Love & Redemption
Chapter 55 - 15 Qu Ru’s Truth (2)

Chapter 55: Chapter 15 Qu Ru’s Truth (2)

In front of them, Yu Sifeng, who had been struggling to hold on, suddenly felt a warm breeze coming from behind him, mixing with the stench of the wind head-on, causing his long hair to rise high in the air.

He quickly turned his head and saw Xuanji with her eyes closed, chanting an incantation, her hands forming seals. Behind her, there were a dozen or so Fire Dragons ready to strike, each one showing its fangs and claws, utterly ferocious. He was taken aback for a moment, thinking she must have learned quite a few things in the past four years, so he lightly said, "Let’s deal with the east side first."

With a slight turn of her right hand, the Fire Dragons behind her roared out of their nests, and in almost an instant, the Qu Rus gathered to the east were burnt to ashes.

"The north side," he said.

The huge Fire Dragons roared as they turned around, opening their massive jaws and swallowing the panic-stricken Qu Rus that were fleeing, not leaving even a bit of residue behind.

"The west side is yours too," he chuckled and then threw away the sword in his hand, pulling out several talismans from his sleeve.

Hungry for more, the Fire Dragons devoured the Qu Rus from the east, west, and north and then roared around in all directions, chasing after the scattered Qu Rus. Suddenly, countless Ice Arrows fell from the sky, each as thick as an ox hair and as long as a finger, densely packed and shooting down the Qu Rus fleeing southward onto the ground.

This southern side was naturally his.

The remaining Qu Rus dared not to attack anymore. They flapped their wings and descended, huddling together and escaping towards the north. Yu Sifeng ceased his casting and urged, "Quick, chase them! There must be someone controlling them!"

Xuanji still couldn’t keep up with the pace, looking around as if she couldn’t believe the power of her Fire Dragons, which had turned those nasty creatures into ash in a flash.

Yu Sifeng called out once, but getting no response, he turned back and saw Linglong and the others still fighting among themselves, with Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu one busy persuading and the other busy pulling, both obviously overwhelmed.

Inwardly he sighed, casually grabbed the Iron Marbles from his sleeve, and flicked with force, knocking the swords entangling the two girls apart. Linglong felt a powerful force strike her sword, causing a sharp pain in her palm and without being able to help herself, glared up at Yu Sifeng and exclaimed, "What are you doing?! You actually want to help this bad woman?!"

Yu Sifeng said indifferently, "Now is not the time to fight. We’ll let you quarrel after this matter is resolved."

Lu Yanran, already regretting having provoked Linglong and drenched in sweat from their fight, heard Yu Sifeng’s words and nodded again and again, aggrievedly saying, "Yes, I’ve always said that the overall situation is the most important, but Linglong..."

"You’re still talking!" Linglong was about to go at her again but was firmly held back by Zhong Minyan, not letting her move.

"Stop it! Linglong! Do you remember what you promised Master and Mistress when you left the mountain?!"

Linglong, rebuked by his shout, then remembered that before she left the mountain, her father and mother had specially talked to her, saying she was impulsive and that she must control her temper after leaving the mountain. She had agreed seriously at the time but forgot as soon as she encountered a situation.

She sheathed her sword, indeed feeling a bit of regret, but was still unwilling to give in and said coldly, "Enough, I won’t argue with you! So this is what Fuyu Island is like, I have seen enough for today!"

Lu Yanran, with her eyebrows inverted like willow leaves, was about to erupt again, but then she thought about how formidable Linglong’s Shaoyang Sect swordsmanship was. Having gained no advantage after fighting her for so long, she decided to keep silent and flew on her sword toward Yu Sifeng. Seeing Xuanji standing with him on the same sword, she teased, "What’s the matter, Miss Xuanji, did you lose your own sword as well?"

Xuanji was about to speak when Yu Sifeng said, "Why bother with such idle talk. Now that the Qu Rus are all fleeing in one direction, it seems there must be someone behind them controlling it all. If you are done bickering, then come chase with us."

Lu Yanran, feeling hurt by his cold demeanor, pouted and turned to seek comfort from Ruo Yu, who was of a gentler disposition.

Xuanji, steadying herself on Yu Sifeng’s shoulder, flew forward steadily. Suddenly remembering something, she quickly asked, "Si Feng, where is Little Silver Flower?"

He, however, did not speak, only lightly waving his right hand; Xuanji saw something soft, shiny, and watery appearing on her arm. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Little Silver Flower. It seemed quite tired from the earlier activity, its silver-white body curled up into a ball, with its triangular head perked up, lazily looking at Xuanji, flicking its tongue as a greeting.

It had indeed grown larger over the past four years, previously only as thick as a pinky finger, but now about as thick as an adult’s wrist. Its silvery scales were densely packed and beautiful, and having it coiled on her arm like that, it indeed felt quite heavy.

Xuanji raised her hand to touch it, but it deftly evaded her, cocking its head and looking at her quizzically while flicking its tongue.

"It doesn’t recognize me anymore," Xuanji said softly.

"It does. It’s just... shy because of the familiarity," Yu Sifeng replied with a faint smile.

She didn’t catch the double meaning of his words and just stared blankly at Little Silver Flower. It coiled around her arm for a while, probably finding it comfortable, and then curled up again, resting its head in her palm, cool to the touch.

"Look, look!" she exclaimed, raising her hand to his face with joy, "You were right, it still recognizes me!"

"Who would forget someone like you?" Yu Sifeng thought silently, stowing Little Silver Flower back into his sleeve. He felt her hands rest gently on his shoulders, warm and soft. His heart was filled with both joy and bitterness, and for a moment, he found himself speechless.

Meanwhile, the group had been chasing the remaining Qu Ru for over half an hour, twisting and turning through the myriad folds of Haiwan Mountain without reaching an end. It was eventually Zhong Minyan who realized that, despite having flown for so long, they had circled back to their starting point.

"Who’s manipulating from behind?! Too cunning!" he cursed angrily.

Yu Sifeng suddenly lowered his sword to the ground, and the others hastened to catch up. Ruo Yu asked, "What’s wrong? We’re not chasing anymore?"

He shook his head, "Chasing like this until dawn won’t do us any good. Ruo Yu, did you bring the Judge’s Pen?"

Ruo Yu was slightly stunned, then a moment later, enlightenment dawned, and he smiled, "Are you going to use that method?"

Without a word, Yu Sifeng began to untie his belt, removing his bloodstained coat, and Ruo Yu handed him a gourd from his waist. He pulled the stopper out in one swift motion and poured the contents over the wound on his arm. The liquid that flowed out carried the pungent scent of alcohol, and as it hit his wound, he shuddered with pain.

Linglong watched their strange actions— one was rinsing blood from his body with alcohol; the other was circling the ground with the Judge’s Pen, drawing the pattern of the Postnatal Trigrams. She couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Si Feng... what are you doing?"

Ruo Yu gently placed a finger on his lips, signaling her to be silent, "Don’t speak, just watch."

Once all the alcohol was poured out, Yu Sifeng tossed the gourd back to Ruo Yu. He gripped his sword in his right hand, facing directly south. With a whoosh, he executed an unexpected move, stepping into the Zhen position.

Everyone felt his movements were mysterious, like a dance but not quite a dance. He moved deftly between the palaces of the Bagua, sometimes twirling, sometimes brandishing his sword, seemingly without pattern, yet his actions were notably graceful, leaving them somewhat mesmerized.

Qian Palace, Sky Opening,

Dui Trigram commands mighty soldiers,

Xun Wind Blows the Three Joys,

Zhen shakes the Five Thunder Soldiers,

Gen Yin Blocks Ghost Road,

Kun Earth Gate retains men,

Kan Water Waves surge,

Li Palace constructs the Fire Wheel.

In the Postnatal Trigrams, Yu Sifeng made left turns and right spins, his body trembling with every three steps, his clothing rustling in the air, akin to a roaming dragon. Suddenly, with a clear shout, he recited, "Disciple of the ritual, enter the Central Palace!" Instantly, his figure flashed Dancing Like a Swallow, from Kun to Gen, and when onlookers focused again, he was standing firm at the central position of the Bagua.

Stomp on the nine provinces, tread on the nine provinces,

Stomp until the Yellow River flows backward!

He stopped abruptly, sweat pouring down, his white shirt behind him completely drenched. Suddenly drained, he knelt on the ground.

Xuanji and Zhong Minyan quickly came forward to support him, but he waved them off. After a while, he said, "I’ve seen the manipulator hiding behind."

Everyone was astonished. He pointed toward the south, "Over there. In a cave halfway up the mountain in front of Haiwan Mountain."

After he finished speaking, he no longer had the strength to continue and simply lay on the ground, gasping for breath.