Love & Redemption
Chapter 216: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms - 23 Blooming Panorama (3)

Chapter 216: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms Chapter 23 Blooming Panorama (3)

The life in the small mountain village was both peaceful and slow, the outside world’s storms and surges had no effect here, and the biggest event was probably the Little Demon causing trouble or the harvest not being as good as it had been in past years.

In the afternoon, Xuanji took a nap in her house, and when she woke up, it was already close to dusk, her body covered in a light sweat. The weather was getting hotter and it was only just June, but it felt like the dog days of summer. The inner side of her thigh where she had a burn started itching again, and it was painful with the sweat marinating on it. The pain and itch were unbearable, but having learned her lesson once, she dared not scratch it with her hands. Instead, she pressed lightly through her clothes a couple of times, hoping to find some slight relief.

It sounded like there were people talking outside the window, and Xuanji thought it was Lanlan coming over again. Without bothering to throw on a coat, she jumped out of bed with bare legs, pushed open the window a crack, and peeked through the gap—it was a rather childish act, tinged with a little woman’s fear of loss. She wanted to see how Yu Sifeng interacted with other girls when she wasn’t around.

To her surprise, there were only two people outside drinking and chatting—it was Yu Sifeng and Tengshe, whom she hadn’t seen for three days. In the small courtyard, there were two chairs and a table pieced together from scrap wood, looking like it might collapse at any moment. However, despite the shabby surroundings, they seemed to enjoy their drinks. There were two jars on the table, which was the osmanthus brew that Lanlan had brought back the other day, and Yu Sifeng had actually broken his usual habits and bought some snacks from the town, things like braised beef and white-cut chicken.

Xuanji was about to push open the window and jump out to join them for drinks and snacks, but then she heard Yu Sifeng say in a low voice, "Has the situation really become so serious?" She paused in surprise.

Tengshe held his wine cup carelessly, staring dazedly at the fiery sunset in the distance. His silver hair also picked up a touch of crimson, his face showed a moment of bewilderment, and what was most odd was that Little Silver Flower was sticking to him, hissing with her tongue out, yet he did not shake her off in irritation. Instead, he let her entwine around him, even pinching her head affectionately.

After a while, he tipped his head back, gulped down the wine in his cup with a "gudong" sound, placed the cup on the table with a heavy hand, and said somberly, "Yeah, the old folks are angry, afraid it’s for real." After finishing his words, he suddenly looked up at Xuanji, who was eavesdropping through the window gap, and shouted, "No food and drink for eavesdroppers! Keep eavesdropping and see!"

Xuanji, caught in her spying, felt a bit embarrassed. She quickly pushed the window open and jumped out, laughing, "Alright, I’ll stop eavesdropping. How could you have a drink without inviting me?" She had come out in a hurry, without her coat, wearing only a white shirt that barely covered her knees, with her smooth and slender legs exposed. Fortunately, it was already dusk, or others seeing her in such an unkempt state would have surely turned it into a topic of gossip. For young girls, it was unacceptable to expose arms, feet, or legs no matter how hot the weather was.

Yu Sifeng indeed frowned, but he didn’t scold her. He tapped his finger on the table and said with a smile, "Come on over. There’s no chair left, though, bring the recliner over and sit on it."

As expected, Xuanji brought out the recliner from the house, slid onto it with a swish, and Tengshe had already poured her a drink and brought it over. She tilted her head back and took a sip, the taste of the osmanthus brew sweet and smooth without any harshness. She stretched comfortably, resting on her arm, and followed their gaze towards the brilliant sunset, asking, "Tengshe, where have you been these three days? Did you eat anything good?"

Tengshe gave a noncommittal "hmm," slightly distracted, "Just went here and there, ate this and that."

"That’s no explanation," Xuanji said with amused surprise, but she didn’t press further. The sunset’s glow painted her with a faint red halo, and suddenly, a cool breeze rose, rustling the Phoenix Flower Tree behind the house. The crimson Phoenix Flowers fell fluttering with the wind, creating an illusion of cascading fire.

She sighed softly, "So beautiful, look, it’s like heavenly fire is falling."

Tengshe couldn’t help but narrow his eyes and look up. Behind the house, the Phoenix Tree blazed with radiant reds that spread like fire, as though it were engulfed in fierce flames. The redness was so intense that it almost took on a tragic beauty, like the deepest, most vivid blood, like the most ferocious flames, stretching all the way to the farthest ends of the sky. He grunted again, downed his drink in one gulp, and suddenly said, "Release me from the contract, General."

Xuanji was slightly taken aback, she turned sharply to look at him, as if she hadn’t heard clearly or couldn’t understand.

"What did you say?" She doubted she’d heard correctly.

"I said," he enunciated slowly and clearly, word by word, "Release me from the contract. I no longer wish to be your spiritual beast."

Xuanji was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up from the recliner, pressed her hand against his forehead, and said in surprise, "You don’t have a fever. Why are you talking nonsense?"

Tengshe grabbed her wrist and said in a low voice, "Stop pretending. Quickly release me from the contract."

It wasn’t until then that Xuanji truly realized what was happening. It felt like something heavy inside her heart had dropped, she cried out, "Why? Where, where did I annoy you again? Or is it... There’s no tasty food nearby? No one to fight with?"

A vein popped on Tengshe’s forehead as he gritted his teeth and said, "In your eyes, am I just a gluttonous, irascible, fight-loving waste?!"

That’s about right... but she didn’t dare say it out loud. After a long pause, she softly said, "Tengshe, what exactly is making you unhappy? Even if you’re unhappy, you can tell me. Don’t... don’t just talk about releasing the contract so easily, it can make someone feel really disheartened."

He snorted with laughter and said, "Disheartened? How can someone without a heart feel disheartened?"

That hit hard, Xuanji’s expression darkened as she said coldly, "What exactly do you mean? Be quick about it!"

Tengshe stood up, turned his back, and spoke in a heavy tone, "Then I’ll tell you, I’m no longer willing to accompany you in these barren hills and wild ridges. True, you are the War God General, and as your spiritual beast, I’ve had my share of benefits, but now I understand that you can’t even count as a complete person, not sure what you are! I, the mighty Divine Beast Tengshe, how could I keep being the spiritual beast to a monster like you? Please release me from the contract quickly, so I can escape this deep disgrace and avoid being a laughingstock in the future!"

Xuanji’s face turned pale, and her voice trembled, "What... an incomplete person! What exactly are you trying to say?! Why has it suddenly become like this?" She didn’t understand at all why he was spouting such hurtful words. Tengshe shouldn’t be like this. Perhaps he was usually outspoken, like a bad-tempered child, saying harsh words on purpose to make her angry, but he would never speak such cruel, malicious things.

Over the past year, the two of them had traversed famous rivers and great mountains together, day and night at each other’s side. In Xuanji’s heart, he was already like family, the affection deeply ingrained, and there had never been talk of parting.

Tengshe spoke coldly, "I’ve already told you my intention, hurry up and dissolve the contract! I no longer wish to be your spiritual beast, I disdain it, yet you keep dragging me along. What is the reasoning behind that?"

Xuanji suddenly stepped forward, grabbed his clothes, and forcefully turned him around to face her, staring into his eyes as she spoke in a low voice, "Say that again!"

He, unafraid, coldly looked back at her and slowly said, "I disdain to be the spiritual beast of a monster like you. Please quickly dissolve the contract!"

Xuanji took a breath, feeling as if something were stuck in her throat, pain welling up until she was nearly in tears. She said with a trembling voice, "Don’t forget why we made the contract in the first place!"

"You defeated me, I remember that very clearly," he replied, pushing her hand away and straightening his collar with a grim tone, "But there’s no rule in this world about forcing someone to be your spiritual beast. If you’re not convinced, just defeat me again, or even burn me to ashes with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire. Let me tell you, I won’t do it if I don’t want to! Are you fucking annoying or what?! Just dissolve the contract quickly!"

"I don’t know how to dissolve it!" Xuanji also grew angry, and with a stomp, she forcefully kicked his shin, "You can get lost now! Go! I don’t want you as a spiritual beast either!"

Tengshe silently glanced at her, bent down to dust off his trousers, and said indifferently, "Fine, I’ll leave immediately." He grabbed a jar of osmanthus brew, drank it all in one gulp, smashed the jar on the ground, and harshly said, "From now on, you go your way, and I’ll go mine! Chu Xuanji, if you ever regret it, I’ll despise you from the bottom of my heart!"

He violently ripped off the Little Silver Flower and threw it to the ground, then turned and walked away. At the doorway, he suddenly soared into the air and vanished into the vast sky in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace to be seen.

Xuanji, shaking with anger, kicked the chair where he had just been sitting. With a clang, it broke into pieces, scattered on the floor. "Just leave then! If you ever come back, I won’t acknowledge you!" she shouted as she slumped into a recliner, morosely picking up another jar of osmanthus brew and taking a deep swig.

A fire seemed to rage in her heart, and she simply couldn’t understand, not at all. Everything had started off so well; why had it turned out like this? Let him leave! Could life not go on without him?

She took another large gulp of the osmanthus brew, her gaze sweeping over the various things before her. The ink-heavy twilight sky, the ethereal smoke and clouds, the gloaming closing in, and the black cloud edges still tinged with vivid red light, like the blazing flames on Tengshe’s Fire Wings. So what if he left? What’s the big deal? Behind the house, the Phoenix Flowers blazed fiercely, as if igniting the whole mountainside, resembling the fires he would set carelessly.

A tear suddenly slid down her face, landing on the back of her hand, quickly followed by many more. She angrily wiped them away, when suddenly someone steadied her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Yu Sifeng watching her intensely. Xuanji couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, grabbing his sleeve and murmuring, "Si Feng... why would he do this?"

Yu Sifeng squatted beside her, gently wiping away her tears and softly said, "He probably has some things that he can’t figure out, and he’ll be back soon."

Xuanji sobbed, "He’s really hateful... so extremely hateful..." She had drank the osmanthus brew in a fit of pique, and now, overwhelmed with emotion, it went straight to her head. Her wrist trembling, she accidentally spilled half the bottle of brew onto herself. Yu Sifeng quickly pulled her hand away, frowning, "What if it gets into the wound?"

Xuanji leaned against him, soft and pliable, muttering under her breath—every word a curse directed at Tengshe. Yu Sifeng felt both annoyed and amused as he carefully peeled away her white shirt, only to see that the bandage on her leg was still soaked with alcohol. With no choice, he gently unwound it and saw that the burn had mostly healed, though the newly grown skin was very tender and a noticeably different color from the surrounding flesh. He breathed a sigh of relief, carefully wiped the alcohol away with a dry cloth, and then looking up to see her face flushed with drunkenness, he softly said, "Xuanji, it’s cold out here, why don’t you go inside?"

She mumbled something unclear, blinked, and tears began to fall in a heavy stream. Yu Sifeng lifted her in his arms, feeling through the white shirt that she was not wearing anything underneath; her slippery skin inside was hot as burning fire. He felt a constriction rise in his throat, so he looked down and gently called her, "Xuanji, Xuanji?"

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and stared at him, then suddenly raised her hand, pointing behind him and murmured, "Fire... the fire is burning..." He turned to look and saw the Phoenix Flowers blooming fervently behind the house, truly like flames. He turned to leave, but she caught his neck, pressed her face against his cheek, and breathed sweetly, "Are you going to leave too?"

Yu Sifeng steadied her neck and said softly, "No, I’m not leaving. I’ll take you inside."

She made a sound of acknowledgment, then suddenly began frantically searching herself, exclaiming, "Where is Bengyu? Where did Bengyu go? Give it to me! If you dare to leave, I will kill you first, then kill myself."

Yu Sifeng, shocked and amused, replied with a continuous agreement, "Alright, alright, I won’t leave. Bengyu is inside the room, I’ll take you to get it."

He kicked open the bamboo curtains on the door, carried Xuanji to the bedside, carefully put her down, turned to get water to wash her face, only for her to tug at him forcefully again, shouting, "Are you really going?!" Yu Sifeng had to turn back and gently pat her, saying, "No, I’m just getting water. Be good, you’re drunk, sleep well."

Xuanji was having none of it, thrashing around the bed, hell-bent on finding Bengyu to exact revenge. Yu Sifeng’s clothes were nearly ripped, but he could not bring himself to restrain her forcefully, instead he took her into his arms, soothing her with a gentle voice. She clung to him, first wailing loudly like a child, then gradually her sobs subsided to a faint whisper as if exhausted, eventually letting go of him, turning over toward the head of the bed, and falling into a deep sleep.

Drenched in sweat from her antics, Yu Sifeng was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. He fetched some water, wrung out a towel to wipe her face, only for her to suddenly seize his collar, and with a fierce tug, Yu Sifeng, caught off guard, fell on top of her, feeling her arms clasp around him tightly, her lips near his ear, whispering something indistinct which he couldn’t quite make out, prompting him to ask in a low voice.

Suddenly Xuanji reciprocated his intent, fiercely kissing his lips. His head spinning, he struggled to control himself, his hands trembling as he attempted to push her away, yet when his fingers touched her soft neck, he couldn’t help but caress her gently, slowly undoing the ties of her clothing.

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18+ scenes are so hard to write~~~ Awkward~~

I’ll try to see if I can finish the extra story tomorrow...(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)