Chapter 16 Exceptional Excellence (Part 4) "...No one ever told me..."
"Now, you can leave."
Ru Xian turned and walked back to the jade throne, her back view clearly indicating "take care." But Lin Feiran did not leave, and only said, "Your Majesty, there is still one thing that is unclear."
Ru Xue stopped in her tracks, glanced back slightly, her long eyelashes gleaming with gold, revealing a hint of weary gloom: "What is it?"
Lin Feiran paused upon seeing this, but still asked, "Your Excellency just said that my sword bone problem has not passed. What do you mean by that?"
Upon hearing this, Ru Xian turned her whole body around and scrutinized her closely with a peculiar gaze. After a long while, she finally spoke: "Now you remember it very clearly."
Lin Feiran: "..."
She remained silent for a moment, then nodded to him and said frankly, "Actually, I have a pretty good memory. I can remember a book after reading it once or twice."
Ru Xian chuckled.
People can indeed laugh when they are extremely speechless.
He could understand that human lifespans were too short, so they could only retain those profound memories and discard unimportant trifles. But he could not agree that someone as unique as him was also caught up in "trivial matters".
"Don't mention it again."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, and only after receiving Lin Feiran's reply did he raise his hand. In an instant, the doors and windows closed, plunging the room into darkness.
Suddenly, tiny specks of light, like dust motes, appeared all around, resembling the glow of fireflies transformed from decaying grass, yet gentler and more fragile. They floated around, seemingly carefree, but in an instant, the light dimmed, then flickered reluctantly for a moment before disappearing.
Amidst the shimmering light and shadows, a jade-white hand reached out, its fingertips catching a speck of light before presenting it to her.
"What I saw at the grand banquet was this faint light."
He slowly approached Lin Feiran. The closer he got to her, the clearer his outline became, and he even revealed a stunning beauty under the flickering golden light.
In this dark room, the radiant light emanating from Lin Feiran was comparable to the bright moon, so dazzling that he squinted.
"Can you see it? Pure as gold dust, translucent as jade, this is the sword bone that you are dissipating."
"...Dissipated." Lin Feiran suddenly felt a dryness in her throat.
She had read in a book that one of the unique features of sword bones was this nourishment and dissipation.
The other spiritual bones are all naturally formed, varying in length and shape. Only the sword bone is different; it begins small and needs to be nurtured little by little to grow until it completely merges with the human spine.
Seeing that her expression had slightly changed, Ru Xian couldn't help but feel a sense of surprise: "I thought you should know that once you reach a certain level, you can see through these scattered lights. What, didn't your sect masters tell you this?"
Lin Feiran relaxed his back, his neck drooping slightly, and sighed softly: "...No one ever told me."
Ru Xian suddenly realized.
Yes, she fled the mountains because of the bone-removing incident. Before slaughtering sheep and cattle, who would say much to the animals?
He lowered his eyes, his tone cool yet merciless as he once again exposed his lie: "Perhaps it is precisely because your sword bone dissipated so strongly that they made their move so early."
Seeing that the man was still hanging his head, Rushan raised his hand, and a porcelain bottle appeared in his palm. He pointed his fingers and a drop of round, ink-black fragrant dew floated out of the bottle. He then slowly pushed it into Lin Feiran's brow, and the light emanating from his body instantly stopped.
Ru Xian did not touch her, but Lin Feiran still felt a slight itch between her eyebrows, so she looked up and met a pair of eyes.
"The reason why the sword bone is dissipating is because your Dao heart is damaged, and therefore you are unable to nourish the sword bone. The Fragrance Dew can temporarily help you stabilize it, so there is no need to be anxious."
He raised his hand, and strands of golden light moved about, gathering the scattered, dark dust of light into one place.
"I don't know your past, but some things and some people are not as important as you think."
The lingering light dust condensed into a fragrant bead, as large as an apricot or plum, which gently fell into Lin Feiran's palm, still emitting a faint glow.
...
Lin Feiran stepped out of the palace gate, holding not only the fragrant pearl but also a string of white jade bells that had been inserted into her hand.
As for the purpose of the snowflakes, he seemed very tired and lay down on the bed to sleep. The snowflakes covered the bed and he made no further movement.
Suddenly a long shadow loomed over her. She looked up and saw Xun Feifei standing on the high railing, with a few people she knew somewhat behind him.
He looked at what she was holding, crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow, and said slowly, "Perhaps we should say, 'Welcome to the team.'"
A glance around revealed that everyone had a string of white jade bells hanging from their waist.
*
The wind and snow are desolate, but the sun shines brightly in the east.
In the center of the Sanqingshan Taoist temple stood a three-zhang-high stone platform, upon which sat several elders. Zhang Chunhe sat among them, his expression peaceful and serene. He watched his disciples, who were excited and eager to practice, with a slight smile.
Several days have passed. Lin Feiran's defection may have caused quite a stir, but it was ultimately just a pastime. In the face of the major event to be announced today, no one will discuss an insignificant disciple anymore.
Elder Zhou Yan finally stood up. He was a strong man with a head of black hair that stood up straight, which attracted everyone's attention as soon as he moved.
"I have gathered you all here today to announce something important, but I suppose you all already know it, so I will not waste any more words." His voice was as loud as a bell, resounding in every corner.
As soon as he finished speaking, a cheer erupted in the training ground as the dust settled. The disciples could no longer contain their excitement and began to discuss loudly.
"Ten years have passed, and the masters in the Pilgrimage Valley are finally willing to reopen their gates. This time, I'm determined to go in and steal a spirit sword!"
"Forget it, if you want to enter Sword Mountain to get the sword, you have to go through the Flying Flower Gathering first, and then be in the top ten in the Pilgrimage Ceremony. Not to mention other sects, even our Daohe Palace has Senior Brother Wei and Senior Sister Pei to take the lead. It's not up to you or me."
The disciple was not disappointed: "But there are other treasures left behind by our ancestors when they passed away in the valley. Picking up even one of them would be a bonus!"
Looking at the excited disciples below the stage, Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh loudly: "In order to help you all achieve good results, in addition to the daily instruction, a few of us will be stationed at the dojo for the next few months. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us!"
The disciple shouted, "Thank you, Elder!"
Zhang Chunhe smiled and looked at him with the kindness of an elder. He glanced behind him and asked, "Chang Ying, where is Chang Zai?"
Ji Changying sighed, "We parted ways with our junior brother, and we don't know where he went."
Zhang Chunhe frowned: "Did you send him a message?"
"Seven or eight messenger birds were sent by Master, but there has been no reply. It is probably because they have not received it yet."
“It’s not that he didn’t receive it, he just didn’t want to see it.” Zhang Chunhe smiled faintly, a vermilion bird appeared in his palm, and he actually said, “Changzai, once things are settled here, there’s no need to rush back.”
Ji Changying raised an eyebrow slightly, but suppressed her doubts and did not ask for the reason.
Zhang Chunhe watched the paper bird fly away and suddenly sighed, "I've never understood what you, my junior brother, are thinking. I didn't understand before, and I understand even less now. Because I don't understand, there are many things that I have to do myself."
Ji Changying smiled and said, "Master, you've worked so hard."
Zhang Chunhe simply said, "The mistakes of a disciple should be made up for by the teacher."
"Master is truly righteous." Ji Changying lowered her eyelashes and smiled slightly. "By the way, I recently received another letter from Bei Yuan, mentioning the beast chaos and hoping that Daohe Palace can provide assistance."
The chaos caused by the beasts in the Northern Plains is an old story, and there is no sect stationed there, so they often seek help from the Daohe Palace, which is relatively close by.
Zhang Chunhe nodded: "You should handle it. If it's not too dangerous, take some disciples to train. Make sure nothing goes wrong."
"yes."
...
The crimson messenger bird flew by on the wind, chasing the clouds and the moon, and finally caught up with a celestial horse chariot at nightfall.
Although cultivators can ride on magical artifacts, most people still prefer to use spirit beasts like celestial horses because it consumes too much spiritual energy, and Wei Changzai is no exception.
Hearing the familiar chirping sound, he reached out the window and the carrier bird landed steadily on his fingertip. He intended to trap the carrier bird in the water prison as usual, but in an instant, the red patterns appeared, and the carrier bird burst open and broke free of the water prison.
“Changzai, once the matter here is settled, there is no need to rush back.”
Wei Chang was puzzled, but he kept quiet about it. Since his master had said there was no need to rush back, then he would not return.
He released the messenger birds he had been accumulating from his mustard seed bag. As soon as the spell was lifted, seven or eight voices rang out at the same time, all of them admonitions from Ji Changying. The sentences overlapped and the voices intersected, making it impossible to understand anything clearly.
Wei Changzai remained seated, expressionless, seemingly oblivious to everything, until a celestial horse neighed, at which point he slowly opened his eyes.
A gust of wind whipped up the curtain, bringing in a few breaths of salty, damp air; the endless sea had arrived.
As night fell and the starry sky stretched out over the sea, Wei Changzai settled the celestial horse, patted its head, and then went off to search for something.
This place is rarely visited by people, so it's not impossible for someone to slowly hide here and heal their wounds. However, the sea breeze is damp, which is not conducive to recuperation.
While love beans are useful, they are practically useless when it comes to finding people. Is there a magic technique that, once used, can connect people no matter how far apart they are? If not, how can it be created?
On the tranquil seaside, his thoughts were in turmoil.
He suddenly thought of the arrow he had shot. Even though it had deviated slightly, it had still wounded her. Would she resent him?
After leaving the mountain, he had frequent dreams in which he would hear her hoarse voice, see her slightly red eyes, and then taste that drop of blood again.
It was hot, sweet, and vibrant—a taste completely different from his own.
His face remained calm, but his thoughts were in turmoil. When he reached the shore, Wei Changzai suddenly stopped and looked up.
On the rugged rocks stood a slender white figure, holding a pipa, his black hair disheveled, his face indistinct.
"Young man, what are you doing on the Endless Coast?"
Even though he had never met him before, Wei Changzai recognized the person in front of him and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Xie. I am here to find a friend on the shore."
The Endless Sea is the boundary between the human and demon realms. To prevent the great war from reigniting, someone must guard this boundary. Xie Kanhua is the guardian of this place.
"Huh? Someone else has come here?" Xie Kanhua asked in confusion. Then, a ray of spiritual light spread out from beneath his feet, and a spiritual wind rose up, sweeping across the entire coastline in a short while.
He stepped forward: "What does your friend look like?"
Wei Changzai said, "She had an arrow wound in her shoulder, was about my age, had bright eyes and a pure heart, a beautiful appearance, and an upright expression, though her eyes were slightly dull..."
Xie Kanhua interrupted him: "You mean a woman? I haven't seen a female Daoist travel here for a long time. Oh, no, not long ago I did see a bridal sedan chair pass overhead. She must be some family's daughter..."
“Senior, in order to avoid any omissions, I would like to search for her myself. Is that alright?” Wei Changzai did not care which family’s daughter she was, nor did he completely trust Xie Kanhua.
Xie Kanhua breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was good that he didn't need to help. If the younger generation had asked, he really wouldn't have known how to refuse.
He sat down with his pipa in his arms, listened carefully to tune the strings, and said, "You can, but you can't go near the Endless Sea, otherwise I will throw you back to the sect."
"yes."
Wei Chang searched very carefully, leaving no corner unchecked. When he reached a certain place, he suddenly saw a flash of silver light in the opposite forest. It was the light of a sword blade. He immediately leaped and followed.
Following the trail, he indeed heard a familiar voice ahead, but it wasn't the one he knew best.
He approached silently, his glassy eyes gazing at the speaker.
That's where the river ends.
The two donned black robes and walked into the grassy area while chatting and laughing.
Wei Changzai immediately understood that it was the demon realm.
He recalled Jiang Jin's previous words, which were incoherent and extremely strange. He also claimed that he knew Lin Feiran's life or death. Could it be...? But how could she have gone to the demon realm?
Before the door was closed, Wei Chang took a step forward to chase after it. Suddenly, another messenger bird landed. This time, he did not restrain it. The bird was set ablaze upon contact, and Qiu Tong's weak cry for help could be heard from within.
"Wei Changzai, I'm on the west side of the small pine forest, seriously injured. I... save me..."
As if exhausted, the sound stopped there.
Wei Changzai stopped, his dark eyes reflecting the ever-shrinking square gate. After a moment of stillness, he looked up at the bright moon in the clouds and finally set off.
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