Chapter 43 – To Die For Love
Feng Ye endeavored to free his sleeve from Hao Chen’s hand, and Hao Chen gripped Feng Ye’s sleeve just as hard.
The two engaged in a tug-of-war, and the thin material stretched precariously. Unsurprisingly, after a momentary stalemate, there was a sudden ripping sound.
The two men stepped back at the same time. Hao Chen looked at the length of cloth in his hand, while Feng Ye stared at his half-missing sleeve.
After a brief pause, Hao Chen spoke before Feng Ye could claim compensation from him. He raised his hands flat in front of him and bowed in a congratulatory gesture, saying with a face full of joy: “Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Feng Ye!”
What was there to congratulate him for…..Feng Ye was so baffled by Hao Chen’s congratulations that he even forgot to blame him.
Maintaining his smiling expression, Hao Chen shook the half sleeve in his hand and explained to the doubtful Feng Ye: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye has cut his sleeve for me, so of course I must congratulate him.”
Feng Ye pondered for a moment before realizing the deeper meaning of the words “cut sleeve.”
He also recalled wanting to cut off his sleeve so that Hao Chen would have no sleeve to pull. Fortunately, he hadn’t brought a sword. Otherwise, if he cut his own sleeve, wouldn’t his innocence be at stake if the news got out…..
Although the result was still a broken sleeve, Feng Ye forced himself to make up another explanation for this matter. He poured cold water on Hao Chen, saying: “Has Fellow Daoist Hao Chen never heard of the term ‘severing one’s ties with a friend?’ This sleeve is the broken friendship between me and you.”
“No, no, no,” Hao Chen denied with a smile. “Our friendship is like a surging river that cannot be stopped by mountains or hills, let alone a small sleeve such as this.”
Feng Ye: “……”
He gave up.
While the two were flirting, no, joking around, the tiger-leopard was approaching its prey step by step not far ahead, and the two Wending martial brothers were also retreating step by step.
The monster’s blood-red eyes gleamed with fierce greed. The muscles of its upper jaw peeled back its lips in a wrinkled snarl, exposing sharp fangs that could pierce a human throat like it was nothing.
The tip of its nose twitched slightly as the smell of blood from its injured prey stimulated its senses. This fishy smell made it even more excited and greedy.
After eating these two humans, its cultivation would likely reach a higher level.
Foul-smelling saliva flowed from its lips as it closed in on its prey.
“Shixiong, I can’t run. You go first, I’ll hold it back!” Lu Xiao looked at the approaching monster and suddenly made up his mind.
Cheng Yiming tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword when he heard this. He was actually a little shaken. He’d been thinking about whether he should abandon his shidi and escape by himself, but Lu Xiao’s words made him so ashamed that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
“Shidi, let’s die together!” He suddenly went still, a determined expression on his face. He had made his decision.
As soon as he spoke, the monster crouched down, limbs slightly bent as its leg muscles tensed. Then it reared back and, like an arrow shot from a bow, pounced on Cheng Yiming with such speed that it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.
The sound of the tip of a sword hitting the tip of a claw drew Feng Ye’s attention from Hao Chen to what was in front of him.
Cheng Yiming was struggling hard against the tiger-leopard, while Lu Xiao, his immobile shidi with an injured leg, was firmly protected behind him.
This kind of friendship is rare, Feng Ye thought. It was just that…..this swordsmanship was also rare…..and so bad that it defied description.
It was likely that junior disciples of Lingxiao Sword Sect who had only joined for a month could dance with a sword better than Cheng Yiming. But come to think of it, he couldn’t place blame. Lingxiao Sword Sect was a genuine sword cultivation sect, and Wending Sect focused almost entirely on alchemy rather than combat.
That said, the sword in Cheng Yiming’s hand was a magic weapon. Although it was only yellow-grade, the lowest-grade magic weapon, it could just barely hold off the monster’s claws.
But it couldn’t hold on for much longer. The monster’s attack was fierce, but it hadn’t used its full strength. Cheng Yiming, however, was already giving his all, injecting spiritual power into the weapon as if he had a limitless supply.
Fighting in this way, it wouldn’t be long before his spiritual power was exhausted. At that point, he would probably be unable to fight back, only able to let the monster consume his flesh and blood.
As soon as this thought occurred to Feng Ye, Cheng Yiming’s spiritual power sputtered. Feng Ye was somewhat surprised. The spiritual power of this Wending Sect disciple had run out faster than he’d expected. It seemed the rumors were true – the disciples of Wending Sect were all a bunch of useless people with inflated cultivation bases.
The monster saw its chance and immediately took advantage of its opponent’s pause, slashing Cheng Yiming’s arm with its claws.
His intact right arm was suddenly torn to bloody pieces.
Cheng Yiming staggered a few steps back and stood in front of his shidi.
And the monster was no longer in a hurry to attack. It licked its claws that were covered in bits of flesh, staring with blood-red eyes at the two people in front of it.
Having exhausted all of his spiritual power, Cheng Yiming should have no means to fight back. However, he demonstrated the power of money to the two paupers Feng Ye and Hao Chen with his own actions.
He suddenly took out a small bottle from the storage bag at his waist, pulled the cork, and gulped down the brown pills like candied beans.
As the jut of his throat bobbed up and down, his exhausted spiritual power replenished itself.
“……” Feng Ye was dumbstruck.
Was this kind of thing possible?
It seemed so.
Although the monster didn’t possess human-like intelligence, it realized that the prey in front of it had the ability to fight once more.
“Raawr!” It roared angrily.
Then it waved its strong forelimbs again, leaped off the ground, and pounced on Cheng Yiming from above.
Feng Ye watched blankly as Cheng Yiming tangled with the monster. When his spiritual power was quickly exhausted, he tossed another pill into his mouth, instantly refilling it again, and fought at full power.
Feng Ye: “…..”
No wonder people said that although those from Wending Sect weren’t very strong, they could wear their opponent down using drugs.
It was a pity that the two disciples of Wending Sect hadn’t brought enough pills. Before the monster could be killed, the medicine ran out first.
After Cheng Yiming exhausted his spiritual power once again, he was truly in dire straights with no ability to resist.
His body bore wounds of various sizes, and his eight trigram robes were stained red, sticking wetly to his form.
After another narrow escape from the monster, he took a few steps back to stand with his shidi.
The monster turned its head and gave the martial brothers a fierce look. A hint of elation rose in the beast’s blood-red eyes as it slowly approached its exhausted prey.
Cheng Yiming was still holding his sword, but his hand was trembling. He had no strength to fight back, and was just struggling in his death throes.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Seeing this, Hao Chen let out a pretentious sigh. At the same time, he unfolded his fan in front of himself and Feng Ye, considerately presenting this treasure to him: “Since Fellow Daoist Feng Ye isn’t leaving, how about I block this bloody scene for you?”
Feng Ye looked at the black fan blocking his view: “……”
He sent Hao Chen a speechless look. Then, with a wave of his hand, he pushed Hao Chen’s fan away and took a step forward in one motion.
Although this step was small, it was a very clear statement.
Hao Chen’s expression immediately became one of extreme surprise. He and Feng Ye had been observing indifferently for so long that he’d thought the other party wouldn’t take action. He didn’t expect Feng Ye to ultimately get himself involved in this matter.
This was truly beyond his expectations. He had witnessed Feng Ye’s unexpectedly cold and terrifying killing intent. That was likely Feng Ye’s true character. As for the good-natured, bulliable, Useless Shixiong in Fang Yang’s eyes, that was just a disguise Feng Ye used to conceal his true identity.
That cold look couldn’t be faked, nor could that awe-inspiring killing intent. If Feng Ye said that his hands were clean and he had never taken a life, Hao Chen would be the first to disbelieve it.
Not only that – this fellow probably had a lot of blood on his hands, the bones of corpses having become the sharp edge that allowed him to kill anything and anyone.
Only people like this would be so on guard that they instinctively attacked when someone unintentionally approached them from behind.
This person who’d taken countless lives…..how could he be a good person who drew his sword when he saw injustice?
It was clearly more in line with his character to watch someone in peril without helping, just like Hao Chen!
However, that was just his speculation on Feng Ye’s character, and couldn’t be relied upon. The fact was: Feng Ye was actually taking action to help these two strangers.
While Hao Chen was doubting life, Feng Ye took two steps forward, squatted down, and picked up a palm-sized stone.
He tossed the stone up and down in his hand, weighing it. Feeling that it was heavy enough, he suddenly turned his wrist and threw the stone out hard.
Bullseye!
The tiger-leopard was only a few meters away from the two Wending martial brothers. The beast opened its mouth wide, preparing to eat delicious food, but was unexpectedly hit with a rock that twisted its mouth.
“Raawr!” The monster roared in pain. It promptly whirled around to face its attacker, Feng Ye.
The two Wending disciples turned their heads at the same time, wide-eyed in surprise at escaping their desperate situation.
One corner of Feng Ye’s lips rose as he looked directly into the monster’s eyes with an air of provocation.
Even with the language barrier between species, the meaning of such eye contact was self-evident.
The monster had previously disdained Feng Ye and Hao Chen’s pitiful cultivation, but it couldn’t resist this provocation. It immediately dropped the food in its mouth and rushed toward Feng Ye.
Feng Ye showed no fear, even unarmed.
After their initial shock, the Wending disciples grew anxious, fearing that their reinforcements might not survive even a single attack and die in vain.
Feng Ye watched as the monster drew nearer, and suddenly said to Cheng Yiming: “May I use that sword?”
Cheng Yiming was taken aback, but immediately replied: “Take it!”
As he spoke, he threw the yellow-grade spirit sword in his hand to Feng Ye.
Not only did the way he used a sword defy description, but so did the way he threw it.
The tip of the sword danced in an arc through the air, and judging from its trajectory, it should reach its target pointed toward Feng Ye.
If Feng Ye didn’t catch it, he would be pierced through by the thrown weapon. Perhaps instead of calling this assistance, it should be called causing further trouble.
As the sword danced and spun through the air, the monster running toward Feng Ye also leaped up. Attached to its sturdy forelimbs were claws that gleamed with a cold light, sharp enough to pierce a person’s chest through the ribs.
The weapon was still up in the air, but the tips of those claws were already within reach.
Faced with such a perilous situation, Feng Ye still displayed no fear. Instead, he smiled and shouted: “Good!”
Cheng Yiming was feeling guilty about his dismal sword-throwing skills, and was stunned for a moment when he heard this cheer.
What was so good about this?
Feng Ye answered through action.
He suddenly rushed forward, lowering his body and using the inertia of his speed to slide directly under the leaping monster.
Having missed its target, the monster turned its head as it landed and pounced again with a swing of its claws.
At the same time, Feng Ye leaped up and accurately snatched the hilt of the sword that was spinning in the air.
With a clang, the combatants separated at a touch.
Feng Ye and the monster distanced themselves again. Feeling the familiar weight in his hand, Feng Ye subconsciously swung his weapon in an artful sword flower.
With a sword in hand, his whole demeanor transformed. His idle and carefree attitude was cut away by the biting sharpness of the sword the moment the hilt met his hand.
The smile on his face deepened, revealing an arrogant contempt for all things.
He had no need for powerful magic weapons, nor elixirs to improve his cultivation.
He only needed a sword to win every battle!
Hao Chen saw Feng Ye’s expression, and his heartbeat accelerated once more.
In his travels around the world, he’d heard that in some places, liking something very much was called a ‘control.’ Some people liked uniform clothing, which made them a uniform-control.
What kind of control was he?
He felt like he had no resistance to Feng Ye’s expression when he had a sword in hand. He could even ignore his ordinary appearance, which trampled over his usual aesthetic tastes.
Hao Chen couldn’t think of an answer for the time being. His blood vessels were dilating due to his pounding heart, and his brain was a little hot. His eyes were full of the image of Feng Ye holding a sword.
His state at this moment was like that of a teenaged boy secretly perusing yellow books. Such was his excitement that he couldn’t help taking a step closer.
As for how to proceed…..
Hao Chen unfolded his fan and took another step forward.
He wanted to blow away the monster and the other two people standing in his path so that he could fight this sharp-edged Feng Ye himself.
However, something unexpected happened during the battle.
Against this monster that was much stronger than him, Feng Ye should have fought using superb sword moves like he had with Lu Chengye.
But he had only fought two rounds when Hao Chen saw him suddenly leap up onto the back of the monster as it passed by.
And the magic sword in his hand simultaneously pierced into the monster’s back.
The spine was connected to nerves, so the pain was much more severe than it would be on another part of the body. This agony caused the monster to instantly lose its mind. It followed its instincts and began to rush around like a headless fly, trying to throw off the person and sword on its back.
In the blink of an eye, the monster and the person on its back vanished from the three people’s sight.
The three were momentarily stunned by this incredible scene, and Hao Chen was the first to return to his senses.
Gazing in the direction of the person who had already escaped into the depths of the forest, a sense of uneasiness suddenly arose in his heart.
He suppressed his fluctuating emotions, put away his fan, and quickly followed the route Feng Ye and the monster had taken.
The two Wending Sect disciples finally snapped out of their daze at the sound of Hao Chen’s departure.
Cheng Yiming looked at his injured fellow disciple, then at their strange daoist friend who was running away, and suddenly said: “He was trying to help us. If we ignore him, wouldn’t we be considered heartless beasts? Shidi, my leg isn’t injured. I’ll go check on the situation, you wait here for me.”
Lu Xiao nodded, and Cheng Yiming followed Hao Chen in pursuit of the person who had been carried off by the monster to places unknown.
Feng Ye lay on the broad back of the monster as the scenery sped by around him. With one hand, he gripped the monster’s fur, and with the other, he clutched the sword inserted into its back.
When he looked back while running and saw Hao Chen disappear, he couldn’t help but whistle happily.
I finally got rid of that sticky candy!
Turning back again, he estimated the direction of the coast. Then he steered with the hilt of the sword, using pain to force the monster to turn and move in the direction he desired.
A creature with two legs could never outrun a creature with four legs – especially Hao Chen, whose true form had no legs.
Even though he did have legs in his Peng form, he couldn’t transform in broad daylight. It might make too big of a splash.
Moreover, there was a Wending Sect disciple following closely behind him for some reason.
He didn’t want to reveal his identity so early, so he could only maintain a relatively normal speed as he pursued Feng Ye.
The two chased after him for a long while before they finally caught sight of a ray of light through the jungle.
When they first walked out of the jungle, the first things they noticed were the moist sea breeze and the sound of crashing waves.
Hao Chen glanced around and spotted the corpse of the tiger-leopard on an over ten-meter-high cliff near the shore.
He and Cheng Yiming approached the monster corpse together, and Hao Chen observed the traces left on the cliff without a word.
The magic sword was completely embedded within the monster’s body, with only the hilt sticking out.
The reef was covered in bloodstains, and it was unclear whether the blood was from the monster or Feng Ye.
It naturally belongs to the monster, Hao Chen thought. He had been tricked. Feng Ye’s sudden intervention had probably not been out of kindness, and Hao Chen had even been asking himself how this person could have a such soft heart.
Feng Ye had intended to use the monster to get rid of him, and Hao Chen had let him succeed right in front of his eyes.
Hao Chen closed his fan in vexation and tapped his forehead with it.
However…..Hao Chen’s lips suddenly curved up slightly. Feng Ye had missed one thing: he had no idea that Hao Chen was a Kunpeng.
It was possible to get rid of him on land, but the sea was his home ground!
How could a human being escape a fish in the sea?
Especially a very big fish – bigger than this floating island.
Feng Ye would soon know what it meant to walk into a trap.
The more Hao Chen thought about it, the more excited he became. But just as he was about to jump into the sea and give Feng Ye a surprise, he was abruptly stopped by a voice beside him.
Cheng Yiming couldn’t see the curve to Hao Chen’s lips, and only saw him tap his fan in discontent, which he interpreted as a sign of despair at the death of his friend. After all, judging by the evidence at the scene, Feng Ye had most likely fallen into the sea while fighting the monster.
The sea was unlike the land. There were monsters as strong as Nascent Soul in it, and once cultivators like them entered, there would be no chance of survival.
Feng Ye had died trying to save him and his shidi. At this thought, Cheng Yiming could only comfort Hao Chen in an apologetic tone: “Fellow Daoist, please don’t be too sad…..”
Hao Chen glanced at him when he heard this. After a moment’s thought, he played along and donned a heartbroken expression, saying with tears in his eyes: “He’s dead. I don’t want to go on alone.”
Cheng Yiming was stunned, and exclaimed in disbelief: “Does Fellow Daoist mean…..could it be that the two of you…..”
Before he could finish his question, Hao Chen had already walked to the edge of the cliff. Then, without hesitation, he jumped into the surging, perilous sea.
As he fell, the false sadness on his face disappeared and was replaced by a carefree grin.
He opened his arms toward the sea with a hint of nostalgia, and with a splash half a person’s height, he vanished into the expanse of water.
Cheng Yiming reacted belatedly and rushed to the edge of the cliff. Looking down, he could only see white-capped waves crashing against the cliffside.
After searching for a while with no results, he couldn’t neglect his shidi any longer, and went back the way he had come.
When he saw his shixiong return, Lu Xiao couldn’t help but wonder: “Where are the two fellow daoists?”
Cheng Yiming let out a long sigh: “The fellow daoist who helped us fell into the sea while fighting the monster, and the other one…..”
He said with deep grief: “He died for love!”
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Chapter 42 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 44
Neon Dragonfly Translations 