Love & Redemption
Chapter 223: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, - 30 Jun Tian Sea Strategy (3)

Chapter 223: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, Chapter 30 Jun Tian Sea Strategy (3)

The second update.

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As a common saying goes, when a single man and woman are alone in a room, sparks fly and the earth splits... Although such clichéd scenes are overdone, Zi Hu was always secretly hoping they would happen. From the moment Wuzhiqi openly asked her to stay and keep him company, she had been eyeing him with a look as fierce as a tiger’s.

If, in the next moment, he were to come over and hold her, whisper sweet nothings into her ear, and then begin to undress her—oh my, what then? She was almost drooling in anticipation. Right now, she was no longer the fluffy fox of the past. Wuzhiqi liked beauties, and she was exactly his type. Thus, she stood timidly aside, looking at him pitifully, not believing he could resist her—and there, wasn’t he coming over?

"Little Fox." He held her gently, his breath on her face intoxicating. Zi Hu looked up at him bashfully, her words faltering, and he too seemed to hesitate. After a long pause, he finally said, "Are your eyelids twitching? Why do you keep blinking?"

Zi Hu was stunned.

He continued, "I still prefer your fluffy look, so cute, must be warm to sleep with. Can’t you change back?"

She was still stunned.

He went on, "This place is cold and damp. Being here a thousand years, rheumatism is about to set in. Quick, warm me up with your fur."

Zi Hu swallowed hard and struggled to say, "Wait... wait a minute. Wuzhiqi, don’t you like my human form?" Not believing he could be so blind, she quickly twirled around to show him, "Look! Slim waist, long legs, beautiful as a flower. Are you blind?!"

"Oh, just average." He picked his nose, looking utterly unimpressed, "I prefer you fluffy."

"You idiot!" Zi Hu was furious, kicking him in the face and sending him tumbling to the ground, then stormed out stomping her feet. Outside, everything was shrouded in white mist, nothing could be seen. Zi Hu crouched on the ground, hugging her arms, feeling wronged and then angry.

There would never be room for her in his eyes. How could there be such detestable men in the world?! She ranted for a long time to no avail, finally sneaking a peek back inside. Wuzhiqi was still in the position she had kicked him down, motionless.

At such moments, what would he be thinking?

Zi Hu walked back, sat down gently next to his head, her fluffy tail swishing and landing on his face—she had reverted to her fox form. "I... didn’t mean to do it." Thinking he was mad, she apologized pitifully, "I didn’t put much force... Does it hurt? Please, don’t ignore me..."

Suddenly, he grabbed her tail, and with a loud laugh, Zi Hu screamed as the world turned upside down, but soon found herself laughing in his embrace, his face rubbing against her silky smooth fur, back and forth, while he exclaimed, "This is much better! So warm!"

At times like this, he truly seemed like a child.

Zi Hu struggled a bit but eventually found a comfortable position, resting her chin on his chest, motionless. After a while, they chatted about everything under the sun, as they used to do, the barriers of a thousand years seemingly vanished. She was still his beloved Little Fox, and he was still the man she secretly admired and loved dearly.

Who said that in a relationship, the person who falls in love first ends up suffering the most? For that person, one might repeatedly lower oneself until buried in the soil, turning that person into one’s whole world. Though such a truth was disheartening, as long as they could be together, nothing else mattered.

She never changed back into a human again, knowing he didn’t like it. In Wuzhiqi’s eyes, all the women in the world were beautiful sisters to hug and cuddle, except for her, Zi Hu. In a way, although despairing, this made her unique in his heart. What more could she ask for?

South Mountain has crows, North Mountain has weavers. If crows fly high, what will the weavers do! If fate is unkind, how can one complain? She had waited a thousand years, and the outcome she desired wasn’t like this, yet after going full circle, she returned to the beginning, such was her fate, undeniable.

Two years passed quickly; to Zi Hu, it seemed merely two days, or even just a couple of hours, fleeting in the blink of an eye. Like the dream she had the night before, dreaming of a thousand years of hand-in-hand sweetness, bearing flowers and fruits—just a dream’s duration, upon awakening, everything was different.

Every morning, the first thing Zi Hu did upon waking was to rub off the drool from Wuzhiqi’s clothes, and today was no exception. Stretching languidly, her sharp little snout rubbed against something—huh? Why was it a pile of wet straw? She leapt up in a flash, spitting out the straw that had stuck in her mouth, looking around only to see Wuzhiqi standing outside with his arms folded, gazing up at the sky with a serious expression.

She promptly jumped onto his shoulder, her fluffy tail curling around his neck, coyly asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, I’m observing the stars at night," he said earnestly.

Night? Stars? Zi Hu looked up at the fog-filled, murky white sky, seeing nothing but fog where were the stars for him to observe?

"It’s daytime now, you’re just pretending." Zi Hu licked her paw, always a clean fox.

"Silly." Wuzhiqi pointed to his heart, saying, "With eyes, even ten thousand years won’t reveal it, see with your heart... I have a feeling the immortals are up to something." Something seemed to pulse painfully under his shoulder blade, "Jun Tian Sea is also reacting."

Zi Hu stared with wide eyes for a long time, seeing nothing but fog. She sighed, jumping down from Wuzhiqi’s shoulder, and said as she turned back, "You can’t see anything with knees or nostrils either, let’s go back. It’s gloomy here, and there’s nothing worth seeing."

Wuzhiqi glanced back, grabbed her tail, and said, "Go back where? We need to get ready to leave."

"Leave?" Zi Hu struggled in vain against his demonic grip, shouting furiously, "Let me go! Who said you could pull my tail?!"

Wuzhiqi forcibly dragged her back, hooked her to his arm, and laughed, "Let’s go, let’s go! It’s time to leave this damned place. Haven’t eaten anything decent for a thousand years, I almost taste bird in my mouth! Little Fox, let’s go out and drink a thousand cups of fine wine!"

What? Really leaving? Zi Hu finally reacted, looked up at him, and asked, "Go where? Leave the Netherworld? But... they..."

"Who cares about them! I’m getting out, and who dares to stop me?" He flashed his white teeth and laughed wildly, "Once I’m out, those who owe money will pay back, those who owe favors will return them, I will enjoy life as I please. Anyone who tries to stop me, don’t even think of surviving."

With that, he leaped into the air and disappeared in a blink into the thick white fog, leaving only the small thatched hut standing desolately in the wilderness. After a while, two figures slowly appeared in front of the hut, one leaned against the door seam for a while, seemingly confirming the person had left, and whispered, "Just letting him out like this, who knows what chaos he might stir up. Shen Tu and Yu Lei might just suffer."

The other person did not respond immediately. After a long moment, they finally lowered their voice and said, "There’s no way, the old fate has ended, and what this new fate will be like, even the heavens don’t know. Let’s see how they handle it."

"That Monkey is not easy to deal with, if he stirs up trouble again, what then? And if those two join forces, what then?"

The person fell silent for a long time, then said, "Kill."

With just that one word, everything was said.

****

If you imprison a soaring hawk and one day suddenly release it from its chains, what would its reaction be? Zi Hu had always believed that a person’s pride wears down over time and experience, that even the sharpest of characters would eventually be smoothed into a bland facade. The captive hawk, many would rather stay and eat what’s readily available, opting to forget the exhilarating freedom of the sky.

But, upon seeing that familiar glint in Wuzhiqi’s face again, she suddenly realized that time nearly stood still on him. No matter how long he was imprisoned, his longing for freedom was unquenchable; the captivating brilliance in his eyes hadn’t faded even to this day, it left her utterly enthralled.

Like all those who suddenly regained their freedom, he joyously leaped and roared between heaven and earth, as if in the vast world, he was the only one, everything belonged to him alone. He didn’t know how many somersaults he flipped before finally bursting into hearty laughter, scooped her up, and sprinted off, his toes barely touching the ground, almost flying.

How exactly they had escaped from the Netherworld, she couldn’t clearly say. All she knew was that the mist in front of her eyes had suddenly turned into an endless night; a rotten-smelling breeze brushed against her face—it was the true scent of hell. "Where is this place?" Zi Hu bit down on his hair firmly to stop herself from being thrown off and asked vaguely.

It didn’t seem like Buzhou Mountain. Although Buzhou Mountain was perpetually in darkness, it was never this dark, so dark that you couldn’t see your own hand in front of you. There wasn’t a single sound around, only the smell of decay quietly spreading. Staying here too long would truly drive one mad. If Wuzhiqi hadn’t been right by her side, she really would have screamed uncontrollably.

Wuzhiqi chuckled, "This is the lowest level of Abyss Hell. In the end, there are no more physical punishments. Anyone thrown into this place, no matter how resilient, will ultimately go mad endlessly, suffering immensely."

Zi Hu couldn’t help but shudder.

"No hope—that is the most cruel thing in the world, isn’t it?" he said with a smile.

His little thatched hut was at the very top of Abyss Hell; fortunately, there was still a dim white light there. To anyone, having light means having hope, so he hadn’t gone mad and was still living cheerfully.

"The immortals have been rather kind to me," he said as he tossed Zi Hu down. She screamed in terror, bit down hard on his trousers, and tears and snot flowed out together, "What are you doing?!" she screamed hoarsely.

Wuzhiqi squatted down, patted her fluffy head softly, and spoke gently, "Sorry, I have to inconvenience you for a bit. Stand back and don’t come close, I’ve got something to do."

Zi Hu shook her head vigorously, clenching onto his trouser leg without letting go. Wuzhiqi had no choice but to give up and stood up. Suddenly, he raised his hand and fiercely scratched his left shoulder blade. In an instant, a myriad of light beams burst forth from his chest, like floating ribbons, slowly rotating and blooming like a brilliant flower of light in the night.

The blinding light immediately stirred up the surroundings. In the profound darkness, it seemed as if someone was whispering, moving, drawing closer. Zi Hu trembled uncontrollably with fear—those unseen things were the most terrifying. In a trance, she only felt a cold hand touch her back, and she couldn’t help but let out a loud scream. As she screamed, a fiercely flickering ball of light appeared in Wuzhiqi’s hand, which shook once and suddenly grew taller than a person, vaguely resembling a curved hook.

He smiled nonchalantly, holding the hook in his hand, twirling it around. The glowing light danced around, but even the intense light couldn’t break through the profound darkness of Abyss Hell. He chuckled darkly, suddenly shouted, and leaped into the air.

Zi Hu only saw a massive flash of light flicker across the sky, like a nimble silver dragon. Following that, there was a violent roaring sound as if the heavens and earth were splitting open in an instant. The entire world began to tremble, the beam of light stretched longer and longer, appearing as a pillar lying across the darkness. The ground boiled and twisted like a suddenly boiling pot, no matter how she clawed at the ground, she was tossed around, tumbling like beans in a hot pan.

With a huge "crack" followed by a thunderous "boom, boom, boom," Zi Hu rolled continuously on the ground, almost having her ears deafened by the intense and fearsome sound. She clutched her ears tightly, and in a final moment of desperation, she looked up—the light had torn through the entire darkness! Like the rising sun, it transformed from a crescent edge to a radiant splendor. Under the covering light, countless pale hands reached out from the deep darkness, waving helplessly. Were they ecstatic at the sudden light, or were they terrified?

Her last thought flashed through her mind as she could no longer bear the violent shaking of the ground and fainted. In a haze, someone scooped her up, his face pressed against her soft fur, crying and laughing like a child, "Little Fox! Look! What a great spectacle!" (To be continued. For more about what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available there, support the author, support genuine reading!)