I lay in bed next to Gǔlóng Shu, who was sleeping peacefully beside me. I gently touched her face, and she cuddled closer to me, remaining in a deep slumber. After a moment, I slipped out of bed.
"I'm going outside for a while. Don't worry, I'll come back, I promise."
"Okay, I need to get up anyway; I should return to my duties."
As I walked near the other residences, I was stopped by a group of men and women, fellow disciples like myself. "Shen Wuyin, come with us. Lingxue wants to see you. She said to play nicely and mentioned that we don't stand a chance against you. It seems she has some respect for you."
"Come with us willingly and don't try anything funny, Shen."
I didn't respond; I allowed them to take me, curious about what Lingxue wanted this time.
Lingxue sat on her ice phoenix throne, sipping wine when I entered her residence. "Welcome, Shen. It's good to see you so soon. I won't take no for an answer; I need your help with something, and I know I have a chance with you by my side."
"Why should I help you? I have no interest in assisting you unless you offer me something in return. Of course, I decide what that is. I can't think of anything at the moment, but it's clear you need me for something; whatever that is."
"As you know, the Sun and Moon Sect has allied with us. My family is friends with the Saintess of the Sun and Moon Sect. However, they want their enemies eradicated and have requested our sect's assistance in accomplishing this. That involves quite a long list. I need your help with this." She glanced at the others. "Leave."
"But, Lady—"
"Now! I won't ask again: leave at once!"
"I accepted this mission at my family's order, but I thought it would be much easier to have you by my side. I know what you're capable of. I've tried to learn about your past, but all I've discovered is that you suddenly appeared in a random province before joining the Glass Lotus Sect. After that, you moved on to the mortal Tianchen Empire. Eventually, you left that place and arrived here at the Blackdragon Sect.
You've shown me many ways you could defeat me, and I've witnessed your power. I need your strength, and in return, I promise to reward you greatly. I am a princess with influence and resources, and you are the only person I can think of who can handle this situation."
"Why not? It's beneficial for our sect and for me."
"I'm surprised you agreed, but that's wonderful! As I said, we'll be going together—just you and me. Why didn't you agree the first time?"
"I didn't want to at the time; now I do."
"Well, do you want a drink? It's excellent, I promise. Here." She offered me the drink, which I accepted and took a sip. It was pretty delicious, I thought. "Shall we head off now, like last time?"
"Yes, after this drink, we'll go."
As we left, she chose to take the longer route, opting for her carriage. Sitting down, I looked outside at the deep, dark forest.
I glanced at her as she continued to sip her wine, enjoying herself while munching on snacks that looked both fancy and expensive. Suddenly, I exclaimed, "We're about to be attacked; get ready!"
"How do you know that? You know what, it doesn't matter."
"Guards, get ready! We're about to be attacked!" I watched as her guards prepared to defend against the enemies of the Sun and Moon Sect. They dispatched the attackers quickly and efficiently. Suddenly, I noticed arrows flying directly at us. I caught one and threw it back at the archers, hitting them both on the head.
I exited the carriage, and she followed behind me. I looked into the distance and saw many of the attackers approaching us.
I summoned fire to attack my enemies and burned them alive. The guards and Lingxue handled the rest. I examined the emblem on the bandanas and showed it to her. "It seems whoever hired these assassins had deep pockets," she said.
"You recognise these Assassins, then?"
"Yes, I do. I've hired them myself. They are costly, and it's rare for them to fail. That is one of the reasons I have you beside me—to prepare for any potential issues that might arise. They are called the Serpentines. Their leader is a ruthless assassin; she will kill anything for a very high price, and she has never failed in her tasks. I met her once, and she was quite intimidating, even for me. I remember her eyes; they were bright yellow and looked like a serpent's."
"What was her name?"
"She told me her name was Nagini."
"Nagini." The ancient serpent. I would see her sooner or later. Ever since I came back here, I've been meeting so many people from my eternal past from Mìngjiè Xiānlù.
We entered the gates of the Sun and Moon Sect, as we planned to eradicate their enemies. They welcomed us to stay here.
We met with the recently married couple: the son of one of the sect elders of the Black Dragon Sect and the saintess of the Sun and Moon Sect.
"Welcome, senior sister. It's good you're here. I just heard the Serpentines attacked you. I promise I shall find out who planned to assassinate you both."
"Thank you, senior brother. I am most appreciative. Shen and I shall make sure the Sun and Moon Sect stands strong for many more years to come while I am still alive."
"Welcome to you as well, senior brother! It's a pleasure to meet you. We didn't get to talk much after the wedding, and I hope to get to know you better. I've seen how you fight, and senior sister praises you for your skills. It's very rare for her to give compliments like that; she's quite picky about whom she praises, and I would know."
"I apologised for that. My duty was to protect you and the saintess. I took the mission very seriously for our sect."
The saintess spoke, "Don't be. We both appreciate what you four did to protect our alliance between your sect and ours."
"We have set up your room according to your standards. We must leave now, as we have our duties to attend to. We will talk again soon. Goodbye."
As I left and took the key to my room, I noticed that Lingxue was following me. "Why are you following me?" I asked. She smiled and replied, "We're going to be sleeping in the same room. I told Junior Brother that I prefer this because it brings us closer. Don't worry, nothing will happen between us; I won't allow that to happen."
"They only have one king-size bed here. Could you ask for another bed?" "I could have, but I decided otherwise; I have my reasons," she smiled.
As I lay in bed next to Lingxue, both of us back to back, I could tell she was still awake even though her eyes were closed and she appeared to be asleep. I couldn't turn back into my real appearance.
In the end, I simply went to sleep, as I couldn't change back into my true appearance. I would do it at a later time.
Elsewhere on the Serpentine estate, Nagni sat alone as she heard the news about the failed assassination of Lingxue. She learned that a tall man had been with her; his name was Shen. Instinctively, she recognised who it was—Ren Blackdragon, her lover from an eternity ago. Like the other lovers of Ren, she did not attend the meeting of the ancient clans; instead, she sent someone else in her stead.
"Why are you with another woman again? You haven't changed a bit, have you, Ren? Why am I in love with such a man? Can you tell me that, my children?"
She rubbed her flat belly, sensing the children still inside her, yet not yet born. "Your father finally returned after an eternity. It feels strange to me still, after waiting for so long. I had almost thought he would never come back, but he did, just like he promised."
An informant came and spoke to her, "Ancestor, we've been given another order, but this time the price is bigger. We need to kill both Lingxue and Shen. What should we do? Should we decline it? After all, he is the creator of our ancient clans, and disrespecting him would mean getting in his way."
"Accept it. Get the assassins we've trained to kill the women, but leave the creator. Tell them we are not interested in killing him. If they ask again, I will kill them myself, personally and without payment."
As she watched the informant leave again, she thought about that woman. She was haughty, pretentious, and full of herself. What did Ren see in such a woman? Did he pursue any woman he was interested in, regardless of who she was?
Back at the Sun and Moon Sect, I woke up to find Lingxue fully dressed, applying her last touches of makeup near the mirror. She looked at me and said, "You're finally awake. Get ready; we're going to kill the family responsible for my assassination—the Zhang family. I thought they had lost some of their power, but it seems the news I heard was a ruse. They are still powerful.
"Nine different families run nine different sects, all wanting the Sun and Moon Sect to fall for their own reasons. We are going to kill them and destroy their sects and families. Do you understand? That was the order."
"I understand. Let's go then."