"Seal it!" Spitting out these two words, Huo Zaiyuan curls his fingers loosely, and the Holy Dragon Bone Brush appears in his palm.
It is impossible to think about using only a few wooden talisman to successfully seal a poison swamp, as there are limits to what a peach wood talisman is able to do. Also, on the off chance that the wood is corroded by the poisonous gas over a period of time, it will lose its usefulness. When that moment comes, the swamp will come alive and begin spreading once more.
Since that's the case, he will not use his talisman as the sealing medium. Instead, by directly using the Holy Spring's water as the ink, he'll draw the seal on the ground. Although this method will take much more spiritual energy, it will definitely be able to seal this swamp away without fear of the seal breaking again.
The rays of silver light intensify to the point of becoming extremely glaring. Mumbled chants and spells fall from Huo Zaiyuan's lips as the brush begins to draw characters in the air. Silver runes depicting the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams array shimmers into existence before flying off to attach themselves to the edges of the swamp.
None of the other three watching dares to interrupt, each one clutching their respective firearms at the ready as Huo Zaiyuan is currently deep in concentration and hence left vulnerable to attacks.
For a whole two hours, the calligraphy brush in Huo Zaiyuan's hand never stops moving for even a second. The translucent glowing characters circling the swamp has gradually arranged itself into the Eight Trigrams[1] formation.
As each character is drawn, his inner energy depletes significantly, consuming his reserves at a rapid pace. By the time he has nearly complete the seal, Huo Zaiyuan's forehead is beaded with sweat, a deep furrow between his eyebrows, both lips tightly pressed together, drained of colour. The entire image is enough to cause anxiety in one's heart.
By the time he exhausted almost all of his spiritual energy, the seal is finally completed. Holding the brush in his hands horizontally, he chants the final spell to activate the seal. "Nine Dragons Divine Law, Five Elemental Gates, Heavens Eight Trigrams, activate [2]!"
Taking a step forward, countless runes begin to revolve at high-speed before assembling tighter about the swamp. To the naked eyes, the poisonous swamp begins to vanish from sight, then where the black-bubbling substance once was, normal soil appears, signalling the success of the seal.
Tension flees from his body the moment he confirms the seal is working. Huo Zaiyuan's vision blanks for a split-second, body falling backwards as his muscles loosen. The last thing he saw before his eyes slide close is the anxious look on Long Zhanye's face as the soldier rushes forward to catch him.
Ah, this is so embarrassing. He actually fainted from spiritual energy depletion a second time.
~~~
"Older brother Long, is little Yuan better?" Li Qing turns his body around from his position in the passenger seat, at the same time handing over a long loaf of bread to Long Zhanye. "It's been a day already, have something to eat first."
"His body is returning to its usual temperature. He should be fine." Taking a bite out of the bread, he glances back down at the unconscious person in his lap, a trace of worry seeping into his eyes.
He doesn't know if it is due to spiritual energy exhaustion, but when Huo Zaiyuan collapsed, his body's temperature began to drop, his skin turning cold and clammy to the touch.
Even the medical expert Qin Jun was unable to determine the reason behind the sudden drop in body temperature after a thorough examination. This frightened them all, and due to the situation being urgent, Long Zhanye eventually decided to use his own body heat to warm Huo Zaiyuan up, which lead to the pair’s current situation.
In the back seat of the off-road vehicle, Long Zhanye drapes his coat over his shoulders, arms loosely wrapped around the unconscious Huo Zaiyuan currently bundled up warmly with a cotton quilt.
"That's good." Hearing Long Zhanye confirm nothing is wrong with Huo Zaiyuan, Li Qing heaves a sigh of relief, then hands over a bottle of milk tea to the soldier. "Older brother Long, little Yuan hasn't eaten anything for a day too. Here, feed him a little milk tea."
"Un." Accepting the bottle, he twists the cap off and slowly dribbles some of it into Huo Zaiyuan's mouth.
Or at least, he tries to. The unconscious person refuses to co-operate, lips tightly closed and teeth clenched together, not permitting even a drop of liquid to enter his mouth. Staring contemplating down at Huo Zaiyuan, he wrinkles his brow a little, then seems to come to a decision. Pouring some tea in his own mouth, Long Zhanye plasters his lips over Huo Zaiyuan's.
Li Qing, who so happened to glance over his shoulder to check on Huo Zaiyuan, is momentarily stunned at the action.
Oh my god…wh - what is he witnessing!
Once the mouthful of tea smoothly enters Huo Zaiyuan's mouth, Long Zhanye pulls back for a bit, but can't resist planting another kiss on those soft lips before raising his head to stare at the wide-eyed youth in the passenger seat, quirking a stern eyebrow.
"I - " Like a startled kitten, Li Qing jerks in his seat, both hands flying up to wave denials. "I - I didn't see anything!"
"Mhm. Since you didn't see anything, then turn back around and focus on the road!" Long Zhanye's mouth curves into a devious smirk.
"Yes, sir!" Li Qing whips his head to the front, not daring to look back anymore.
Retrieving his sharp glare, Long Zhanye shifts his gaze to the person in his embrace before feeding him another mouthful of milk tea. Eventually, a little bit of colour returns to Huo Zaiyuan's wane complexion and a faint hint of red appears in his bloodless lips. Pleased by the results, Long Zhanye drops another kiss on that pale face.
The off-road vehicle continues speedily on its journey for an entire day, and as the sun begins to set in the west, they have already departed Z City.
(Author's notes: Adorable Theatre -
Author: My son, you're done for…
Long gong: (raises an eyebrow) How come?
Author: A reader complained that you are displeasing. You're done for…
Long gong: (Calm and collected as ever) Meh…as long as little Yuan likes.