Chapter 118 - Alone

Long Jie had a full night's rest and slept well into the early afternoon.

He woke up, desperately needing another wash after the night he had. Song Luli made him a meal, indulging him with some warm, tasty food. The skipped work鈥攔eluctantly鈥攁nd afterwards, they both changed and prepared to visit the main estate of the Long family.

The first time Song Luli visited the estate was at night; this time, it was during the day, bright as can be, and she got a better view of the mansion.

Some of the columns supported the architecture of the five-story home. There were statues of white tigers, awake, on guard, protecting a single, sleeping dragon.

Song Luli shot Long Jie a glance as they stepped down the pathway further, approaching the large, heavy front doors. The butler saw them and opened for them immediately.

Song Luli looked around the house, at the serpentine wallpaper. She paused, glancing at a painting of the four mythical creatures of China: A white tiger, a vermilion phoenix, the Azure dragon, and a tortoise accompanied by a serpent.

She kept walking, following Long Jie and the butler, stepping into a long, empty room with a chair that looked like a throne.

Song Luli remembered that it was Long Jie's grandmother that didn't like her, but she wasn't sure of his grandfather's opinion of her.

Long Yuntian was standing outside of a transparent-glass sliding door, looking at the garden of his outdoor courtyard. His arms folded behind his back, and he appeared to be thinking. The butler than quickly whispered something in his ear and Long Yuntian turned around, looking surprised that his grandson visited.

Long Yuntian walked without his cane, swiftly approaching them with ease and grace.

He looked at Song Luli, glancing at her arm, inked with a dragon tattoo, outlined in blue-black, surprised.

Long Yuntian scanned over them, sitting down in his throne-like chair, and Long Jie bowed before him; Song Luli also paid her respects.

"I want to call upon the dragons," Long Jie said to him formally.

"They've dispersed," Long Yuntian replied.

"How can we find them?" Long Jie questioned.

Long Yuntian rose from his chair, stepping forward carefully. "We tell them that sleeping dragon has awoken. Are you willing to be my successor when I die?" Long Yuntian asked Long Jie.

Long Jie nodded. "I will be ready whenever that happens, but I need you, grandfather, in this war."

Long Yuntian had a cold, harsh face, almost as if he had seen things he shouldn't, raised to be so brutal that it almost felt normal to be this icy. But, his face softened, almost smiling gently.

"Then, it's time," Long Yuntian said, whistling sharply. A young man with dark hair and dark eyes came in. Long Yuntian whispered something in his ear, and he disappeared quickly, so quick that it felt like a shadow had come and vanished.

"I will spread the word. It's unpredictable whether they will come or not, despite their tattoo. Some have left the society for good鈥攍iving ordinary lives with their families; some have joined other organizations, and may be loyal to them now."

"I understand," Long Jie began. "I'll understand if no one comes. I wouldn't want them to leave their families abruptly; I wouldn't want to take away what they have built for themselves."

"Also, they may not come for me," Long Yuntian replied, "given my reputation for abandoning them. I gave them each clemency so that they have a choice to return or not."

Long Jie sighed. "I understand."

Long Yuntian glanced at Song Luli from her arm and then directly into her eyes. His lips curved. "Do you know what that tattoo is for, girl?"

"I prefer not to be called 'girl,'" she replied. "And yes, I understood perfectly well when I got it."

When Song Luli went to the tattoo shop, the same one Long Jie went to, many customers were covered in them from head to toe. She tried not to glare; she tried not to assume the worst of them. Most people with tattoos weren't criminals, after all.

She continued to walk, eliminating that fear and negative judgement in her mind鈥攖hen she felt better.

She sat in a reclining chair, noticing that the tattooist had a large tortoise on the side of his arm, wrapped with a snake. She told the artist, specifically, how she wanted her tattoo. The artist's eyes widened when he saw which one she wanted to get.

'If you get this tattoo,' he began to say, 'It means that if the dragons ever regroup, you are officially one of them, marked for life. In any cause, you will have to join them or face the consequences.'

Song Luli registered what the tattooist said.聽She shivered, recalling the rumours of those who left any of the black societies without permission from the Head Master鈥攊t was a brutal punishment, depending on the severity, meant to make a statement for others who try to leave.

'I know,' Song Luli replied, glancing over at Long Jie with a grin.

She wasn't sure if the Dragon society would regroup, but it meant that each one of the Long's, from every generation, had to return鈥攊ncluding her, now.

Song Luli braced herself when she got it, and it hurt like hell.

The end result was magnificent. Most of the tattoo was black, and some parts were shaded a deep, midnight blue. She loved it, looking at herself in the mirror fondly. It coiled around her forearm as if it was trying to wrap around its prey.

"It's wicked," she said astonishingly.

Long Jie smiled. "It looks perfect on you," he said huskily, giving her a look of intense pining.

Song Luli flushed; it was the same look she gave him whenever he was shirtless.

She snapped out of her thoughts.

Long Yuntian frowned, not expecting Song Luli to have known what having that tattoo meant. Did he care about her safety? He didn't show it much.

Long Jie and Song Luli parted ways with Long Yuntian, heading home.

The only shot they have was with the dragon society, and they weren't sure if members would show; they're no longer under oath and obligations as she and Long Jie were. This gave her more fear, knowing they might be alone.