Love & Redemption -
Chapter 83 - 40: The Destroyed Iron Chain
Chapter 83: Chapter 40: The Destroyed Iron Chain
Third watch.
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In Zhongli City, there was an eatery, renowned far and wide, called Heshan Hall, where customers buying meat buns could be seen lining up from one end of the street to the other, making the competition green with envy.
Normally, the shop would open around 5 a.m., with several large steamers set up at the entrance, steaming hot and the scent of the meat buns reaching everyone in the city. But today was different. It was past 7 a.m. and despite people queuing throughout the street, the shop had not opened, leading the nosy ones to knock on the door forcefully. Who had ever seen a shop refusing to do business? It was simply illogical.
Soon after, the owner came out, wiping his sweaty face and with a pale expression, he apologizingly said, "Sorry ... everyone, today’s buns have been bought by someone entirely ... please buy from other shops."
Upon hearing that all the meat buns were sold out, everyone reluctantly murmured and walked away.
The owner was also quite helpless. According to the assistant, as they opened early in the morning, before the steamers were even set up, two figures spun like whirlwinds toward them, each grabbing a steamer and running away brutally. The assistant was so frightened that he thought they were robbers ready to shout, but then he saw a silver ingot weighing five taels being thrown at him. He caught it and heard those two robbers saying, "We want all the meat buns, sorry."
The assistant mentioned that the figures of the two people were like phantoms, completely indistinguishable whether they were men or women, old or young. The owner, who had been in Zhongli City for over a decade, had never encountered such an incident. He heard that in some places, a Fox Fairy would appear, taking away mortals’ food and clothes while leaving behind money. Perhaps those who took the meat buns were also Fox Fairies? Uh ... a starving Fox Fairy.
As for the meat buns, by now they had already settled in the stomachs of the two "Fox Fairy Lords."
Xuanji buried her head, eating voraciously, nearly choking but unwilling to stop, while Yu Sifeng next to her wasn’t faring much better, holding two in one hand without even a frown while eating.
They were indeed starving. Earlier, both had been injured and were immobile, spending five whole days in a cave devoid of even snails or frogs, with nothing but water. Once Xuanji’s internal injuries healed, she went out to pick some wild fruits to eat. Unable to make a fire in the damp cave since their flint was swept away by water, they ended up sick from eating wild fruits. Xuanji was so hungry that her eyes turned green, nearly resorting to eating ants, but thankfully Yu Sifeng had retained some sanity and after healing, dragged her out to Sword Flight straight to Zhongli City, where they snatched the meat buns early in the morning before the shop opened and ran.
Considering their present disheveled forms were unfit for public appearance, looking almost like wild people, they opted to return to the secluded mountains via Sword Flight, consuming the two steamers of meat buns alongside the spring water.
Xuanji finally felt fully satisfied, holding her protruded belly while lying on a rock and belching, meanwhile commenting, "The best delicacy in the world is indeed meat buns."
Yu Sifeng’s appearance wasn’t much better, but at least he had the sense to wash his hands and face in the water and tidy up his messy hair, calling her over, "Come here, clean yourself up a bit."
Xuanji was too stuffed to move, lazily shaking her hand, "Let’s talk later ... there’s no one around anyway."
He sighed and came over to wash her hands and face, wetting her unruly hair to comb and carelessly tying it into a bun, which he wasn’t quite skilled at, looking dangerously precarious.
"Now that our injuries are more or less healed and my power has recovered, let’s go find Linglong and Min Yan," he said.
Yu Sifeng adjusted her shaky bun several times, finally fooling himself into believing it would stay in place, and let his hands drop assuredly.
Xuanji was initially languid like a cat, intending to sleep after eating, but upon hearing the names Linglong and Min Yan, she suddenly sprang up and exclaimed, "Let’s go find them now! They might still be at Gao Mountain!"
Yu Sifeng glanced at his muddy clothes and then at Xuanji, who emerged from the same mud pit. Both exchanged a wry smile upon realizing their sorry state. With all their clothes packed back at the Fang Family’s place and none at hand to change into, they simply patted the mud off as much as possible, trying to make themselves look a bit tidier before setting out to find people.
Fearing another encounter with demons along the way, they decided to travel by Sword Flight, flying close to the treetops for a quick escape in case of emergencies.
However, they spent the entire morning searching all over Gao Mountain without finding Linglong and Min Yan, nor did they see a single demon. Even the cave where Ting Nu had hidden from the rain was empty.
"That day, I seemed to have seen someone sending a warning signal," Yu Sifeng said, sighing after searching the cave and finding no clues.
Xuanji leaned against the wall, looking bewildered, and whispered, "It must be Linglong and the others... Could they have been captured by demons?"
Yu Sifeng shook his head, "Those demons want to kill us for revenge, they wouldn’t leave any survivors. We searched for a long time and didn’t find them; they must have already run away. We should first go to Tianji Pavilion and see if the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain has been damaged."
Having no other choice, Xuanji followed him as they flew to the summit of Gao Mountain. Zi Hu’s luxurious residence forcefully came into view. Having learned from their past experience, they no longer entered the maze but flew directly to the top of the palace, where there indeed was a small hole leading to the back, toward Tianji Pavilion. Inside, it was pitch black and eerily cold, as if hiding many demons and devils.
Yu Sifeng drew his short sword, leading the way while softly saying, "Stay close, I’m afraid those demons are still inside. We need to be cautious."
After Zi Hu had stolen her own sword, Xuanji could no longer find it, and now she was holding Yu Sifeng’s sword, which felt heavier and somewhat awkward to use. However, she could not be choosy at the moment, so she drew it and clenched it in her hand, following him step by step into the pavilion.
They soon reached Tianji Pavilion. Yu Sifeng listened attentively for a while; there was no sound inside. He gave Xuanji a look, signaling her to cover him. He then leaped forward, his back tensing as he infused his True Qi into his short sword, ready to react immediately if anyone attacked.
However, there was also no one inside Tianji Pavilion. He slowly relaxed his stance and waved to Xuanji, "Come in... something seems off here."
After Xuanji entered, she looked around and said, "There’s nothing much... It seems brighter." She remembered Tianji Pavilion as being dark and enclosed because Zi Hu had preserved his physical body here. But now it was not only not dark but also brightly lit, with mountain wind even blowing in.
"That wall is gone," Yu Sifeng pointed to the east, where an entire wall had been removed, making it look brighter.
He went over and touched the edges of the wall, which were smooth as if they had been carefully cut open with a giant knife.
"Ah, I remember that wall was the one holding the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain," Xuanji looked around and finally confirmed that this was the wall that had once secured the chain and had talisman paper on it.
Yu Sifeng’s brows deeply furrowed. Logically, a Divine Artifact like the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain shouldn’t be easily destroyed, or else the demon confined by it would have been rescued long ago, without waiting so many years. Just what kind of power did those demons possess to easily dismantle a wall fastened with the iron chain?
Therefore, following this logic, the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain at Sea Bowl Mountain must have also been destroyed, they were still unclear about the situations in the other six directions, but following the demons’ method of operation, they probably headed northeast past Zhongli City. That area was covered with continuous mountains; he had no clue where exactly the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain was hidden.
"Si Feng, do you think, could it have been the Bifang Bird using fire to burn down the wall?" Xuanji touched the smooth cut surface, faintly sensing some demon energy from Bifang.
Yu Sifeng slowly shook his head, "I don’t know, actually... this is the first time I heard about the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain, and I just found out... that so many demons have gathered together in this world."
If those demons’ plan was to destroy the iron chain and rescue the Great Demon, then should they even stop it? No... the question now was not whether they should, but whether they could. Now that they were split up, he and Xuanji weren’t powerful enough to oppose them.
After thinking for a moment, he turned and said, "Xuanji, this matter is probably more complicated than we can handle. East Sea Fuyu Island is the closest, so we might as well go find the Dongfang Island Master. If we’re lucky, and Ruo Yu and Min Yan are there together, and they find Linglong, they will definitely go to Fuyu Island first. We should go there and meet up with them."
Xuanji nodded her head then suddenly thought of something and smiled, "It’s also the time to determine this year’s Flower Pinning Conference spots, and the conference is being held on Fuyu Island. Everyone is selecting their spots there; you might even meet your fellow disciples. Mmm, those brothers from Shaoyang Sect are definitely going."
Yu Sifeng was silent, deep in his heart, he really didn’t want to meet anyone from the Li Ze Palace. He couldn’t explain to anyone that the mask had been removed, yet tears still flowed. After a long while, he finally said softly, "That’s fine... let’s set off." (To be continued. For further information, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available on the website to support the author and authentic reading!)
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