Chapter 126 Night Stroll (Part 4) "Am I the only friend I have?...
Wei Changzai stood in the alley, with flower branches leaning overhead, and water droplets sliding down his head, creating a faint dampness around him.
His eyelashes and his stray hairs seemed to be damp, but he just looked at Lin Feiran, his back slightly relaxed, and finally he was lost in her gaze.
The moment he uttered those words, the fog in his heart began to dissipate, and the pent-up frustration and pain were finally released.
Yes.
Xun Feifei and Zhudao are nothing but high-sounding excuses.
He had simply been separated from Lin Feiran for too long, and he simply couldn't bear the thought of someone else standing behind her instead of himself.
He simply couldn't deny that he was somewhat afraid.
“Slowly, back at the foot of Mangshan Mountain, you and I supported each other through thick and thin. You said that we would be friends forever, and I have never forgotten those words.”
Their eyes met, and Lin Feiran was unsure what to feel.
Her feelings for him in her youth were sincere and passionate, never faked. It was impossible for her feelings to disappear without a trace like the wind, but after many experiences, they had indeed slipped away unnoticed, like sand in the palm of her hand.
A heart full of sincerity has suddenly been pierced with a hole, and there are already mistakes and omissions. How can it be repaired?
“Wei Changzai, this is not right.”
Lin Feiran finally spoke. She raised her hand and swung the Golden Wave Sword into the umbrella ribs, making a clanging sound.
"You can't be so greedy. Since you've chosen someone, you must stick to it. You like Qiu Tong, and she has feelings for you too, so you should cherish each other and spend your lives together."
I am just a memory, like those two mayflies that were released; they flew far away to the mountains, and I will never look back.
Wei Chang felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart, but his dark eyes remained fixed on her. Water droplets, like frost, fell onto his cheek, leaving a trail of water.
He murmured, "Mayfly..."
He had already found the mayfly butterfly and was raising it in the warm pond of Ninghe Residence.
Xun Feifei finally understood the relationship between the two and suddenly realized why this chosen one was targeting her.
He thought he and Lin Feiran were in love, and his jealousy drove him to attack him like a madman.
but……
"Since you've locked up the Mandarin Duck Rings, you must already have someone you love. Why bother coming here to pester me? I can pretend that what happened tonight never happened, but if you continue to pester me, the people of Yaodu will not tolerate it."
How can someone be affectionate towards another person while simultaneously trying to seduce them?
It is said that a devoted woman is afraid of a persistent man, and Lin Feiran has always been kind-hearted. Xun Feifei was afraid that she would soften her heart and go back to her old ways, so he said to her.
"What business do you have with me? Come to my residence and we'll talk."
Lin Feiran glanced at Wei Changzai again, her eyes flickering slightly, but she still nodded and turned to leave with Xun Feifei.
After taking a step, she paused slightly, feeling a slight but inescapable chill on her wrist, which held her in place.
She turned around and met a pair of bottomless dark eyes.
"...What are you doing?"
Wei Chang clenched his fist slightly, the chill penetrating his skin and flesh, seemingly seeping into his very bones.
He kept repeating the same sentence: "Slowly, I haven't seen you for a long time."
Lin Feiran moved her wrist but failed to pull it out. She sighed, "If I remember correctly, we've met quite a few times, whether at the Flying Flower Gathering or the Pilgrimage Valley."
He leaned forward slightly, his clear, dark eyes reflecting her image, and slowly began to speak.
"I haven't seen my reflection in your eyes for a very long time."
This explanation was more obscure to Wei Changzai than any sword manual or technique in the world. He could not explain his feelings and could only utter such straightforward words.
"Long enough, until you break off our engagement. Why?"
Lin Feiran was slightly taken aback, quite surprised by his words, yet somehow they made perfect sense.
She didn't want to say much, but these things should have been clarified long ago, so she spoke up.
"Because before the engagement was dissolved, you already had eyes for Qiu Tong. From that time on, I was thinking about dissolving the engagement, but I was still unwilling to do so, so I never brought it up. Later, in the Beast Cave, you saved her, and I finally made up my mind."
The cause and effect are so simple, is there any need to ask further questions?
Since you like Qiu Tong, I will grant your wish. Why can't we part ways amicably?
The "Night Tour of the Demon City" is approaching; we hope you will not cause trouble here.
This was all the harsh words Lin Feiran could say.
After saying that, her expression darkened slightly. She withdrew her hand, walked to Xun Feifei's side, and said to him, "Please lead the way."
Xun Feifei's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. He nodded slightly and walked out of the alley with Lin Feiran.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Wei Changzai remained standing in the same spot, another drop of water dripping from his chin, but no one saw it or cared.
Seeing his expression, the Kunwu Sword Spirit dared not speak for a moment, and all around was silence.
In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, for the first time, he didn't know where to go.
He looked down at his wrist, where a pair of mandarin duck bracelets were worn, with spiritual threads winding around them, gradually extending towards an inn in the demon capital.
From a young age, he knew that he would have a destined person.
Her name is Qiu Tong.
She is Qiu Tong.
They were destined to fall in love.
Each faceless portrait in the room was originally modeled after Qiu Tong, as mentioned by his master, and then drawn by him based on his imagination. However, at some point, when he put pen to paper, he saw Lin Feiran's face instead.
...
Wei Changzai finally moved his parched throat. He was soaked to the bone and turned to walk back towards the inn.
He arrived at Qiu Tong's room and knocked on the wooden door.
A flurry of footsteps came from inside, and the door opened, revealing Qiu Tong's beautiful face.
She looked at herself, her previously lively gaze faltering, and then murmured, "It's not raining outside, so why are you all soaking wet?"
"...It's nothing." Wei Changzai withdrew his gaze.
No.
Lin Feiran said that when he sees someone he likes, he feels happy just by looking at them, but at this moment, he feels only loneliness.
But why did it exist before?
He didn't understand.
"Something went wrong along the way, so I came back early. I'm going to my room to rest now."
After saying this, he turned and left, leaving Qiu Tong behind him, hesitant to speak.
As the night tour day approached, rooms at the Yaodu Inn were in high demand, leaving little room for people to choose from. When they arrived, there were only two empty rooms left, facing each other.
Wei Changzai walked through the corridor, pushed open his room door, and as soon as he stepped inside, he quickly walked onto the long couch and began to circulate his spiritual energy.
The moment she saw Lin Feiran, the tendrils in her heart began to tighten, causing an indescribable dull pain. After she finished circulating her energy, the tendrils quietly receded, but the dull pain remained.
The pain wasn't caused by the vines binding him, but he had no time to care.
In a daze, Wei Changzai seemed to have returned to that side hall that belonged only to her.
He stood alone in the room, looking at the portraits on the wall, which resembled her yet were not her; he looked at the twenty-four mirrors; he looked at the decorations in the room…
The straw figure in the box, used to identify the acupoints and spiritual veins, was made by her own hands. She had forgotten it in a corner of the room, but he found it.
The drapery hanging down all around was not made of spirit gauze, but rather pieced together from her unwanted old clothes, creating a seamless garment.
If you were to carefully open the books piled on the desk, you would find that each one has annotations, and the handwriting, which is both elegant and dignified, could only come from the hand of one person.
And there was the wooden chair, the teacup, the letter paper...
This was a place Lin Feiran had never set foot in before, yet her presence was felt everywhere.
Only here could he find a moment of peace and respite.
But at this moment, Lin Feiran's expression and her voice came back to him.
He recalled their journey together searching for plum blossoms in the mountains, the hand she reached out to him, and how she suddenly shook him off, leaving him despite her numerous wounds.
Let's part ways peacefully... Let's part ways peacefully...
Suddenly, Xingling seemed to encounter an obstacle. He felt a tightness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of cold blood, which then bloomed into small spots of scarlet, reflecting his cold and indifferent eyes.
He was destined to fall in love with Qiu Tong; it was a fate he could not defy, the will of Heaven!
Companions and friends are like dreams and illusions, so fleeting and fragile. If we want them to last, if we want them to last...
In a state of mental collapse, he closed his eyes and sank down from the altar.
It was at this time that he had a dream.
The sun shone warmly in my dream.
That year, this group of disciples had just entered the Xinzhai realm after guiding their spiritual energy into their bodies. According to the rules of Daohe Palace, they needed to be led down the mountain by their fellow disciples for training.
The group was led by five senior brothers and sisters whose cultivation levels were not high. They led the group into Mangshan Mountain. Although there were beast caves in the mountain, only some low-level demon beasts roamed around on ordinary days, making it perfect for training.
Such trivial matters had never gone wrong before, so the disciple in charge didn't take it to heart and went deeper and deeper into the area.
Just as everyone was exorcising the demon, they inadvertently opened the beast's den, startling the lurking monsters out and instantly creating a beast tide that scattered the panicked disciples.
Eleven-year-old Wei Changzai was not alarmed. At that time, there were seven or eight people rushing with him, as well as a senior brother.
He focused on cultivation from a young age and rarely interacted with others, so he didn't actually recognize any of these people, except for Lin Feiran.
Of course he recognized her.
It wasn't just because of that distant marriage agreement, but also because of Ji Changying.
After Lin Feiran went up the mountain, he was taken to Ji Changying by Taihui and the other two. So he often met her, but in his opinion, the two were not familiar with each other. So he just glanced at Lin Feiran and then looked away.
The beast tide was extremely fierce. Since their cultivation level was not high, they had to hide and flee while working together to resist and find an opportunity to escape.
Just then, Wei Changzai's junior disciple could no longer hold on, and the magic array in his palm collapsed. This protective array suddenly collapsed, and several demonic beasts rushed in. He subconsciously reached out to help, but he was also seriously injured.
Fortunately, Lin Feiran jumped in time to fill the gap, which restored the magic array, allowing the group to take refuge on the boulder and catch their breath.
In such an emergency, the senior brother who was only at the Silent Meditation Realm was obviously unable to protect everyone, so the injured became a burden.
But among the disciples of Daohe Palace, who would dare to abandon Consort Wei?
After treating Wei Changzai's injuries, the senior brother had no choice but to carry him on his back. However, he had to protect the person on his back, protect himself, and also pay attention to protecting the other younger brothers. In the process, he ended up getting injured himself.
The senior brother was displeased, and his face showed dissatisfaction. He looked at Wei Changzai with a mixture of past jealousy and venom in his eyes, but he still tried to appease him.
Wei Changzai's expression remained unchanged; he was not surprised at all.
He thought that's just how people are: vicious, selfish, flattering, and greedy. They think they can hide it well, but it's always been evident in their eyes.
So he lay on his senior brother's back, and even when his head was deliberately bumped and hit by pebbles and vines, he didn't say much, only speaking softly.
"Senior brother, thank you for protecting me. When I see Master, I will definitely mention this to repay your kindness."
The senior brother looked secretly pleased, but spoke very humbly: "Junior Brother Wei, you are the head disciple's personal disciple, just call me junior brother. I did this not to repay any favor."
After finding a place to rest, he put Wei Changzai down. His complexion improved considerably. He drew a magic array for everyone and then went out to scout ahead.
Wei Changzai sat quietly under the tree without saying a word, but Lin Feiran quietly came over and asked about his injuries.
The two had known each other for over a year and often ate and practiced swordsmanship at Ji Changying's place. Lin Feiran had long regarded him as a friend, but Wei Changzai did not think so.
He doesn't need friends.
But out of politeness and a tiny bit of sentiment, he answered anyway.
"It's alright."
At that moment, he noticed a hint of conflict on Lin Feiran's face.
She leaned closer and whispered, "...Actually, my magic is quite good, so supporting you won't have much of an impact. Why don't you come with me?"
Wei Chang glanced at her, trying to discern a hint of pretense and scheming in her sincere expression.
But ultimately it came to nothing.
For over a year, his discerning eye had never worked on her; he couldn't understand her, so he chose to speak frankly.
"Why should you help me? Even if you step forward, your senior brother won't be grateful. Besides, I'm a burden. If the beast tide catches up, you won't get far."
Lin Feiran opened her eyes slightly, seemingly wondering why he asked such a question, and then whispered.
“Because we are friends. Besides, I saw that you were accidentally thrown onto a rock by your senior brother. I also saw that your senior brother was very tired. He hasn’t rested in a long time and can’t take care of you and protect others at the same time. If I take you with me, everyone will be much more relaxed.”
Wei Changzai looked at her quietly and said, "I cultivate the unity of heaven and man."
Lin Feiran looked bewildered, not understanding what he meant, but he didn't say anything more. He remained silent for a long time, and when he saw his senior brother return, he nodded silently.
At that time, Lin Feiran supported him while forming hand seals and starting a battle formation. Although his face was a little pale, he did not slow down the team or show any impatience towards him.
She was simply trying to help.
This was completely unfamiliar to Wei Changzai.
Even Zhang Chunhe had designs on him. Could there really be such a person in the world? And what did she want?
The group finally broke out of Mangshan. Wei Changzai looked at her earlobes and profile, and remembering what she had said before, he suddenly spoke.
"You said before that you wanted to be friends with me, was that true?"
Lin Feiran was startled. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "That's what I said a year ago, and you're only asking now? We've known each other for over a year, and we're not even friends?!"
She knew he was cold, but she never expected him to be this cold!
Seeing that Wei Changzai did not deny it, Lin Feiran couldn't help but ask, "If we are not familiar with each other, why do you often come down the mountain with me?"
Wei Changzai blinked at her, but did not answer. He only asked, "How long has this friend been with you?"
Lin Feiran replied naturally, "Of course, we'll always be friends."
He then asked, "Am I your only friend?"
Lin Feiran was taken aback, her expression somewhat embarrassed. She glanced at the disciples around her, her mood inexplicably somber.
She said, "Right now, it's just you."
Wei Changzai took these words to heart at that time.
He thought that from now on, there could only be him.
"good."
Lin Feiran looked at him, her eyebrows and eyes gradually relaxing into a wide, toothy smile.
As the light shifted, all the leaked spiritual energy was withdrawn. The person sitting cross-legged slowly opened their eyes and wiped the vibrant color from the corner of their lips.
Love and affection in this world are easily broken, like a rushing river or a gust of wind in the mountains. They may seem vast and endless, but in reality, they can be severed and blocked with just a handful of soil or a wall.
In that case, why not tear down the walls and remove the soil, and reshape the river?
He took out a wine jar about the size of a fist from his mustard seed bag. He had obtained it when he was fishing at the Flying Flower Gathering. He broke the mud seal, looked into the jar, and remained silent.
Author's Note: Lin Feiran's Ita House (X)
P.S.: Sensitive readers may recall that this room was described in detail in previous chapters...
I warned you long ago; he's a very shady person. He picked up a lot of Lin Feiran's things. Readers who think he's weird shouldn't doubt themselves—this kind of behavior is indeed weird. In real life, I'd run away if I encountered him like that, but this is fiction. Don't project your own experiences onto reality. You can criticize him, but don't drag the author into it. (orz)
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