Love & Redemption
Chapter 96: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 3 Change (3)

Chapter 96: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 3 Change (3)

Dongfang Qingqi had already brought many disciples to check the situation. Seeing the disheveled state of these children, he immediately stepped forward to help them up and asked, "Who is causing trouble?"

Lu Yanran and the other disciples who had just returned from their journey outside paid their respects before saying, "We had just returned and saw many strangers gathered around, so we came up to inquire. Unexpectedly, they attacked without a word. Our disciples were unprepared and got trapped among them. Later, Brother Zhong and Brother Ruo Yu also arrived but were still no match. If not for Si Feng and Xuanji’s help, I dread to think..."

Upon hearing the explosion, Dongfang Qingqi hurried out immediately. The sword net above Fuyu Island could only block living things, not inanimate objects, a weakness he was well aware of. However, he had never imagined that someone would indeed dare to bring a large amount of explosives and foolishly attempt to detonate them here.

"Where are those troublemakers?"

Lu Yanran looked at Xuanji with a sense of admiration and praise, "Xuanji used a fire dragon to detonate their explosives, presumably, they’ve been blown to pieces without a trace."

Dongfang Qingqi was both shocked and delighted, "That child is too reckless! We are in the air, if he were to be injured, it could be fatal!"

Xuanji just grinned foolishly. Everyone was alright, and they all had dodged quickly.

Dongfang Qingqi saw that Zhong Minyan had the most severe injuries, with fresh blood still streaming down from his forehead. He hurriedly ordered his disciples to fetch medicine and personally cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Suddenly, he noticed that Zhong Minyan was carrying someone on his back—a man in his thirties with his eyes tightly shut, a pale face, and fresh blood flowing from his nose to his chin, unconscious. He couldn’t help but wonder, "Who is this man?"

Zhong Minyan, gritting his teeth in pain, forced a smile and said, "This brother said he wanted to come to Fuyu Island to find his relative. Seeing that he was frail and ill, unfit for long travels, I brought him along. On the way, he took great care of us... Alas, he was hit by the blast wave of the explosives. I don’t know if he can hold on."

Most people had sustained some injuries, and this was not a good place to talk. Dongfang Qingqi ordered his disciples to bring everyone back to the island, while he took some people to patrol around, checking for any who might have escaped the net.

Chu Lei and the others had already been anxiously waiting outside the front gate, and when they finally saw Xuanji and the others return, although injured, they were relieved that their lives were not in danger. Chu Lei had initially wanted to sternly reprimand Xuanji for her recklessness—she had sneaked out while he was not paying attention—but seeing his daughter’s great deeds and that she was covered in soot, any scolding turned into comfort, "...Are you alright? The blast was strong; do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Xuanji shook her head, "I’m fine, but Sixth Brother and the others are injured."

Zhong Minyan, upon seeing his master and brothers, could no longer contain the pain of his wounds and excitedly knelt on the ground, "Disciple greets Master and brothers!"

Chu Lei quickly helped him up, examined his wounds closely, and after ensuring there were no major issues, he offered some comforting words. Suddenly realizing that Zhong Minyan was alone, he was startled and asked urgently, "Isn’t Linglong with you?"

Zhong Minyan was taken aback, "Xuanji and the others haven’t found Linglong either?"

Upon hearing this conversation, everyone’s hearts sank. Nobody had found Linglong, a girl alone; she must have met with misfortune.

Chu Lei’s face turned ashen, unable to utter a word, while Xuanji and the others stood there stunned. Lu Yanran, although unclear about the situation, also noticed Linglong’s absence and presumed she must have encountered danger. Remembering their recent reconciliation and promise to meet later at Fuyu Island, she couldn’t help but shed tears over such an outcome.

Zhong Minyan clenched his fists, speechless and disregarding the intense pain from his wounds, he turned and walked away. Yu Sifeng hastily grabbed him, "What are you going to do!"

"I’m going to find Linglong."

Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu had a hard journey to Fuyu Island, hoping all along that Yu Sifeng and the others would have found Linglong, but to think that they were also hoping he would bring Linglong... Linglong, why was she the only one lost?!

Yu Sifeng pulled him but couldn’t hold on, so he had to let go. Chu Lei was stunned for a while, then suddenly said in a deep voice, "No one is allowed to go!"

Zhong Minyan hurriedly turned around with tears shimmering in his eyes, which he forcefully suppressed as he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Master, your disciple failed to take care of Junior Sister; only death can atone for my failure!"

Chu Lei waved his hand tiredly, "It’s not your fault! Everyone go to the main hall and recount the events thoroughly!"

It turned out that Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu had also encountered an ambush by that group of black-clothed demons that very night. Those people seemed to be part of a well-regulated organization, all dressed in black with white iron rings on their belts, led by a demon was accompanied by a Bi Fang Bird.

"The Bi Fang is an ancient demon, and they were able to capture so many to assist them?" Chu Lei couldn’t help but be shocked.

Zhong Minyan rubbed his temple and continued, "Both Ruo Yu and I were injured and had no escape, so we had to jump into Hongze Lake. We were carried far away by the undercurrent at the bottom of the lake. It took till the next day before we could barely make it to shore. We recuperated at the home of a kind family at the foot of the mountain... oh, at this brother’s house." He pointed to a man lying on the opposite bench, who was still unconscious, blood continuously flowing from his nose, and several Fuyu Island disciples were attentively taking care of him.

"When the wounds were almost healed, we began to search around Gao Mountain and its nearby areas, hoping to find Xuanji and Linglong. However, after several days, we found nothing. Later, we thought perhaps they went to Fuyu Island with Linglong. This brother heard we were going to Fuyu Island and asked to join us, mentioning he had a brother working on Fuyu Island whom he hadn’t seen for many years. Their elderly mother has already passed away and he, being sick himself, had no one to care for him, so he could only go to Fuyu Island to seek his brother. So he came with us... It’s just, I need to trouble you, brothers, to help find this brother’s sibling, to let them reunite."

Zhong Minyan slowly finished speaking, feeling extremely tired, leaning his head in his hand, not wanting to say another word.

Ruo Yu patted his shoulder and sighed. No one expected that meddling in the affairs of Gao Mountain would cost them Linglong. If they had known, even if there were ten or eight immortals living on the mountain marrying a hundred and eighty men each year, they would not have interfered.

The crowd was also silent, not knowing what to say. Xuanji was silent for a long while before she spoke, "Linglong must have been captured by those black-clothed demons! Their goal is to destroy the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain! Father, you knew about the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain, didn’t you? You adults all know! Why didn’t you say anything? We should hurry and rescue Linglong!"

Chu Lei’s face turned ashen, and he remained silent. Valley Master Rong sighed, "Miss Chu is overwhelmed with grief. The matter of the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain might not be related to your sister’s disappearance. Moreover, we really aren’t sure... "

"Lies." Xuanji stared at him intently and said in a low voice, "You know, but you don’t want to say."

Caught off-guard, Valley Master Rong was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Xuanji, don’t make a fuss!" Chu Lei scolded sternly, looking exhausted himself, he sighed, "If Linglong is a person blessed with good fortune, she should be able to turn danger into safety... Worrying here is useless. You all are injured, go down and rest. Don’t talk nonsense."

Xuanji silently gave him a look, turned around to leave, when suddenly she heard the person lying on the bench groan, slowly opening his eyes and looking around in confusion, he murmured, "Where... where is this?"

Seeing the man awake, Zhong Minyan quickly approached him, "Brother Ouyang, are you alright? We are on Fuyu Island, we’ve already arrived. We’ll ask them to find your brother."

It turned out this man was also surnamed Ouyang! Both Xuanji and Yu Sifeng were struck by this, could he possibly be the sickly brother Manager Ouyang had mentioned?

The man smiled weakly and gripped Zhong Minyan’s hand, softly saying, "You... how did you get yourself covered in blood again. You must be more careful." He raised his hand to wipe the blood off Zhong Minyan’s chin with his sleeve, showing a certain affectionate composure of an elder.

Zhong Minyan’s eyes reddened, and he said with a shaky voice, "Brother... I still haven’t found Linglong!"

The man looked at him with pity, sighed, and patted his hand, softly speaking, "Don’t worry, there won’t be any trouble. Heal your wounds first, then continue the search. As long as you don’t give up hope, there will always be a day of reunion."

Zhong Minyan actually listened to him very attentively, nodded immediately, pushed back his tears, wrung out the handkerchief himself, and wiped the blood from beneath his nose.

On the opposite side, a disciple overheard that the man’s surname was Ouyang and had promptly gone to inform Manager Ouyang. In a little while, Manager Ouyang rushed over, and upon seeing the person lying on the bench, he was initially stunned and then exclaimed, "Brother... how did you come here?"

It was indeed Manager Ouyang’s older brother!

He came over to help the man sit up. Seeing his face covered in blood, he immediately turned to the disciples to ask for an ice pack.

The man said softly, "If I hadn’t come, were you planning never to return home?"

Manager Ouyang was momentarily stunned and whispered, "I was just about to finish up the miscellaneous matters on the island and then head home."

"You don’t need to return anymore..." the man closed his eyes, his face pale, "Mother has passed away, and she never got to see you one last time."

Manager Ouyang clenched his teeth, a sorrowful expression surfacing on his face, unsure of what to say. The man continued, "I initially did not want to come, but mother asked me to check on you and see how you were doing recently. Seeing that your complexion is rosy, you must not be suffering; mother’s wish is fulfilled. You might as well stay, no need to return home."

Manager Ouyang hesitated for a moment, "Then... Brother, what about you?"

The man gave a slight mocking smile and said softly, "I’ll naturally go back to where I came from, don’t worry about me."

Ouyang frowned and said, "We should discuss this matter at length. Now that mother has passed away, it’s just the two of us brothers left. With your health not in good condition, I should take care of you. You should rest and heal for now, don’t worry about other things."

The man stared blankly at him and after a long while, muttered, "You... have indeed changed quite a bit, how have these years..."

Ouyang’s expression subtly changed. Just as he was about to speak, someone outside gently whistled, and he stood up saying, "Brother, just focus on healing, don’t overthink things. I will come visit you again in the evening, take care."

After saying that, he left, leaving the man to sit alone in a daze. Zhong Minyan, feeling somewhat distressed, whispered, "How can he be like this! His brother was injured and came a long way to see him. Couldn’t everything else wait?"

The man shook his head, looking weary, and said softly, "He has changed a lot more... Minyan, I’m very tired, I want to sleep for a while. You can talk with your fellow disciples."

Seeing him close his eyes to rest, Zhong Minyan did not disturb him further. Turning around, he saw Yu Sifeng and the others watching him intently. He gave a bitter smile, beckoned them, and they all went outside to talk.

"We must find Linglong."

Zhong Minyan crouched outside the main hall under the flower stand, forcefully picking at the dried blood on his chin. He was much calmer than before, yet his tone remained resolute, giving off an aura of undeniable determination.

With the master and the others busy investigating the attack on Fuyu Island, they likely wouldn’t have time to bother about us. Let’s heal up quickly and find a day to sneak out and go back to Gao Mountain to look for Linglong," he said while sitting down. Unbeknownst to him, the flower stand had been blasted into an uneven mess; he failed to stabilize himself and fell awkwardly. The others wanted to laugh but dared not, luckily the bomb had only affected the area near the main entrance, sparing the rest of the beautiful scenery.

"This... nurtured by mother..." Zhong Minyan intended to curse to vent his frustration but hesitated due to the presence of Xuanji and a few other girls nearby, managing only to mumble unclearly, "What exactly are those demons doing? It’s one thing to destroy the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain and abduct Linglong, attacking us, and now causing trouble on Fuyu Island! Are they really picking a fight with us!"

Yu Sifeng pulled him up from the ground and said, "I’m afraid this matter is not as simple as it seems. I see the Sect Leaders are all hesitant and evasive in their words, there must be some insider story..."

At this point, a sudden spark of inspiration flashed through his mind, and an idea jumped out like a bolt of lightning.

"What insider story?" Zhong Minyan asked urgently.

He shook his head, turned to Xuanji and asked, "Do you have a map on you? Take it out and let’s have a look."

Xuanji spread the map on the ground, and everyone gathered around it. They saw Yu Sifeng’s finger tracing on the map for a long time, starting from Dianjing Valley in the direct north, and stopping at the Nanshan Xuanyuan Sect in the direct south.

"You see, all of our Five Great Sects are within this circle," he said as he took out a charcoal pencil and drew a huge circle on the map, encompassing the major sects from all directions, and at its center was the Shaoyang Sect on Shouyang Mountain.

"What does it mean?" Ruo Yu and Lu Yanran looked for a long time and did not understand, but Zhong Minyan was somewhat enlightened. He immediately went over the places he had visited within that circle, "The Sea Bowl Mountain in Wangxian Town to the southeast, Gao Mountain in Zhongli City to the east, Fuyu Island to the northeast, and Dianjing Valley to the north..."

The more he spoke, the quieter his voice became, and everyone instantly understood his meaning. Sea Bowl Mountain and Gao Mountain both concealed the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chains, and these chains were laid out in the pattern of the Innate Eight Diagrams, meaning that there should be one in every direction. Considering the actions of the demons, the third Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain must be on Fuyu Island! No wonder the elders had been so evasive when mentioning the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chains; they truly knew about this! Perhaps the Iron Chains were sacred objects guarded by their ancestors for hundreds of generations, which is why everyone was extremely cautious and reluctant to discuss them.

"The Xuanyuan Sect didn’t send anyone to discuss the Flower Pinning Conference this time, and their gates are tightly closed, with no one entering or leaving. What do you think, could it be that the demons..."

Xuanji suddenly thought of the Xuanyuan Sect and the worst possible outcome—that the Xuanyuan Sect had been annihilated by those powerful demons that had gathered from nowhere, and the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain was destroyed. Therefore... so many disciples were stationed in front of Fuyu Island, therefore... their fathers had spent so many days on Fuyu Island, and thus, those people wanted to attack Fuyu Island. Their aim was to destroy the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain here!

Realizing this, everyone was shocked. From this point of view, not only Fuyu Island but also Dianjing Valley and Lize Palace could not escape the calamity!

"But... Shaoyang Sect is in the middle... and not in the pattern of the Innate Eight Diagrams, so there probably isn’t a Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain there."

Xuanji pointed to Shouyang Mountain on the map and murmured.

Yu Sifeng frowned and thought for a while, "Could it be... the demon they spoke of is right under..."

He hesitated, and Zhong Minyan immediately finished his sentence, "Under the Shaoyang Sect?! Impossible! I have never heard of such a thing!"

Yu Sifeng said in a low voice, "Up to this point, these are just our speculations; we cannot be certain of their truth. If that demon is indeed so formidable, the ancient gods would have suppressed it in a place rich with spiritual energy. The place with the most abundant spiritual energy in the world is none other than Kunlun Mountain... Well, this is not something you and I can fathom. For now, the most important thing is to return to Gao Mountain to find Linglong, which is what matters."

Lu Yanran quickly said, "I will go too! I will join you, and having one more person means having more strength!"

Seeing that she had just rushed back to Fuyu Island, ready to leave again, Yu Sifeng saw her as a girl of deep sentiment and his dislike for her lessened greatly, and he gently said, "First heal your injuries; everyone rest up. We’ll leave in a couple of days."

Lu Yanran stood up and laughed, "When we parted that day, I said the next time you come to Fuyu Island, I’ll show you around, but it turned out you all arrived before me. How about this, I’ll treat you tonight. There’s a great eatery in town, let’s go eat something tasty. After we bring Linglong back, then we can properly enjoy ourselves."

With everyone resolved to find Linglong, they felt more united and less depressed, and everyone went back to their rooms to rest. (To be continued. For more details on what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available there, and your support for the author and legitimate reading matter!)