Lìngxiāo fought not to let go of his hardly brought back ability, which usually slipped away. He shakily nodded to the man. 'Above the floor.. and below the roof..?'
He sharply looked up.
But it was anything but what he might have expected.
The whole space between the roof and floor was full of thick dark violet fog—which felt like fogged demons. The smoke tangled around everyone present in the room. Not on Làncǎi properly. It was mostly on Wàng Wùjī and Wàng Fèng.
The voices were suddenly louder, a little clearer, but he didn't know whose voice it was. Mostly hopeless boys who wished to be something more, wished for a bit of breath:
"We could have saved them if we were half an hour earlier."
"Why did I not listen to them?"
"Why can I not learn to be better at this ritual?"
"Why am I always behind?"
"The bodies are too rotten to even work with. I wish I could breathe outside this clan."
Even from someone like:
"I cannot be touched just for the sake of passing a test. Why do our clans have to compete with the Xuè Gusu clans?"
"Such a shame that I was not able to be the next Patriarch just because my zhù fù is not alive."
Lìngxiāo caught only the last one as the loudest and most aching. But the blow was sudden and unexpected. They called Hàngwō the violet heaven. But did they even recognize how deep and dark it could be?
Lìngxiāo didn't have any answer either. His little soul couldn't handle this blow too, and he sharply moved behind in silent panic. Eyes widened.
'This is too much. I cannot breathe here. Maybe nobody can.'
The man was a second late to turn at him. Nobody knew if it was intentional or if he was simply lost in thought. But his mouth parted with silent panic of ruining things. "Boy, careful!"
He grabbed him by his forearm—but too late.
His nine-tail fox core accidentally responded to his unsteadiness for the first time in a strange way. The table where Lìngxiāo's hand rested to steady himself grew something soft yellow mixed with golden—golden ice which felt confused, unsteady, but dangerous. The ice edges grew sharp.
His elbow also hit a small lamp on the table which had white fire carefully kept inside. It fell from the table with a sudden loud thud, freeing the fire into the room. Flames started to rise like a moving, walking, smoky hot liquid, trying to take shape.
It wasn't any normal fire—but the fire which reacts violently when totally unsealed and senses something no cultivator can sense. It can't sense what cultivators can—specifically used for high-level threats.
Perhaps there was something.
The man's face turned cooler than before, but he kept just watching the flame and others without giving any reactions yet. He muttered, "Impressive... who keeps flames in children's rooms? For protection while it comes out when someone unsealed it? Like enemies' souls willingly open it to play? Hmph, still learning this thing."
Lìngxiāo's throat tightened.
No words escaped from him. He just stared at the ice which felt like frozen fire. Just like his frozen reaction right now. His chest heaved from the sudden destruction he had caused. Now the Patriarch and Làncǎi would find out about their presence.
Wàng Fèng, who had been thoughtful and numb earlier, his eyes silently widened with awareness, protectiveness, and anger.
"Pàpà, fire!" Wàng Wùjī cried out in panic when the fire warned him too creepily that he clenched into Làncǎi's robe, trembling.
"I am here. It is alright." Làncǎi said to him gently. He held Wàng Wùjī closer to his chest and dodged the fire by jumping and went out of the room safely with him.
Even when the fire tried to touch Wàng Wùjī—Làncǎi's heel of his boot cracked off an oversized pulsing white cold rose which almost cooled down the unsteady fire, curling its holy petals around the heat.
"Who is there? Show yourself. Watching us the whole time?" Wàng Fèng warned, holding a protective hand over Làncǎi with his son. His violet sleeve large enough to hide them.
He took out his sword, pointing at the fire and ordered to it, "Do not come closer here. Move over where the presence is."
The fire hissed as it obeyed and started to go closer to where the man and Lìngxiāo were standing.
"Pathetic.." the man muttered bitterly, making Lìngxiāo stand over his feet with a faint careless huff.
"I-i apologize, shù fu! I did not mean it!" Lìngxiāo apologized when he found his voice again. His gaze held boundless guilt, fear, and shock. His head wasn't working.
'Why do I always ruin everything without meaning to?'
The man huffed and just pulled Lìngxiāo closer. "Good thing that nobody saw your little face yet. The less they see, the less problem."
He covered Lìngxiāo's face by a red veil which he took out from his robe and took Lìngxiāo into his arms—he was totally sitting over the bone of his arm like he weighed nothing. In helplessness, Lìngxiāo could just hold on tight at the man. The man covered his own face with a black veil too, smirking faintly into it like any ghost groom in black.
Lìngxiāo lightly peeked from it quietly, eyes still flashing with frightening light, watching the man quickly dodging the flames. He hoped they wouldn't get caught.
"Take my boy outside. Do not come in unless I am done with this presence. I cannot track if he is a powerful human or anything else." Wàng Fèng ordered to Làncǎi.
Làncǎi nodded once and stepped outside. The door shut itself with a loud thud. His gray gaze held full trust on his Patriarch's skills. So he focused on Wàng Wùjī's safety more.
Wàng Wùjī stared in wide eyes at his father, almost worried but his mouth tightly buried into Làncǎi's neck as they faded into the corridor.
On the other hand, Wàng Fèng stepped into the room. First he threw his spiritual power which turned into light violet glass and sealed back the fire. The glass ball landed ended up over Wàng Wùjī's empty bed. He glared over the yellow ice thoughtfully. "The one present here is indeed different."
Then he glared at the place where Lìngxiāo and the man were standing—then without any warning, he started to move his sword into deadly moves. "Let us see who you actually are."
Lìngxiāo's breath caught.
The man moved gracefully—but Lìngxiāo feared they would get caught.
"Ah, you are brave but I have no mood for fighting with you. Not now at least." The man mumbled to himself as he dodged it, his long black hair flying everywhere but not getting touched by the blade either. Wàng Fèng's eyes twitched with anger.
Lìngxiāo hissed softly when the tip of Wàng Fèng's sword touched the skin of his arm. A thin layer of blood painted his skin.
It made them get back to visible.
"Fuck, what else needs to come?" The man said flatly.
Lìngxiāo held his veil tighter, not aware of those adult words. He just tried not to expose his face even a little. Only his tightly pressed lips visible with the twitching smile.
"So sad. You found us, Hàng Wàng Xiānsheng." The man purred fearlessly, stopping the blade by two fingers. "But you could have been a little careful with the blade. I have a child with me."
Wàng Fèng's breath caught by their unclear sight but never stopped his moves. He thought something for a second before asking. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
"Long story. Perhaps say any other day?" The man answered with a chuckle and jumped over the window.
"You—" When Wàng Fèng was about to catch them, the man threw his veil over his face.
"Farewell! Seyo nara!~" He said playfully.
When Wàng Fèng removed the veil—they were already gone. He blinked once. Then twice.
"Seyo nara.. hm..?" He exhaled through his mouth. "Strange. Is he from Nihon or something? Even human..?"
He stared at the empty sky.
"Xiānsheng, are you alright?" Some elder Hàng Wàng knocked and called from outside.
"I am indeed well.." He called from inside.
He went outside after straightening his posture. Others asked him a few things after a gentle bow. He talked with them and walked away with others after glaring at the open window.
Especially on the yellow ice.
The tension never erased from his shoulder.
[End Of Flashback]