Love & Redemption
Chapter 80 - 37: Raid

Chapter 80: Chapter 37: Raid

When everyone reached the foot of the mountain, the rain became even heavier, and hailstones the size of eggs pelted their bodies. Even though they were cultivators and would not be injured, the pain still caused them to grimace and grit their teeth. The lakeside was wide open with no place to take shelter, so they all huddled under a large tree, craning their necks to see if there was a ferryman around.

"How is it? Has anyone come over?" Zhong Minyan had been hit by hailstones more than a dozen times, his head covered with countless lumps, pacing anxously.

Ruo Yu looked intently for a while, then sighed and shook her head, "No, it must be late at night, and with the storm raging, no ferryman will come out."

Zhong Minyan swore under his breath and became even more restless.

Yu Sifeng looked at the sky and said, "This rain is likely to last for a day or two. It’s useless for us to just wait here idly. We should split up. Two of us stay here for Ting Nu, while the other two go to see if there are any other ferrymen and also to find Linglong."

Zhong Minyan had been already so anxious for Linglong inside that he couldn’t show it on his face. Hearing this, he jumped up, "I’ll go! I’ll go find Linglong and the ferryman!"

After speaking, fearing that Yu Sifeng would use some sensible reason to refuse him, he turned and ran. Ruo Yu followed him a few steps, then suddenly turned back and smiled, "Si Feng, take care of yourselves."

This abrupt farewell caught Yu Sifeng off guard, and then he nodded.

"I wonder if Linglong is getting rained on too..." Xuanji crouched on the ground like a helpless little puppy, staring blankly at the overwhelming rain curtain, "She hates the rain the most, afraid of thunder too. All alone right now, she must be terrified and hiding somewhere."

Yu Sifeng leaned against the tree trunk and saw that half of Xuanji’s body was soaked by the rainwater. He took off the wedding dress he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders.

"Today, you’ve been a bride twice," he smiled.

Xuanji’s face turned red suddenly, and she stammered, "No, it doesn’t count... That was just a disguise... not a real bride..."

Yu Sifeng smiled gently, squatted in front of her, and suddenly raised his hand to gently push a wet lock of hair from her cheek. His fingertips glided over her smooth jaw as he said softly, "Once you put on a wedding dress, you are a bride."

Xuanji choked for a long time and finally found a retort, "Then... You also wore a wedding dress, so you were also a bride!"

Yu Sifeng coughed twice, pretending not to hear. Men are different, he thought to himself.

There she was, draped in a fiery red wedding dress in the rain, crouching, her pale face and dark eyes giving her the pitiable air of an abandoned creature. However, that pitiable look was tinged with a trace of allure due to the bright wedding dress.

He suddenly felt a pang at that allure.

In those times, for a wedding, a woman had to wear a red bridal gown, with eight golden hairpins in her hair, and her shoes stuffed with lotus petals—that was considered the proper ritual. Yet Xuanji’s head was tied in a man’s hairstyle, without even a touch of rouge or powder, wearing an inconsistent wedding dress.

It was uncoordinated, but in his eyes, it was more beautiful than anything.

Perhaps he would never be so fortunate in his life to see her marry in proper ceremony. So, this was fine. At least on that dais, their hands were held together. At least... for a moment, he had possessed her completely, wearing the wedding dress, observing the rites of the heavens and earth.

Suddenly, a faint strange noise came from the woods behind them, like someone crying or an owl hooting.

The two, each lost in thought, were startled and quickly turned around, but the dark woods revealed nothing.

"What was that sound just now?" Xuanji asked with perplexity.

Yu Sifeng shook his head, pulled out a short sword from his sleeve, and held it in his palm. He called out loudly, "Who’s there? Come out!"

Xuanji knew he had been hit by the Canyang Palm and actually had no power, so she immediately stood up to shield him and drew the sword Yu Sifeng had given her.

They waited for a moment, but there was no response from inside; only occasionally an owl would cry out, making a sound like sobbing. Yu Sifeng breathed a sigh of relief, put the short sword away, and laughed, "We’re both too tense. It must have just been an owl."

Just as Xuanji was about to agree, she suddenly saw a bright green light surge on the opposite hillside, as if it had been draped with a thick layer of green gauze in an instant. She extended her hand in confusion and murmured, "Look... what is that?"

Yu Sifeng quickly turned and saw the green light tumbling like there was some terrible monster hidden underneath. It gradually enveloped half of the hillside, gleaming and flickering, both beautiful and eerie.

"Does it look like fire?" Xuanji asked. That irregular rhythm, the leaping joy, it very much resembled flames, but since when was fire ever blue?

Yu Sifeng exclaimed, "I think I’ve seen this kind of fire before! Master once mentioned, it’s from a demon called..."

"Called Bifang, which can spew strange fire. Young man, you’re quite extensively informed!"

A voice came from the forest, interrupting him. The two turned around alarmingly, only to see five or six people slowly walking out from the woods, dressed in black with a string of White Iron Rings hanging from their waists. Each one’s face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of eyes, either a ghastly green or a forest blue.

Xuanji covered her nose, whispering, "It’s demon energy... they are demons."

Yu Sifeng clenched his short sword, his palm slick with sweat. He now had no power to speak of, and Xuanji alone definitely couldn’t handle so many demons. Judging by their nimble steps, they were clearly old demons who had found their path. Previously, just one Zi Hu had thrown them into utter disarray. Now with five or six surrounding them, it was truly a dead end.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and finally, gritting his teeth, he sheathed his short sword and said with a bow, "Excuse my impudence, but you’re here to destroy the Eight-direction Iron Chain, right? The chain is at the top of the mountain in Tianji Pavilion, not down here."

The demons all chuckled. The leader, holding a strange bird resembling an immortal crane but covered in blue feathers and standing on a single leg, stared straight at the two with its eyes, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Yu Sifeng knew it had to be the infamous Bifang Bird, a demon he had only seen in paintings and never in person. Legend said that nearly no one who had seen the Bifang managed to survive; its strange fire could turn everything to ashes, making it a terrifying harbinger of disasters. If they encountered it now, their chance of escape would be left to fate.

After a while, one of the demons said, "Judging by the swords you carry and your agile moves, you must be cultivators, right? Have you ever been to Sea Bowl Mountain?"

Both felt a chill in their hearts. So they really were accomplices of that demon, most likely on a mission to avenge their slain comrade!

Yu Sifeng immediately shook his head, "No, we came from Qingyang in the west."

The leading demon laughed and said, "Young man, you can lie! But lying is a matter of beheading! If you haven’t been through Sea Bowl Mountain, how come you have the scent of Zhu Yu Grass on you?"

The two went pale with shock, realizing that human senses are no match for demons. They had stayed in Wangxian Town for a while and eaten Zhu Yu Grass. The fragrance would fade after a few days to where ordinary people couldn’t smell it anymore, but it couldn’t elude the noses of demons.

Seeing the demons closing in, Yu Sifeng immediately grabbed Xuanji and turned to flee, with a demon laughing behind them, "Now we’ve found the murderer of Lao Qi! Boss, should we capture them alive or just kill them outright?"

The leader spoke in a low voice, "Kill them! Avenge Lao Qi!"

Xuanji had just run a few steps when she heard movement behind her. Instinctively, she swung her sword to block and it rang with a clink against the body of a demon rushing at them. The demon wore no armor or weapon, yet her sword couldn’t cut through. Panic-stricken, Xuanji turned tail and ran.

Then came a loud command from behind, "Don’t run!"

Following that, the Bifang Bird screeched, sounding almost like a sob, as the blue light suddenly intensified. Xuanji felt a terrible pain at her elbow, looked down, and saw that it was ignited by the strange fire.

She screamed in fright, trying to pat out the fire with her hands. Unawares, a demon charged from behind, kicking her squarely in the back. She felt excruciating pain as if her back was splitting apart, her chest heaved with blood surging, and she spat out a mouthful of blood, her strength failing her. Her legs gave out, and she knelt to the ground.

Many voices were shouting behind her, yet she couldn’t make out the words. She only felt the beautifully ghastly blue flames burning fiercely, spreading closer from not too far away.

Those flames could burn everything, even igniting dirt and sand.

Her vision darkening, she couldn’t hold on, feeling as if she were going to pass out. Suddenly, someone gripped her waist fiercely, and with a splash, her whole body felt an abrupt chill. Alert, she realized she must have fallen into a lake. As this thought flickered through her mind, she fainted, knowing nothing more.

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Creating the Number One Carefree Sect

Book number 186182

In the world one can’t help but submit, what’s the use of refusing to compete with fate? When one can struggle, how can it affect me? Only when the world’s splendor fades can one see clarity, that in a blue boat together, drifting through the world, lies the true carefreeness... (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)