Chapter 149 The Heart of a Blame Dog He was a little dog raised by a yellow dog...
Chi Ya walked slowly forward, the corners of his lips curling upward.
Short daggers covered his entire body, arranged in neat rows, and from a distance, they looked like a body covered in scales, gleaming with a cold light under the rising sun.
He lowered his eyes and scrutinized the two of them, his gaze fixed on Lin Feiran, his expression no longer as disdainful as when they first met.
"We meet again, Lin Feiran. I didn't expect you to have the guts to go to the south."
He twirled the banner around his arm and planted it firmly in the dry grass beneath his feet.
The khaki flag fluttered in the wind, its yellow background adorned with black patterns. Just as it touched the ground, a ray of light emanated from it, creating a vast and magnificent sight.
Lin Feiran calmed himself down and ignored them, instead glancing around to search for a way to break through.
Now outnumbered and outmatched, and with both she and Xuanzhen in the same state of mind, resistance is not a long-term solution; escape is the best course of action.
However, in terms of speed, the two were no match for the Greyhound tribesmen...
With a slight shift in his gaze, Lin Feiran moved his eyes away from Chi Ya and slowly placed them on the seven or eight Greyhound Clan members in front of him.
Lin Feiran moved suddenly, appearing behind three of them in an instant. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and before her hair and robe could fall back down, she held her long sword horizontally. The blade flashed and pierced the back of her neck, sending a chill through her body!
Several streaks of blue lightning flashed before their eyes, and in that instant, the person under the sword had already dodged dozens of meters away.
Another breath passed, and his body suddenly relaxed. The longsword, which had been frozen in place, fell violently, leaving only a sword mark on the ground.
Xuan Zhen frowned slightly, his feet moved with lightning speed, and he arrived at Lin Feiran's side in an instant, asking hurriedly.
What happened just now?
"It's nothing, I just stopped for a moment."
Lin Feiran's gaze fell on Chi Ya. Just then, the Golden Wave Umbrella, which was suspended in mid-air, swayed slightly and fell heavily as if out of control, but was pulled back before hitting the ground.
Xuanzhen couldn't hide her surprise, and Lin Feiran was also shocked. The two of them turned their heads to look and saw Chi Ya laughing silently.
He laughed uncontrollably, supporting the array flag with one hand, his voice still a little hoarse: "Do you think I'm that stupid? I suffered from your magic weapon last time, do you want to repeat the same mistake this time?"
With a flick of his right hand, the array flags shone brightly. After spinning three times in place, they suddenly rose up. With a few whooshing sounds, eighteen more small flags flew down from above, each with a diagram on it. The spiritual lines under the flags were connected, forming an extremely wide array plate that completely surrounded the group.
One of the small flags lit up, and a character in clerical script, "定" (ding), appeared in the array. Lin Feiran felt the stagnation again, but it didn't last long, only a breath.
But often, it is this slight difference in timing that determines the success or failure of the entire operation.
"When it comes to magical weapons, I'm no less skilled. Today, I will definitely have a fierce battle with you and take your life here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chi Ya leaped up, and the earthen yellow array flag immediately rushed down from the sky and landed steadily in his hand. As it spun, the array plate beneath his feet moved greatly, and a flying sand yellow dragon gathered from the array plate, carrying a powerful aura as it rushed straight towards him!
Lin Feiran twirled the longsword in her hand, transforming it into a slender knife. After circling it in her palm, she slashed it horizontally, severing half of the pursuing dragon's foot. Just then, she suddenly spun around, turning the knife into a sword, and thrust it at the people around her.
Past experience has taught her that when facing multiple opponents, one must not lose composure and must stick to one person!
The attack came suddenly, but the group was prepared and moved extremely fast, retreating dozens of meters in an instant. At the same time, they released their eight-clawed hooks, and with a few clanging sounds, the Golden Wave Sword was covered with iron hooks. The group worked together to pull their hands away, trying to remove the hooks from their grasp.
While the two sides were locked in a struggle, Lin Feiran was thinking to himself: Although he did not know what these flags were for, they were obviously meant to trap them here. With this reinforcement, it would be no easy task to launch a surprise attack and break through from among these people.
For now, perhaps the only option is to make plans with Red Fang.
She immediately formed a hand seal with her fingers, and with a turn of her longsword, before she could exert any force, a bolt of lightning flashed by, and after a few buzzing sounds, the attacking claws snapped in two!
Both sides stared intently, and saw a pale yellow figure standing among them.
Most members of the Greyhound clan are slender and strong, possessing the agility and flexibility of a young man. Although Xuanzhen did not grow up in the clan, his size is no different from that of the clansmen in front of him.
He said to Lin Feiran, "You don't need to fight alone. You focus on dealing with the people who set up the formation. As for the others, I'll take care of them. Although I'm weak, I can still run away a bit."
Given the current situation, it can only be as he described.
Lin Feiran pursed his lips and responded, saying "Be careful" before taking his sword and leaving to focus on dealing with the golden light mother-and-child daggers unleashed by Huanglong and Chiya.
Xuanzhen turned his back to her, looked at the clansmen in front of him, and once again held his sword horizontally in front of him, but only received a few fierce laughs in return.
"With your speed, who can you stop!"
"An abandoned cripple!"
"This is an insult to the name of the greyhound!"
The leader had black and white hair and looked six parts like Xuan Zhen, but his expression was more ruthless. He didn't take this abandoned brother seriously at all. After laughing for a bit, he charged towards Lin Feiran like lightning!
As the heavy blade fell, a clanging sound rang out, and a slanted horizontal blade immediately intercepted it. After the two streams of spiritual energy collided, they both retreated.
Xuan Zhen's gaze sharpened slightly as she looked down at her trembling right arm. She pursed her lips and couldn't help but glance at Lin Feiran's back.
Given her reaction time, she could have easily caught that knife even if it had struck her hard, but she didn't turn her sword back or even look back. She focused her attention on attacking Chi Ya.
This means she completely trusts him.
"..."
Xuanzhen gripped his short horizontal sword tightly, his back slightly bent, and in an instant, he leaped to the right, stopping another member of his clan.
The sounds of battle raged all around, but Lin Feiran seemed oblivious. While dodging the yellow dragon, she observed the dozen or so small flags in front of her, trying to find a flaw in their structure.
Although the array plate beneath his feet was large, it did not seem to be entirely driven by Chi Ya. It was just a matter of using the five words "fix," "trap," "fall," "seal," and "pursue" back and forth. However, he did not rely entirely on this array plate.
The array was used for encirclement, and the earth and sand dragons were used for disturbance. His real killing move was still the golden mother-and-child dagger in his hand.
Unlike the daggers used during nighttime patrols, these mother and child daggers are truly magical treasures.
As its name suggests, the dagger consists of two parts, a mother dagger and a child dagger. The mother dagger is about half an arm's length long, while the child dagger is only the size of a palm. Both are as fast as lightning, sharp enough to shatter mountains, and as light as a breeze. Their pursuing figures are difficult to catch. Even Lin Feiran suffered many hidden losses after several encounters with them.
Chi Ya's hand seals shifted, and the sand dragon, whose four legs had been severed, attacked from behind again. Lin Feiran immediately dodged and brought his long sword down hard, piercing the sand dragon's abdomen.
The rough yellow sand stirred the longsword, producing a piercing screech. Just then, a flash of cold light appeared from the left and right, revealing a pair of large and small daggers attacking from the side!
In an instant, silver patterns appeared on the hem of the black robe, blocking an attack at this crucial moment!
Chi Ya clicked his tongue in amazement upon seeing this, and changed his hand seals again: "I underestimated you. Your robe looks ordinary, but it is actually a high-grade magic robe! It's just a pity that even the best magic robe can only withstand three of my moves!"
Lin Feiran was even more surprised than him. What was just an ordinary robe before had become a dharma robe.
However, there was no time to think about it at the moment. Lin Feiran immediately turned around and retreated, looking up at the sky. The Golden Wave Sword was still firmly stuck in Huanglong's body.
She immediately made a hand seal with her fingers together, and while the sword was trembling violently, she leaped up and stepped onto the mother and child daggers, using the force to return to the dragon's body. Then she gripped the sword hilt with both hands and pressed down. The yellow dragon let out a roar and began to tumble and struggle in the air!
The longsword slashed fiercely, and a cloud of yellow sand poured out from its slender belly. The legless dragon fell from the sky to the ground, tumbling over with her before suddenly disintegrating!
The mother and daughter daggers were all blocked, and Lin Feiran, who was holding the umbrella in front, was also knocked back several meters, his feet leaving a deep mark on the dry grass!
A sudden gust of wind rose over the silent plain, and the rustling sound of grass being crushed came from ahead. It was Chiya raising his banner and attacking. Several streaks of light flashed around him, and four or five members of the Greyhound Clan who were not entangled by Xuanzhen split up to surround him. The sound of their footsteps attacking was like scattered drumbeats, which rang out from all directions!
Seal, trap, fall
The golden umbrella, which had been wide open with a hand seal, suddenly closed. The withered grass beneath Lin Feiran's feet turned into fine sand, dragging her into it. Just as her movements were restricted, the eight-clawed hook in the hand of the Greyhound Clan member pierced through the character "落" (luò, meaning "fall") and was lifted high as if a thousand pounds had been dropped!
Lin Feiran immediately raised her Golden Wave Sword and focused on dealing with the situation. Just as everyone was only a step away from her, a huge "定" (ding, meaning "fixed") character passed through her body, and her figure froze once again!
In a battle of wits, a single moment can mean the difference between life and death!
The array flags, mother-and-child daggers, horizontal swords, and eight-clawed hooks attacked all at once, their light shimmering everywhere. Lin Feiran had already tried his best to lift his sword, but his arms only trembled slightly, unable to cope.
Just then, a scarlet figure flashed past, it was the Golden Wave Sword Spirit who emerged from the umbrella!
She spun around, using her fingers as a sword to deflect the attacking twin daggers. With a swift movement, the shawl draped over her arm struck out, aiming straight for Chi Ya's face and forcing him back half a foot!
As the eight-clawed hooks and horizontal blades attacked from all directions, she was about to turn around when a figure was even faster. With a few loud bangs, all the magical weapons struck one person, and the connecting horizontal chains tightened, producing a tooth-grinding buzzing sound.
The person who came was none other than Xuanzhen.
His arms, legs, and right shoulder were deeply embedded with claws, and blood seeped into his pale yellow robe. Beneath the scratches, flesh and bone were clearly visible.
He blocked all the attacks, looked up at Lin Feiran, his eyes as bright as ever, and smiled, "We agreed earlier that you only need to deal with him, and I'll handle the rest."
The greyhound never deceives humans.
After saying this, he raised his arms, grabbed the eight-clawed chains around his body, and in a flash, pulled them several miles away before they could react.
Neither Xuanzhen nor Lin Feiran knew that it would take time for the array runes to appear. The five words that were just uttered were meant to kill Lin Feiran in one blow, but no one expected that she had a sword spirit, let alone that Xuanzhen would directly block it with her own body.
Now that they had missed their chance, the few Hound Clan members who wanted to accumulate merit were naturally very resentful, but they were unwilling to waste time with Xuanzhen. They glared at him fiercely, withdrew their claws, and tried to go around him.
"When will you understand? Right now, your opponent is me."
He raised his hand to wipe away the dark red from the corner of his lips, tore off half a piece of his robe, and tied the short horizontal sword to his palm.
"Today I will stand behind Lin Feiran and stop everyone else."
He believed she could solve the array, just as she believed Xuanzhen had the ability to protect the rear.
The leader said coldly, "Then let's see just how many people this piece of trash abandoned by the clan leader can stop!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the eight Greyhound Clan members launched a surprise attack. Their speed was so fast that it could not be detected by the naked eye; only streaks of dark blue lightning could be seen moving across the array plate.
The Thunder Movement Technique is a bloodline secret technique, equivalent to the cultivation methods of the human race. Its power depends entirely on the level of cultivation. Different levels of cultivation result in different speeds. Therefore, although all eight people are from the Greyhound clan, their speeds actually differ.
The fastest one was the one who distributed black and white.
In the blink of an eye, he was about to close in on the center again. Xuan Zhen chased after him, his hands forming a seal, and a bolt of lightning flew out from his palms and enveloped everything!
The man clearly underestimated Xuan Zhen, not expecting the thunder magic to be so powerful. Although he dodged, he was still hit in the right leg, staggered to the ground, and swallowed a mouthful of dirt.
Before Xuanzhen could catch up, he flipped himself up, coldly looked at the pursuer, and squeezed out three words: "You're asking for death!"
He raised his hand and gestured to the others: "I was going to let you go, but it seems there's no need for that now. Let's get rid of him first, and then focus on dealing with Lin Feiran!"
The others immediately turned around and surrounded him, trapping him inside.
A man who bore a striking resemblance to Xuan Zhen stepped forward slowly, his words devoid of any warmth: "When we went to the Demon Capital earlier, we wanted to borrow the Jingchuan Dojo. During that time, we merely exchanged a few jokes with you, which led to Lin Feiran's attack, and he has since forbidden us from entering again."
What, are you feeling quite smug now that you've become the Demon Lord's dog?
It's nothing but a case of the fox borrowing the tiger's power!
He looked at the others, his eyes full of mockery and ridicule: "You may not have seen this, but when he first became an envoy, he came from afar to his tribe to look for us, thinking he could find his family. Little did he know that we were the ones who abandoned him in the mountains!"
The other members of the Greyhound Clan were not surprised: "We had already heard that he was missing two shinbones, making it impossible for him to practice the clan's secret techniques. He doesn't qualify as a Greyhound, so abandoning him is only right. In other clans, perhaps they would raise him, but our clan has no need for the weak!"
Xuan Zhen's expression remained innocent and sincere, with a faint smile on his lips, seemingly unconcerned. He glanced at the center of the array plate out of the corner of his eye, where no more strange characters lit up. With the restrictions lifted, Lin Feiran's fighting spirit soared, and for a time, he and Chi Ya were evenly matched.
He had to hold these people back for her, and enduring a few sarcastic remarks was the least he could do to pay that price.
Xuan Zhen said, "A race that does not need the weak will inevitably produce no strong ones."
"What, did your mother teach you to say that?" The man who resembled him found it funny at first, and then burst into laughter. "You don't know, do you? Xuan was really raised by a yellow dog. His mother really was a dog."
If he hadn't said it himself, who would have believed it?
But after the laughter subsided, an undisguised disgust arose in his eyes.
“My mother was the chieftain of the Greyhound Clan, while your mother was just a yellow dog. Who are you insulting with such a title?”
Xuanzhen put his hands on his hips, not feeling insulted at all: "If you don't want to acknowledge me as your brother, then your mother is naturally not my mother. But if you want, you can bark with me too."
A flash of light appeared before his eyes, and before Xuan Zhen could retaliate, he was knocked back several meters. A sharp pain shot through his chest, making him dizzy.
The man's face was ashen, revealing an expression that Xuanzhen had never shown in her entire life: "You are not worthy to mention your mother. In her eyes, you will always be an indelible stain."
Xuanzhen's mother was an extremely strong yellow dog.
As a child, he did not realize that she was a dog that could not speak, nor did he realize that he was a person who could speak.
He has many brothers and sisters, all of whom are puppies just like him.
They spent their days rolling around in the mountains and forests, and every night they lay by the stream gazing at the night sky, calling out to each other in response.
He lay on all fours, barked loudly, and apart from not having a tail and needing to be wrapped in cloth, he was no different from them.
Later, his brothers and sisters had all grown up and gone their separate ways, but his aging mother still took him with her as she traveled from place to place until he was four years old, when she carried him out of the wilderness and went to the town.
In a dilapidated temple, he met his first "person".
"What kind of child is this? Why is he dressed in such tattered clothes and riding a dog?"
The cultivator looked surprised, raised his hand and picked up Xuanzhen, while the yellow dog just sat obediently around him, quietly watching the person in front of him.
The cultivator looked at the man and the dog, wondering where Xuanzhen had come from. He took out the divination tube at his waist and cast three divinations. Only then did he understand the reason for the past, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"I always thought that the demon race cherished their children, but I never imagined that there would be such cold-hearted people who abandoned their children in the mountains and forests just because of a disability, leaving their fate to fate..."
Everything is predestined. This old man has seen through too many secrets of fate, and I only have one year left to live. So be it. Two unfortunate souls meet. I will take you in and teach you, and then entrust you to my old friend after a year.
The monk lived in this dilapidated temple, and Xuanzhen and the yellow dog stayed there as well. Every day, besides weeding and planting beans, he taught Xuanzhen how to become a person.
"Most people who cultivate the Tao do so by seeking the false, but my son cultivates the Tao by seeking the true."
From then on, Xuanzhen became famous.
Life in the dilapidated temple was quite chaotic. Xuanzhen was like a real puppy, innocent and cute, but she couldn't help but cause trouble. After learning to walk on two legs, her most frequent activity was to excitedly pounce and bump into the old monk's waist.
The most troublesome thing is teaching him to speak human language.
He was completely unaware that he was a human being, and even felt sorry for the old monk who couldn't bark, so he would always make a couple of whimpers to express his sympathy, and he didn't study the bark seriously.
At this time, the yellow dog would raise its paw to pat him, bar its teeth and growl, until he spoke up in grievance before it would stop.
Xuanzhen was still young and didn't know why the old cultivator and the yellow dog were in such a hurry. In the past year, he had learned a lot while playing around, but he was still innocent and naive when communicating with others, which was in line with his age.
A year later, the time had come. The old cultivator calmly tidied up the room, walked into the courtyard, put his arm around Xuanzhen with one hand and stroked the yellow dog with the other, waiting for his old friend to come and take Xuanzhen away.
It was an autumn day with falling leaves, and everything in sight was a withered yellow. A few tiles fell from the dilapidated temple, waking him from his drowsy state.
He looked up at the old man with his eyes slightly closed and asked again, "Are you sleepy? Go inside and sleep."
The cultivator shook his head, took a mustard seed bag from his body and hung it on Xuanzhen's waist: "There is money in here. If no one comes after sunset, then he can't come either. I can't leave here, I can't take you away. After I die, there is a city ten miles ahead, called Suifeng Academy. Show him the mustard seed bag, and he will take you in."
Xuanzhen looked at him, confused: "What do you mean by death? You didn't teach me."
"Death is eternal sleep. I will sleep under this tree. If you remember the way in the future, you can come back and visit."
"I'm not leaving."
Xuanzhen squatted beside him, holding the yellow dog, waiting from midday until sunset, but no one knocked on the door of the dilapidated temple.
When he looked up again, the old monk had closed his eyes, lowered his head, and was no longer speaking.
Xuanzhen squatted beside him, just watching him, and then reached out to touch him. Suddenly, he slumped under the tree, crushing the fallen leaves on the ground, which startled him and made him jump back.
"Mother, he... he's not covered with a blanket!"
The yellow dog simply stood quietly to the side, barked three times, and then went forward to pile fallen leaves on him.
Seeing this, Xuanzhen thought it was a blanket, so he rushed forward to help. After burying everyone, the yellow dog grabbed his trouser leg and led him out of the temple to the next city.
As the man and his dog ran through the mountains, lightning would occasionally flash beneath Xuanzhen's feet, causing him to suddenly speed up and startle himself.
Compared to him, the yellow dog seemed to be struggling much.
She was too old; she had to stop and rest every few meters she rode. After many days of hardship and sleeping outdoors, she was finally able to enter the city.
Urged on by the yellow dog, Xuanzhen inquired everywhere, only to learn that the academy had moved away half a month ago.
Winter had arrived, and fine snow was falling. The yellow dog was too weak to go any further, so the man and the dog had no choice but to stay in the city and hide in a dilapidated ancestral hall, surviving on the few jade coins in their mustard seed bag.
However, the winter was tough, and the yellow dog's health deteriorated further. Xuanzhen went to many demons, and although they may have many longevity pills, they would never leave a single one for a mortal dog.
Finally, one morning, Xuanzhen was awakened by the yellow dog licking her, and her face lit up with joy: "Mother, you're better!"
The yellow dog whimpered once, licked him from head to toe, then went to the door, howled at the sky, and lay down forever, never to wake up again.
Xuan Zhen thought she had fallen asleep, so he held her in his arms and sat alone until nightfall. Only when her body gradually grew cold and he could no longer wake her did he stare blankly at her in his arms and belatedly realize something.
However, before she became conscious, tears had already flowed from her eyes.
Without anyone to guide her, Xuanzhen understood death for the first time and tasted tears for the first time.
From then on, he was finally all alone and began to wander around.
He traveled to many places in the demon realm. When he had nothing to do, he would hide next to the academy to eavesdrop and learn how to cultivate. He was often chased and attacked by passing children. He thought they were just playing with him, so he would run and stop, which only made people angrier.
When he was tired, he would sleep in the dark alley; when he was hungry, he would squat by the steamed bun shop, his eyes fixed on the bun. Sometimes he would get a plain bun, but most of the time he would be driven away. Then he would go to the mountains to chase rabbits and birds, which was also very enjoyable.
He likes rain.
Whenever it rains, I would squat at the bridgehead, ignoring the crowds passing by, and look down at the water, trying to see the rainbow on the rippling surface.
When he was fifteen, he wandered to the Demon Capital and encountered a man with snow-white hair and a golden robe. His appearance was so extraordinary that it amazed everyone. Behind him were two figures, one in black and one in green.
The man looked at him and said, "Although you're not of much use, your character is acceptable, and you're fast. It wouldn't hurt to take you under my wing and have you run errands. So, are you willing to follow me?"
Even a wanderer like him had long heard of the Demon Lord's formidable reputation.
He thought, "The world really is full of good people."
There are always more good people than bad in the world.
Xuanzhen coughed a few times, wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, and her voice was hoarse but resonant.
"To this day, I still believe it."
When people in the world practice Taoism, most of them take lies, but dogs practice Taoism and seek the truth instead.
He never forgot those words.
He may have originally been a yellow dog, but was born in human form; yet his heart will always remain as clear as a dog's.
"Hypocrite!" the person opposite spat. "When you came to the clan with the white jade bell, you talked to us eloquently, never stopping at the past. Weren't you just trying to interrogate us? Weren't you just using the name of the Demon Lord to bully others?"
If your mother hadn't been unable to bear it any longer and told you the truth, and expelled you from the clan, you would probably have been running rampant in the tribe!
You clearly hate us; otherwise, why are our people no longer able to go to the Jingchuan Dojo to cultivate?
Xuan Zhen sighed, her gaze as gentle and lingering as falling rain.
"Hate? I never hate this world, I just often feel sorry for it."
I regret that I am not strong enough to protect others, I regret that I am too timid and always feel that I can't protect anyone, and I regret that I am too naive and ignorant of the ways of the world.
Xuanzhen only needs to run fast, and cheering for others is fine too, but I still often feel sorry for her.
He was the weakest of the envoys, and this remained true even after Lin Feiran arrived.
But he saw a power in her, a power of the mind that humans often talked about, yet which was mysterious and elusive.
Xuanzhen raised his hand, and the horizontal sword he held parted his robes, revealing not skin and flesh on his legs, arms, and waist, but strands of Xuanling Iron.
He took one of them off and threw it on the ground, which surprisingly created several deep cracks!
“I thought that one day I would be like her, so I went to Zhang the blacksmith in the city and asked him to make these rings for me. He said that these things are not easy to make and should not be easily untied unless absolutely necessary.”
After I put it on, I rode around day after day.
Whenever Lin Feiran practiced her sword, I would start running. Later on, even when she wasn't practicing, I would still be running.
Today, it seems to have been quite effective; now, it should be a matter of 'last resort'.
He removed all the Xuanling Rings and put them back into his storage bag one by one. He looked up at the person opposite him, and a few flashes of lightning suddenly appeared in his eyes. His smile disappeared.
"In the Greyhound clan, people like me who are abandoned because of their natural disabilities are collectively called 'Guardians of the Toga,' which means sinful children."
Let's have a contest and see if you are faster, or if the guilty are faster.
Author's Note: Since this is a mini ensemble piece, the main characters definitely need to be filled in. [heart emoji]
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