Love & Redemption
Chapter 146: Volume 4 Dream Suddenly Shattered, - 3 Spiritual Beast (1)

Chapter 146: Volume 4 Dream Suddenly Shattered, Chapter 3 Spiritual Beast (1)

The next day, Liuli and Xuanji left Germu, flying directly to Qingyang on their swords to find Liu Yihuan. Yu Sifeng had initially figured that Liu Yihuan would definitely be indulging himself there, but this time he was wrong; Liu Yihuan wasn’t in Qingyang at all. After asking the madam of the brothel, it turned out he hadn’t been seen for several months. Their attempt was in vain, and they didn’t know what to do next.

"Should we return to the Shaoyang Sect first? I want to see Linglong." As soon as they left the Jiaohong House gate, Xuanji immediately suggested.

Yu Sifeng mulled it over in his heart. There were still four months until the Flower Pinning Conference, and returning to the Shaoyang Sect now seemed too early. Besides, the people of Shaoyang must have many critical comments about Zhong Minyan; given Xuanji’s temperament, hearing such rumors would surely depress her, leading to unhappiness on both sides.

"Aren’t you interested in finding a spiritual beast?" he asked with a smile. "I know of a mountain in the west, called Beast Mountain, filled with numerous demons. We might as well go take a look and choose carefully."

Xuanji’s eyes lit up instantly, "Sounds good... But didn’t you say that selecting a spiritual beast can’t be rushed?"

Yu Sifeng coughed and said with a smile, "It can’t be rushed indeed. But it’s always good to look around; if fate allows, you might find your own spiritual beast in the blink of an eye."

Xuanji got scared for a moment as she misunderstood "in the blink of an eye" as "in the time it takes to behead", pondering if she needed to reconsider keeping her head. Since one supposedly needed to behead to obtain a spiritual beast, why then did those in Shaoyang Sect with spiritual beasts still have their heads securely on their necks? What a strange thought...

"What are you daydreaming about? Let’s go," Yu Sifeng called her.

Xuanji caught up, saying repeatedly, "Are we going right now? Shouldn’t we find a restaurant and eat first?"

After their meal, as they flew towards Beast Mountain on their swords, Xuanji suddenly felt the scenery below looked familiar. After thinking hard, she suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! Lutai Mountain! Si Feng, do you remember? We’ve been here before!"

Yu Sifeng nodded, and they both remembered the demon hunting scene they had witnessed with adults four years ago. Back then, their first impressions of each other had been terribly bad; Yu Sifeng even scolded her as a wicked woman and had never shown her a smiling face. He wasn’t sure exactly when it started, but he found himself increasingly unwilling to leave her. Affairs of the heart are always so marvelous—back when he was only thirteen, he never would have guessed that the girl who nearly throttled Little Silver Flower and insulted the mask of Lize Palace; the girl whom he cursed inwardly as a bad woman, would eventually become even more important than his own life.

"You’re smiling so strangely," Xuanji noticed his half-smile and was extremely puzzled.

Yu Sifeng rubbed his face, emerging from the memories, and suddenly said, "Let’s go take a look at Lutai Town! Come on, let’s drink the Fruit Yellow!"

Saying so, he descended from the clouds first, and Xuanji hurriedly followed him, feeling that he was acting a bit peculiar today but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange.

Lutai Town remained the same as it had been four years ago, an ancient town with streets full of performers and vendors. Although it was not as bustling as the big cities like Qingyang, it had its own pleasant atmosphere. Xuanji followed Yu Sifeng, grinning from ear to ear as they wove through the crowd; one moment buying steamed cakes, the next buying candy figures, then meat buns. They stopped naturally in front of the county government office, recalling that there had once been a huge porcelain jar there; it was here that they had rescued Ting Nu.

Xuanji chuckled, "I still remember back then, you and Sixth Brother were so nervous that you could hardly walk. It was like the first time you were doing something naughty."

Yu Sifeng’s face turned red as he spat out, "Quit talking nonsense! In the end... it still relied on me."

Like all young people, he liked to take credit upon himself. Xuanji laughed, "Without me and Sixth Brother, you couldn’t have saved Ting Nu on your own. Braggart!"

Yu Sifeng took her hand, passed the county government, recalling that beautiful afternoon when the three children had played heroes by freeing the distressed Merfolk, laughing heartily by the lakeside. They had also talked about remaining brothers and friends for life, promising no matter what they encountered, they would never part or harm each other. It was such a joyous time, unmarred by worries, looking forward to growing up. But once they knew growing up brought mostly unpleasant experiences, would they still long for it?

He looked down at the hand he held with Xuanji’s, remembering there had once been two more hands piled on top, four children giggling like fools. Yet now, one of those two was missing, whereabouts unknown, and the other had left. How capricious life was, hardly ever going as one wished; now just the two of them remained, could they still hold on to the joy of their childhood?

"Si Feng, we’re here," Xuanji’s voice brought him back to reality, he looked up and sure enough they had arrived at the tavern they visited last time, the aroma of Fruit Yellow permeated the entire street, intoxicating to smell.

The two ordered a jar of Fruit Yellow and two snacks to accompany their drink, sitting by the window to chat idly. Little Silver Flower inside Yu Sifeng’s sleeve sensed the aroma of the drink and became restless, sticking out its head and dabbing at the cup, as if eager to try. Xuanji chuckled and dipped her chopstick in the liquor, presenting it to the beast, only for it to bite down hard on it; she quickly let go, laughing, "Ouch, you aren’t planning to swallow the chopstick whole, are you?"

Yu Sifeng gently pulled out his chopsticks and patted Little Silver Flower’s head, saying, "This thing is not good for you, don’t be greedy."

Little Silver Flower had only tasted a drop of Fruit Yellow and was very dissatisfied, hissing softly, which looked quite adorable. Xuanji, propping up her chin, teased it while asking, "Si Feng, how did you find Little Silver Flower to be your spiritual beast?"

"Actually, I hadn’t planned on choosing it," Yu Sifeng patted Little Silver Flower, who unwillingly burrowed back into his sleeve, coiling into a ball. "I originally fancied a more ferocious Snake Demon, but because it was too powerful, I couldn’t subdue it, so my master said he would catch it for me to be my spiritual beast. Unfortunately, that Snake Demon was highly spirited and, after losing to my master, refused to eat or drink and died within a few days. I saw it had left behind an egg, so I picked it up. That was Little Silver Flower."

Xuanji’s eyes lit up, intrigued. "So Little Silver Flower will also become a formidable Snake Demon... wait, a spiritual beast?"

Yu Sifeng smiled and nodded, "It’s still just a child now, it will take quite a few more years to become a qualified spiritual beast." Little Silver Flower squirmed in his sleeve, clearly dissatisfied with his comment, as if to say it wasn’t qualified yet. He gently soothed it with his hand, softly speaking, "But this child is already very capable, and will surely become the best spiritual beast in the future."

Little Silver Flower calmed down, enjoying its master’s strokes. Xuanji watched the interaction between master and spiritual beast with envy, hoping she too would soon find a formidable one, with deep emotional bonds like Little Silver Flower and Si Feng.

As they drank wine and chatted, they unwittingly finished most of the jar of Fruit Yellow, discussing their respective childhood tales, when suddenly, a clattering of bamboo clappers came from downstairs. Both startled, they were quite familiar with this banging sound. The last time the government office had captured Ting Nu for public display, they had also fiercely struck the bamboo clappers.

They peeked out and saw the county government’s front crowded with people. It turned out that a new notice was posted on the announcement board, bold with its bright red background, but they couldn’t see what was written. The onlookers were buzzing with comments, each saying, "The feng shui has been poor in recent years, one calamity after another. It’s only been a few years since the demon attack, and now a strange fire emerges..."

The two exchanged a look and immediately leapt out the window. Xuanji felt her coin purse, which was depressingly flat, only a few copper coins left. She guiltily looked back at the tavern and said, "This is my first time drinking Overlord’s Wine."

Yu Sifeng instinctively felt his own purse, finding it equally empty. They awkwardly stared at each other for a moment, then decided to just drink the Overlord’s Wine once and sneak away.

Turns out the notice wasn’t about something local to Lutai Town but about strange fires in the neighboring county Pingliang. Within one night, ten miles of farmland belonging to the Zhuang family was burnt, the soil turned black as ash, turning into sandy land, and an entire farm was burnt down with no survivors. The government office had investigated but couldn’t determine the cause, so a notice was issued seeking a capable person to reveal it.

Seeing the reward silver was a staggering 600 taels, Xuanji’s eyes sparkled. She had always been a well-to-do young lady and had never experienced the nausea of being broke. Now with both their purses starkly empty, they couldn’t afford to eat, let alone stay at an inn. She hated sleeping outdoors, always preferring a clean and comfortable inn when possible, and without money, they couldn’t move a step.

She quickly tore down the notice, and the surrounding people seeing such a delicate young girl, couldn’t help but admire her boldness. Yu Sifeng had long understood her intentions, and although he felt it reckless to take on the notice without a proper investigation, he let her go ahead. Xuanji was proficient in the Fire Manipulation Technique, and facing the strange fire, she must have felt right in her element.

The commotion outside naturally alerted the Chief Constable of the government office. Seeing Xuanji taking the notice, he was surprised and said, "Miss, this is no joke. What can a young lady like you do?" Apparently, he thought she, with her red lips and white teeth and elegant clothes, was just a lady from a wealthy family out for some curiosity-driven excitement. "This might be the work of some demon, so it’s best not to be rash."

Xuanji didn’t take his misunderstanding to heart and just lifted the notice, pointing to a line, and smilingly asked, "The deposit of fifty taels, is it given now?"

The notice read that the deposit of fifty taels was to be given upfront. She tore it off so quickly for fear that someone else would snatch the fifty taels. The Chief Constable was taken aback but was just about to nod in agreement when suddenly, someone behind him shouted, "The two who dined and dashed! Don’t let them escape! Stop right there!"

Everyone turned around to see a tavern keeper rushing out from the opposite tavern, charging toward the two who had taken the notice. He grabbed Yu Sifeng by the collar while furiously yelling, "Whose unruly brats are you! With such manners! If you can’t pay the wine bill, you’re not leaving today!"

Yu Sifeng and Xuanji were terribly embarrassed and at a loss for words. The Chief Constable, seeing the trend, already understood and coldly laughed, "The government’s notices are not child’s play! Miss, you better pay for that wine first! Committing such deceitful acts at the government gate, you are certainly bold!"

Xuanji hurriedly said, "I definitely have the skills to resolve the issue of the strange fire, it’s just a matter of whether or not you believe me! Cultivators traveling abroad occasionally run out of money, what’s the big deal? I’ll pay it back once I have money!"

The Chief Constable laughed, "Your little scheme is just to trick these fifty taels. However, I must remind you both, if you can’t resolve the issue, you still have to return the deposit in full to the government office."

Xuanji nodded, "Of course! Cultivators always keep their word. Since I’ve taken your notice today, I will certainly resolve the issue. So..." She shamelessly extended her hand, "First, hand over the deposit!"