Chapter 71 Rebirth (I) “Lin Qiang, if one day, you have nowhere to go…
The journey back to the Phoenix Clan was smooth sailing, so much so that Lian Qiang began to feel a sense of unease. This worry finally vanished when she met the Clan Leader. When his slightly dignified, scrutinizing gaze swept over her, she felt a long-lost sense of familiarity.
The superior's gaze flickered between the two of them, and finally, half-leaning to one side, he asked with interest, "Why do I feel like things aren't going as I expected? It seems like... a combination of circumstances?"
Lian Qiang and Chi Xingji were both shocked. They had never expected the clan leader's gaze to be so sharp. Fortunately, she only mentioned it casually and did not ask any further questions.
"It doesn't matter. Whether it succeeds or not, I will always fulfill my promise." The patriarch raised his hand and slightly raised his fingertips. A ball of flame with a high temperature rose up, and there was a faint burning sensation that was about to distort the space.
Chi Xingji raised his hand, and the flame gathered into his palm, but it began to jump more violently, as if it refused to obey his discipline.
"This is my original phoenix fire, and its temperament is inevitably a little unruly." The clan leader lightly revealed it and just waited to see how Chi Xingji would deal with it.
Chi Xingji remained silent, clasping his hands together silently, as if holding an insignificant object. He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for the gift, Senior!" Lian Qiang quickly followed suit and said, "Thank you, Senior!"
"Well, now that you've gotten what you wanted, I won't keep you any longer. Go back early."
The clan leader closed his eyes, about to rest, but Chi Xingji spoke at this moment: "Junior, I have a request. I have a doubt recently. I wonder if you could help me clear it up?"
"Oh?" The narrow and long phoenix eyes that had been closed opened again, "What else do you want to ask?"
This was another thing that Lian Qiang had not expected. She waited quietly for Chi Xingji's next words, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at her and the atmosphere became tense.
Having been with him for so long, Lian Qiang didn't react for a moment. It was not until Chi Xingji coughed lightly that she realized: this meant that she should stay away for the time being.
——She is my companion, I hope the messenger will be accommodating.
The words from that day were still ringing in her ears, yet now they sounded completely different. Lian Qiang lost in the memory, stunned for a moment, then feigned indifference, saying, "...You want me to leave first? Just say it."
"There are some strange sights in the back mountain of our tribe. You can go and have a look - be careful not to take the wrong path." The tribe leader's timely words eased some of her embarrassment. Lian Qiang returned the greeting with gratitude and left.
Lian Qiang was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery, but since she had nothing to do there, she asked for directions and headed forward.
A spectacle that could be praised by the Phoenix Clan leader was truly extraordinary. Lian Qiang actually forgot some of her worries while she was there. Just as she happened to come across a bunch of strange flowers and was about to bend over to smell them, someone shouted, "That flower is poisonous! Stop!"
Lian Qiang hurriedly stood up in panic, wanting to thank him. When she saw the person coming, her eyes lit up: "Shao Yu?"
The visitor was none other than the long-lost Princess of the Feather Tribe. Seeing it was Lian Qiang, she was both surprised and delighted: "It's you? Long time no see."
"It's my honor that the princess still remembers me," Lian Qiang teased her with a smile. The always proud princess scoffed and waved her hand, "Don't try to be so arrogant. I wouldn't put on such a high arrogance towards my savior."
The two found a place to sit down and chat. Lian Qiang saw that although Shao Yu was a little thinner, she looked much more energetic than before. She thought that she must have been doing well recently, and she was sincerely happy for her.
"What a coincidence! I didn't expect to see the princess here after we last met."
Lian Qiang sighed, but Shao Yu disagreed: "Speaking of which, I have some kinship with the Phoenix Clan, so it's no surprise that I'm here to relax. No matter how you look at it, your presence here is even more bizarre than my presence here. Oh, right—I haven't asked you yet, why are you here?"
"I want to borrow something from the clan leader." "Hmm? What do you want to borrow? Tell me, maybe I can help you and repay you a favor."
The girl asked seriously, and Lian Qiang quickly explained, "Don't bother, Princess. I've already borrowed it. What I want to borrow is the Phoenix Fire."
The princess paused from tapping her knee and looked at Lian Qiang with a serious expression, "This isn't an easy thing to borrow. I'm afraid you paid quite a bit—or did someone help you with something?"
"...I can't hide it from the princess," Lian Qiang said without hesitation, "It was Chi Xingji who wanted to rebuild my body for me."
"I guess so," Shao Yu said with a look of understanding. "If this thing can be accomplished, it will be a good thing for you. I was surprised to see you two together that day. Although to outsiders you two have different paths, after so much time, have you two ever..."
She hinted at something, but Lian Qiang only shook her head slightly under her gaze and denied it, "Princess, please be careful with your words."
Lian Qiang was shocked to realize that if she really looked into it carefully, when she met Shao Yu, she had just met the amnesiac Chi Xingji. After many twists and turns, they met again, but there were many inexplicable things between her and Chi Xingji.
"...Okay." Shao Yu noticed that Lian Qiang didn't want to talk more, so she changed the subject and asked about something else. Lian Qiang picked out those unimportant experiences to tell her, and the girl's eyes were filled with longing.
"Your life is so interesting. It makes me yearn for the human world."
After all, Shao Yu was still a child at a young age. Lian Qiang smiled, touched her hair involuntarily, and said softly, "If I can do it, why can't the princess?"
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Lian Qiang was stunned. There were two reasons: first, her sister used to love to do this to her, but she didn't like it when she was young, always feeling that her sister treated her like a child; second... such an intimate action was really presumptuous to Shao Yu.
"Sorry, I offended you..." Lian Qiang was about to stand up to apologize, but Shao Yu quickly grabbed her and motioned for her to sit down.
"I'm not angry. But I want to tell you not to belittle yourself. Just because you can do something doesn't mean I can do it too," Shao Yu smiled brightly at her. "There's no need to distinguish between you and me, and you don't have to humiliate yourself to elevate me. You've repeatedly helped strangers, which is something I can't do."
Lian Qiang felt a warmth in her heart, unable to express her feelings in words. She took Shao Yu's hand and said sincerely, "But just now, Princess, you were willing to remind me to stay away from the poisonous flowers. Isn't this a sign of your kindness?"
Upon hearing this, Shao Yu blushed and blushed, but did not pull his hand away: "...You always speak so nicely and are so considerate."
"Thank you for the compliment, Princess. It's just a heartfelt comment." Lian Qiang was joking with her. Shao Yu was so embarrassed and angry that she was about to hit her, but the next moment she saw her serious expression and whispered a reminder -
"He's here."
Lian Qiang had a premonition of who she was talking about, and when she turned around, she was met with a pair of cold eyes. Chi Xingji approached gracefully, his eyes glancing past Lian Qiang before looking at Shao Yu. He nodded slightly, showing no surprise, and said with a bow, "Princess Shao Yu, I never thought we would meet here."
Shao Yu did not have a good face towards Lian Qiang when he saw him, and raised his chin proudly as if it was a gift.
"Things have been dealt with. Let's go." Chi Xingji turned to Lian Qiang. Lian Qiang nodded and was about to stand up to say goodbye to Shao Yu, but was pulled back by a force.
She turned her head and saw Shao Yu grabbing her sleeve, looking at her intently from bottom to top, and said, "Lin Qiang, if one day you have nowhere to go, I allow you to come find me."
She said this almost as if it were a supreme gift, and she even used the pseudonym she used when they first met. But Lian Qiang knew that there was a sincere and passionate heart hidden beneath the proud words.
Shao Yu tried his best to protect her, but she herself was clearly not living very comfortably.
"I understand. But when the time comes, Princess, please don't hide yourself, or I'll have a hard time finding you." Lian Qiang said with a smile, without revealing the wrong person's name. If possible, she would not want to bear this heavy responsibility.
It's just a chance meeting.
Shao Yu didn't understand. He raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "How difficult is that? Give me your hand."
She insisted, and Lian Qiang couldn't persuade her, so she obeyed and extended her left hand towards her. Shao Yu raised her index finger, her lips parted, and a curse seal flew from her fingertips, buried itself in Lian Qiang's palm, and disappeared.
"This is a Command Spell unique to our Feather Clan. If you encounter any misfortune, you can use it to find me."
Lian Qiang examined her smooth palms. There was nothing there, but she clenched her fists solemnly and said, "I've got that."
This farewell was not hasty, but simple. From beginning to end, Chi Xingji just stood aside, watching everything without saying a word.
After leaving the Phoenix Clan and being alone, Chi Xingji talked about the next arrangements: "Let's return to the Demon Realm first. Now that we have obtained the Phoenix Fire and planted the Netherworld Spirit Tree, rebuilding your body is risky, but not completely impossible."
Lian Qiang couldn't help but think back to how difficult it had been these past few days. She'd been running around all day, but when you really counted, Chi Xingji's contributions were just as much as hers. And now, his face was clearly tired, and Lian Qiang felt a pang of pain when she saw it.
...and made him miserable again.
"Thank you for your hard work. You didn't have to work so hard for me." She didn't know what tone to use to say this. It was true that she had given, but it was also true that she had been excluded from something by Chi Xingji.
"I must do what I promised you," Chi Xingji said matter-of-factly. "Although everything is ready, we must not rush things. I need... I need to investigate the extent to which your demonic energy has eroded your body."
Lian Qiang subconsciously extended her hand to him. Chi Xingji hesitated for a moment and then said, "I'm afraid that just checking your pulse...is not enough. The evil energy must be invading from the outside in. I need to work from the inside out to find the part of you that has not been contaminated."
Not from the pulse? Is it a place that has not been contaminated yet? Lian Qiang thought about how Jiang Lang protected her last heart pulse. Thinking of this, she touched her chest and suddenly realized that even though they had slept in the same bed before, asking Chi Xingji to explore this place now would only be extremely embarrassing...
If time had passed earlier, she wouldn't have resisted like this, but now...
Chi Xingji noticed Lian Qiang's hesitation and realized her unspeakable secret. He said politely, "It's the same if you turn your back."
"Okay." Lian Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she had the best of both worlds. She turned around. A moment later, a hand pressed firmly against her back. Lian Qiang wondered if he could hear her heartbeat. She only felt it pounding rapidly and loudly, her skin unable to conceal its throbbing.
The familiar yet unfamiliar spiritual power began to flow throughout the body, making Lian Qiang feel extremely uncomfortable. Her entire body was itchy and tingling, as if she had nowhere to hide.
She instinctively rejected this force and tried to struggle, but a low "Don't move" made her dare not move easily.
I could only grit my teeth and endure it, listening quietly to my heartbeat like a drum.
By the time Chi Xingji had retracted his spiritual power, Lian Qiang was already covered in sweat. She closed her eyes and forced herself to hold her forehead high to listen to his judgment.
Perhaps because her discomfort was too obvious, Chi Xingji didn't get straight to the point. He channeled some more spiritual energy into her before saying, "There are many areas of your body contaminated by demonic energy, but you've controlled it exquisitely, carefully avoiding the last few meridians. Was it... Jiang Lang who did it?"
Chi Xingji found it hard to believe that there was anyone else in the world who could have such exquisite control over demonic energy, except for the strongest person in the demon world.
Lian Qiang remained silent, a gesture of acquiescence. The reason she was able to stand out from other demonic cultivators and not constantly lose her mind was thanks to Jiang Lang, who managed to live a somewhat human life.
"He... treats you very well." Lian Qiang couldn't see the expression on the person behind her, and Chi Xingji's tone was well-controlled, not letting her glimpse any emotion. She opened her eyes at this moment, and said without emotion, "He treats me very well, and I treat him as the only close relative left in the world."
She had not formally explained her relationship with Jiang Lang to Chi Xingji. She would find an opportunity later, Lian Qiang thought. Even if he didn't mind, she would still tell him clearly.
After a long while, Lian Qiang heard Chi Xingji say slowly, "Really?"
It was a question, but it also sounded like a confirmation.
In this case, he... can finally feel at ease.
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