Chapter 270 Three Solutions (Added) "Wake up, the person you're waiting for has arrived..."
The night rain falls in torrents, and a ray of dawn shines through.
Today, day and night can almost only be distinguished by the light shining through that engraving, but for many people, it is actually an endless night.
In this neglected little village, Zhang Siwo and others were gathered in the small pavilion in the courtyard, brewing tea around a stove, with round oranges roasting beside them, emitting a faint sour and astringent aroma.
They were discussing the future situation in a veiled manner. Behind them was a small house with lights on, and wind chimes swayed silently by the window, appearing especially tranquil and peaceful in the night rain.
“By the way, why aren’t you resting inside? What are you doing here in the wind?” Zhang Siwo asked Lin Feiran.
"Of course I'm waiting for the hail."
Lin Feiran's eyes were clear and innocent. She paused for a moment, then continued.
"Besides, I had already rested, but I was woken up by the thunder and rain in the middle of the night. Although I feel sleepy now, I just can't fall asleep, so I decided to come out for a walk."
"Is it to clear your head?" Zhang Siwo snorted twice. "I think some people can't even eat or talk properly when they think about people coming."
Lin Feiran nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Zhang Si choked, then grabbed two oranges and threw them in front of her: "Go shut up."
He stroked his chin and changed the subject: "It's been more than three months since that incident. Almost all the arrest warrants issued for her have been withdrawn, and the cult hasn't mentioned her again. That's a good thing."
But Qingque said they're heading to Luoyang City, and even Bi Sheng has set off. Can you guess why?
Murong Qiudi lowered her eyelashes, twirling two jade stones between her fingertips, her brows furrowed, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, she simply shook her head.
Li Changfeng peeled open a soft, rotten orange, without even looking up, and said, "I can't say for sure, but it's definitely related to my senior brother."
Zhang Si sat up straight, leaned closer, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "You mean, Ding Yi, the head of the Canxing Domain, the teacher of a nation, and our famous 'Father-in-Law'?"
Murong Qiudi suddenly spoke up: "Among the Nine Swords of Fengtian, there is one person who has never shown himself. After hearing your description last time, and considering the details of my past interactions with Ding Yi, I suspect that he is also involved with the Secret Sect, and may even be the one of the Nine Swords who has never shown himself."
Zhang Si exclaimed in surprise, and Lin Feiran immediately turned to look. After seeing Li Changfeng nod, the two of them gasped at the same time.
Zhang Siwo said indignantly.
"Let's forget about Zhang Chunhe. Although he has an eccentric temperament, he can't be considered ascetic. He might be seeking something from the esoteric sect, and perhaps even making a wish for the eternal glory of Daohe Palace."
Dante was a true ascetic. During the great war between the two worlds, he was a leading figure. He turned the tide and saved countless people, even though he almost died. Afterwards, he didn't care about fame and lived a secluded life in the city.
Moreover, given his current level and status, what is there that he cannot obtain?
Li Changfeng shook his head: "Desire is the most common thing in the world. That's what he told me. And what he sought has never changed from beginning to end. Those who participated in the war between the two worlds with him in the beginning all know that."
Li Changfeng placed the peeled orange in front of Lin Feiran and wrote two words on the table with the juice.
unfair.
"Lord Murong, you were involved in it back then, so you should be very familiar with these two words."
Murong Qiudi lowered her eyes, her face flickering in the firelight, and suddenly realized something: "So, he hasn't given up yet."
Zhang Si clicked her tongue in surprise: "What is it? At this point, can you please stop playing games?"
Li Changfeng paused, looking at him with some surprise. He was about to say that he was quite old and hadn't participated in the war between the two worlds, but then he suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but chuckle.
"I almost forgot, you just look old, but you're actually much younger than Xie Kanhua."
Although Zhang Siwo looks old, he is not the oldest among them. When the battle between the two realms ended, he was just a novice who had just entered the Dao and had no connection with these big shots.
Lin Feiran was genuinely surprised. She turned to look at Zhang Siwo, her lips slightly parted, full of astonishment, yet she couldn't help but find it amusing.
Zhang Siwo glared at Li Changfeng: "Even if I'm small, I'm still bigger than you!"
Murong Qiudi ignored their bickering, only glancing at the night rain in the courtyard before looking at Lin Feiran, her voice slow and gentle.
"After the great war ended, regardless of the state of the demon realm, our human realm was truly riddled with holes and littered with corpses."
At that time, countless talents perished and the main path was severely damaged, but Ding Yi's cultivation level was not bad, and he could even be considered one of the peak, holding a high position among many cultivators.
At that time, everyone was still fearful, afraid that the demon realm would make a comeback. In the midst of the chaos, it was he who raised the issue of 'injustice'.
He wondered why all demons could cultivate, while the human race consisted mostly of mortals.
This is unfair.
Lin Feiran lowered her gaze slightly. She was no stranger to such thoughts; almost every human had felt such resentment to some extent.
Why is it that every member of the demon race can cultivate, and even the day they are born is the day they enter the Dao, while humans have to rely on talent and innate ability? Even if they have spiritual veins, they still have to go through constant cultivation and tempering before they have a chance to enter the Dao.
Anyone would feel that such innate differences are unfair.
Murong Qiudi continued.
"Mortals are powerless against cultivators, which means that the human race can be easily overrun by the demon race at any time, just like before."
To prevent the demon realm from making a comeback, he consulted with many senior figures and devised three methods, which were implemented by different people, with the most effective one being adopted.
"The first method is to sever the passage between the two realms, which means completely destroying the gate to the Endless Sea. However, this gate is naturally formed and cannot be completely destroyed even by a saint, let alone us."
Left with no other choice, they decided to send Xie Kanhua to guard the boundary gate, so that they could detect any movement from the demon race immediately.
Lin Feiran frowned slightly: "It seems to be somewhat different from what we've heard since childhood."
Li Changfeng sighed with emotion: "There are only slight differences. It is said that several guardians have been replaced, but in fact, there has only been Xie Kanhua from beginning to end. He has been guarding the boundary for hundreds of years."
So long that the people from back then have passed away, so long that this 'injustice' has been forgotten, so long that no one is carrying out this plan anymore, he has never left. He just stands on the endless seashore day after day, watching every unusual movement at the boundary gate.
However, this was also his choice; he had lost a lot in the great war.
Lin Feiran recalled her first encounter with Xie Kanhua. At that time, the bridal sedan chair flew through the night sky, and that indifferent white figure stood motionless by the sea.
She was equally moved, and after a slight sigh, she asked, "What about the second method?"
Murong Qiudi paused, rolling an orange in her hand, her eyes flickering in the firelight. Suddenly, she laughed, a laugh that sounded both helpless and nostalgic.
"The second method was carried out by my master and his group, which was done by the cultivators of the Luoyang City lineage, and I was involved in it."
Although the demon race is impulsive, they are also sincere and lack cunning. When faced with a problem, they simply resort to brutal force without much thought. Therefore, we plan to infiltrate the demon realm and use some methods to create a demon king powerful enough to intimidate the demons.”
Lin Feiran suddenly realized something and said, "I read in a book that there were no demon kings in the demon realm before. The tribes were scattered and only related by blood. They rarely interacted and did not submit to each other."
But starting in some unknown year, a demon king suddenly appeared…
Murong Qiudi smiled and nodded, saying, "The demon race is deeply bound by bloodlines and has no concept of unification, but our human race has experienced several generations of dynastic changes. To do such a thing is not difficult, but it is not easy either. Fortunately, we still managed to do it."
The king used his power to suppress the conflict and achieve a long period of peace.
Lin Feiran immediately asked, "And then?"
"later?"
Murong Qiudi sighed deeply, finally revealing a hint of pleasure in reminiscing about the past.
"Success and failure both depend on Xiao He."
The demon race is too warlike. Once they see the benefits of being a king, they don't care about kings or generals. A group of them will come to provoke you and compete to become the strongest in the demon realm.
It's like a scholar encountering a soldier; if he wins, he can still maintain order, but if he loses...
Cultivation is not something you can just decide to do. The demon realm is full of talented people, and at first, we could barely cope with them, but when truly powerful people attacked, we couldn't suppress them at all.
Later, they lost their position as the Demon King, but they continued to fight amongst themselves, and thus peace was maintained for a long time.
She stood up and rubbed her stiff shoulders: "Now, I don't know whether our branch has succeeded or not."
Zhang Siwo was speechless, then clapped his hands: "That's a brilliant move! I think it's a success. Making the demon race as annoying and cunning as humans will complicate everything and definitely keep them in check!"
He still dislikes everyone, just as he always has.
Lin Feiran couldn't help but chuckle and asked again, "Senior, what's the last resort?"
Murong Qiudi turned to look at Li Changfeng: "I've only heard my master mention that last method before. She said that Ding Yi wanted to find a way for mortals to cultivate as well."
She lowered her eyes and said.
"Too much time has passed, and it's obviously impossible to do this now. I thought he had forgotten about it, but I didn't expect him to still be persisting."
Fellow Daoist Li, where has he stood now?
Li Changfeng shook his head: "After I came down the mountain, I worked as his henchman. Only he knows about such an important matter."
But I can deduce that if he truly sought something from Tantric Buddhism, it must be for this reason.
Zhang Siwo stood up and paced back and forth: "Could it be that Tantric Buddhism can really grant all wishes? For mortals to practice it is truly inconceivable."
At this moment, Lin Feiran thought of someone. She paused and said, "No, although I don't know the principle behind it, he did manage to do it."
As the three looked on in surprise, Lin Feiran revealed the matter of Shen Qi, and Zhang Siwo and the others almost crushed the oranges in their hands.
Murong Qiudi kept repeating, "You mean they used the Revolving Bead? I've never heard of that before. What about you?"
The other two shook their heads vigorously.
Lin Feiran, however, did not think about Shen Qi's matter. From the conversation of the others just now, she kept recalling the events of the past few days when she was possessed, and thought of another detail.
The Revolving Bead was given by the esoteric sect, and Ding Yi helped the Human Emperor to repeatedly possess bodies, and then used this to refine the bead. Ultimately, the bead had to return to the esoteric sect.
In some ways, it wasn't so much a case of one party making a wish and the other fulfilling it, but rather a collaborative effort.
If Ding Yi's goal was to enable ordinary people to cultivate themselves, and esoteric Buddhism shared the same goal...
Could it be that they also wanted to enable mortals to cultivate?
This really didn't make sense. Lin Feiran couldn't figure it out, but at this moment her body was weak and her mind was working, so she had no energy left to do anything else. She put down the orange and focused on thinking.
Amid the discussion of the other three, she first sat and thought, but then got too tired and simply lay down on the table. During this time, she also took a moment to think about why Ru Xian hadn't arrived yet, even after talking for so long.
She looked up at the seemingly still rain curtain, while the warm firelight danced before her eyes. Between the stillness and movement, she felt her eyelids grow heavy.
One moment he was thinking, the next he had closed his eyes.
The other three paused, then turned to look. Lin Feiran had her hands neatly folded on the table, her black hair loose, and her chin resting on her arm. She had fallen asleep peacefully.
Zhang Siwo couldn't help but ask, "She slept for three months last time. Will she not wake up for a long time again this time?"
Li Changfeng shook his head: "Grandmaster said that the spiritual veins have been fully activated, so she will be fine. At most, she will just be a little sleepy until she recovers."
"I'll take her back to sleep." Murong Qiudi wiped her hands and prepared to take Lin Feiran back to her room. As soon as her hand touched Lin Feiran's shoulder, she felt something was wrong.
The three of them sensed something and stood up at the same time in front of Lin Feiran, looking out at the rain curtain.
A figure in black and white stood in the rain, raindrops gently shaking off him, creating a faint mist that seemed ethereal and unreal.
He didn't move; he just stood there, quietly watching the figure lying on the table.
"Why aren't you moving?" Xie Kanhua emerged from the raindrops behind him. "She was asleep earlier, and now she's in the courtyard. She's probably here waiting for you."
Zhang Siwo glanced at Lin Feiran for a moment, then reached out and touched her, whispering, "Wake up, the person you're waiting for has arrived."
He actually wanted to ask her if she had figured out how to explain her death to him after hiding it for three months, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. Lin Feiran lay there motionless, looking quite relaxed, almost like a puppet at first glance.
Zhang Siwo and Ru Xian were quite familiar with each other. Although he couldn't see Ru Xian's expression clearly, he knew that Ru Xian must be feeling a lot of turmoil. He immediately explained, "It's alive, it's just sleeping too soundly."
Amidst the pervasive mist, his figure moved slightly, appearing as if a phantom was moving, but in the next moment he arrived inside the pavilion, water droplets falling in a flurry, instantly soaking half of the bluestone beneath his feet.
Seeing this, Zhang Siwo and the others did not linger there any longer. After finding a plausible excuse, they hurriedly left, leaving only the two of them in the pavilion.
Ru Xian simply stood aside without touching anything. As his gaze shifted, he noticed the oranges on the stone table, roasted until soft and mushy. Most of them were piled up beside her, with four or five peels neatly stacked to the side, but the orange segments were nowhere to be seen.
Neatly arranging the food she had eaten was a natural habit of hers, and her fingertips were stained with a little color, but only on her thumb and middle finger, a unique gesture of hers.
He didn't know why he thought of these things. The person was right in front of him, yet he wanted to identify them based on these details.
A gust of wind blew by, a chilly wind of a rainy night, but he felt no coldness. As if awakened, his fingertips twitched slightly, and his raised hand paused in mid-air for a moment before gently landing on the back of her neck.
That was the place he knew best and was closest to.
It is warm and soft.
He has kept her "corpse" until now, sleeping with her every night, yet it remains as cold as iron and as hard as frost. Even a person who is always warm needs his cool body to warm her up.
He combed and cared for her hair every day, but her hair color gradually became dry and yellow, unlike its current smooth and shiny appearance.
His back finally bent down, and he put one arm around her left shoulder from behind, slowly leaning down to get closer to her face, closer to her lips and nose. He had done this every night, but had never received a response. But now, his breath was long and deep, brushing against the back of his hand and blowing across his lips.
It carries a fresh and warm orange scent.
If you were to ask Ru Xian what he was thinking, he wouldn't say he was thinking of anything at the moment. There was no anger at being deceived, no anguish from months of travel, and no ecstasy at the sudden sight of him.
He was like someone who had been walking alone for a long time, whose eyes could see almost only black and white, and finally stumbled upon a colorful oasis.
He used his eyes, his hands, the tip of his nose, and even his lips and tongue, which had long since grown cold, to measure Lin Feiran little by little, to feel her breath, and to sense her presence.
...
He withdrew his lips and tongue, his cool breath mingling with that slight warmth, finally stopping the trembling in his eyes.
He didn't know when it started, but Lin Feiran was already in his arms. The two sat in the pavilion, facing the night rain that had not yet stopped.
As the hand on her waist slowly tightened, and with a slight movement of her body, her head slid down from his shoulder to rest against his chest, her breathing steady. He also lowered his head and rested it on the top of her head, finally relaxing completely.
He neither woke Lin Feiran nor extinguished the fire. The flames burned brightly in the rainy night, and the charred oranges rolled into the fire, almost burning themselves, making a sizzling sound.
He held Lin Feiran in his arms, draped his outer robe around her, creating a small space just for them, and then sat silently in the rain all night.
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Author's Note: Lin Feiran's personality is the kind that easily attracts perverts...
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