The main headquarters of the Lotus Leaf Sect was situated upon the body of water otherwise known as the White Flower Pond. And it was, as one might imagine, a body of water that was home to a fair number of white flowers – white lotus flowers, to be exact.
These flowers could be seen on top of the lake. Because yes, it was a lake, despite it being called a pond, and while it wasn’t exactly vast, it was still sizeable enough, in spite of all the structures that now sat on top of it.
The main building had been erected on top of a pier, and from it sprawled a fair number of walkways, connecting the main building to various annexes, all of them supported by pillars from below. There were bridges too, forming archways that would allow smaller boats to pass through unimpeded.
Many didn’t use them however; spectres in pure white made their way around the complex through qi-imbued jumps whereas the other sect members scurried about in white and green robes. Pure white robes were reserved solely for the cultivators of the highest rank. This was probably a good thing too, because if the ones jumping about had also been clad in that particular shade of green, then it would’ve been easy to compare them to frogs.
“Forget about frogs,” Youming Jun muttered, looking and sounding a bit worse for wear. “They’re like white grasshoppers. A swarm of locusts.”
Ah. Well, that certainly made an image.
Jiao Ziyu found his lips curling upwards. Because hearing the masters of the Lotus Leaf Sect get compared to a swarm of locusts was hilarious, and if not for the direness of the situation at hand, then Jiao Ziyu would’ve laughed out loud.
Ah, but he could still treasure the memory of that image; he could keep it and polish it attentively until the day when this whole debacle had hopefully been resolved at no greater cost and passed off into the sort of unpleasant remembrance that Jiao Ziyu would attempt to drown with copious amounts of alcohol. Hell, maybe he would even try out all of the available alcohol in Wú Jiǔ City, and then some?
In any case, for now, there was obviously no time to lose. Because Youming Jun had done his part in bringing them here, and Jiao Ziyu had previously done his part in assuaging fears and convinced worried relations and other acquaintances to allow the ‘Red Devil’ to take their loved ones away – and this process had become a whole lot easier after he’d mentioned that their intended destination was the White Flower Pond.
The Lotus Leaf Sect had a good reputation, generally speaking. In the eyes of some, the Lotus Leaf was akin to the lotus itself, representing purity, grace, beauty, and elegance.
In this interpretation, the members of the Lotus Leaf Sect were the ideal incarnation of cultivators, performing their duties without attachments whilst remaining untouched and unaffected by the sinful actions of others. To some – many Lotus Leaf Sect members included – they were akin to the flowers of the lotus, growing out of the mud without becoming tainted by it.
But there was also the other side of the coin, which was that the members of the Lotus Leaf Sect were a bunch of stuck-ups, rigid and usually contemptuous of those not adhering to their strict ideals.
As such, Jiao Ziyu found himself immensely glad that he didn’t currently have his own sect’s colours on full display. Because had that been the case, well⸺ Jiao Ziyu would much rather not think about it, to be perfectly honest. Besides, there were plenty of other things to think about.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Youming Jun made a slight grimace. “This was a lot more draining than I thought. I can probably manage one more jump though.”
Probably? Jiao Ziyu didn’t like the sound of that. “If you can’t, then let me know. I doubt I can run as fast as you normally do, but⸺”
“Those grasshoppers would catch you,” the Demon Prince said, straightening back up. “Let’s go.”
Jiao Ziyu readily obliged, and moments later Youming Jun deposited them elsewhere.
Elsewhere turned out to be shockingly cold and wet.
“Honestly, do you control your landings at all?” Jiao Ziyu spat, right after spitting out a mouthful of water. It was a bit unfair of him – maybe even a lot – because when they had dumped those affected by the Butterfly Demon Dust by the side of the White Flower Pond, it had been done with the utmost care.
Their landing now hadn’t been quite so graceful though, given that they’d fallen right into a river and all, and hanging limply from Jiao Ziyu’s back, Youming Jun made no comment. Jiao Ziyu wasn’t even sure the guy was even conscious at this point. Ah, what a mess.
Well, thankfully, Jiao Ziyu knew how to swim, even when weighed down by wet clothing and from above.
“Honestly, I told you... not to make the jump... if you weren’t sure you’d make it,” he continued muttering to himself as he swam, using a bit of qi to not just stay afloat but also propel himself forward. Because the current was quite strong, and if Jiao Ziyu hadn’t grabbed hold of the Demon Prince when he had, then the latter would’ve undoubtedly been washed downstream. And Jiao Ziyu might very well have been swept away alongside him, had he not had the training, the qi reserves and the presence of mind necessary to prevent it. In any case⸺
With one final burst, Jiao Ziyu made it far enough for his feet to reach the bottom, and after that, he could pretty much walk the rest of the way, wading up towards the shore with a former future Demon Lord clinging to his back.
“You know,” Youming Jun mumbled. “This is kind of ironic.”
Hoh. “How so?”
“This is the second time.”
Jiao Ziyu wondered but he didn’t stop, except to haul the other more securely onto his back. Because frankly, given the amount of effort Jiao Ziyu had spent dragging the other out of that river, he would rather not have the demon bastard slide off and crack his head open on some riverside rock and whatnot. It wasn’t that Jiao Ziyu necessarily thought that the other would die or anything, but⸺ “Little Yue must have it rough, dealing with someone like you.”
There was a huff; a heated breath against the back of his neck.
“Oh, you have no idea,” Youming Jun murmured. “Can’t believe he actually bothered after the first time around...”
Well⸺ “His actions aside, consider my debt repaid.”
There was a slow inhale and exhale from behind, noticeably tinged with confusion. Then, there was something else, something that made the hairs on Jiao Ziyu’s neck stand on end. “Maybe I should bite you...”
Yeah, no. “You’d better not. My personal opinions aside, Mingyue would⸺”
“⸺Kill me?” There was a cold nose nuzzling into the back of his neck, followed by an almost satisfied sigh. “Maybe he should. Maybe he should’ve done that from the very start...”
Well⸺ “He didn’t though. He didn’t. And Little Yue⸺”
Little Yue, taken by demons, his fate currently unknown.
Jiao Ziyu swallowed, unsure as to how to continue. Ah, Mingyue would throw a fit!
A hand patted him awkwardly on the shoulder, and Jiao Ziyu suddenly realised they had finally made it up onto dry land again. He could let his cargo down – finally!
And now that the danger of getting swept away by the river had passed, it was high time to start demanding some answers. But first, a campfire was definitely in order.
“You’re surprisingly calm about this.”
There was a snort of that, and the demon bastard poked at the fire. “Would you rather have me panicking?”
Well, honestly no, Jiao Ziyu would rather not deal with a panicking demon bastard – because yes, the other was a Demon Prince, but he was undeniably also a demon bastard, possibly even the Demon Bastard.
Still⸺ “Your precious Yue has been taken. You’re upset, yes, but you don’t really seem to be in that much of a hurry to get him back. And don’t pretend like you couldn’t have; you could’ve made one of those jumps right away and caught up with them if you’d really wanted to. Instead, you decided to stick around and deal with the aftermath first and then do something about it. Like, it’s not that I don’t appreciate not being saddled with, you know, everything. But this concerns Yue’s wellbeing and safety, something that I’d figure you’d consider pretty damned fucking important.”
“So,” Jiao Ziyu continued, brushing a now only slightly humid sleeve aside to point an accusatory finger at Youming Jun. “What are you wasting time here for, huh? Hell, why didn’t you just leave me there to explain things to the Lotus Leaf Sect? I could’ve kept my cover, I could’ve made some shit up, I could’ve made it sound like I’d been coerced into doing your bidding! You could’ve just left me and gone by yourself. That skill of yours is obviously a whole lot more draining with more people involved, so why⸺?”
On the other side of the campfire, Youming Jun regarded him with what appeared to be mild exasperation. Then he huffed, turning his eyes skyward.
Judging by the position of the sun, it had to be right around noon at this point; a time more appropriate for a midday meal than for brooding campfire conversations. Then again, since the other didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry even now, why not engage in both?
Thank the Heavens for spatial rings and for spatial rings being waterproof. Because Jiao Ziyu had meat buns and he wasn’t sharing – not if the other didn’t start sharing some of that info with him, at least. And judging by the look on Youming Jun’s face when Jiao Ziyu pulled out a bun and started munching on it, then maybe, just maybe, Jiao Ziyu ought to have gone with this approach from the very start.
“Want one?” he said, pointing to it. “I have more. But I’m not sharing my food with you if you don’t your info with me.”
The look sent his way was dark, very dark. Despite this, Jiao Ziyu smiled. He should probably be worried right now, fretting about what was to come, but eh, he currently had absolutely no idea where he was, and besides that, he was wet and hungry and feeling more than a bit exasperated himself.
“Fine,” Youming Jun finally said, grudgingly extending his hand. “Ask away.”
Smiling, Jiao Ziyu withdrew another bun, fully intent on handing it over.
But before he had the chance to do so, another set of fingers deftly plucked it from his grasp.
Then a sudden interloper – a white-clad weimao-wearing stranger – swiftly took a seat right next to them, holding the meat bun in one hand and a white fan in the other.
“Ah yes, do tell,” said the stranger, the ghost of a smile visible through the gauzy veil as they split the bun in two pieces, then tossed one of them to Youming Jun. “I am finding myself quite intrigued.”
