CHAPTER 10- HIS FAVOUR
1239 Words
"What?" The maidens started murmuring to each other.
"Warrior...." Madam Cheng started...
"Screen her powers. Or should I?" Long Yue interrupted her authoritatively. The housekeeper smiled and nodded her head. She had immediately took a liking to Wei Lian when she saw at the tea house and was sad that she would have to disqualify her.
"She might even be someone from one of these forbidden clans."
"She looks and acts weirdly." Another maiden whispered.
They were all talking.
"Wei Lian." She called fighting back the smile that crept up her stern face. "Come back here." She ordered.
Lian was confused. Why did Long Yue suddenly call her back? Was he going to test her powers to see if she was saying the truth about her background?
Before she could have time to process what was happening, an electric jolt from Madam Cheng sent her flying almost into the wall. She recovered herself early enough to land on her knee and her hand striking a warrior's pose.
That was a mistake. She shouldn't have done that.
She immediately realised what she had done and immediately tried to confuse them. She acted as though she couldn't stand up. She fell back on her knee pretending as though something had broke in her.
"Are you okay?" Madam Cheng asked. She nodded and staggered up again holding the wall for support.
The other officials went close to her and transferred his energy from his fingers to her forehead. It was a technique used to identify one's spiritual roots.
"She is clean." The official said and returned back to his place.
"But surprisingly strong." One of the other officials remarked.
Wei Lian looked from each official to the other. She really didn't understand what was going on. But she knew that she had just passed the screening exercise. And that was all thanks to Xiao Hei's illusion spell.
This fox. She muttered under her breath.
She was grinning from deep within. She wanted to rub his head until he fell deeply asleep. She felt like scrubbing his back gently and petting him like never before.
"She passed the screening exercise, Warrior Yue."
"I will take her." The warrior declared and turned back to leave the hall immediately.
"What?" Zhang Xia exclaimed. "How is that possible? I was supposed to..."
Wei Lian bowed slowly with a wide grin. She grinned from ear to ear as she bowed. "Xiao Hei we did it." She muttered and she could already hear the excited squeal from the delighted fox.
"Thank you." She suppressed a squeal.
She turned around to walk out of the building.
"Heyy." Madam Cheng called. "Here are the directions to where he will be staying. It's up to you find out what he wants and how he wants to be served. Go and prepare." She ordered and she nodded.
She took the small scroll from her hand and walked out of the hall. Immediately she was out of sight, she started skipping with joy.
"How was it?" Xiao Hei emerged from the back of a stall as she skipped forward.
"Perfect." She handed him the scroll in her hand..
"What's this?"
"The directions to where Long Yue will be staying for the banquet." She could finally let out the squeal inside of her. Surprisingly, the fox didn't join her.
"Heyy?" She tapped his forehead slowly and he looked up from the scroll. "What is going on in that head of yours? Why are you looking so serious?"
"I heard that the selection process is normally difficult so how was it easy for you?" He queried. He was curious.
Wei Lian grinned. "Let's get you home first."
She dragged him away from the stalls and back to the inn.
...
Xiao Hei was perched on the edge of the bed while Wei Lian walked around demonstrating with her hands and narrating what had transpired at the selection process.
"And then he left." She grinned. She sat down next to him, the fox shifted a bit giving her enough space to spread out her hands.
"It was too easy." He muttered.
"Yeah." She agreed. "Maybe I am just lucky."
"Or maybe he found you suspicious considering that you are not from there and decided to take you in to watch you closely incase you are a spy." Xiao Hei said after a careful thought.
"Hmm...makes sense. But whatever it may be, it is also to our advantage. We need to take charge of the situation." Wei Lian said and he nodded.
"So what is the next plan?" He asked expectantly.
"Hmmm.. let me think." She held her chin in her palms. "Was there anything exciting that you found when I was away?"
Xiao Hei nodded. "I spotted an oddly auspicious falcon perched on the roof of the house when you all were inside."
"A falcon?" Wei Lian asked developing interest immediately.
"And it was after Long Yue had gone inside the place." He added. "The falcon looked familiar too."
Wei Lian nodded. Maybe it was just a random falcon but Xiao Hei wouldn't call it auspicious if it was just a normal falcon.
"The falcon we had seen that day when Mei Lin was trying to escape the cinder chambers. It was it."
Wei Lian eyes widened.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes..remember the red odd beak and the ring on his toe? I spotted them."
"From a distance?" She asked peering at him inquisitively.
"Nope. I went close but I was careful.. he didn't see me."
"That black falcon? Does that mean that Mei Lin's stalker is from here? Is that something to be worried about especially as we are not with her?" She panicked.
"I don't think that there is any need to panic. There is still a lot of distance between Qingyun Sect and Moiying Valley. And moreover, the spell that we put on her should be enough to hold her till she's able to find her skin."
Wei Lian nodded. She tried to appear calm but deep down she was worried for her friend. Mei Lin has many stalkers and she is a wanted person as long as her clan is concerned.
And of all the stalkers, the controller or whoever owned the black falcon was the smartest and the only time that Mei Lin could finally say that she was free was when she was in the palace. Now, she was no longer there and neither was Xiao Hei. The palace was in shambles and she couldn't keep hiding there for long.
She was not safe in the palace either. Her energy signature was considered a taboo within the walls of the Qingyun Sect and the queen had only harboured her because of the crown Prince.
"Do you think that she would be safe?" She asked.
"Yes. Mei Lin has been building her cultivation. She is stronger than we think of her."
"Don't you think that we need to warn her? At least a message to keep her at alert."
Xiao Hei nodded and brought out the messenger bell.
...
Mei Lin sat eyes closed on the floor in the middle of the forest. She channelled her energy into the tree and a cracking sound was heard. Just then her messenger bell rang and she got distracted.
"Oh goodness." She swore under her breath.. "I will kill whoever is this."
She opened her messenger bell and her eyes almost bulged out in shock.
- Writer
