Love & Redemption
Chapter 97: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 4 Change (4)

Chapter 97: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 4 Change (4)

After this surprise attack, the defenses on Fuyu Island were reinforced a hundredfold. Dongfang Qingqi led his disciples in flying back and forth over a hundred li radius with Sword Control, confirming that there were no more suspicious characters, before returning to the island. He then arranged for the island’s disciples to form small teams to take turns patrolling the perimeter; upon spotting anything suspicious, they were to report back immediately.

Chu Lei and a few other Sect Leaders did not rest either, helping to inspect the island’s casualties, count the number of people, and were so busy that they didn’t even have time for meals.

Xuanji and the others were all more or less injured, which is why no one assigned them any tasks. As evening approached, they each managed to sneak past the island’s strict surveillance and flew to Fuyu Town with Sword Control.

When the young people gathered together, despite being injured and worried about Linglong and the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain, they still managed to joke and laugh, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

It turned out that Lu Yanran returned so late because she had spent a lot of time searching for her fellow disciples on the way. She had thought they were staying at Taihua Mountain, but it turned out she had chased them all the way near South Mountain before catching up to them. It was said that they went to investigate some matters concerning the Xuanyuan Sect after hearing rumors along the way.

"I think that Xuanyuan Sect must really be in deep trouble," Lu Yanran said after taking a sip of alcohol, her face flushed red, speaking much more boldly, "People nearby said that a few months ago, large groups of people were coming and going as if there was some kind of celebration. But in just a couple of days, there was no one left in the Sect, turning it into a ghost town. We wanted to go in and take a look, but were afraid of getting into trouble, so we stayed at the entrance for a few days. Surprisingly, not a single person came in or out, and there was no sound inside at all. I think... it must be related to this matter of the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain, more likely ominous than auspicious!"

Yu Sifeng shook his head, "Xuanyuan, after all, is a major sect in the world; it’s impossible to be wiped out so silently without a trace. This sect is a bit mysterious from top to bottom, it’s not a good sign; we need to be cautious."

Lu Yanran gave him a coquettish wink, but it was a pity that he acted like a blind man, completely missing it, and turned to help Xuanji, who had injured her right hand, to pick up food.

Xuanji’s right hand had a fractured bone in one of her fingers, wrapped tightly, and she could hardly hold chopsticks, managing to "poke" some food to eat with her left hand. For her, not being able to enjoy delicious food was akin to torture, and this meal was especially tough to swallow.

However, compared to Zhong Minyan who was covered in bandages across his head, having to pull down the bandages to eat, she was much more at ease.

Fuyu Town was by the sea, and Lu Yanran especially ordered a lot of seafood that they had never eaten before, some of which even Ruo Yu and other children who grew up by the sea had never seen. After drinks went around three times, the boss brought in a big basin of steamed sea crabs, with bright red shells and front pincers looking like scissors.

Yu Sifeng carefully peeled a crab leg and handed it to Xuanji. She took it, but did not eat, only staring blankly. After a long while, she sighed softly and said, "If Linglong were here, she would have been so happy. She always loved eating crabs..."

Her sudden mention of Linglong made everyone else stop, but it hit Zhong Minyan especially hard. The crab meat he was about to eat could no longer be swallowed, and he slowly set it aside, feeling an infinite sorrow in his heart.

Seeing this, Lu Yanran hurriedly joked, "When she comes back, I’ll treat her even better! This time, let’s just consider it as us sneaking behind her back to enjoy the meal!"

Zhong Minyan forced out a few laughs, then suddenly bolstered by a sudden wave of boldness, he clenched his cup firmly and declared loudly, "If I, Zhong Minyan, fail to find Linglong, I’ll never return to the Shaoyang Sect for the rest of my life!"

After speaking, he gulped down the wine in his cup and urged Lu Yanran to quickly refill it. The crowd cheered him on, drinking along with him, when the atmosphere was at its most boisterous. Suddenly someone patted Zhong Minyan on the shoulder, and the group quickly looked up to see Du Minxing and Chen Minjue, both wearing bamboo hats, smiling behind them.

"Eh? Big Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, what brings you here as well? Do you want to join us for a drink?"

Zhong Minyan passed his cup over, but Du Minxing pushed it away with a laugh, saying, "The Sect Leader ordered Minxing and Min Jue to return to the Shaoyang Sect first, to inform everyone to tighten security. Those demons might be causing trouble everywhere, and may run off to make mischief in the Shaoyang Sect."

Everyone felt a stir in their hearts, and Zhong Minyan hurriedly asked, "Then... did the Sect Leader say anything else? Who exactly are these demons... and what about that Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain..."

Chen Minjue unceremoniously grabbed his cup to drink, while saying, "Who knows about that! Didn’t the Sect Leader say it’s not our place to meddle with the affairs of the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain? You’ve got too many questions!"

He picked up a crab leg and laughed, "The few of you, injured yet not resting, sneaking out to drink. When I return to Shaoyang Peak, I’ll tell the Sect Leader and the Valley Master on the two of you."

Everyone pulled them down to join in drinking and eating crabs. After some persuasion and a few drinks, Du Minxing, concerned about the Sect Leader’s orders, urged Chen Minjue to leave first. The group of young people continued to eat some crabs, feeling full and content, but worried about being smelled of alcohol when they returned, they asked the boss for some tea leaves. They chewed them thoroughly in their mouths before sneakily returning to Fuyu Island.

Xuanji had drunk quite a bit and fell asleep as soon as she got back to her room. Late at night, she was awakened by the increasingly fierce wind outside, sensing a kind of unsettling disturbance spreading; she was startled awake and found that half the window had been blown open by the wind, the tree shadows outside were swaying with the wind, rustling.

Awakening from drunken sleep in the middle of the night, her mouth parched, she rubbed her eyes to get some water, and the night wind blew in her face, startling her—it was demon energy!

It seemed that in the afternoon, some demons had indeed taken the chaos as an opportunity to sneak onto Fuyu Island.

Xuanji put on her coat and picked up Bengyu before jumping down from the windowsill. It was a very windy night, with clouds obscuring the moon behind them. Everywhere was deadly quiet, only the sound of wind was audible. The wind was so strong that it was difficult to keep one’s eyes open, and the demon energy flickered in and out of perception, making it hard to grasp. Xuanji could only search slowly, step by step. When she reached the courtyard across, she suddenly saw several people sitting under a tree chatting. Looking up at her, the three of them were also startled.

"Xuanji," Yu Sifeng hurried over, "why aren’t you sleeping at this late hour?"

Xuanji was taken aback, "Uh... I... Aren’t you guys also...?"

It turned out that Yu Sifeng and the other two young men hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so naturally, they had a lot to talk about. They found it unsatisfying to chat in the presence of women at the restaurant, so they secretly brought some wine back to Fuyu Island to continue their conversation.

Zhong Minyan rolled his eyes, "I’m asking you! Why are you asking us?"

Xuanji touched his nose and spoke softly, "I think I sensed some demon energy, so I followed the scent over here. You didn’t see anything?"

Yu Sifeng shook his head while Zhong Minyan sighed, "Demon energy again... How could there be demon energy on Fuyu Island? Where exactly did you smell it from..."

But Ruo Yu said, "Speaking of which, I thought I heard some noise earlier, but I assumed it was just the wind so I didn’t pay attention. Since Xuanji mentioned it, we should look around just in case. If some demons have infiltrated, we can warn everyone to be on guard."

Zhong Minyan, who was enjoying himself with a drink and a chat, suddenly interrupted, reluctantly went inside to grab his sword.

"Hey, if there are no demons, you owe me three jars of good wine," Zhong Minyan glared at Xuanji, then his thoughts drifted to memories he’d rather forget. His expression changed slightly, and he couldn’t finish what he was about to say.

Xuanji scratched his little braids that hung over his shoulder, looking troubled. Ruo Yu laughed and said, "Don’t mind him, Xuanji; he’s just got the temper of a child. Min Yan, I will buy you a few jars of good wine later to make it up to you, don’t be so harsh on the girl."

Zhong Minyan curled his lips, a bit agitated, marched ahead with his sword in hand. "Alright, let’s go! Where’s this demon energy? Xuanji, you lead the way!"

Xuanji nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed the sky above them brightening, an orange glow reflecting on Zhong Minyan’s face opposite him, his expression one of astonishment.

"What is... again?" He looked up, pointing to the fiery glow above. Sparingly scattered, they fell from afar like the fireflies of summer, but their brightness resembled that of burning stars.

Everyone watched the orange lights slowly fall in a daze, until fire erupted in the northwest and the intense sound of clanging bells rang out, people shouting, "It’s on fire! Get water quickly!"

Yu Sifeng was the first to react, sprinted away, and cried urgently, "No good! The demons are attacking again!"

This time, it was not bombs but countless burning arrowheads they launched.

The others finally reacted, rushing towards the main gate. From a distance, they could see Dongfang Qingqi, Chu Lei, and a few others already standing there. It was too late for them to find cover, so they braced themselves and approached as Dongfang Qingqi calmly instructed his disciples to put out the fire. He hadn’t rested all day, his eyes bloodshot.

After giving orders, he prepared to lead over a dozen senior disciples in sword flying to eliminate the demons but was pulled back by Chu Lei, who sighed, "Valley Master Rong and I will go. You stay on the island to prevent the children from panicking."

Dongfang Qingqi was about to object when he saw the disciples guarding the gate rushing towards them in a panic, many with their back collars on fire, running around like mad, screaming, "Sect Leader! The demons have broken through!"

His heart tightened, and Chu Lei gave him a push, "Stay back!" By the time he looked again, Chu Lei and Valley Master Rong had already taken those senior disciples flying off with sword control. Dongfang Qingqi stood silently for a moment, then assisted a disciple whose back was engulfed in flames, calling out in agony, "Someone! Bring water here!"

Before the words ended, disciples with buckets of water had already rushed over, drenching their heads and extinguishing the flames, but burn injuries were inevitable.

Dongfang Qingqi wiped his wet face and drew his treasure sword, commanding authoritatively, "Zhen Lan, Runyue! Your group takes care of the injured brothers! Pian Pian, Yu Ning, you with me, we must defend the main gate at all costs!"

Before he could finish, demons wearing black clothes and bearing White Iron Rings had surged into the main gate like a flood. The front row knelt and drew their bows, all notched with flaming arrows. In a few swift movements, propelled by the wind, the arrows flew toward them. The Fuyu Island disciples were forced to swing their swords to deflect the arrows falling at their feet, which then fanned into flames again, leaving no time to fetch water to douse them. As the wind blew fiercely that night, flames leaped up over a meter high, throwing everyone into disarray.

The demons swarmed in an attack, entangling with the Fuyu Island disciples. Dongfang Qingqi took an arrow to the shoulder, his clothes burned through, he cut off the arrow’s tail with his sword, gritted his teeth and slashed several demons to the ground, while a disciple, tormented by the flames, screamed in unbearable agony. A tremor ran through Dongfang Qingqi’s body, and he yelled hoarsely, "Hold the line! Everyone, hold on!"

Suddenly, a group of figures hurried up from behind. Yu Sifeng called out urgently, "Island Master, we’re here to help!"

The five of them spread out in a circle, releasing spurts of Sword Qi, momentarily stemming the demons’ onslaught. Seeing it was them, Dongfang Qingqi felt relieved and cracked a smile, "Good job! Thanks!"

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The Husband Selection

Book No: 1002055

A princess leaves her noble home to bravely travel the world, finds a handsome man to bring home—a mix of warmth and humor that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter~~(To be continued, for further details, please visit www.qidian.com, where more Chapters are available. Support the author, support genuine reading!)