Chapter 55 Spring City Blossoms He felt an unprecedented sense of wonder...
At this moment, besides Lin Feiran and Ru Xian, there were several other people who had just entered the city. They were also led by the disciples to the foot of the tower, and they couldn't help but turn pale upon hearing this.
"Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by 'completely losing all your cultivation techniques'?! Does that mean all your past learning is worthless?"
The disciple smiled apologetically and said, "If we only look at the literal meaning, that should be the case, but it's not entirely true. This is just our guess. We'll have to wait until nightfall to see for sure."
The newcomer asked suspiciously, "You didn't know either?"
The disciple shook his head helplessly: "We really don't know. The reason we came here is because the sage recently summoned us into the city to act as guides. He only mentioned the genealogy in his conversation. Apart from that, we are just like everyone else, completely ignorant."
Someone else asked, "Then, could this Flower Festival cause any loss of life?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know either. How the Flying Flowers Festival will proceed is entirely up to the Sage's decision. But I suppose they aren't that heartless..."
The group gasped, exchanged glances, and suddenly felt a pang of fear.
The Flying Flower Gathering and Pilgrimage Ceremony recorded in past books were, in essence, just a competition between cultivators. They were not particularly fancy or interesting, but regardless of winning or losing, they never lost their lives.
But a saint...
In fact, if you think about it carefully, the main path has not produced a Saint of the Returning to Truth Realm for a long time, and the Pilgrimage Valley has not been open for many years. Nowadays, cultivators can only glimpse a corner of it from the classics and scriptures.
Everyone knows that the sage is virtuous and has reached a state of perfection, but no one dares to say for sure what the truth is. After all, the human heart is unpredictable. Could the sage really be without bias?
Evil is also a path; how can extreme evil not be considered a state of perfection?
While the others frowned in worry, Lin Feiran showed no sign of distress. Since everyone had lost all their cultivation techniques, it was inevitable that they would all be in the same situation, so why worry? At worst, they could simply return to the realm of mortals and fight with their bare hands.
At this moment, she had something more important to her than the cultivation technique.
Lin Feiran bowed and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what did you mean by saying we should 'wait quietly for nightfall'?"
Those around them then realized what was happening and looked up at the sky in surprise. The sun was high in the sky, and there was no darkness in the city.
"I have told you everything I know; anything more would be mere speculation. I wish you all a safe journey." The disciple leading the way nodded and hurried back to the city gate.
Kunming, the city that never sleeps.
Even Ru Xian looked surprised. After a moment, he suddenly laughed and said, "What a fine day! If I lived in Chuncheng for a long time, wouldn't I be able to sleep peacefully every day?"
Lin Feiran couldn't help but glance at him. Ru Xian's daily routine was different from that of ordinary people. He always slept during the day. Although he explained that he didn't sleep at night because he had slept enough during the day, she did not believe him.
At first, she thought that he had traveled to the human world for many years when he was young and had become accustomed to the cycle of day and night in the human world, which was why he had the opposite sleep schedule when he was in the demon world. But this time when he entered the human world, his daily routine was still different.
During their journey from Yaodu to Chuncheng, they always traveled during the day and rested at night. Ru Xian liked to sleep alone on a tree branch, and whenever there was any unusual movement, the treetop would tremble slightly.
It was autumn, and as soon as he moved, the delicate flowers and leaves that were about to fall would gently drift down, covering Lin Feiran, who was on night watch, and brushing them off would only leave him covered in them.
It was then that she realized he might not be sleeping well at night, but whenever she asked, he would look at her with a half-smile and then ask, "Are you paying so much attention to me?"
So Lin Feiran stopped asking questions. She thought that with Ru Xian's temperament, if there was anything she didn't like, she would have spoken up long ago. Why would she have silently endured it?
But sometimes, she couldn't help but suspect that he hadn't slept at all, especially when she woke up in the morning and found that all the fallen petals and leaves on her body had been piled on her head.
It was so neat and rounded, as if someone was bored at night, sitting cross-legged beside her, and piling up flowers and leaves on her head.
Lin Feiran then made another guess: perhaps his sleep schedule was not different, but that he could only fall asleep during the day, and that he relied on sunlight to fall asleep.
Just like the palace where he lived, each room had a six-foot square skylight, and during the day, the bright sunlight would shine through the square windows into the long couch inside, enveloping him in it.
Thinking of this, she suddenly frowned and said, "The weather is so abnormal, and there are rumors that night is coming to Kunming. According to this pattern, if there is no daylight after nightfall, won't you have trouble sleeping every day?"
Ru Xian was slightly taken aback by her words, as if she hadn't expected her to say such a thing. She turned to look at him, her peach blossom eyes sparkling with a strange light. He stared at her from head to toe for a moment before speaking vaguely.
"Who knows? So what if you can't sleep? What can you do? Stay up with me?"
Lin Feiran thought about it seriously for a moment and replied, "I can knock you out. Actually, my aim and strength are pretty good. One hit and you're out."
Ru Xie: "..."
Very good, that sounds like something Lin Feiran would say.
He pointed to the tall building: "Instead of figuring out how to knock me out, you should first go and get the list of beauties and your identity token. Only then can you be considered a participant in the Flying Flower Gathering. Otherwise, if you stand there for too long, you'll end up like them."
Lin Feiran looked around. There were quite a few people entering the city today. Most of them had heard what the leading disciple had said and understood the unknowns and dangers of this journey. Many people stopped downstairs, either hesitant or watching, pondering and weighing their options, and did not move forward.
He said in a cool voice, "The path of a cultivator is like a high-stakes gamble, a fight against fate, where opportunities and crises go hand in hand. If you dare to take on the task, you must dare to bear the consequences. Now that we have arrived in Chuncheng, why bother ourselves with unnecessary troubles?"
Lin Feiran understood this principle; he probably wasn't saying this to her. Remembering that this man had a certain appreciation for talent, she couldn't help but smile and say, "Let's go."
The two did not use any magical weapons, but in a few leaps they reached the rooftop, their movements were so skillful that they amazed onlookers.
The building has four floors, all decorated with flowers, creating a warm and pleasant atmosphere. The doors to the three rooms below are tightly closed, while the rooftop pavilion is wide open, with flying eaves and painted beams, exuding a majestic presence.
The two ascended into the clouds, and as soon as they landed, the long swords hanging from the eaves began to vibrate and hum. One of them immediately broke free and attacked the hailstones with extreme speed, its sound like a gale.
However, someone was even faster. She spun around and stood in front of Rushan, tilted her head slightly to dodge the sword's edge, and then grabbed its hilt with her other hand, sweeping it horizontally in front of her to dispel the sword's momentum. The buzzing gradually stopped and became silent.
A child ran out of the pavilion and rushed forward upon seeing the scene: "Which of you is not human?"
He glanced at the two women, both of whom were tall and slender. His gaze was immediately drawn to the man behind them. He remained still, standing behind the woman, slightly lifting his eyelids to meet her gaze. The red mole on his eyelid twitched slightly, like a plum blossom falling from a cold, aloof snow-capped mountain, solitary and beautiful.
He immediately confirmed this and said crisply to Ru Xian, "This Flying Flower Gathering is a grand event for the human race. You are not of our kind, so please leave!"
Ru Xian remained noncommittal, only raising her elbow to nudge Lin Feiran's shoulder. She glanced back, understood something, and said to the boy, "He is mine... He and I have formed a demon-serving decree."
The child's eyes widened: "Huh?"
The cultivators waiting around were also surprised. Most of the demon race people were good-looking and beautiful. Now that the two worlds were connected, they had seen quite a few of them. But it was rare to see someone who was so different from ordinary people.
However, what is even rarer is the edict to subdue demons.
Although the edict to command demons has become a common contract, it is still a great humiliation for the demon race. Anyone who dares to mention this law in front of a demon will be hunted down. Yet this person actually made one himself!
Everyone couldn't help but secretly sized up Lin Feiran, trying to figure out his identity.
The little boy seemed to have encountered something troublesome, scratching his head and looking quite distressed.
Since the two have formed a pact, in theory, this demon should share a wisp of aura with the girl in front of him and bear her mark, so he cannot be considered a pure demon. However... his master had not taught him about such a situation.
He peeked into the inner room and saw that there were quite a few people. He then said, "You can wait for your numbers to be called. We will make a decision after the master has examined you."
The boy handed the two a number plate, then drew his sword and released it. The long sword hummed several times before slowly hanging back under the eaves, moving with the wind.
While waiting, people would occasionally glance at the spot with strange looks and whisper in hushed tones, their voices as disruptive as buzzing bees.
As he glanced at the crowd, he was actually quite used to it, since such things had happened quite often when he traveled in the human world. However, he still disliked it and never wronged himself.
Just as he was pondering how to make his move, he heard a soft sound, and his vision dimmed slightly as a sky-blue paper umbrella was raised above his head, completely blocking his annoying gaze.
He looked down, the green umbrella partially obscuring his view, only revealing Lin Feiran's slightly pursed lips and smooth jawline. She draped the umbrella over his shoulder, saying nothing, and began to examine the scrolls that others had received.
"..."
After a few moments of focused gaze, he touched the umbrella ribs and pressed lightly with his fingertips, causing the edge of the umbrella, painted with landscape ink paintings, to curl up slightly, slowly revealing her profile.
Focused, attentive, and unwavering.
She had this expression when she was engrossed in her studies, which inevitably reminded one of the same expression she had when she was intently looking at someone.
...
Lin Feiran looked at the scroll in the hands of the passersby. It was about half an arm's length long, with a brocade background. When unfolded, the title on the far right was "Monthly Flower Goddess Manual". It was decorated with three rows and four columns of brocade flowers, which were lifelike but somewhat dim.
The "Compendium of Flowers" is a remarkable book compiled by our ancestors, encompassing all the flowers and herbs in the world, totaling eighty-one volumes. However, several copies were lost during its transmission, and only fragments remain today.
One of them is very special, with only twelve kinds of flowers, called "The Flower Goddess of the Monthly Order", which means that the twelve months of the year are governed by this flower goddess and continue year after year.
Plum, apricot, peach, peony, red peony, lotus, fragrant orchid, osmanthus, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, camellia, gold and silver platform.
Lin Feiran looked through them one by one, and then recalled what the disciple who had led the way had said. He couldn't understand the meaning of the chart for a while.
The Flying Flower Gathering in the original book is just another kind of competition. The disciples who participate fight each other in magic and martial arts. The losers leave the field, and the winners enter the next round of assessment until the disciples qualified to enter the Pilgrimage Valley are selected. At the same time, the winners of the Flying Flower Gathering can voluntarily participate in the Pilgrimage Ceremony, win the top ten, and obtain the opportunity to enter the Sword Mountain to find the Spirit Sword.
She knew beforehand that the flying flowers would change, but she didn't really feel it. Now that she has actually seen this chart, she is surprised to realize how big the changes are.
Why is Fei Hua so different from the original book?
As I pondered this, I heard the boy ring the bell and call out, "Number 369."
Lin Feiran snapped out of her daze and turned to look. Suddenly, she saw the umbrella move slightly, and his face was abruptly hidden behind it. She didn't think much of it and just reached under the umbrella and waved it: "Bai Fei, it's our turn."
“…Hmm.” He responded, casually putting the umbrella into his storage pouch. “I’m leaving.”
Lin Feiran looked puzzled, but ultimately didn't ask anything. After all, it was just an ordinary umbrella. The most important thing now was whether he could participate in the Flying Flower Gathering. So she gripped the number plate and stepped into the Flying Pavilion with him.
The doors and windows of the pavilion were wide open, letting in the bright sunshine. There were not many miscellaneous items, just a table, a chair, and a bookcase, which made the place bright and spacious. The air was filled with the fragrance of books and ink, and a few summer lotus flowers were placed diagonally on the table, adding to the charm.
A young man sat behind the table, wearing a cloak. He was pale and thin, with handsome but indifferent features and a listless expression. He looked up at the two of them, and after scrutinizing them, asked, "So it was you two who formed the pact?"
Lin Feiran nodded: "Yes."
The young man picked up his carving knife, pulled out a piece of jade about the length of a finger, and said succinctly, "Your name is the token of our contract."
This seemingly random question didn't stump Lin Feiran. She immediately understood and replied, "My name is Wenran. We have a pair of yin-yang fish to prove our bond."
After speaking, she summoned the Yin-Yang symbol.
The young man looked up and examined it closely. After confirming that it was indeed a yin-yang symbol, he began to carve it on the jade piece. After a soft scratching sound, he clicked his tongue and looked up: "Wenran is a pseudonym, I can't carve it. I want the real name."
Lin Feiran was somewhat surprised. The young man had clearly misinterpreted her expression. She frowned and explained, "This jade piece has the power of a holy spirit, so it cannot be faked. However, you don't need to worry. It will be hung on your scroll as a sign, and it will not be seen in ordinary times. If you don't want to be exposed to others, just hide it well."
"By the way, I'm only here to collect my identity token and scroll. Take them and leave. Don't ask any further questions; I don't know much."
After a pause, he added, "Name."
Lin Feiran had no choice but to reveal her name. Upon hearing this, the young man paused, put down his carving knife slightly, and then looked up to examine her closely. After a moment, he lowered his head and began to carve strokes on the jade piece.
He suddenly said, "My name is Li Jue."
Lin Feiran didn't understand what he meant, but he still remembered who Li Jue was, so he greeted him with a smile: "So you are Lord Hanshan, I have long admired your name."
He didn't reply until the jade piece in his hand was finished carving, then he raised his eyebrows and said, word by word, "Me too, I've long admired your name."
He tied the jade piece to the bottom of the scroll with a red rope as a sign, gesturing for her to come forward and take it. Then he turned his gaze to Ru Xian and said something surprising: "So you've taken in a contracted slave."
Lin Feiran paused slightly in his hand holding the cards, not daring to turn his head to look at Ru Xian's expression. Under the name of the Demon-Slaying Edict, no one would have thought that he was the nominal master.
"Now that we are bound by equal contracts, there is no longer a distinction between master and slave. Lord Hanshan, please be careful with your words."
Li Jue turned to look at her, gave a meaningless laugh, and said sharply, "You certainly know how to exploit loopholes. You're human, so you can get tokens. As your contracted slave, even without tokens, he can still get a share of the spoils as a vassal..."
Before he finished speaking, Lin Feiran had already picked up Qinghe from the table, using the stem as a blade, and thrust it straight at Li Jue. Li Jue immediately raised his hand to deflect the attack. In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged several blows. Finally, ice condensed on the stem and hovered over Li Jue's face. A chill swept over him, making him shiver.
He glanced at it: "His hand skills are truly remarkable."
Lin Feiran withdrew his hand, a hint of anger in his eyes: "There is no master-slave distinction in a contract. He is my friend, not a servant or an appendage. If we meet again in the future, I hope you will remember this."
After saying that, she took the scroll and left. Ru Xian didn't say a word the whole time, only slightly raised her eyebrows and followed her out of the pavilion.
He felt a novel sensation he had never experienced before. This feeling was quite wonderful, as if spiritual energy was expanding and suddenly filling his whole body, making his meridians numb and unbearable. But then it was withdrawn, leaving only a sore and empty feeling. The tension and relaxation were truly indescribable.
As the two leaped down, he was still looking at her, but Lin Feiran was only focused on examining the scroll in her hand, stroking the dim patterns on it, lost in thought, completely unaware of his gaze.
Suddenly, someone shouted that the results had been released, and a crowd of people rushed toward the city wall, their expressions frantic. Lin Feiran was knocked back several steps, and before she could move, someone reached out and pulled her away from the crowd.
The one who made the move was Ru Xian. He pulled Lin Fei out, then let go of him, frowned at the outer robe that had been rubbed by many people, and then took it off without hesitation.
Lin Feiran said, "Thank you, Your Excellency."
"No need." Ru Xian looked at her. The indescribable feeling from just now had faded away before he could fully savor it, which was a real pity. But now that his mind was clear, he suddenly realized a problem.
"Regarding the contract, it was initially agreed that I would be the master. Now that you and Lord Hanshan are so angry, and you've implied in your words that you and I are friends, not servants, and that focusing solely on the master-slave distinction is short-sighted and despicable, are you perhaps implying that you think of me the same way?"
Lin Feiran was silent for a moment. She wasn't targeting him; she was targeting everyone who was prejudiced against the edict to subdue demons.
But when she met his eyes, she suddenly couldn't speak, and simply turned and pointed towards the crowd.
"My Lord, look! What is that!"
Golden rays of light swept across the city walls as crowds surged about. In the high-rise building where the identity tokens had been obtained, the three previously closed floors had been opened, and a spiral staircase descended from the third floor. Many wealthy merchants, accompanied by their servants, crowded in, almost breaking down the threshold.
Author's Note: More and more people are secretly watching Lin Feiran (not really).
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