Love & Redemption
Chapter 201: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms - 8 Wuzhiqi (Part 4)

Chapter 201: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms Chapter 8 Wuzhiqi (Part 4)

Xuanji paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and softly said, "Strange, haven’t you asked me that before? It feels so familiar... Have we, um, met before?"

Wuzhiqi chuckled slyly a few times and did not answer. Zi Hu pinched him hard from behind, causing him to grimace in pain, but he still couldn’t remember what he had done to offend this capricious Little Fox. Oddly enough, the Little Fox used to be quite adorable and obedient. A thousand years apart had certainly changed her a lot.

Zi Hu pinched him for a while as if venting, then suddenly felt sorry for him and started crying while holding onto his ragged clothes. Wuzhiqi was at a loss due to her intermittent crying and laughing. He was usually an unrestrained spirit, only calming down when he saw a beauty, adopting a refined demeanor to approach them. However, this gentility was completely useless in front of Zi Hu. In his heart, the words ’beauty’ and ’fox’ simply didn’t connect—fox was just fox to him.

So, he exclaimed, "How can you keep switching between crying and laughing! Do you have a fever or what!" After saying this, he heavily slapped her delicate forehead, making a "smack" sound. Wow, he definitely didn’t know the meaning of the phrase ’treat women with tender care’... Xuanji silently watched the two of them, feeling suddenly sympathetic toward Zi Hu. The guy she had adored for a thousand years was truly insufferable.

Zi Hu pouted and said, "I cried because I was so happy to see you, is that not allowed? You heartless Monkey! I’ve missed you for a thousand years, and you probably haven’t thought of me for even a moment, have you?!"

Wuzhiqi, uninterested in such petty displays of affection, turned to Xuanji and said, "It seems you’ve forgotten everything about the past. Weren’t you quite glorious in the heavens previously? How did you end up falling into the Lower Realm to face trials? Did you commit some crime?"

Xuanji shook her head, "I don’t know, I can’t remember."

Wuzhiqi looked at her sympathetically, raising his hand to pat her shoulder like a loyal friend and sighed, "Take it easy! No need to worry about the past, I’ve got your back from now on. Just call me if you ever need help."

He seemed to completely forget he was a prisoner in the Netherworld, his body bound by eight Sea Stabilizing Iron Chains, his spirit unbowed. Xuanji nodded perplexedly, and just as she was about to kindly remind him of his imprisoned status, she suddenly heard Tengshe roaring from behind, "Are you done with your nonsense?! Hasn’t anyone noticed I’m here?!"—he exploded after being ignored for too long.

Wuzhiqi frowned and coldly asked, "Who are you? Why the fuss!"

Tengshe was infuriated by his indifferent attitude—he had waited a thousand years, asking around all this while about Wuzhiqi’s whereabouts just to battle him, and to be met with such an attitude now deeply wounded his pride. Shaking, he pointed his finger at Wuzhiqi’s nose and bellowed, "Out! Fight me!"

Wuzhiqi stretched lazily, ignoring his furious aura, and said nonchalantly, "Ah, sorry, not interested. Why don’t you fight with your left and right hands... Come on, War God General, let’s catch up properly. Ah, it’s really been... Dear me, a thousand years have passed! You’ve become even more youthful and beautiful..." Whenever he saw a beauty, his chilly demeanor instantly turned attentive, even his voice softened.

The trembling Tengshe lifted his hand to grab Wuzhiqi’s shoulder, shouting, "I think you’re just scared to compare strengths with me! Afraid you’d be flattened on the ground after not moving for a thousand years!" His fingers almost reached Wuzhiqi’s shoulder when suddenly he felt Wuzhiqi’s form shift swiftly like lightning, and he ended up grabbing at empty air. Immediately afterward, he felt his wrist tighten, captured in Wuzhiqi’s grasp. Despite being restrained by eight thick Sea Stabilizing Iron Chains, the strength in his hands remained undiminished, capturing Tengshe so tightly that not a single muscle could move.

He was both alarmed and delighted as he hurriedly said, "What? You want to fight me?"

Wuzhiqi tossed him aside like trash and clapped his hands, saying, "No fighting! Besides, who are you anyway? Who let you in? My territory only welcomes beautiful ladies, you dead man, get lost!"

"You..." Tengshe was rendered speechless to the point of madness for the first time. Seeing his face turning purple with anger, Zi Hu hurriedly came out to smooth things over again, "This is Lord Tengshe! No one told me when you were captured, Wuzhiqi. If it weren’t for me running into Lord Tengshe while I was looking for you, who told me you had been captured, I might still be looking for you today! Don’t be so rude! Lord Tengshe has also been looking for you all these years and has put forth a lot of effort."

Wuzhiqi chuckled and said, "Looking for me? I’m afraid it’s not with good intentions, isn’t he an immortal?" He looked Tengshe up and down with disdain, his expression seeming to say: He’s an immortal, really despicable, immortals are no good at all.

Tengshe’s face became extremely hard to look at, as if he was about to erupt any moment, and Zi Hu hurriedly added, "You... don’t be like that! Lord Tengshe is different, he’s really a good person. ... By the way, Xuanji, how did you guys find this place? Didn’t you encounter anyone else? What about Wu Tong?"

Fearing that the two men would cause an irreparable rift, she quickly changed the subject by addressing Xuanji. Xuanji hummed in acknowledgment and said, "We first went to the Fire Sea Hell, then we encountered the Judge, and Wu Tong was taken away by them, it seems he had committed many evil deeds in his life and had to wait for his punishment... I mentioned wanting to see Wuzhiqi to the Judge, and he took us to see Emperor Hou Tu, and then we came here."

"Emperor Hou Tu?" Wuzhiqi’s frivolous expression gradually faded, his eyes cold as lightning, fixed on Xuanji’s face, after a long moment, he said in a deep voice, "What did he send you here for?"

Xuanji did not dodge his piercing gaze, and in utter silence, she softly said, "He sent me here to kill you, to end the so-called karma."

Before her words had finished, Zi Hu cried out, grabbing her sleeve hurriedly and said, "Xuanji! Don’t scare me! You’re joking, right?"

Xuanji shook her head quietly, "It’s not a joke, it’s real."

Zi Hu shrieked, "How can you kill him?! You and him... have never met, why would you be sent to kill him like this?!"

Xuanji had nothing to say, and Wuzhiqi suddenly laughed, "How can we not know each other, Little Fox, step aside. This is between her and me, let me clear the air." He gently pushed Zi Hu away, sat on the broken straw bed, and posed as if deep in thought, then after a long moment, he said, "We’ve only met twice, but I could never forget you."

This statement was incredibly ambiguous. Not only did Xuanji freeze, Tengshe frowned, and Zi Hu jumped up fiercely, his face pale as he pointed at him, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word. Wuzhiqi spoke seriously, "Someone like you, unforgettable at first sight. But we’re not friends, no connection at all. You were following orders from above to kill me, of course, I wouldn’t be so foolish to just let you. Hey, such a beautiful woman, how could I bear to be harsh, I just kept shouting, saying bad things about the immortals, who knew you would eventually be persuaded. At that moment, I thought, ’Sure, she’s pretty and fierce, but not too bright, believing all the nonsense I spout...’"

Xuanji coughed lightly and said softly, "Aren’t you just blatantly messing with people?"

Wuzhiqi shook his head, "No, my dear lady, you are totally wrong. You’re so strong, it’s actually you playing with me! Say kill and you kill, say no and just leave, I don’t have your talent. Anyway, I think you were really moved by my nonsense, and I thought you were actually quite nice and very impressive, so I felt a kindred spirit, hmm, plus you’re very beautiful..."

Zi Hu, hearing him continually say ’very beautiful’, couldn’t help but have veins throbbing on his forehead as he said sternly, "Spit it out quickly! Cut the crap!"

Wuzhiqi gave her an innocent look and continued, "Then I thought, why not just make friends! Who knew that you, the formidable War God General, didn’t even know what friends are, almost scared my eyes out!"

At that moment, he had laughed out loud, but upon reflection afterward, it felt bittersweet. Even though many immortals scorned him as a wild monkey and a dead beast, he had friends all over the world. Mention the name Wuzhiqi anywhere, and there was nothing he couldn’t handle. His nature carried a bit of unruly boldness, capable of becoming brothers with all sorts of people, so it never occurred to him that there could be someone in the world who didn’t even know what ’friends’ meant.

In vain was she of such beauty and exceptional skills yet so utterly alone, having no one to talk to in her daily life. How on earth was she supposed to live her days? He couldn’t imagine it at all, but occasionally he remembered their three days and three nights of continuous battle, and suddenly understood why she could remain calm and composed during intense fighting.

Because she had been lonely for too long.

"Later on, those immortals in the heavens who couldn’t defeat me thought of a despicable method to sway my closest confidantes. And then we met for the second time."

Suddenly, Wuzhiqi looked up, his eyes sparkling, and smiled at her relentlessly, "I have a question that I’ve held back for a thousand years, just waiting to ask you in person. Now you’re finally here, you must answer me."

Xuanji said, "Alright, ask. If I know, I’ll definitely answer."

He slowly said, "That day you saw me and said there was nothing wrong with us being friends, was it true or were you deceiving me?"

Xuanji thought about it for a long time, very seriously, so focused that her eyelashes did not move at all. After a long time, just when Zi Hu was almost suffocating, she suddenly spoke, "It was true." Wuzhiqi said softly, "Really? I don’t believe in immortals."

She replied lightly, "Really, because I never lie."

Wuzhiqi childishly widened his eyes, staring intently at her, as if his eyes contained two tiny suns, never had he seen eyes so unguarded, direct, and bright. He suddenly burst out laughing, the laughter buzzing, shaking the simple straw hut almost to the point of collapsing, and after laughing, he started somersaulting, continuously rolling on the spot, as joyful as a child. Finally, he suddenly stopped, lying breathlessly on the rotten straw bed, laughing, "I really didn’t misjudge you!"

Zi Hu felt both happy and sad, walked over, and gently grabbed his messy braids, combing them with her hands. Suddenly she looked up and said, "Xuanji, I’m begging you, please don’t kill him."

With those words, the atmosphere that had just relaxed fell into a dead silence. Wuzhiqi casually sat up, tugged at her sleeve, and smiled, "Little Fox, you look so gloomy! Don’t meddle in my business."

Zi Hu shook her head, speaking softly, "To you, I am just a Little Fox, to be petted when you’re happy, and forgotten when there’s trouble. But to me, you are everything, more important than my own life. I absolutely don’t want you to die. A thousand years ago, I was still a fox, and I was powerless when you were taken away. Now that I’ve finally become human, maybe I can actually do something for you."

Her tone, although calm and steady, carried an immeasurable depth of emotion. Wuzhiqi was completely taken aback, as if he didn’t recognize her at all.

Zi Hu said softly, "Xuanji, as a good friend, I shouldn’t make things difficult for you. But if you must kill him, please allow me to die with him. My intentions, you should understand more than anyone."

Indeed, she understood very well. To live and die together, it was that simple, just four words.

*************

The method taught by the beautiful sister really works... But it’s still because of your support. I bow...

And because I was too rushed yesterday and didn’t save the draft, I ended up working until the next morning. Next time I should take it a bit easier...

Anyway, at 210 monthly votes, I’ll add one more Chapter, at 250, I’ll add two, and if I’m lucky enough to reach 300, I’ve decided to add three Chapters.

Thank you so much for your support. (To be continued, for further updates, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)