The Xuanming dwelling.
Pi Yangqiu had already left under orders, leaving Li Qingshan alone laying on the surface of the water with his arms and legs outstretched.
From this angle, the Xuanming dwelling was like a deep well. The opening was the circular, grey sky, hanging high above the darkness, yet it also reflected in his pitch-black eyes. The drizzle produced a series of ripples by his ears. His thick, black, long hair also began to bob with the water, spreading out.
He had already become a god. All statues of him possessed his divine nature. He had basically personally witnessed everything that occurred outside Myriad city. Even now, he had yet to calm down.
He had never believed he had done anyone a favour, nor did he ever hope for anything in return, just like how he had never hoped for a statue like that to stand outside Myriad city.
So if it was destroyed, then let it be destroyed! It was not like it mattered. Even when his former soldiers drew their blades and attacked it, he did not feel surprised or furious, but he was unable to avoid some sighs.
After all, the general trend of time could not be resisted. After all, the will of the heavens could not be defied… In simpler terms, he had never hoped for anyone to be like “Li Qingshan”.
“How conceited!” He suddenly began to laugh, filled with scorn towards himself, but also great pleasure. “Why can’t others be like Li Qingshan? What’s so impressive about Li Qingshan anyway?”
Hot-bloodedness surged through him, like magma churning beneath the crust. It was a sense of fervency he had not experienced in a very long time. He seemed to have floated on this black water for far too long, having grown sick of the wails and pleas of the Demon domain’s living creatures.
As such, he sat up and said gently, “My fellow soldiers, fight alongside me once more!”
The voice emerged from his drooping black hair, only echoing in the dwelling. However, the will of the god would definitely make its way to the Asura realm, recalling his soldiers and officers once more.
Who said they had nothing to wear? They wore the same armour. Who said they had nothing to wear? They shared the same grievance.
“I will avenge you very soon!”
Li Qingshan vanished from the Xuanming dwelling. The people who coerced and pressured them would definitely face even greater coercion and pressure. That was the wrath of a god.
……
The Hundred Herbs garden.
The sun rose and fell. The date which Dai Mengfan had designated crept closer. Outside the garden, Wan Jianfeng’s edge grew sharper and sharper, already ready to rush into the garden at any moment to capture Li Fengyuan and perhaps her as well.
It was currently dusk. The red sun fell, and the moon had just risen.
The Hundred Herbs garden sank into an unprecedented silence. There were no disciples busying about, only a lonesome figure wandering through the garden.
Only the plants continued to flourish, unaware of the joys and sorrows that unfolded around them.
Ruan Yaozhu had already made up her mind, but she still could not help but feel slightly emotional, gradually sensing the coldness within the night wind.
This was bound to be her final moments in the Hundred Herbs garden. She did not fear death like Dai Mengfan, but perhaps only at times of parting did time feel so short, like a millennia had passed in the blink of an eye.
So she simply let go of all her thoughts, focusing on giving these plants the last care that she could offer to them.
The nine-coloured deer accompanied her silently. Her warm, moist eyes were filled with pity. This price was far too heavy for her. It was all because of “that man”.
The nine-coloured deer gazed at the small hill again. Li Fengyuan sat in a lotus position under the bodhi tree once more with an expression of resolve and determination, like an eminent monk about to lay his life down for a just cause, having cast aside the notion of death already.
Sigh, you sure can let go easily!
The nine-coloured deer stopped blaming “that man”, but she could not help but recall that autumn night many years ago, when she encountered “that man” unexpectedly, thinking that it had to be fate.
In White Deer city, he raised a great ruckus as he led a group of beggars to a restaurant, using a tree full of peach blossoms to exchange for a full meal for them, yet also lamenting over the death of the peach tree in the dead of night.
Perhaps that was the moment when he caught Yaozhu’s heart, which was why she made an exception and gambled for the first time during the entrance examination, gambling on his goodness and wickedness.
That time, she had made the right gamble, and she had even made quite the sum. But this time, she was wagering herself, and whether it was right or wrong, it no longer possessed any meaning to her.
The only punishment for betraying the sect was death.
Even a gambler like Le Tian would refuse to take part in this gamble where loss was guaranteed, which was why she could not be considered as a true gambler at the end of the day. She only stubbornly believed in “that man” like many years ago.
She believed “that man”, while violent-tempered, while resolute, would always possess kindness and benevolence, would not stand with demonfolk.
Suddenly, Li Fengyuan opened his eyes under the bodhi tree and waved his hand towards the distance.
The nine-coloured deer looked over in the direction he waved in and could not help but widen her eyes. She used her horns to rub Ruan Yaozhu in a hurry and called out, “Piece of wood, piece of wood!”
“What’s wrong?”
Ruan Yaozhu’s head was currently buried between the plants. She could not help but raise her head, but she was also stunned instantly.
Under the glowing, red light of the setting sun, a tall, large figure strode over.
In just a few steps, he arrived before her, bearing a familiar smile. He called her “Yaozhu” before spreading his arms, pulling her in firmly.
Everything had happened far too suddenly. She was completely incapable of making any response, but she felt her heart loosen and the tremendous burden lifted from her shoulders. She no longer possessed any strength, but her eyes reddened.
The nine-coloured deer could not bring herself to separate them either, as she felt like they had just been snatched from the jaws of death. Both of them believed without any reason that as long as this man appeared, all their problems would be resolved in the process.
The nine-coloured deer raised a ruckus. “Li Qingshan, kid… you’ve finally returned! Are you aware that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance has already declared that you’ve defected to the Demon domain? In order to protect your unlucky son, Yaozhu has even sealed up the Hundred Herbs garden. We’ve almost died because of you!”
Li Qingshan only smiled, but his expression was the same as before and his mannerisms were kind. He did not give off any demonic aura at all. Even the qilin of great compassion and benevolence was no different from this. When he gazed towards Ruan Yaozhu, his eyes were filled with gentleness too.
“I just knew you wouldn’t…” Ruan Yaozhu murmured, except her face then reddened, gently trying to break free from Li Qingshan’s embrace.
As such, Li Qingshan hugged her even more firmly. A smear of lament flashed through his eyes. He should not have made her suffer like this any more.
Li Fengyuan sighed inside and stood up, studying Li Qingshan carefully.
Li Qingshan seemed to sense him and also gazed back, studying Li Fengyuan.
At this moment, the father and son were actually like strangers to one another, but they also seemed like they were verifying something. During the time they spent separated, both of them had undergone overwhelming changes.
The nine-coloured deer said, “Can the two of you stop sizing each other up? Wan Jianfeng is about to kill his way in here!”
“Junior brother Wan! Heh, he sure is bold to harass our Yaozhu!”
“Senior brother Wan is only acting under orders. Don’t blame him,” Ruan Yaozhu said softly. She knew Li Qingshan had an extremely murderous side to him, so she was afraid he would injure Wan Jianfeng and ruin the fact that they were fellow disciples.
“Under Dai Mengfan’s orders?”
“Senior sister Dai had no other choice either. The spirit reverend forced her to become the first senior sister.”
“In other words, it’s all the old turtle’s fault then!”
“The spirit reverend was only acting under the rules of the sect too. Sigh, he must have grown senile, which is why he divined incorrectly and thought you had fallen into the Demon domain. It’ll be fine as long as you resolve the misunderstanding.”
“You oh you! Still the same as always.” Li Qingshan could not help but shake his head, gazing in the direction of the Myriad sect. “I’ll head over now and clear up everything with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance!”
