Chapter 70 Doesn't Senior Brother Dislike Me? (12) Xiao Yue's...
Xiao Yue's expression remained clear, yet tinged with a bewildered confusion. Li Weiyan smiled, helped him up by the shoulder, and led him away from Fu Li to prevent him from saying anything more inappropriate.
He greeted everyone:
"The monsters here have been eliminated. Everyone, go back to the inn to rest. Later, everyone can go downstairs to collect the Lingzhi Water!"
The group then left the Golden Feather Temple. The white mist on the streets had dissipated, but the alleys and lanes remained deserted, devoid of any human presence, exuding a deathly desolation.
Fu Li turned around and looked, but all she could see was a scene of broken walls and ruins. In the ruins, the gilded plaque that had once hung on the door lay facing the sky in the dust, its surface reflecting the sunlight as if it were truly a dazzling golden light.
Fu Li couldn't help but sigh, then turned around and followed her senior brothers and sisters.
A few streets away, the town mayor and a dozen or so townspeople were waiting on the outskirts.
The moment the barrier broke, lightning and wind raged across the sky above the Golden Feather Shrine, creating a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse. The mortals, unaware of what had happened, had no choice but to evacuate the crowd and wait for the commotion to subside before coming to investigate.
The townspeople breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the cultivators emerge safely from inside.
Li Weiyan stepped forward first and briefly recounted the events involving the demonic beasts inside. He also tactfully informed them that the missing townspeople had all turned to bones and lay in the tunnel, asking them to accept their condolences.
Upon hearing this, the town mayor burst into tears, leading the way in kneeling before them. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he thanked them profusely, saying, "Thank you, esteemed immortals, for vanquishing this demon for our town. That monster has tormented Golden Feather Town for so long. If it weren't for your righteous assistance, we powerless mortals would likely have ended up inside that demonic tree sooner or later. Thank you so much..."
Words cannot express our gratitude.
Back at the inn, they first settled several disciples whose minds were still confused and whose consciousness was too deeply trapped in the illusion. Zhu Mingying personally started the fire to brew Lingzhi water, while the others assisted her.
During this time, Zhu Mingying suddenly thought of a question and asked, "If the demonic beasts originally enshrined in the Golden Feather Shrine had already been devoured by the Illusionless Flower, then who attacked Ali?"
“The Illusionless Flower feeds on souls through illusions. If that’s the case, there’s no need for it to risk being exposed to attack people. Could it be… the Demon Lord of the Four Seas?” Zhu Mingying pondered. “If he found the Golden Feather Shrine long ago and hid there before us, and attacked one of the disciples of Dragon Gate Mountain, what was his purpose?”
Hearing her words, the others also began to ponder. Indeed, if there was no Golden Feather Eagle from the beginning, only the Illusionless Flower, then since the latter relies on illusions to absorb souls, why would it risk attacking people?
Fu Li was well aware of this. The system had told him that the Illusionless Flower was a sentient demon beast whose desires of greed, anger, and delusion overshadowed its natural instincts of seeking advantage and avoiding harm. It had probably discerned from the moment he stepped into the Golden Feather Shrine that he possessed a naturally alluring physique. Such a constitution was excellent nourishment for demon beasts, and naturally, they wouldn't be satisfied with just his soul.
Because of his excessive greed, he acted hastily. However, unexpectedly, Chongjing Pavilion rescued Fu Li immediately. After the others fell into the illusion, Qin Tian stayed by Fu Li's side, preventing Wu Huan Hua from consuming his body.
Thinking about this, Fu Li couldn't help but feel a little scared.
He was almost completely eaten by a vine!
According to the plot, he was unaware of his own constitution at this moment, and thus showed a naive and puzzled expression:
"Is that so? But I've never offended the Four Seas Demon Lord. This person is far too dangerous."
Chongjingge shook his head: "I've fought them all and can tell them apart. The attack at that time was indeed the work of the Illusionless Flower Fairy. I think that the demonic dragon must be the one that came later."
They did not dwell on this issue.
After consuming the Lingzhi water, the disciples who had been trapped in the illusion regained their senses. Some of them beat their chests in shame, feeling that their cultivation was too shallow, which was why they had fallen for the demon beast's trick so easily.
Even Li Weiyan asked Zhu Mingying for a bowl to drink from.
Looking at Chongjingge and Fuli, who remained calm and unaffected, he sighed deeply and said, "Indeed, my cultivation is still insufficient, and my mental state is not as stable and resilient as that of my senior brother and junior brother, capable of leveling mountains and seas."
However, the next moment, he saw Chongjingge, whom he had described as having a "mind as calm as mountains and seas," pick up a bowl of Lingzhi water from the table, drink it all in one gulp, put down the bowl, and glance at him with indifferent eyes.
Seeing this, Fu Li assumed the other party was doing this to prevent his second senior brother from feeling ashamed, so he also picked up a bowl of water and drank it. Unexpectedly, it tasted sweet, quite different from the bitter taste he had expected. Zhu Mingying, who was standing next to him, saw the amazed expression on his face, held up a finger and smiled, "Ah Li, don't you think it tastes good? I specially improved the prescription and added a few refreshing herbs to neutralize the taste. If you like it, drink more."
Feeling like she was being treated like a child, Fu Li put down her bowl somewhat embarrassed. Turning to look at Li Weiyan, she gently comforted him, "Actually, what I saw in the illusion also bothered me. But seeing how brave my senior brothers are, I didn't want to give up, so I just pretended it never happened. It's already quite good that you were able to get through it on your own."
His words were half true and half false, but they did offer some comfort to Li Weiyan.
At this moment, Zhu Mingying became curious and leaned closer to ask, "So, what did you all see in the illusion?"
This sentence successfully led the three people back to their memories of not long ago, and different expressions appeared on their faces.
Li Weiyan looked pained and unwilling to recall the past, while Fu Li was somewhat embarrassed. However, Chongjingge's usually cold and expressionless face seemed to crack for a few moments, and his emotions flashed by unpredictably.
"Junior Sister, it's best not to ask about matters concerning inner demons," Li Weiyan coughed and said.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Yue was the one most affected by the illusion.
In the eyes of others, Xiao Yue is not only the only son of the Dragon Gate Mountain Sect Leader, who is very likely to inherit his father's position in the future, but also a golden spiritual root talisman cultivator, a prodigy. He has had a smooth life since birth, so how could he possibly be mired in inner demons?
However, that is the truth.
After drinking the Ganoderma lucidum water, Xiao Yue's eyes cleared for a moment as if they had returned to normal.
He suddenly turned his head to look in Fu Li's direction, and in an instant, his gaze seemed to become long and deep, as if it had traveled through a long period of time and space to freeze on the other person's face.
Just as Fu Li reached out and waved her hand in front of his eyes in confusion, his light-colored pupils suddenly surged with dark energy, a dense black mist spreading out, seemingly carrying a hint of pain. Then he fell backward, face up.
Xiao Yue was seen clutching her head, groaning in pain, and writhing frantically. Fu Li screamed in fright.
Everyone was startled by this unexpected turn of events and quickly took him upstairs.
Zhu Mingying used the acupuncture method unique to the Zhu family to clear his mind and dispel his demonic influences. Although she was a sword cultivator, she was born into the Zhu family, which had been practicing alchemy for generations, so she also knew how to refine pills and prepare medicines.
Xiao Yue's inner demons flared up quite abruptly. It took Chongjing Pavilion and Li Weiyan working together to suppress them. Zhu Mingying then worked to stabilize his mental state and clear his meridians, keeping them busy until nightfall.
Outside the door, as the sounds inside gradually subsided, a graceful figure emerged.
Zhu Mingying looked slightly tired: "I have temporarily suppressed his inner demons, and they will not resurface in the short term."
Li Weiyan looked worried and stepped forward to ask, "Will this affect A-Yue in the future?"
Zhu Mingying said gently, "This time, A-Yue's inner demons flared up suddenly, but it was all due to the illusion. As long as she returns to the sect and uses the spiritual spring water to cleanse her mind and remove the demonic energy, it should not recur, and she will be fine in the future."
Hearing this, the few people who had been waiting outside the door finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It was finally decided that Zhu Mingying, who was quite skilled in medicine and had extensive experience, would stay here to take care of Xiao Yue, while the others would take turns helping out.
Fu Li was originally first in line. But when he was about to go in to check on Xiao Yue, Li Weiyan stopped him and handed him a porcelain bottle.
Fu Li looked up and saw the young man smiling at him, saying, "Junior Brother, I've thought about it and I think this is a good opportunity for you and Senior Brother to reconcile. Your relationship with Senior Brother wasn't very good recently. But he was injured today while protecting you, so you should go and give him this medicine. It's perfectly legitimate. As for A-Yue, your Third Senior Sister and I can handle things here."
"Remember, this medicine is for external use and can be used on any wound. If your senior brother asks you, just say you brought it to him to apply the medicine."
"Go quickly."
Then, under the other party's smiling gaze, Fu Li was pushed out like a duck being herded.
Standing in the dimly lit corridor, looking at the porcelain vase in his hand, its surface smooth and its texture like jade, he could only helplessly walk towards the room in Chongjing Pavilion.
Reaching the door, he curled his index finger and knocked. A deep, clear voice came from inside: "Come in."
Fu Li pushed open the door and went inside.
Oil lamps were already lit in the room, but the light from the inn's candles was not very bright.
Fu Li took a few steps and came into the light and shadow.
A fair-skinned, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted body, covered in firm, resilient muscles, sat on the wooden bed. The upper body was naked, and two bloody, almost scabbed wounds were clearly visible on the right arm and chest, connected to the powerful muscles, giving Fu Li a strong visual impact and causing him to stop in his tracks.
Chongjingge looked up, his dark pupils, which couldn't reflect any color under the lamplight, reflected the boy's fair and delicate face, and he was slightly surprised.
"How come it's you?" The voice was slightly husky and magnetic, making one's ears feel soothed.
Fu Li was taken aback again, and somewhat reluctantly took out the porcelain bottle that Li Weiyan had given him.
"Um... let me apply the medicine for you."
This task should have been done by Li Weiyan, as he was the one Chongjing Pavilion initially asked to deliver the medicine. However, unexpectedly, the other party sent their junior brother instead.
At this moment, he was displaying his upper body to the boy with absolutely no clothes on.
Chongjingge's expression was indescribable; he simply replied, "In that case, give me the medicine."
As he spoke, he reached out his uninjured left hand to take the porcelain bottle from Fu Li's hand. However, the moment his rough fingers accidentally touched her, he suddenly pulled back, behaving very strangely.
Chongjingge didn't know what was wrong with him. Perhaps it was because his disheveled appearance was being observed by his junior brother, or perhaps it was because the atmosphere between them alone in the room was somewhat awkward. In any case, he couldn't control his behavior.
This never happened when I secretly applied the medicine to him in the middle of the night before.
Chongjingge thought to himself.
On the other side, Fu Li looked at Chongjing Pavilion with a slightly strange expression.
The man sat on the edge of the bed, his mouth tightly closed, revealing his sharp jaw. His cheeks were slightly flushed in the firelight, like the red border on the horizon at dusk. His sharp, piercing eyes darted away in a panic, unable to look at him, his hands clenched into fists and pressed firmly against his knees.
This behavior gave Fu Li a bold idea—could it be that Senior Brother is shy?
Author's Note: This chapter will be available for purchase on Thursday. If you haven't finished reading the previous chapters, please do so quickly! There will be a 10,000-word bonus chapter at noon that day. Thank you all for your support these past few days!
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