Chapter 179: Refusing to Rest Until You Point to the South
Xinyi stared at Maidong lying in bed, feeling a mixture of emotions. When Lingxiang of the Yuanqing Sect revealed his identity, she had advised him not to dwell on hatred any further. Now that she thought about it, she was right...
…
There is a halo surrounding the Moon Palace tonight. It seems that there will be wind tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the day when Yuan Qing sends his disciples down the mountain for training. If that were the case, it would be quite appropriate. However, Xinyi was feeling restless and unable to sleep. She sat alone in the courtyard of Xianyunju, drinking alone.
At this moment, someone suddenly snatched the wine cup from his hand, but he was not panicked at all. He just smiled and still kept holding the wine cup.
The person who came was none other than Lingxiang.
She couldn't sleep either. Starting tomorrow, she would be the only one left in Xianyunju. She had been used to the hustle and bustle of the place these days, and she felt a little lost when it suddenly became empty.
Lingxiang put the wine cup to her nose, sniffed it, frowned, and then put it back in Xinyi's hand.
"I really don't understand. How can you men like this kind of bitter and acrid soup, something so hard to swallow?"
Xinyi took a sip of wine and after the sweetness in her mouth, she felt a spicy and bitter taste in her throat.
"Drinking is for two reasons: to have fun or to relieve sorrow."
Lingxiang curled her lips upon hearing this and sat down to the side. "As they say, drinking to dispel sorrow only makes sorrow worse. Alcohol, besides being a nuisance, how can it bring joy and happiness to people?"
Xinyi didn't answer when she heard this, but just smiled, then raised her head and drank the whole cup of wine.
Seeing him like this, Lingxiang curled her lips again. "Even if you're always thinking about your mother, you're powerless now. Instead, you're being hampered by her. I think Bai Wuchang spared your mother and son's lives so that you would work for him like this. In other words, since you're useful to him, I think your mother will be safe too."
Xinyi frowned slightly and looked up at Lingxiang. He didn't understand why Lingxiang suddenly said this to him, and her words seemed to imply that his mother had died long ago.
Lingxiang naturally had some guesses in her mind, which is why she said this, but she couldn't say it too clearly.
"Have you ever thought about what you would do if one day, Bai Wuchang threatened to kill your mother and asked you to hurt the people around you?"
Xinyi remained silent and did not answer - the people around him? Who else was there around him?
Seeing him like this, Lingxiang sighed: "What if he wants you to kill Long Qi? Or Liu Xia, Wuyang? Or..."
"Ophiopogon japonicus?"
…
Yes, if that was the case, what should he do? Should he just let him order him around like that?
Looking at Maidong lying on the couch, Xinyi frowned. For a moment he didn't know what to do and just stared at Maidong's face in a daze.
If that time really comes, how should he deal with it?
After a long time, Xinyi tucked the corner of the quilt for Maidong, shook her head, and stood up with her hand on her forehead - Maidong was saved by someone, so she should go and say thank you.
…
Lingxiang sighed: "You know everything about Xinyi, but there is one thing I have never told you."
Long Qi was confused when he heard this. What else could be wrong with Xinyi?
Lingxiang sighed again upon seeing this, and then revealed Maidong's identity. Long Qi was extremely surprised, but he didn't expect that Long Sheng's reaction was even more extreme than his.
"Mai Dong is Cheng Nuo's daughter?!" he exclaimed loudly, his face full of disbelief.
Seeing him like this, Lingxiang and Longqi were both puzzled. Although all this sounded extremely bizarre and strange, it shouldn't be so difficult to accept, right? There are so many coincidences in the world, so what's this?
But Long Sheng's next words surprised them both.
After Long Sheng entrusted the sword techniques to Master Fu Yin, he began investigating the demon clan alone, hoping to find an opportunity to avenge the Long family. During that time, he visited the Qiao family in Gaoling and the Lu family in Youlu, only to discover that both families had been harmed by the demon clan.
But there was one thing that puzzled him greatly. The Long family was a mansion in the forest, and the Qiao family was located in the city. If someone wanted to invade, it would be extremely easy. But the Lu family was different.
The Lu family house was built in the mountains. No one could find it except the Lu family and a few close friends. Even if they could find it, the Lu family was located in a deep valley with many traps and magic arrays, making it extremely difficult to pass through. How could it be easily conquered by the demons?
Later, after many investigations, Long Sheng found out that it was a traitor in the Lu family who led to the fall of Lujiabao. The traitor was the brother-in-law of the then head of the Lu family and his subordinate - Cheng Nuo.
It was he who colluded with the demons, it was he who shut down the magic array, and it was he who stabbed the head of the Lu family in the back.
Is there such a thing? Long Qi was shocked upon hearing this. Ling Xiang was also surprised, but not in the same way. Previously, when she was traveling, she had been searching for the Nether Grass in the valley where the Lu Family Fort was located. At that time, she could indeed see the abandoned magic circle around it, but she had no idea that it had been shut down.
That makes sense.
Lingxiang had been puzzled before. Xinyi had said that he and his mother had gone to the city together, so they should have escaped, but in the end, they were still caught by Bai Wuchang. She had previously thought that Bai Wuchang had been keeping an eye on them, but now it seemed that this traitor might have been the cause.
But this caused some awkwardness between Maidong and Xinyi, because Maidong's father was the enemy who caused the Lu family to be wiped out!
Just when Lingxiang frowned, the door suddenly opened, and the person who came in was none other than Xinyi!
Xinyi originally wanted to find Lingxiang to express her gratitude, but when she was about to knock on the door, she inadvertently heard Long Sheng's narration at the door, and was immediately struck by lightning.
He truly couldn't believe that his seemingly kind uncle would actually do such a thing. Didn't he ever think about returning home? Wasn't he afraid that those demons would kill his daughter when they went to do evil?!
Looking at Xinyi rushing in, with a look of astonishment on his face, Lingxiang was at a loss for words. She glanced at Long Qi, who was also at a loss, and quickly nudged him.
Long Qi felt a pain in his waist and immediately understood what Lingxiang meant. He hurried forward and hooked his arm around Xinyi's shoulders, thinking of taking him out for a deep chat.
Xinyi was naturally full of questions and wanted to ask Long Sheng for clarification, but after seeing Lingxiang's eye signal, she followed Long Qi's strength and went out with him.
Seeing the door closed, Lingxiang sighed, pulled Long Sheng to sit down, poured him a glass of water, and said, "Senior, I have one more thing to ask. I hope you can tell me the truth..."
Long Sheng was struggling with the relationship between Lingxiang and Long Qi. He was a little surprised to learn about Maidong's identity. In addition, Long Qi was present, so he was afraid that asking would embarrass both of them. Now that there was only one left, he was not afraid of the others.
This Miss Lingxiang seemed to be straightforward and probably wasn't afraid of his questions.
"It just so happens that I have something unclear about, and I want to discuss it with Miss Lingxiang."
…
Zhao Wuyang sat alone in the courtyard, gazing at the starry sky in a trance. Although there were no lanterns around, his eyes, reflected by the starlight, seemed particularly bright, as if all the stars in the sky were in his eyes. But he just sat there, not even knowing what he was thinking.
Ever since he'd learned about his mother from Jin, he'd been wondering, if Jin could truly grant him any wish, what would it be? Bringing his mother back to life? Jin certainly could, but would that be right?
According to the "Records of Strange Stories from Mountains and Seas" given to him by Elder Fu Cang, every time the Western Mountain Cat Spirit cultivates to the point where it has eight tails, it must fulfill the wish of a mortal before it can grow a ninth tail. However, whenever it fulfills a wish for someone, it must sacrifice one tail.
I still remember what Elder Fu Cang said when he was teaching him the method of gathering spirits: people are always greedy, and it is precisely this greed that leads to many tragedies.
He didn't know how many times Ajin had repeated the cycle of fulfilling other people's wishes, nor did he know what wish he should make to escape this cursed fate.
But his mother would never allow him to satisfy his own selfish desires at the expense of others. Since childhood, his mother had taught him to be kind and understanding, to have a loving heart, but he really...
But he really wanted to see his mother again!
Zhao Wuyang was extremely confused. He naturally didn't want to let Ajin fall into such a cause and effect again because of his greed.
When Liu Xia came out of Chi Yanzi's room, he saw Zhao Wuyang sitting alone in the yard, staring at the starry sky in a trance. He walked over gently and sat down with his back against Zhao Wuyang's.
"Has Senior Chi Yanzi gone to bed?" Zhao Wuyang asked, but he still kept looking up at the sky, staring at the stars in the sky.
"Yeah," Liu Xia responded, and raised his head to look at the night sky. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this brilliant starry sky is really beautiful!
The two of them just stared at the twinkling stars in the sky without saying a word. After a long while, Zhao Wuyang finally asked, "Brother Liu Xia, what are your plans for the future?"
Liu Xia turned to look at Zhao Wuyang, feeling confused.
Although Zhao Wuyang is still young, he seems unusually serious today, totally unlike his usual carefree and innocent self.
"Why do you ask this suddenly?"
Zhao Wuyang didn't reply. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "I've known since I was a child that my mother was ill, but I didn't know what exactly happened to her. I wanted to learn Taoism because I thought I could find the cause for her in the future. But now she's gone, and for a moment, I don't know what the point of practicing Taoism is in the future..."
Liu Xia was stunned when he heard this. Looking at the childish Zhao Wuyang, his heart ached.
The reason why he was determined to seek the truth was because he and his mother were captured in a war earlier and thrown into the snowy mountains, where they were rescued by a female fairy. His firm belief was actually related to his mother.
Of the four brothers, Long Qi and Xin Yi had endured hardships since childhood, their minds having long been tempered and matured. Since both of their parents were safe and sound, they couldn't experience such pain. But Wu Yang was different. He had been pampered since childhood, but now he suddenly received tragic news. This mental hurdle must be extremely difficult to overcome.
Zhao Wuyang raised his head, staring at the starry sky, watching and listening, but he was not prepared when a force suddenly pulled him back.
Liu Xia really didn't know how to comfort him. He was not good at speaking, and he himself was not very clear about the future, but he could not ignore Zhao Wuyang like this.
Before Zhao Wuyang could react, his head rested on Liu Xia's thigh. While he was stunned, he heard Liu Xia say, "Don't keep tilting your head back like that. It's bad for your neck. If you want to look at the stars, then do it this way. It will be more comfortable."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuyang's eyes actually became hazy. At this time, he heard Liu Xia say, "Even if the City Lord's wife is gone, you still have me, your elder brother Xinyi, and your seventh brother. Don't worry about the future, we are here for you!"
…
Shortly after bidding farewell to Chi Yanzi and his four companions, Ling Xianglong and his seventy-six companions set out southwards towards Nanhuai.
They didn't encounter any dangerous things along the way, but Banxia felt that something was different.
There were six people in the group, four men and two women, so they would naturally walk side by side. Perhaps Long Qi and the other three did not notice it, but Lingxiang could feel it clearly.
Banxia is not a person who thinks too much, and she would just say whatever she wants to say, but she acted like this, so something must have happened.
Maybe it was inconvenient to say it because these men were present?
Thinking of this, Lingxiang found an opportunity and while preparing firewood for the night fire, she pulled Banxia aside and asked.
Banxia was startled at first. Could the expression on her face be so obvious? But she understood after thinking about it.
The reason why she likes and appreciates Lingxiang is because of her personality. Although she looks carefree, she is actually very meticulous and thoughtful. She is able to put herself in other people's shoes and think about them. However, she will not show sympathy indiscriminately because of her kindness. She will only guide others appropriately.
Lingxiang would probably never have dreamed that the person who knew her best was Banxia, whom she had only known for a few months.
The reason why Banxia was so worried was because of the hexagram on the Bagua plate before she set out the day before - that hexagram was extremely dangerous!
After knowing Banxia's worries, Lingxiang smiled. It is true that these omens need to be paid attention to, but if one only pays attention to these illusory things, then nothing can be done.
"I have always believed that one should do one's best and leave the rest to fate. If one is hesitant to act because of such fleeting matters before doing all one can do, then one will ultimately achieve nothing."
Looking at Lingxiang, who was beaming with joy, and listening to what she said, Banxia suddenly felt relieved. Yes, even if one knew the road ahead was treacherous, so what? Constantly being hesitant would only make one hesitate and unable to move forward.
Why think so much? Give it your all!
…
After two days of traveling, they arrived at the border of Nanhuai. Looking at the changes in the world before his eyes, Long Qi could only sigh that things and people had changed.
Although he was still young at the time, he still remembers many things clearly, such as the flower cakes in the street market of Zoucheng in Nanhuai, the babbling by the Huai River, and his father's hearty and rich laughter...
He might not remember what these people looked like, or even forget many details, but these things were like a brand, deeply imprinted in his heart and could not be erased...
This is his home!
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