The howling wind swept past the edge of the cliff. Looking up, one could see the enormous full moon, emitting a cold light.
Looking down, there was nothing but a sea of clouds. Pebbles fell into it, their echoes unheard.
Two figures were hanging on the steep cliff.
Jiang Yizheng was clutching a broadsword wedged into a crevice in the rock. The veins on the back of her hand were bulging, and her other arm was tightly wrapped around the waist of a young man in a green robe, preventing him from falling.
The young man was hanging head down. His shoulder wound had already coagulated dark green blood, and his body was cold. Jiang Yizheng could not even feel his breath, giving her the illusion that she was holding onto a dead person.
They had been hanging there for nearly six hours.
The young man had fainted after being stabbed in the shoulder by Wu Liang. She, at the sixth level of Qi refining, was no match for Wu Liang and Chen Feng, who were at the foundation-building stage, and was quickly defeated. Wu Liang and the others did not dare to openly kill within the Yunzhong Sect, so they knocked her out and threw her and the unconscious young man off the highest cliff of the Thirteenth Peak.
Fortunately, she knew she was no match for them and had saved some spiritual power to feign unconsciousness. At the critical moment, she drew out her broadsword and stabbed it into the cliff, holding onto the young man tightly. The two of them fell for a long time before they finally managed to stop.
But their situation did not improve much.
The two of them were hanging on the cliff that was so deep that the bottom could not be seen, relying solely on her strength to hold on.
But strength always had its limits.
She was at the sixth level of Qi refining and could not fly with a sword. If it was just her, she might have been able to climb up, but with the young man, it was absolutely impossible.
The wind on the cliff was strong, and the two of them swayed in the wind like two dead fishes. The broadsword inserted into the cliff was obviously loose, and small pebbles were constantly falling down.
Jiang Yizheng felt a chill in her heart. Her arm was sore and painful. She gritted her teeth and looked down at the young man.
She couldn’t tell if he was still alive.
If he was already dead, she was just holding onto a corpse, which was meaningless and would only drag her down. If she let him go, she could climb up herself.
Let him go.
Loosen your grip.
Jiang Yizheng was persuading herself, but in the next moment, she said,
But he was only stabbed in the shoulder, he might still be alive.
He saved my life, I can’t let go.
This kind of conversation had taken place countless times in the past six hours. Every time she wanted to let go of him, she gritted her teeth and held on.
If I really can’t hold on anymore, I’ll let him go. Jiang Yizheng thought, I need to survive too.
But she never let go from beginning to end.
If her father knew she had done such an ungrateful thing, he would certainly disown her.
Just as Jiang Yizheng was lost in thought, a gust of wind blew by, dispersing the thick clouds under their feet, and she heard a very faint “plop” sound.
Like a stone hitting the ground–Jiang Yizheng quickly looked down, her eyes wide with shock.
Less than a foot below them, a flat stone protruded out, like a platform specially made by someone. Even if she couldn’t hold on and the two of them fell, they would be caught by that platform.
But the platform had been completely covered by the clouds before.
And she had gritted her teeth and held on for nearly six hours, from considering life to death, from pebbles to the way of heaven, she had struggled countless times in her mind, almost forming a heart demon–but she didn’t expect the way to survive was just within reach.
Jiang Yizheng: “…”
What a narrow escape from death.
Her arm lost its strength in an instant, and the two of them fell straight onto the platform, making two muffled sounds.
The platform was as smooth as jade, with a suitable temperature. The wind blew by, but it bypassed them. If it weren’t for the recent brush with death, Jiang Yizheng would have been happy to watch the moon here.
But the reality didn’t allow her to think too much, she quickly checked the young man’s condition, put her finger under his nose, and there was no breath at all.
Jiang Yizheng was suddenly filled with grief, her benefactor was indeed dead.
But before she could finish grieving, the young man slowly opened his eyes under the moonlight, staring at her blankly, a flash of green in his eyes.
Jiang Yizheng was startled, she rolled and crawled to the stone wall, looking at the young man with a terrified expression, wailing in her heart.
Father, save me, ah ah ah the dead man is alive ahhh!!
****
The mountain fog was cold and damp, the door of the small kitchen was pushed open and then closed.
Ning Buwei was holding a child in one hand and a bowl of rice porridge in the other, he turned around and looked at the person who came in.
The man had gentle eyebrows and eyes, his long hair was loose, he was only wearing a thin shirt, and a loose indigo outer garment was draped over him, he had a drowsy look.
Seeing that Ning Buwei was holding a child in his arms, a look of understanding crossed his eyes, “Hmm, so you’re making food for the child.”
Ning Buwei gave him a lukewarm look, thinking he was nosy, he sat down at the table and started feeding Ning Xiu with the rice porridge.
Who knew that the man was actually a self-cooked one. He sat down across the table without any hesitation, smiled at Ning Xiu in her arms, his eyes full of love, “How old is the child?”
(t/n: self-cooked-in Internet slang, refers to a type of person. When these people meet strangers, they give people the feeling of being acquaintances for many years. They can talk to each other about any topic, and they may even know you ( their) hobbies)
Ning Buwei was a bit annoyed, but he couldn’t help but calculate, “Just a month old.”
“Ah~” Ning Xiu finally got to eat the porridge he had been longing for, he smacked his lips in satisfaction.
The little yellow dog on the spoon was visibly happy, its tail wagging fast.
Ning Buwei: “…”
“How cute.” The other person said with a gentle gaze, “Can I hold him?”
Ning Buwei glanced at him and refused mercilessly, “No.”
“Hmm.” The other person smiled regretfully at Ning Xiu, “I just really like children.”
Ning Buwei found this person who came to the kitchen in the middle of the night very suspicious, but the next sentence he heard was, “Don’t misunderstand, I just got up in the middle of the night to drink water and saw that my small kitchen was lit, so I came to take a look.”
Ning Buwei paused with the spoon in his hand, “Your kitchen?”
The other person smiled and saluted to him, “I am Xie Jiu, a disciple of the Linggu Sect. I was invited by the Thirteenth Peak to be a cook a few days ago. This small kitchen is where I make some food for myself.”
Ning Buwei fed Ning Xiu the rice porridge without changing his expression, “The kitchen is nice.”
Xie Jiu smiled and said, “Feel free to use it, I don’t use it often.”
Ning Xiu only drank a small half of the half bowl of rice porridge and refused to drink any more. He yawned sleepily in Ning Buwei’s arms, his little mouth still smeared with a circle of porridge.
The fluffy little yellow dog on the spoon also yawned.
Ning Buwei took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, then picked up the bowl and drank the rest of the rice porridge in one gulp, saying to Xie Jiu, “Thank you.”
He got up and was about to leave.
“Wait a moment.” Xie Jiu also got up, smiled and asked, “You don’t look like a disciple of the Yunzhong Sect, can you tell me your name? Just to make friends.”
Ning Buwei said expressionlessly, “No need, the child’s mother doesn’t allow me to make friends indiscriminately.”
After saying that, he walked away without looking back, leaving Xie Jiu alone in the wind.
Ning Buwei was preparing to take the sleeping Ning Xiu back to the firewood room, when the lights in the servant’s quarters of the dining hall suddenly lit up, causing a lot of noise. Many disciples were flying on their swords, and the spiritual power at the tail of the swords drew streaks of light in the night sky.
There were also those heading towards the firewood room behind the Meal Residence, coming aggressively.
Ning Buwei immediately changed his direction and chose a hidden path.
Although he didn’t know what had happened, based on his intuition developed over many years of causing trouble, it was best not to go back now.
Just at this moment, the fragment of the Suzaku Sword in his arms began to vibrate again.
Ning Buwei took out the fragment and looked at the direction it was pointing again. It had changed from the direction it was pointing during the day–the fragment of the Suzaku Sword was moving.
He had originally planned to take a break and heal his injuries, but seeing the situation tonight, it seemed unlikely. It would be better to fight quickly, get the fragment and leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.
But now he had no spiritual power, and there was not a bit of stock left in the four fragments of the Suzaku Sword. He couldn’t force himself to cultivate, and the fragment was moving, probably being carried by someone. Without cultivation and spiritual power, he was afraid he wouldn’t get a good deal.
Ning Buwei rummaged through his belongings, all of which were bits and pieces, which he threw aside casually. Finally, he took out three Jade Spirit Pills.
Jade Spirit Pill, a top-grade heavenly pill, could be used to save lives in times of crisis, and could help increase cultivation when taken normally. If one was lucky, they could even advance. Before the Xingluo battle, he often ate them like candy, but now there were only three left.
Before, his dantian and meridians were shattered, and eating them was a waste.
Now eating them might have some use, at least enough spiritual power, but unfortunately his dantian was still shattered, and it might damage his spiritual consciousness.
Ning Buwei usually wouldn’t do this kind of losing business, but the current situation didn’t allow him to hesitate. His spiritual consciousness could be slowly recovered later, first get the fragment of the Suzaku Sword.
He swallowed two Jade Spirit Pills, and a sharp pain immediately came from his dantian, spreading to his limbs and bones, almost causing him to lose his grip on Ning Xiu.
But the surging spiritual power that came with it made him feel joyful even in the midst of severe pain. A flash of scarlet passed through his eyes, and an excited smile appeared in the darkness.
He casually pulled out a sword from the pile of debris. Ning Buwei stuffed the sleeping Ning Xiu into his front and attached a talisman. Taking advantage of the moonlight, he silently rushed into the clouds with the sword.
Ning Buwei’s sword control speed was extremely fast, without any concealment, of course, the great demon head disdained to conceal.
Han Ziyang led people to the servant’s quarters and firewood room of the Meal Residence but didn’t find anyone. Everyone was rushing back to the Punishment Hall on their swords when suddenly a gust of wind passed by, stirring up countless clouds.
“What a strong wind!” Someone raised their sleeve to block their face.
Han Ziyang frowned, “Did someone just pass by?”
“How is that possible?” A junior brother said, “Who would dare to control the sword at such a speed, do they think their life is too long?”
“If there really is someone, they must be a madman.” Someone said dismissively, “Although controlling the sword is fast, it requires borrowing spiritual power to ride the wind. If it’s this fast, aren’t they afraid of exhausting their spiritual power and suffering backlash?”
“Maybe I saw it wrong.” Han Ziyang nodded, “The father and daughter that Zizhang brought back are mysteriously missing, there must be something strange, we should go back and report to the master.”
“Feng Zizhang only knows how to cause trouble all day long.” Someone grumbled, “In my opinion, we were purely implicated by him this time, more than enough to fail…”
Han Ziyang glanced at him, and the person immediately dared not speak anymore.
A group of people hurriedly controlled their swords to rush back to the Punishment Hall, but found three sneaky figures outside the hall.
“Who’s there!?” Han Ziyang shouted.
Immediately, disciples went up and took down the three people, who turned out to be outer disciples Wu Liang, Chen Feng, and Sun Zhi.
“Big, big senior brother.” Sun Zhi, who had the smallest courage, thought of the two people they had thrown off the cliff at noon today, and his legs immediately went soft.
Chen Feng cursed under his breath for causing trouble.
The three of them were originally going to make a move on that waste person tonight. Who knew that the lights in the servant’s quarters and the firewood room were bright in the middle of the night, they were uncertain and afraid that things would be exposed. Seeing many inner disciples coming out of the Punishment Hall, they thought of coming here to investigate.
Originally, they were far away, but who knew they were caught by Han Ziyang who was returning.
Others didn’t dare to make things too stiff because of their kinship with Chen Zichu, Wu Zisong, and others. But Han Ziyang, as the chief disciple of the Thirteenth Peak, was upright and decisive. Seeing the strange expressions of the three of them, he immediately tied them up and brought them into the Punishment Hall.
Wen Heshen sat in the main seat, looking at the disciples who came in.
“Reporting to the Master, the female cultivator is not in the servant’s quarters, and the father and son are not seen in the firewood room. The disciples have sent people to search around the Thirteenth Peak.” Han Ziyang said.
Wen Heshen frowned, and seeing the strange expression of his second disciple Chen Zichu out of the corner of his eye, he followed his gaze and saw Wu Liang and others who were tied up, “Who are these people?”
“Reporting to the Master, these three people were sneaking around outside the Punishment Hall, acting suspiciously.” Han Ziyang reported truthfully, “So I ordered people to bring them in.”
“Master, the disciples are wronged, the three of us were just passing by.” Wu Liang pretended to be calm.
Chen Feng also echoed, and even Chen Zichu and Wu Zisong, Wu Zichen came out to plead. Wen Heshen was still manipulating the search symbol and had no mind to deal with these trivial matters. The search symbol suddenly lit up, and he stood up abruptly.
Sun Zhi, who had the smallest courage, thought he had seen something and was scared out of his wits, kowtowing and begging for mercy, with tears and snot flowing, “Master, spare my life! Master, spare my life!!”
Chen Feng and Wu Liang secretly thought it was bad, gritting their teeth and glaring at Sun Zhi.
“Speak.” Wen Heshen’s accumulated authority was so heavy that it scared Sun Zhi into trembling with just one word.
“The, the Duanchang Cliff… at the Duanchang Cliff! Master, spare my life!!” Sun Zhi kept kowtowing.
In a hurry, Chen Feng had a flash of inspiration and quickly interrupted him, “This noon we accidentally saw that female servant fighting with a young man dressed in the clothes of an inner disciple, both of them fell off the cliff, we were too late to save them, that’s, that’s why we wanted to come to the Punishment Hall to repent!”
Below the Duanchang Cliff was a bottomless abyss, even if they found the bodies of the two people, there would be no evidence to link them.
Wen Heshen’s face changed, “Did that young man have a waist token on him?”
“No, no.” Chen Feng stuttered under his gaze.
“Take them with you, follow me to the Duanchang Cliff!” Wen Heshen shouted coldly.
****
The gust of wind that had just swept past Han Ziyang and others was now standing on the edge of the cliff.
Although his dantian was in so much pain that it felt like it was about to split open, the great demon head finally flew freely once again, feeling very joyful.
But when he landed on the cliff indicated by the fragment of the Suzaku Sword and recognized what place this was, his smile slightly faded.
This place was the highest cliff of the Thirteenth Peak–the Changsheng Cliff.
When he was young, he and Cui Ci came to find Wen Zaiye, they liked to stay here the most, with the sea of clouds rolling under their feet, and the bright moon could be seen when they looked up, it was lively and noisy.
Now the bright moon and the sea of clouds were still there.
The people on the cliff had a desolate back, and the people under the cliff were shivering.
Jiang Yizheng swallowed nervously, staring at the pale-faced young man in front of her, and asked, “Are, are you still alive?”
But the young man seemed not to hear her words, he looked up at the bright moon in a daze, and murmured, “This place…is the best place to watch the moon, Chengfeng and Ah Ci… both like it very much.”
Hearing the word “Chengfeng”, Jiang Yizheng was stunned, “Do you know Senior Li Chengfeng?”
“No, Chengfeng’s surname is Ning.” The young man turned his head and gave her a faint smile, “Ning Chengfeng, the young master of Ning Clan in Xun Prefecture, is my close friend.”
Jiang Yizheng didn’t know any Ning Chengfeng, but she knew from a young age that those with the surname Ning in the cultivation world would be cursed and beaten by everyone, so she didn’t dare to respond, and laughed dryly, “I see.”
Then she changed the subject and asked the young man, “Are you a disciple of the Yunzhong Sect?”
The young man nodded, “I am Wen Zaiye, my master is Wen Si.”
Before, in her panic, Jiang Yizheng didn’t think much about it, but now that she had calmed down, although she hadn’t been in the Yunzhong Sect for a few days, she had heard from other servants that the current master of the Thirteenth Peak was Elder Wen Heshen, who was the only direct disciple of the previous master, Wen Si.
She had never heard that Wen Si had another disciple named Wen Zaiye.
And Elder Wen Si had fallen four hundred years ago, and the young man in front of her looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, the timing didn’t match up–
Just as she was about to continue asking, suddenly someone jumped straight down from the cliff and landed gracefully on the stone platform, dressed in a black robe with wide sleeves, and full of murderous intent.
Jiang Yizheng was shocked as she looked at the cold, arrogant, unrestrained, and unruly handsome man in front of her, her brain twitched and her mouth trembled, “Father, Father, Father, Father!?”
Ning Buwei’s gaze lightly swept over her, and Jiang Yizheng immediately became quiet like a little quail, quickly shutting her mouth and obediently pretending to be dead against the cliff.
The vibration of the Suzaku Sword fragment became more and more intense, pointing directly at the young man in the green robe.
The fragment of the Suzaku Sword was on this person!
A hint of interest flashed in Ning Buwei’s eyes, preparing to kill and seized the fragment.
The sword flashed with a cold light, he was about to make a move, but the young man in the green robe suddenly turned around.
Under the bright moon, the sea of clouds was rolling.
In the howling mountain wind, separated by five hundred years of time, old friends unexpectedly met again.
The wicked and arrogant expression on Ning Buwei’s face suddenly froze.
Wen Zaiye still looked like the young man from five hundred years ago, still a bit naive and confused, vaguely overlapping with the blood-soaked, hoarse figure in his memory, but also strangely unfamiliar in some places.
Wen Zaiye’s empty and soulless gaze fell on the man who suddenly appeared in front of him, he looked at him for a long time, then smiled faintly, and slowly said, “Is this fellow cultivator also here to admire the moon?”
Old friends meet again but do not recognize each other.
Under the moonlight like water, Ning Buwei suddenly thought, I must have changed a lot, he didn’t recognize me.
He let out a sigh of relief in his astonishment and surprise, thinking, luckily he didn’t recognize me.
A good friend who had been dead for five hundred years returned to the world, he searched all over his body, but couldn’t find a bit of real joy.
The sword was put away, and Ning Buwei looked lost.
“Yes, I…also came to admire the moon.” He heard himself say.
