Chapter 12 - Imperial Guards (1)

"We have arrived, young masters," the guards said as they opened the carriage door.

"Finally here. I'm going on ahead," Guo Lin cried as he ran out, two of the ten escort guards following closely behind him.

"Four of you take the carriage somewhere. It is blocking the road," Guo Yang ordered. The four guards nodded and left with the clan's carriage driver.

"Young master!" the remaining four guards called as they took up a formation behind him.

"Hmm?" Guo Yang frowned and turned back, his eyes widening as he saw around a hundred soldiers in the sky, wearing black armor with dragon shoulder guards made of gold, adorned with another gold dragon emblazoned on their chest plates. "Those are not members of the city guard. They're flying?"

"Young master, those are Earth Mortals. They can fly, but cannot leave our planet like Sky and Heaven Mortals," a guard whispered. "We heard stories about them in the taverns. Those are soldiers of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards. They are not regular army soldiers."

"All will hear and obey the will of the emperor!" a man roared as he flew forward, prompting everyone to hastily bow on both knees, heads to the ground, with arms stretched before them, palms touching the ground. Guo Yang hesitated but eventually followed suit, kowtowing before a large gold scroll displaying the emperor's words.

"Long live the emperor!" the people cried, while those in the buildings silently watched.

"A week ago, the emperor sent an edict to collect information on a golden pillar. However, another has been detected using the imperial clan's secret method. Those with any information on two individuals with Yin Yang divine tattoos are hereby ordered to report immediately. A reward of one hundred million demon spirit coins will be awarded for verified information regarding these individuals. All people with divine tattoos are hereby ordered to step forward for immediate inspection. Those who refuse will face execution, along with two generations of their clan. By the will of the emperor of the Song Dynasty: Shen Wukong," the imperial guard announced.

"Crap," Guo Yang cursed, closing his eyes immediately. Inside, the red serpentine dragon flew around the neidan. While everyone stood up and gazed at the powerful clan members, Guo Yang meditated on the street, hastily absorbing spiritual energy from his surroundings.

His neidan trembled at the sudden surge of spirit energy. The aurora brightened as a small pond formed. Slowly, the pond expanded, soon becoming a lake. Meanwhile, a rock appeared in the night sky, growing bigger and brighter to resemble a tiny moon.

Guo Yang hastily swallowed spirit bead after spirit bead, forcibly draining spirit energy. Earth began to form on the surface, the lake steadily increasing and deepening as the earth thickened and expanded outward. The night sky was indeed marvelous, resembling a true night sky, with the moonlight shining on the serene lake.

Breathing deeply, Guo Yang willed the dragon to slumber in the lake. The red serpentine dragon complied and actually dove in. It was then that Guo Yang realized the red serpentine dragon was made of spirit energy of a nature not found in the Mortal Realm. Like the crimson eye that spoke to Guo Mei, the red serpentine dragon was made of Yin Yang energy. Opening his eyes, Guo Yang coughed blood and sighed as he stopped tampering with his Spirit Realm, quickly calming his body. The neidan was truly his priceless treasure; he would not have been able to create his Spirit Realm to such an extent without it.

"Young master, you reached mid-level Spirit Forming Stage?" the guards gasped. "Congratulations."

"Guo Yang," Guo Lin cried as he ran outside to his brother's side. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"I'll be fine. You'll see," Guo Yang reassured him, turning to the skies. "Imperial guards, I have an ordinary divine tattoo."

"Why not call it a lesser divine tattoo?" Guo Lin whispered as one of the guards flew toward him.

"It covers my entire back and has a serpent dragon on it. Shush. Here he comes," Guo Yang snapped as the guard stood before him.

"What is your name?" the guard asked, pulling out a scroll.

"Guo Yang, sir," he replied, the guard frowning.

"You're not registered here. Show me your back and prepare for inspection," the guard commanded, his voice rising as three others appeared behind him. Guo Yang took off his robe and adjusted his pants, turning his back to the guard. The guards murmured as they saw the strange dragon. Guo Yang's eyes narrowed as they sent their spirit energy inside him, probing his Spirit Realm. No one could possibly detect his neidan, as not even his parents and grandparents had sensed it when he was born.

"That's a high divine tattoo, alright. It covers your back and contains a strange creature. However, the creature is not in your Spirit Realm," the guard said. "You must have formed the divine tattoo within the last two days?"

"Y-yes. I needed time to recover, according to my grandpa patriarch," Guo Yang nodded as he put on his robes.

"Yes. It seems so. A copy will be given to the city governor. You won't need to register anymore," the guard said as one flew to him.

"Reporting. Besides six unregistered divine tattoo owners of various levels, there is no one with a Yin Yang divine tattoo," the guard reported.

"We fly to the next city," the guard announced, and the people sighed with relief as the guards disappeared from view.

"Guo Mei cloaked her Yin Yang divine tattoo? No, there’s no way she could create her Spirit Realm to the same level as mine. The eye. It must have been the eye, but how? She has a sibling rivalry with Guo Lin, my human brother oblivious to her jealousy. I'm sure she now feels the same inferiority complex towards me. If what I saw was true, she might lose her mind and attack me. I must make plans to prevent that," Guo Yang thought as Guo Lin turned to him.

"What about Guo Mei?" he whispered.

"It seems she also found a way to prevent them from discovering the truth. Enough of this. We head inside the shop now. I might take a while, so browse for food for your magical beast and her blasted owl," Guo Yang instructed, the two followed by four guards as they walked inside. The last two guards stayed outside, eyes peeled for any suspicious characters trying to enter.

Back at the Guo Clan patriarch's home, Guo Mei was surrounded by her parents and grandparents. All of them wore relieved expressions while she sweated from fear. None of them guessed how Guo Mei managed to pass off her divine tattoo as an ordinary one: a crimson eye with shadows that covered almost her entire back. She shivered, and Ji Ting looked at her daughter, worried.

"What's wrong? They left," Ji Ting said.

"It's the whispers. It doesn't stop. It never stops!" she screamed as a black mass of darkness pulsed out, pushing them all against the wall while her grandma frowned and resisted it.

"It whispers to you? That can't happen! What didn't you tell us?" Guo Li asked her granddaughter. Elders from the sub-branch clans rushed in with several guards as they felt the surge of spirit energy.

"No! No, stay away!" Guo Mei screamed as tentacles of darkness sprouted from her back, causing her to fall to her knees. They seemed to have a mind of their own, coiling around the elders and guards before anyone could react.

"Souls! Souls! Souls!" an unearthly voice shrieked from Guo Mei's mouth, her eyes covered in wispy black shadows. The elders and guards all screamed as the spirit energy drained from them, their skin and bones withering as their blood was also drawn from their bodies. The dark tentacles bore an eerie shade of crimson as the elders and guards collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"What have you done?" Ji Ting cried. "Dear? What are you doing?"

"That thing is not our daughter! It took her over! We must slay it!" Guo Feng roared, drawing a heavy sword. "Forgive me, Guo Mei."

"HAHAHAHA! She cannot fight me. Her fear drove her to hide, embracing me! She is part of the Darkness now. Only Lightning remains to claim her," the voice laughed, causing Guo Mei to walk backward, toward the shadows. "Do you believe me now, Guo Mei? They cannot understand you. They fear you because they are jealous. They cannot be what you can. Follow me, and the whole world will kneel. They have all abandoned you. You are lightning touched by darkness. The darkness has been tainted by the desires of lightning."

"D-daddy....why?" Guo Mei stammered, returning to normal as she sniffed, grief welling in her eyes.