Chapter 80
"Brother Jiang, is this the place ahead? Where is this place?" Xie Qingci, leading a group of Feather Clan members, cautiously followed behind Jiang Boyu.
“Ah Ci, is there really a paradise here? We don’t ask for a paradise, we just want to live a peaceful and good life.” An old woman with white hair reaching her waist said with a hunched back.
"Brother Aci is the most amazing. Brother Aci is incredibly powerful. He will definitely be able to lead us to a good place where no one is chasing us."
Xie Qingci gently stroked Xiaodou'er's thick, downturned white hair. Xiaodou'er smiled and looked up at Xie Qingci. Looking at Xiaodou'er's sweet smile and his long, thick white hair, Xie Qingci thought to himself that it would be better if he hadn't grown this head of white hair. At least he wouldn't be like this now.
Xie Qingci didn't dare say he could definitely protect them; he just smiled. At seventeen, he had already taken on the responsibility of protecting his entire tribe. If he said he couldn't protect them, how desperate must his people be? In the past, some of the most respected members of the tribe had committed suicide, unable to endure such a difficult "living on." After death, the Feathered Clan members couldn't even have their bodies left behind; first, their heads were cut off, and then their bodies were burned to ashes.
Xie Qingci held Xiaodou'er's hand and followed Jiang Boyu forward. The deeper they went into the forest, the thicker the fog became. Xie Qingci told the clansmen to hold hands and not let anyone get separated.
After walking for quite a while without arriving at our destination, Xie Qingci asked Jiang Boyu, "Brother Jiang, where is this place? Are we still not there?"
“Ah Ci, don’t keep rushing people. How far haven’t we walked? I can walk this short distance myself,” the old woman said.
Jiang Boyu turned around and said, "It'll be soon."
Jiang Boyu glanced at the old woman, his eyes slightly moved. Then, he trembled all over. Looking down, he saw a beautiful, adorable child holding his hand, smiling sweetly at him, and saying, "Big brother, you're so kind. You're the second kindest person after Brother Aci. Thank you! Thank you for taking us to that place. Now my grandfather won't bleed anymore, my sister won't go hungry anymore, and Grandma won't have to run away anymore. Nobody will leave anymore. Thank you, big brother."
Xie Qingci didn't know when Xiaodou'er had gone to Jiang Boyu's place. He said to Jiang Boyu with a wry smile, "Don't mind him. Xiaodou'er is naturally expressive. He likes you, that's why he said that. Don't think it's too sentimental."
Jiang Boyu looked down at Xiaodou'er, who was smiling at him, for a long time. A crack seemed to appear in his eyes at that moment. Xiaodou'er thought Jiang Boyu didn't like him holding her hand, so she awkwardly let go. But she still smiled sweetly at Jiang Boyu.
The old woman called to Xiaodou'er, "Come back quickly, don't trouble this big brother."
Xie Qingci also laughed and said, "Little Bean, I think you've completely abandoned me now that you have him, haven't you?"
The moment Xie Qingci finished speaking, her pupils trembled and shrank to an extremely small size.
A sharp sound pierced the silent sky as an arrow shot down from the depths of the forest, flying straight toward where Jiang Boyu was.
This arrow was nothing to Jiang Boyu; it wouldn't have hurt him at all.
He turned to watch the arrow fly toward him, as if it had slowed down several times. Just as he was about to raise his hand, he suddenly caught a small, falling corpse.
Little Dou'er, standing next to Jiang Boyu, didn't understand anything.
All he knew was that he didn't want his older brother to get hurt.
Xiao Dou'er collapsed weakly into Jiang Boyu's arms, as light as a feather, Jiang Boyu could barely feel his weight. The long arrow pierced through Xiao Dou'er's frail body; the arrow was even longer than him, easily passing right through him. His small body wouldn't bleed much. He didn't struggle for more than a few seconds before he died.
Xie Qingci leaped forward to catch Xiaodou'er, but suddenly countless arrows rained down from the sky. Xie Qingci had no choice but to draw his sword to defend himself. In that instant, the sound of arrows piercing bodies rang out one after another, like the cries of birds in the forest.
Countless winged people fell, countless white-haired figures lay in disarray, the ground was soaked in blood, and the forest was littered with corpses. Before the old woman could even call out "Little Bean," she was pierced by an arrow and fell straight down with her eyes open.
Xie Qingci didn't know whose name to call. Too many of his clansmen had died, and he couldn't call them all. He could only suppress his tears and continue to use his sword to block the flying arrows.
And what about Jiang Boyu? He was holding Xiaodou'er, lost in thought.
Gradually, the number of arrows decreased, but then countless cultivators suddenly emerged from the forest, each wielding a sword or magical artifact, glaring fiercely at Xie Qingci.
Xie Qingci protected the remaining members of her clan and was about to escape when a group of people appeared from another direction, pointing their swords at them. Seeing the current state of the Feather Clan, they laughed triumphantly, "Hahaha, you still want to resist even now? Still not giving up? A bunch of bastards! You've got some nerve, making us search for you."
"If you obediently kowtow and beg for mercy today, I will spare your corpses."
Xie Qingci glared at them fiercely, his teeth grinding with hatred. He shielded the Feather Clan members behind him with one hand, while pointing his sword at them with the other. "How did you know about this place?"
"Since you're about to die, I'll let you die with your eyes open in peace..."
A sharp sound suddenly rang out in the air. Before the man could finish speaking, an arrow shot from behind pierced his head and killed him instantly. He fell to the ground with a "thud," followed by a series of booming sounds.
Those who stood in front of Xie Qingci were pierced by arrows from behind and fell one after another. Then, a figure slowly emerged from the forest and walked towards Xie Qingci.
Dressed in blue, Chu Yu blended almost seamlessly into the deep forest, like a tree that had stood for a hundred years, walking steadily toward him.
Xie Qingci led the Feather Clan members forward quickly to meet Chu Yu. Xie Qingci asked, "Ah Chu, how did you know I was here? How did you know we were in trouble?"
Chu Yu stared intently at those trying to approach, his eyes fixed on them. Countless cultivators were still hidden in the forest, eyeing them menacingly. Chu Yu didn't answer Xie Qingci's question immediately. He said, "I'll tell you after we get out of here alive."
Xie Qingci nodded and fought back-to-back with Chu Yu. Chu Yu had a group of people protect the Feather Clan and help them escape from the place first, while they stayed behind to cover the rear.
At this moment, Xie Qingci couldn't find Jiang Boyu anywhere. He no longer had any intention of doubting Jiang Boyu. His only thought now was to pray that this battle wouldn't result in the annihilation of his clan.
If that's really the case, then Xie Qingci will become a sinner for all time!
However, as the situation grew increasingly tense, more and more cultivators flocked to this decapitated forest to besiege the Feather Clan. One wave subsided only to be followed by another, and even with their profound spiritual power, Xie Qingci and Chu Yu found themselves overwhelmed.
Now, the decapitated forest they were in was located in Taiyi City. As everyone knew, Taiyi City was situated at the border between the underworld and the human world, rife with evil spirits and frequent unrest. Now, if they left this decapitated forest and continued eastward, they would find themselves on a dead end leading to hell.
From this dead end, a pool of seawater slowly flowed out, dark and heavy, drifting like silk under the moonlight. This water, flowing from the Netherworld, was known to all as the Sea of Boundless Delusion, the most insidious substance in the world. The moment it touched, evil spirits and malevolent forces would roar and surge into the body, wreaking havoc; every second spent within it was pure torture.
Chu Yu, Xie Qingci, and a group of Feather Clan members were forced to retreat to this place.
Countless people at the front, having heard the news of the Feathered Clan, approached in a dark, menacing manner. "Chu Yu, as a Sword Sect Immortal Elder, you openly protect these damned bastards. What exactly do you want to do? Are you going to make enemies of everyone?"
"Get out of here and hand over these damned creatures! Otherwise, even if you have merit in protecting the barrier, we will still show no mercy!"
A group of prestigious sects looked down at Chu Yu, shouting and threatening to kill him.
However, Chu Yu resolutely refused to back down, coldly saying, "Don't hold back. Come on then."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Yu suddenly stumbled and was pushed away by the person behind him. He turned around and looked at Xie Qingci, who had her eyes downcast. "Ah Chu, you should go. You've already done enough for me."
Upon hearing this, the righteous sects burst into laughter, leisurely waiting for Chu Yu to return to their side in a daze. Chu Yu knew that those people didn't kill him but instead persuaded him to go, simply because he still had value to them. Their Chu family had guarded the barrier for generations; if Chu Yu were gone now, who would be willing to work for them for free?
Chu Yu suddenly really wanted to see what the world would do if he died.
Chu Yu looked back and saw despair in the eyes of all the Feather Clan members, a sense of impending doom. Xie Qingci's eyes held a deep sense of powerlessness, yet he still smiled and said, "Really, Chu, go back quickly."
In Chu Yu's peripheral vision were the dark, surging seawater from the Netherworld, and in his ears were the ghostly howls and rushing water echoing from the turbulent waves. Suddenly, a startling thought popped into his head: he truly had no other choice.
Chu Yu thought that being alive was better than being dead. At least there was hope in being alive, and even if it was painful, it was better than dying completely numb.
So at this moment, Chu Yu stepped forward and, in front of everyone, led Xie Qingci and all the Feather Clan members, using his spiritual power to hide them all in the Boundless Sea. The dark sea surface broke open and then closed again.
As Xie Qingci's figure disappeared into the sea, she heard Chu Yu's sorrowful voice, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you, this is all I could do. If you ever get out of here in your lifetime, you must come find me."
Xie Qingci's words were swallowed up by the Boundless Sea before he could even utter them.
To everyone's horror and shock, the surface of the Boundless Sea instantly fell into a deathly silence. Those winged people sank into it forever.
This seawater is both sinister and poisonous. Entering is easy, but leaving is far more difficult than the winged people trying to survive. Once inside, countless evil spirits and monsters relentlessly haunt and entangle you, and the seawater itself spontaneously forms a barrier, preventing anything that falls within from escaping. This seawater will erode them day and night, yet it cannot kill them.
Although they failed to kill the Feathered Race, this action effectively eliminated their world-destroying threat. They would never be able to emerge again. The months-long siege of the Feathered Race finally came to an end, and the world gradually returned to normal.
When Chu Yu stumbled to Jiang Boyu, it was pouring rain. Jiang Boyu was in the middle of nowhere, digging a grave to bury the child who had died in his arms. The rain had washed away the blood from the child's body, and muddy water mixed with blood flowed together.
Logically speaking, the Feathered Clan members are "extremely wicked" and "too numerous to be counted," so they are not qualified to be buried. They were despised by millions in life, and they should have no place to be buried after death, but should go to the Avici Hell.
That's why Jiang Boyu traveled so far and found such a remote place to bury Xiaodou'er.
Chu Yu seemed to have lost his soul, staggering over. Upon seeing Jiang Boyu, he threw a punch without saying a word. Jiang Boyu was caught off guard, as if he had been waiting for Chu Yu's punch, waiting for Chu Yu to beat him up.
Jiang Boyu was knocked down into the wet, muddy ground by a punch, his clean face pressed against the filthy blood and mud. He didn't move, seemingly waiting for Chu Yu's next punch, but the punch never landed. Jiang Boyu opened his eyes and saw Xiaodou'er's pale face. Looking up, he saw Chu Yu's angry and hateful expression in the pouring rain. Chu Yu's gaze towards him had become completely unfamiliar.
Chu Yu: "Was it you? Did you order those people to ambush there? You lied to Aci, saying you found a paradise and you took his people there. What paradise? It's all fake. The only thing you really wanted to do was kill them! Before, when the Feather Clan was hiding in Panlong Gorge, was it you who revealed Aci's background? You caused their hiding place to be discovered and caused Aci to be hunted down."
"Why!" His voice pierced through the torrential rain, each word striking Jiang Boyu's heart. Chu Yu continued, "Why did you do this! Even if Aci had a minor disagreement with you before, he didn't deserve this! Why did you do this!"
Jiang Boyu lay dazedly in the mud, the mud and water still washing over his face. Suddenly, he rolled over, lying on his back. The torrential rain seemed to want to crush him, and the rolling thunder in the sky seemed to want to strike him dead. He blankly wondered why he had done this.
This all started when the pillar of light from the Heavenly Dao lit up. He received a divine artifact from the Heavenly Dao, and at the same time, he received a test from the Heavenly Dao.
"Are you willing to eliminate all the Feathered Clan for the sake of the people?"
This is a proposition given by the Way of Heaven.
From then on, this problem tormented him constantly, day and night.
But another voice echoed in her mind, "As long as you complete the Heavenly Dao's mission, you will become the first genius in thousands of years to ascend to godhood at the age of seventeen!"
"Yes, and besides, the Feathered Clan truly deserved to die. You wiped them out for the sake of the world. You'll be a hero then."
"The Feathered Clan should never have existed in this world. Their existence only poses a threat to the destruction of humanity."
“Yes, those Feather Clan people aren’t good either. Xie Qingci misunderstood you before. In fact, he’s long been dissatisfied with you and wanted to kill you. All Feather Clan people are like that. Feather Clan people deserve to die. You were right to kill them. You killed them for the sake of the world, which is a matter of righteousness.”
"And didn't Xie Qingci say that the Feather Clan really wanted to destroy the world? They really aren't good people. They're probably up to no good. If we don't eliminate them first, they'll definitely kill us when they get stronger. We have to kill them."
These voices lingered in his heart.
Jiang Boyu's mind was filled with thoughts like, "He must be killed!" "He deserves to die!" "For the greater good!"
And so, he was urged to finally plan all of this and take this step.
The rain poured down, thunder roared, and Chu Yu left.
Jiang Boyu was left alone, lying in the mud, as if wanting the downpour to bury him. He couldn't remember how he buried Xiaodou'er. He got up from the muddy ground and erected a rotten piece of wood for Xiaodou'er as a tombstone.
The rain poured down relentlessly, seemingly without end.
Five years later, on a drizzly evening, the area where Taiyi City bordered the Underworld became sparsely populated due to the invasion of evil spirits and malevolent energy, causing people to move away from the area.
A man dressed in a white Taoist robe, wearing a bamboo hat, and carrying a basket on his back stood on the edge of the Netherworld, on the shore of the Boundless Sea. In the deep twilight, rain fell continuously on the sea, making the dark sea seem to boil.
No one knew that this old Taoist priest had been guarding a lotus lantern by the sea for seven days and seven nights. Now, on the seventh day, the vibrant red lotus was gradually withering away on the shore. However, as the lotus withered, a little girl rose from within it.
She raised her head, stretched her arms and legs, and stood up, like a sapling that was growing rapidly.
The little girl, her head full of white hair hanging down, stood naked in the twilight rain, blinking her innocent eyes at the white-robed Taoist priest before her, "Taoist priest, have you seen my father?"
A smile appeared in Jiang Boyu's eyes; the lotus reincarnation had succeeded.
He asked, "Your father?"
The little girl nodded. "Yes, it's my dad. My dad was just playing a game of knight and assassin with me. Every time I play games with my dad, I don't feel so much pain. I'm the knight, and my dad is the assassin. I got killed by the assassin. Huh, how did I end up here?"
Jiang Boyu didn't use an umbrella, letting the rain soak him. He squatted down, put down the basket on his back, took out the clothes he had prepared, and knelt down to help the little girl put them on. He tugged at the little girl's shirt one last time; although the inner garment wasn't straightened and the hem was wrinkled, the little girl was quite happy and asked, "Daoist Master, you know my father, right? What's your relationship to my father? Where is this?"
Jiang Boyu paused for a long time before saying, "From now on, you'll follow me."
"And what about my dad?"
Before Jiang Boyu could answer, the little girl began to excitedly talk to herself.
"Wow, what is this place? This must be paradise! This place doesn't hurt or make me feel uncomfortable at all! It's completely different from where I live! This place is beautiful, so beautiful!" The little girl happily twirled around.
"Master, could you bring my father and mother to this place as well? And Wang's Da Douzi, Li's Er Gouzi, Zhang's little sister and her old lady, and... could you bring them all with you? Please bring them all to this place! I can't believe there's such a wonderful place in the world! I want to come here with my father and the others."
Jiang Boyu's eyes darkened. He couldn't bear to extinguish the little girl's fantasy. He simply squatted down again, picked up the little girl and put her into the basket on his back. He said, "From now on, I will be your master."
The little girl blinked her clear eyes, sitting in the basket on her back. At first, she didn't quite understand the meaning of the word "master." After a long while, she asked, "What is master? Can you eat him?"
Jiang Boyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said, "Master is the one who protects you and teaches you. You can't eat it."
The little girl sucked her fingers and blinked. Jiang Boyu: "..." This girl seems to be just hungry. He actually stupidly answered that he couldn't eat...
He's so stupid.
Jiang Boyu finally pulled a piece of bread from his pocket and handed it to the little girl. Her incessant chatter instantly shut up. Her small body huddled in the basket, behaving perfectly well.
Jiang Boyu squatted down, picked up the basket on his back, while the little girl behind the basket was intently munching on a pancake. In the twilight rain, they bumped along the way, leaving that endless sea.
Jiang Boyu wondered to himself, "How long has it been since Xie Qingci fed this guy?"
He recalled those five years, during which he tried every possible method, finally finding a way to see Xie Qingci again. When Jiang Boyu stood before Xie Qingci once more after five years, he still remembered Xie Qingci's expression, from surprise to bewilderment, and finally a complex mix of sorrow, joy, love, and hate swirling on her face.
Five years later, Xie Qingci had a daughter. When Jiang Boyu met Xie Qingci, the girl was hugging Xie Qingci's leg while looking at Jiang Boyu curiously.
That year, the three friends who had vowed to roam the world together gradually drifted apart. Except for Jiang Boyu, the other two had both settled down, started families, and had children. Only Jiang Boyu remained, forever carrying the burden of guilt.
Jiang Boyu and Xie Qingci stood facing each other for what felt like an eternity, until the little girl asked Xie Qingci, "Daddy, who is this person?"
He smiled brightly, and in that instant, all past grievances vanished. Xie Qingci said, "Friend."
The word "friend" stirred in Jiang Boyu's mind, shattering his memories. He only remembered the last words Xie Qingci had said to him.
"If you can, take her with you. I won't leave. Please conceal her background. Let her forget me. I only want her to be happy. Please don't drag her into the conflicts between our people."
"Don't get her involved in our tribe's conflicts."
Jiang Boyu was startled by these words. He put down the basket halfway there, raised his hand and cast a spell. The girl's white hair slowly faded and turned black and shiny.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Boyu planned to take the little girl back to Yunyin Divine Mountain. No matter what, he would persuade his master and fellow disciples to accept her. Even if they disagreed, Jiang Boyu would not let go.
He didn't know if he was doing this to atone for his sins, or to deceive himself and find a moment of relief from the anxiety caused by his guilt. Whatever the reason, he did it anyway.
As they reached the outskirts of Taiyi City, the night rain gradually stopped. In the wild hills outside Jiangbo Fishing City, they encountered a woman carrying a man's corpse, struggling to move forward.
For reasons unknown, Jiang Boyu stopped her and handed the lotus rebirth over to that woman.
Then Jiang Boyu carried the little girl away. Perhaps it was because all evil originated from this divine artifact descended from heaven. He wanted to throw away this artifact, and also throw away everything from the past.
He used only one of the twin lotuses. Jiang Boyu didn't want to keep the remaining one. Just seeing it would remind him of what he had done, of all his sins.
He wanted to completely sever ties with the past, as if that would make it seem as if he had never done those things.
So Jiang Boyu casually gave away the lotus reincarnation. Anyway, he didn't have much use for it anymore.
He never imagined that his casual action would sow the seeds of chaos that would ensue more than a decade later.
Jiang Boyu probably never imagined that this hidden danger would be watching him through more than a decade of time.
He carried his basket on his back and continued along the mountain path. In the twilight after the rain, the road surface shimmered, illuminating the little girl's face with a pale glow. Xie Wen stood there, watching his former self slowly depart in the cold rain and mountains. Her face was also pale, but it was wet with tears, a pale white filled with sorrow.
Jin Huaran, however, became uncontrollably excited. This excitement perhaps stemmed from the fact that his inner conjecture had finally been confirmed! It stemmed from the fact that a person who had wandered the world for hundreds of years had found a kindred spirit in this incompatible world!
How delighted and excited he was! His face contorted with uncontrollable joy, and his voice trembled violently as he laughed.
Chu Xianyue stood beside Xie Wen and vaguely heard a distorted laugh. He looked in the direction from which the laughter came and saw Jin Huaran's twisted face at the foot of Hanshan Mountain.
No! Why can he see him and hear his voice? The memories in this scroll haven't ended yet.
A chill ran through Chu Xianyue's heart, as if he were frozen solid, cold from head to toe. He remembered what Jiang Boyu and Xie Qingci had said.
"The roots of two lotus flowers are connected. If one of them dies and the other is still alive, the dead flower can be reborn again through the living flower."
"How long will it take for a dead lotus to be reborn?"
"It will only take forty-nine days, on the night of the full moon on the forty-ninth day."
And this day happened to be the forty-ninth day since Jin Huaran died.
The rain stopped, the mountain mists gradually dissipated, and a crescent moon appeared on the twilight sky, radiating a cold, iron-like sharpness.
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