Love & Redemption
Chapter 202: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms - 9 Wuzhiqi (Part 5)

Chapter 202: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms Chapter 9 Wuzhiqi (Part 5)

Xuanji turned her face away, not looking at her expression. After a while, she said, "Actually, I can’t remember a lot of what he mentioned. So, I’m not clear about any grudges or resentments involved. It’s just... if I don’t kill him, I can’t go back. Besides, Wuzhiqi, you were a Great Demon before, you must have done many bad things, right? After committing evil deeds, don’t you think you deserve to be punished?"

Zi Hu said urgently, "He didn’t do any bad things! You don’t know anything!"

Xuanji responded indifferently, "People who do evil things always have many ways to justify themselves, but no matter how they argue, there is only one truth. If he hadn’t harmed anyone, why would he be imprisoned?"

Zi Hu’s face turned pale, and she said in shock, "That’s true, there is only one fact, but right and wrong are not absolute. You can’t just listen to one side from Heaven and rush to judge."

This sounded somewhat familiar; someone had once told her that there is no absolute black and white in the world, and no one can easily make a judgment. Everyone has their own shades of black and white, so the facts differ from person to person. Xuanji had always insisted on her own views, never accepting others’ perceptions of right and wrong. Her senior brother had said that this was not good, as it was easy to fall into a rut. Yet she, so spirited, had simply replied: "Others should not impose their thoughts on me."

But now, having grown older and seen more of the world, she began to understand how terrifying being stubborn could be. One cannot always live in one’s own world. She paid a heavy price for being such, leading Yu Sifeng to leave her in sorrow. Now desiring to make amends, he was no longer by her side.

Xuanji took a breath, bowed her head, and said softly, "I can’t remember anything..."

Before she could finish, Wuzhiqi interrupted, "You can’t remember anything, so were you lying just now?"

Xuanji was startled, then realized he was referring to the matter of being friends, and said, "It wasn’t a lie... who wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like you?"

Wuzhiqi chuckled, jumped off the bed, and walked toward her. Zi Hu quickly tugged at his clothes, softly calling out, "Wuzhiqi, don’t..." He patted her head, his voice turning very gentle: "Alright, Little Fox. Sit down nicely, and later I’ll find some tasty grapes to feed you."

Zi Hu’s eyes reddened; he still remembered she liked grapes. When they had first met, it was because she, tempted by her cravings, had climbed up a rack to steal someone’s grapes, which turned out to be planted by him. Reluctantly captured, she thought of hundreds of ways to escape but could never break free from his grip. Eventually, when he was finally going to let her go, she found herself unwilling to leave.

He had always been far ahead, occasionally looking back buoyantly without really considering her in his heart. It was she who couldn’t bear to leave, and she couldn’t blame him. Indeed, she blamed no one; as long as he was alive and she could see him, that was the happiest thing in the world.

Wuzhiqi walked up to Xuanji, touched her disheveled braids, and smiled, "Let’s go, since we’re friends, I can’t make things difficult for you. Can’t return without killing me, right? Let’s start now, and leave it to fate whether we live or die!"

His carefree attitude left Xuanji in a daze. After a while, she murmured, "I have a question too, please make sure to answer me."

"Sure, ask away," Wuzhiqi shrugged nonchalantly.

Xuanji asked seriously, "Why did you rebel and cause trouble?"

Wuzhiqi stroked his chin, thought for a moment, then laughed, "Rebel? Not really, it’s just that they went too far. Seeing any demon they couldn’t subdue, they wanted to eliminate it. Speaking of which..."

His eyes gleaming as he looked at Xuanji, he playfully asked, "Don’t you find those immortals annoying sometimes?"

This answer was indeed typical of Wuzhiqi. Xuanji was dumbfounded for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, and Wuzhiqi joined in, both of them laughing face to face for a long time, puzzling both Zi Hu and Tengshe. Finally, Xuanji nodded, saying, "Indeed, sometimes... they are quite annoying."

Lazily stretching his arm, Wuzhiqi said, "Well... that’s the end of the questioning, let’s go, let’s start."

Suddenly, Xuanji shook her head, saying, "Let’s not fight; I don’t want to kill you. I won’t kill my own friend."

Wuzhiqi was not surprised by her response, just slanting his eyes and saying, "If you don’t kill me, you can’t return, right? You’ll be stuck here like me."

"Even if I can’t go back, I won’t kill you, and besides, even if they don’t send me back, I will definitely find a way out."

Wuzhiqi scratched his face, stretched languidly, and laughed, "Alright, too bad I can’t send you out."

Xuanji asked, "These eight chains on you, are they the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain?"

"Eh, you know about them too? Right, right, I haven’t asked you yet, how did you end up reincarnated and undergoing trials? The War God General was immensely powerful back in the day, accomplishing countless feats! Could it be that even the Heavenly Emperor grew displeased with you?"

Xuanji honestly shook her head, "I don’t know. There are some things I can remember, but others I just can’t recall."

"You really don’t know a lot of things..." Wuzhiqi murmured, thought about it, and said, "Probably someone took your memories, those celestial colleagues of yours must know, right? Why not ask... oh, what was his name, that Tengshe? Ask him."

He pointed at Tengshe, who, from the moment he entered the room, had still not spoken a word to him. Tengshe, with a face turning steely with rage, didn’t argue, but said in a low voice, "I also don’t know much. I vaguely remember that she committed some offense, but what exactly it was, only those few old masters up there know."

Wuzhiqi’s eyes brightened, "Oh! What do you call them? Old masters? You’re quite the interesting guy!"

Tengshe gave him a cold glance and said indifferently, "On the contrary, the famed Wuzhiqi makes me feel utterly bored."

Unruffled, Wuzhiqi just laughed heartily, "It’s just a fight! What’s there to complain about! Tengshe, right? I remember you. I’ll join you for a ten-day and ten-night fight later—just don’t whine about it!"

How could you say Tengshe was simple-minded? His eyes lit up immediately, and he exclaimed, "Let’s fight now!"

Wuzhiqi, swinging the eight hefty iron chains on his body, said with a half-smile, "You really have the nerve, fighting with someone who is tied up like me."

Undeterred, Tengshe crouched beside him, grabbed a chain, and said, "What’s so difficult about that? I’ll melt this chain right now." He was about to start a fire when Xuanji urgently pulled him back and shook her head, "No! If you release him, how are we going to explain to Master Judge?"

"Explain my ass!" Tengshe didn’t care about the consequences, snapping a chain. The world-famous Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain was immediately burnt off by him.

Wuzhiqi gestured to stop his actions and laughed, "No need, no need, I am still waiting for someone here; I don’t want to leave just yet. As for fighting, I’ll remember it, and I will not break my word. Once I get out, I will definitely find you, Tengshe."

Immediately, Tengshe nodded, "Alright, a gentleman’s word..."

"...is a swift horse and a whip!"

The two clapped hands and chuckled at each other.

It seemed that whether they were monkeys or Divine Beasts, as long as they were male, friendships were formed incredibly quickly.

Xuanji said, "You’re waiting for someone from Lize Palace, right? Just so you know, several of the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chains have already been sabotaged by them, and they’ve even found the keys. They will probably be able to free you soon. You..."

She stopped mid-sentence, but Wuzhiqi quickly understood her implication, rubbing his fingers together, "Understood! Those bastards from hell, I won’t touch any of them!"

Xuanji smiled, "Then we should leave; take care by yourself. I’ll look forward to meeting you again in the mortal world and treating you to a drink."

Wuzhiqi laughed, "What good wine could you, a little girl, possibly have... Anyway, thanks for the kind offer. Definitely, definitely." He then furrowed his brows slightly, "Though, I have to settle some old scores with those demons from the palace first!"

Xuanji wanted to ask him about his grievances with Lize Palace; however, seeing his unwillingness to discuss it, she simply nodded and turned to leave. As she reached the door, she suddenly realized Zi Hu hadn’t followed and whispered, "Zi Hu... do you want to stay?"

Zi Hu softly replied, "Yes, Xuanji, Lord Tengshe, thank you. I..."

"Little Fox, staying, huh? I’ve been locked up alone for a thousand years; you took so long to come, and now you think you can just leave? It won’t be that easy!" Wuzhiqi laughingly hooked her shoulder and shook it vigorously, "Don’t you dare speak of leaving! You must stay and keep me company!"

Zi Hu smiled, nodded slowly, and sweetly said, "Yes, I will stay and accompany Wuzhiqi. Xuanji, Lord Tengshe, I’m sure we’ll meet again."

Her expression was so blissful, utterly content. Was it because of Wuzhiqi? Because being with him meant happiness, even if she had to sleep on rotten straw, had nothing to eat, and could only drink dew.

When Xuanji returned to Yidu, she kept thinking about this.

If it were Yu Sifeng, could she too discard everything and feel happy just being with him? She couldn’t imagine, not with him away. He had been gone for only a day or two, yet why did she feel as though they had been apart for a lifetime? Such a long, desolate lifetime...

When she saw the Judge, his expression clearly told Xuanji that he knew everything; she hadn’t killed Wuzhiqi, and she had even condoned Tengshe burning off a section of the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain.

Xuanji didn’t say a word; she didn’t know what to say. After a long while, the Judge finally sighed deeply and said softly, "Xuanji... some mistakes, once made, can never be undone."

"I am not wrong," she answered softly.

"Perhaps you can never return to Heaven, or you might endlessly reincarnate and suffer, truly becoming a criminal of Heaven. And you don’t regret it? Still saying you didn’t do anything wrong?"

Xuanji shook her head, "Master Judge, I make my own decisions! Once decided, I have no regrets!"

The Judge gazed at her for a long time before uttering a light sigh, "Well then, I’ll send you back."

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