Love & Redemption
Chapter 156: Volume 4: The Splintering Dream of China - 13: Soul and Spirit (Part 5)

Chapter 156: Volume 4: The Splintering Dream of China Chapter 13: Soul and Spirit (Part 5)

Red Bird flew off to deliver the message and, after three days, led the people back. Four friends reunited after a long separation, creating a lively scene. It turned out that Liu Yihuan and Ting Nu had already been staying near Shouyang Mountain, planning to wait there for Xuanji and the others to return. Due to a series of misunderstandings, they had missed each other, and had it not been for Red Bird’s message, Liu Yihuan would have almost left for Fuyu Island.

The first thing Xuanji did was to find Chu Lei to help Liu Yihuan remove the Ice Curse from his body. Chu Lei had long heard from his daughter about the deeds of Heavenly Eye Liu Yihuan. Although the man was rather old and often acted foolishly, he indeed possessed a magnanimous heart. Consequently, Chu Lei was quite keen on making his acquaintance and agreed immediately to rid him of the Ice Curse.

Just as the half-year period had elapsed, when Liu Yihuan removed his clothing, everyone was shocked. The dark purple mark that was originally coiled around his right shoulder had spread below the shoulder blade. Chu Lei’s expression turned solemn; tapping the dark purple patch of skin lightly with his hand, he felt an eerie chill. It was impressive that Liu could still manage to force a smile, likely having lost all sensation in that half of his body.

"Xuanji, Si Feng, the two of you go outside. I will remove the Ice Curse from Mr. Liu, and you must not disturb the process."

Seeing as there was little they could help with, Yu Sifeng had to wait outside reluctantly. Xuanji crouched beside Ting Nu, having not seen him in over six months and was dearly missing him. She chattered away about this and that, uttering some nonsense. Ting Nu just smiled and listened, interjecting a word or two from time to time. From the moment she met him, Xuanji had felt a familiar sense of closeness, as if she had known him from long ago. She felt that she could share all her trivial and heartfelt thoughts with him; he was safe, someone she could trust.

Strangely, though he was a stranger with whom she had no significant relationship, she just felt he was trustworthy. Ting Nu seemed to think this trust was normal, not feeling out of place at all.

After spouting a good deal of nonsense, Xuanji finally whispered, "Ting Nu, what have you two been doing over the last six months? We went to Qingyang to look for you but didn’t find you."

Ting Nu chuckled, "Mr. Liu had some business, and I just accompanied him. He visited Shaoshi Mountain, where it seems one of his old friends is buried. We stayed there for a while."

A graveyard? Xuanji glanced at Yu Sifeng, who also looked puzzled, clearly unaware of who that old friend was.

Seeing that she was about to ask, Ting Nu gently shook his head, "Other people’s secrets are not ours to inquire into. If he wishes to share, he will tell us one day. If he chooses not to, it would be wrong to force the issue."

Xuanji nodded, then after a pause, she said, "Ting Nu, you know, don’t you, that I, in my previous life... um, my past life... "

He looked somewhat stunned yet nodded, softly saying, "What, have you remembered something?"

"It seems like I have some flashes, every time I get angry or excited, bits and pieces emerge, but then I forget them afterward. I now know I was some kind of War God General, and Bengyu wasn’t called Bengyu, but Ding Kun. It seems like I committed some serious crime in my past life, so I was punished to descend to the Lower Realm."

The way she spoke these words, it seemed as if she were talking about someone else’s story, completely unrelated to herself.

She gave a bitter smile, "Although I know, it still doesn’t feel like me. It seems to have no connection to my current life... "

Ting Nu said nothing. She continued, "I’ve also thought about it, even if I really remember all the memories from my past life, I am not that War God General. I am still Chu Xuanji, and this lifetime is completely different from the last. What’s past should be past, and one ought to look forward. Don’t you think?"

Ting Nu smiled gently, his voice soft, "Exactly. Dwelling on the past is not wise. You are absolutely right."

Xuanji, pleased with his agreement, laughed and said, "Ting Nu, I knew you in my previous life, didn’t I? We were good friends back then, right?"

Ting Nu thought for a moment, then replied softly, "Yes... but back then, you were the lofty War God General, and I was just a newly enlightened Merfolk being reared in Heavenly Pond. Friends... that might be overstating it."

"Then tell me about the past. I want to hear it."

Ting Nu paused, seemingly lost in memories, and after a long while, he slowly began, "Back then... the Upper Realm was constantly embroiled in war. You had to don your armor and go to battle frequently. Over time, you grew weary in body and mind, and would occasionally rest by the Heavenly Pond. You thought I was mute and without Divine Sense, so you often brought me food and talked about the battles. Later..."

It was always her speaking, and him listening. She thought he couldn’t understand, and he thought she didn’t want anyone else to interject. Until one day, he heard others at the Heavenly Pond discussing her overwhelming crime, saying the Heavenly Emperor was going to punish her, ordaining the annihilation of her spirit and soul. In his urgency, he finally spoke in her presence, urging her to flee the Upper Realm. Honestly, with her abilities, no one dared to stop her escape from the Upper Realm, and the Heavenly Emperor, who always favored her, would not make things difficult for her.

However, upon hearing his words, her first reaction was not shock or anger. It was...

"What happened later?" Xuanji asked curiously.

Ting Nu smiled and said, "Later, when I first spoke, you were panic-stricken, like a child who had done something wrong, your face turning beet red. I think you were probably embarrassed. You thought I understood nothing, so you said everything, but it turned out I understood everything."

It was really embarrassing, that time. She panicked upon learning that he could speak, and the food in her hand dropped to the ground with a thud. At that moment, she did not resemble the formidable War God General at all; she was just an ordinary young girl, feeling deeply ashamed because a stranger knew what was on her mind.

It was from that moment that he realized, no matter how impressive someone’s exterior, their inner strength is not necessarily as strong. Their acquaintance began and also ended in that instant.

She soon calmed down, casually tossing her hair with an indifferent gaze as cold as crushed ice. After a moment, she spoke softly, "I will not run away. I will bear any punishment there might be."

He still wanted to persuade her, but she turned and walked away, stopping briefly to look back and give him a slight smile, "Don’t speak up for me again, you might get dragged into this too."

Later, when the incident broke out, she was captured and thrown into the Heavenly Prison, and he was implicated in her "conspiracy," since many had seen her speaking to him by the Heavenly Pond that night.

Many years had passed, and time flowed like water. She had reincarnated in the Lower Realm to endure trials as a human, while he was stripped of his divine rank, left to start over as an ordinary Merfolk. There was one thing he had always wanted to tell her, having waited so long and suffered so much, he finally reunited with her. Even though she had lost all memories of her past, seemingly a different person, there was one thing he absolutely had to tell her.

"Ting Nu, why aren’t you speaking now?" Xuanji, halfway through listening, asked out of nervousness.

He chuckled lightly, reaching out to gently stroke her hair, softly saying, "Do you know? No matter what you say, I am willing to listen. In the future... I am also willing to listen."

This obsession was like a passionate love, relentless and unyielding, wanting only to make up for what he hadn’t finished saying that night; only wanting to keep listening to her under the moonlight, where tassels of the Golden Armor fell into the water, and the girl’s face still had traces of childishness. All the murderous intent and cold vanished. The so-called War God, like a naive child.

It wasn’t infatuation, nor a matter of the heart. He was merely heartstruck by her moment of panic and did not wish the memory to become like sand slipping through fingers.

****

The Ice Curse on Liu Yihuan was quickly dispelled; she only needed two more days of rest to fully recover.

When Xuanji saw Chu Lei coming out, drenched in sweat, clearly having expended a great deal of energy, she felt both grateful and guilty. She stepped forward to grab his hand, calling out softly, "Dad..."

Chu Lei patted her head gently and spoke kindly, "It’s alright. Tell your friends to rest as well; it’s late."

Xuanji shook her head, "No, I won’t be at ease until Brother Liu’s injury is healed. I’m going to save Linglong now."

Chu Lei, having heard that she knew a master who could reattach Linglong’s soul but not knowing who, was initially shocked and said, "Now? But Mr. Liu just fell asleep..."

Xuanji smiled, pushing Ting Nu forward as if showing off a treasure, "It’s not Brother Liu, it’s him! This is Ting Nu; he has helped us a lot along the way!"

Chu Lei recognized at a glance that he was no ordinary being, his surprise deepening as he whispered, "May I know..."

Ting Nu casually opened the blanket on his lap, revealing a fish tail, and spoke softly, "I am Merfolk Ting Nu, pleased to meet you, Sect Leader Chu."

Demon! Chu Lei’s expression changed. Xuanji gripped his hand tightly, speaking firmly, "Dad! He’s my friend!"

How can one be friends with a demon?! Chu Lei’s lips trembled slightly as if to say something, but at last, he just sighed and shook his head, speaking softly, "Then... please, esteemed one, if you can save my daughter, the Shaoyang Sect would be eternally grateful."

"Sect Leader Chu is too polite," Ting Nu said, not minding his momentary lapse in composure, then turned back to Xuanji saying warmly, "Xuanji, take me to see Linglong."

Chu Lei stood there for a moment, watching them walk away, unsure of what he was feeling. Every piece of knowledge and hearsay from his life taught him that demons caused calamity and must be eradicated, especially after the ordeal with the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain, imposed by the demons, which had left him deeply resentful of all demons. Now, having searched the whole world, finding no one who could save Linglong except for a demon, how could he express this turmoil in mere words?

Perhaps, he really was getting old.

Chu Lei sighed deeply and finally turned to follow them. (To be continued, for future Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)