Love & Redemption
Chapter 238 - 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms - 45 Reviving the Grandeur (Part Eight)

Chapter 238: 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms Chapter 45 Reviving the Grandeur (Part Eight)

"Do I have to be bullied to talk to you alone about my troubles?" Zi Hu’s voice was faint, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Wuzhiqi "hmm"ed a sound, simply plopped down, and with a loud bang, he lied down fiercely, nearly shattering the glazed tiles. "Go ahead," he said as well, his tone light, half-squinting at the stars, "Whatever it is... you can tell me."

Whatever it is, you can tell me. Zi Hu’s heart trembled, and she suddenly felt a profound despair and discomfort. Between them, their interactions were placid, each cautiously not letting the underlying torrents break that calm tranquility. He always said this, you can tell me anything, but she never did, because she knew for sure he would run off if she spoke up.

Being with him was joyful, yet agonizing. Too painful.

Zi Hu stood up and walked to the edge of the roof; the evening wind lifted her long hair like waves. She softly said, "Wuzhiqi, in your heart, I am always just the cute little fox, right?"

Wuzhiqi squinted his eyes, lazily smiling, "Hmm, yes, of course."

She didn’t speak for a long time. Neither did he ask.

After an unknown duration, the sound of Wuzhiqi snoring came from behind; he had actually fallen asleep.

She took a deep breath, tears rolling in her eyes, then suddenly whispered, "Wuzhiqi, even if I jump down right now and die, you still wouldn’t love me, right?!"

The snoring continued; he was sound asleep.

Zi Hu felt she was going insane. For a thousand years, what had she been waiting for? Something destined for despair, yet only she still harbored hope. A thousand years was long enough for her to gradually contain her despair and let dying embers flare up again. Some say a spark can start a great fire, her little flame of hope only burned herself, fiercely passionate, and he was utterly oblivious.

The resurgence of dying embers being extinguished again was even more painful than never having been given any hope at all.

Better to end it all at once!

She steeled her heart, suddenly turned around to tell him her decisive words, but upon seeing his sleeping face, she was utterly unable to utter them. He must also know, isn’t this all right? She’s the Little Fox, and he’s the quirky old monkey. The two of them giggling together for a long time, she still craving grapes, him still pretending in front of beautiful women. The two of them, together forever, always.

Zi Hu crouched beside him, tears streaming down, she softly said, "If you don’t wake up soon, I’m going to kiss you."

This heartless old monkey, sleeping so sweetly, unaware of whatever delicious dreams he was having. Zi Hu bent down to kiss his lips, suddenly remembered something, straightened up swiftly, turned her face and ran away. She stopped again, then turned back tremblingly, "I hate you so much, Wuzhiqi!"

He continued to sleep sweetly, as if her struggles and agony had nothing to do with him.

Zi Hu walked away, heartbroken, not sure if she had truly given up on him. The night wind passed mournfully, and on the roof, the snoring sound had stopped at some point. Wuzhiqi’s eyes were wide open, quietly watching the star-studded night sky until the night slowly faded, and dawn broke.

The sounds of Lize Palace disciples bustling about began to fill the air, a new day had started.

Wuzhiqi touched his face, grinned, and leapt down from the roof’s eaves, stretching greatly after landing, he went off in high spirits in search of food.

No one mentioned the events of that night again. His little fox, probably had already resolved to leave. Wuzhiqi sighed, shaking his head while pushing open the door of the side hall, only to see Xuanji and the others had already gotten up and were having breakfast; Zi Hu was indeed not there.

"Wuzhiqi, come on, the kitchen made your favorite red bean buns today!" Xuanji happily waved at him, his face covered in red bean paste.

Wuzhiqi’s eyes lit up, he "oh"ed, and pounced to snatch the biggest bun. "Where’s Zi Hu?" Xuanji, not seeing her, looked around, as it was rare not to see her with Wuzhiqi. "She... uh, she..." Wuzhiqi bit into a bun, considering how best to respond, suddenly the door of the side hall opened, and Zi Hu’s languid voice came, "I am here... smells good! Are there red bean buns today?"

Wuzhiqi choked on his bun, his eyes rolling back; suddenly someone thumped him hard on the back, and the bun finally went down. He let out a breath of relief, mumbling, "Thanks..." Zi Hu said lazily, "No need for thanks. If I weren’t here, you’d choke to death on a bun, and no one would care. Useless."

Wuzhiqi had nothing to say. Seeing him holding the biggest red bean bun, Zi Hu quickly snatched one away, sounding charmingly annoyed, "The good ones are all taken by you! Give me one!" Xuanji laughed, "Exactly! He’s such a glutton, just like Tengshe!"

Wuzhiqi, sipping millet porridge, chuckled, "If you hadn’t mentioned that name, I’d have almost forgotten. It’s about time we got going, right? There’s a whole load of debts to collect in Heaven."

Everyone looked towards Yu Sifeng, the Palace Master, after all, there were many matters to attend to in the palace. He smiled, "That’s good, I’ll go talk to the Elders. We’ll set off tomorrow."

It is said that Kunlun Mountain is the Heavenly Emperor’s garden in the Lower Realm, a place of strange and extraordinary beauty, ethereal and transcendent. Although it is in the Lower Realm, mortals cannot simply pass through. Wuzhiqi and Liu Yihuan had both passed through Kunlun Mountain to Heaven and were quite familiar with the terrain. The two spent a night carefully drawing a map, and the next day, they handed it to everyone to see.

"Do you know why mortals can’t cross it? It’s surrounded by Ruishui River, and that water is so strange, even a goose feather can sink, let alone a person. Beyond that river, there’s the hellfire that burns, but naturally, it can’t compare to the Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire, so it’s nothing to worry about. After the hellfire, there are violent winds and flying rocks, strong enough to shred something as tough as an elephant into pieces. With our kind of bodies, we’d be turned into dust right away."

Wuzhiqi said, spitting as he spoke, excited for some reason. Xuanji muttered, "All this fire and water, how are we supposed to get across?"

Liu Yihuan laughed and said, "Listen to him rambling! Who said you need to wade through Ruishui River or brave the sandstorms! Isn’t there another way to go?"

He pointed to a location marked "Kaiming" on the eastern side of the map with a vermillion pen, "Just go through here. With Wuzhiqi and Little Xuanji here, who’s afraid of that Kaiming Beast!"

"Kaiming Beast?" Xuanji was somewhat surprised, "I’ve heard of it! It’s a Divine Beast! I heard it has nine heads, taking turns guarding, day and night without rest."

Wuzhiqi sneered, "That thing is dumber than a donkey, just give it some alcohol and it’s out, who cares about guarding then!"

Liu Yihuan was astonished, "No way, so you just got it drunk last time with some wine and then went to Heaven?" He thought Wuzhiqi had shown great power and beaten the Kaiming Beast half to death to stride in boldly!

"Exactly! Why would I fight it? It has nine heads, any way you look, I’d be at a disadvantage." Wuzhiqi chuckled as he stroked his chin, "Don’t tell me you fought it when you stole the Heavenly Eye. With your small frame, it could have eaten you in one bite."

Liu Yihuan actually blushed a bit, stammered for a long while, then said, "I... of course, didn’t fight it. I picked some fruits, fed it, and tricked it by saying I was a newly ascended Independent Immortal, and it happily let me pass."

Everyone was speechless. No one expected the Kaiming Beast to be so foolish. After a long while, Yu Sifeng finally laughed and said, "Looks like we need to bring some fine wine with us this time."

Wuzhiqi said, "We will follow along the Chishui River, all the way to the end where is the Kaiming Gate of the Heavenly Emperor’s Mansion at Kunlun Mountain. The Kaiming Beast isn’t something to worry about. The main concern is some difficult characters around there, the Divine Bird Phoenix and the luan bird are both stationed there, because there is an Undying Tree in that area, a treasure of Heaven, and they certainly don’t let anyone steal it casually."

Xuanji quickly said, "I know about luan bird! My dad has a Spiritual Beast Red Luan!"

Wuzhiqi laughed and said, "Mortal world’s luan birds are nothing! Don’t compare a spiritual beast to a divine bird. The Golden Winged Bird is quite powerful, isn’t it? But even it doesn’t dare to lift its head in front of a phoenix, which is the king of all birds."

Xuanji looked at Yu Sifeng who silently nodded and said, "It’s best not to meet a phoenix, our clan... has an innate fear of it."

Wuzhiqi then said, "A phoenix is nothing to worry about, but it’s best not to run into those Divine Witches. Those guys are always thinking about Alchemy, have bizarre tempers, and if they aren’t pleased, they can obliterate your soul, sparing you even the wheel of rebirth. The Battle God General and I don’t have to worry, of course, but since we’re ultimately bringing along a bunch of not so capable fellows, it’s always better to be cautious."

He puffed up like a hero ready to take on the burden alone, but before anyone else could react, Xuanji had already pouted and said, "What do you mean ’not so capable’! Si Feng is way more formidable than you! Is constantly fighting and killing all that counts as being capable?"

Liu Yihuan scoffed, "Exactly! Only a foolish donkey with muscles for brains would think they’re capable of everything!"

Wuzhiqi blinked innocently, and after being pushed by Zi Hu, he finally said, "Alright... alright. The Battle God General and I will be the vanguard, and you, you are the chief strategist, and that kid, the junior strategist."

"And what about me?" Zi Hu asked, hands on hips.

Wuzhiqi thought seriously for a while before raising a finger, "You are... the mascot."

Of course, he got a good beating from Zi Hu for that.

The initial route and plan were thus settled, and on the third day, the group packed up and embarked on their journey to Kunlun Mountain.

Elder Luo and the others followed them a long way, reluctant to leave. Yu Sifeng gently said, "Please take care of Lize Palace. I might be gone for a year, or maybe just a few months, but I will definitely return."

Elder Luo sighed, "Kunlun Mountain is incredibly treacherous. You must take care. Don’t forget all of us at Lize Palace are waiting for your return!"

Seeing his sentimentality, which might stir up Yu Sifeng’s emotions, Elder Tang laughed and said, "Master, is there anything else you want to instruct?"

Yu Sifeng thought for a moment and said, "Let the disciples know... Lize Palace is no longer the cage it once was."

The elders all nodded in agreement, bowed, and sent them off until they could no longer see them and still stood there, reluctant to leave.

(End of Volume 5) (To be continued, for further details please visit www.qidian.com, with more Chapters support the author, support genuine reading!)