18 Summoning (1/2)

The last flag was conveniently placed on a cliffside. Liu Sumeng looked up the vertical ledge next to a dense thicket of trees and sighed.

”Will Young Master Liu be alright…?”

”It's fine. Hold on.” He could climb the ledge, but he didn't feel like dirtying his robes. Liu Sumeng jumped on Mingshui and gently flew up the side of the cliff, forming a barrier around him to protect himself against the branches that reached too close. When he finally reached the spot where the flag was wedged into the cliffside, Liu Sumeng formed the spell that unveiled its weak points.

Dark cracks vibrated on the barrier's surface, like glowing veins. Liu Sumeng made sure he was above the flag before leaping off his sword and grasping it in his hands. In the air, his body twisted, blade perfectly aligned with those weakened fissures. The barrier shattered, becoming nothing more than little specks of glowing dust that fluttered away with the wind. As he fell, Liu Sumeng grabbed onto the flag, pulling it from its place in the cliff. The fog evaporated, daylight finally filtering through without obstruction, the whole mountainside forest sparkled with a dewy glow. Liu Sumeng had to squint his eyes to adjust to the new light.

”You did it! Young Master Liu did it! Thank you, I cannot thank you enough! My mountain is finally normal again…!” The little Feng Yu hopped onto his shoulder before jumping around in joy. A slight smile graced Liu Sumeng's features as he watched the little creature dance around in cheer.

”It's not over yet,” he reminded the frog with a gentle but strict tone.

”Yes. I haven't forgotten.” The little creature nodded its head. He paused and then asked, ”Young Master Liu?”

”Yes?”

”Mind if I trouble you with a small favor? Might we take a trip back to my cabin first and fetch my bow and quiver? So I may be of use when facing my Qiaoyin.”

Liu Sumeng gave him a small nod, ”Ok.”

At the lakeside Chen Anyue and Yuan Xuelan gathered a small crowd. They counted ten heads of varying ages, from children to elderly both men and women, now all sporting a talisman flapping on their foreheads. Now huddled together, all them staring with blank, soulless eyes at the two cultivators that stood in front of them.

Yuan Xuelan sighed, ”What in the world are we supposed to do with these guys? We can't just leave them around here. It'll get dangerous when we lure Bai Qiaoyin out.”

”We need to bring them somewhere safe,” Chen Anyue agreed. In the end, they decided to lead the group of villagers a little ways off from the lake and set up a small barrier around them to protect them from the likes of wild animals.

”This should do the trick for now,” Yuan Xuelan huffed with a bright smile, satisfied with the results.

”Do you think our plan will work?” Chen Anyue asked as the two leisurely walked back to the lake. With the villagers taken care of, they needn't do much aside from wait for Liu Sumeng and Feng Yu to come join them.

”I don't see why it won't,” he shrugged, ”Mmm, don't look at me like that, don't you trust me?”

”I suppose I don't really have a choice,” Chen Anyue giggled, eliciting another pout from her Shidi.

They returned to the lakeside in good time, the fog relinquishing its final grasp on the mountain, allowing daylight to tinkle down and grace the water's surface. ”It looks like Liu-ge took care of the array.”