Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1269 - 1268 - Divided

Qing was carefully inscribing jade slips for her students nearly a full month after Lind had faced the Clan Head. She had been stunned by Annabelle's choice but then again it was heartbreaking to have the closest person in your heart harshly turn you away.

She was always a gentle soul but now she was sullen and even more introverted than she had been in millennia.

She was not sure if her sister would not forgive Lind one day. Unlike the others, she and Shoti had seen a lot of the darkness of the cultivation world long before they became Immortals.

Cyntilla was the same.

She beat the stuffing out of him but then dragged him off to 'catch up' on lost time. Ethry had been similar but insisted on fighting as dragons.

It was far more terrifying but Lind proved he was in far better control of his draconic body than ever before. They fought to a draw until he finally revealed a new technique.

He could command all 18 elements in any combination he wished for weavings! His own mane could produce sigils in the middle of battle!

Even those who wanted to deny him could only look on in awe at the display of a weaver actively engraving while he attacked physically at the same time!

It had turned the battlefield into his personal dimension long enough to beat Ethry. She had roared in joy and also dragged him off to some mountain abode for a full day or so.

Lysanna refused to see him. She sent a jade stone message, print only, and that was the last Qing knew of contact from her to Lind.

Kora seemed ambivalent about it. She spoke cordially but never more than was polite. Clearly she was still debating what she wanted to do.

Chu was the most vicious. She was able to fight evenly with Lind as a human or a beast. Their battle took half a day before she simply nodded and walked away from him.

To the best of her knowledge it was the last Chu had been in their territory. She likely went to be with her new grandson. A piece of knowledge that was being kept from Lind until things had settled.

Jur had given permission to tell him but Lind was not allowed to see his grandson until she chose to let him.

Fey's stance was hardly surprising. She and Lind now were likely even closer as father and daughter. They had both been consumed with their internal struggles and found their way back with the help of family.

Tal was the one that hurt Lind the most. Of all his adopted children, she had been the most affectionate and close to him. She had been at the punishment hearing and then left. Even Qing was not sure why she was so dead set on spurning even a remote relationship with him.

The last 2 members of their family in the 3rd layer were Ilyria and Feng.

Feng was not all that bothered. She had lived, died, and been reborn so often that she knew staying together as a family as they had was unusual to say the least.

She was more stunned by the fact he came back for them all and was repentant. She had been so unbothered it seemed like Lind had gone for a walk and come back after a short journey!

Ilyria was the one that shocked them all. She had been more of a scholar and teacher than anything but she had materialized a massive black shell and slammed Lind into a mountain!

The mountain was gone! It was an uninhabited mountain but still!

She sighed as the division in their once harmonious family had been lost so easily. She took it as a sign she had to consider the future more clearly.

Lind may not be the last to leave or walk away at the current rate of events.

"Bored." A voice suddenly came from a couch near a bookshelf. A delicate hand pulled up the green haired Shoti from her resting position on the fine leather couch.

"Did you enjoy the nap?" Shoti smiled widely at her and nodded.

"I was wondering when you would confront him but you keep yourself quite busy. Everyone else has had a go at him in one way or another. I am sure Sora will give more than a piece of her mind." Qing paused as the children still in the 1st layer had already made most of their stances clear.

Most were too busy to concern themselves with the upper layers. The fact their father had once again destroyed the Fiend plans was more important than his supposed cold shoulder issues.

That part was something a lot of them overlooked. Lind had freed them. He had been gone too long for accolades or other recognition to come his way but the truth was he had lifted the horrific shadow looming over them all.

The 1st through 3rd layers all owed their freedom to Lind Frey and his efforts with any allies he made.

The Endless Peaks also had received another benefit but likely did not know of it. The sky ships and starships he had designed had long been taken over by the Frey Clan.

The ships were extremely popular for lower realm cultivators to safely get around without the need for teleportation arrays. It also protected from the beasts that called the skies home.

It was not perfect but it had been tested to spectacular results in the last 1000 years.

Qing's thoughts were interrupted as a finger flicked her forehead.

"You need to go see him. Not as a representative of your sisters, but as you. Go, now." Shoti's eyes were serious but Qing knew she was teasing her too. She sighed and nodded.

The dark oak desk flashed as formation arrays swept the surface clean. It was an easy way to keep her work safe. The top of the desk was a storage treasure tied to her but it was not a high security one.

She straightened her white robes and noticed she was being followed as she left her office. She looked back to see the slinking figure of her sister.

"Something else you need?" Shoti only smiled wider and looked at her.

Qing shook her head and walked down the hallways until she came to the outer courtyards. Servants and younger members bowed as they passed but she ignored them all until she came to a rather simple door.

It was not the best courtyard and it was not the most secure but none bothered it. The man behind it could literally reshape the landscape of the 2nd layer with a sneeze.

She pushed her hand on a panel and waited. There was a click and the door silently slid aside to reveal the simple garden inside. It was only meant as a meditation area but Lind used it as his quarters.

She saw him in a lotus position, cultivating, but her breath caught in her throat.

At that moment, she understood her sisters better than ever before.

A part of her wanted to rush over and embrace him while another part wanted to bash his head in for all the pain he had caused!

She took a breath but before she could enter, a gentle hand grabbed her shoulder. She was about to look sternly at Shoti but her sister's face was shockingly serious.

"He is not strong against us, Qing. Don't forget that." Confusion flared but Qing moved in and the door slid closed behind her. The peaceful atmosphere soothed her tired soul.

Maybe she should spend some time meditating soon.

She gently walked up to Lind and felt her heart still split on what to say but he looked up at her and her breath froze in her lungs.

Pain! Bottomless pain! It seemed like he was hiding it but she could read him so well since she first met him.

"So, Shoti bothered you that much?" He was trying to crack a joke but she saw grief and pain was radiating off of him. He blamed himself!

She wanted to reassure him but her professional mind evaluated him. There were no serious signs of letting his emotions form a heart demon but she knew him well enough that he would evade any sympathy from her.

He was far too quick to shoulder blame on himself. He was also not wrong in the current situation. His actions were the direct cause of the present.

If he had been forced to cut them off, it would have been vastly different, but he chose to do it.

"Sigh, you can't hide from me, Lind." She pushed her thoughts aside and sat next to him as he became guarded. She smiled at that.

"It has been a long time since we spoke openly. You have come to blaze a trail and only look back when it is convenient for you. I think part of why you strayed away from us was because you had not spoken to any of us about your worries and talked out your Laws and so forth." She took his hand as his eyes softened.

"So I need therapy again?" She nodded seriously.

"I think you have been through and lost a lot. If anyone needs therapy, it is you. I am here. Talk to me." Tears formed and he nodded. She let him talk and her doubts vanished.

She was no longer divided or worried about the future. The man she fell in love with was in front of her and he was exhausted. Immortals had to shift their mindset but he had been driven to fight the Fiends for them all.

She let his words wash over her and she answered him in kind. She told him everything that had happened and constructive advice to help him settle his heart.

It was a single step but it was the most necessary one. Lind Frey needed to heal before he could move forward.

In that sunny and simple courtyard, she felt her heart reconnect with him as if they had hardly been apart. A warmth spread in her soul as she too realized they had a lot of things to catch up on!