Love & Redemption
Chapter 158: Volume 4: The Splintering Dream of China - 15: Solitary Confinement (Part 1)

Chapter 158: Volume 4: The Splintering Dream of China Chapter 15: Solitary Confinement (Part 1)

Ting Nu saved Linglong, and for a time, she became the hero admired and respected by everyone in the Shaoyang Sect. No one cared whether she was a demon or not; even the elders like Chu Lei regarded her with new eyes, treating her with utmost respect, not to mention the younger disciples.

The once demon-slaying Cultivation Sect was, today, enjoying a feast with a demon amongst them, instantly breaking the ancient conventions. It was hard to tell whether the old founders of the Shaoyang Sect would feel gratified or heartbroken upon witnessing this scene.

The Seven Peaks of the Shaoyang Sect each held a feast to entertain Ting Nu. Tengshe, being the type that’s happy as long as there’s food, naturally tagged along eagerly, not caring whether the others were willing or not. Yu Sifeng knew that after a long separation, the Xuanji sisters would have many heart-to-heart words to share. Being a man, he would only be in the way, so he went to take care of Liu Yihuan instead.

After more than half a year, Linglong’s two souls and six spirits finally returned to their rightful place. For her body, this was no small burden. She appeared spirit-filled initially only because she was excited; after talking for a while, she gradually became exhausted and fell asleep. This sleep lasted two days, with Xuanji squatting by her side the whole time, fearing she would not wake up again. Fortunately, the next afternoon, Linglong finally opened her eyes, and the first thing she said was that she was hungry.

Xuanji quickly picked up a bowl of millet porridge that had been kept warm on the table and began to feed her spoon by spoon, smilingly saying, "This time it’s my turn to take care of you. You be the little sister, I’ll be the big sister."

Linglong leaned weakly against the headboard, her expression lazy, and she lightly complained, "I don’t like this at all... It’s tasteless. Isn’t there any meat or fish?"

Xuanji smiled gently, softly saying, "Bear with it, you’ve been asleep for nearly a year without eating. Suddenly having meat and fish isn’t good for your body. Take it slow, and in a few days, you can eat tasty things."

Linglong had had her two souls and six spirits extracted, which essentially meant her body had died in an instant, with only a little warmth remaining around her heart. Initially, Chu Lei worried that not feeding her would cause her to waste away; he would concoct soups from medicinal herbs to feed her daily, only to have her vomit everything up, her throat blocked, not allowing a drop of water to pass. It was only after He Yang mentioned that a person who has had their souls and spirits removed must not eat, and that it wouldn’t harm her, that Chu and his wife felt relieved. Now that she had finally woken up, her stomach was extremely weak—how could she have meat and fish?

After Xuanji had fed most of the bowl of millet porridge, she was about to get more when Linglong shook her head, saying, "I don’t want any more... Xuanji, where’s Xiao Liuzi? Why hasn’t he come to see me?"

The mention of Zhong Minyan almost made Xuanji drop the bowl she held. She forced a smile and said, "Oh... He’s in closed-door cultivation! The Flower Pinning Conference is coming up soon, isn’t it? Father wants him to take part, so he’s cultivating diligently."

"Really?"

"Of course it’s true." Xuanji sat by the bed, holding her hand and smiling, "He heard you had woken up yesterday and was clamoring to come see you. Father threw a fit, and that’s why he’s holding himself back."

Linglong smiled forlornly, a hint of blush spreading across her pale face as she pouted, "Him... really! Father is so annoying; what’s the big deal about looking in on me?"

Xuanji felt a pang of discomfort inside her, unwilling to let Linglong know the truth, so she gently said, "You miss him, don’t you?"

Linglong huffed, "Who misses him!" After a pause, she couldn’t help herself and whispered softly, "Well... maybe a little. I thought I’d see him when I woke up. I’ve been asleep for so long; I wonder what he looks like now... Xuanji, you’re even taller than me now."

Xuanji laughed and patted her hand. Linglong had essentially stopped aging this past year, so she still looked like she was fifteen, whereas Xuanji had grown quite a bit taller herself, with the stature of a sixteen-year-old girl, seemingly the elder sister of the two.

The two whispered heart-to-heart for a while when Linglong suddenly asked with a smile, "Tell me the truth, girl, you and Si Feng... are you...?"

Xuanji was stunned for a long time before she understood, then shook her head, followed by a nod, and finally laughed heartily, "Yeah, we’ve talked it over. After rescuing you... Then we’ll travel the world and never be apart." She intended to say they would go to Buzhou Mountain to rescue Zhong Minyan later but swallowed the words before speaking them out loud.

Linglong looked at her with genuine envy and murmured, "You’re so generous... And so brave. If... If I could too..."

Xuanji chuckled and said, "What can’t you do? Is liking someone shameful? Just say it."

Linglong blushed, and after a moment of gathering courage, she declared, "Then, I want that too! The four of us will travel together, sightseeing and enjoying ourselves—I... I and Xiao Liuzi will also never be apart!"

A twinge of sorrow struck Xuanji at the thought that if Zhong Minyan could hear those words, he would probably be grinning ear to ear—no matter how bitter the struggles, he would gladly endure them."

Seeing Xuanji’s bittersweet look, Linglong felt puzzled and asked, "What’s wrong? Is there something making you unhappy? Did that rascal Si Feng bully you? Tell me, and I’ll settle the score with him later!" Though weak, she still possessed the fiery spirit of an elder sister.

Xuanji hurriedly shook her head, stammering, "No... how could he bully me! I... that’s right, I wanted to ask you, that day on Gao Mountain, how did you suddenly disappear? How did Wu Tong catch you and extract your soul?"

Linglong was stunned for a moment, her face turning pale and then flushing with color. After a long pause, she finally said, "He captured me because of the incident at the Flower Pinning Conference! He wanted to get revenge on us... I... I wasn’t really hurt, and I’m back now, aren’t I?"

Seeing Linglong’s strange expression, Xuanji didn’t dare to ask further and could only silently watch her.

Leaning against the headboard, Linglong closed her eyes, weary. Those secrets she wished to keep hidden from others flowed past her like water. Fear and anger filled her heart, along with a mix of emotions she couldn’t articulate. Her heart thumped chaotically, refusing to calm.

That day on Gao Mountain, she had been ambushed and knocked unconscious. When she awoke, she found herself in a dark cave, utterly silent, without another soul around. On the cave wall hung a small oil lamp, flickering softly. Panicked and frightened, she instinctively touched her waist—her broken gold was still there. This discovery allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

She was about to attempt an escape when a chorus of clinking metal sounds came from her wrists and ankles. It was then that Linglong realized she was shackled by thin golden chains. They were fixed into the cave wall, just long enough for her to walk a full circle within the cave.

Already of impulsive nature, she felt like a trapped wild beast, leashed. How could she not be enraged? She immediately drew her broken gold and began to hack at the chains, but despite her efforts to cut, pierce, chop, smash, and pull, she couldn’t break them. In desperation and soaked in sweat, she braced herself and lifted her broken gold, but this time, not towards the chains—she aimed straight for her own wrist!

Suddenly, from the cave entrance, there was a sharp sound of something cutting through the air, and Linglong’s wrist vibrated. The broken gold flew from her grasp. With her stubborn resolve, she bent down to grab it and attempted to cut again. A surprised sound came from the person at the entrance, and in a blink, a dark figure sprang forward, seemingly to prevent her from slashing her wrist.

This was exactly what she had anticipated. Mid-swing, she redirected the broken gold towards the face of her assailant. They anticipated her move; with a flick of their wrist, they caught the broken gold firmly in hand, resisting her efforts to pull it back. The person chuckled softly, reaching to embrace her shoulder but suddenly feeling something off. In a swift motion, they grasped her chin forcefully, prying her clenched teeth apart. Yet she managed to bite her tongue, filling her mouth with fresh blood.

"A fiery one," he muttered under his breath. Linglong shut her eyes tightly, refusing to look at him, as if deaf to his presence. Without warning, he tore her outer garment with a "rip," causing Linglong, terrified out of her wits, to scream shrilly, curling into herself protectively.

"If you want to kill yourself, I’ll let you. But if you aren’t afraid of being stripped after death and left at the entrance of the Shaoyang Sect for a hundred men to defile your corpse in front of your father and your little lover, be my guest."

Linglong let out a frightened whimper, lifting her gaze to him in a daze, obviously stunned by such a vicious threat. Seeing her quieted, the man gently rearranged her torn clothes, whispering, "As long as you behave, I won’t do anything."

He seemed shrouded in darkness, most of his face concealed behind a black cloth, revealing only a pair of gleaming eyes that were sharp as knives and piercing as swords. Linglong felt those eyes were familiar, and as a memory struck her, she reached out abruptly and tore the cloth from his face.

"It’s you... it’s you!" she shrieked, raising her hand to claw at his face, wishing she could gouge out his eyes.

The man revealed was Wu Tong, his features cold and brooding. As Linglong screamed and lunged to scratch him frantically, she couldn’t injure him in the slightest. He caught her wrists easily, pinning them against the cave wall like he was handling a child, immobilizing her.

"Go ahead and kill me now! Otherwise, as long as I live, there will come a day when I mince you into a thousand pieces!" she screamed furiously, her wrists pinned against the wall, her fingers contorted in extreme anger.

Wu Tong looked down at her for a moment before releasing her, swiftly stroking her cheek and turning away with a laugh, "You’ve grown into a beauty. How could I bear to kill you?"

Linglong lunged at him again, trying to scratch him, but her legs suddenly gave way, and she fell to her knees. Overwhelmed by the frightful ordeal, her body had reached its limits. Now she felt utterly weak, and she couldn’t summon any more energy. The broken gold lay forlorn by her feet; she snatched it up and held it tight, curling into a ball in the corner.

She didn’t dare cry, move, or die. Uncertain of what to do, she could only weep silently, calling Zhong Minyan’s name millions of times in her heart, hoping for heavenly pity, for him to descend like a Heavenly God and rescue her.

After an indeterminable time, maintaining the same posture, she began to feel numb and uncomfortable to the extreme. Just as she tried to shift her position, she heard noises at the cave entrance. Her hackles raised, and she pressed the broken gold to her face, resolved that if he tried anything, she would disfigure herself and then bite her tongue, ending her life to make his cruel threats meaningless.

The curtain at the entrance was lifted, and Wu Tong brought in a basin of hot water, followed by several fresh white cotton cloths. Without a word, he placed the items on the ground and left.

She didn’t know what trick he had up his sleeve and resolved that no matter what he did, she would remain still. (To be continued... If you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com for more Chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)