11

Two days have passed since the day Yao Yue was punished, and she spent that time reading through all the Mo Sect books she had brought with her. She was currently reading the Book of Mo, a living book about all the members that were a part of the Mo Sect, trying to figure out who Tian Ying's mother could be.

There was a rule of the Mo Sect, that as soon as you decided that you wanted to join you had to use your blood to sign the Book of Mo. By doing so, you would have tied your whole life to the Mo Sect forever and always until your death. The book would record down your whole life as it happened. It was a living record of your existence, with no way to stop it from recording unless you died, as there would be nothing left to record.

For that reason, Yao Yue was looking through the Book of Mo for those who were informed about Mo LianLing's existence and had children during that time. At the moment, she had read through the entire lives of five women, with only seven more to go.

"Yao Yue! Can I come in?" came the voice of Tian Ya from outside her door.

Yao Yue immediately waved her arm over the book, wincing as she did so. All the Mo Sect books were immediately turned into books about spells, and the book Yao Yue was now reading was a book about invisibility spells.

"Come in!" she called, pretending to read the book she had read over ten times before.

Tian Ya opened the door and smiled at Yao Yue. "Yao Yue, how are you feeling?" she asked, cheerfully. "How is your back doing?"

Yao Yue smiled back as she closed the book. "It's doing a lot better thanks to you."

"That's good." Tian Ya then walked over. "Yao Yue, do you think you'll be able to get up and walk?"

Yao Yue frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"I got father's permission for you to go to Yue Yi Lake to help your back heal. If you're able to get up, I'll take you over there."

Yao Yue stared at Tian Ya in surprise. The Yue Yi Lake was a sacred place of the Yun Tian Di, only used for those who were greatly injured in battles. Yao Yue remembered her brother telling her that even if the person was injured, only those that were vital assets to the battle such as the strongest fighters or the strategists were allowed. So then, how on earth did Tian Ya get permission to allow Yao Yue in there? Something wasn't right.

"You... you got Sect Leader Tian's permission to allow me into the Yue Yi Lake?" Yao Yue asked."

Tian Ya nodded. "Are you able to get up?"

Yao Yue paused for a moment, before nodding. Even if this was a trap and her back was still injured, she still felt confident in her ability to escape whatever she had to face.

She slowly and carefully got up from the bed, walking over to a chest and grabbing another overcoat. "Let's go." she said with a smile.

*****

Yao Yue glanced around, taking in all of her surroundings as Tian Ya led her towards the Yue Yi Lake. She made sure though, that she was closely following her just in case something were to happen.

"We're here." Tian Ya said, gesturing to a stone stairway that led down to a misty area below. "This is Yue Yi Lake."

Yao Yue walked over and took a peek at the mist below. "So this is where the Legendary Yue Yi Lake lies," she smiled, before slowly bowing towards Tian Ya in gratitude. "Thank you very much Tian Ya, for both leading me here and asking Sect Leader Tian to let me use it."

She quickly helped Yao Yue up. "There's no need to thank me like this, you're still injured." she glanced over at the stairway. "Well, I'll take my leave, I'll come get you in about two hours."

Yao Yue watched Tian Ya walk away before she glanced over at the mist below. An uneasy feeling overcame her, and the medallion on her stomach began to grow hot. She took a deep breath before walking down the stone stairs. The closer she got to the bottom, the hotter the medallion got and the more unease Yao Yue felt. What was going on? Why was the medallion getting hotter?

She swallowed nervously as she entered the cold mist as it wasn't long until she couldn't see much of the path around her. Yao Yue continued to slowly go down the stairs until they finally ended in front of a body of water. She knelt down by the water and dipped her hand into it, immediately retracting it after feeling how cold the water was.

"Who's there." called a male voice.

Yao Yue recognized it as Tian Ying. "Childe Tian, it's me, Yao Yue."

"How did you get in here." he demanded. "You know that this is a sacred place, not just anyone can come here."

"Your sister Tian Ya led me here." she answered, taking off her shoes and socks.

"Tian Ya..?"

Yao Yue didn't answer as she took a deep breath, slowly dipping her foot inside the freezing water of the Yue Yi Lake. Shivers were sent down her spine as she felt the cold engulf her foot, causing her to slowly exhale the breath she was holding. Taking another breath, she quickly submerged her other foot into the lake. She trembled at the cold as she walked forward to move deeper into the lake. Once she was deep enough, she tucked her legs underneath her so her whole body was soaked in the water in hopes that it would help her body get used to the water better.

Except, that was a bad idea. Yao Yue's stomach began to burn as the medallion began to glow, much to her horror. She quickly stood up as she clutched her stomach, blood dripping out of her mouth. She covered her mouth, trying to prevent the droplets from tainting the clear waters of the Yue Yi Lake.

Tian Ying only stood a few steps away from her and saw what was happening. His eyes widened in shock as he took a few steps towards her.

"You..." he started.

Before he could finish, his foot stepped on something that suddenly sunk in. Tian Ying stared at his foot in surprise and confusion. At that moment he slipped and fell into the water, causing water to splash everywhere.

Yao Yue looked up from the water to see what had happened, only to see that Tian Ying had disappeared. She wiped her bloody hand on her outer coat as she began to slowly wander the lake, still clutching her stomach.

"Ch...childe Tian?" she weakly gasped.

Yao Yue closed her eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation caused by the medallion before looking around cautiously. She slowly walked around, turning her body as she did so to make sure that no one would be able to ambush her. But as she walked around, she too stepped into the area that Tian Ying was in. Yao Yue stepped into the same area that caused Tian Ying's foot to sink in, causing her to immediately look at what she was stepping on. It was a button to activate a secret entrance, disguised as a stone.

Realizing what she stepped on, Yao Yue called out, "Tian Ya! Tian-"