Love & Redemption
Chapter 236: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, - 43: Reviving Majesty (Part 6)

Chapter 236: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, Chapter 43: Reviving Majesty (Part 6)

Ruo Yu’s issues had kept them both up for several nights, and it just so happened that since Yu Sifeng had decentralized power and stopped personally handling everything, those tedious tasks were dealt with much more swiftly. Finally, with a few days of free time, the Elders started discussing the ceremony preparations. Although Yu Sifeng preferred to keep things simple, the Elders insisted that it was an important event that couldn’t be simplified. Just refurbishing the Danyat Platform took three days, and silver flowed out like water.

Since Yu Sifeng felt at ease handing over tasks to his subordinates, his days of being busy as a spinning top seemed to have ended. Each day, he and Xuanji found themselves with nothing particular to do, wandering idly through the palace. Finally, after a full month since their return to Lize Palace, one morning, a disciple guarding the palace came to report that Liu Yihuan and his group had arrived.

Both of them were overjoyed and surprised and hurried to greet their guests. From afar, they could see three people entering through the main gate—>it was Liu Yihuan, Wuzhiqi, and Zi Hu. Upon seeing Yu Sifeng, Wuzhiqi blurted out, "Damn! I thought Heaven had taken you guys away! Why didn’t you send a letter to let us know?"

Yu Sifeng chuckled apologetically, "Sorry, I thought it would only take two or three days, but things just kept piling up. It’s good that you’re here though, Brother Liu, I’ve become the Palace Master."

Liu Yihuan’s head was wrapped in a bandage, making him look both comical and peculiar. Upon hearing about Yu Sifeng’s new role as Palace Master, he was so shocked that his jaw almost dislocated as he exclaimed, "What about your dad?! How could he just dump this mess on you?"

Yu Sifeng led them laughing into Jingui Palace and spent the morning recounting everything that happened over the past month, including his reform plans for Lize Palace. Liu Yihuan’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit a duck egg and it took a long while before he could respond, exclaiming, "Who would have thought... You kid! You actually have some real skills! What did you eat to grow up? Where did you get all these bizarre ideas from?"

Yu Sifeng smiled and said, "Brother Liu, I’m worried about the Inspection Department having no suitable candidates for the position of Elder. Would you be willing to help me?"

"No! No! Don’t look to me for that!" He waved his hands hurriedly, "Besides, I have a bit of a quarrel with Elder Luo, we dislike each other. If there were someone nagging in my ear every day about what’s allowed and what’s not, it would annoy me to death."

After that, he sighed deeply, "Your dad... sigh, I hadn’t expected him to end that way. He was once so glorious, carrying the twelve Shieryu. Who did he ever bother looking at? It’s a shame such a person had a life full of ups and downs and died so disgracefully."

Yu Sifeng gave a faint smile, saying nothing. Zi Hu fervently tugged on Liu Yihuan’s sleeve, signaling that this wasn’t the right time for his words as they brought up sad memories for Yu Sifeng. Liu Yihuan quickly laughed it off, "But now, you’re the Palace Master, which is better than anything else! The Juntian Ring is broken, so it’s time for the old Lize Palace to be phased out. Brother Liu has confidence in you! Under your lead, Lize Palace will surely prosper and shine even brighter!"

Xuanji, seeing the bandage clumsily wrapped around his head, couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Brother Liu, has your injury healed? Why are you still wearing a bandage?"

Liu Yihuan pushed up his bandage to reveal a scar on his forehead. Since the Heavenly Eye had been forcibly removed by the Azure Dragon, there was a concave spot looking like a bright red blood cavity. Although it had healed, it still looked quite horrifying, no wonder he covered his forehead with a bandage.

"Sigh, this thing... I didn’t feel much when I first got it installed, but removing it nearly cost me half my life; it hurt even more than having flesh cut out!"

Xuanji spoke softly, "Brother Liu, without the Heavenly Eye, about your daughter..."

He shook his head and said, "I’ve come to terms with it. She’ll be a different person in her next life, with no connection to me. As a human being, I shouldn’t be so selfish as to use something from a previous life to bind her. She died as a little girl; she’ll surely have blessings in the next life. As long as she’s happy, it doesn’t matter whether I see her or not."

She nodded silently, hearing his words about not binding the present life with the past, she felt a pang in her heart, yet while these words were easy to say, for her, actually following through with them was more challenging than anything else.

Wuzhiqi inquired about the situation in Heaven, but it turned out there had been no recent activity. Zi Hu and his companions had gotten bored waiting in town and had come to Lize Palace out of boredom, not expecting to arrive just in time for Yu Sifeng’s accession ceremony.

"Speaking of which, so this is Lize Palace. It’s my first time seeing it... haha, it’s more impressive than I imagined. Yuan Lang, that guy! How did he manage to gather so many people here!" Wuzhiqi walked around the main hall, touching here and there, finally pushing open a window and gazing at the distant blue sea, laughing again, "The view isn’t bad! Hmm, it actually does suit that guy’s style."

Liuli suddenly remembered the Vice Palace Master’s room, walls covered with Wuzhiqi’s faces, something he probably knew nothing about. She didn’t know whether to speak up or not, but as she glanced back at Yu Sifeng, he subtly shook his head, signaling her not to say anything. Who knew that at the next moment, Wuzhiqi would bring it up himself, "Where does Yuan Lang usually reside? Take me there to have a look."

Yu Sifeng hesitated for a moment, wanting to refuse but finding no good excuse, so he reluctantly nodded and rose to lead the way. He regretted not having cleared away those masks in the Vice Palace Master’s room. Whatever Yuan Lang’s intent was in hanging them, he was after all the one who had personally handed him over to the Vermilion Bird’s shackles. If Wuzhiqi were to see those masks, he was bound to feel unsettled.

Who owed whom, who wronged whom, sometimes, it’s really hard to say.

The door was gently pushed open, the light dust swirling as the sunlight shone through the wide-open door, illuminating the dim chamber. Yu Sifeng pointed inside and said, "This is the place." Wuzhiqi quietly looked at the wall filled with masks, each with a different expression—some furrowed, some laughing, their gazes lively and vividly realistic.

Everyone watched him, wondering how he would react, but he just blinked and, without a word, slowly walked inside. With a "snap," he rudely snatched off a grimacing mask and placed it over his face, turning around to mimic the exact same grimace, laughing out loud, "How’s that? Do I resemble it?"

Zi Hu said softly, "Very much, it’s uncannily similar."

Wuzhiqi chuckled and casually hung the mask back on the wall, making a round of the room, and laughed, "Truly, indiscernibly real and fantastic, a dreamlike illusion. Having lived through these thousand years so hazily, what was the point?" With that, he clapped his hands, and a loud "buzz" resonated throughout the room; the masks on the wall clattered down like rain, shattering crisply into pieces.

Dust arose from every corner, and he stood in silence in the middle of it all, his thoughts inscrutable. Liuli spoke softly, "Why did you have to..." Her words were cut short as Zi Hu gently tugged at her, smiling and shaking her head, then shouted, "Ah, I want to see your bedroom! Let’s go! Take me there!" The other three were forcibly nudged and dragged by her, walking off into the distance.

The door to Yuan Lang’s bedroom closed softly, and not a sound was heard again. Zi Hu took a few steps then said softly, "We’re missing a jar of good wine." Yu Sifeng smiled, "There won’t be a shortage, it’s been sent inside already." Zi Hu nodded with a smile. Liuli, bewildered by their cryptic conversation, exclaimed, "What on earth are you talking about? Why leave Wuzhiqi alone back there?"

All three of them laughed. Liu Yihuan reached out to pinch her rosy cheek, teasing, "Asking so many questions, what you don’t know, you still won’t understand. Let’s go, little girl!" Although Liuli was already eighteen, he still treated her like the naive little girl she used to be.

The four returned to the main hall and chatted idly for a while. Zi Hu spoke, "When Wuzhiqi and Yuan Lang were like brothers, I had just met him. Back then, their relationship was really good, almost inseparable. Yuan Lang didn’t seem like the obsessive and terrifying person he does now. He was quiet while Wuzhiqi was lively, one refined, one wild, completely different, yet they were the best of friends. Yuan Lang, though, is very shrewd. Have you ever met someone who never gets angry? I always feel that people who don’t show their emotions are either fools or exceptionally cunning. Yuan Lang obviously is the latter."

She sipped her tea, thought for a moment, and continued, "That he would become brothers with Wuzhiqi is really surprising. Wuzhiqi is different, completely candid with his thoughts and words, never beating around the bush. Later, when Wuzhiqi stole the Jun Tian Sea Strategy and was going to give the Sea Control Ring to Yuan Lang, I wanted to stop him. I always felt Yuan Lang was dangerous—suspicious, petty, scheming, with a constant placid expression. If the Juntian Ring was given to him, he’d undoubtedly covet the Sea Control Hook, always wanting what he couldn’t have. Sadly, Wuzhiqi was completely open-hearted, and the next day, he just threw the Juntian Ring to him."

"Sure enough, what happened later was just as I had expected. That fool Wuzhiqi, instead of making him choose, not only gave Yuan Lang the Juntian Ring but also flaunted his own Sea Control Hook. Yuan Lang must have had thoughts—anyone would think, the good stuff Wuzhiqi is keeping for himself, and what he doesn’t want is given to others. From that moment on, Yuan Lang probably started to have doubts. Moreover, seeing Wuzhiqi wield the Sea Control Hook so much more effectively than he could the Juntian Ring, he must have been even more uncomfortable."

She sighed and went on, "I once thought Yuan Lang never truly considered Wuzhiqi a brother from start to finish. But seeing all those masks, I understand now. I misread his pride. He, just like Wuzhiqi, is transparent, but while Wuzhiqi is carefree, he’s so fragile that he shatters with one blow. Once you suspect your brother of hiding something from you, the brotherhood naturally becomes meaningless. You Golden Winged Birds are terrifying in some ways; whether it’s love or friendship, if it isn’t absolute, you dismiss it from the start. You gnash your teeth in hatred, lurking in the shadows, brooding, resenting. Once the resentment reaches its peak, you start seeking revenge, hurting others, and yourself. Such a pitiful clan..."

Yu Sifeng had no words to say, as he could not find anything to refute. Wasn’t he the same? And wasn’t his father just like that too?

Zi Hu lifted her cup to her lips, her eyelashes quivering slightly, and she murmured, "Wuzhiqi, this time... what will you say to him?"

(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. There are more Chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)