Luo Na couldn't believe her eyes. As she went out of the inn, every townsfolk's house was set on fire. The trees were also burning and the scenario seemed like she recalled from an old memory. The more she stared, the more her legs and hands shook in terror. Xian Hua saw fear painted all over her face so she calmed her with all his might wrapping his arms around her.
Beyond the burning houses of the townsfolk was a woman with lovely flowing locks dressed in a black robe.
Luo Na recognized her and she immediately withdraw her daggers just by the sight of her eyes.
'XuanZheng knew we're here? Why?!'
Luo Na tried her best to understand well why XuanZheng pinpointed their location and suddenly...
An idea hit her...
The pestilence...
It was a part of XuanZheng's plan to lure her and her brother out.
"Dear niece... I'm so glad that I found you. Didn't you miss me?"
XuanZheng held out her arms but Luo Na responded with a cold look on her face.
"Pfft. Such a disrespectful brat you are. You got the same icy reaction like your mother the day that I took away your father."
Luo Na's eyes widened. She thought that her father had already died during the great war.
'She must be lying.'
Luo Na shook her head and tried to clear out what XuanZheng said. She wouldn't fall for her trap twice.
"My father is dead. Your lies won't affect me like how my brother fell on one of your slithering minions."
"Hah! Oh, you mean... Ning? Such a clever girl... Ning was just a tool for me to free the Bai siblings however, she's also just like all of you... An innocent. Poor girl, she was also locked along with the twins on a jade prison!"
Luo Na could not contain her anger anymore. She rushed forth baring her daggers at XuanZheng. XuanZheng dodged and deflected every move that Luo Na made and finally conjured a scratch that tore away a side of Luo Na's robe.
Luo Na retorted and looked at her robe. Tiny droplets of blood flowed along with the torn cloth.
Xiao Na saw that her sister was already injured. He rose up and hurriedly supported her knocking XuanZheng out of the way with a series of kicks. He threw three kunais but none of them hit XuanZheng.
XuanZheng caught a kunai in her hand. A smile flashed on her face and then she laughed momentarily.
"MWAHAHAHAHAA! This is fun! Finally, a family reunion to remember!"
"You aren't part of the family."
Luo Na shouted in response to XuanZheng's teasing.
XuanZheng laughed and laughed but seeing the siblings look on their faces, she cleared her throat and glared at them seriously.
'You're starting to annoy me.'
XuanZheng beckoned forth a sword made from the heart of the dire necropolis and placed it on her hand.
"Let's take this family matter seriously, shall we?"
XuanZheng concentrated a force from behind her and the bricks from where she stood, cracked into small pieces. She sent herself hurling at the two siblings.
Luo Na pulled out her daggers and ran towards XuanZheng. Their blades clanked perfectly. As the dust disappeared, the three of them were clearly locked in a total death circle. Luo Na's daggers were pointed at XuanZheng's face while XuanZheng's claws were pointed at Xiao Na' heart. Xiao Na's daggers were pointed towards XuanZheng's heart and XuanZheng's blade was pointed towards Luo Na's face.
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Xian Hua didn't know what to do. Wei Yue and the others were witnessing the fight too. The fire spread more fiercely and engulfed the other homes. Innocent women, men and children begged for help along Suzhou's streets making Xian Hua's heart sank.
His eyes darknened. He should do something about the fire.
'If I could ask your highness Wei Yue to summon a blizzard or rain, then this fire will stop.'
He ran up to Wei Yue and asked him about his favor. Wei Yue agreed and raised his staff high up in the air. Rain clouds formed up in the skies of Suzhou and rain fell down upon the burning houses. However, the fire worsened, it had just absorbed the water falling down from the rain.
"Help! Help! My child! My child is inside!"
Xian Hua heard a man cry so he ran as fast as he can to help the man.
Without thinking twice, he jumped on the burning two storey Jiangguan house and searched for the whole premise. The smoke blocked his sense of smell and breathing but he got it under control. The fire had nearly devoured all of the house. Xian Hua was almost losing hope of finding the child within the fire but he heard a faint cry coming from inside a room when he got to the second floor of the house.
"Daddy... Daddy... Where are you daddy!?" The little guy whimpered.
Xian Hua carried him out of the burning house by blasting a hole on the roof and taking the child in his arms, he used his divine power which he obtained from the Heavenly dragon to escape from the fire.
Carrying the unconscious child safely in his arms, he handed him to his father who was worried sick of the child.
"Thank you dear sir."
The man carried the child in his arms. Xian Hua nodded in reply to the father and continued to find a way to stop the fire.
"Please go take some men with buckets full of water and splash it on the fire. If this fire won't be put down, then there will be nothing left for Suzhou."
Xian Hua gathered up some men and splashed water by any means as necessary. Even though the water had no effect, they still continued to splash the fire that continued to raze.
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Luo Na, Xiao Na and XuanZheng were continually interlocked in a death circle. Still, nobody decided to budge. If one budges, the other one will receive the damage of the other.
'This can't continue forever. Someone has to sacrifice. And that's me.'
Xiao Na tried to lower his guard by lowering down one of his weapons away from XuanZheng.
"Look Luo Na, you should be like your elder brother. He does know what to do... If none of us moves, then we'll all be stuck like this for eternity!"
XuanZheng laughed hysterically as Xiao Na lowered his daggers.
"No... Xiao Na... Stop it... Don't do this!"
"This is the only way sister. Please say hi to Mom for me."
As Xiao Na lowered his daggers XuanZheng's claw hit his side causing him to fall bloody on the ground while Luo Na's slashed a cut towards XuanZheng's face.
"My beautiful face! What have you done you imbecile child!!!"
She continued to curse Luo Na for her boldness.
Luo Na laid her bloody brother on her lap caressing his face. Tears were falling from her face.
Her emotions that welled inside her poured out like a dam of water that was contained for a long long time.
Xiao Na awakened and saw a new visage of a woman facing him.
It wasn't Luo Na...
Where is his sister?
Then who is she?
Xiao Na's wounds healed instantly. The woman helped him get up and then said...
"My son, since I couldn't leave the ninth heaven, I came to you in your sister's body. Please stay away and help the other townsfolk escape from Suzhou."
Xiao Na felt in his heart that he needed to heed his mother's advice and ran immediately to rescue other townsfolk who is currently in the raze of the non perishable fire.
"Hello, sister."
Luo Na spoke towards XuanZheng after Xiao Na left wound-free.
'Impossible! Sister XuanWu?'
XuanZheng couldn't believe her eyes.
XuanWu cleared her throat and Luo Na's appearance changed into her visage. Holding a spear of gold with blue star-like particles running around it, she revealed her true self in front of XuanZheng.
"Hah. What a phony. My sister is forbidden to descend among the ninth heaven. What cheap tricks are you playing, child?"
XuanWu raised an eyebrow and twisted the spear around her two hands and stuck it on the ground again.
"Come and settle this theory of yours in a fight, coward."
XuaWu teased her and an evident proof of anger flashed on XuanZheng's eyes.
XuanZheng pounded her feet from the ground and rose up high pointing her sword at XuanWu.
'My attack will be decisively fatal! This impostor will definitely stop her tricks!'
She slashed the sword and it hit XuanWu. XuanZheng knew it was a direct hit. She laughed hysterically seeing XuanWu on the ground.
*Pfffft*
XuanZheng's eyes widened as a familiar whistling caught her attention. XuanWu was already aiming the spear behind her back. XuanZheng looked at the corpse... It was just an after image.
"You know sister... I never would've liked you...."
XuanWu threw the spear effortlessly and it stuck on XuanZheng's robe piercing her side that hurled her across the place.
The spear landed on a tree which made XuanZheng hanged on it also.
XuanWu moved closer and fetched the spear. XuanZheng was now shaking profusely...
"However.... We're sisters after all. You can keep your wretched life for now, but... If you mess with my son and daughter again, I'll make sure to stick this spear from your throat down to your butt."
The fire that razed at the town, suddenly halted and XuanZheng flew up high and fled the town.
XuanWu returned Luo Na back to Xian Hua. She nodded first before disappearing making Luo Na regain her true self falling unconscious into Xian Hua's arms.