v5c22: From Darkness

To say Hong Meiling was enraged about a prophesied attack on her home would be an understatement. Meiling had gone so far past angry that her mind had abruptly cleared. The seething, boiling thoughts that plagued her and demanded vengeance against any slight she suffered went silent. The hot bubbling in her chest stilled.

All that was left was something…cold. Something quiet that filled her with ice, made her eyes burn, the flesh on the bridge of her nose itch, and the little voice that always cautioned her to be careful when making dangerous poisons go silent.

For all her talk of crafting poisons, and describing the horrific effects her concoctions could have on people, Meiling was exceedingly careful with actually making such things—if she made them at all. Most of her knowledge was from scrolls, rather than first hand experience. Her father would not have tolerated any laxity from her in this regard. The knowledge of such poisons was a heavy burden, and used only when there was no other recourse; the Hong Clan were healers, not merchants of death, even if they could have been.

Even after the Dueling Peaks, most of Meiling’s poisons had been made to debilitate, rather than kill. She had soothed the vengeful part of herself that said capture would be a worse fate than death for them, so she could experiment on them to her heart’s content. But realistically, she never would have done that, either.

Mostly because her family wouldn’t approve. If Jin, the Xong brothers, Xiulan, Tigu, or any of the others ever looked at her with disgust for doing that to somebody… The mere thought was enough to silence the darkest parts of herself and send them recoiling.

But now… well, it was like everybody always said.

Demons were not people.

The thought had infested her mind, and when they arrived home it had possessed her. Something was going to attack her home. Something was going to attack her home and that something, along with every other being in existence, needed to know why that was a bad idea.

No. Not a bad idea. Something that no one would dare even think of, for the consequences for such a transgression would be too terrifying to contemplate.

Her green medical Qi, light and sharp like fresh growth and evergreens, turned thick and sludgy. The crisp, clean smell curdled into something sickening as Meiling concentrated it into the cauldron at which she was sitting.

Meiling’s eyes were fixed on the dark, viscous liquid taking shape. The concoction born from the worst things her ancestors had ever discovered and Meiling’s own viscous Qi was producing something that could only be described as horrific.

It moved slowly, lethargically. Each bubble of gas swelling far past when it should have popped, before sitting like a ripe boil. Then, with a sigh, it would burst, releasing a belch of gas that would be invisible to most, but Meiling could see as a shimmering haze. She captured it with her own Qi, mixing it further, twisting and condensing it until the clear haze of gas became an ugly purple liquid, which Meiling placed into a glass flask Miantiao had made for her.

All of the other vessels had been disintegrated by Meiling’s work. Only Qi-reinforced glass made by a master craftsman held firm against its ravages.

It truly was a worthless thing she had made. It had no use in healing. Its only job was to inflict horrific death upon whoever was struck by it. It was suckled upon her darkest thoughts and gorged on her Qi as she tended to it. Lethal. Fast acting. The room seemed to be cast in shadow, despite the fire heating the cauldron. The dark purple liquid shimmered malevolently, darker patches appearing in it, looking almost like a constellation.

‘The Horn of the Azure Dragon.’ In the back of her head she heard the whisper. ‘The First of Twenty Eight. The Poisons that Slay the Stars.’

She could feel what felt almost like glee from the concoction as the last drop was added. A poison that would murder and never go away, turning where the slain fell into a wasteland. An eternal destructive—

Meiling grasped the poison with her Qi. She yoked it, like the unruly beast it was. The darkness within the bottle seemed to quail. Poison the land? The land where they could grow food? No, that was unacceptable. It would kill. It would not taint. It would not defile her beautiful home.

The room seemed to burn with amethyst light, as everything before her was stripped of shadow. The poison turned from purple to blue, and Meiling felt herself wobble a bit in her seat. She blinked as the room suddenly seemed brighter again.

Meiling abruptly sucked in a breath and shook her head. She had been fairly certain that she hadn’t breathed anything in…

She was sweaty and clammy, and her sludgy Qi suddenly felt… gross. And if the smell was making her a bit nauseous, then she couldn’t go and see Zhuye like this. He would cry at the bad smell.

And Zhuye crying because Mommy smelled bad would absolutely make Meiling cry too.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Meiling forced her Qi back to its proper state and let out another breath. She felt drained and the coldness was gone. She didn’t particularly trust her legs at the moment.

Yet as she took another breath she felt the gentle push of Qi fill her, coming from the earth. Tianlan, even deep asleep, was looking out for her. Meiling didn’t know if they should try to wake the Earth Spirit up—or if they even could. Chun Ke seemed to think not when she had asked him. The golden power felt slightly more sluggish, but it was still there.

And that, Meiling thought, is enough. They had promised to protect her, just as she had promised to protect them. With one last breath, she straightened up and glanced out of the window. Her eyes widened at the setting sun.

How long had she been in here for?