Hua Xianle

Chapter 75:

As their first day at the Indoctrination Camp drew to a close, all of the disciples were divided up and placed in various guest houses spread across Nightless City. Before they were separated, Hua Ying discretely slipped each of his friends one of the many butterflies that hid in his hair. They would need to keep in contact, especially since the guards posted outside of their guest houses made it clear wandering was forbidden.

Wen Chao had taken great delight in sticking Hua Ying in one of the smallest and most rundown of the guest houses. The furnishings were sparse at best with holes in the blankets and tears in the windows. Perhaps he thought that the prince would complain or balk at the thought of sleeping in such conditions.

He had no idea that one of Hua Ying’s favorite places in the world was a tiny shrine with a thatched roof and only straw for bedding.

After dusting off the table and sitting down, Hua Ying looked at the book he had been given, reading it over curiously. Wei Ning didn’t bother with his copy, focusing more on putting up silencing talismans to keep them from being snooped on.

“Quite the interesting read,” Hua Ying commented, laying on his back on the bed with the book up in the air. “I wonder if your uncle or Wen Chao have actually read this thing.”

“Which part are you on, Hua-gongzi?” Wei Ning asked, continuing his work.

“This precept from Wen Mao.” The Prince sat up, flicking the page slightly. “All those who oppress others and do evil relying on the power of their house should be killed. Not only that, they should be beheaded for tens of thousands to revile so that those to come would beware.”

Wei Ning sighed, sitting down at the small table in the center of the room. “If that were true, then my uncle’s head would have rolled long ago.”

“His, his sons’, and probably half of all of Qishan.” Hua Ying chuckled slightly. “Guess my A-Die was already obeying these precepts when he took care of that messenger.”

“Perhaps.”

Silence fell over their small hut as Hua Ying closed the book. He then reached into his hair, pulling out the butterfly that remained there. It flittered around him before settling on the table before him. Silvery energy slowly manifested from it, forming paintbrush images of Huaisang, Mingjue, Zixuan, and Wangji.

“Da-ge!” Huaisang immediately shouted, taking charge of the conversation. “Are you alright? What’s happened so far? Did you find Xichen-ge?”

“Yeah, we found him,” Mingjue reported, his painted eyes glancing over at Wangji. “He was a bit worse for wear and definitely traumatized, but he was alive.”

“How is he doing, Lan Zhan?” Hua Ying chimed in, seeing his zhiji’s concern even through the painted facsimile of the second jade.

“Not good… Want to play Rest for him.” Wangji’s face visibly fell. “Can’t.”

Never had Hua Ying wanted to reach through the magic of the image and hold his zhiji more than at this moment. Instead, all he could do was offer his zhiji a smile and some words of encouragement.

“Hey, this is temporary, alright? We’re all gonna make it home and when we do, you can play for your brother as much as he needs.”

“And in the meantime, we’ll all keep an eye out for him,” Mingjue declared. “He’s not alone anymore.”

“I’m sorry we can’t do more to help him,” Jin Zixuan spoke up. “Hopefully with you there, he can start to heal at least a little bit.”

Lan Zhan’s face softened slightly and he nodded, grateful for the support of his friends. Even separated as they were, they still had each other’s backs and would be there when they were needed.