CH 4

The bright moon hung high in the sky, with thin clouds revealing a clear starry night. However, raindrops suddenly fell from the sky one by one, then poured down like a bucket, making a loud noise.

Actually, it wasn’t raining at all.

The people holding weapons stared up blankly, wiping their drenched and soggy faces. The red and bloody smell in their hands seemed to completely penetrate their skin, making them nauseous.

This was all the blood of the dead.

Since the girl spoke, the bloody rain had been falling, and the severed limbs shattered by the sword light had also been falling heavily.

In the wilderness, some people were knocked unconscious by the falling debris, while others were frightened by this hellish scene.

Only a young man was laughing, his laughter clean and crisp.

But no one dared to attack that young man.

Because a girl in a white veil and green dress calmly descended from the sword light, as if being held up by the gentle breeze and clouds, slowly stopping beside the young man’s shoulder.

Shuo Feng’s eyes shone brightly, sincerely praising, “Zhou Yue, you’re really amazing.”

Praised by the young man, Zhou Yue’s face couldn’t help but turn red with shyness, but her eyes were also shining, “Right, right? I’m really amazing. Shuo Feng, do you want to learn swordsmanship from me?”

The two smiled at each other, both faces filled with joy.

The onlookers silently watched the young man and woman as if they had forgotten about them, enthusiastically discussing the matter of learning swordsmanship. The girl actually weighed her divine sword in her hand, demonstrating a few fierce sword moves, teaching the young man how to use the sword.

Really, have these two got it wrong? Can learning swordsmanship be possible in this situation?

The crowd had complex expressions, but no one moved, as no one wanted to die by the sword of the mysterious girl.

At this moment, it was Shuo Feng who noticed the cowering crowd. He happily took the sword handed over by the girl and grinned, “Are you guys not leaving yet? Do we need to ask you to leave?”

The tone of his request was very heavy. But the tip of the sword pointed straight at the gap in the crowd.

But how could this be a real “request”? This was obviously a blatant threat!

Should they leave or not? Can they really leave? People looked at each other, their faces showing fear and despair, turning pale or ashen at times. Finally, the first person took a step back.

The sparse footsteps sounded, followed by the long whinnying sound of horse hooves as people pulled their reins and whipped their horses, fleeing in a hurry. The sparse grassland resembled a rough and bumpy drum surface with thousands of drumsticks striking simultaneously, shaking everything around.

Meanwhile, the girl remained to kneel quietly with her back to them, quietly reciting the sutras of rebirth for the dead. After finishing, the girl straightened her back and seemed to be really focused on watching the young man practice her sword moves. Her green skirt blossomed like a flower, and her black hair slightly exposed the clear and translucent skin on the back of her neck. The white veil made her slender figure even more graceful and beautiful, causing passersby to involuntarily exclaim at her “Jade Beauty”.

However, at this moment, Jade Beauty paid no attention to the fleeing crowd behind her and just lightly clapped her hands.

Between the vast heavens and earth, wind and clouds flowed quietly. The applause was clean and seemed to have magical power.

The fugitives froze in place and the guards prepared to use their skills, their muscles tense as a wave of despair swept over them.

The fleeing people immediately froze in place, their muscles tightening in despair. They prepared themselves for the worst, but after the breeze passed, the crystal-like laughter of the young girl rang out. “Shuo Feng, you’re learning quickly. You’re even better than I was when I started. Your sword moves are beautiful. Let me teach you some other moves.”

The two of them were actually earnestly teaching and learning swordsmanship.

What kind of cruel joke was this? The people looked stunned.

Suddenly, one of the fugitives stumbled in fright and fell face down into the dirt. The crowd panicked and struggled, rolling around on the ground like beans sifted through a bamboo strainer or crabs jumping in a steaming pot. For a moment, angry curses and shoving sounds mixed together, but ultimately everyone silently dispersed further away.

Of course, the young man noticed the chaotic and ridiculous scene, and with a disapproving gaze, he looked towards the crowd.

“Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

Upon hearing Shuo Feng’s shout, Zhou Yue also turned her head in surprise and in confusion, “Why aren’t you all leaving? Is there still something else?”

The confused expression on the young girl’s face was sincere and perplexed, as if she was genuinely worried for the people. Her face was indeed very beautiful, like jade or porcelain. At this moment, her eyebrows lightly furrowed, and two tiny, symmetrical red moles on her brow ridge twitched.

But the people did not see her as a celestial being from the heavens. They only saw her as an evil spirit who had come to collect souls.

The desolate wilderness finally fell silent. Only the crescent moon on the distant mountain remained, and the sky had begun to turn blue. The sounds of roosters crowing from a nearby village could be heard. If you ignore the corpses scattered all around, this was a beautiful ink painting of the countryside, complete with mountains and rivers.

In this picturesque scene, the boy and the girl stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the sunrise in the faint light of dawn and the formation of the geese flying overhead.

Turning to the boy standing beside her, Zhou Yue lightly said, “Shuo Feng, I’ll teach you how to use a sword. Do you want to be my disciple?”

She wanted to be his master.

The girl’s expression was very serious, without arrogance or calculation, different from others perhaps.

She seemed to be thinking of happy memories, pursing her lips and smiling, even the corners of her eyes were smiling. “My master was very good. Shuo Feng, I want to be a good master like him.”

The sunlight was warm, and the girl standing in it was also warm.

But the corners of Shuo Feng’s eyes and eyebrows were gradually filled with the coldness of spring, and he tightened the hilt of the Ji Hua Sword, speaking in a hoarse voice. “Do you also want me to help you with something?”

Before Zhou Yue could reply, Shuo Feng gave a strange smile and continued, “I also had a master once, but I killed him with my own hands.”

“Peeling off his skin and tearing his tendons, dismembering his body into ten thousand pieces.”

The words were full of indifference.

He was a despicable person who had betrayed and destroyed his own master and ancestors, Shuo Feng thought to himself coldly.

Shuo Feng lowered his gaze. If Zhou Yue didn’t want to be hurt by him, she should stay away from him. His eyes stared straight at the black surface of his boots. The silver embroidery had become darker and dirtier due to the bloodstains.

But the girl just looked at him quietly, reaching out her cold hand to touch his cheek, the corners of his eyes and brows, as if trying to dispel the bone-chilling coldness that clung to him.

Her eyes were filled with tender compassion, and Zhou Yue frowned, “He must have done a lot of things to hurt you and make you sad. Shuo Feng, since he’s a bad person, you did the right thing by killing him.”

“Never mind, even though you don’t want to be my disciple, I will still teach you how to use the sword and help you become an immortal,” the girl’s tone became light again. “After all, I am your sword.”

Shuo Feng looked up and saw the girl’s body shaking in the morning light, but her face was as pure and untouched as before.

He relaxed his fingers, which had been clenching the sword handle.

Suddenly, Zhou Yue crouched down, hugged herself and curled up into a ball. “Shuo Feng, I’m tired and I want to sleep.”

Shuo Feng also crouched down, took hold of the girl’s shoulders, and looked into her clear eyes. His voice was fragile, like shattered glass, “Zhou Yue, I’m injured, and perhaps someone will come to kill me soon.”

The April night was cold, and the chill and last night’s blood rushed into the young man’s sleeves, causing his shoulders to tremble. Zhou Yue thought of the young man’s sharp eyebrows and clear eyes, lips devoid of color, but with sharp and beautiful lines, like spring snow about to melt in the warm sunshine, clean yet fleeting.

She stood up and sighed, “Shuo Feng, I really don’t know what to do with you, but since I’m your sword, I’ll carry you.” She turned her back to the boy and bent over again. “Here, I’ll carry you.”

When she was still in Linghua Sect, she carried many young disciples on her back.

Zhou Yue’s eyes and brows softened.

Unexpectedly, the young man’s breathing became rapid. He muttered, “Who asked you to carry me? It’s not…not…”

Shuo Feng shook his head irritably, wanting the clear wind to blow away the heat on his face. But perhaps the sun was too bright and his face turned even redder.

He didn’t want Zhou Yue to see him like this, so he quickly turned to face her and hastily said, “Let me carry you instead. You said you want to sleep right? If you’re on my back, I won’t be afraid of anyone coming to attack me.”

Zhou Yue was momentarily surprised, but she didn’t flinch. She jumped lightly onto Shuo Feng’s back, and the boy felt like he was carrying a light cloud. The translucent glints in his eyes were filled with unexpected tenderness.

The girl’s feet dangled lightly on Shuo Feng’s arms. Perhaps because she had just transformed into a mortal form, she hadn’t had time to wear shoes or embroidered slippers, revealing her delicate pink toes, like warm pearls, even cuter and more lovely in the bright spring sunlight. Shuo Feng blushed and unintentionally pulled down the hem of the girl’s green skirt, trying to cover up her innocent charm.

The road was muddy and uneven, with lush green grass on both sides. The water vapor from the Canglan River that flowed through the city was steaming in the warm air, hiding the muddy blood smell in the grass.

Shuo Feng avoided the bumpy parts of the road, using his inner strength to deflect the stones that blocked the way with a silver needle in his hand. He walked very steadily, and the girl on his back slept soundly. Shuo Feng felt the girl’s head bobbing up and down on his shoulder, her unbraided black hair nestling against his neck, warm and itchy. He whispered softly, “Zhou Yue, do you want me to help you with something?”

The girl, although sleepy, was actually afraid of being ambushed, so she didn’t fall asleep. “I want you to cultivate into an immortal and help me seal the Abyss of Xuanming,” she said firmly, not like she was talking about something unrealistic for mortals.

In fact, the story of cultivating into immortals had been circulating in the mortal realm for a long time. Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, when the heavenly ladder was not yet broken, there were also people from Da Liang who ascended to immortality. But legends were still legends, just like who would know that there was a sword spirit girl living in the divine sword?

However, Shuo Feng was listening very seriously. He thought that this might be related to Zhou Yue’s background, but he didn’t mind her secrecy and secrets.

Everyone has secrets, just like he does.

“The Abyss of Xuanming? What is that place?” Shuo Feng asked.

“The Abyss of Xuanming is beyond the six realms, where the origin of evil spirits lies,” said the girl on his back, pausing her words and speaking seriously, “It’s not a good place, very dangerous, with endless resentful spirits and malevolent energy tearing apart souls. If one were to die there, they would be forever trapped in the Abyss of Xuanming, never to be reincarnated.”

The strings in his mind were rapidly vibrating, and Shuo Feng sensitively sensed something and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you there? Do you want me to go save you?”

He was actually a kind-hearted and softhearted child.

Zhou Yue smiled and seemed grateful for Shuo Feng’s kindness. But she shook her head and also shook off her black hair that blocked the boy’s view, “There’s no need for that. I don’t eleven like that place, why would I make you go there? Shuo Feng, all you need to do is help me reinforce the seal at the boundary gate.'”

But at that moment, Shuo Feng felt like his heart had been struck by the girl’s black hair that she had just shaken off. It was sour and bitter, like willow fluff drifting on a calm lake, prickling like needles.

The girl had already sensed his complicated emotions and calmly reassured him, “Shuo Feng, you don’t have to be sad.” She paused, “I died in the Xuanming two hundred years ago. Although I am now the spirit of the Ji Hua sword, ultimately, I am just a remnant soul attached to the sword by chance.”

Shuo Feng hugged the girl’s legs tighter, but Zhouyue seemed really tired, and after saying this, she fell asleep heavily on his back.

Shuo Feng could feel the girl’s warm and soft breasts against his back, but there was nothing inside. It was a quiet spring day, with the sounds of chickens and dogs barking in the village, and only his heart beating in the world.

Zhou Yue’s gentle breathing blew on Shuo Feng’s ear, like a flame fanned by the wind, gradually turning his earlobes red.

The sun had truly risen, illuminating the lively human world, and the fireworks in the distant city were getting closer and closer.

Shuo Feng lowered his eyes, his arm muscles slightly loosened, allowing the girl’s legs to slide down a bit, wanting to make the sleeping girl more comfortable.

He thought, at least at this moment, she was real and alive in the human world.

He tried his best to calm his heart, eliminating the panic and vague sadness and pain that overlapped in his heart. Finally, he took a deep breath, and the image froze on the girl’s smooth instep and pink toes. He had to buy Zhouyue a pair of embroidered shoes.

After all, she was his sword.

Thinking of this, Shuo Feng’s transparent eyes became clearer, and the corners of the boy’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up in the spring breeze.

Author’s note:

Shuo Feng (frantically in love but pretending to be calm): That’s right, it’s all because she’s my sword that I would…

His mother: You can continue to say one thing and mean another.