Love & Redemption
Chapter 51 - 11 Reuniting with Him

Chapter 51: Chapter 11 Reuniting with Him

Xuanji tried to grab the treasure sword as she fell, but there were too many strange birds flying around her, jostling and crowding. She was so constricted that she couldn’t move an inch. Her fingers hooked over the sword hilt but failed to catch hold, and she slid further down.

All she could hear was Linglong’s shriek beside her ear; she didn’t have time for details as she plummeted forcefully downward.

The strange birds screeched and swooped in, quickly surrounding her in the middle of a small spherical formation, and plummeted together. Amidst them, Xuanji dodged the lethal claws, though overwhelmed by their sheer number. Her other treasure sword strapped to her waist got stuck, and she couldn’t draw it out. It didn’t take long before she felt intense pain across her arms, back, and shoulders, with no idea how many cuts were inflicted on her.

All she could do was tightly hug her head, fearing they would disfigure her face, which would truly be a disaster. With her True Qi running low during the fall, she couldn’t summon even a slither of the Fire Dragon, managing only to preserve a thin barrier of True Qi around her body against the impact of landing, to avoid crippling injury.

Her fear was that after hitting the ground, the strange birds wouldn’t give up and would continue to peck and bite her, at which point she’d be utterly defenseless, with no strength left to fight back.

Lost in her frantic thoughts, she suddenly heard a distinct whistle nearby—three long notes followed by a short one. She barely dodged a bird’s claw and looked in the direction of the sound, but she couldn’t see clearly! In a blur, she saw a flash of silver lightning fork through the air, twisting like a snake.

Her heart tightened; the flexible streak of silver shot forward rapidly, hopping and skipping upon the birds’ backs. Any bird it touched would lose its strength and could no longer fly.

The whistling from across the way continued, resembling some bizarre tune, fluctuating in length and tempo. The silver light moved with the rhythm, twisting, and leaping alternately. In the blink of an eye, most of the birds encircling her had been taken down.

Finally getting a break, Xuanji twisted her waist lightly. Her head accidentally bumped into one of the birds, and her Jade ring holding up her hair snapped, sending her black tresses cascading down in a graceful arc. With no time to fix her hair, she grabbed it, kicked off a tree with her right foot to absorb the momentum, and drifted gently to the ground.

Some oblivious birds continued to dive at her, intent on attack. She drew her sword to face them, but suddenly, a sharp gust passed by her ear. She pressed down her body just as something thudded into a bird across from her, crushing its sternum on impact.

Following that, whooshing sounds rang out in succession—someone behind her was firing a slingshot non-stop. In the deep night, that person’s aim was deadly accurate, hitting each target. Eventually, Xuanji didn’t even need to lift a finger, just stood aside and watched as, in a moment, the person killed off a dozen remaining birds with the slingshot. The ground was already covered with a thick layer of the birds’ carcasses, the smell of blood and death unbearably foul.

Even Xuanji couldn’t bear it and hastily grabbed the sachet hanging at her waist to sniff vigorously, fearing she might regurgitate her meal with a single deep breath.

"Are you alright, miss?"

A voice suddenly came from the trees nearby. Xuanji quickly turned and saw a man in a green robe standing behind a white poplar, holding an iron slingshot twice the size of a regular one. Presumably, he was the one who used the slingshot to kill the birds.

Xuanji shook her head, walked over a few steps, and murmured, "I... I’m fine. Thank you."

The moonlight was dim, and as she approached, she saw that he was tall and had thick black hair. His voice sounded like that of a young man, but his face was indistinct.

He bowed slightly to her from afar and said kindly, "It was nothing, no need for thanks. Your companions should arrive soon; I shall take my leave."

With that, he turned to depart. Xuanji, moved by a sudden impulse, called out, "Wait... wait a moment! Could you... turn around... are you...?"

He turned around, and this time Xuanji saw clearly; he was indeed wearing a Shura mask! Shock coursed through her, and she raised her hand, pointing at him, but she couldn’t utter a word.

He spoke again with warmth, "I am Ruo Yu, a disciple of Lize Palace. Is there something you wish to instruct me on?"

Ruo Yu? So it wasn’t him... But it didn’t matter; they were all from Lize Palace anyway!

"Where is Si Feng?" she asked, straightforward and simple, without a second thought.

Ruo Yu paused, seemingly unsure how to respond, probably because he didn’t expect such a direct question.

"This... miss, you..."

"Do you know Si Feng?" she asked, perhaps feeling that her question was inadequate, so she tried another way.

"Young lady... uh..."

"Have you seen Si Feng?" she asked again, changing the question.

"I... I..."

"It’s that Si Feng... You must have seen him, right?" How could he still not understand? She was being so direct.

Suddenly, a sneering laugh came from the tree above; both looked up and heard the person in the tree say, "It’s my first time seeing someone ask questions like this! Truly a peculiar one."

The voice was soft and girlish. Xuanji was about to take a closer look when she saw two figures leap down from the treetop, landing in front of her—a tall man and a shorter woman.

The woman, likely the one who had been talking, was dressed in white, with flowing sleeves and slender shoulders. Her face was pretty, and her big, sparkling eyes were looking at Xuanji with a playful smile.

The man... was wearing a green robe, tall and slim, with his hands clasped behind his back, facing away from her, seemingly looking at something else.

Xuanji’s heart stirred again, sensing something familiar about the man’s black hair, silhouette, and posture. Just as she was about to speak, the man whistled softly into the air, and in the blink of an eye, the silver light that had saved her earlier returned, slipping into his sleeve without a sound.

All she heard next to her was the man letting out a long sigh, murmuring, "So, you still remember me."

After saying this, he turned around, his face startlingly covered by a Shura mask.

Xuanji nearly jumped up and rushed over, exclaiming, "You... that... how come..."

Her speech was beginning to come out all jumbled, but Yu Sifeng gently smiled and said soothingly, "Slow down. How come after four years, it’s your turn to stammer?"

"Ah! Si Feng, you can speak the language of the Central Plains!" She pointed at his nose and exclaimed loudly.

I could always speak it... he rebutted helplessly in his mind but then asked, "How come you’re here?"

Xuanji, however, didn’t hear his question at all. She grabbed his hand, her face blooming like a spring flower as she smiled, saying urgently, "It really is you! Really Si Feng! Why are you wearing a mask again? What if I hadn’t recognized you?"

Yu Sifeng’s throat tightened, and after a long pause, he said softly, "But you did recognize me... didn’t you?"

"Not really! If you hadn’t spoken, I wouldn’t have been sure!" Xuanji shook his hand, just like when they were children, utterly unreserved.

Yu Sifeng slowly withdrew his hand with his ears gradually reddening. It took him a while before he said, "Recognizing you is enough for me."

Xuanji hadn’t listened to what he said, just kept calling out Si Feng again and again, until finally, her insistent calling made Ruo Yu beside them burst into laughter, causing the beautiful girl to cover her mouth and giggle as well.

Yu Sifeng lightly tapped her on the head and said with a smile, "You haven’t changed, just like before, thoughtless and carefree. What are you doing here alone? Are you also out for training?"

Xuanji was about to reply when she heard Linglong and Zhong Minyan calling her from behind; it turned out they had come looking for her.