Love & Redemption
Chapter 77 - 34 Zi Hu’s Secret (3)

Chapter 77: Chapter 34 Zi Hu’s Secret (3)

The three were arguing incessantly when suddenly, from the right fork in the road, they heard a voice speaking; it was faintly a woman’s voice, and it sent a chill through their hearts.

Was it Zi Hu? Had she caught up to them?

"...What exactly is the demon that is imprisoned? Why does everyone want to rescue it?"

The woman’s voice suddenly sounded, getting closer and closer, and she was about to turn the corner.

"Like people, having a reputation exposes one to many disputes. Initially, it was purely for the sake of rescuing, but gradually it turned into rescuing for the sake of fame. Over thousands of years, no one has ever successfully rescued him, so if someone could do it, wouldn’t they achieve great renown?"

The voice of the man speaking was hoarse and dry, with a strange tone.

"Hehe, I know that, many people want to be famous. But Ting Nu, you haven’t told me yet... what kind of demon is being imprisoned..."

The voice abruptly stopped, and the girl in white, who walked out from the bend, was now staring wide-eyed at the three young men opposite her.

"Si Feng! Sixth Brother! Ruo Yu!" Xuanji finally saw them, couldn’t help her excitement, and rushed over, repeatedly asking, "How are you? Did that fox harm you?"

The three were still a bit slow to react, staring blankly at her, then at the man in red sitting in the wheelchair behind her, and finally at the fainted Zi Hu in the man’s arms.

Yu Sifeng murmured, "Xuanji... what strange things have you encountered again... Who is this person? And that fox..."

Overly excited, Xuanji incoherently recounted how she had encountered the merfolk, how she had gone to Tianji Pavilion to find Zi Hu’s true form, how she had injured Zi Hu, and finally came out with the merfolk to find them, leaving the three dumbfounded.

Ruo Yu, pointing at the fox, exclaimed in surprise, "You... you managed to injure her?!" The level of astonishment was akin to seeing a pig fly.

Actually, Xuanji herself was also confused, but children always have a competitive spirit, and like to take credit for themselves, she said with a smile, "Yes! I burnt her with fire, and she fainted from fright."

Ruo Yu shook his head secretly, still somewhat skeptical, while Zhong Minyan seemed to recall something, pursed his lips and remained silent. Yu Sifeng then stepped forward, patted the dust off her shoulder gently, and said warmly, "You mustn’t be so reckless next time, understand?"

Xuanji obediently nodded, then suddenly saw his chest ribbon was disheveled, revealing the white undergarment inside and a red mark on his chest. She pointed at it in horror and urgently said, "You’re hurt?! That damned fox still said she wouldn’t harm anyone! I... I’ll kill her right now!"

Yu Sifeng grabbed her sleeve, his ears flushed red as carved agate, and after a long pause, he spoke in a low voice, "It’s not an injury! I’m fine... and she really didn’t hurt us. Don’t kill unnecessarily."

Xuanji still wanted to speak, but he had already walked over to Ting Nu, bent down to look at him for a while, and softly said, "Do you... still remember us?"

Ting Nu quietly looked at him, and after a long time, he nodded, "I remember... but back then, you weren’t wearing this mask. Why?"

Yu Sifeng remained silent.

Ting Nu stared at him intently, his eyes gradually showing a sense of pity.

"Ah, you were the merman from that time! You can talk now?" Zhong Minyan finally realized slowly that this red-clothed man in the wheelchair was the protagonist of the pearl incident four years ago; unable to restrain his excitement, he rushed over to examine him closely.

Ting Nu smiled faintly, the pitying light in his eyes vanished in a moment, turning into a gentle warmth like a spring breeze, and he said softly, "I have not yet thanked you all for saving my life. Ting Nu, indebted by this great kindness, will never dare to forget it."

"What favor, don’t worry about it!" Zhong Minyan waved his hand and suddenly thought of something, then added, "By the way, did anyone from Lize Palace come to pick you up later? How did you end up here?"

Ting Nu hesitated for a moment, and Yu Sifeng spoke softly, "When the people from Lize Palace arrived, you were already out of the lake. Did someone else come to get you?"

He shook his head, "I was brought here by this Zi Hu. She wanted to know something and forced me to tell her, but I actually didn’t know. She didn’t believe me and imprisoned me by the underground springs."

"This damned fox spirit is really hateful!" Zhong Minyan thought about how he had been intimidated by her earlier and couldn’t help but hate her, wishing he could snatch the fox from his arms and slap her several times.

Xuanji finally found a chance to interject and hurriedly said, "Ting Nu mentioned that although Zi Hu kidnaps people, she is too timid to harm them. Those she had previously captured are kept in Yixin Garden, where she teaches them to ’expel the old and absorb the new.’ I was planning to go to the back mountain to check it out. Let’s go together."

She doesn’t harm people, my foot! Zhong Minyan was stubbornly unwilling to believe it, but since Yu Sifeng and Ruo Yu both nodded in agreement, he had to accompany them to the back mountain to see for himself.

They then left the Nine Palace Array, but outside was a vast forest, undulating continuously; they didn’t know which part of Gao Mountain it was.

Ting Nu pointed eastward, saying, "Yixin Garden should be accessed from here."

Zhong Minyan asked, "What if we get there and find that things aren’t as you described, then what?"

Ting Nu serenely replied, "That won’t happen. Zi Hu has never hurt anyone. I know it."

Why do you say so confidently? Zhong Minyan frowned, "I don’t care. If I find out she’s been harming those men by using the Yang and Yin method, I won’t let her get away with it!"

Ting Nu stroked the fur of Zi Hu and whispered, "That’s fine. But if she hasn’t harmed anyone, please, young hero, spare Zi Hu. It’s not easy for demons to transform into human form; don’t cut off their paths of retreat."

Strange, wasn’t it Zi Hu who captured him? Why would the Merfolk be unable to distinguish right from wrong and even speak on her behalf? Zhong Minyan was utterly baffled.

Yu Sifeng was pushing Ting Nu, walking at the back, and after a while, casually asked, "... Earlier you said she asked you about something, what was it?"

Ting Nu smiled and said, "It is said that a powerful demon is locked up by the Eight-direction Sea-locking Iron Chain, but no one knows where it is. Zi Hu had some past dealings with that demon, so she has been diligently practicing over the years, hoping to rescue him. She captured me because I’m from the aquatic race; she thought the demon was under the sea and forced me to reveal the exact location."

Yu Sifeng pondered for a long while, then suddenly said, "Do you really not know?"

Ting Nu’s heart tightened, but his face remained gently smiling, "I really don’t know, why bother lying?"

Yu Sifeng looked at him for a while and slowly said, "Actually, we also encountered a demon causing trouble at Sea Bowl Mountain, I wonder if it’s connected to this matter."

Xuanji, keen of hearing, heard them mumbling about the demon and joined them, saying, "Ting Nu said that the people at Sea Bowl Mountain also want to save that demon. The Sea-locking Iron Chains are arranged according to the configuration of the Innate Eight Diagrams, with Sea Bowl Mountain being southeast and Gao Mountain being due east. I just saw the Sea-locking Iron Chain in Tianji Pavilion, it was very long... there might be one buried at Sea Bowl Mountain too."

Yu Sifeng saw her naively come over to contribute and couldn’t help but laugh, patting her on the top of her head.

Ting Nu then said, "Now is not the time to delve into Zi Hu’s faults. Additionally, there is another group of demons trying to save that demon; those at Sea Bowl Mountain are probably their accomplices. They might already be at Gao Mountain. Now that you have been struck by the Canyang Palm, it will take at least three days before your power is restored. If you run into them, you’ll have only a road to death. In my opinion, after visiting Yixin Garden, there’s a shortcut through the back mountain to escape directly. If you are reluctant, then wait until your power is restored and come back to investigate."

Yu Sifeng found his reasoning sound and couldn’t help but nod slightly. Zhong Minyan also came over to join in, laughing, "Since Zi Hu is done for, let’s take the people from Yixin Garden with us! We can send them back to their families for a reunion."

Ruo Yu also joined in, "Right, that’s a good plan. Let’s do that."(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, with more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)