Love & Redemption
Chapter 154: Volume 4: The Splintering Dream of China - 11: Soul and Spirit (Part 3)

Chapter 154: Volume 4: The Splintering Dream of China Chapter 11: Soul and Spirit (Part 3)

"Since things have come to this, there’s not much left to say." Yu Sifeng drew his sword, the tip raised slightly, pointing directly at the two, and said in a low voice, "Draw your sword!"

Xuanji was startled, "Si Feng!"

He said coldly, "Xuanji, you can’t snatch someone away with just words."

Ruo Yu chuckled lightly and said, "The Deputy Hall Master didn’t order us to fight with you. Sorry, but I can’t keep you company today."

"As if it’s for you to decide!" Yu Sifeng leapt up, his sword flashing like lightning, aiming straight for his face. The sword’s momentum was fierce; Ruo Yu stepped to the side to dodge, and Yu Sifeng changed his tactic from thrusting to slashing. Ruo Yu had to use Sword Control to fly away, saying, "That’s not the sword technique of Lize Palace."

Yu Sifeng didn’t reply but feinted a move to force Ruo Yu back, and then grabbed Zhong Minyan by the collar, saying fiercely, "Min Yan! Come with me!"

Zhong Minyan was jerked forward by the pull, stumbling a step, but remained unmoved. After a long moment, he said quietly, "You... have learned the Yao Hua Swordsmanship."

"You know why I learned it!" Yu Sifeng pressed the sword against his neck. "Come with me! Otherwise, I’d rather kill you here!"

Ruo Yu said coldly, "I’m afraid not so easy!" His figure was ghostly as he suddenly rose higher, his sleeves unfolding like a pair of wings. Yu Sifeng heard the hissing of the wind behind him and knew Ruo Yu had launched his Hidden Weapons, which were famously precise and ruthless in Lize Palace. He didn’t dare to be careless and was about to turn to confront him when he saw Xuanji rush forward, her Bengyu flashing slightly, with a series of ’ding ding dang dang,’ sweeping all the hidden weapons aside.

"You stabbed Si Feng with a sword, and I haven’t settled the score with you yet!" Xuanji was far less polite to Ruo Yu. The stabbing had almost killed Yu Sifeng, and the memory still made her heart race. She formed a Sword technique in her hand, Bengyu bursting into intense flames, the heat oppressive. Ruo Yu was quite wary of her and retreated a couple of steps, seemingly ready to flee. Xuanji swung her sword, cutting off his escape path. In the dark night, Bengyu became a sky full of flames, a departure from the Shaoyang Sect’s normally steady and firm style, displaying an unusual nimbleness.

She too, had learned the swordsmanship of Lize Palace! Ruo Yu was shocked, but only for a moment. After all, he had grown up in Lize Palace and was very practiced at sparring with his fellow disciples. He drew his sword to block, but the Bengyu in Xuanji’s hand carried the Samadhi True Fire, and with a ’clang,’ it actually cut his sword in two.

Ruo Yu retreated hastily, flicking several Iron Marbles, and taking advantage of her dodging, he flipped from the sword and fell into the water, never to resurface. Xuanji threw the Bengyu with great force into the water, and as soon as the lake touched Bengyu, it made a sizzling sound, and steam rose. It was unclear if it had hit him. She was about to jump in after him when suddenly she heard Zhong Minyan say from behind, "Using the Yao Hua Swordsmanship to deal with me, you’re underestimating me too much."

Then there was the metallic sound of swords clashing. Yu Sifeng’s sword had been pressed against his neck, and though he never truly meant to kill him, it was deflected with a parry. Both of them, seeing that he too was about to jump in, couldn’t help but shout, "Wait!"

Zhong Minyan paused, then said softly, "Take good care of Linglong for me. I... will come back one day..." His words trailed off, becoming somewhat choked up, and finally, with gritted teeth, he plunged into the lake. Xuanji shouted out in urgency, "Sixth Brother! Father said he never instructed you to do anything! You’ve been deceived!"

But it was too late, and it was uncertain whether he heard her. The ripples on the lake’s surface gradually smoothed out, and after a while, the Bengyu, having lost the Samadhi True Fire, floated up from the bottom of the lake. Xuanji and the other remained standing there stunned for a good while before they slowly landed, feeling like today’s meeting was all like a dream.

Tengshe, who had been standing by with his arms folded, walked to the water’s edge, looked down, and laughed, "Not bad at all, they used the Water Escape Spell, and the caster was very proficient. To be able to stir such a big lake, quite impressive."

Xuanji no longer had the energy to contend with his snide remarks. She stood on the shore for a long time, finally let out a sigh, collapsed backwards, and murmured, "He won’t do it himself, what can we do then?"

Yu Sifeng also lay down beside her, looking up at the sky together for a while, then said, "He has been deceived. Who knows who disguised themselves as your father, ordering him to go undercover and actually fooling him into believing it."

His character was never suited for undercover work; he might as well have been on the front lines of a battlefield. Besides, it’s foolish to so openly go undercover, and only he could take it seriously. I have never seen anyone more naive than him.

Yu Sifeng remembered the times from their childhood when they hunted demons together in Lutai Mountain. His fiery temper still hadn’t changed, getting angry in an instance, and then immediately clearing up as if the skies had cleared. At that thought, his heart suddenly felt a pang. He wasn’t sure if he should blame Zhong Minyan’s blockheadedness or himself for being useless.

Zhong Minyan’s affair was one thing, but Ruo Yu was another enigma. Whose instructions was he following? That day at Lize Palace, the Palace Master clearly didn’t know about this matter. Could it have been the Vice Palace Master’s arrangement?

It was hard to make sense of such a complicated affair. Childhood was better, carefree, with the world consisting only of good and bad people, two distinct sides, so straightforward.

"What do we do next?" Xuanji asked him in a low voice.

Yu Sifeng was stunned for a long time before he said, "Forget it, let’s go to the Shaoyang Sect first. Don’t let your parents worry."

He sat up straight on the grass, and suddenly something fell out of his arms and landed on the ground, sparkling. He picked it up and saw that it was a transparent bottle with two or three clusters of light blue flames inside, leaping and dancing cheerfully.

"What is this?" Xuanji also leaned over to look, took the bottle in her hands, and gave it a gentle shake. The flames inside seemed to sense the movement and twirled along.

Yu Sifeng shook his head and said, "I don’t know... It suddenly ended up in my clothes."

Tengshe suddenly came over, snatched the bottle, and looked at it against the moonlight for a while before saying, "This is a soul! A human soul. Look, your soul will look like this after you die."

Both of them were startled, then realized in unison and exclaimed, "Linglong’s!"

"Ah? What Linglong..." Tengshe hadn’t finished speaking when Xuanji fiercely snatched the bottle back, "Don’t touch it! What if you break it?"

Tengshe was furious again, but seeing Xuanji’s pale face and rapid breathing, he knew she was emotionally shaken and kept silent, not arguing with her.

"They came just now to deliver Linglong’s soul?" Xuanji held the bottle tightly to her chest, as if it was a treasure regained.

Yu Sifeng recalled what had just happened but couldn’t remember when the item was slipped into his clothes. The only one who had close contact with him was Zhong Minyan; could it be that he had secretly given it to him while no one was paying attention? Thinking of this, he was startled and instantly understood Zhong Minyan’s intention, whispering, "It’s Min Yan! He discovered that the soul Wu Tong gave was a fake... I guess he stole Linglong’s soul and came up with an excuse to see us, secretly returning the soul to us."

That’s why he said he would take good care of Linglong... That’s why he was so upset later on. He knew they were using him, but he was powerless to resist.

"He... he... If that’s the case, why wouldn’t he come back?" Xuanji still didn’t understand.

Yu Sifeng shook his head and said, "Min Yan has been deceived. He respects the master so much, would he disobey any of your father’s orders? Stealing Linglong’s soul must have been done without their knowledge. If someone finds out, who knows how he will be punished..."

After thinking it through, Xuanji also understood the whole story. She carefully placed Linglong’s soul back against her chest, feeling the bottle warm and pulsating, like a tiny heart. Ah, it really was Linglong... She touched it affectionately, this familiar feeling, it had to be her, it really was.

"Let’s go, we’re heading back to the Shaoyang Sect." She fished out Bengyu from the lake, returned it to the scabbard, and felt a surge of courage fill her. "We’ll tell father that Sixth Brother is not a traitor. Once we revive Linglong and Brother Liu’s wounds are healed, we’ll head to Buzhou Mountain!"

Yu Sifeng smiled and stood up, saying, "If we could figure out who it was that impersonated your father and deceived Min Yan, and if we could catch them to use as evidence, that would be the best."

"Exactly!" Xuanji said, fiercely twisting her fingers and making a crackling noise, "Find them and have them torn apart by five horses!"

Tengshe shivered and murmured, "Not very ladylike..."

"What did you say?" Xuanji turned, her eyes wide, and asked him.

Tengshe coughed twice and said, "Nothing... I was asking, who is Linglong? And what’s this about a soul? Would someone care to explain it to me?" (To be continued, if you want to find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. There are more Chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)