Blue Phoenix

Leaning against the door, Hui Yue knocked lightly so that it would not interrupt anyone else, and after a few moments sounds could be heard from inside and the door opened, allowing for the young man to enter.

“What are you doing here?” Deng Wu asked curiously. After they had started travelling together it had been a long time since they had the time to sit down next to each other and just talk with one another. Finally, now they had the time to chat so here he was, the white-haired young boy, who wished for nothing else than just return to the days at the academy where they would talk long into the night.

A sheepish smile was on his face because he had no special reason to visit, nothing more than a wish to talk with his good friend. Hui Yue ignored the question and instead moved to a chair where he sat down, smiling to his friend.

Sensing the room, Hui Yue could feel that the essence of the heavens and the earth within the room had been disturbed recently, a clue that Deng Wu was meditating moments before he entered. With a smile, Hui Yue tossed the stone to his friend who caught it awkwardly.

“Is this a item you just bought?” Deng Wu asked, as the young boy nodded his head.

“Next time you need to cultivate have this in your hands. When you become a second star Grandmaster, then hand it over to either Sha Yun or Wang Ju Long,” Hui Yue said while shrugging.

“It really is a treasure, Lan Feng was right when he told me to purchase it.” He sighed, clearly unhappy at the fact that he could not laugh at the bird and tell him that he had been wrong.

“I’m sorry for dragging you guys into these long and dark tunnels,” Hui Yue finally sighed. Although they were all friends, he felt somewhat guilty for bringing them to this damnable place. They had already been down underground for months and it was likely that they would have to stay here for years before they managed to make their way to the surface.

Time was not the only reason, a lot of unknown things had happened as well as the constant worry about Zhou Long and the Dragon Corps. Truthfully none of them were safe right now.

Hearing the apology, a wry smile appeared on Deng Wu’s face and he shook his head, “What other choice did we have?” His small laugh rang through the small room, “Both me and Wang Ju Long were banished from entering Riluo City, what other options did we have? We are happy that you invited us along.”

“To be honest we have a lot to be grateful for.” His usually playful voice was no longer filled with laughter and cheerfulness, instead, it turned serious and somber, “When we were kids, you always helped us out,” He began, “You gave us all the skills we could dream of; you helped us improving our cultivation techniques and even went as far as to help our families.”

“When we had problems you were there to help us, even if it required you to do something very risky. You never asked for anything in return. Is it not obvious that Wang Ju Long and I are following you because of all the gratitude we feel towards you? You not only saved us, you also gave our families a possibility to survive, which they did. For us to follow you for the rest of our lives is a suitable price to pay. Not to mention we really have nowhere else to go.” Having said his final sentence, Deng Wu’s face no longer had a wry smile, instead it had a self-depriving one, causing great pain to Hui Yue.

“I don’t care about the reason why, but travelling with you is something which has made the days not only much more interesting, but you also managed to be of great assistance to me.” Having assured Deng Wu that they were very helpful, neither of the two young men said anything else as they sat down next to each other, just quietly enjoying each other’s company.

After a short while, Deng Wu looked at Hui Yue his previous mischievous expression was now back and with a smirk on his face he turned to the younger of the two, “So what is happening between you and Wang Ju Long?”

Hearing the question, a small blush crept onto the usually pale face and without saying anything Deng Wu sudden had an idea of what might have happened.

“It’s nothing serious,” Hollow laughter followed the statement and wishing the change the subject the young man looked around; he was surprised to see lots of scrolls lying all over the room. “You’ve been working pretty hard, huh?”

“I used quite a few Fire Orb scrolls during that last battle,” Deng Wu shrugged as he spoke, “Creating more is the only way to replenish my supply. I cannot afford run out.”

Deng Wu’s abilities were all focused on the Metal element and as a man who wished to become strong with the affinity he had this meant that he needed to prepare for each battle way in advance.

The two young men were seated on the ground neither of them saying anything, just savoring the silence and the good company with each other. Both feeling good after finally having the time to speak with each other.

Hui Yue had for a long time felt guilty for what he brought Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long into, yet Deng Wu had been waiting for a chance to tell him just how grateful he was. Knowing that the two of them were truly where the both of them wished to be, a satisfied feeling spread out and they sat in a comfortable atmosphere.

….

Waking up the second morning, Hui Yue found himself within Deng Wu’s room. The air smelled of alcohol and looking at the floor it was littered with bottle after bottle of liquor. Within the bed was Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long all tangled up, for once it was not him who was the victim of that curled tail.

On the floor, not far from Hui Yue was the culprit of the previous night’s consumption of hard liquor, Deng Wu.

Thinking back of what happened the previous evening, Hui Yue smiled gently while going over the events

The previous night, after having been seated still for some time the enjoying the silence, Deng Wu had slowly stood up and left the room. After a few minutes, sounds could be heard from outside the door and a grumpy Sha Yun entered, followed by a confused Wang Ju Long.

The two newcomers were both surprised to see that they were not the first to enter the room, and their surprise caused them to stay quiet as they entered, finding random seats on the ground to sit on.

Back at the academy the lot of them usually drank together, but since they entered this new area no place had been safe. On the surface of the earth Hui Yue was constantly on the run causing them all to be on alert, and not allowing for even the slightest bit of indulgence.

The same happened when they entered the Dungeons of the Divine. Everywhere they had been up until now was dangerous, but now they were finally somewhere where they could enjoy themselves without worrying too much about what might happen.

Deng Wu did not invited either Xie Lan nor Xu Piao. Although he liked both of them, and also trusted them this was a party which he wished to hold for the ones who had been together for years. The ones who had started this journey with him.

Spending the evening together drinking, all of them ended up talking about their futures and their pasts. Many old memories resurfaced and new wishes of their future were announced, however, everyone had one wish they all shared.

Everyone was fully focused on getting through the Dungeons of the Divine. All of them aware that this was a trip which would take them years, though despite this none of them regretted joining Hui Yue. Instead, everyone seemed to be excited and as Wang Ju Long put it, her abilities have improved by far after having found herself a teacher below the surface of the earth.

The first to fall asleep was Sha Yun, her senses were more keen than those of a human and the alcohol was much more efficient on her sending her to sleep fairly early.

Wang Ju Long did not last much longer and she too fell asleep on the bed. To the amusement of Hui Yue and Deng Wu, Sha Yun’s tail curled itself around the unconscious girl, the two of them nestling up and sleeping serenely A comfort they had not been able to enjoy for months on end while they were travelling outside in the unknown world of the dungeons.

Deng Wu and Hui Yue were seated next to each other on the floor cheering and laughing all night, talking about how much things had changed.

“Some things sure feel different down here,” Deng Wu said sighing as he looked up to the ceiling. “I miss Rong Xing.” He finally said with longing in his voice. “Travelling the world is the most exciting thing I have ever done, but I wish we could have taken her with us.”

Hearing the heartfelt words, Hui Yue could do nothing but smile wryly. He too missed the three friends they had left behind in Riluo City, but they all had to grow up. While Deng Wu, Wang Ju Long, and Hui Yue were all unable to return to their home city, the Rong twins and Ma Kong were no longer children. All of them needed to move on with their lives, yet moving on was something they had to do in accordance with their lives as young masters of their families.

Silence was settling within the room, a silence which was comfortable as the two young men kept drinking both reminiscing about the choices they made.

Deng Wu’s only regret was leaving behind Rong Xing and looking at the pitch black night outside the window a sigh escaped his lips as the figure of a beautiful woman appeared in front of his eyes, the woman he dearly missed.

Moments after, Deng Wu slumped to the ground, snoring sounds could be heard even before his head hit the floor.

Low laughter escaped Hui Yue’s lips, as he looked at his sleeping friend and with great effort he stood up and pulled a blanket from his storage stone which he gently laid over the two sleeping women on the bed. After ruminating through the stone he found another blanket which he placed on Deng Wu and finally found a blanket for himself.

With one last glance at his friends, and gratitude beaming from his eyes, Hui Yue laid down on the ground. It did not take long before exhaustion overwhelmed him and sleep dragged him into the black world of comfort.

Looking at the sleeping people, Hui Yue was happy as he managed to leave the room without waking anyone up and on tiptoes he manage to enter his own room. He then instantly went to take a bath. He once more enjoyed how he slowly got rid of the sluggish feeling in his body and the heat was so comfortable that the young man fell back asleep.

Standing outside the room where all the friends were still sleeping, was Xu Piao, he lifted his hand as though he was ready to knock on the door, yet after a few moments he lower it as a smile appeared on his face and he turned around.

On the way, he ran into Xie Lan who was about to knock on Wang Ju Long’s door, but after shaking his head, the woman followed him down the stairs and towards the main building of the Mercenary Guild in the capital. It was time for him to do some proper work.