"I refuse!"
"Insolence!" Immortal Tao's voiced thundered. Immediately, the lightnings of the Silent Moon Severing rained down, piercing through the array and striking Meirong.
"Argh!" She fell completely to the ground. She felt her body weaken as she spewed more blood.
"The Moonpetal court will not harbor a disgrace like you." Immortal Tao declared.
More lightnings struck Yu Meirong, and she groaned in agony as it did.
Her body weakened even more as the Silent Moon Severing seal formed within her, blocking her meridians.
Then the lightnings stopped.
The array dissipated.
"It is done." Immortal Tao says.
There was silence.
Then Meirong who was still on the ground muttered up the little strength she had, "I don't just understand." She says. Then her eyes held immortal Tao's in an intense stare.
"Why is there the need to subdue fairies?" She continued.
"But I think I get it now... It's just because of men like you. It's not even about rebellion, it's about your insecurity! And the need to dim the talents of fairies just to feel superior!" Meirong added.
"Yu Meirong!" Immortal Liao jumped in. "You ought to be begging for forgiveness!"
"I owe no one any apology." Meirong replied.
"Of course people like him are what's wrong with this world right now, but then there's people like you, I'm ashamed to be your disciple and to call you master!" Meirong adds.
"I, immortal Tao, hereby banish this rebel Yu Meirong from the Moonpetal court and you're never to step foot in the Moonpetal court again!" Immortal Tao declared.
"Exile me all you want. I will break the seal and cultivate again. I'm going to become a great warrior and then, it wouldn't be the Moonpetal court I'd be fighting for!" Meirong vowed.
Immortal Tao's voice echoed across the mountains in a throaty chuckle. "I'd like to see you try. You think it's that easy to break the seal?"
"You've been reduced to body refinement and you can never be able to breakthrough again. Be glad I didn't totally destroy your spiritual veins and scatter your worthless essence remains across the realms." Immortal Tao ended and began to walk away.
"Get rid of her!" Immortal Tao said to immortal Liao in a commanding tone.
Immortal Liao bowed in response, along with Xiao Chunhua as he exited.
Then immortal Liao began to walk closer to a weak Yu Meirong, who was still on the ground.
"Why would you do this, Meirong?" She started. "You were just a poor orphan, when I first met you. I picked you from the streets and changed your status from being just a commoner - I made you my disciple."
"I'm highly disappointed, Meirong." She adds.
Meirong remained silent. Her eyes just stared desolately at her left wrist, her broken spiritual veins coming into sight.
"Your discontentment brought this upon you." She continued. "But... as your former master, I'll do the best I can do for you."
And the best she could do for Meirong was to sell her off to a leisure house in the Nine Clouds Hall.
"This is your room," told a girl about her age.
Meirong who had been trailing behind her nodded.
They had already been introduced to each other when immortal Liao brought her to meet the owner of the pavilion. The girl was present, her name is Li Lianhua - she manages the affairs of the pavilion when the owner is not around.
"Get some rest. The pavilion is usually astir during night time. You'll be on serving duty." Lianhua informed, and walked away immediately.
Meirong entered the room, and after shutting the doors, she slumped onto the small bed.
Her eyes stared blankly at the ceilings. Then she brought her wrist up to her face, staring at her shattered veins once more.
She can't leave the pavilion.
Then she sat up.
Not because she can't, but because she had nowhere else to go.
It would be a lot better if she just stays in the pavilion. Have a place over her head as she finds a way to break the seal.
'There have to be a way.' She thought.
When it was night time, Yu Meirong freshened up and wore the clothes she was given; which was a pretty blue feminine robe, the kind pavilion fairies wore.
She wasn't so comfortable with the robe but it's not like she had a choice.
She got to the flower room, a common room in the pavilion where the faires usually gather for meetings. When she got there, Li Lianhua was already addressing the faires.
"Hello, you must be new here," said a pretty fairy who stood besides her.
Meirong just forced a smile as she nods slightly.
"Wonderful, I'm Ma Yu. I've been working here for three years now. What's your name?" Ma Yu questions.
She's chatty - Meirong thought.
But she responded anyways, "Meirong. Yu Meirong."
Working here for three years now? - The girl in front of her looked young.
In fact she is the youngest of all the fairies in the room right now; Meirong analyzed.
The girl looked at least five years younger than her and she is twenty two. That means she must have started working here since she was fourteen.
That's disheartening - Meirong thought.
She hasn't been to a leisure pavilion before, but of course she has heard of all the sorts of things that occurs here. It wasn't a place for someone so young, who knew what she might have been exposed to so far.
"Meirong. Nice. I heard you're on serving duty, I'm on serving duty too tonight," Ma Yu told, then she grabbed Meirong's arm so sheepishly, "Let's work together tonight, Sister Meirong."
Meirong didn't respond, she just stared at the girl a little taken aback by her actions, a soft scoff leaving her lips and Ma Yu giggled as it did.
Soon, people of all calibers and realms filled the pavilion, men and women. Music filled the air, the dancers swayed gracefully. Wine and delicacies endeared the senses of everyone present in the pavilion.
As Meirong served the guests, her eyes were all over the place, scrutinizing every one of them. She observed that most of the guests are of high class. Probably because the pavilion was expensive.
She went back to the serving room to get more servings. "Ma Yu," she called Ma Yu who was also in the room, getting more servings too.
"Who are those guests in the upper rooms and why isn't Li Lianhua letting us serve them?" Meirong questions.
"Uhhm they are very powerful people, the upper rooms are very luxurious and expensive, only very wealthy people can afford it," Ma Yu answered.
So we're talking warriors, sect leaders, elders, core disciples! People of high cultivation levels! - Meirong thought.
If she can get close to them, she can figure out a way to find out from them how to break the seal and cultivate again!
***