Love & Redemption
Chapter 114: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 21 This Love Must Ask the Heavens (9)

Chapter 114: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 21 This Love Must Ask the Heavens (9)

She had not taken two steps when the young girl followed him again. "Sixth Brother..." she called.

Zhong Minyan felt a massive headache building but was too embarrassed to scold her, so he simply turned his face and said coldly, "Why don’t you listen? Didn’t I tell you to go back to the inn?"

Xuanji shook her head and said, "I’m coming with you to help Si Feng and the others."

How could she come along! If something menacing happened again, he certainly had no way to restrain it! If the others knew what she was like, who knew what they would think!

"Uh... no need! What help could a little girl like you be? You’d only hold us back!"

Zhong Minyan bluntly turned away and walked on, paying no further attention to her ramblings. He had not walked far when he saw ahead a few people coming slowly toward him, led by Yu Sifeng. Liu Yihuan seemed paralyzed, limply carried between two men, even lacking the strength to move his neck.

The two hurried forward, repeatedly asking, "What happened? Were you hurt by that demon?"

Yu Sifeng shook his head and said, "We’ll talk when we get back."

Seeing only the three of them return, without Zi Hu and Ting Nu by their side, their hearts sank, and they simply shut their mouths and followed them into the inn.

Although Liu Yihuan’s body couldn’t move, his mouth didn’t stop. As soon as he lay down on the bed, he started squeaking, "Ah, ah, I have no strength at all! To open the Heavenly Eye for such a lousy demon, how embarrassing!"

Zhong Minyan was skeptical, asking curiously, "You opened the Heavenly Eye? What happens when you open the Heavenly Eye?"

He saw that the dark red lines on Liu Yihuan’s forehead had disappeared, and the tiny seam sagged, making him look not at all formidable. A small cut on the forehead was enough to repel that old demon?

Liu Yihuan hummed, "You’re the least experienced, and it’s pointless to explain to you! Anyway, once the Heavenly Eye is opened, that snake demon is useless... Let’s rest tonight, we’ll go to Zhou Residence first thing tomorrow to demand people!"

Seeing Liu Yihuan’s weakened speech, he could only nod and, stepping outside, pulled Yu Sifeng aside to ask, "How exactly did you subdue that snake demon?"

Yu Sifeng wiped his face and sighed, "The Heavenly Eye is not of the mortal world; just opening it is enough to shake the heavens and earth. Brother Liu only opened a fraction of it this time; if he had fully opened it, the entire Zhou Residence would have crumbled. Regardless, that snake demon’s powers are now useless. We’ll go to Zhou Residence tomorrow morning to demand people; I doubt she will dare to obstruct us."

Wasn’t Zhou Residence a government official’s home? Demanding people like that couldn’t be so simple! However, Yu Sifeng looked very tired, so he didn’t press further and made do with a few words, then turned and headed back to his room. Suddenly from behind, he heard a question, "Where is Xuanji?"

Zhong Minyan’s heart shivered, murmuring, "... She probably went back to her room." She had still been there when they were carrying Liu Yihuan up but had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Given the events of this evening, she also seemed slightly strange—could it be that she truly discovered something unusual about her own nature?

He turned back to look at Yu Sifeng, seeing no particular expression, so he dryly joked, "The night is quiet, a perfect time for heartfelt conversations; why don’t you go find her?"

Yu Sifeng’s lips moved slightly as if to say something, but in the end, he just silently nodded and walked away.

Zhong Minyan returned to his room and closed the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, letting out a long sigh, feeling his heart in turmoil, as if a bunch of fluffy little hands were scratching at his heart.

Linglong... Linglong... He repeated these two precious-sounding words countless times in his heart, feeling inexplicably sore, and finally sat silently on the floor for a long time, wordless.

****

The moonlight was like water, solidifying the ground into a frost-like silver. When Yu Sifeng found Xuanji, she was sitting alone on the roof of the inn, hugging her arms and watching the moon. Her delicate silhouette appeared so fragile that it seemed it could break with a mere bend, swaying gently with the night breeze. This sight caused him to squint slightly, recalling those distant but vivid memories.

Naturally, she was not as weak as she appeared. When she returned to Li Ze Palace years ago, the Palace Master had laughingly told her, "This girl is dangerous. Ordinary people would stop after hitting a south wall and be bloodied, but she’s the type to break through the south wall, barely alive, and still not look back."

Si Feng, understand that she isn’t some delicate wildflower by the roadside, waiting for your affection and care. Be careful, she could become your demon, one that leads you into obsession."

The master’s warning still echoed in his ears, but in truth, he knew it all. Xuanji was not the blurry and naive person she appeared to be. The more one interacted with her, the more one understood her intelligence and that she had her own standards for judging things deep in her heart. Sometimes, he felt like he was finally getting closer to her, but looking back, she seemed even further away, forever out of reach to be fully held in his palm.

Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard Xuanji call out softly ahead, "Si Feng... is that you?"

He slowly walked over, stood beside her, and together they looked up at the moon as he asked, "How did you know it was me?"

Xuanji chuckled softly, murmuring, "You have... the scent of the sea on you, I could smell it as soon as you got close."

The scent of the sea... He lifted his sleeve to his nose and sniffed for a long while, but apart from the smell of sweat and earth, there was nothing. This girl always had many bizarre reasons that baffled him. He sat down beside her, smiling as he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Xuanji shook her head, "I’m not really thinking about anything, I’m just a bit confused..."

Confused about what? There had been signs of it a long, long time ago. She seemed to have another memory, another life, but she had never taken it to heart. This time was different, though; it was no longer something from a dream. It was real and happening right before her eyes—those thrilling, heart-stopping events, that woman with eyes cold as crushed ice... was that her? Was it really her?

"You saw something in the Eight Desolate Tribulation Mirror, didn’t you?"

Xuanji trembled slightly, and after a long while, she finally nodded. "I...I saw a lot... but I can’t quite describe what it felt like... It felt like I wasn’t me, very unfamiliar... but impossible to ignore..."

Yu Sifeng hummed, leaning on an elbow on the roof beam, and spoke softly, "That must be your past life. Everyone has a past life... happy or unhappy, indeed hard to ignore."

Xuanji couldn’t help but turn to look at him, curiously asking, "So... does what happened in past lives affect the present? I... I always think about it and feel unable to let go."

Yu Sifeng closed his eyes, chuckling, "Of course, it doesn’t affect anything. The past life is the past, and this life is this life. If you are always entangled with what happened before, how can you live a good life now?"

Xuanji remained silent for a long while, causing him to open his eyes. Seeing her staring at him with wide eyes, her clear and distinct pupils gleaming in the moonlight stirred something inside him. He reached up to brush away her hair from her forehead and said softly, "Xuanji, now is what matters the most."

She blinked and finally showed a slight smile, sweet and cheerful, saying softly, "I understand now. I won’t think about it anymore, the life at hand is what’s most important."

With a turn, she lay down next to him on the rooftop to watch the moon. Suddenly, she felt very relieved, as if something that had been blocked for a long time was suddenly released, just like returning to her carefree childhood days without any worries or burdens.

"Si Feng, after we go to Buzhou Mountain and rescue Linglong and Second Senior Brother... please, don’t go back to Li Ze Palace, okay?"

His heart stirred again, he turned to look at her lovely face so close to his, and whispered, "Not go back... what else can be done then?"

Xuanji furrowed her brows, urgently saying, "Stay with us! We... anyway we’ve made mistakes, and we don’t dare to return to Shaoyang Sect... after we send Linglong back... we... we’ll just..."

She didn’t know what to do afterward; she hadn’t thought that far ahead. But she knew she absolutely couldn’t bear being separated from Yu Sifeng.

"Just what?" His voice was as gentle as a whisper. Xuanji turned her face away only to feel his breath on her face, the clear and lingering scent of the sea between them, their noses almost touching. She stared blankly into his eyes, unable to say a word.

"Xuanji, you haven’t given me an answer yet... about the apricot blossom forest." He brushed aside her thick brow hair, propped up on one elbow, his fingers gently tracing her beautiful outline.

She was immobile, breathing in the clear scent, feeling as though even her toes wanted to curl lazily.

"I..."

It seemed she didn’t know what to say, or had forgotten what to say.

His fingers gently caressed her lips, speaking softly, "Don’t speak, I don’t want to hear it yet."

Why ask if he didn’t want to hear?

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, feeling his hot lips touch hers, barely making contact before retreating.

She was shocked, rendered speechless. Yu Sifeng stared at her, affectionately stroked his lips, and gave a mysterious smile.