Love & Redemption
Chapter 185: Volume 4: The Fragile Dream Shatters, - 42: Riot (4)

Chapter 185: Volume 4: The Fragile Dream Shatters, Chapter 42: Riot (4)

At that moment, Yu Sifeng felt as if there were knives chaotically stirring in his chest, causing him such pain that cold sweat drenched his forehead. A thick, sweet metallic taste rose in his throat, but he suppressed it with all his might. A sense of desolate confusion had taken hold of his heart, starting from the moment he let go of Xuanji’s hand.

He had told himself that he would never regret his decision, no matter what. But perhaps there had still been a glimmer of hope within him: Maybe... maybe she wouldn’t care even after knowing the truth; maybe she would just laugh it off and say it was nothing serious. He had even thought about finding the right moment to confess everything, and no matter whether she could accept it or not, it did not matter to him since he was a loner with nothing to lose.

But imagination is just that, imagination. Once reality set in, he found that he didn’t even have the courage to look back.

Brother Liu had once said, "Why do you indulge in this vain joy?"

Vain joy... indeed, it was vain joy. Those anxious moments, those tender entanglements, those sudden pulses of the heart—they all seemed like flimsy shadows in a puppet play. Inside and out, from beginning to end, he was the only one in turmoil.

He really wanted to go back and ask her, "Why did you let go?" Didn’t you once say that we would always be together? She said, "Si Feng, if you don’t come back, I will die! If you don’t care that I will die, then just leave!"

Very good, that is really great. The one who would actually die, it was he, and it would never be her.

It felt as if his chest had been hollowed out and then packed with spicy chilies, burning fiercely, as if it was going to split open. Unable to bear it anymore, he moaned softly, blood filling his mouth as he slowly slid down.

The person who had been carrying him suddenly stopped. He was held gently, his head resting on the person’s knee. That person’s hand tenderly stroked his cheek, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Yu Sifeng felt a surge of wild joy and muttered, "Xuanji... Xuanji!"

The person sighed deeply, with a low voice of a man, and said, "She is your demon, child. You are too deeply possessed by this demon."

It was his master! Yu Sifeng struggled to open his eyes, and the clear face of the Great Palace Master was right before him, looking at him with both pain and tenderness in his gaze. He was not unfamiliar with this look; whenever he made a mistake as a child and was punished, bruised all over, it was the same way his master would look at him while applying medicine.

"Master..." He closed his eyes, murmuring softly, "Am I going to die?"

The Great Palace Master said in a gentle voice, "Don’t worry, I will not let you die. This is just the effect of the Lover’s Curse backlash. Si Feng, to be honest, deep down you’ve never really trusted that girl’s love, have you?"

Yu Sifeng’s eyelashes trembled, but he did not speak. The Great Palace Master sighed, "Such karma... Your actions cannot even be considered a last-ditch effort, but mere recklessness. If you doubted her, why keep enduring? Listen to your master, forget her, push the whole of her out of your mind and never think about her again. I will help you break the Lover’s Curse, and I will take care of everything else for you. You won’t have to worry about a thing."

Yu Sifeng felt the pain in his chest slowly spreading through his body, now burning with fierce fire, then chilling as if he had fallen into eternal ice. But his heart remained hollow. Empty, everything was empty; he truly had nothing left.

He whispered, "Master... she said she couldn’t live without me, that she would die if I left."

The Great Palace Master let out a soft sigh, "Are you still deceiving yourself? The one who will die is not her—it’s just you, the fool."

YU Sifeng shivered, and from beneath his long eyelashes, two large teardrops fell, landing coldly into the palm of the Great Palace Master. That chilling sensation pricked him, leaving him somewhat bewildered, and for a moment, it seemed to stir distant memories.

"Master, is Li Ze Palace... really behind everything?"

Yu Sifeng’s question pulled him from his deep thoughts, and with a "heh" of laughter, he proudly said, "Indeed, everything has been under your master’s grand and brilliant scheme. Those mortals foolishly aspire to cultivation, setting absurd rules—I want to show them just how ridiculous they are!"

Yu Sifeng gasped for air before saying, "You... don’t... Master! They... haven’t done anything to hinder you..."

The Great Palace Master spoke sternly, "Haven’t hindered? Their sins are too many to be counted! Always priding themselves on righteousness, judging others, sometimes with criticism, sometimes with violent action! Not hindered? If they hadn’t hindered, how would your mother have died!"

Yu Sifeng was shocked, looking at him in disbelief and stammering, "What... what are you saying? My mother...?"

Realizing that he might have misspoken, the Great Palace Master fell silent. After a while, changing the subject, he said, "You needn’t worry about the Lover’s Curse; the pain will pass soon. Your master will take you back to Li Ze Palace, and you will be well quickly."

"Master!" Yu Sifeng called out.

The Great Palace Master showed a rare hint of awkwardness, then after a moment, he said, "There are some things that I haven’t told you. You’re grown up now, and you deserve to know. But I have a condition—you must return with me to Li Ze Palace and promise me that you will never see that girl again."

Yu Sifeng said in an anguished voice, "Master... I... I can’t..."

The Great Palace Master said coldly, "Even now, you still yearn for that cold-hearted and merciless girl! If she truly cared about you, why didn’t she chase after you? Why did she leave you as soon as she found out you were a demon?! Even if you were to die right in front of her, she would not feel sad for you! Perhaps she would even be glad that you, a demon, met your end!"

His words were baseless, but Yu Sifeng, in his heartbroken state, felt utterly tormented when provoked by such harsh words. The backlash of the Lover’s Curse seemed to grow more intense, and he felt as though he had been gutted by a sharp knife, the pain making him drift in and out of consciousness.

The Great Palace Master picked him up, whispering softly, "Good child, come back with your master. All of your pain will be gone."

Yu Sifeng felt a rush of urgency and pain, unable to catch his breath, and he actually fainted.

Having walked a few steps, the Vice Palace Master, who had been silently standing by, suddenly spoke up, "Do you really intend to take him back to Lize Palace? Personal feelings should not be handled this way! His heart is not here at all! Forcibly taking him back will only cause chaos!"

The Great Palace Master said coldly, "It’s not your place to worry about my affairs. What are you thinking, as if I don’t understand?" Seeing that the Vice Palace Master remained silent, he let out a slight sneer, "Are you planning to do something bad behind my back?"

The Vice Palace Master immediately spread his hands, seemingly with a bitter smile, "Big brother! You are too heartless!"

Just as his words fell, the two of them suddenly became alert and jumped back simultaneously. Looking back, they saw Chu Xuanji and Liu Yihuan had followed them from afar. The Great Palace Master clicked his tongue, and the Vice Palace Master laughed, "What, are you afraid of that girl? Indeed, having lost to her before..."

"Shut up." The Great Palace Master’s expression darkened, and in the midst of speaking, the two had already caught up.

Seeing Yu Sifeng half-dead in the Great Palace Master’s arms from afar, Chu Xuanji could not contain the fury in her heart and shouted sternly, "Put him down!" She then drew her sword, ready to rush forward, only to be pulled back and forcibly stopped by Liu Yihuan.

"Don’t act recklessly." Liu Yihuan shook his hand at her and, turning to face the Great Palace Master, pondered for a long moment before saying, "If I remember correctly, we made it very clear the day we went to Lize Palace. Yu Sifeng is no longer a person of Lize Palace, by what right do you take him away?"

The Great Palace Master replied indifferently, "Neither are you anything to Si Feng, by what right do you take him away?"

Liu Yihuan laughed, "You, as the Little Palace Master, have a sharp tongue! Let me tell you then, Yu Sifeng has already gone through the engagement ceremony with Miss Chu Xuanji. It’s known by everyone in Shaoyang Sect. You have no reason to separate a married couple, do you?"

Chu Xuanji was stunned and anxiously said, "Brother Liu..." When had she undergone an engagement ceremony?

"Xuanji, is what Brother Liu said true?" Liu Yihuan asked loudly, winking at her sneakily. Chu Xuanji took a deep breath, suddenly realizing what he meant, and nodded eagerly, "Yes...yes, of course!" She was still a young girl after all, blushing to the tips of her ears.

The Great Palace Master said coldly, "The engagement ceremony requires the acknowledgement of both parties’ elders, and I don’t recall having given my consent."

Liu Yihuan shouted, "Who do you think you are, some crappy elder! Yu Sifeng has long since ceased being a person from Lize Palace! I’m like half a father to him; I’m the legitimate elder, aren’t I? Sect Leader Chu and I decided on their affair, what complaints do you have to make?!"

The Great Palace Master was silent for a moment, seemingly a bit swayed, and after a while, he said, "I am truly grateful for your kindness towards Si Feng."

"I don’t need any bloody gratitude! Just hand him over to me in one word!" Liu Yihuan glared round-eyed.

The Vice Palace Master suddenly laughed a "heh" sound, leisurely saying, "The real father hasn’t spoken yet, and here you are, this fake dad jumping out, acting all pompous?"

Liu Yihuan couldn’t stand the sight of him and instantly cursed, "Get lost! Who asked for your goddamn opinion, you androgynous thing?! What real father? Has he ever called anyone ’father’?!"

The Vice Palace Master, offended by his insults, said sternly, "Watch your language! He hasn’t called you ’dad’ either! Marriage is supposed to be decided by parents; without their blessing, it’s akin to illicit cohabitation!"

His words implied that Chu Xuanji was also being insulted; her face turned white in an instant, utterly humiliated.

The Great Palace Master suddenly addressed her, "Miss Chu, thank you for caring so much about Si Feng. But I don’t agree with the engagement ceremony. You know that Si Feng is a demon, and it’s impossible for humans and demons to be together. It’s better to give up early, for both your sake and his. With your character, there will be sect disciples eager to marry you in the future. Si Feng isn’t worthy of you."

Chu Xuanji’s lips trembled lightly as she said slowly, "But he promised me...we would always be together..."

The Great Palace Master smiled, "Youthful impulsiveness, everyone makes mistakes. Why take such promises so seriously?"

Chu Xuanji looked at him as if she didn’t recognize him, her gaze moving from his head to his feet. Suddenly catching sight of a scar on his wrist, she shuddered sharply and said tremulously, "You...wait! Show me your hand...!"

The Great Palace Master looked down to see the scar on his wrist, his expression slightly changing. Still, he raised his head and smiled, "You have good eyesight. You’ve recognized me at last."

Chu Xuanji silently drew her sword Bengyu, pointing its tip at his face, and said softly, "You are Hao Feng! A Palace Master actually disguising as a disciple!"

Liu Yihuan cried out in alarm, "What?... Wait, wait a minute! Little Xuanji! Are you saying he is the bastard who raised the Taotie?!"

The Great Palace Master said calmly, "That’s correct. I had intended to eliminate you during the Flower Pinning Conference. Miss Chu, keeping you around is a calamity, a great calamity. In both major and minor matters, you obstruct our path. Unfortunately, you’ve raised a good spiritual beast... even my true form couldn’t deal with it. The plan to massacre Fuyu Island failed, and you did well! Who on earth are you?"

Chu Xuanji’s sword tip shook slightly as she said with effort, "I am nothing! In any case...you can’t take Si Feng away!"

Just after she spoke, they heard Yu Sifeng groan, coming back to consciousness.

He whispered, "Xuanji..." Chu Xuanji was filled with surprise and joy, and she quickly stepped forward to check on him, but was blocked by the Vice Palace Master, "Don’t come close! Unless you want him to die!" Chu Xuanji swung her sword, ready to attack, only to hear Liu Yihuan’s stern voice, "Listen! Don’t go near him, Xuanji! He’s suffering from the backlash of the Lover’s Curse!" (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. There are more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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