Chapter 78

Recently, panic has gripped the world, as it's rumored that a winged race still exists. Who are the winged race? They are people with ominous blood flowing through their veins, born burdened with immense evil, the most unforgivable species on earth!

They should never have existed in this world since ancient times; their existence would only bring endless calamities to humankind.

Therefore, when news of the Winged Race's reappearance spread throughout the world, everyone was terrified. Major sects and immortal factions rose up in rebellion, demanding to see them alive or dead. Even corpses would not be spared, as they posed a threat to the world's destruction.

The dynasty also offered rewards to the Feathered People everywhere, saying that if anyone found the Feathered People and reported it in time, a reward of a thousand taels of gold would be given. If anyone brought the head of a Feathered Person, he would receive ten thousand taels of gold, ten thousand acres of fertile land, and be granted a title and a marquisate.

Therefore, any news about the Feathered People always caused a great stir. According to the first person to spread the news about the Feathered People, the first place he discovered them was at the Red Lotus Bridge.

That place is rumored to be a passage for evil spirits heading to hell. A bridge spans a vast chasm, beneath which grow blood-red lotuses, said to have drunk human blood to become so red. The place is thick with yin energy, and evil spirits gather there. People often avoid it at all costs, even at the mere mention of its name.

But after news of the Feathered Clan spread, people were no longer afraid of evil spirits. To the world, nothing was more terrifying than the Feathered Clan. Cultivators from various immortal sects and ordinary people, armed and shouting, surged onto the Red Lotus Bridge. They trampled the area flat, but still couldn't find any trace of the Feathered Clan. However, they found traces of their past lives, discovering the white hair they had left behind. This confirmed their belief that true Feathered Clan members still lived in this world.

Xie Qingci noticed something was wrong in time and quickly ordered his people to move. But where could they go? Some members of the tribe believed that Xie Qingci had revealed their secret to the human race, which was why they had brought about this calamity.

Xie Qingci immediately thought of Jiang Boyu. He had only told Jiang Boyu and Chu Yu about this. Chu Yu had no reason to expose it. Jiang Boyu. The thought of that name made Xie Qingci's teeth itch with hatred.

Xie Qingci immediately found Jiang Boyu and punched him hard, "Was it you! Who else could have leaked the secret of the Feather Clan! You couldn't be more eager for us to be wiped out!"

Jiang Boyu staggered after being punched by Xie Qingci, almost falling to the ground. He barely managed to steady himself with his spiritual power, blood already seeping from his lips. Before he could even stand up straight, something cold was pressed against his neck. He looked up and saw Xie Qingci holding a sword, his eyes red with anger.

"Was it you?!"

Jiang Boyu looked back at Xie Qingci with unfamiliar eyes, then looked down at the sharp, silver sword hanging over his neck. He sneered, "Since you've already accused me of this crime in your heart, why are you asking me?"

Blinded by anger, and given the unpleasantness of their previous parting, Xie Qingci was unwilling to lower himself and speak properly with Jiang Boyu again. However, Xie Qingci knew perfectly well that he hadn't come to see Jiang Boyu to hear such an answer.

Even a single explanation? Even a simple "no"?

None.

Hearing Jiang Boyu's attitude and tone, Xie Qingci became even more furious. The resentment and helplessness that had been building up inside him broke through his psychological defenses and burst forth, overwhelming him. "So you're admitting it?"

As he spoke, he slashed down with his sword. Even though Jiang Boyu was incredibly fast, a shallow wound was cut in his throat. He was just a hair's breadth away from having his entire throat severed by Xie Qingci.

At this moment, the atmosphere froze. The expressions of the two people were somewhat similar. Jiang Boyu covered his bleeding neck, turned around, and looked at Xie Qingci with a cold and subtle murderous intent, as if he had never known him before.

Xie Qingci was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the sword in his hand. The red, thread-like bloodstains on the blade resembled a venomous snake tightly coiled around his neck, making him pale and breathless. He didn't know why he had acted that way. His mind was filled with resentment; he had almost killed Jiang Boyu. Xie Qingci's hands were trembling.

Jiang Boyu raised his hand and summoned his sword. Without hesitation, he stepped forward to fight Xie Qingci. Xie Qingci barely reacted and parried with his sword. Jiang Boyu sneered, "Have you been wanting to kill me for a long time? Today you finally found such an excuse? You've been dissatisfied with me for a long time, you've hated me for a long time? Saying this is just to find an excuse to kill me with a clear conscience?"

Xie Qingci dodged Jiang Boyu's powerful sword energy and took a moment to say, "It's clearly you who hates me? You hate all the Feather Clan? You've said more than once that the Feather Clan deserves to die! You're just using your loose tongue and sharp tongue as an excuse to speak your mind. You've never looked down on me and never considered me a brother! In your heart, the Feather Clan is inferior, isn't it?"

Jiang Boyu's sword strikes were all deadly; he was truly enraged by Xie Qingci's attack. He never expected Xie Qingci to actually attack him and try to kill him. Therefore, Jiang Boyu would show no mercy!

In the woods, the two men's powerful sword energy stirred up a flurry of falling leaves, and several trees fell with a crackling sound. Jiang Boyu said, "If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do."

Hearing Jiang Boyu's words, Xie Qingci was even more furious. What angered her even more was how casually he spoke, as if he had no intention of communicating properly with Xie Qingci and as if he intended to let their relationship fall apart. This made Xie Qingci's anger rise two meters high, and her rage was so intense that it felt like she could burn the entire forest down.

Xie Qingci gritted her teeth and said, "I'll ask you one last time, did you reveal the matter of the Feather Clan? Was it you?!"

Jiang Boyu didn't explain. What good would it do? He was already a convicted villain; any explanation would only make things worse, a futile waste of emotion and breath. Therefore, Jiang Boyu never explained anything he did.

"Tell me! Was it you?! If you don't tell me, you're basically admitting it, aren't you? You did it, didn't you?"

"Say something! Yes or no? Talk to me! What are you playing dead for?"

"Do you know how badly you've harmed my people? It will be even harder for us to live in this world from now on! Do you have to exterminate us? But my people have done nothing wrong, so how did they become heinous villains? Are you going to leave us no way out? If you really push us too far, we'll just perish together with your human race. If we can't live well, then nobody can live well!"

"What are you pretending to be dead for? Say something! If you insist on going this far, I don't mind taking you all down with me. Did you hear me? I'm going to wipe out the human race, so say something!"

Did you actually do that?

The two fought in the forest until dusk, when trees fell and leaves swirled and rose into the sky. Xie Qingci still didn't get an explanation from Jiang Boyu, not even a single "no".

When Chu Yu arrived in the forest, both of them were seriously injured and covered in blood. Jiang Boyu's foot had been slashed by a sword, and blood had soaked through his clothes. Xie Qingci had been stabbed in the abdomen by Jiang Boyu, and blood was still gushing out. The surrounding ground seemed to have absorbed the blood and become soft and loose.

Upon seeing this scene, even the usually composed Chu Yu couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart. He exerted tremendous effort to completely separate the two. Afterwards, Chu Yu was caught between the two, with Xie Qingci and Jiang Boyu each standing on one side, left and right. He couldn't go left, nor could he go right.

The three people stood in the woods, forming a line.

In the deathly silence, dusk descended visibly and completely, enveloping the three of them in darkness. Xie Qingci stood alone, his robes fluttering in the evening breeze. His gaze never left Jiang Boyu. He broke the silence, asking Jiang Boyu, "I'll ask you one last time, is it really you?"

Xie Qingci still didn't get an answer on his last attempt.

He turned and left. Chu Yu took a step forward, wanting to chase after him, but he had to turn back to look at Jiang Boyu standing on the other side. Chu Yu then looked at Xie Qingci, who had turned and left. His feet felt like they were glued to something, making it difficult to move. He wished he could split his legs apart and chase after the two of them separately.

Xie Qingci didn't turn around. Her voice pierced the night, carrying a trace of sorrow, as she said, "Achu, you don't need to stop me. I'm leaving. I really shouldn't have disobeyed the elders of the clan and run away. I should have stayed with the Feather Clan for the rest of my life. Now I've brought this calamity upon the Feather Clan. It's all my fault."

As he spoke, his lonely figure disappeared into the deep night.

Under the thick darkness of the night, no one could see that Jiang Boyu's complex yet indifferent gaze remained fixed on the direction Xie Qingci had left.

After this incident, the two completely broke off relations. Neither contacted the other again, and Chu Yu became the only bridge connecting them. However, Chu Yu also tacitly avoided mentioning the other in their presence; the other's name seemed to have become a taboo. This put Chu Yu, caught in the middle, in a very difficult position. But he didn't want to lose either Xie Qingci or Jiang Boyu.

So he waited, waiting for the day when the two would finally reconcile.

After the Winged People's affairs were exposed, people began a large-scale search and extermination campaign against them.

Many members of the Feather Clan perished. Xie Qingci led his people into hiding, rarely appearing in public anymore. Chu Yu had to rely on luck to contact Xie Qingci, and most of the time he couldn't get through.

The Feathered Clan originally lived in the various crevices of the world, flocking to wherever there were no people. But after news of their continued existence was revealed, people used various spirit beasts, magical artifacts, and talismans to search for traces of the Feathered Clan in remote and uninhabited places, leaving no stone unturned.

The Feathered People had nowhere to hide.

In this vast world, it seems there is nowhere left for them to belong. Yet, their greatest wish from beginning to end has only been to find a good place to live peacefully.

Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue were inside the scroll, watching the scenes flash by in the memory scroll. Inside this magical artifact, apart from not having a physical body and not being able to distinguish the passage of time in the outside world, everything seemed to be in the real world.

Chu Xianyue still hasn't found any way to return to the outside world. The person who gave the memory scroll to Xie Wen said that once you enter the scroll, you can't easily come out. Only by traversing all the memories in the scroll can you return to the outside world. Now it seems that the Taoist priest wasn't joking.

At this moment, Jin Huaran kept chattering in Xie Wen's ear, "Awen, look at Xie Qingci's gaze, it's not right. Did he remember something? You all have the surname Xie, right? I remember I've met this senior of the Feather Clan before. He held a high position in the clan and possessed great spiritual power. I also remember that he did have a daughter. But later, I don't know how, she disappeared. Awen, who do you think that daughter was? And where is she now? I only know that this senior is still alive. When I was still in the Boundless Sea, this senior was still in this world, still in the Boundless Sea."

He asked Xie Wen, "If he really is your father, if he is still alive in the Boundless Sea, Wen, do you want to rescue him? Do you want to see him again? Do you want him to stop suffering every moment?"

Xie Wen clenched her fists. No matter how hard she tried to calm herself and ignore him, she was inevitably affected by his words. Because Chu Xianyue was present, Xie Wen couldn't shut Jin Huaran up, couldn't refute him, and couldn't have a big argument with him. That would expose her.

Her chest heaved, and suddenly, apart from Jin Huaran, a different voice rang out. Chu Xianyue noticed that Xie Wen was acting strangely, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Caught between Jin Huaran and Chu Xianyue, Xie Wen was torn between the two voices. Finally, Chu Xianyue's voice brought her back to her senses. She forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, I'm just a little hungry."

Chu Xianyue tried to take Xie Wen's hand, but he only grasped empty air. That empty feeling welled up in his heart again. He said, "When we get out, I'll cook you something delicious. You can eat whatever you want."

Xie Wen smiled. Chu Xianyue's cooking skills had indeed improved, and Xie Wen liked his dishes. Xie Wen said, "Okay, okay, you can make whatever I want to eat."

Chu Xianyue: "Of course."

"But, do you want to eat that thing next to you too?"