Esmeria

"Ming Yu, what happened?" Chen Yang was perplexed by Ming Yu's sudden change in demeanor.

"We have a visitor. Someone breached Master Peng Xian's barrier," Ming Yu replied, her voice tinged with concern.

"Is that person strong?" Chen Yang asked, his brows furrowed.

"I'm not sure. He seemed to be alone," Ming Yu answered cautiously.

A figure in a black robe, his lower face concealed, appeared and approached them slowly.

Ming Yu instinctively positioned herself in front of Chen Yang, shielding him.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice steady but wary.

"I am Banu al-Ra'ad. Disciples of Peng Xian, You will meet your end at my hands," The intruder declared ominously.

Ming Yu reacted swiftly, casting five [fire bolts] towards Banu.

However, with a deft backhand gesture, Banu effortlessly deflected them.

"How can he easily deflect my spells?" Ming Yu exclaimed, taken aback by Banu's skill.

Undeterred, she launched five [fire spears] next.

Banu evaded four and extinguished the fifth by crushing it in his hand.

"My body resists fire. Your spells are useless against me," Banu explained calmly, unnerving Ming Yu further.

"Cover your eyes," Ming Yu whispered urgently to Chen Yang.

With a swift incantation, she unleashed [Light Crusher], a blinding burst of holy light intended to disorient their foe momentarily.

The holy light emitted could only damage the undead and blind the living, but blinding the enemy in front of her for a moment was enough to get Chen Yang to run away.

"Run!" Ming Yu pushed Chen Yang away, giving him a head start to escape.

As Chen Yang fled, Ming Yu prepared to confront Banu alone. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her back as another figure in black appeared behind her.

"There were two of you?" Ming Yu gasped in shock as she realized her oversight.

"My eyes hurt, dammit!" Banu grumbled, rubbing his eyes to alleviate the blinding effect of Ming Yu's spell.

Struggling to maintain her focus, Ming Yu felt her strength ebbing away. Paralyzed by a poisoned dagger, she collapsed, unable to move or speak.

"The dagger... it's coated with a potent poison," The second intruder explained calmly, observing Ming Yu's plight.

"Hey, Azraq, don't touch her. She's mine to finish," Banu asserted.

"Fine, you have the honor," Azraq acquiesced.

Banu approached Ming Yu and delivered a fatal blow, plunging his dagger into her heart.

As Ming Yu's life slipped away, she uttered a final thought:

"Chen Yang... please be safe..."

Then, inexplicably, Ming Yu woke up in her bed with her mother scolding her about getting married.

"Huh? Where am I? Was it a dream?" Ming Yu mumbled, confused by the abrupt shift.

Her mother continued to chide her about finding a husband, and Ming Yu playfully teased back.

“You are already twenty-six years old! All your friends were already married and even had kids!”

“Yeah yeah, I will find a realllyyyy handsome husband so you can be at peace. Ahn~~” Ming Yu yawned while replying to her mother.

“Are you cursing your mother?! This is why you will never find a husband! A lady should be more graceful! And you are too skinny, you won’t bear any children if you are so skinny!”

“Yeah yeah~”

Later, Chen Yang excitedly pulled her to see a dummy created by Master Peng Xian, distracting her from the lingering unease of her dream.

“Ming Yu, look! Look!” Chen Yang held Ming Yu’s hands and pulled her to the garden.

“Look! Master Peng Xian could turn his [earth shield] into a dummy looking like him!” Chen Yang excitedly explained to Ming Yu what happened.

“Ahn~~ you really wake me up just to see this?” Ming Yu continued to yawn.

“Master, please do something, I need my beauty sleep!”

“Oh my oh my, but doesn’t a lively kid brighten up this gloomy place?” Peng Xian stroked his beard and smiled.

“Taking care of this kid is so exhausting, I don’t think I can ever be a mother!” Peng Xian, Ming Yu, and Chen Yang all laughed together, enjoying their afternoon time.

“Let me get my beauty sleep, Chen Yang, do NOT disturb me ok!?” Ming Yu went back to bed to sleep.

“Mom, Ming Yu feels cold~!” Ming Yu started to cry and called out to her mother.

“Sigh, you are already eight years old, and still need your mother to sleep with you?” Her mother then lay beside her on her bed and sang a lullaby while stroking her head gently.

Ming Yu’s life flashed before her eyes in a fleeting moment, and she succumbed, lying in a pool of her own blood.

"Be thankful this poison allowed you to die painlessly," Banu remarked coldly as he wiped his dagger clean.

"Where's the other one?" Banu inquired of Azraq.

“Annie said she will handle him alone.”

“Haa…haa…I must quickly find Master Peng Xian…Ming Yu…please be safe…!” Chen Yang gasped for breath as he staggered towards the tower's entrance. If only he could reach the gate, the streets beyond offered a chance to hide.

Approaching the gate, Chen Yang glimpsed a figure. Drawing nearer, he discerned the princess standing there.

"Your Royal Highness, please help us!" Chen Yang cried desperately, tears streaming down his face.

"What happened?" The princess inquired calmly.

"There’s an intruder, and Ming Yu is facing him," Chen Yang replied urgently.

"I see... Do you know what the intruder looked like?" The princess smiled gently.

"He wears a black—" Chen Yang paused abruptly, noticing the princess wore the same attire as the intruder. But more striking was the elementals around her—a stark contrast to the usual illusionary elementals.

"Why are you backing off?" The intruder, bearing the princess's likeness, taunted Chen Yang with a sneer.

"You... who are you? Why do you resemble the princess?" Chen Yang faltered, feeling a sudden pain in his back. He glanced at his hand, now stained with blood, as the ground behind him rose and pierced him from behind.

Struggling against the pain, Chen Yang pulled himself up, determined to escape the princess doppelganger.

"I... must... find... Master Peng Xian," Chen Yang gasped, clutching his stomach wound, pushing himself forward despite the agony threatening to overwhelm him.

"The silly boy thinks Peng Xian will come to his rescue," The princess imposter jeered, her voice laced with malice.

With a flick of her finger, she raised a small portion of the ground, tripping Chen Yang and sending him crashing down.

“Guk!” Gasping for air, Chen Yang coughed up blood, his strength ebbing away. Crawling towards the gate, leaving a trail of blood behind, he fought to stay conscious.

"Ming Yu... fighting... for me to escape... can't give up now..." Chen Yang muttered through gritted teeth.

Standing over him, the imposter princess sneered mockingly, urging him on with sarcasm.

Just as hope seemed lost, Peng Xian arrived at the gate, surveying the grim scene before him.

"Master..." Chen Yang whispered weakly, relief flooding through him as Peng Xian rushed to his side, casting healing magic.

"Master... please... save Ming... Yu..." Chen Yang pleaded desperately, his grip tightening on Peng Xian's hand.

As his vision dimmed, Chen Yang felt a sense of closure. He had fulfilled his duty. With a final breath, he surrendered to sleep, drifting away into eternal rest.

"Peng Xian, please save us! An unknown person attacked us!" The girl's voice trembled, feigning weakness and innocence.

With a tap of his staff on the floor, lightning crackled towards the girl, but she agilely evaded it.

"Insolent! Why are you attacking me?! Have you lost your mind?!" She exclaimed, outraged.

"Wretched girl, I don't know why you resemble the princess, but you won't fool me with this!" Peng Xian retorted sharply, noting the elementals surrounding her differed from the princess's. His keen perception mirrored Chen Yang's abilities.

"Tsk, how boring. Harun and Yasmin couldn't even stall you for a short while. They are so useless," The girl remarked casually, brushing dust off her robe as if unaffected by Peng Xian's accusation.

"Where is my other disciple?" Peng Xian demanded, barely containing his rage.

"Don't know, dead maybe?" The girl's lips curled into a devilish smile, unrepentant and cold-hearted.

At that moment, something was hurled to the ground before Peng Xian, and as he saw the round object rolling towards him, his fury surged.

"How dare you..." Peng Xian's hand trembled with rage, his mind swirling with murderous intent towards the two intruders who dared trespass into his sanctum.

"Here's your dear disciple. I was almost going to keep her head as a souvenir, but I thought I'd reunite you first before collecting yours. I'm a kind person after all. Ahahahaha!" The assailant who threw the severed head reveled in Peng Xian's torment.

"Annie, shall we finish off this old man?" One of the pair queried the girl.

"Yep, he's seen my face. We can't afford to let him live. Azraq, Banu, take your positions," Annie ordered.

The trio fanned out around Peng Xian, sealing off any avenue of escape.

"How heartless. Does the slaughter of innocents truly bring you joy...? Does witnessing others suffer truly satisfy you...?" Peng Xian's voice trembled with disbelief and sorrow.

"You'll join your disciples soon enough, old man," Banu sneered, flinging a dagger towards Peng Xian before vanishing into the shadows.

Azraq lunged forward immediately after Banu's strike, aiming to plunge his dagger into Peng Xian's flesh. Annie, meanwhile, assaulted Peng Xian with a barrage of [earth spears], intending to perforate his body.

When Azraq's blade pierced Peng Xian, he detected a texture that felt different from human muscles. Instantly realizing something was amiss, he swiftly withdrew.

“Argh!” Annie and Azraq turned their attention towards Banu, only to witness Peng Xian gripping him with wind magic, suspending him mid-air.

“Is this the hand that decapitates my innocent disciple?” Peng Xian's voice rang out with fury as he tapped his staff on the ground, causing Banu's hand to burst into flames.

“Argh! How could your fire burn my hand?! I was trained to resist fire! Argh!” Banu screamed in agony as the flames scorched his hand.

Azraq reacted swiftly, hurling more daggers at Peng Xian in an attempt to halt his assault on Banu.

An earth wall surged up, deflecting each dagger with precision.

Meanwhile, Annie unleashed a barrage of [earth spears] aimed at Peng Xian, only to have them intercepted by his [earth shield] before they could reach him.

In a desperate move, Banu grabbed a bag of sand and flung it at Peng Xian’s face.

“Annie, Azraq, run!” he shouted.

“Do you think I will allow rats to escape after wreaking havoc in my home?” Peng Xian's voice thundered with authority.

With another tap of his staff, a continuous stream of lightning strikes enveloped the tower, forming a barrier of crackling energy. Simultaneously, Peng Xian cast [lightning bolt], targeting Banu with lethal precision.

Azraq swiftly grabbed Annie's hand, pulling her into the safety of the tower's interior, seeking refuge from Peng Xian's relentless onslaught.

“Don’t think you can hide from me, [Earth Blast]! With a resounding tap of his staff, the ground around Peng Xian erupted in a violent upheaval. Spikes shot up from the earth, obliterating everything in their path, including Peng Xian's once-sturdy tower. The spikes rose higher than the average house in Luo Yang, forming a colossal flower-like structure over five meters tall, with Peng Xian standing at its epicenter.

Azraq instinctively shielded Annie, but instead of protecting her from harm, he bore the brunt of the devastating [earth blast].

“Ugh, what a monster. How is he human?” Azraq groaned in pain, his voice tinged with disbelief and anguish.

“Shit, we're trapped between his [lightning barrier] and the spikes from the [earth blast]. There’s no way we can get out. Did he kill Harun and Yasmin too?” Annie nervously bit her nails, seeking solace behind a conjured earth spike.

“There is a way to escape. Follow me,” Azraq said with grim determination.

Annie trailed cautiously behind Azraq as he moved towards the crackling [lightning barrier].

“We can’t get past this barrier. We'll be burned by the lightning!” Annie protested, her voice edged with fear.

“Not you, only me,” Azraq replied resolutely.

“Huh, don’t tell me you—”

Without further hesitation, Azraq stepped forward into the deadly [lightning barrier], each step met with searing bolts of electricity that tore through his body.

“Get under me, quick…!” he gasped, his voice strained with pain.

“So you rats are over there!” Peng Xian sensed the intruders attempting to breach his defenses and swiftly cast [earth crusher] in their direction.

New spikes erupted from the ground in a sweeping arc, obliterating the old spikes and hurtling debris in their wake.

“Hurry, I can’t hold on much longer!” Azraq shouted, urgency lacing his voice.

Annie quickly slid under Azraq’s body, squeezing past the [lightning barrier].

“Don’t touch me, I can’t go on. Just run!” Azraq halted Annie's attempt to carry him out, aware that they would both be paralyzed by the electricity if they stayed.

Helpless, Annie managed to escape just as the spikes and debris pummeled Azraq, piercing his body and ending his life.

“The most important rat escaped. Why does she look like the princess? Hmmmm…” Peng Xian muttered, trying to calm himself as he surveyed Azraq's mangled corpse.

With another tap of his staff, the lightning barrier dissipated, and the spikes crumbled into dust that settled slowly to the ground.

Peng Xian returned to where his disciples lay, ensuring the area remained undisturbed, where he had conjured a [wind shield] to gently blow away the dust, preserving their dignity.

“Oh my disciples, I have failed you both…” Tears welled in Peng Xian’s eyes as he tenderly embraced their bodies.

“Grand Court Wizard, are you alright?!” Soldiers and civilians hurried to the scene, once his proud tower, now reduced to rubble.

Summoning his strength, Peng Xian informed them that he had dispatched two intruders while one had escaped, omitting the crucial detail that the escapee bore a striking resemblance to the princess. He knew revealing this could sow chaos, so he kept it to himself.

“Please… help me find Ming Yu's body so she may rest in peace,” Peng Xian beseeched, his voice heavy with grief.

Moved by their respect and admiration for him, soldiers and civilians rallied, eager to assist.

After painstaking efforts over two hours, they cleared the rubble and located Ming Yu’s body. With solemn reverence, they collected her and Chen Yang, laying them to rest together before escorting Peng Xian to the palace guest room, where he could finally rest.