The sword blade condensed into a tiny point of light, refracting the dazzling sunlight of an autumn afternoon, reflected in Jiang Yizheng’s pupils, which had suddenly enlarged due to extreme terror.
In an extremely short instant, the sound of the blade cutting through the air intertwined with the distant bell sound. A strange fragrance and the fresh scent of plants in the red maple forest rushed into her nostrils. Countless people and mundane fragments flashed through Jiang Yizheng’s mind, finally freezing on a back figure that was both strange and familiar.
Swish—Bang!
A branch swept across the sword, and the wide sleeve of the cyan robe embroidered with cranes and auspicious clouds swept past Jiang Yizheng’s eyes. The movement was extremely fast yet elegant and agile. It seemed like a casual flick, but it directly drove Chen Feng’s sword into the tree trunk.
The sword trembled in mid-air for a few moments.
Cold sweat soaked through the servant’s uniform, and Jiang Yizheng looked at the cyan-robed teenager standing in front of him.
The other party looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing the standard cyan robe of Yunzhong Sect, tall and straight, with a high ponytail tied up by a jade belt, handsome and elegant, as clear as the autumn moon.
But his face was frighteningly pale, his eyes were lifeless and hollow, and looking at him for a long time would make one feel shocked and inexplicably creepy.
Chen Feng’s long sword in his hand was knocked off by his branch, the tiger’s mouth had already cracked, and blood flowed into his palm. He looked at the teenager in front of him who was holding a branch and asked uncertainly, “Who are you?”
The teenager turned his head slowly and stiffly to look at him, his lips moved, but his voice was extremely weak, as if he was deficient, “Yunzhong…Sect, forbids private fights…forbids, hurting lives.”
Chen Feng’s palm was in severe pain, a resentful look flashed in his eyes. Wu Liang saw that he was wearing clothes belonging to the inner door disciples and asked him, “May I ask which peak does this Senior brother belong to? And who is your master?”
“Thirteenth Peak, Elder Wen Si.” The teenager answered.
Chen Feng and Wu Liang exchanged glances, and a few people suddenly laughed out loud.
“We are disciples from the Thirteenth Peak, but we have never seen you!” Chen Feng laughed, “And Elder Wen Si fell four hundred years ago, and there is only one disciple under his seat, Wen Heshen. You are not afraid of flashing your tongue when you tell this lie!”
The young man stood in place without moving, as if he hadn’t understood what was said.
Jiang Yizheng, who had been scared silly, came back to her senses and bowed deeply to him, “Thank you for your help!”
The young man’s reaction was extremely slow, which was in stark contrast to his agile and elegant swordsmanship. He looked at Wu Liang and Chen Feng and others, and slowly said, “Elder Wen Si…has fallen?”
Who knew that Wu Liang and Chen Feng had determined that he was pretending to be a disciple of the Thirteenth Peak, and they all laughed when they heard this. However, they were also wary of the powerful blow he had just delivered, and they didn’t dare to act for a while.
It seemed that the news of Elder Wen Si’s early fall had hit the young man too hard. He stood quietly in place for a moment, then slowly turned around and walked forward with stiff movements.
Jiang Yizheng, fearing that Wu Liang and Chen Feng would cause her trouble again, quickly followed.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, a fierce light flashed in Chen Feng’s eyes. He was determined not to let these two people walk out of this maple forest. Otherwise, if the law enforcement elder knew about it, they would definitely be driven out of the Thirteenth Peak, which was no different from taking their lives.
Obviously, Wu Liang thought the same way.
The two of them almost simultaneously rose up and rushed towards Jiang Yizheng and the cyan-robed young man.
Jiang Yizheng was always on guard, and her reaction was faster than before. She instantly drew her long sword and turned around to block. However, the cyan-robed young man, who looked powerful, was exceptionally slow in his reaction. Before he could turn around, Wu Liang had already stabbed his shoulder with a sword.
Blood splashed onto Jiang Yizheng’s face, and there was that strange fragrance again.
But Wu Liang cried out in horror, “Blood…why is the blood green!?”
The eerie dark green liquid dripped down the sword, falling onto the thick orange-red fallen leaves.
****
Orange-red fallen leaves were hastily stepped on by black boots, kicking up a few leaves.
“Ning Chengfeng, slow down!” Someone shouted at him from behind.
Ning Chengfeng stopped, turned around holding his sword, and looked at the person who had come after him. He laughed heartily, “You shouldn’t be called Cui Ci, you should change your name to Cui Turtle.”
Cui Ci, one hand supporting the maple tree and the other hand on his knee, looked up at him panting and glared at him, “Good for you, Ning Chengfeng. It was you who insisted on climbing up from the bottom of the mountain to enjoy the fallen leaves, and you didn’t allow me to use my sword. Now you’re complaining that I’m slow?”
Ning Chengfeng said, “You’re so weak, you should learn some body-building techniques from your little uncle.”
“Pah!” Cui Ci rejected the idea with a disgusted look on his face, “I don’t want to become as burly as him. Junior Sister Yuan Yuan likes my elegant figure.”
Ning Chengfeng was surprised, “Eh, wasn’t it Junior Sister Lian Lian before?”
“We have different paths, we can’t get along.” Cui Ci had rested enough, and waved his hand dismissively, “Since ancient times, many feelings have been left with regret.”
Ning Chengfeng laughed in mockery, jumped up and plucked a maple leaf from the tree. As he walked up the mountain with Cui Ci, he playfully tore the leaf.
“Why is the mountain of Yunzhong Sect so high?” Cui Ci looked up, and couldn’t see the end at a glance. He immediately looked dispirited, stretched out an arm to lean on Ning Chengfeng’s shoulder, and said, “Why hasn’t that kid Wen Zaiye come down to meet us yet?”
Ning Chengfeng dragged him up the mountain, “He must have been entangled by his younger brother again.”
“Tsk tsk.” Cui Ci expressed dissatisfaction on one side, and on the other side reached out to grab the maple leaf in Ning Chengfeng’s hand.
Ning Chengfeng’s large maple leaf was torn in half, and an elbow hit Cui Ci’s stomach, causing Cui Ci to cry out in pain. The two half-grown teenagers started to compare moves over a plain and unremarkable maple leaf.
Laughing and joking, they made their way through the red maple forest that stretched to the top of the peak. By the time they reached the top, the moon was already above the treetops.
Someone came riding the clouds and the moon on a sword, a cyan robe drawing a beautiful arc in the cold moonlight. He circled around them elegantly, then jumped off the sword with his hands behind his back.
Then he reached out and dusted off the non-existent dust on his sleeves.
Cui Ci clapped his hands in succession, laughing and teasing, “After a few days of not seeing you, Brother Wen, you’ve become even more flamboyant.”
Wen Zaiye, unknown where he pulled out a folding fan from, and was about to hit him on the forehead. Cui Ci grabbed Ning Chengfeng’s sleeve to block it, and the three of them immediately became a mess.
Changsheng Cliff was at the top of the Thirteenth Peak, and the huge and bright moon hung in front of them, as if they could touch it with a stretch of their hand.
The autumn wind was cool, and the three teenagers sat on the edge of the cliff. Wen Zaiye took out a large oil paper bag from his bosom, spread it out on the grass, and the fragrance immediately filled the air, making Cui Ci’s eyes turn green.
“Knowing you were coming, I specifically went to the neighboring Linggu Sect to buy this. I added a heat preservation spell on top, it’s still hot.” Wen Zaiye raised his chin and laughed, “It’s not that I didn’t come to pick you up, it’s just that these roasted sparrows are too popular, I had to queue for a long time.”
Cui Ci didn’t care about the etiquette of his noble family, he reached out and grabbed one to take a bite, and said contentedly, “What kind of gods are in the Linggu Sect, how can they make things so delicious!”
Ning Chengfeng picked up a sparrow to admire for a while, thinking that the sparrow was too ugly to eat, but was tempted by the fragrance. While he was hesitating, a large mouthful of sparrow meat was stuffed into his mouth.
The taste was wonderful, and he couldn’t help but chew. By the time he reacted, he had already eaten half of it, and immediately glared at the culprit.
“Hahaha!” Wen Zaiye and Cui Ci laughed out loud.
Although it was a bit ugly, Ning Chengfeng was very satisfied with his meal. He took out a jar of spirit wine from his storage ring, and Wen Zaiye and Cui Ci very consciously took out their cups. Wen Zaiye said, “You’ve been secretly digging your brother’s spirit wine again.”
Ning Chengfeng smiled cunningly, “How can it be called stealing between brothers.”
Even if he didn’t dig it out, it would sooner or later benefit that colored vine.
After they had eaten and drunk enough, they lay on the grass looking at the moon, under the sky the stars were brilliant, and there was a chirping sound on Changsheng Cliff, and the maple leaves rustled.
“I’ve planned it all out, we’ll go from the teleportation array in Liu State, out of Gen Prefecture, directly use the teleportation array to Zhong State, along the Endless River all the way west, we can teleport to Dui Prefecture, Xin State.” Wen Zaiye reached out and patted Cui Ci’s stomach.
Cui Ci’s feet were not honest, kicking back and forth at him and Ning Chengfeng’s legs, proudly saying, “My dad thought I was punished to go home for ten days.”
They were punished by Hao Zheng, that old-fashioned man, to go home for a month. When they separated, they agreed on a unified story, planning to use the remaining twenty days to play around.
They had longed for Xingluo Cliff and the dark realm for a long time, and had set this goal early on.
“My dad always restricts me from running around, but my mom said that when he was my age, he had already left home to travel and explore.” Cui Ci was dissatisfied, “I’m now at the great circle of foundation building, but I’m still not allowed to go here and there.”
“My master won’t let me, even though I’m in the early stage of the Golden Core, and I have to be trained by Hao Zheng in the Wanxuan Academy every day.” Wen Zaiye rolled around on the grass.
Ning Chengfeng sat up and said, “Ning Xingyuan created the Rejuvenation Array when he was sixteen, but I’m only in the middle stage of the Golden Core now.”
Cui Ci was so annoyed that he hummed, “Your brother was in the top ten of the Tianji List when he was sixteen! It’s hard for the seventeen states to produce a peerless genius in thousands of years, we’re not even worthy to be named alongside him.”
Ning Chengfeng’s eyes lit up, “No, I must become powerful, as powerful as Ning Xingyuan, uphold righteousness, eliminate evil, slay demons! Join the Chongzheng Alliance founded by my brother!”
“Count me in!” Wen Zaiye said with a face full of longing, “The Chongzheng Alliance only recruits the top hundred sects and families in the seventeen states. I want to be the head of the sect in the future, and lead Yunzhong Sect into the top hundred! Make a name for myself!”
Cui Ci had no great ambitions, and bowed to the two of them, “Two older brothers, if we become rich and honored, don’t forget each other!”
Wen Zaiye kicked him, “Who is your brother? My real brother is sleeping in the room!”
“Why does the little bird sleep all day?” Ning Chengfeng was eager to try, “I haven’t seen him for a long time, I kind of miss him.”
“Get out! Every time you see him, you make him cry, and I have to comfort him for a long time.” Wen Zaiye quickly dismissed his dangerous idea.
Ning Chengfeng laughed and scolded him a few times, and Cui Ci also rushed to join in the fun. He raised his arm to block, but directly broke Cui Ci’s neck, twisting it into a strange posture, his eyes lifeless as he laughed at him.
Suddenly, Wen Zaiye next to him was covered in blood, his eyes widened in horror as he stared at him.
Ning Chengfeng was shocked, and suddenly jumped up from Changsheng Cliff and ran into the room.
****
The bright moon was in the sky, shining through the window into the room, falling on the table–
The cracks on the table were mottled, looking especially old under the cold moonlight.
The person lying on the bed furrowed his brows, his forehead was covered with fine cold sweat, and he suddenly opened his eyes.
Ning Buwei stared at the cyan bed curtain, his expression dazed.
When one’s cultivation reached a certain level, dreaming was not a good thing. Perhaps it was the influence of Yan Lanpei’s soul-searching, or perhaps it was because he was no different from mortals now, even his dreams were so close to reality.
He hadn’t…dreamed for a long time, and it was a dream about people and things from hundreds of years ago—those things that seemed to have happened in his past life to him, he didn’t want to remember.
Ning Xiu was nestled in his arms, whimpering and crying, but there were no tears on his face. Ning Buwei picked him up, and sure enough, he had wet himself again.
Ning Buwei was distracted as he changed his diaper.
During the day, he sensed the trace of the Suzaku fragment and wanted to find it, but he tried and found that he still couldn’t cultivate. Although his dantian and meridians had been mostly repaired by that kind-hearted celestial, after all, the celestial’s cultivation was limited, and she couldn’t repair all of his insides at once. The best way was to take good care of himself.
So he calmed down and slowly healed his injuries with the spiritual power in the few pieces of the Suzaku broken sword he currently had. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, and even had such a dream that seemed real but wasn’t.
Was it because he saw the red maple forest during the day and thought of the past, or was this dream hinting at something to him?
Ning Buwei looked serious, then his wrist was kicked by Ning Xiu.
He lowered his head, the diaper was almost covering his son’s face.
“….…”
His past….