Chapter 60: Thunder across the wall, enlightenment in the lonely building

Li Lianhua rested in the Lotus Tower, his days stretching out as he immersed himself in the aroma of medicine and the meticulous care of the flute. But he wasn't a sluggish, incurable illness. He was Li Xiangyi. Even with his inner strength drained and his spirit clouded, his keen sense of observation remained etched in his bones. He gradually sensed something was amiss with the flute's recent sound.

Di Feisheng still prepared medicine and fed him every day, carefully wrapping him in warm furs, fearing that he would catch a cold. However, Li Lianhua could sense something unusual.

Di Feisheng's departures from Lotus Tower became noticeably more frequent, and at irregular intervals. Each time he returned, despite his best efforts to conceal his presence, a faint scent of blood lingered on him. It wasn't overpowering, but it couldn't escape Li Lianhua's nose.

Moreover, when Di Feisheng looked at him, his eyes were still focused, but deep in that focus, there was an irrepressible fatigue, and a dark fire of almost paranoia burning faintly, which Li Lianhua could not see clearly.

Occasionally, when approaching, Li Lianhua could feel that the flow of his internal energy seemed to be faster than usual, as if he had just experienced a fierce battle and was forcibly calming down.

Li Lianhua's heart was growing increasingly uneasy. One day, Di Feisheng wiped the medicine stains from the corner of his mouth and was about to turn around to put away the medicine bowl when Li Lianhua gently tugged at the corner of his sleeve.

"A Fei," his voice still slightly hoarse from his illness, his eyes looking at him clearly, "Lately... isn't things peaceful out there? You seem very tired."

Di Feisheng paused almost imperceptibly, then turned around with a calm expression, pulled his slipped fox fur coat up, and avoided his gaze. "Nothing, just some trivial matters within the alliance. It'll take some time to deal with." He spoke calmly, trying to pass the subject lightly. "Just focus on recuperating. Don't worry about this."

Li Lianhua didn't let him get away so easily. After a moment's hesitation, he added, "I seem to smell a rusty smell in the wind lately." He spoke gently, his gaze fixed on Di Feisheng. The incense emanating from Di Feisheng grew thicker, suggesting he was masking another scent.

Upon hearing this, Di Feisheng's eyes flashed with an elusive sternness, then gave way to a deeper gloom. He remained silent for a moment, then raised his hand and gently brushed a strand of white hair from Li Lianhua's forehead. His movements were even more gentle than usual, but his words were still evasive: "Perhaps a nearby hunter injured a wild animal, and the scent has been contaminated. You are weak, so your sense of smell is a little more sensitive." He paused, as if to completely dispel Li Lianhua's doubts, or perhaps to convince himself, and added, "I'll take care of everything."

After saying this, he didn't give Li Lianhua any chance to ask questions. He turned around, picked up the medicine bowl, and walked towards the kitchen. His back was still straight, but for some reason, he exuded a sense of tension and loneliness.

Li Lianhua looked at his back and did not ask any more questions.

He knew full well what Di Feisheng was hiding from him. It was no ordinary "alliance business"; the murderous intent lingering in the bloody aura and the desperate madness in Di Feisheng's eyes pointed to something far more sinister and darker.

A deep sense of unease gripped Li Lianhua's heart. He wasn't afraid of the turmoil of the martial arts world, but rather of Di Feisheng, who was treading alone into a hopeless situation. The more attentively Di Feisheng cared for him, the more gently he dodged his questions, the stronger Li Lianhua's foreboding grew.

The wind howled outside, carrying a faint, murderous aura. The aroma of medicinal herbs lingered inside, but it could no longer soothe the turmoil in Li Lianhua's heart. He closed his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously clenching the cool fur.

That afternoon, the sky was somewhat gloomy. Leaden clouds hung low over the eaves of Lotus Tower, and the air was thick with the gloom of impending rain. Li Lianhua was taking a nap on a couch by the window, covered in a thick blanket, a half-read medical book clutched in his hand. The building was silent, the only sounds being his shallow breathing and the occasional rustle of the wind outside the window.

Suddenly, there was a faint commotion outside the building, mixed with a familiar but extremely excited voice, breaking the deliberately maintained tranquility.

It’s Fang Duobing’s voice!

Li Lianhua's eyelashes trembled slightly, she slowly opened her eyes and listened carefully.

"...Let us in! I have something important to ask Li Lianhua in person!" Fang Duobing's voice was high-pitched, revealing unprecedented shock, anger, and anxiety, and even a trembling of disbelief. "...How could he do this! How could Di Feisheng act like this!"

Li Lianhua's heart sank suddenly, and he subconsciously clenched the edge of the blanket. He struggled to sit up and move closer to the window to listen more clearly.

Then, Su Xiaoyong tried to dissuade him, but with an equally anxious voice: "Fang Duobing! Calm down! This may not be..."

"How can I stay calm!" Fang Duobing practically growled as he interrupted her, his voice cracking with excitement. "In just half a month, the Qingcheng Sect, the Haisha Gang, the Funiu Mountains...how many sects were massacred overnight! The news spread like wildfire in the martial arts world, saying that Di Feisheng had gone mad! He wanted to unify the martial arts world and become the supreme ruler of the martial arts world!"

The four words "Martial Arts Supreme" pierced Li Lianhua's ears like a steel needle tempered with ice! His breath suddenly stopped and his face turned pale as paper.

Outside the building, Fang Duobing's voice continued, filled with desperate resentment: "He's acting ruthlessly and decisively now, just like he did in the past! But Li Lianhua is still in there! Does he know? If he knew, how could he allow him to do this... Let us see him! Perhaps he is the only one who can..."

"Stop him! Don't let him continue!" Wuyan's voice rang out in a cold, low voice. Then there was the sound of rubbing clothes and slightly chaotic footsteps.

"Master Fang, Miss Su, please go back." Wu Yan's voice had returned to its usual rigid composure, yet it carried an undeniable firmness. "The owner of this building needs to rest and recuperate, and will not see any visitors. The Lord has ordered that no one is allowed to disturb him."

"Wu Yan! Get out of the way! Li Lianhua is not..." Fang Duobing seemed to want to break in forcibly.

"Fang Duobing! Don't be impulsive!" Su Xiaoyong's voice was filled with tears and suppressed fear. "Let's go first! We'll figure it out later!"

The sounds of struggling and pulling gradually faded away, and Fang Duobing's muffled sobs, as if his mouth was covered, eventually dissipated in the wind. Silence returned to the outside of the building, as if the fierce conflict had never happened.

Deathly silence.

Li Lianhua sat stiffly on the couch, her blood seemed to freeze in an instant, then suddenly boil! Her fingertips were cold and trembling violently and uncontrollably.

Fang Duobing's broken but thrilling words, like thunder, exploded in his mind over and over again!

"Bloodbath"... "Unify the martial arts world"... "Supreme Master of the Martial Arts World"...

Every word was filled with the smell of blood, which perfectly matched the faint smell of blood he had smelled on Di Feisheng over the past few days, the deep-seated fatigue and paranoid madness he had seen, and the cautious avoidance...

So…that’s how it is!

It's not some "trivia of the alliance" at all! It's not some "hunter injuring a wild animal"!

All the abnormalities that Di Feisheng has been doing recently, all the early departures and late returns, all the things that he wants to say but cannot, are all because of this!

In order to achieve a certain goal, he did not hesitate to stir up bloody storms in the martial arts world, using cruel methods, which caused widespread complaints and even made Fang Duobing think that he was ambitious and wanted to dominate the martial arts world!

And what made him so reckless, willing to risk the world's disapproval, and even willing to destroy his own reputation...

Li Lianhua's gaze slowly fell on her pale, thin hands, which were trembling slightly in her sleeves.

…I am left with only this broken body that is barely alive and beyond the reach of any medicine.

A huge, cold panic and heart-wrenching pain instantly seized him! His heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and the pain was so severe that he could hardly breathe!

He's not doing it for power... He's doing it for... to save me?

He's going to use this method of falling into evil and destroying everything... to save me?!

This realization did not bring me emotion, but overwhelming fear and deep-rooted guilt!

"Uh..." He suddenly bent down and started coughing violently. His vision went dark and cold sweat instantly soaked his thin pajamas.

Outside the building, the dark clouds finally couldn't bear the weight, and rain began to fall. The raindrops hit the window frame, as if hitting his cold heart.

He sat alone in the increasingly dark room, listening to the cold sound of rain, feeling as if he was abandoned alone in a warm cage.

Outside, there were huge waves caused by him, and he was the source of all these disasters.

Di Feisheng...you are really...crazy...