Love & Redemption
Chapter 52 - 12 Joyful Reunion

Chapter 52: Chapter 12 Joyful Reunion

"Xuanji! Xuanji! Where are you?!"

Linglong shouted the loudest, her voice tinged with sobs and quavering, as if she might pass out at any moment. Hearing her calling like that, Xuanji couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat, although she was unharmed. It sounded like she was calling for a lost soul...

"I... I’m right here." She hurried over and waved to the two anxiously searching people.

"How are you?!" Zhong Minyan lunged forward, grabbing her shoulders with one swift move, inspecting her from head to toe. Her clothes were torn in several places and marked with lines of blood, but fortunately, none of the injuries were serious. After ascertaining this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly realized his demeanor wasn’t appropriate, hastily letting go and regretting his impetuosity.

Linglong, ever the impulsive one, flung herself at Xuanji and clung on, crying a river, babbling like an old granny.

Xuanji, holding onto her with one hand, managed a wry smile and said, "I... I’m alright now. Linglong... really, I am. Look, there are people watching! Stop crying... Si Feng is here too..."

The two were in the heat of their excitement, but hearing the name Si Feng, they finally noticed three people standing in the forest behind them, two of whom were wearing green robes and masks. Unable to contain his excitement, Zhong Minyan hastily went up to one of them and took his hand, saying, "Si Feng! It’s been four years, how have you been?... What brings you here?"

Not minding her tear-stained eyes, Linglong also hurriedly asked, "Was it you who saved Xuanji? Brilliant, Si Feng! Thank you!"

The person replied with a wry smile, "I am Ruo Yu from Lize Palace..."

Yu Sifeng cleared his throat from the side, feigning anger, "One by one, you all mistake another for me. Who claimed to be my lifelong good brother?"

Zhong Minyan awkwardly let go of Ruo Yu and turned to punch Yu Sifeng, who in turn punched him back. Suddenly, their hands clasped together, and both burst into laughter.

"Min Yan, you’ve gotten taller and stronger! You must have made some progress in your cultivation these past years," Yu Sifeng said, slapping his shoulder in the manner of old friends reuniting.

Zhong Minyan laughed, "You as well, kiddo! You’re as tall as me now... hmm, and you seem to have become more articulate?! No more stammering."

You’re the one who stammers! Yu Sifeng retorted in his belly, but he had to maintain an unaffected facade on the surface, especially in front of his fellow sect members. He didn’t stammer in the Central Plains dialect anymore because he had spent the last four years studying day and night... all to avoid being as inarticulate as before, which cost him some precious things.

Having been separated for four years, they naturally had countless things to say to each other, and for the moment, they forgot that they were in the wilderness on a dark and windy night, almost wishing to sit right there and talk until dawn.

Ruo Yu didn’t mind at all, listening with interest to their reminiscing. But the girl in white couldn’t stand it any longer. After a long while, she finally found a pause in their conversation and hurriedly interjected, "Si Feng... it’s quite cold here, can we go back and continue talking, please?"

But Yu Sifeng didn’t respond.

Linglong had noticed the girl in white from the very beginning. Women often compared themselves to others, especially those of comparable beauty, and she had covertly and overtly sized her up countless times. Now, seeing her speaking intimately with Yu Sifeng, Linglong couldn’t help feeling extremely displeased.

In Linglong’s mind, Si Feng belonged to Xuanji. She was convinced that Xuanji liked Si Feng and that he reciprocated Xuanji’s feelings. Now, suddenly, there was this delicate and sweet woman interjecting herself; how could she not be annoyed!

Instantly pouting, she said, "Si Feng, who is this lady?"

The young lady in question seemed just as clueless about the situation. Seeing Linglong’s exquisite appearance and sassy tone, she felt annoyed and snorted lightly.

Ruo Yu, who had an honest nature, smiled and introduced her, "This lady is Miss Lu Yanran from Fuyu Island. Si Feng and I encountered Miss Lu during our travels when she was separated from her sect-mates, so she’s currently joining us on our journey."

Upon hearing the name ’Fuyu Island,’ Linglong couldn’t help but take another good look at her and said with a smile, "We were actually on our way to pay a visit to Uncle Dongfang on Fuyu Island, what a coincidence. But we got caught up investigating some ghostly incidents here. By the way, who is this gentleman?"

Ruo Yu had no choice but to introduce himself again, "I am Ruo Yu, a disciple of Lize Palace. Eldest Miss Chu, Second Miss Chu, Zhong Shaohua, I hope to learn from all of you."

With his meticulous etiquette, naming everyone in turn, he was clearly another character in the mold of Du Minxing.

The three from the Shaoyang Sect immediately felt an inexplicable warmth towards him.

"It does seem a bit cold from sitting too long... shall we head back? Si Feng, where are you staying?"

Xuanji stood up, dusted off the chaotic mix of dust and weeds from her clothes, and asked.

Yu Sifeng laughed and said, "Staying in the same place as you all... It’s also Zhao Family Manor. We heard that this place was haunted, so we came to take a look."

Xuanji suddenly remembered the Rice Cake that had mysteriously bounced over to her in the afternoon, and the silver light that flitted through the woods, and said in realisation, "Oh, did you see me this afternoon then? Why didn’t you call out to me! That silver light... was it Little Silver Flower? It has become so powerful now!"

Yu Sifeng paused for a moment, then softly said after a long while, "We haven’t been in touch for four years... I thought, maybe you had forgotten... me."

He didn’t want to say that he had been waiting at Li Ze Palace for four years without a single word from her. He did not wish to recall that feeling, really he didn’t.

Xuanji finally felt genuinely guilty, lowered her head apologetically, and said, "I’m sorry... I... I’m such a blockhead, I forgot about you... Go ahead and scold me."

Forgotten... He let out a bitter laugh in his heart, lightly tapped her forehead, and said softly, "Let’s go back first. We’ll talk when we get back."

This trip back was another lively reunion, with the young people borrowing a couple of oil lamps from the people of Zhao Family Manor and sitting in an empty house, talking for most of the night.

They talked until the sky started to lighten, and dawn was approaching. Lu Yanran really couldn’t hold up any longer, yawned, and said in a sweet voice, "I’m going to sleep... Si Feng, you should rest early too. We have to continue investigating the demon’s mischief tomorrow."

Upon hearing about the demon’s mischief, Zhong Minyan immediately said, "So you’re also here to investigate this matter? How’s it going? Do you have any leads? What’s the deal with those three-headed strange birds, anyway?"

Yu Sifeng said, "Those birds are called Qu Ru Birds, a type of demon. Although they look fierce, they’re usually harmless and rarely attack people. It’s said they like to eat the roots of Zhu Yu Grass, so we suspect that the presence of large amounts of Zhu Yu Grass here might have drawn them."

Linglong suddenly realized and exclaimed, "I see! They smelled Zhu Yu Grass here, so they came to eat! As long as they don’t harm people, there’s no problem."

Yu Sifeng shook his head, "We can’t conclude too early. For so many years, there have been no large-scale invasions of Qu Ru Birds to eat Zhu Yu Grass here. We can’t rule out someone controlling them. As for the purpose, we haven’t figured it out yet."

Linglong eagerly said, "Then we’ll investigate with you! After all, we’re also out for training, and the more people, the better the strength! Together, it will be more fun!"

Yu Sifeng and Ruo Yu had not yet spoken when they heard a nod off to the side. Lu Yanran chuckled and said leisurely, "The disciples of the Shaoyang Sect who’ve come down the mountain this time seem to have no special skills. If even a few Qu Ru Birds are too much for you, what if you hold us back? What then?"

"Uh, Miss Lu, don’t..."

Ruo Yu hurried over to play the peacemaker as usual. But it was too late, Linglong sprang up, pointed to her nose, and said sharply, "What did you say?! Say that again!"

Lu Yanran just smiled slightly, stretched lazily, and said, "There’s nothing more to say. Go to sleep. We still have to investigate. Don’t oversleep, because we won’t wait for you..."

Linglong couldn’t hold back, with a clang, drew out her broken gold, and said fiercely, "You look down on us? How about we settle this outside right now, and see who’s really holding back whom!"

Lu Yanran swiftly hid behind Yu Sifeng, giggling, "Such a fierce girl... Who’s getting into a fight with weapons... Save some energy for fighting the demons."

Linglong was straightforward and had never encountered such a slippery and crafty woman, and was immediately shaking with anger.

Zhong Minyan put his arm around Linglong’s shoulders and calmly said, "No need to say more, Linglong. Time will tell the truth; there’s no point in arguing now."

Linglong let out a snort, then sheathed her sword and glared at her fiercely.

"Si Feng..." Xuanji tugged at his sleeve, like a little kitten.

His expression was hidden by the mask, but his voice was gentle, "Let’s go together. Be good, go to sleep. When you wake up, I’ll show you how Little Silver Flower has grown."

Xuanji was finally coaxed into a happier mood and nodded enthusiastically, floating off without touching the ground, not even glancing at the two strangers beside her, and went to sleep.