CH 115

Chapter 115: I Would Have Acted As A Matchmaker For Him From Now On.

There was a moment of silence and tranquility on Pingding Mountain. Submerged under the cold weather, the Phoenix Clan, who had turned back to their bird forms, bowed their heads in sadness.

Lin Baihu stood frozen in place, when all of a sudden, he tasted something between sweet and fishy in his throat. At that moment, Lin Baihu covered his mouth and coughed a couple of times, staining his hands with blood. After coughing, Lin Baihu felt that he could no longer breathe, and although he inhaled air, he was unable to exhale it.

The blood on Lin Baihu’s palms gradually cooled, causing him to no longer be able to feel any warmth. Likewise, his entire body began to lose temperature, as if he had been stripped of something.

However, something strange happened, as his eyes felt inexplicably warm.

Lin Baihu blinked, but as he did so, he felt his vision blur.

At that instant, something came gushing out of his eyes’ tear ducts. That something crossed over his cheeks and chin, until finally it landed on his already cold hands, merging with the blood and washing away the crimson red.

‘What’s this?’

‘Is it pain perhaps?’

‘Is it mourning?’

Lin Baihu suddenly understood.

He was crying.

‘But the one for whom my heart beats has already passed away. Why so cruelly let me understand only now what crying and mourning is?’

Lin Baihu slowly crouched over the White Tiger and curled up as if he was afraid of the cold. Although he wrapped his arms around the White Tiger, the White Tiger’s body was no longer warm.

Everyone around him became speechless, and only Lin Baihu sobbed.

Right when the last remnant of the White Tiger’s soul disappeared, the branches of the Great Sacred Tree that were wrapped around the White Tiger’s abdominal wound no longer emitted the faint green glow, and instead they dimmed down along with the disappearance of the soul. However, all of a sudden, that green glow reappeared, as if the White Tiger next to Lin Baihu had come back to life.

When those of the Phoenix Clan realized this, they couldn’t help but be surprised, to the point of asking their fellow clanmate in hushed tones: “What’s going on?”

Blue Snipe had been a part of the Phoenix Clan, and an Immortal Bird, for thousands of years. Given his seniority in the Clan, his experience was greater than the younger birds, so he was also somewhat surprised: “The Great Sacred Tree is trying to retrieve the soul of the Immortal Lord of Kunlun.”

At that instant, the Vermillion Bird noticed something else and said: “It seems that the Immortal Lord of Kunlun’s injury is healing?!”

Blue Snipe reacted all of a sudden and rejoiced: “It’s true! Baihu cried tears of blood and formed a pact! These are the tears of the Phoenix!!!”

Bian Zhonghua also noticed this and took a few steps forward. Regardless of whether it would be useful or not, Bian Zhonghua placed his hands on the White Tiger’s body and transferred spiritual energy to his body.

But Qin Yicang’s inner soul had shattered into pieces, so it was difficult for the Great Sacred Tree to retrieve all the pieces of Qin Yicang’s soul. Without a complete soul, even if Qin Yicang’s wounds were to heal, he wouldn’t be able to wake up.

Just when it seemed that the situation would fall back into despair, a cry as if jade was shattering echoed through the skies, shocking the Phoenix Clan. Then, the birds of the Phoenix Clan fluttered their wings and flew in unison around the Great Sacred Tree, singing and crying as if they were calling out for something.

The songs and cries of thousands of birds echoed through the air, and yet this melody felt neither loud nor deafening. It was more like a chorus of songs, whose harmony flew into the clouds of the empty mountain, causing them to condense, and making the lotus drip with dew1.

“Is this….” Even if Bian Zhonghua had never seen such a scene before, he had read about it in various ancient books, so he knew more or less what was happening: “A thousand Phoenixes summoning for a soul2? Qin Yicang, ah Qin Yicang. If you don’t wake up now, you are really not worthy of us.”

As soon as Bian Zhonghua finished speaking, a light fell on the White Tiger, breaking through his body. Almost instantly, the White Tiger gradually transformed into a human form.

Lin Baihu stood up, dazed, and with red eyes from the tears that still covered his face.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lin Baihu finally seemed to regain his senses and was able to extend his trembling arms to embrace Qin Yicang.

As soon as Lin Baihu’s hands touched Qin Yicang, Qin Yicang exhaled violently to then cough uncontrollably.

The chanting of the Phoenixes which sounded mournful at first, now flooded the landscape with a beautiful and sweet melody. One by one, the Phoenixes sang and danced in the air, celebrating with joy.

Lin Baihu hadn’t reacted yet, as if he had exhausted all his strength due to all the tears he had cried a moment ago. He stared blankly at Qin Yicang, who was still coughing, and his breathing calmed down.

Qin Yicang then slowly opened his eyes, revealing a lost and confused gaze. Then, Qin Yicang turned his head to look at Lin Baihu.

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a long while. It seemed that even the Great Sacred Tree couldn’t bear to see them like this, so without them noticing, the branches of the tree gently pushed Lin Baihu towards Qin Yicang.

Lin Baihu suddenly reacted and wiped the tears from his face. But no matter what, they seemed to refuse to stop falling. The more tears that fell, the more he choked. Finally, Lin Baihu managed to ask: “You’re ….you’re awake. Does your body hurt? Your wounds?”

Qin Yicang’s eyes still appeared confused, and after thinking for a moment, he asked in confusion: “Who are you?”

Lin Baihu froze, and his chest heaved violently. Only after a long pause was he able to open his mouth and ask: “You, you don’t remember me? Then, do you know who you are?”

Qin Yicang, with a somewhat more relaxed expression, nodded and replied: “The Tiger King of Kunlun Mountain, Qin Yicang. What is this place? Why am I here?”

Lin Baihu didn’t respond immediately, and instead, he covered his face with both hands to fiercely wipe away his tears. Only then did he stop crying. Lin Baihu raised his head again with his usual indifferent and calm appearance and told Qin Yicang word for word: “This is Pingding Mountain. My name is Lin Baihu of the Phoenix Clan, and I love you. You are my beloved.”

“Beloved?” Qin Yicang’s eyes finally began to regain their usual brightness, and as he looked around, the confusion present in his gaze gradually began to disappear. Finally, Qin Yicang’s gaze once again fell on Lin Baihu. At that instant, it seemed that Qin Yicang wanted to say something, but he paused as if to hide something. He coughed, covered his wound to get up, and asked: “Do you love me?”

Lin Baihu nodded.

Qin Yicang asked again: “How much do you love me?”

Lin Baihu was silent for a few seconds before finally replying: “If you don’t dislike me, then until the end of time, I will be by your side. But if you don’t like me, or you like someone else—” Lin Baihu paused, as if he were feeling some kind of pain. He gritted his teeth and continued: “Then I won’t appear in front of your eyes again. But if you were to ever need my help, you’ll just have to open your mouth and say so. I’ll do everything I can to support you, even if it means dying.”

Qin Yicang laughed helplessly and said: “Little white bird, why do you say it like you’d rather be loyal to me than just love me?”

Lin Baihu was stunned to hear the well-known nickname, so much so that even his mouth hung slightly open.

Qin Yicang stretched out his arms to embrace Lin Baihu. After a long sigh, he said: “You said, ah, that if I didn’t dislike you, you would stay with me until the end of time. You can’t go back on your words.”

Lin Baihu’s shoulders shook slightly, when all of a sudden, his eyes grew warm again, triggering new tears to fall again.

“No, no, don’t cry.” Qin Yicang was somewhat at a loss for words, so he spoke incoherently. “It’s not that I wanted to pretend to have amnesia, but when I woke up a while ago, my brain was a bit foggy and in a mess. I swear I truly couldn’t remember you. I was wrong, I know it was wrong to do that.”

Lin Baihu continued to sob, unable to stop or speak at all. Therefore, he had to resort to shaking his head and hugging Qin Yicang tightly.

Qin Yicang reached out a hand and gently patted Lin Baihu’s back to comfort him: “Don’t cry, it makes my heart hurt.”

Lin Baihu was really distressed. It turned out that Lin Baihu, who had always been so indifferent to love and lust, when heartbroken would cry to the point of his voice becoming hoarse.

Qin Yicang was trying his best to comfort Lin Baihu, but the moment he looked up, he discovered that Bian Zhonghua was there too. Qin Yicang couldn’t help but be completely stunned by his presence, when all of a sudden, he thought of something and asked: “Are you…..?”

Bian Zhonghua nodded: “I have recovered.”

Qin Yicang sighed lightly: “It wasn’t easy. Congratulations.”

Bian Zhonghua: “I congratulate you too. But it’s a good thing you haven’t lost your memory, otherwise, I would have acted as a matchmaker for Lin Baihu from now on.”

Qin Yicang was so angered by those last words that he even stood up to shout at Bian Zhonghua and fight with him. However, Lin Baihu pulled him back and hugged him tightly again. As this was the first time the little white bird was so clingy with him, Qin Yicang was so flattered that he hugged him back and no longer cared to make a fuss.

‘How many years had to go by? How many beautiful springs have been wasted?’

‘I’ve always thought that this particular love would be destined to fail, so I simply wanted to live by your side.’

‘How could I have known that a warm breeze would blow across mountains and seas, where we would be reluctant to separate in a distant and desolate land?’

‘In the end, it wasn’t a mistake to love you this deeply.’