By the time Xue Yang reaches the infirmary, he's drenched but exhilarated. His knee was bleeding so badly, and the pain had been bothering him to the extent that he wished he could do something about it, so he stood for a moment, concentrating.
While the wind whipped around him, and the cool, clean rain sank through his robes to cleanse his skin, Xue Yang retreated into the deepest recesses of his mind and connected with his golden core, which thrummed with vitality. He remembered the oneness he'd felt during those wonderful weeks of solitude when he had discovered this miraculous aid and how much of a benefit it was. The strengthening of his golden core opened up new channels of thought in his mind, and so Xue Yang deliberately used that skill to heal himself. He remembered his Baba telling him that the power to kill, to take a life, was something sacred. And that it should not be used frivolously unless one had the power to give life back.
All because power should be maintained within a balance.
And if that's the case, and if Xue Yang can injure himself (however pathetically), then theoretically, he should be able to heal himself.
When the skin knits itself back together, his spiritual energy reinforcing the nerves and the veins of blood to heal once again, Xue Yang yells with surprise, his fists shooting up in the air with jubilation!
He did it!
How amazing was that?
He lifts up the cotton of his trouser leg and examines the pinkish skin excitedly, marvelling when even the scar fades away. Carefully, he scrubs the material together so that the reddish stain is washed away into something less alarming.
He's just about to move on when the doors of the infirmary slam open and Healer Fei runs out.
"Xue Yang! Find your Baba! Tell him, the traitor is already in Cloud Recesses!"
********************
EARLIER THAT SAME DAY: CHEN SHI (7am to 9am)
For the first time in his life, Wei Ying is awake purposefully before a reasonable time, and he and Lan Zhan are waiting for Lan Qiren to arrive with the five pieces of the Yin Iron. The sky looks dark, threatening rolling clouds merging high above them with the odd, inconsistent flash of lightning illuminating the mountain peaks far away in the distance. The world is coloured in shades of black, white and grey as they sit down on the ground, in the centre of a huge circle cleared of grass and any obstacles that could even accidentally change any of the characters that will be drawn.
Lan Zhan is sitting in a lotus position, meditating next to him.
He's focusing on the time, the unrelenting seconds that slide into minutes marking the change from *Mao Shi to Chen Shi. (*Rabbit to Dragon).
The sun rose a few hours ago and yet, it is still dark because of the heavy clouds.
Wei Ying's knee bounces and he's filled with nervous energy, going over what he will begin to draw out on the ground soon. He goes over and over the arrays he has marked out on paper, hours of poring over different alternatives with his mother and then agreeing on the best one.
But if it rains before they begin, that will be a problem. Once the arrays are activated, nothing will stop them from doing what they should, but at this point, everything is only theoretical.
He feels more than sees, when Lan Zhan opens his beautiful golden eyes and turns to him.
"It is time."
Wei Ying shivers, standing up. He gives Lan Zhan a hand up, and hearing a noise, they turn to see Uncle Qiren arriving. He comes closer and from his sleeves, he withdraws five separate qiankun pouches.
