Love & Redemption
Chapter 172: Volume 4 Hua Meng’s Sudden Rift - 29 Conference (Part 1)

Chapter 172: Volume 4 Hua Meng’s Sudden Rift Chapter 29 Conference (Part 1)

The next day, Xuanji got up early and had breakfast. As expected, Yu Sifeng came over soon after. The two discussed and felt that on Fuyu Island, Lize Palace wouldn’t likely take any extreme actions against Yu Sifeng. Even if there were to be a punishment, it would surely be in a secluded place or after the Flower Pinning Conference had ended. As long as Yu Sifeng wasn’t alone and in front of everyone else, Lize Palace wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.

"Let’s go find Linglong and the others first and explain the situation. From now on, the four of us will do everything together. It will be both fun and safe."

As Xuanji spoke, she pushed open the door and walked outside, only to suddenly get hit lightly on the head by something. Looking up, she saw Tengshe sitting in a tree, munching on a peach and tossing the remaining pit at her.

"You came back quite late last night," Tengshe lazily said as he jumped down, glancing over at Yu Sifeng, "I thought you weren’t coming back at all."

Xuanji, feeling guilty, blushed readily. Although the Dongfang Island Master had arranged a guest room for Tengshe, as a spiritual beast bound by a contract with Xuanji, he couldn’t stray too far from her. So, every night while Xuanji slept inside the house, he would spend the night in a large tree outside or sneak into the house to sleep at her feet. Last night, after she had taken the drunken Yu Sifeng back, Tengshe couldn’t find her outside the house for a long time. He must have been searching everywhere for her... who knows what inappropriate scenes he might have witnessed...

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Tengshe let out a world-weary sigh and said, "Young people are, ah, full of vigor, but remember moderation." He poked Yu Sifeng’s chest and whispered, "Be careful, a charming young beauty can be deadlier than a shrew, killing without a trace."

Yu Sifeng chuckled dryly, touching his chin and keeping silent. Xuanji glowered and sharply said, "Stop talking nonsense! What does a beast know? Don’t act all high and mighty."

Tengshe scoffed, his voice dripping with indolence, "Did someone else come to the island last night?"

Xuanji nodded, "So you knew too."

"Hmm. I smelled some unusual scents. Be on your guard," Tengshe said blandly.

Noticing the serious expressions on the youths’ faces and their silence, he then blurted, "Why the gloomy faces so early in the morning? Whoever dares to hinder your progress, kill one if one comes, kill a myriad if a myriad comes! Don’t you have such boldness?"

With a snort of laughter, Xuanji replied, "Seeing you brings out all my boldness. Let’s go, or we’ll be late and miss them."

"Eh? Weren’t you guys going to eat?" Tengshe said, shoulders drooping in disappointment. Glancing at the sky, he noted it was still a while until noon, certainly not yet mealtime.

Xuanji laughed, "We are going to find Linglong and Sixth Brother, you come too. Hmm, Linglong probably has some snacks with her. She loves carrying snacks around."

Tengshe’s eyes brightened, then he suddenly paused, "Linglong... isn’t she the one whose soul was taken out and then returned? Isn’t it inappropriate for you to go over now? She might not have woken up yet."

Xuanji asked curiously, "How do you know?"

With a mischievous smile, Tengshe whispered, "Nothing on this island escapes my eyes. They partied all night, you interrupting them now is no good. You’d better off sticking to eating in the small hall."

Xuanji and Yu Sifeng initially stunned, then grasped his meaning, both feeling exceedingly awkward. Thinking of Linglong and Zhong Minyan’s audacious behavior left them astonished. Yu Sifeng was torn over the words "partied all night," unsure whether to applaud Zhong Minyan or feel pity for him.

"The two of them clanging and clanging swords all night, I hardly slept. Such noise, and only you two with guilty consciences wouldn’t have heard."

Swords mention even in that scenario?! Yu Sifeng couldn’t even begin to picture how ludicrous that scene might have been. How strange, had Brother Liu ever mentioned using weapons for that kind of situation?

Xuanji, puzzled, asked, "Clanging swords? Were they fighting?"

Tengshe grunted, "That’s about it. That young lad got drunk and kept clinging to that maiden. The maiden got annoyed and pulled out her sword. At first, they were just fooling around, but then they really started fighting. After the fight, they were still talking about how exquisite the swordsmanship was and that revenge was now hopeful. Then they ran up the mountain to worship a grave... Who knows what they were up to in the middle of the night."

So that’s what he meant by a wild night! Yu Sifeng sighed in relief, shook his head helplessly, turned around, and walked away, "Let them sleep it off then. Let’s go find Brother Liu and Ting Nu first." After all that fuss, that pair was still just kids. He should have known that Zhong Minyan always had the mind of a thief but not the guts, and he shouldn’t have thought too highly of him.

Xuanji chased after him with a giggly smile, whispering, "Why, are you disappointed?"

"No, of course not," Yu Sifeng shook his head earnestly.

"Hehe, you big lecher."

Yu Sifeng sighed inwardly, realizing that the term "lecher" might just become his new nickname.

The three of them walked through the flowers and willows, passing a small grove of trees, with the Martial Arts Arena right in front of them.

For the Flower Pinning Conference, Fuyu Island had really splurged on renovating the largest Martial Arts Arena. Unlike the massive platforms of the Shaoyang Sect, Fuyu Island took full advantage of its geographical features. The arena was originally supported by several large stone pillars in the center, which no human could push down. Previously, it was used for training in Sword Flight. For this event, Dongfang Qingqi simply renovated and decorated these columns, topping them with bricks and stone and surrounding them with railings to serve as the platform. From afar, the four giant pillars stood in the center of the arena, nearly a hundred zhang tall, imposing a truly magnificent sight.

Xuanji stared at the majestic pillars in awe, murmuring, "Wow... we are going to compete on top of those? What if someone falls off?"

Yu Sifeng shaded his eyes with a hand, admiringly said, "Indeed, it’s a great idea. This way, the competitors won’t be disturbed by the noisy crowd." He glanced around, and at each side of the pillars, there was a ring of huge wooden buildings connected to each other, presumably for the spectators. The Dongfang Island Master really was a clever man to come up with such an ingenious design.

As the two continued walking and admiring the setup, Tengshe, growing impatient, scoffed, "What’s the big deal! It’s just a bunch of mud and wood piled up to make a toy. Humph, the heavens are much better than this place..."

"Yes, yes, everything in heaven is better. But your lordship is currently in the mortal world, so maybe talk less nonsense," Xuanji replied, rolling her eyes.

The trio suddenly saw a bustling crowd approaching from the opposite direction; some wore white robes while others wore green robes, a mix of people from Fuyu Island and Li Ze Palace. In the middle of the crowd stood a massive cage about three zhang in width, covered with black cloth, being slowly pushed forward by the crowd.

"What should we do, should we hide?" Xuanji, seeing the Vice Palace Master of Li Ze Palace leading the procession, couldn’t help but ask softly.

Yu Sifeng didn’t speak; after a moment, he suddenly stepped forward to meet them, cupping his hands in greeting, "Disciple Yu Sifeng, pays respects to the Vice Palace Master." The crowd halted, and the people from Li Ze Palace looked at him with a bizarre expression, as if it was odd that instead of avoiding them, he chose to meet them, only to make things awkward.

The Vice Palace Master casually shook his fan, speaking indifferently, "No need for such formalities. After all, you are not really a Li Ze Palace person anymore, so take back that title of disciple."

This comment was an outright embarrassment to him in public, not giving him any face at all. Yu Sifeng, keeping his composure, said sternly, "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Yu Sifeng may no longer be a part of Li Ze Palace, but I will never forget the nurturing kindness of the palace."

The Vice Palace Master giggled twice, waved his fan, and whispered a command, "Keep moving." He walked forward a few steps then suddenly turned back, smiling, "A teacher for a day is a father for life. That’s well said. Do you even know who your father is? Hehe..."

Yu Sifeng was startled, looking back as the crowd moved away. The breeze gently lifted a small corner of the black cloth over the cage, revealing a pale, delicate hand. The hand tightly grasped the iron bars of the cage, trembling incessantly. (To be continued, for further information please visit www.qidian.com, for more Chapters support the author, support genuine reading!)