Chapter 188 Rain Bell (Part Six) "What if I want to leave?"...
Lin Feiran was not made of wood or stone; he had noticed earlier that the Golden Wave Sword Spirit's attitude towards him was somewhat strange.
Later, she accidentally learned that her mother was skilled in weapon crafting, and the sword spirit always avoided talking about the former sword master, so she didn't even know whether the sword master was male or female.
When pieced together from scattered fragments, she came up with a bold guess.
Today, this speculation has finally been confirmed.
The Golden Wave Sword Master is her mother.
Lin Feiran suddenly felt a burning sensation in her eyes.
She found it difficult to describe the turbulent emotions swirling within her, and could only slowly close her eyes to suppress the bitterness and sorrow.
At the foot of Jade Mountain, Wei Changzai and Shen Qi listened to this story and looked at the lone figure standing on the peak. They were both filled with emotion.
They all knew that Lin Feiran had chosen a spirit sword in the Pilgrimage Valley, but no one knew its origin. The two of them went back and searched through other ancient books, but there was no record of it.
I only learned today that the sword was actually forged by Lin Feiran's mother.
But compared to Shen Qi's surprise, Wei Changzai's gaze was even more moved.
Lin Feiran once recounted her past.
As a child, she had a sudden inspiration and vowed to become a swordsman like Li Changfeng, so she picked up a wooden stick and practiced randomly.
Seeing this, her mother made her a wooden sword. It was very light and only reached shoulder height. Ordinary swords rarely had such a length, but Lin Feiran found it very comfortable to use.
At that time, my mother said, "You are taller than others and you are used to using your waist and back to generate power, so your movements are wide and sweeping. Ordinary swords are not suitable for you. For now, use a wooden sword. When you grow up, I will give you a real, handy sword."
Unfortunately, her mother passed away too early, and the sword that was never given away became a regret.
He looked at Lin Feiran's back and saw her hands slowly tightening. She seemed calm, but the turmoil in her heart was palpable, which made him feel a little envious.
...When exactly did she learn to keep everything hidden beneath a calm surface?
On Jade Mountain, Bai Lu noticed Lin Feiran's changing expression and became even more puzzled. She rarely had anything to be curious about these days, so she couldn't help but ask.
Why does your mother's name resonate with you so deeply?
Lin Feiran paused for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice, "I found a spirit sword in the Pilgrimage Valley, and its name is Jinlan."
Bai Lu then remembered that she had carried a red umbrella when she went out.
"So this umbrella was made by her... Yes, she once said that even when forging a sword, she would forge the most unique one."
"You don't know?" Lin Feiran asked in confusion.
Bai Lu shook her head, coughed for a while, then slowly sat down behind the desk.
"I haven't seen your mother for a long time. I only vaguely knew that she was traveling outside. Later, when Lin Lang returned to the capital to report on his duties, I finally met her in Luoyang."
What your mother did is something that not only I, but perhaps even your father, are unaware of.
Lin Feiran remained standing on Jade Mountain, his gaze flickering slightly, but he was only looking at her.
"You don't know what she's doing, but what about her? Does she know what you're doing?"
"She didn't know. If she had known about the body-snatching incident, she would have stormed the palace long ago..."
Bai Lu saw Lin Feiran shake her head, so she paused slightly, then realized that she was asking about the ambush outside the city.
She lowered her eyes: "Whether you believe it or not, I was not aware of the ambush beforehand. Even Aheng and the others only received a message from the Holy Maiden of the Secret Sect a couple of days ago. The message mentioned that Jinlan's cultivation of the Golden Wave Technique was quite remarkable, and in order to avoid the ambush failing, she asked them to send people to assist."
When I found out, I immediately sent a message to your mother. She received it, but she still came.
Just like you are today.
Lin Feiran clenched her fists slightly, recalling the night her mother passed away.
Before the crowd could ambush and kill her, she was already seriously injured. Knowing that her days were numbered, she resolutely turned back to meet the final blow that the esoteric sect had prepared.
She returned to Luoyang to see them one last time.
What was Mother doing before returning to the city?
Seeing that Lin Feiran was silent, Bai Lu assumed that Lin Feiran was resentful, so she smiled slightly and revealed a bitter smile.
"You're probably thinking, since I already knew about this and was in Luoyang, why didn't I lend a hand? You might think I'm a hypocrite."
Lin Feiran was still in a state of shock. She exhaled softly and said, "I've said it before, my opinion is not important. What's important is my mother. She's the one who truly understands you."
Bai Lu did not answer when she heard this. She just looked at Lin Feiran and remained silent for a long time, but her eyes kept flashing.
"...After your mother came to Luoyang, she met me at a palace banquet. Even through the curtains, her gaze was like a sharp knife, seeing right through me."
With just one glance, she saw through my depression and sensed my exhaustion.
She later sneaked into the palace several times, intending to take me away, back to the demon realm, back to my master, but I refused.
At this point, Bai Lu's emotions surged, and she couldn't help but cough. She even trembled from exhaustion, causing the pill in the lamp to spin incessantly.
Lin Feiran simply stood aside, watching her lean on the table for a while before finally standing up.
She walked to the edge of Jade Mountain, facing the surging Milky Way below, and said in a hoarse but calm voice, "But she doesn't know that I can no longer walk."
Suddenly, the sound of flower buds sprouting came from behind. If there was only one branch, it would be insignificant, but if thousands of flowers were growing together, it would sound like broken bones struggling, which was chilling.
Lin Feiran immediately turned around to look.
In this dreamlike, fabricated Jiangnan water town, peonies crowd the cracks in the walls and the eaves, their flower heads as big as buckets, in all colors of red, white, yellow, and green. They sprout together, breaking through the eaves and high walls, crushing bricks and tiles, and growing straight upwards.
When they reach halfway up in the air, they intertwine and twist together, forming flower pillars that reach the sky and the earth.
The intricate petals above continuously unfolded, supporting the entire starry sky, while the roots below continued to spread, lying in every inch of the land, and in just a few breaths, they were already everywhere.
Each pillar is very flexible, with occasional undulations in the middle, like the beating of a heart.
Upon closer inspection, each petal is covered with glistening white dew, as if it were about to rain.
Lin Feiran noticed the strange situation before her, gripped the skirt-pressing knife at her waist, and looked on alert. Bai Lu turned to look at her, but only smiled gently.
"Not to mention that I don't want to do anything to you, even if I wanted to, I couldn't do it now."
She looked at the scene before her again, her expression unreadable.
"To allow a mortal to possess a human body, an extremely large amount of spiritual energy is required. Only a magic array can gather this energy in one place."
Setting up the formation requires my personal intervention, and the spiritual energy will also invade my body.
Because of the constant inhalation and exhalation of spiritual energy that I couldn't bear, my spiritual veins unknowingly spread out of my body and took root in this city... But the reason I am able to live is also because of these magic arrays.
Feiran, I have become one with this royal city, and can never leave.
Shen Qi was stunned, almost frozen in place. He turned to look at the flower pillars that supported the flowers, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Lin Feiran also looked into the distance, surprised but not sentimental.
"No wonder, as Xian said, you have nothing in your heart, yet you are still able to live in this world. It turns out that your heart has already been beating elsewhere... It's just that you reap what you sow."
Bai Lu lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, a hint of pleasure on her beautiful face: "Yes, I used to think constantly about how I would bear the sins I had committed. It wasn't until I discovered this that I finally felt at peace."
Helping someone to take their life, and then paying for it with one's own life—how can this not be karmic retribution?
"If your mother knew, she would surely point at my head and say I'm a block of wood, and then try to find a way to get rid of me."
I don't want to involve her anymore; it's my sin, and I should atone for it myself. So I just told her I didn't want to leave.
"On the day of the ambush, of course I wanted to save Jinlan, but how could I leave the city?"
As she spoke, an unspeakable sorrow welled up in her eyes.
“If that were not the case, why would the cult have ambushed you outside the city? Since they were using you and your father as bait, wouldn’t it have been better to enter the city and control you? But I am ultimately a useless person who cannot leave the city, and can only watch helplessly.”
Lin Feiran frowned deeply: "But I've seen you in the Valley of Pilgrimage."
Bai Lu sighed, "That's not me, just a puppet that can move slightly. I'm just using it to make up a pair of fake eyes. Otherwise, why would I always cover my face, afraid that people will notice something is wrong?"
Lin Feiran felt dizzy: "Why did the esoteric sect want to kill my mother?"
"I don't know." Bai Lu coughed, covering her mouth.
"I have investigated and questioned them, but even Ding Yi doesn't know the reason for the cult's pursuit. How could I possibly know..."
However, the year your mother passed away, she left Luoyang and went somewhere else. Before she left, she came to the palace to see me and asked me to protect you.”
Lin Feiran immediately stepped forward, her expression urgent: "Where did she go?"
The white dew pauses slightly.
“I don’t know where this is, but it must be a place unknown to everyone, otherwise she wouldn’t have described it like that. On the day she left, she headed north.”
At the ends of the earth, at the corners of the sea...
Lin Feiran's eyes flickered as he kept recalling the books he had read before, but no matter whether they were ancient classics or travelogues, no one had ever mentioned such a place.
As for breaking the wind, she had once heard the Golden Wave Sword Spirit say that the "Calming the Wind and Waves" sword technique was originally created to cut through the wind...
Why cut the wind?
Lin Feiran felt shrouded in mystery, overcoming one obstacle after another, but now she felt she was very close to the truth.
A few thoughts flashed through her mind, but Lin Feiran gradually calmed down. She touched the dagger that held her skirt down, glanced back, and asked one last question.
"I want to know if the rampant cold disease is related to you?"
"A cold illness?" Bai Lu pondered for a moment before realizing that it referred to the strange disease in the city. She sighed slightly, and as if remembering something, her gaze towards Lin Feiran became complicated.
"You want to ask me about the pill formula, don't you?"
Bai Lu moved her fingers slightly, and a yellowed letter appeared between them. She handed it to Lin Feiran.
“This illness has nothing to do with me. I don’t practice medicine, so how would I know anything about healing and saving lives? This prescription was sent by the Tantric sect.”
Lin Feiran immediately took it and examined it closely. The medicinal ingredients on the prescription were exactly the same as those analyzed by Ru Xian, and there wasn't even an extra ingredient.
She suddenly looked up and asked, "Besides these elixirs, what else was added to the pills?"
Bai Lu raised her hand, and the array in the Wujian Ground changed. A golden thread pierced the top and hung down from the sky. The veins on the tender petals were almost visible, and between the petals and leaves, a few drops of clear dew, round as pearls, were condensed.
"In addition to those medicinal herbs, each batch of pills needs to be made with three drops of this nectar, which is passed down orally among the esoteric Buddhists."
The drop of dew was clustered together, its color hazy white, like the morning mist. Lin Feiran only had to get close to smell the dampness to feel refreshed and invigorated, and all the dizziness and distracting thoughts from before had vanished.
She had experienced this feeling before in Jihai, and she knew what it was without Bailu saying a word.
"Is this formed from condensed spiritual energy?"
Bai Lu nodded upon hearing this: "My magic array can gather spiritual energy. When it flows, the spiritual energy will condense into water droplets, which is the purest part."
Therefore, what can alleviate cold symptoms is not spiritual objects like the hibiscus tree, but spiritual energy?
Why?
Lin Feiran's brows were almost knotted together.
But before he could think further, a whistle sounded from below Jade Mountain. Lin Feiran stared at Bai Lu for a moment, then suddenly flipped down, his dark robes disappearing into the night.
Jade Mountain wasn't very high. Lin Feiran drew her skirt-pressing knife, which was hanging from her waist, and slowly carved it into the cliff face of Jade Mountain. In just a few breaths, she landed on a low rock, then flipped the short dagger down and shattered a piece of jade.
On the other side, Wei Changzai was already at the intersection of the magic array. The moment she made her move, she also fell down with her sword. A light sound like a mirror shattering immediately came from the void. In an instant, spiritual power circulated and flowed within her body once again.
Lin Feiran looked up at Jade Mountain, and Bai Lu looked back at her. A clear, ringing sound came from above. She turned over, raised her hand, and stood up again. The snow-white shimmering water was now lying in front of her.
"I know everything I need to know, I should go now."
Bai Lu's expression was unclear; she simply stood amidst the wind of the swords and said, "I thought you would kill me today."
"I will not arbitrarily convict someone before I know the truth. I am here today simply to find out the answer."
Lin Feiran twisted his wrist and slung the sword behind his back.
“If you had participated in the ambush back then, I would not have stopped, but you didn’t… My mother was unaware of what you did, and before she passed away, she asked you to protect her. She must not have any resentment in her heart, and I have no right to condemn her.”
But I'm determined to kill the Human Emperor.
Not far away, Shen Qi's eyes widened, as if he had heard something shocking.
Bai Lu slowly closed her eyes, paused for a long time, and finally said, "Since I let you into the Avici Hell, it means I don't want you to leave."
Lin Feiran remained unmoved: "If you don't want me to leave, you shouldn't have let me see the four complete volumes of 'The Great Sound is Silent.' You clearly know that I can memorize them all. This doesn't seem like you want to trap me here."
Bai Lu raised her hand, and several branches spun around, catching her down from Jade Mountain, where she stood facing the three of them.
She gazed at Lin Feiran for a long time, her eyes filled with pity: "They have set a deadly trap for you, and even I cannot stop it. Whether it is the Human Emperor or Ding Yi, they are just pawns in this game and cannot control the situation."
Lin Feiran's gaze sharpened: "Are you trying to convince me not to kill the King of Killers?"
Bai Lu was slightly taken aback, then shook her head with a wry smile, her eyelashes drooping, her eyes devoid of any emotion.
"I'm exhausted. Over the years, I've been atoning for my sins, and I no longer have the energy to care about other people or think about other things. I'm willing to refine pills for them because I can't bear to see the people in the city suffer, and I want to do as much as I can."
What you want to do to him, I no longer have the energy to care.
Lin Feiran remained holding his sword, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with these words.
Bai Lu looked at the profusion of flowers in the sky and sighed softly.
Fei Ran, stay here and never leave again...
You will be safe and sound if you don't go out for at least a hundred years.
Lin Feiran lowered her eyes, her gaze sharp and menacing: "What if I want to leave?"
Author's Note: This chapter still has a little something left, but considering I have to work tomorrow and can't stay up all night, I'll finish it during the day [crying][crying][crying] The next chapter will end with Yu Linling.
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