18 Summoning

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."

It was only a matter of time. Yuan Xuelan stretched and cracked his fingers, "That Ivory Sword Saint better hurry up. The quicker we finish this, the quicker we can get back home."

Chen Anyue nodded. Their little excursion was fun and full of new experiences she would definitely cherish, but to say that she wasn't tired, would be an outright lie. She sat under a tree, hidden in the large looming shade of its trunk and leaves. A false sense of serenity came with the fresh humid scent of grass and a gentle wind. Chen Anyue's lids felt a little heavy.

"Shijie, wake up." A gentle hand shook her awake. She shot up suddenly, embarrassed and surprised that she had fallen asleep in the first place.

"O-oh? Was I asleep?" Chen Anyue blinked at an amused-looking Yuan Xuelan.

"Liu Sumeng and Feng Yu are here."

She squinted and blinked. The light was a lot more mellow now, washed out and darkened hues with a hint of dusk's fiery colors. Suppressing a stretch, she looked around, catching the sight of Liu Sumeng in his white robes and stoic countenance. A flush came about her cheeks, too embarrassed to ask how long had she'd been asleep, but feeling a little desperate to know.

Yuan Xuelan turned to the Ivory Sword Saint, crossed his arms and huffed, "What took you so long? If it were me, I would have taken half the time!"

"I went to get this," Liu Sumeng answered, lifting up Feng Yu's wooden bow.

"Forgive me, Young Master Yuan. I was the one that requested he return to the cabin for my bow. As soon as the sun tucks beneath the horizon, I can be of assistance to you." The little frog that sat upon Liu Sumeng bowed its small green head.

Yuan Xuelan scoffed but Chen Anyue interrupted him before he could say anything rude, "I'm glad Liu-ge is alright." She gave him a splendid smile.

Liu Sumeng nodded.

"A-anyways!" Yuan Xuelan huffed, standing pointedly between the two of them, "Let's get to work, ok? That crazy lady-" a sharp elbow hit his ribs, "ow! I mean uh that Bai Qiaoyin is still waiting for us, right? Let's go, let's go."

He ushered them from the quiet shaded area back to the water's edge. As before the lake was just as still. This time, the tool that was retrieved from Chen Anyue's interspatial ring wasn't her rope, but instead a pipa. She took a breath and held the instrument close to her chest, a look of determination fierce in her eyes.

Yuan Xuelan exhaled with a sigh, pulling out more talismans before furrowing his brows, just how many did he have left anyway? "This better work," he said, despite the entire plan being born out of his own ideas.

"It will," Liu Sumeng said without hesitation before walking out onto the pier with dauntless determination. He held Mingshui out to the murky waves. The blade lifted from his grasps and he used his other hand to cast a spell to gather and exude a heavy wave of spiritual energy. The point of his sword hovered just above the water's surface, where it began to ripple and bubble violently. The water's color deepened until it was a tar-like black, a clawed hand reached out and from the waves and with it emerged a corpse crawling out of its tainted grave. Bai Qiaoyin's eyes were glowing, and her mouth cracked open on rusted hinges, bones creaking to bellow out an inhuman cry.

Liu Sumeng summoned Mingshui back into his grasps and readied his stance to slice away at hair surging his way. He danced at the edge of that pier, the silver sheen of his sword keeping danger and corruption away. This time, he didn't try to cut and maim her, and only defended against her attacks, drawing upon her rage to buy time.

From a short distance, Chen Anyue played a calming tune, her delicate fingers plucked away at her pipa's strings. Yuan Xuelan's talismans fanned out into a wide circle, surrounding the diameter of the lake. Their golden paper bodies spun around the tainted corpse of a goddess and Ivory Sword Saint. He uttered an incantation and the talismans began to glow a brilliant gold while Chen Anyue's soft melody fluttered across the air, below the clashing of claws and steel and the cries and growls of a distorted voice.

The goddess roared, limbs twitching as she took a step away, a deep purple light began to glow from her chest. Liu Sumeng saw the opening and closed in, aiming his blade for that shining pulse. She caught the tip of his blade with her arm, stopping his thrust with rotten flesh and bone. His sword was caught there, imbedded in her decaying arm. With her superior strength, she could easily toss him aside, but Liu Sumeng clenched his jaw and slid Mingshui free from the goddess's arm. He twisted away from the clawed fingers that reached and grappled at him. They stood locked in a stalemate, each refusing to back off even an inch.