“Eldest Senior Brother, the Elders in the Council Hall have invited you to attend a meeting.”
“Shiyi?” Nan Feng looked at the man before him with some doubt. The man had the same face as Shiyi, but his expression was indifferent, and he only had respect for him, not intimacy.
“Eldest Senior Brother, what else do you have to say?”
Why had Shiyi changed so much? Nan Feng suppressed the surprise in his heart, turned around and walked out of the courtyard. When he passed the open space outside the main hall, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The statue of the master was moved away a few years ago after it was vandalized, so why did it reappear here today?
“Eldest Senior Brother!” The disciples who were practicing swordplay saw him and bowed to him in unison.
Nan Feng realized that something was wrong. But he had been the Sect Master of the Jiutian Sect for three years and had witnessed shocking secrets. He had a wealth of experience in covering up his emotions, so he nodded as usual and said, “Practice your swordsmanship well.”
The disciple saw the Eldest Senior Brother suddenly walk under the sect’s plaque and stare at the gemstone on the plaque for a long time. They felt a little puzzled. What was the sect’s head disciple doing?
When Nan Feng saw the gems on the sect’s plaque, which were the ones that had been stolen, he had a vague and absurd guess in his heart. Could it be that he had suddenly returned to a few years ago?
He hurried to the meeting hall and saw the Grand Elder sitting in the upper left seat, looking a little dazed. Two months ago, the Grand Elder had helped Wangshu Pavilion come to Jiutian Sect to beg for spirit stones. Now, seeing the Grand Elder in the meeting hall, he almost thought that Wangshu Pavilion had run out of spirit stones again.
“First, most of the people in Tianhe City had their hearts eaten and blood sucked by demons. Then, Qiu Hua released the evil demon Chi Quan out of personal spite. Later, the Demon Clan released the Qi of Extreme Evil into the place where the Immortal Cauldron was guarded. The Sect Master of Wenxing School and the Sect Master of Wanhuo Sect were severely injured while suppressing the evil energy…”
The Elder in the Council Hall spoke with increasing gravity, “According to the surviving citizens of Tianhe City, on the night of the incident, there was thunder and lightning, and the entire city was filled with the smell of blood. Later, there was the sound of extremely mournful dog barks that spread throughout the city. I suspect that this is the evil dog that the Elder of Zhenxing Tower prophesied.”
Fourth Elder: “If Immortal Venerable Qiu Hua hadn’t been bewitched by her inner heart demon…”
“Alright.” The Grand Elder interrupted the Fourth Elder’s words. “Qiu Hua has already vanished without a trace. The most valued disciple of the younger generation of the Qinglan School was killed by a demon. You should say less.”
Wasn’t Pingling Yao the most valued disciple of the Qinglan School? She was alive and well, so how could she be dead?
Chi Quan had clearly died in Zhenyao Prison, so how could he have been released by Immortal Venerable Qiu Hua?
Nan Feng listened more and more and felt something was wrong. Was he dreaming? This dream was too terrifying.
“Has the cause of death for the head disciple of the Shenji School been found out yet?”
“He had several wounds on his body before he died, and he died in great pain. He must have been too arrogant in his usual behavior, offending someone from the Demon Clan and incurring their revenge.”
“Fortunately, the disciples of Wangshu Pavilion had some luck. Although they were tortured by the leech yao, they managed to save their lives.”
“The yaos and the demons are so ruthless in their actions. They are truly detestable.”
Listening to the Elders discuss these matters that seemed both familiar and foreign to him, Nan Feng clutched his throbbing head and stumbled out of the conference hall in a daze.
No, no, something doesn’t seem right.carpreads.pages.dev
“Eldest Senior Brother.” Shiyi walked up to him and bowed respectfully. “Your complexion is poor. Why don’t you ask someone from Changshou Palace to take a look?”
“Please invite Luo Kui from Changshou Palace.”
“Eldest Senior Brother?” Shiyi’s calm and composed face revealed a look of astonishment. “Have you forgotten? Luo Kui of Changshou Palace and Zhu Yan of Wanhuo Sect both died in the Demon Clan’s treacherous plot. You were there that day.”
Pingling Yao was dead, Luo Kui was dead, Zhu Yan was dead, Yuan Wo was also dead…
Nan Feng felt his head throbbing more and more, as if it was about to split open. “Where are Zhi You and Jiu Hui from Wangshu Pavilion? Where are they?”
“Eldest Senior Brother, what are you talking about?” Shiyi looked at him in surprise, as if he had been possessed by someone else. “I’ve never heard of those two names before. Are you mistaken?”
Nan Feng’s vision gradually blurred, and he fell backward.
“Eldest Senior Brother!”
He saw countless people rushing towards him, but all he wanted was to wake up from this nightmare right away.
When he opened his eyes again, the person he saw was still Shiyi.
“Eldest Senior Brother, that evil dog hates me the most. I’m willing to sacrifice my life to appease its resentment.” Shiyi knelt on one knee in front of him, his young shoulders seeming to lose all their pride and vigor under the weight of boundless sorrow.
“Get up.” Nan Feng couldn’t believe it. The memory of Shiyi, who used to sneak back home and get covered in dog hair, had turned into this withered, lifeless form.
“Eldest Senior Brother.” Shiyi looked up at him, his eyes red. “The gourds at home are ripe. I should go back and be with my family.”
After speaking, he kowtowed to Nan Feng and turned to stride out of his courtyard.
“Shiyi.” He wanted to chase after him, but found that his entire body was unable to move. When he was finally able to move, he chased him to the outside of the sect’s main hall, only to see his master’s sword piercing through the neck of an evil dog whose body was as large as a mountain and was emitting a bloody evil energy.
Many disciples of the Jiutian Sect lay on the ground, their life and death unknown. He staggered to Shiyi’s side, his voice trembling. “Shiyi…”
“Eldest Senior Brother…” Shiyi, who was lying in a pool of blood, forced his eyes open and turned his head with great effort to look in the direction of the evil dog.
The evil dog pierced by the Cosmos Sword fell to the ground. Its blood and evil energy dissipated, and its body gradually shrank, turning into a bloody, emaciated, and shriveled yellow dog.
“Woof…” The yellow dog twitched all over. It clawed at the ground with its forelegs and staggered towards Shiyi.
Bu Ting raised his sword with indifference.
“Master!” Nan Feng stood in front of the yellow dog, who was covered in wounds. He saw large tears falling from its dark eye sockets.
“Get out of the way!” Bu Ting’s tone was even colder.
“Dahuang.” Nan Feng took off his outer robe and wrapped the dying yellow dog in it, his voice hoarse. “Your name is Dahuang, right?”
The yellow dog’s ears twitched. It seemed to not understand why the people from the Jiutian Sect would know the name its young master had given it.
“Don’t blame Shiyi. He doesn’t know anything. If he did, he would have gone to save you, even if it meant breaking the sect rules.” Nan Feng saw Dahuang open its mouth and thought it was going to say something, but it only spat out a small, bloody, immature gourd.
“Woof……”
The unripe gourd fell to the ground and broke into two halves. The moment the gourd hit the ground, Dahuang closed its eyes.
Nan Feng stood up while holding the yellow dog and handed the gourd that had fallen to the ground into Shiyi’s hands.
“Dad, mom…”
Shiyi used the last of his strength to grip the gourd and swallowed his last breath.
“In the north of the earth, an evil dog rises…” Nan Feng stared blankly at the disciples of the Jiutian Sect who had lost their lives around him, and finally understood the meaning of the prophecy of Zhenxing Tower.
The entire population of Tianhe City was gone. Shiyi had lost his family, and Dahuang had lost its master. Therefore, Dahuang hated the Jiutian Sect, Shiyi, and even all the yaos and cultivators…
But how could Dahuang, who was determined to give its master’s gourd to Shiyi even at the cost of its own life, be the murderer who killed all the people in Tianhe City?
“Nan Feng, let go of this monster.”
“Nan Feng, what’s wrong with you?”
“Eldest Senior Brother?”
Nan Feng looked at his indifferent master, at his fellow disciples who were approaching him, and at the corpses all over the ground. He turned around, hugged Dahuang, and flew towards Fuguang Mountain.
Someone called out to him from behind, but he ignored them completely.
He passed through the blizzard formation outside Fuguang Mountain, using his sword to force back all the approaching puppets, and walked towards Fuguang Palace step by step.
“Who are you?” Lord Fuguang, wearing a mask, sat on a rock, watching him being besieged by puppets, his tone indifferent: “Fuguang Mountain is not to be trespassed upon.”
He was stunned. Was the person before him really a person, and not an emotionless ice sculpture?
“There is Fuguang, but no Zhi You or Jiu Hui…”
Seeing that he knew the alias he had used for just several days, Fuguang did not react much. With a flick of his sleeve, he swept Nan Feng out of Fuguang Mountain.
Nan Feng fell from Fuguang Mountain. He looked at Fuguang’s lonely figure, unable to struggle.
All of this is a dream. If only it were a dream…
-—————-
“Eldest Senior Brother! Eldest Senior Brother!”
Nan Feng opened his eyes and looked at Shiyi, who had lifted his bed curtains without any manners. He remained silent for a long time.
“What’s wrong with you? You look so creepy.” Staring at Nan Feng made Shiyi feel uneasy. Shiyi fumbled and took out a box of pastries from his sleeve. “I only hid a box of pastries that the boss of Taolin City’s pastry shop gave me. Don’t stare at me like that. I’m scared.”
“Shiyi?”
“Huh?” Shiyi was a little confused. “Wh-what’s wrong? I really only took one extra box of pastries. I didn’t take anything else. If you don’t believe me, go ask around in Taolin City!”
“Is your Dahuang still doing well?”
“Very good, it’s gained a lot of weight recently.”
“Are the gourds in your yard ripe yet?”
“Are they, are they ripe?” Shiyi was a little uncertain. “Do you want them? Then next time I go back, I’ll bring you two.”
Nan Feng sat up in bed. “What are you doing in my room?”
“I came to deliver the wedding invitation to you.” Shiyi took out a big red wedding invitation from his sleeve, his face full of smiles. “Jiu Hui and Zhi You are going to hold a grand Dao Union Ceremony. The invitation for the two of us was personally written by Zhi You and Jiu Hui.”
Nan Feng accepted the bright red wedding invitation, and his heart gradually calmed down.
Fortunately, it was all a dream.
-—–
“Little Junior Sister, your and Junior Brother’s Dao Union Grand Ceremony, your family’s elders really aren’t coming?”
“The customs of my hometown are different from those of the sect, so the elders said that when we return to my hometown, they will hold another wedding ceremony for us.” Jiu Hui whispered, “I’ll take you all back to my hometown when the time comes.”
“Alright, alright.”
The Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had long been curious about Jiu Hui’s hometown.
“Sect Uncle, this sect has no connection to us, are we still sending an invitation?”
“Send? Why wouldn’t we send them?” Yu Jing said with righteous indignation. “One invitation and one congratulatory gift. It’s rare for our Wangshu Pavilion to hold a happy event. We should invite everyone we can.”
“Sure.” Zhi You nodded. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a gift.”
If possible, he wished the whole world knew that he was going to hold a Dao Union grand ceremony with Jiu Hui.
“Hmm?” Jiu Hui raised an eyebrow at him.
“It, it does matter” Zhi You immediately changed his words. “It’s not okay without a congratulatory gift.”
Everyone from Wangshu Pavilion was speechless…
Zhi You, look at you, so worthless and useless!
“Go, go, go, you two go out and play, and don’t get in the way here.” Yu Jing drove the two out of the yard: “Don’t come back before dark.”
After being kicked out by her master, Jiu Hui was not annoyed. She took Zhi You to the lake to catch crabs. The turtle yao by the lake was chatting with the frog yao in the water.
Turtle yao: “I wonder where Immortal Lord Fuguang has gone. Could he have attained the Dao and become an immortal?”
Frog yao: “I don’t know. I heard that there were countless rare treasures in Fuguang Palace, but unfortunately, they were all blown away by the gale that night. Alas!”
As expected of a yao who had been influenced by Wangshu Pavilion, even though the treasure of Fuguang Palace had nothing to do with it, it still felt distressed when it mentioned the matter.
Jiu Hui touched the storage ring on her body. How could she tell these two little yaos that she had anticipated something would happen that day, so she had worked with Fuguang to put everything from Fuguang Palace into the storage ring, not even sparing the gems on the walls?
It couldn’t be helped. Who told her to be so frugal?
Zhi You turned his head to look at her. She hooked her finger around his, and they exchanged a smile, hiding their accomplishments and fame.
Author Note:
Wangshu Pavilion: Invite everybody!