Chapter 32 Ten Miles of Magnolias, A Glimpse of Youth
"ah--"
Qingyu yawned. Zhang Xuan was no longer sleepy, and she really couldn't hold on any longer either.
The girl nimbly got off the couch, waving goodbye to Zhang Xuan, who was almost petrified.
"I'm going to sleep. If you really can't, you can talk to Cai Cai for a while."
"Let's talk about it when I wake up."
Zhang Xuan remained silent. The warm afternoon sun shone on the boy, and as the horse galloped along, the cool autumn breeze seemed to seep into his heart.
...
Three days later, at the ten-mile-long Yulin.
Wen Chuan drove the car, and the car was completely silent.
Qin Tianshu was reading a storybook, while Lin Fanxiang was reading a medical book.
Zhang Xuan coldly wiped his knife, while Qing Yu sat in meditation, her body surrounded by dark spiritual energy—she had killed someone in Lianzi Town to save Lian, which had depleted a lot of her demonic power, and she was only now feeling better.
Qingyu opened her eyes and met Zhang Xuan's squinting gaze. "Witch, witch, witch."
Qingyu: Are you alright?
Zhang Xuan snorted angrily twice and continued to wipe his knife with a cold face.
Qingyu: "..."
She's really something. These past few days, Zhang Xuan has just been giving her the cold shoulder. When she catches him or scolds him, he just hums a few times and then glares at her again.
If things continue like this, she's really worried that Zhang Xuan will assassinate her.
The atmosphere froze for a few moments. The girl thought for a few seconds, then called out to the car door, "Wen Chuan, stop when we get to the woods ahead."
Qin Tianshu and Lin Fanxiang looked up at Qingyu, who was meditating on the Luohan bed.
Qingyu ignored them and looked at Zhang Xuan, who was coldly wiping his knife by the window. "You and I will go down and fight later."
Zhang Xuan: "?"
She stood up, lightly dusted off her clothes, and her eyes held a smile that carried an unspeakable arrogance and pride. "What, scared?"
Zhang Xuan suddenly chuckled. He admitted that there were some things he was not as good as Qing Yu in, but if it came down to combat strength, he did not think he would lose.
The young men gripped the hilts of their knives, and as the blood moon trembled slightly, they were eager to try their skills.
"When the fight starts, you'll know whether I'm scared or not."
...
Yulin is a place where magnolia flowers bloom, covering an area of about ten miles.
Magnolias usually bloom in spring, but now it is autumn, and the whole forest is full of leaves that are either yellow or green.
As the autumn wind rustled through the trees, a young girl dressed in a delicate peach blossom robe leaned against a high tree trunk, seemingly half-asleep. The warm sunlight streamed down, and opposite her, a boy dressed in silver and crimson robes held a large sword, his eyes wary.
The autumn wind, carrying a hint of coolness, rustled through the tranquil magnolia grove, the branches and leaves whispering as if in secret.
In an instant, Zhang Xuan moved, and the red spiritual energy around him surged and churned.
With a swift turn, the sharp, piercing aura of the Blood Moon Blade created a powerful gust of wind, sending fallen leaves swirling and dancing in the air.
He leaped up the tree, his toes lightly touching the branches, his movements as agile as a cheetah, heading straight for the girl high above.
Qingyu's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes snapped open instantly, showing no sign of panic.
Just as the boy was about to reach her, the girl gracefully flipped down the tree, her toes barely touching the ground, like a falling petal, silently landing on the ground.
With a series of movements, her hands moved rapidly, and a series of intricate hand gestures changed one after another. Multiple mysterious formations appeared in front of her at an extremely fast speed, and the ancient patterns shimmered with strange light, resisting the surging red spiritual energy around Zhang Xuan.
The boy's offensive grew increasingly fierce. He leaped high into the air once more, performing several somersaults in succession. The Blood Moon Blade followed his movements, drawing deadly arcs. The blade flashed, and the surging red spiritual energy illuminated the surroundings in a crimson glow.
Qingyu kept dodging, sidestepping Zhang Xuan's attacks, and using the strength of the tree trunk to quickly change positions while spinning. Every time Zhang Xuan's sword energy swept by, she was able to skillfully avoid it, and as her clothes fluttered, the girl would also throw out new array seals.
In a flash, Qingyu's figure flashed, rushing towards the boy like a pink lightning bolt. The array between her hands shone brightly, and she pushed it rapidly towards Zhang Xuan.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan did not back down. He brandished the Blood Moon Blade, gathering red spiritual energy into a barrier to block the girl's attack.
The two exchanged blows, their figures clashing, a flurry of sword-like energy whistling through the air. The surrounding magnolia branches were whipped about by the strong wind, with leaves breaking off and falling from time to time.
...
Outside the battlefield, in the combat zone.
Lin Fanxiang sat in the driver's seat with Cai Cai, while Wen Chuan and Qin Tianshu simply climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
Qin Tianshu waved his fan and nudged Wen Chuan with his elbow, "Who do you think will win?"
Wen Chuan said calmly, "Qingyu, perhaps."
Qin Tianshu nodded, then added, "Zhang Xuan's combat strength at his age can be considered as Heaven-level within the Demon Suppression Pavilion, right?"
Lin Fanxiang listened from below, and she raised her head slightly, "Ah Xuan's talent is extremely high. No cultivator under the age of thirty in Shengjing can surpass him."
Zhang Xuan is only sixteen years old.
Wen Chuan shook his head, "He has too little practical experience."
Judging from the initial preparations, Qingyu pretended to sleep at a high place, deliberately putting psychological pressure on Zhang Xuan, not to mention that he is now only using a simple formation to resist.
Furthermore, if we're talking about geniuses, Qingyu is only sixteen years old.
Qin Tianshu: "Just watch, Zhang Xuan hasn't bled yet."
Wen Chuan curled his lips into a smile, "Qing Yu didn't use her real moves either."
Lin Fanxiang frowned, looking at the pink and red figures in the distance. "Why are they fighting?" she asked, puzzled.
Qin Tianshu fanned himself with a smile, "It seems that Zhang Xuan has finally found out that Qing Yu is a demon, and Qing Yu is worried that Zhang Xuan will assassinate her."
Wen Chuan: "..."
Lin Fanxiang gave a soft "oh," realizing that Zhang Xuan hadn't known Qingyu was a demon before.
...
The combat zone inside the arena.
The battle was becoming increasingly intense, with Zhang Xuan's attacks coming like a storm. Suddenly, he shouted and his Blood Moon Blade flashed a brilliant light as he thrust it toward the girl's throat.
Qingyu's eyes sharpened, and she lightly touched the ground with her toes, bending backward nimbly and quickly. At the same time, she rapidly changed hand gestures, and more arrays were stacked in front of her, forming an indestructible defense.
In this fierce exchange, Zhang Xuan's offensive intensified.
Unable to break through after a prolonged attack, he finally slashed his left palm with his knife, blood splattering onto the Blood Moon Blade. The blade flashed in Zhang Xuan's fiercely fighting eyes, and in an instant, the blade shone brightly, and an even more powerful force erupted from his body.
Zhang Xuan's momentum suddenly surged, and he launched another fierce attack on the girl.
Seeing this, Qingyu curled her lips into a smile. As the blade flashed, her eyes showed both excitement and appreciation. In a flash, she casually broke off a section of magnolia flower branch.
Just as Zhang Xuan's spiritual energy, carrying the light of his sword, rushed towards them again, the bare flower branch in the girl's hand instantly blossomed into a pure white magnolia flower. The petals unfolded layer by layer, emitting a delicate fragrance, which contrasted sharply with the surrounding bloody atmosphere and surging spiritual energy.
Holding a flower branch, Qingyu clashed directly with the boy's sword. At this moment, the entire Magnolia Forest was watching this battle.
The boys darted through the magnolia grove, leaping into the air as the light and shadow shifted, gliding along the ground as fallen leaves drifted by.
Zhang Xuan wielded his Blood Moon Blade with ferocious force, each attack carrying immense power. Qing Yu, however, skillfully parried his attacks with her agile movements and the flower branch in her hand, while simultaneously searching for an opportunity to counterattack.
Amidst the flashing blades and dappled shadows, Qingyu leaped onto the tree, her toes lightly touching the branches. As the blade struck, the branch bent low, and the girl swept away the fallen leaves with a swift, sideways movement.
At that moment, the flower branch in her hand, imbued with the sharpness of a sword, swiftly pierced towards the wrist of the knife-wielding youth—
"when--"
Finally, the wind blew the jade leaves, and as the leaves fell, the boy was forced to the ground. The Blood Moon Blade in his hand was knocked away, and the blade clattered to the ground.
Qingyu didn't stop; the girl pressed her advantage, quickly turning the flower branch towards the boy's neck.
Just as the flower branch was about to touch Zhang Xuan's skin, the hilt of the fallen knife suddenly emitted a faint red spiritual energy, and Qing Yu froze in place.
A few petals fell onto the young man's face, and red spiritual energy emanated from the hilt of the Blood Moon Black-Red sword beside him. Suddenly, a bunch of dried flowers, a wooden carving, a storybook, a medicine bag, and two small golden locks appeared on the ground covered with fallen leaves.
Zhang Xuan transformed the hilt of the Blood Moon Blade into a small space.
The dried flowers and wood carvings were gifts from Qingyu and Wenchuan to Zhang Xuan during the Qingshui period. The storybook was given to him by Qin Tianshu in Danzhou, who was worried that Zhang Xuan would be bored in the painting. Jin Suo was unaware of this. The medicine packet seemed to be made by Lin Fanxiang.
With that thought in mind, Qingyu withdrew the flower branch.
Qingyu lowered her eyes and looked gently at the boy on the ground. Finally, the girl spoke helplessly, "I won, but... I'm sorry."
I'm sorry I never told you I was a demon, and you always treated me as a friend.
Zhang Xuan lay on the ground, the boy closing his eyes tightly, his voice muffled and filled with anger, "I understand!"
This is so embarrassing! When Wen Chuan taught him about spatial arrays, he didn't mention that the contents would spill out!
What an utter disgrace! They bled and still lost!
A man bleeds but doesn't cry; what if he bleeds but wants to cry?
Qingyu chuckled at his amusement. Just then, Lin Fanxiang drove the carriage over, and Qin Tianshu and Wen Chuan walked up to them.
They fell silent for a moment after seeing what was on the ground.
Zhang Xuan lay on the ground with his eyes closed, refusing to speak, and seemed to be blushing slightly.
In an instant, they all laughed again.
Qin Tianshu sat down on the ground and flipped through the storybook. The scholar smiled and said, "The plot of this one is so-so. I'll send you a better one another day."
Zhang Xuan lay on the ground, covering his face with his right hand, and said, "Oh."
Wen Chuan squatted down to help him tidy up his things, then patted Zhang Xuan on the shoulder, "It's not about how many wood carvings you have. I'll make more of your favorite dishes next time I cook."
Zhang Xuan: "Oh."
Lin Fanxiang sat by the car door, and when she saw the medicine packet, she narrowed her eyes. "Zhang Xuan, I told you to throw that medicine packet away when I was ten years old."
Zhang Xuan: "...Oh."
Cai Cai jumped off the cart shaft, and the little chick fluttered its wings and flew to Zhang Xuan's side.
"Coo coo coo coo".
Xuanxuan, why don't you open your eyes?
Zhang Xuan: "..."
This is so embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing!
The boy lay peacefully on the fallen leaves as if his heart had died. Qin Tianshu took the medicine powder from Lin Fanxiang and casually sprinkled it on Zhang Xuan's left palm.
Qin Tianshu: This palm is too painful, brother, please sprinkle more, sprinkle more.
Zhang Xuan: It hurts so much! It hurts so much! You're going to hurt me to death!
Qingyu smiled and looked down. The girl was holding a section of magnolia branch in her hand. Compared to this flower, she suddenly felt that the yellow and green leaves in the forest were too desolate.
With a light touch of her toes, she flipped herself up onto the magnolia tree.
"A single thought, and a spirit arises—"
The girl formed a hand seal, and with the tree as the center, a vibrant pink and white spiritual energy continuously expanded, gradually enveloping the entire magnolia forest.
A glimmer of hope arises.
The flower bud awakens in an instant.
Magnolias bloom in an instant.
In less than three breaths, the magnolias along the ten-mile stretch were in full bloom.
The girl in pink leaned lazily against a high branch, her right leg half-rested on the branch, the other dangling and swaying.
It was a very youthful sitting posture.
With her right hand resting on her knee, she leisurely and freely swayed the magnolia branch while shouting loudly to her friends below.
"Those dried flowers are beautiful, but few in number."
"Today, I will send ten miles of magnolias,"
"Let's enjoy it together!"
Thousands of magnolias are in full bloom, their pure white petals fluttering lightly among the trees, enjoying the vitality that seems like springtime.
A breeze blew, and petals fell on the boys, like a beautiful dream.
The scholar patted Zhang Xuan's shoulder again, "You've opened your eyes."
He then sat down comfortably, propped himself up with his hands behind him, and looked up to admire the thousands of petals dancing in the air. He laughed and exclaimed, "Thanks to Zhang Xuan, I am able to see such a beautiful sight."
Perhaps it was finally overcoming the shame, or perhaps it was finally as two or three petals fell onto the red-clad boy's face, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes, and there stood the scene he loved most in his life—
Petals fluttered for miles, and his friends were right beside him.
"Heh heh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha," Zhang Xuan finally chuckled softly, then the laughter grew louder and louder. He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and then punched Qin Tianshu, who was standing next to him—
"Don't apply medicine to people randomly in the future, it hurts so much!"
Amidst the fluttering petals, Qin Tianshu laughed and threw the storybook in his hand at Zhang Xuan's chest, "You brat, I can't even apply medicine to your wounds, and you hit me while I'm taking you to admire the flowers!"
"Stop hitting me! You can't beat me!"
"If you dare not sleep, I'll take you to the illusionary realm tonight and make you cry!"
"Fine, I won't sleep, and neither should you!"
"Goo goo goo goo goo!!!"
"...CaiCai, hurry up and spit out the petals!!!"
"Giggle!!!"
"Hahahahaha..."
...
The boy laughed and chatted among the thousands of magnolias, and Lin Fanxiang couldn't help but laugh out loud as well. The usually aloof girl gently reached out her hand, and a pure white magnolia lightly landed in her palm—it was so beautiful, so very beautiful.
Qingyu watched the scene below. She watched Qin Tianshu, Zhang Xuan, and Cai Cai playfully fighting together. She watched Fan Xiang gently admiring the flowers. She watched the ten miles of magnolias and their thousands of petals, which had been created because of her.
Finally, she looked at the lone boy in blue.
They looked at each other.
Her image was reflected in the boy's clear, shallow eyes, and he was hidden in the girl's bright smile.
Ten miles of magnolias, their blossoms rising in waves.
The boys laughed heartily, danced with the flower petals, and made a ruckus in the autumn breeze.
They hid their tears and their heart's flutter.
This belongs exclusively to them.
Youth is a time of great joy.
...
From then on, a legend arose in the towns near Shili Yulin—
In the sixteenth year of Tianchen in the Zhou Dynasty, on a clear autumn day, a celestial being passed by the ten-mile-long Jade Forest. On a whim, thousands of magnolia flowers bloomed.
A group of teenagers went for a picnic in the woods and were fortunate enough to see flowers in bloom.
Thus, I heard the words of the immortal: This flower is rare, so I will give it to my friends all over the city.
The young man was impetuous; after expressing his gratitude, he asked where the immortal had gone.
The immortal laughed and departed, leaving behind only the youth and the flowers.
...
What wasn't in the legend was that several teenagers stood still in a daze, thinking that the laughter sounded like a woman's voice, yet also like a rooster's crow.
Perhaps, this is the voice of an immortal.
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