The angry torrents threatened to separate them, the powerful currents of the whirlpool tugged and pulled at their clothes and limbs. Yuelong and Mengjun felt as if they were getting executed by the royal court, being pulled on all sides by the water. But they clung onto each other. 

The moment they jumped into the whirlpool, both Mengjun and Yuelong subconsciously tightened their grips on the other’s hand, afraid to let go and get washed away by the water. 

The whirlpool pulled the two down at a rapid speed. The light from the surface quickly disappeared from their vision and they were blanketed with darkness. 

“Thank the Heavens I took a big gulp of breath before I jumped!” Mengjun thought to himself. Mengjun was deathly afraid of venturing into the water and had inflated his lungs before he leapt with Yuelong. 

Mengjun looked beneath him. He could make out the swirling currents and a pale blue light. They were almost there. His eyes widened in surprise as the current took them closer to the underwater palace.

Seeing the palace from the riverbed was a completely different view from above.  Like the legendary palaces of the Dragon Kings that dwell in the oceans, the entire Huajing Shuizhuang radiated a multi-coloured glow. From above, he could make out small figures moving like ants inside the bubble.

Captivated by the scenery, Mengjun signaled Yuelong and pointed down at the palace. 

Out of nowhere, something itched at the back of Yuelong’s throat. Enduring the itch, and forcing himself not to cough, Yuelong closed his eyes, unconsciously tightening his fingers around Mengjun.

Startled, Mengjun pulled Yuelong closer to him, one hand holding his slender waist. Yuelong opened his eyes and gasped. Dim blue light glistened at them from underneath, revealing the charming face of the one before him. A beauty mark next to eyes of gold, long flowing raven hair and the most curing smile.

“Lanyue!”

Forgetting that they were underwater, Yuelong had opened his mouth to speak. Bubbles of air escaped from his mouth, draining his lungs entirely of air. Yuelong looked back at the figure he saw as Lanyue only to see Mengjun’s face once again.

Mengjun looked back at him with panic. “I won’t let you die!” The thought rang like a bell in his mind.

Without hesitation, Mengjun pulled Yuelong up close, sealing the air leak with his kiss. 

Yuelong’s eyes enlarged at his action but didn’t push him away. With soft lips pushed up against his, he felt warm air pour in from Mengjun’s mouth, circulating into his lungs. Strangely, the air tasted like the nectars of flowers with a hint of a lemon-like scent.

The blue light grew stronger as they descended closer to the riverbed. The whirlpool then opened up a hole inside the bubble, pushing the two into the boundaries of Huajing Shuizhuang. 

The two landed in the garden with a wet sound. Drenched and out of breath, they laid backside down, taking big gulps of air in. Unknowingly, their hands were still touching the other’s.

“You huhhh… al…right?” Mengjun asked through breathy words. 

“Yeah huhhh… I’m okay,” Yuelong answered, also through breathy words.

“Why did you huhhh… let go of your breath?”

Yuelong recalled his memory back before he had let go of his breath. “He did look like Lanyue back there… but then again, was it a trick of the light?” He thought to himself.

“Nothing, just needed to cough.” Yuelong lied. He didn’t want to tell Mengjun about what he saw. He was afraid that Mengjun would be offended that he mistaken him for a demon lord.

Soon, the silence was shattered by the metallic clang of swords. 

The two sat up at the same time, looking at the source of the sound.

“You piece of shit! Good for nothing!”

“Me!? Good for nothing? Who do you think the Master likes more, huh?”

“How dare you! Attention whore!”

Clang! Clang!

“Stop it, shi-xiong!” A familiar, kid-like voice called out.

“Shut it!”

“You think you’re so amazing by winning the favor of shi-jie, you get to stick to her like a dog! Go back to where you belong, pet!”

Fortunately, Yuelong and Mengjun were hidden behind a large bush at the edge of the garden, completely unseen by the fighting disciples.

Peeking through the leaves, Yuelong could make out the faces of the disciples. Two male disciples were sparring with each other with swords while another one was just getting up from the ground.

“Sifei?” Yuelong whispered.

“Sifei? That kid?” Mengjun whispered back.

Yuelong nodded. Sifei was one of the youngest disciples of the Lishui Sect. And the only male disciple who was close to Murong Zi. The two were like siblings, which enticed jealousy from his fellow peers.

“But they don’t seem to be fighting with Sifei…” Yuelong pondered.

“Look at their eyes, Yiheng!” Mengjun whispered, pointing to the two.

Having a closer look, Yuelong noticed that their eyes were slightly pink. Green veins bulged in their hands from gripping their swords too hard. 

BAM!

A door to the courtyard slammed open.

“What the hell is happening here!?” A deep voice demanded.

Mengjun looked at the disciple who had just entered. A faint “tsk” escaped from his mouth. Luckily for him, his disapproving sound was drowned out by the two disciples’ argument.

“This bastard started it!”

“What!? You’re a piece of shit and a liar?”

“What did you say?”

“You’re the one who started it!”

“ENOUGH!” The newcomer shouted. His face was scrunched up in an agonizing way. Veins popped from his temples, his face a flustered red. Red threads crawled into his eyes, making them bloodshot. 

“Stop FIGHTING! Both of you are pieces of shit!” He yelled.

“What? Us? Pieces of shit?”

“You’re the one who sits there everyday acting high and mighty!”

“How dare you disrespect me like that!”

“Please stop! All of you!” Sifei begged to no avail.

“You shut it! Attention whore!”

“Don’t look away, son of a bitch!”

“Just because your father is a high ranking official in court…”

Loud clashes of metal sounded through the garden. Grunts of pain followed with roars of anger. The Lishui disciples had completely lost it.

Mengjun’s jaw dropped at the scene. “Orthodox sect disciples indeed…” He murmured.

An uncomfortable feeling washed over Yuelong. As someone who was from an orthodox sect, he felt distasteful at the disciples of Lishui. And he wanted to explain to Mengjun, who was an ordinary mortal, that this was not the way of the Dao. He didn’t want to give Mengjun a bad impression of the orthodox sects.

“Mengjun…” Yuelong whispered.

“Hm?”

“You know that they’re acting like this because of the venom, right?”

“Mhm” Mengjun replied.

“At least he understands,” Yuelong thought to himself, not fully convinced.

BAM!

A power slash sliced through a pillar of a building nearby. 

“How dare you destroy the palace’s property!?”

“You made me do it!”

“Just you wait! I will report this to shi-fu!” 

“Don’t you dare!”

In a flash of silver light, the leaving disciple found a sword protruding out of his chest. In a last attempt, he swung his sword weakly behind him. His sword dropped to the ground with a “clang”. The murderer pulled out his sword and the disciple’s body then tumbled towards the ground, lifeless.

“Shi-xiong!” Sifei cried. The teen picked up the fallen body of his peer, hoping that he would wake up to tell him that it was just a prank.

“You killed him!” The other disciple shouted.

“He was too nosy! And besides, no one would know if none of us told shi-fu.” The murderer stalked closer to the other disciple, a bloodied sword in hand.

Yuelong knew what was going to happen. The murderer will get rid of the other witnesses in an attempt to clear his name. Just as he stood up from the bushes, a hand pulled him back down.

“Wait,” Mengjun insisted.

A miasma suddenly appeared overhead. It was a condensed version of evil energy, so condensed that it was visible to the human eye.

“You killed shi-xiong,” Sifei rose from the dead body, his face dark and his eyes bloodshot with vengeance.

Sifei had picked up the sword of his dead shi-xiong, and stalked towards the murderer.

“Sifei is also poisoned?” Yuelong’s mind raced. “What should I do?”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the most useless disciple, Sifei?” the murderer mocked. “Come to duel with me?”

“You killed shi-xiong,” Sifei growled in a deep voice.

At that instance, no one would have imagined that this teen, Sifei, was actually a cute puppy in everyday life. Completely taken over by the toxin, he emitted the strong miasma that further clouded his mind.

Right before the murderer made his move, a dagger came flying from a bush, plunging deeply into the murderer’s shoulder. He staggered back a couple steps.

“Fuck!” He spat. “Who is it?”

Mengjun leaped out from behind the bushes. He crossed his arms and looked at the murderer in the eyes.

“Motherfucker, you threw this dagger at me? I guess you really don’t treasure your life!” The murderer threw his sword at Mengjun. Like a javelin, the sword flew straight and fierce at its target.

Yuelong immediately plucked off a leaf from the bush and flicked it with his middle finger. The leaf, now enlaced with powerful energy, smashed into the sword, stopping it in mid-air.

“Who is it this time?” The murderer growled like an animal. He no longer looked human. Fumes of hot air escaped from his mouth. His fingers curled into a claw. An even stronger miasma emerged from his body.

Yuelong jumped over the bush and stood next to Mengjun. 

“This is enough, don’t you know what you’ve done?”

The murderer laughed. “If it isn’t Yixiao Zhenjun, the one who thinks he’s at the center of the world.” 

“You!” Sifei called out to Yuelong. “You will pay for what you have done!”

The two disciples of Lishui charged in unison at Yuelong. 

With a quick swipe, Yuelong dodged and knocked the sword out of Sifei’s hand. With a kick of his leg, Mengjun launched the other disciple tumbling back, gasping for air.

Pouring energy into his finger tips, Yuelong attacked Sifei’s body with two fingers, sealing off the teen’s meridian channels. Sifei slumped to the ground, drained of strength. 

Yuelong picked up another leaf and flicked it in the direction of the remaining disciple. With the grunt, the disciple fell to the ground.

“What did you do?” Mengjun asked, looking at the slumped body of Sifei.

“We don’t have much time, I’ve sealed his meridian channels in hopes that the venom won’t affect him. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to try.” Yuelong quickly explained. He picked up the teen and carried him on his back. “Come, let’s go.”

The three then escaped out of the garden and into the halls of the palace. Completely unaware that a dark shape had also entered the premise of the garden.

“Yiheng?” Sifei asked weakly. “What happened?”

“Don’t talk yet, I’ve temporarily stopped the flow of energy in your body.” Yuelong whispered to the teen on his back.

“Why though?”

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Arriving at a cross in the palace, Yuelong stopped and looked down both hallways. “Where is Murong gu-niang?”

“She’s down below.” Sifei answered weakly.

“Why?” Mengjun asked.

“After helping you guys out, her father caught her and imprisoned her.” Sifei replied.

“Huh, all sect leaders are hypocrites,” Mengjun muttered, crossing his arms. “Jailing their own children…”

“Lead us to her, I’ll get her out.” Yuelong promised.