Chapter 12: chapter 12 The Equinox Flower
Indeed, it was her cherished Master whom she had been seeking for all this while. Xiao Luo pat her on the head and complimented;
"Good job! Prior to my arrival here to appreciate my friend Zhang Jian, I stopped by at Purple Mountain!"
Zhang Jian took a long look at the old man's gleeful countenance and knew he had regained himself completely. It was common knowledge that he health sector in those days couldn't do much for the senior citizens who were advanced in age, so, he was genuinely happy to see Xiao Luo well. Brimming with smiles, Zhang Jian embarked on a personal mission to the kitchen to whip up something special with the sole purpose of toasting to his recovery. On the other hand, as he busied about in the kitchen, Wang Yan sobbed in the presence of her master.
"Master but why did you abandon us that way? If not for the graciousness of Master Zhang Jian, there is no way I could have even discerned the fact that you were dying!"
Most cultivators at that time had the chilling ability to loosely predict their time of death. The more powerful their sensitivity, the more precise it was bound to be. Xiao Luo sighed aloud. In the whole of the Purple Sect, he had to worry about potential conspirators amongst the elders and also among the chain of command. At the end of the day, he knew he could trust just two of his disciples. In his heart of hearts, he thought of Long Yi and Wang Yan as his offspring. So he passed his information to her covertly through sonic wave transmission;
"Child, the reason I left isn't because I am dying."
Wang Yan's tears dried up automatically as soon as this message dropped in her mind.
"Master! Are you trying to say that...?"
"Yes."
He finished her train of thought for her.
"I had an ulterior motive for leaving the way I did. It appears that demons have infiltrated and occupied key positions in the Purple Sect."
It was as Wang Yan had feared. She feared that an evil plot was afoot.
As the two conversed through sonic wave transmission in the space that was the living room, Zhang Jian whistled in the kitchen with gladness in his heart that Xiao Luo was still alive. Soon enough, the fragrance of the meal percolated through the house and the inviting aroma went straight to Old Man Xiao's head. Zhang Jian remembered the home made alcohol that he had brewed from fermented rice, and took out the cask containing the alcoholic beverage. Sighting Zhang Jian, Wang Yan politely rushed forward to assist with the dishes. Rank and age wise, she was the lowest so it was the social convention that she be the one to serve. Xiao Luo considered his status and tried his possible best to decline the invitation, but even he couldn't stand the temptation of the mouthwatering dish that Zhang Jian set before him. The Old Man was instantly carried away and exclaimed to himself as he saw it;
"This resembles panacea that originates from the Celestial World!"
He rebuked himself for expecting the regular food one would serve mortals from a person of Zhang Jian's status. What baffled him the most was that it looked freshly made! Not even he could cook up panacea within a short period like this. Lord Lao Zi was the only one he knew who could manufacture something of this nature. Xiao Luo's hands trembled with the chopsticks and Zhang Jian noticed it.
"Could this trembling be a symptom of Alzheimer's disease?" He thought to himself. Then aloud, he inquired after his state of being;
"Old man, is everything okay with you?"
The old man broke into a cold sweat and he replied him trying to conceal his emotional state;
"Everything's okay. Don't worry, I'm good."
His voice shook as he thought of how best he could repay such a huge gesture. It would be rude to refuse for it was evident that a great deal of effort had been put into this exotic delicacy.
Zhang Jian asked concernedly; "Are you sure? You seemed out of it for a second there."
It was common knowledge that members of the older demographic were more prone to the rigors of post-traumatic stress disorder after going through a nasty ordeal. Old man Xiao took looked at Zhang Jian's intense eyes and rebuked himself for not remembering the fact that Zhang Jian could probably see right through the issue that was bothering him. Wang Yan, who was very much still present, was enthralled by the rich scent of Zhang Jian's homemade alcohol. Not being able to restrain herself, she went to town on it with no regard or concern for the other two.
Old Man Xiao took a deep breath and spoke aloud to the hearing of Zhang Jian;
"Zhang Jian my dear friend, do you know the scarce Equinox Flower that is said to blossom in hell?"
Zhang Jian smiled, "Equinox Flower; the compassion and gentleness of demon kind. It was thrown in hell but was turned away by the demons. So it wandered without direction on the path to hell. The demons commiserated with it and allowed it to take root on the path to direct mortal souls to hell."
Zhang Jian drank and narrated tales from his past. Old Man Xiao gulped several cups of spirit in a misguided attempt to mask his astonishment. This prime piece of information remained hidden even from most immortals in the Celestial World and yet, Zhang Jian talked about it with deep understanding.
"Tell me Zhang Jian, have you seen it?"
"As a matter of fact I have."
Technology had made it possible for artists to map its digital blueprint to recreate vivid images and videos of the Equinox Flower. It was pretty accurate. Speaking of digital, Zhang Jian got excited at the thought of digitally recreating it and took out a charcoal crayon, sharpened the tip, and produced a rough draft of the Equinox Flower for them. Old Man Xiao gazed indifferently for a while at the crude lines for a while until the Equinox Flower 'blossomed' on the drawing board. His eyes glistened in shock. Until, right before him, on the drawing board, the brilliant image of the Equinox Flower gradually took shape. Xiao Luo was spellbound.
All this time, they were both so engrossed in their conversation that they totally became oblivious of the fact that Wang Yan. The young girl had been binge drinking with the vigor of a child who had just discovered a sugary drink. She drank cup upon cup without regarding any of them.
Old Man Xiao shook off his drunkenness after seeing the flower. It was a stunning replica and even more astounding. But the terrifying thing about it was the strange Qi coming from the painting that resonated with the Qi in his own body. Zhang Jian noticed the longing look on his face and handed it over to Xiao Luo.
"It has been a long time dear friend. This is my gift to you for recovering."
There was nothing wrong with the gesture as presenting a gift to a sick person who had just recovered was the social convention anywhere. Old Man Xiao swallowed hard and declined with as much respect as he could;
"Yeah, I don't think I can..."
As a master, decorum meant a whole lot to him. Zhang Jian knew this but he also knew the Old Man Xiao loved this painting;
"What a shame…" He said as he pretended to throw it away.
Old Man Xiao's eyes flared;
"DON'T!"
Xiao Luo contemplated how he could repay Zhang Jian for all his favors. It wasn't consistent with his character to simply eat and take. As he pondered, he suddenly noticed his disciple was heavily drunk. Zhang Jian sniffed the spirit in his cup and exclaimed;
"Damn! I mixed up the contents."
Old Man Xiao was ashamed of himself. All he had done since he came here was eat, drink and take from Zhang Jian. His entire thoughts were focused on how he could possibly pay him back for all his kindness.
The alcohol Zhang Jian had served them far exceeded that of the Celestial World so The Old Man had restrained himself. But Wang Yan had completely veered to the left. When Xiao Luo finally noticed how much Wang Yan had drank, he was horrified. Thoroughly annoyed, he grabbed her ear, flipped her whole body upside down and drained out all the alcohol in her system with his Qi. After Wang Yan had sobered up, she became acutely aware of the pain in her ear.
"Ouch! Master that hurt! Are you drunk?"
Mad at her insolence, the old man raised his hand to strike her but Zhang Jian intervened promptly;
"Xiao!"
Xiao Luo was so surprised by the fact that Zhang Jian had raised his voice that he remained fixated to the spot with an astonished look on his face. Wang Yan was more shocked than either of them. In place of a hard slap, she had gotten something even rarer; never in all her lifetime had she ever seen her master so frightened and never had she heard anyone address him by his first name. Zhang Jian admitted to himself that maybe he had overreacted by yelling his name in such an unbecoming manner. So, he willed himself to stay calm and spoke;
"Violence is never the way. A real man relies on his intellect to solve problems."
Xiao Luo had no problem disciplining his vassals in the presence of outsiders.
Glad to see that Zhang Jian's anger had subsided, Xiao Luo stated his case explicitly; "She took your jade and your painting Zhang, It's unbecoming of a little girl like her! She should have known better."
Zhang Jian replied coolly; "In this house, those exhausting protocols do not apply."
Shocked to his bones, Xiao Luo thought; "Surely he is testing both of us!"
Several ideas crossed his mind within a split second, so Xiao Luo chose the best possible course of action;
"I would like to commit the chastisement of my disciple into your hands. Do you mind taking her under your wing to teach her discipline then?"
Zhang Jian wasn't sure what to make of his request; "I do not follow."
Xiao explained, "I am a pretty busy man and I have a lot to take care of on my plate. So I have no time to deal with her. Wang Yan has no peculiar gift that makes her stand out so she has always been an average Joe, Take her, she can be your maid."
There was no mistaking the shock on Zhang Jian's face. He quickly countered;
"How does one even begin to do something like that?"
But then a thought struck a chord in his heart and he quickly realized the young girl would be better off with him anyway, she must have had a hard time serving Xiao Luo. This might actually be a decent think to do even though this sudden responsibility might cost him. Suddenly aware of the situation at hand, Wang Yan felt like a ball being tossed back and forth. She put up her hand to offer her own take;
"May I butt in?"
Xiao stared her down.
"Quiet!"
Through sonic wave transmission he said; "This will be a good opportunity for you. As your master, it is the best thing for you right now. You will thrive here." Before Zhang Jian could inquire about the cost of her living arrangement here, like her feeding and her bedding, the old man dashed out faster than the speed of a world class athlete. Seeing that the two of them had been had been left along together, Wang Yan heartbeat increased exponentially. She was aware of Zhang Jian's presence more than ever since she hadn't ever been so close to any man in her lifetime that wasn't Xiao Luo or Long Yi.
She scanned the house to see if there wasn't anything she could do but was surprised to see that Zhang Jian had already scrubbed the dishes and stacked them in a neat pile in the kitchen. Zhang Jian's voice came from behind her saying;
"This night, you can have the bed. I'll make do on the floor for the time being."
Outside, on the porch, Xiao Luo found himself in a bit of a situation. He was about to leave when he discovered that the region all around him was sealed. He stared at the door before him and broke out into a cold sweat as he contemplated on what step to take. Relaxing at the entrance was a pissed off Cerberus. In a harsh menacing tone, Cerberus rebuked Xiao Luo;
"You imp! Why did you leave the child with him?!"
The old man was speechless even though he wanted to reply. At that exact moment, the painting with him reacted and unseen force enveloped. Noticing the mysterious power held in the painting, Cerberus let go of his hold over the Old man. Xiao Luo promptly paid his respect to him and showed his appreciation. This particular killjoy was by far more hostile than the one he had left him. Cerberus snarled maliciously;
"Well, it looks like you won't be dying today. But that doesn't mean death isn't completely far from you either."
With that, he recused himself and wagging his tail, he used his hind leg to open the door. Xiao Luo remained transfixed to the spot.
"So he had recognized the equinox flower?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone