before disappearing. His silver eyes find Lan Zhan first, a golden fire burning in their depths.

He will not resist any longer; his feet march to where Lan Zhan makes his Guqin vanish, and suddenly they're in each other's arms, lips locked in a tender kiss.

The young Lan Zhan in his teens, already loved Wei Ying, but from the moment that he became known as the Yiling Patriarch, the Grandmaster of the Ghost path, his attraction had spiked an irrepressible need to be with him.

Then, circumstances had prevented them from coming together, but now?

Now, this man was his.

Every second they spent together was cherished, marked as precious because of the time spent apart, and Lan Zhan was going to make sure that Wei Ying knew how much he was loved…in all his forms.

Their foreheads rest against each other, simply looking into their eyes.

This time is nourishing and sweet, and much needed.

When they're ready, they turn around, hand in hand, and walk towards the others.

Baoshan Sanren and her Celestial Warriors are waiting, with XiChen and Jiang Cheng. And then Hui Gai returns with Zago, who moves to stand right next to her would-be benefactor. Jiang Cheng inches further into the side embrace of his husband.

"So…I guess we'll go and report to the Jade Emperor, then." She sighs.

"Oh…" Wei Ying blushes. "I forgot, you guys wanted her alive." He says, sheepishly.

"I rather think that would have been impossible…now. I think the only reason she did not teleport was because of you. I have never seen anyone wield that kind of power, and so effectively." She, too, has a look of awe in her purple eyes.

"Have you become better, with resentment energy, A-Xian?" XiChen asks him, smiling kindly.

"Um…maybe? Do you think so?" He asks back, hopefully.

Lan Zhan wraps his arm around Wei Ying’s waist and squeezes, reassuring him.

There was a time when Wei Ying’s particular skills were first celebrated, and then feared, and then hated. It's no wonder he does not feel too comfortable discussing resentment energy and his knack for controlling it.

Lan Zhan wants him to know that Wei Ying is supported, no matter what methods he uses, because in his eyes, the end justifies the means.

So when Wei Ying turns to him, a question lurking behind doubt in those diamond eyes, no longer ruby red, Lan Zhan smiles in encouragement.

"Wei Ying did the right thing. The only correct action to produce a favourable result." His smile deepens at the answering blush.

Now, as they look out across the many destroyed lotus flowers dripping into pieces on the surface of the lake, it's Jiang Cheng who knows he has to step up.

The devastation of lotus crops is real, and stench of rotting plants lingers in the air. Nothing is good about this.

"Oh!" Wei Ying suddenly says, smiling brighter than the sun.

"What?"

"Mn?"

"I think I know a way to stop that." Wei Ying points to the red fungus, voraciously eating a path through green healthy plants.