Love & Redemption
Chapter 190: Volume 4: The Fragile Dream Shatters, - 47: Riot (9)

Chapter 190: Volume 4: The Fragile Dream Shatters, Chapter 47: Riot (9)

The third watch.

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Linglong and Zhong Minyan were still shaken when they suddenly saw Ting Nu being carried on Liu Yihuan’s shoulder, leaping before them. He whispered, "All of you, come over here!" The young disciples hadn’t reacted yet when they were all pushed by Liu Yihuan, two by two, towards the nearby area.

Ting Nu said softly, "Dangkang, Barrier." Immediately, a small monster that resembled a pig appeared at his feet, oinked a few times, and released a green Barrier, enclosing the young disciples within. Linglong and Zhong Minyan had seen Barriers before and weren’t too surprised, but the other disciples, witnessing a Barrier for the first time, were utterly amazed. Duan Rui even childishly poked it with her finger, her finger passing through without harm; a smile finally appeared on her tear-streaked face.

Ting Nu spoke softly, "Everyone, stay inside the Barrier and don’t go out. The Barrier will ensure that none of you are harmed."

Having said this, he glanced towards Xuanji, who had already jumped down from her sword. Bengyu waved lightly, saying, "Father, Master, Uncle Master... all of you go back. Don’t come over here." Chu Yinghong said anxiously, "Xuanji! ... Be careful, that strange fire is very powerful!" She wanted to tell her to hide, but suddenly remembering her performance on Fuyu Island, she swallowed the protective words back.

Meanwhile, Tengshe had spread his Fire Wings and was chasing after the demons. These demons were much easier to handle than the Golden Winged Birds of Li Ze Palace; they died or were injured as soon as he burned them, and in a moment, he had killed the majority of the demons. Some tried to use the strange fire of the Bi Fang Bird against him, but the green flames licked his body as if they were tickling him, not even tearing a piece of his clothing. Tengshe laughed heartily, "Facing the ancestor of Fire Manipulation, the fire of these little hens is nothing but trivial!" With a flap of his wings, who knows how many precious Bi Fang Birds he had burned to death.

Seeing that most of the demons had been burned to death by Tengshe, and the rest were fleeing in scattered directions, posing no further threat, Chu Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned back, smiling faintly at his wife, who was full of concern behind the Mystic Iron Gate, and whispered, "Are you okay?"

He Danping shed tears and said softly, "I’m fine... It’s you, big brother, that I’m worried about."

Chu Lei shook his head. Everyone saw that He Yang’s amputated wrist was bleeding non-stop and rushed over to check on him. Chu Yinghong was usually calm and composed, but now she couldn’t help but tremble, gently undoing the bandage on his wrist, fearing that any heavier move might hurt him more.

He Yang’s face was pale, his head covered in sweat, but he still managed a forced smile, "Quickly apply the medicine, and check for any remnant demons – that’s what’s important."

Chu Yinghong choked back tears, "With you injured like this, how can you even move around? Are you trying to make me suffer?"

He Yang gently patted her head with his remaining hand – a gesture they often made when they were younger. Now Chu Yinghong was nearly forty, yet he still treated her like the willful little girl of years past and said softly, "The big picture is what matters. Losing an arm is not a big deal. Don’t I still have a right hand that can hold a sword?"

Chu Yinghong shook her head, tears falling on her lapel as she said with a quivering voice, "It should have been my hand!"

"Silly child." He Yang chuckled softly.

Xuanji watched them, feeling an emptiness inside her. Why would her master say she’d rather lose her own hand? Why was it that the first one they always cared about was never themselves, but each other? Was this what love was? Valuing the other more than oneself. Was it so?

Zi Hu approached her as she stared blankly and whispered, "If it were me, I’d rather be the one to die, as long as Wuzhiqi lived well. Xuanji, you’re still young; you probably don’t understand these things, right?"

She shook her head slowly, feeling utterly confused, at a loss for words.

Seeing that everyone was seriously injured and probably unable to patrol the area for any remaining demons, Chu Lei said, "Danping, you all stay here and don’t come out, tend to the wounded."

He Danping was alarmed, "What about you? You’re injured too!"

Chu Lei shook his head, speaking softly, "I’m going to check for any remnants. You all stay here and behave."

He Danping insisted urgently, "No! Don’t go! It’s too dangerous! Everyone... just stay here and recover! No one should leave!"

Chu Lei sighed, "As the Sect Leader, this is my duty. Danping, I hope you understand."

"Big brother!" He Danping cried out. Chu Lei didn’t respond and turned away. Suddenly, they heard Xuanji say, "I’ll patrol the mountain; I’m not injured. Father, you shouldn’t go."

Chu Lei was taken aback, "Can you... really?"

Xuanji was extremely troubled, grasping Bengyu tightly in her hand, and said in a low voice, "Yes! I... need to find something to do, to calm down..." If she continued to stand there, she felt she might do something terrible. It was as if there were many waves hidden in her heart, crashing relentlessly, as if many voices were speaking, and it seemed she was on the verge of a realization.

Agitated and restless, she didn’t wait for Chu Lei’s answer and soared upwards with Sword Control, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"With such danger, how could you let her go alone! Does the child... have something on her mind?" He Danping, as a mother, instantly sensed something was off with her and couldn’t help asking Chu Lei, "How did the Flower Pinning Conference go? Is she upset because she lost?"

Chu Lei was also somewhat in the dark, shaking his head, "No, she won... many things happened at the Flower Pinning Conference that you all don’t know about..."

He briefly recounted everything that had occurred on Fuyu Island, and none of the listeners could find their voice. It took a moment before He Danping finally spoke with a sigh, "So it turns out Si Feng is also one of them... He’s been lying to Xuanji all this time?" Chu Lei sighed, saying, "It’s really not his fault. However, I truly cannot come to terms with it emotionally. Xuanji is the way she is now, probably because of him..."

In a low voice, He Danping said, "He’s a demon; how can our daughter be with someone like him?"

Chu Lei said, "Being a demon is not really the issue; as I see it, there’s something very unusual about Xuanji’s origins too. Do you remember how she didn’t know anything when she was little? Yet in just four short years, she has become so powerful. We have seen talented disciples before, but have we ever seen anyone like her? The night before you gave birth to her, I had that dream. Thinking about it now, could it have been some kind of omen?"

He Danping’s face changed color as she asked anxiously, "What do you mean! How could Xuanji be a demon?"

"I am not saying she’s a demon; what I mean is..." Chu Lei pondered for a moment, "Perhaps she’s a star who descended to the mortal world to undergo trials, or some other kind of immortal... In any case, she’s certainly not an ordinary mortal. She is already many times stronger than us... No, tens of times stronger, maybe even hundreds of times..."

Seeing that there was no sense of relief or joy as he spoke, but instead a deep frown as if weighed down by heavy thoughts, He Danping said, "You really are... Our daughter has become so powerful, why aren’t you happy? Shaoyang Sect has practiced cultivation all these years and has finally produced a true immortal, and she is your daughter, Master Chu. That is a blessing."

Chu Lei spoke softly, "What I’m afraid of is that she really is an immortal... I have noticed something off about her lately, as if she can’t keep her power under control. It might be a sign that she’s about to awaken. Once she does awaken, she will no longer be our daughter. Danping, she will never be the same Xuanji again."

He Danping was finally at a loss for words. Her daughter, the lazy girl who only knew how to make her parents angry, was she truly going to disappear? Only now did she truly understand Chu Lei’s concerns. She would rather Xuanji remain lazy forever than become some kind of goddess.

"After this is all over, I will talk to her," He Danping said. But she didn’t have a clue about what exactly she should say.

******

Linglong’s scalp had a small piece sliced away, not a serious wound, but it bled profusely. She had been enduring the rampage of demons before, but now that everything was calm, she immediately felt weak and nestled in Zhong Minyan’s arms, whining about the pain.

Zhong Minyan said with a smile, "Alright... there, there, I’ll take a look and apply medicine right away, and it won’t hurt anymore."

Linglong pouted, "If a piece of my scalp is gone, won’t that spot be forever bald? Xiao Liuzi, I don’t want it! It’s going to look so ugly!"

Zhong Minyan parted her thick hair to inspect the wound carefully— a cut the size of a thumb, indeed not small and might indeed result in a bald spot. Linglong always cared about her looks, and he didn’t want to upset her by telling the truth, so he comforted her, "It’s just a wound the size of a fingernail, and it will be invisible when covered with hair. Besides, even if you became completely bald, I’d still love you."

"You’re the one who’s bald!" Linglong retorted in feigned annoyance, but thinking back to the life-and-death moments when their hands clenched tightly together, her heart felt very sweet and emotional. Seizing the moment when Zhong Minyan was applying the ointment, she asked softly, "Xiao Liuzi, after this is over, will you... will you ask your father... um..." Her face turned red with shyness, unable to finish her sentence.

Zhong Minyan was first taken aback, then immediately understood; his heart started pounding. After a while, he spoke softly, "If... if you won’t be angry, I’ll ask him for your hand in marriage tonight."

"Who wants to marry you!" Linglong, whose feelings were exactly hit upon, suddenly became bashfully embarrassed.

Zhong Minyan laughed, "Who else would you marry but me? I’m the only one who can tolerate your missy temper."

Linglong feigned anger and pushed him away with force, saying angrily, "Who needs you to put up with me! You might as well leave!"

Zhong Minyan let out an "ow" and laughed, "Don’t push; you’ll spill the medicine! Okay, okay, you’re not a missy, you’re a good girl."

After a brief, playful exchange, they both felt a warm happiness in their hearts. After Zhong Minyan finished applying the medicine, he held her hand and softly said, "Linglong, let’s never be apart." Linglong made a sound of agreement and after a moment suddenly said, "Xuanji... she..."

Zhong Minyan tensed up when he heard that name from her lips, uncertain why he felt a twinge of guilt deep inside. Linglong continued, "Xuanji must be heartbroken that Si Feng was taken by the people from Lize Palace and she didn’t catch up. I saw that her face changed color earlier... You know, we have to think of a way to help her rescue Si Feng and reunite them."

Zhong Minyan paused for a moment then said, "Alright, once things are settled here, we’ll go to Buzhou Mountain together, destroy the demons’ lair, and rescue Si Feng."

Linglong nodded, then frowned and quietly said, "But he is a demon as well... I’m afraid father and mother won’t be happy about it... Oh, never mind! Who says humans and demons can’t be together! If father and mother object, we’ll just argue our case and leave with Xuanji and Si Feng!"

Zhong Minyan absentmindedly agreed, preparing to change the subject so as not to keep bringing up Xuanji when suddenly something hit him from behind. He turned around quickly, only to see a small stone rolling on the ground. Thinking it was just a loose pebble from above, he paid no mind and turned back to continue talking with Linglong, but another stone hit him.

He turned with confusion and saw a person hidden among the dense branches and leaves on the rock face, staring at him. The person wore a green robe with a Shura mask on his face—it was Ruo Yu, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time!

Zhong Minyan startled, saw Ruo Yu wave at him then turn and walk away. He quickly rose to follow, prompting Linglong to ask, "Where are you going?" He awkwardly replied, "I... must have eaten something bad; my stomach is killing me." Linglong spat, blushing, "Get going then! Don’t wander off too far, I’ll worry."

Zhong Minyan nodded and leapt onto the rock face, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye. Linglong chuckled at how briskly he moved, thinking he really must be in a rush. (To be continued. For what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)