Chapter 32: Indelible Marks
“Heh!” Waking up from a nightmare, Qi Huan took a deep breath and glanced around, only to realize that she had returned to Qing Yun Mountain.
On that day, as soon as she arrived at the sect’s gate, she was surrounded by her Senior Uncles who had heard the news of her arrival. The three old folks surrounded her and checked her for a long time before coming to a conclusion that she was well and alive. Seeing her old man staring at her with red eyes, Qi Huan felt warm, there were still people that cared about her!
Afterwards, Qi Huan heard that after she had disappeared, Xu Kong Zi went to Mount Shu alone and caused a huge chaos, forcing out the elders who usually isolated themselves from the outside. Over the past month, Mount Shu and Qing Yun Sect sent several people all over the world to look for her. They even killed several devil cultivators, but still couldn’t find her.
Originally, even Xu Kong Zi was a little discouraged, he thought maybe Qi Huan was already dead, but he didn’t expect her to come back alive!
Xu Kong Zi just asked casually about where Qi Huan went during this period of time. Qi Huan didn’t tell him that Mo Ye had taken her away. She only said that she was saved by someone, and then she was lost, she wandered around until finally found her way back.
To be honest, no one would believe this kind of story, but since the protagonist was Qi Huan. After thinking for a while, the three old folks agreed that this kind of thing was definitely something she can do. She only took one month to find her way back, that’s not too bad for someone like her.
Only after returning, Qi Huan found that she seemed to be in big trouble. She had nightmares every night, and a lot of time she couldn’t even distinguish reality from dreams.
Since she only had nightmares when she slept, Qi Huan didn’t sleep at all. Anyway, she had already made up for more than a month of sleep these days. After getting dressed, Qi Huan jumped out of the bed directly, ready to go to Houshan to find some food. Originally, she was planning to go to Ling Feng Zi’s spirit beast to borrow a tail for food, but she heard that Ling Feng Zi was in isolation to practice cultivation, and that spirit beast was also isolated with him, so Qi Huan had to give up.
Qi Huan had her own standards when it came to picking spirit beasts for food. The spirit beast must have several tails or several legs, so that if she was hungry, she could cut a few of them, bake it and eat it. She could even store some for later.
Who knew that before she left, someone was already waiting outside her house, “Junior Nephew, it’s so late already, you’re not asleep? Do you want to go barbecue with me?” Although she didn’t mind having someone helping her, looking at Ling Yun Zi’s expression, he didn’t seem like he was interested.
“Senior Uncle orders you to go directly to the Conferred Spirit Tower after you wake up.” Ling Yun Zi rolled his eyes secretly, it seems that other than eating, Senior Uncle really has no other hobbies…
“Now? Oh, okay, okay. Don’t look at me with that kind of contempt. It’s not my fault that I cultivated a demonic heart.” She assumed that her old man had probably found out that she had been having nightmares, otherwise he would not call her to go to the Conferred Spirit Tower in the middle of the night.
Qi Huan had never been there before. However, it is rumoured that if any disciple of the sect practiced, accidental or not, into the diabolism path, he or she would usually be taken into that tower for “adjustment”. Somehow after the “adjustment”, the disciple can actually resist the demonic heart.
“Duan Cen Feng was killed by a devil cultivator. That man was brutal. He was very powerful.” Ling Yun Zi led the way, and Qi Huan followed honestly. After a while, Ling Yun Zi suddenly spoke.
“Hmm…” Qi Huan didn’t know how Duan Cen Feng died, but she was pretty sure that this matter must be related to Mo Ye. But she didn’t want to tell the story about Mo Ye. After all, she hadn’t figured out his identity. Another reason was that Qi Huan, she didn’t know why, but she subconsciously wanted to protect him, perhaps because Mo Ye had saved her.
“No matter who that person is, you have to be careful.” Since Qi Huan didn’t plan to say anything about it, Ling Yun Zi also didn’t push further.
Qi Huan tilted her head and looked at Ling Yun Zi, who was walking forward with his back to her. The corners of her mouth raised. This person has probably been with Qi Huan for the longest time in Qing Yun Mountain. He had always been cold even towards Qi Huan, but he was also probably the one who cared about her the most.
Qi Huan’s lie may be taken seriously by Xu Kong Zi and the others, but Ling Yun Zi knew that it was false, but he did not reveal her. His trust and concern made Qi Huan’s mood suddenly better.
“Are all devil cultivators bad? Are there no good people among them at all?”
“There are, it’s just…some things we just can’t change.” Ling Yun Zi smiled bitterly. The difference between the devil cultivators and the noble cultivators is a vast abyss. What is wrong and what is right? All this was only said by one mouth.
“What can’t be changed?” Qi Huan was thoughtful. All of this comes down to one’s strength, no? After all, the world of cultivation is a world that speaks with strength. The reason why so many people come to her for revenge is because she has the lowest strength, no?
Ling Yun Zi, who took Qi Huan on to the first floor of the Conferred Spirit Tower, left after giving her the directions. He said, just keep walking forward. However, he didn’t tell her how to get out of this place!
“Hey, can you guys not be so cruel!!…” After the gate was sealed, Qi Huan wailed while kicking the gate. Is this a joke? This is really the place to resist demonic hearts? Why is it so dark inside here? There’s not even a single sound!
No matter how Qi Huan stomped her foot, she couldn’t hear any sound. It seemed that her five senses were sealed, and her lingqi was also sealed, she couldn’t even find any way to start a light.
On her first day, Qi Huan stood on the spot, not daring to take a single step. The only thing she could see when she opened her eyes and closed her eyes was a bloody dream, which was full of wrecked corpses. After a really long time, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly appeared in her dream, and its appearance awakened her instantly.
“They are all hallucinations. Just hallucinations!” Qi Huan spoke to herself and she could hear her own voice! She was surprised. After waking up from those hallucinations, she found that her five senses had increased to a level higher. Although her eyes could only still see pitch black, at least she could hear sound.
Qi Huan didn’t know where the end point was. She could only move forward step by step. At first, she could still maintain her composure, but then the darkness and silence made her mind blurred, and many things from the past began to appear in her mind. There were bits and pieces of her life before she was 23 years old, and the days after she came to this world.
And the person who appeared most frequently in those pictures was Mo Ye!
In the end, Qi Huan didn’t know how she came out, or how much time had passed, she only knew one thing: devils and hallucinations are not scary at all; darkness, silence and that kind of loneliness that felt that it had seeped deep into her bones, are what she truly fear.
“How do you feel?” After stepping out of the tower, the first person Qi Huan saw was Xu Kong Zi. He seemed to have been waiting for her.
Only
“Lonely, dark and cold.” Qi Huan asnwered truthfully.
“Celestial cultivation is originally a lonely, dark and cold process. Huan Zi, you are not a person who can stand loneliness. To be honest, it is beyond my expectation that you can stay in there for so long. I thought you would fall. I didn’t expect that you would actually come out.” Xu Kong Zi sighed, wondering whether he should be happy or sad.
“Should I…should not come out?” Qi Huan felt a little strange, her shifu looked a little sad when she came out.
“Do you still remember who was the person who supported you to come out? That person left a deep mark in your heart. You shouldn’t have such a deep concern, as a celestial cultivator.”
Xu Kong Zi’s words made Qi Huan stare at him, stunned. Those blood-red eyes seemed to have been imprinted in her heart, it could not be erased.
“From now on…Don’t interact with Mount Shu disciples anymore.” After Xu Kong Zi finished speaking, he shook his head and left, leaving Qi Huan alone in a daze.
Everyone thought that person was Dong Yuan, and even she herself thought that person should be Dong Yuan, but unfortunately, it was not him.