Love & Redemption
Chapter 113: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 20 This Love Must Ask the Heavens (7)

Chapter 113: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 20 This Love Must Ask the Heavens (7)

Dizzy, I wrote this Chapter wrong—it was supposed to be "This Love Must Be Asked to the Heavens (8)"...

5555~~ I can’t fix it anymore. Why can’t I change the title after becoming VIP??

Never mind, just make do with it... Don’t look down on me, this forgetful fool... running away crying...

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"What mischief are you up to now!" Min Yan grabbed Yihuan by the front of his clothes, determined not to let go. This cunning man would surely slip away the moment he was released. He had seen Yu Sifeng respect him and Zi Hu fear him, thinking he was someone significant, but a scoundrel is still a scoundrel—Min Yan was right not to be fooled!

"Alright, alright..." Seeing him angry, Yihuan patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Calm down, I won’t run. Let go first."

"I won’t let go." Min Yan was stubborn, more so than an old bull.

He dragged Yihuan all the way to the door before saying, "No matter what, we’re not leaving until we rescue them today!"

Yihuan sighed, "Do you think I’m an immortal? You saw that old demon too. It’s still so powerful even when it’s moulting. How can we possibly save them?"

"Just like this!" In the heat of the moment, Min Yan blurted out, "Rush in... then rescue!"

Yihuan stared at him as if he were insane and said, "You rush in! Don’t drag me into it... I don’t want to die that quickly!"

"What else can we do? Just sit here? Wait for them to be eaten?!"

Yihuan sighed, "You and your fiery temper... Didn’t I say wait for reinforcements? Once that little girl arrives, everything will be all right. What’s your hurry now?"

Little girl? Are you talking about Xuanji? Min Yan gave him a look, "Do you think Xuanji is an immortal? She can’t kill that demon!"

Yihuan wondered, "Why can’t she? She clearly—"

Before he could finish, several people rushed over from behind. It was Yu Sifeng and his group. Min Yan saw Xuanji in Yu Sifeng’s arms with her eyes closed, apparently having fainted. Alarmed, Min Yan urgently asked, "What happened? Was there an attack?!"

Yu Sifeng was full of regret himself and explained the situation once again, finishing with, "How are things here? I saw you blew the small dragon horn, was there an accident?"

Ignoring him, Min Yan just frowned at Xuanji while Yihuan came closer and kept saying it was a pity, "Little Phoenix is too rash! Ah! I knew it, she didn’t know anything! You let her see that... she must have been shocked! Now we’re really done for! We can only wait for Zi Hu and that Merfolk to die!"

Ruo Yu asked anxiously, "What? Zi Hu was captured too?"

Min Yan bitterly said, "It’s all this man’s fault! He fled in the heat of battle! No sense of honor at all!"

Yu Sifeng asked softly, "Brother Liu, did the Snake Demon go back into hiding? What do you think we should do now?"

Yihuan touched Xuanji’s forehead, pondered for a long moment, and then sighed, "There’s nothing we can do, let’s retreat for now. Waiting further might alert the people of Zhou Residence, and that would be really bad."

Seeing the tightly closed doors and the signs of struggle on the ground, everyone realized that this Snake Demon was not easy to deal with. Adding that Xuanji had mysteriously fainted, it was even less safe to stay, so they decided to return the way they came.

Min Yan was reluctant; he looked back, yet that one look caused big trouble. A woman’s laugh came from inside the house, "Thinking you can just walk away like that? Dream on! Leave that boy who burned me behind!"

Everyone was shocked, barely had time to look back when a demon wind struck their faces, and the sky suddenly darkened—a massive serpent of black fog, hundreds of feet tall, burst out from the house again, this time charging directly at Min Yan. Fearless, he took out talisman paper from his bosom, formed a hand seal, and shouted boldly, "I didn’t want to leave either!"

He threw the talisman paper, which instantly transformed into several bolts of lightning, thundering as they struck the black fog. Yihuan yelled sharply, "Don’t use lightning!" But it was too late—the lightning, far from harming her, seemed to make her grow even larger. Frustrated, he stomped his foot, hurried forward, and grabbing Min Yan by the collar, he threw him back angrily, saying sternly, "She’s an old demon of lightning! Using lightning just boosts her power!"

Sure enough, the Snake Demon’s long tail moved, coiling around him and striking him down. Yihuan was sent flying backward, landing on the ground, his fate uncertain.

In desperation, Min Yan knew neither lightning nor a sword would work; was he left with no choice but to wait for death?! Seeing the snake tail sweeping toward him, he hurriedly tried to dodge but was still a step too late and tripped over the tail, falling face-first to the ground.

His head suddenly chilled as a green glow flashed, and knowing the serpent was about to breathe fire, he rolled on the spot. Sure enough, the grass where he had been burned up immediately, turning inch by inch into ash.

Yu Sifeng and Ruo Yu were too preoccupied to care for Xuanji, beginning to form spells with Immortal Technique, unprepared for Yihuan to get up from the ground, coughing twice and speaking with difficulty, "Don’t... don’t use Immortal Law! You fool, quickly take that girl and run! Little Phoenix... you two stay!"

Min Yan immediately retorted, "I’m staying too! Let Si Feng take Xuanji!"

Yihuan shouted fiercely, "If you stay, you’re only seeking your own death! You don’t have a spell to counter hers! Get out of here! You’re just in the way!"

Zhong Minyan had intended to say more when he suddenly caught a flash of silver from the corner of his eye. His heart gave a violent shiver, and he quickly turned around to see Xuanji lying on her side on the ground, just like that night more than four years ago. Her right hand was raised high, her palm flickering with a silver light, as if she were holding a star within it.

He gasped, instinctively looked towards the others, and upon seeing they hadn’t noticed, he bit his lip, tore off his outer garment, threw it over Xuanji, and hoisted her up before running. He looked back and called out urgently, "I’ll be at the inn waiting for you!"

After saying this, he disappeared in an instant.

Liu Yihuan chuckled and said, "The nuisance is finally gone. You old demon, you reject the toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit. You dare to provoke someone from Lize Palace."

Seeing blood on the corner of his mouth, Yu Sifeng hurriedly said, "Brother Liu! Ruo Yu and I will cover you; you get going first!"

He burst into hearty laughter, wiped the blood from his mouth with a rather reckless air, "Run my head! If I don’t make her suffer, she won’t recognize Mr. Liu Yihuan! Hey, you two, hide well behind and don’t look up!"

He stepped forward heroically as if ready to sacrifice himself with great nobility, but after only two steps, his feet faltered and he—unheroically—fell to the ground.

Yu Sifeng hurried over to help him up, sighing, "Big brother, stop overreaching yourself. We need to go now!"

Pushing Yu Sifeng away, he suddenly pulled at the dark red silk thread pinning the Heavenly Eye on his forehead, his lips bleeding as he grinned widely, displaying a fierce, wild look as he declared gravely, "You are the third person to taste the Heavenly Eye’s flavor; you should feel very honored!"

Yu Sifeng and Ruo Yu felt a sudden intense brightness around them, as if a sun had plummeted from the end of the earth, causing a sharp pain in their eyes, which remained even when they shut them and saw nothing but intense, bright red. They hurriedly covered their faces with their sleeves. They heard the low cry of the Snake Demon, followed by instant silence, with only the whimpering night wind blowing.

After a while, something heavy suddenly fell on his shoulder as someone collapsed softly; Yu Sifeng caught him and upon opening his eyes, saw Liu Yihuan drenched in sweat with a pale, ashen face, forcing a smile and whispering, "Now... we can go back. Little Phoenix... you owe me another favor."

His eyes became moist, and he nodded.

****

Zhong Minyan raced all the way, carrying Xuanji on his shoulder, who now seemed to have stopped her strange restlessness and was quietly leaning against his back.

Unable to bear it anymore, he peeled back the garment to see her lightly furrowed brow, unaware of the dream she was having, and her formerly raised right hand had also drooped down, the silver light flickering no more.

For some reason, he breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing her like that earlier, he instinctively thought she shouldn’t be seen by others. Yes, in everyone’s eyes, Xuanji was just a slightly dazed and careless young girl, and he always forced himself to think the same, not wanting others to perceive her as a demon or something else dreadful.

He must have been too kind-hearted. Zhong Minyan thought with a wry smile.

The young girl on his shoulder suddenly-stirred, waking up. He pulled back the garment and turned around, asking, "How are you doing? Awake now?"

Xuanji grunted affirmatively and suddenly flipped over from his shoulder, seemingly about to sit up—Zhong Minyan quickly set her down, muttering, "If you’re all right, make your own way back to the inn; I still need to go back and find Si Feng and the others!"

Instead of agreeing in her usual oblivious manner, she frowned deeply, apparently absorbed in some troubling thoughts, and after a long moment, finally said, "I... I just now..."

Zhong Minyan quickly said, "You fainted just now! Nothing happened!"

Xuanji paused for a long time before she softly said, "I... I feel like I’m... a bit strange..."

Zhong Minyan, feeling guilty, quickly patted her shoulder, "Strange or not strange! You’re just an ordinary person! Hurry back to the inn! Why think so much?"

Unexpectedly, she suddenly looked up, her distinct black and white eyes staring at him. His throat trembled, and he felt as if he had said the wrong thing. He tried to explain but it only made matters worse, and so he turned to leave, saying, "I’m going! Hurry back!"

"Sixth Brother!" She called out after him, and Zhong Minyan was forced to turn back, "What now? Why are you always so long-winded!"

Xuanji looked at him quietly, then whispered, "Do you... do you know something? Am I really strange?"

Zhong Minyan was somewhat speechless and after a long silence, he suddenly slapped her forehead sharply, the crisp sound making her cry out in pain.

"If there’s nothing wrong, you might as well think about how to save Linglong! What are you cluttering your mind with? Strange or not strange? You know best what you are; does someone else need to tell you?"

Xuanji nodded blankly.

Zhong Minyan took advantage of his momentum, "It might be the demon energy of that Snake Demon—too foul, it made you dizzy. Go back and get some sleep!"

She obediently responded with an "Oh," turned around, and left.

Zhong Minyan breathed a sigh of relief but then suddenly remembered that dreadful night four years ago and despite himself, he couldn’t help but feel a chill. This early spring evening made one feel cold from the body to the pits of their heart.