Love & Redemption
Chapter 144: Volume 4 Sudden Split of the China Dream - 1 Timid Love (1)

Chapter 144: Volume 4 Sudden Split of the China Dream Chapter 1 Timid Love (1)

After Liu Yihuan and Ting Nu left, the transition of spring to summer passed, and nearly half a year had elapsed. Yu Sifeng’s injuries had mostly healed, but on rainy days, the old wounds would still cause him dull pain. However, such recovery could not be hastened and had to be gradually managed.

After his recovery, fearing that the long periods of bed rest during his recuperation might impede his cultivation, he quickly agreed with Xuanji to dismantle sword attacks and practice spells daily. They aimed not necessarily to improve but at least not to regress. When they had nothing else to do, they began to learn the unique sword techniques from each other’s sects and even gained some insights, which in some ways compensated for the deficiencies in their own power.

Originally, the cultivation techniques in the world varied endlessly, with no tactic wholly devoid of flaws. Different sects complemented each other, such as Lingdong complementing Pu Zhuo, and Stable complementing Xu Fu. The training routines of Lize Palace emphasized being light, clever, and fast, even more so than Fuyu Island, yet their techniques were not excessively flamboyant. When compared to the dazzling and beautiful Dual Swordsmanship of Fuyu Island, they appeared much duller. However, their elusive and unpredictable movements left people baffled, something Fuyu Island could hardly match. Many of the techniques were not achievable by human effort alone; unless one’s light body skills were exceptional like those of the Great Palace Master, their movements would look as clumsy as an old goose flapping its wings.

Xuanji’s light body skills were already outstanding among the younger disciples of the Shaoyang Sect, yet these techniques were beyond her grasp. Seeing Yu Sifeng execute those maneuvers effortlessly, as easy as eating grapes—the contrast was stark when it was her turn. Either she would fall midway or fail to execute the techniques in time. She had never encountered such difficulties while learning with Chu Yinghong, where no spell technique ever needed to be taught more than three times. However, this time she lost face in front of Yu Sifeng. Although he didn’t mind and simply said that this set of techniques could not be learned by outsiders, Xuanji thought differently.

Stubborn as she was, nobody could outmatch her determination. She doubly committed herself, practicing daily and immersing herself in training so much that she even skipped meals, bordering on obsession. Eventually, when Yu Sifeng managed to perform the Yao Hua Swordsmanship of the Shaoyang Sect as smoothly as flowing water, she also passed muster with great effort.

"This sword technique is like it was made for someone with wings on their back."

After months of arduous study, Xuanji had not achieved great success and had to give up with a gloomy face. However, considering the time she spent with little to show for it, she still couldn’t help voicing a complaint.

Yu Sifeng, having just finished practicing the sword technique with sweat dripping down his forehead from his hair, overheard her complaint and walked over with a smile, "You have done quite well to get to this stage. Some people can’t learn it in their entire lifetime."

Xuanji, herself drenched in sweat, sheathed her sword and sat down on a rock, sighing, "Father used to say that the cultivation techniques in this world are either for the masses or for a niche audience. The so-called mass audience, like our Shaoyang Sect, is something everyone can learn and get results from, yet mastering it is extremely difficult. I guess, the niche must be those unique skills from your Lize Palace, selected for only a few to learn."

Yu Sifeng merely smiled and remained silent. The two of them sat side by side on a large bluestone, a gentle breeze rustling through the trees, making them feel completely refreshed. This was their secret training ground, a rare spacious area in the forest, ideal for practicing their arts. It was midsummer, and the scorching sun turned everything within a hundred miles blindingly white, almost stifling. However, this place, shaded by green trees, was much cooler than outside.

Xuanji had discovered this place, once self-mockingly claiming that her greatest skill was not in anything else but in finding comfortable and lazy spots. No matter the situation, she always managed to find the most comfortable spot to lean on at first notice, and now it seemed that had some truth to it.

Having sweated profusely during her sword practice, Xuanji felt refreshed from the breeze that passed through the woods. She couldn’t help but lie back on the rock, stretching out like a big cat, resting her head on Yu Sifeng’s lap while speaking softly, "I wonder what Brother Liu and the others are doing right now."

Yu Sifeng thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Probably drinking in a brothel."

"Does he... ever spend time not in brothels?"

"Yes. Then he’s likely in a tavern drinking."

Xuanji fell silent. After a while, she spoke again, "Why haven’t you ever told me about any grudges Brother Liu had with Lize Palace before?"

Yu Sifeng was silent for a long while before answering, "Why dwell on the past? Honestly, I am not so sure myself. I knew him from when I was very young, but the first time I met him was in the dungeons of Lize Palace. That was his first attempt to escape Lize Palace, but he got caught and brought back."

Xuanji asked, "Why did he want to escape?" Could it be because there was someone outside he couldn’t let go of? The thought made her cheeks turn slightly red.

Yu Sifeng didn’t notice her slight embarrassment and continued, "Probably because he couldn’t stand the rules of Lize Palace. Brother Liu loves his freedom and doesn’t like being controlled by others. The first time I saw him, he lured me over with a fruit and told me jokes all afternoon. Since then, I felt he was a good person... different from the feelings my masters and seniors gave me."

He seemed to recall something amusing and smiled, "After that, I sneaked to the dungeon daily to see him, and he would talk about... well, many interesting things. We gradually grew familiar in this manner."

Actually, Liu Yihuan was quite bored alone in the dungeon, and having a child to play with was more than welcome. What concept did he have of propriety, integrity, loyalty, or shame? He was utterly disrespectful due to his age, spending every day with Yu Sifeng talking about women, completely embodying the image of a lascivious man. It was fortunate that he didn’t corrupt Yu Sifeng into becoming a debauchee himself.

"After the Old Palace Master passed away, he left a will to release him, thus expelling him from the sect. The day I went to find him, he asked me if I wanted to go with him, and I..."

He suddenly paused, squinting his eyes, and after a long moment, he said, "That’s all there is. That’s all I know about his matters."

Xuanji curiously asked, "You didn’t say whether you agreed to go with him or not."

Yu Sifeng spoke in a low voice, "Because I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything that happened that year."

Both were speechless. They leaned on the rock for a while as the skies gradually darkened, and Yu Sifeng patted her head, softly saying, "Let’s go, it’s time to head back to the inn. There are a lot of mosquitoes here at night."

Sometimes, he would recall fragmented snippets of that inexplicably truncated memory. Unable to piece them together, he always forgot. What exactly happened that year, and whether he had agreed to Liu Yihuan’s inquiry—he went to ask him, and he just smiled, playing coy and saying nothing. Pressed for an answer, he would resort to the old deflective tactic of minimal effort: whether an agreement occurred—was irrelevant. The important thing is Little Phoenix remains close to me, just like when we were children. That should be enough, right?

After dinner, Xuanji obediently returned to her room. Initially, she clung to the idea of sleeping with him, but this time Yu Sifeng firmly refused as if allowing her into his bed was like inviting a flood and fierce beasts. Imposing on others was never Xuanji’s forte; after persisting for a while and seeing his immovable stance, she had to reluctantly accept sleeping in separate rooms. She felt it was a pity; that one night sleeping under the same blanket with him was so warm. Occasionally, she wanted to relive it, but he no longer agreed, and she could only grumble inwardly about his cold-heartedness.

Yu Sifeng was resolute in this matter, coldly refusing her, and he had his own reasons. They had no matchmaker’s arrangement nor parental approval. Even though cultivators weren’t bound by many worldly rules, for a young man and woman to share a room for no good reason wouldn’t reflect well on her, whatever it might mean for him. Moreover, his injuries had largely healed, and as both were young and vigorous, should either of them lose self-control, it would be harm her.

As the saying goes, nearness breeds timidity - when they had not disclosed their feelings, living in ambiguity, he was quite bold. Now that he had set aside all concerns, he dared not, as if indulging his desires was a desecration of her. The closer he was to her, the myriad wild thoughts in his heart were reined in one by one—it was timidity, nothing else.

Yu Sifeng brightened the lamp and took out the royal calendar from his bag, calculating the days until the Flower Pinning Conference. With four months left, there was much to be done. Germu had been quiet lately, and Wu Tong had shown no movements either; such calm did not put him at ease. It would have been better if Wu Tong kept sending people to cause trouble. The current situation was like the calm before a storm.

A couple of days ago, he received a letter from Liu Yihuan, mentioning the recently tumultuous event of the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain had now gone completely quiet. All demons seemed to have vanished within a day, as if they had never been involved in the sabotage.

"Ominous omen"—Liu Yihuan wrote these four startling characters with a vermilion pen on the back, which made him ponder for a long time.

Wu Tong once said that he was the Right Deputy Hall Master, so there ought to be a Left Deputy Hall Master and a Main Hall Master above him. The current situation was clearly disadvantageous for them; they knew everything about the moves of the Four Great Sects, while Chu Lei and the others didn’t even know who the other two hall masters were, let alone the scale of the hall or its goals. Wu Tong seemed unconcerned about the Iron Chain incident, his actual target seems to be to overthrow the Shaoyang Sect, then, did the other two hall masters know of his ambitions, or were they kept in the dark?

He frowned in thought but suddenly heard a rustling sound outside the window, like something flapping its wings, and through the paper-covered window, a diffuse red light shone. Yu Sifeng, always cautious, immediately blew out the candle, and silently moved to the window to listen. He did not open the window for a while.

Unexpectedly, the window next to him creaked open—it was Xuanji! This careless girl! He was about to call out to stop her, but then he heard her happily exclaim, "Ah! It’s dad’s Red Bird! How did you come here?" Yu Sifeng immediately relaxed, but still kept a trace of vigilance, gently whistled to wake up Little Silver Flower in his sleeve, then pushed open the window. If there was anything unusual outside, Little Silver Flower would act immediately.

Their window sills were connected, and upon opening the window, he saw a fiery, majestic Red Bird standing there, haughty and imposing—it was indeed the spiritual beast raised by Chu Lei. Xuanji saw a metal ring on Red Bird’s foot, engraved with the Shaoyang’s emblem, quickly pulled it out, and curiously said, "Why would dad use Red Bird to send us a message? It’s such a waste."

The Red Bird gently chirped, sounding like pearls scattering, very pleasant, and then flapped its wings and flew into Yu Sifeng’s room, strutting about on the table before finally coming to a stop. Xuanji cried out, "Ah! Why are you going into Sifeng’s room? Uh... Sifeng..." Her voice suddenly turned pitiful, "There’s a reason for this, can I, can I come to your room for a while?"

It turned out Yu Sifeng’s refusal at that time was particularly stern, making her think she had done something wrong, so every time she mentioned going to his room, she was somewhat trembling.

Yu Sifeng was also puzzled, not understanding what Chu Lei was up to, but responded, "You can come over."

As soon as he spoke, the green-clothed girl dashed through the window with a whoosh, her eyes squinting with laughter as she flicked the note she had pulled out and said, "Come, see what dad wants."(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, with more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)