Chapter 61 – Crying

Feng Ye stood in place for a while. Then, once the gushing blood subsided a bit, he approached the fallen body.

Crouching down, he picked up two things from the corpse, a storage bag and the Burning Sky Bow.

With the death of its owner, the spiritual consciousness attached to the storage bag had crumbled to ashes, and Feng Ye was able to open it smoothly. All that was left inside were some sundries and a few pills that were barely worth a handful of spirit stones.

Since it didn’t contain the evidence he needed in order to incriminate Xue Ren, Feng Ye tossed the storage bag away. As for the other things inside, regardless of their worth, Feng Ye had no interest in them.

He turned his gaze to the Burning Sky Bow in his hand, shaking it with some disgust to remove the blood staining it. If this heaven-grade magic weapon didn’t look so incredibly strange to him, he actually would have spurned it and not bothered to pick it up.

Forging a magic weapon with heavenly fire as the core was nothing more than an attempt to use the power of heaven to burn everything. According to common sense, materials with sufficient fire resistance should have been selected in its creation. Why use wood that ignited at the slightest touch as the backbone of the magic weapon?

He had simply raised this question, but Lu Chengye hadn’t answered it, and Feng Ye hadn’t pressed further. He could see that Lu Chengye likely knew nothing about the true origins of this weapon. Otherwise, with his boastful personality, he would have revealed everything long ago.

When looking at it from a distance, he had only felt that the structure of the weapon made no sense logically. But now that he actually had it in his grip, Feng Ye was even more puzzled.

Not long after Lu Chengye shot the arrow, the dark red totem that ignited the flames was extinguished. And when he drew the bow, the temperature was several degrees cooler than body temperature.

Even someone as knowledgeable as Feng Ye couldn’t imagine anything so cold and yin that it could suppress heavenly fire to the point that it couldn’t even release heat.

He carefully studied the dark red lines on the bow, attempting to infer the totem’s function, and was stunned to see that the bow was clean.

When he’d picked up the bow, it was covered in blood that he deliberately shook off.

But the permeability of the wood was not low, and some of the blood had seeped in through the gaps.

But now, those indelible blood stains had vanished without a trace.

He had only ever heard of evil swords drinking blood, but never a wooden bow doing the same.

Feng Ye stared at the bow in his hand with a silent frown, standing there motionless.

He could restrain himself and remain still, but the crow in the treetops behind him could not.

Hao Chen didn’t dare get close without risking Feng Ye discovering him. He simply stood on the highest branch and stretched his neck to watch the proceedings, dozens of meters away from Feng Ye.

Although birds generally had good eyesight, at such a long distance, Hao Chen couldn’t get a clear look at what was in Feng Ye’s hand.

He could see the wooden bow and the totem inscribed on it, but couldn’t see small details like the vanishing blood.

He just watched as Feng Ye bowed his head in silence, wondering what he was thinking as he held that bow.

He was so curious!

In order to see what was so strange about the bow in Feng Ye’s hand, he couldn’t help but move closer. And after getting closer, he felt that it wasn’t enough, so he drew closer again.

Thus, atop the tall tree behind Feng Ye, a black-feathered crow started from the treetop and used the horizontal branches as fulcrums, jumping between branches to spiral all the way down.

He deliberately refrained from flying, as the flapping of wings would be a bit obvious. Although he made some noise jumping back and forth among the branches, it was unnoticeable amongst the rustling sound of wind blowing through the trees.

Thinking himself very clever, the crow moved forward stealthily and came to the branch closest to the ground, just three meters behind Feng Ye.

The crow looked around with satisfaction, gripping the branch under his feet with his talons to arrange his seat for the show.

Although he hadn’t bought a ticket – from beginning to end, he was a citizen without a household registration.

Just as he was arranging his seat, Feng Ye moved again.

Holding the bow with his left hand, he placed his right hand on the bowstring. His fingers clenched, and the muscles exposed under his tattered robes tensed up.

Lu Chengye had lost half his cultivation, and was forced to use a forbidden technique in order to pull the bowstring, but Feng Ye only needed to exert a small amount of force to draw it with ease.

Once more, a crimson arrow appeared out of thin air. It wasn’t pointing at anything in particular. It seems Feng Ye just wants to shoot the arrow to test its power, Hao Chen thought.

But in the next moment, he realized exactly how wrong he was.

Because when the arrow formed and the bow bent into the shape of a moon, Feng Ye suddenly spun around. The bow in his hand went from horizontal to upright, with the tip of the crimson arrow pointed directly at the crow on the branch.

Hao Chen: “……”

Discovered.

Just as a bad premonition came to Hao Chen’s mind, Feng Ye’s hand holding the tail of the arrow suddenly loosened. The crow immediately started to flap his wings to escape, but Feng Ye calculated his escape route and still managed to hit him.

Crimson flames engulfed the black crow. Hao Chen paused for a moment where he had fallen behind Cao Zirui and Fang Yang, but swiftly recovered.

The two walking in front of him were engaged in casual chatter, and didn’t notice Hao Chen’s abnormal behavior.

Hao Chen continued to follow them as if nothing had happened, contemplating the scene he had just witnessed.

He had originally bet that the soft-hearted Feng Ye wouldn’t attack Lu Chengye, but the result was surprising and unexpected. Not only had Feng Ye taken action, but he had done so without hesitation. From beginning to end, he did not waver in the face of Lu Chengye’s pleas for mercy.

From the moment Lu Chengye confessed to all of the crimes he had committed, Feng Ye likely had no intention of letting him go.

He may indeed be very soft-hearted, but that did not apply once his bottom line was crossed.

Once he decided to kill, no amount of begging or pleading could shake his rock-solid heart.

However, Hao Chen’s favor toward Feng Ye did not decrease because of this. On the contrary, his heart was moved even more.

If Feng Ye had really let Lu Chengye go, Hao Chen would have been disappointed. His indecision would have only led to chaos. It was obvious that Lu Chengye was not at all repentant. No matter how sincerely he cried, he was only afraid of dying.

But Feng Ye hadn’t done that. He was decisive and unyielding in his execution. The cold expression on Feng Ye’s face when he took action had caused the heart of the crow on the branch to flutter.

Damn, he was attractive!

However, he inevitably harbored double standards. When Feng Ye’s coldness was directed toward others, he was charmed. But when it was directed at him, Hao Chen couldn’t help but complain to himself: “What a cruel man.”

He was only taking a peek!

Although the crow was merely a construct made from one of his feathers, his fan had shrunk, and the severed feathers could no longer transform into external incarnations. 

The feather that turned into a crow had actually been plucked directly from him. Although he had a lot of hair, it had still hurt.

Never mind, never mind. Just consider it the cost of sneaking into the show, Hao Chen thought with a sigh.

He didn’t attempt to peek again. He honestly followed Fang Yang and company toward the exit this time, ready to meet up with Feng Ye once he had dealt with everything.

On the other side, Feng Ye looked up into the air at a dark object falling down. 

When Lu Chengye had pulled the bowstring to its full potential, he had used every bit of his strength. But Feng Ye was different, and was able to use this magic weapon freely.

Although he had stretched the string into a full moon, he hadn’t actually used much strength. The flame wasn’t strong – just enough to drive away this intrusive peeper.

Feng Ye had actually noticed him a while ago. This crow was just like the one he had seen in the sect before. No, it was the exact same one.

There was no need to think about it. The strange feeling he got at that time had not been an illusion. There really was something wrong with this seemingly ordinary crow.

He had also guessed that it was probably Hao Chen’s incarnation, just like the fish at the bottom of the sea, so he’d been fairly casual in allowing the crow to follow him.

But Hao Chen was really pushing his luck. If Feng Ye took one step back, he would take two steps forward.

The crow was practically standing on his shoulder to watch the show.

Although Feng Ye had his back to the crow, he could sense it jumping up and down restlessly in the trees, and each sound of a shaking branch interrupted his thoughts.

When he finally couldn’t stand it anymore, he turned and drove the uninvited guest away.

Now that it was finally quiet, Feng Ye lifted his hand and caught a falling feather.

The black feather had a sort of radiant beauty under the sunlight.

Feng Ye’s eyes narrowed as he inspected it. A fish and a bird. Hao Chen’s true identity was about to be revealed.

There was no other answer in this world, but it was an answer that Feng Ye really didn’t want to know.

How could he be so unlucky as to run into the Lord of the North Sea, who was supposed to be taking a long nap?

They could fight. It wasn’t that Feng Ye couldn’t defeat him, but it would be really troublesome to face the Kunpeng, who had lived for tens of thousands of years.

Especially because he still didn’t know the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, and whether or not the Kunpeng had anything to do with this matter. Were Hao Chen and the mastermind allies? Was getting close to him just a coincidence, or part of a deliberate plan?

These weren’t huge problems in and of themselves, because when it came to absolute strength, whether there was a deliberate plan or not, Feng Ye was confident that he could handle them. 

But now that he knew Hao Chen’s true identity, he couldn’t help but re-evaluate the danger he presented.

If Hao Chen was really in cahoots with the mastermind, then this time, he was in more trouble than he’d ever been. 

But this was just the worst possible outcome. Perhaps this Kunpeng had slept too much and came out to stretch his legs, and just happened to meet him.

Feng Ye sighed and put the matter aside for the time being.

Come to think of it, he had been away from the group for a long time. He needed to hurry and meet up with Fang Yang and the others, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to leave the Floating Island Secret Realm in time.

Just as he was about to set off, Feng Ye remembered the Burning Sky Bow in his hand and hesitated.

The bow must never be seen by Fang Yang and the others. Cao Zirui and Fang Yang had both laid eyes on it, and knew that it belonged to Lu Chengye.

If he didn’t want to reveal what he had done on this trip, there were no excuses he could make to explain it, and his storage bag was completely unable to hold such a large bow.

Feng Ye’s eyes shifted. If he couldn’t take the bow back anyway, he might as well take it apart to see what material it was made of.

He didn’t feel sorry at all. He had exchanged an earth-grade magic weapon with someone so casually, and this priceless heaven-grade weapon wasn’t much better in his eyes. He had always been indifferent to such material possessions.

Thus, he proceeded at once. Holding both ends of the wooden bow in his hands, he exerted force and directly snapped the indestructible bow in half.

When the bow broke, Ling Yun paused as he was rushing through the forest toward the exit. He looked vacantly into space with some confusion: “God?”

“Hehe.” A man’s low laugh sounded in his ears. In a rare good mood, he explained to Ling Yun: “The little toy I made was destroyed.”

Although Ling Yun didn’t know what this toy was, it was really inconceivable that he sounded so happy despite his own creation being destroyed.

But people sometimes had strange tastes, and Ling Yun didn’t actually want to know why he was so pleased. He had no interest in anything but the goal they had agreed to achieve together.

But the man had no listeners other than him, and continued to speak whether or not Ling Yun wanted to know: “But the toy isn’t just something to play with; the real surprise lies in opening it…..”

His voice dipped lower and lower, and he finally couldn’t hold back another laugh.

This laughter echoed through the air, fading into the distance.

Far away from the laughter’s reach, Feng Ye’s eyes widened in astonishment.

When he broke the wooden bow, the material lost its casing and spilled out uncontrollably.

It was a ball of strangely-shaped dark mist, covered in dense black spots. Those spots crowded and twisted together, forming the shapes of human faces. 

Each face was lifelike and distorted with resentment.

Their facial features were savage, eyes and mouths open wide in silent screams.

The sound was indiscernible to the ears, but each scream was like a dull hammer hitting his soul.

Feng Ye instantly dropped the bow and took a couple of steps back, but he was still unable to evade in time. How could those spirits who had been imprisoned for untold years after dying tragic deaths spare the first living person they saw after seeing the light of day again?

There was no way to tell how many faces were hidden in the mist, but in perfect harmony, they launched toward Feng Ye one after another.

In a flash, the bright sunlight vanished from his field of vision. Looking around, all he could see were distorted faces. Each one had its mouth open, full of hatred and despair.

Nobody wanted to die. But these souls had.

Trapped in the bow for untold years, the souls suffered day and night, unable to escape. No matter how they wailed or cursed, their locust wood prison prevented their voices from reaching the outside world.

Feng Ye finally understood why this bow with heavenly fire as a core was so oddly made with flammable wood – it was because this locust wood was suitable for raising ghosts.

He also understood what sort of cold yin material could suppress the fierce heavenly fire…..

Countless resentful souls who had died in tragic circumstances.

He was enveloped in the black mist as it grew stronger, pouring continuously from the broken Burning Sky Bow.

Those silent roars stirred his soul, causing it to tremble without end.

Feng Ye experienced a splitting headache. He covered his forehead with his hands, but didn’t drive these souls away immediately.

Because he felt like these wide-eyed, wide-mouthed faces were trying to tell him something.

But he couldn’t hear them clearly. Too many voices mixed together, turning into a sharp wail that pierced his eardrums.

Just when Feng Ye couldn’t bear the noise shaking his soul and decided to directly disperse these souls, in the next moment, he was completely unable to act.

Because he saw firelight.

The same firelight from a hundred years ago.

Black mist no longer seeped from the broken bow, as all of the souls sealed within the locust wood had fled their prison. Thus, the burning heavenly fire hidden beneath these resentful souls was revealed.

Without the resentful souls suppressing it, the heavenly fire immediately ignited the surrounding grass and trees with overwhelming force.

Dazzling flames penetrated the dark mist blocking Feng Ye’s sight. Countless faces distorted in terror, fleeing from the firelight. It was as if the past was happening all over again.

Feng Ye stared vacantly at the scene. In a trance, he finally heard what these faces were trying to tell him.

They were talking about…..the fire that took their lives a hundred years ago…..

Yinglong had cut down Jianmu in the Eastern Sea, and the enormous tree collapsed. Fire fell from the sky to the ground, spreading for three thousand li and lasting for three days…..

In the aftermath of this raging inferno, countless casualties had been recorded.

They were likely in the tens of thousands…..

The fear brought on by the flames extinguished the hatred and malice in these resentful souls. Terrified, they cried bitterly in front of that which had killed them.

Feng Ye stood in place. The unsuppressed heavenly fire burned with increasing ferocity, trapping him in a sea of flames. 

But he was like a wooden stake nailed into the ground, unmoving.

He continued to listen to the mournful cries in his ears. And when the wails reached their most miserable crescendo, he closed his eyes.

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