Chapter 7: If Life Were Only Like First Meeting (Part One)
For some reason, Chen Changsheng’s speech was much slower than usual, as if his tongue had grown clumsy, making him sound slow and awkward.
Xu Yourong did not reply. She struggled to prop herself up from the ground, leaning weakly against the stone wall of the cliff cave, then lifted her head. Just this simple motion caused her face to turn several shades paler. She gazed at the lifeless Bai Hai before her, at the mottled colors on his aged face, and remained silent.
That moment just now had been the most dangerous she had ever experienced in her life. She had withdrawn her Tong Bow, feigned a surprise attack, and then naturally failed, deliberately allowing Bai Hai to restrain her. Her goal was to make this elder of the Falling Sun Sect drink her blood, because only she knew that her true phoenix blood had already been mixed with the poison that Nanke had planted the night before.
This extremely risky and rather disgusting plan had indeed succeeded. But just as she had thought when regret arose within her, if not for that hand pushing Bai Hai away from her neck at the very last moment, he might have drained her last drop of true phoenix essence before the poison killed him—and then she would have truly died.
Thinking of this, she turned to look at Chen Changsheng. Her right hand held the Tong Bow before her, her expression indifferent, radiating an air of keeping others at a distance.
The delicate girl’s face was cold, and between her brows there was a natural nobility, making her seem extremely aloof. If she were facing an ordinary youth, he might either feel inferior and secretly develop admiration, or feel his dignity challenged and grow uncomfortable. But Chen Changsheng felt neither of these. In the capital, he had interacted many times with women like Mo Yu and Luo Luo, and he was quite accustomed to this kind of refined aloofness, so he remained very calm. Yet for some reason, he felt that this girl gave him a very comfortable feeling, like a spring forest after fresh rain.
Xu Yourong was somewhat surprised by his calmness, and also rather satisfied. Without any visible movement, the long bow disappeared.
Chen Changsheng was momentarily stunned, then recalled some words that had faintly reached his ears while he was unconscious.
This girl was actually a member of the legendary Xiu Ling Clan?
It was said that countless years ago, the Great Western Continent and the Eastern Lands were not separated by a vast ocean but were connected. At that time, the Great Western Continent was called the Great Western Ridge, and an elven tribe lived within it. This tribe intermarried with the demon race, leaving behind many mixed-blood descendants. Later, when the Great Western Continent separated from the mainland, these mixed-blood descendants remained in the Eastern Lands. Because of their beautiful features and agile, swift movements, they were called the Xiu Ling Clan.
Besides their fresh beauty and inherited love for nature from the elven tribe, the Xiu Ling Clan was most famous for their archery. Every member was extremely skilled with bows and arrows. In the war between the demon race and the Mo race, the Xiu Ling Clan played an extremely important role. For this reason, they became the most hated target of the Mo race. Finally, two thousand years ago, due to the betrayal of the Wolf Clan, the ancestral mountain of the Xiu Ling Clan was besieged by the Mo race army. The demon race’s rescue came too late, and the Xiu Ling Clan was brutally slaughtered, nearly wiped out. Only some young clan members escaped through narrow underground tunnels.
If the story had ended there, it might have been better. But in reality, the Xiu Ling Clan members who escaped the iron hooves of the Mo race faced an even more tragic fate. Because of their beautiful features and enchanting bodies, those who could not be brought back to the banks of the Red River naturally became prey for many powerful figures. Whether it was the Mo race nobles in Snow Old City or human nobles, they all took pride in owning a Xiu Ling Clan member as a servant.
The tragic fate of the Xiu Ling Clan only began to improve nearly a thousand years ago, when humans and the demon race allied against the Mo race. Emperor Taizong issued a decree forbidding the trade of Xiu Ling Clan members. However, in the mansions of many princes and nobles, they were still secretly kept. It was not until the Great Western Continent’s eldest princess married the White Emperor and formed a friendship with Saint Empress Tianhai that the enforcement of this ban was strengthened, bringing a true turning point. After a certain southern family was wiped out by Saint Empress for secretly keeping and torturing dozens of Xiu Ling Clan slaves, this phenomenon truly disappeared from the human world.
But after so many years of enslavement and torment, the already scarce Xiu Ling Clan members became even rarer. Now, most Xiu Ling Clan members live in White Emperor City or have crossed the ocean to the Great Western Continent. In the past few decades, whether in the capital or Wenshui City, sightings of Xiu Ling Clan members have become very rare.
Knowing that this girl was a Xiu Ling Clan member, Chen Changsheng couldn’t help but look at her with some sympathy. He thought to himself, no wonder she could enter the Zhou Garden with just a bow and arrow. At the same time, he felt more understanding toward the coldness and resistance in her brows. If he were a Xiu Ling Clan member, he wouldn’t have much goodwill toward humans either.
He had just woken up and hadn’t figured out many things. Why was he in this cliff cave? What was that last flash of light he saw before losing consciousness last night?
He asked, “Did you save me?”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “You don’t need to thank me.”
Chen Changsheng didn’t know how to respond. He thought to himself, didn’t I just save you? After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “May I ask who you are?”
Xu Yourong was slightly startled, realizing that he didn’t recognize her. Normally, wherever she appeared, she would be recognized, because of her extraordinary aura and, more importantly, because she was very beautiful. (Note)
This had nothing to do with narcissism; it was an objective fact. She was recognized as the most beautiful woman on the entire continent, and even the Mo race nobles in Snow Old City had no objection to this.
She wanted to ask, “Don’t you know who I am?” but then remembered that before entering the Zhou Garden, she had asked the priests of the Qing Yao Thirteen Divisions to disguise her appearance… because she didn’t want to see that person.
Thinking of that person made her feel even more exhausted. She asked softly, “Can you still walk?”
Chen Changsheng was still seriously injured and had just woken from a coma, his whole body weak, but he didn’t want to become a burden to her. He said, “I can.”
“Good. Then you carry me,” Xu Yourong said calmly. “Don’t abandon me.”
Chen Changsheng was stunned again. So that’s what she meant. He circulated his true energy slightly, confirmed his condition, and then nodded.
He agreed reluctantly, not psychologically, but because his physical state was truly too terrible.
Xu Yourong was well aware of his current condition, but she didn’t offer words of comfort or encouragement. In her view, those clichéd emotional encouragements were nothing but a waste of energy.
“I’ve lost a lot of blood. I’m very weak,” she continued.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, when I woke up, I did see that old monster sucking your blood. But your expression was so calm at the time, and then the old monster died from the poison in your blood. It was clearly a trap you set. So why are you saying this now? Also, why was that old monster sucking your blood?
Seeing that he couldn’t understand her meaning, Xu Yourong felt a bit helpless. She said, “I feel very disgusted.”
Chen Changsheng asked in confusion, “And then?”
Xu Yourong said, “I don’t want to recall what just happened, and I’m very weak. So, I’m going to faint for a while.”
Having said this, she didn’t give Chen Changsheng any chance to object or ask questions. She closed her eyes very decisively, leaned against the stone wall of the cliff cave, and fell unconscious.
Chen Changsheng was caught off guard by this sudden change. After thinking it over, he felt that what this girl said was actually very reasonable, and he had to admit defeat.
He didn’t immediately take her and leave, because he also needed to regulate his breathing and recover some strength. Additionally, he needed to examine his own condition more carefully. Last night, by the lakeside of the cold pool, he had fought fiercely with those two terrifying Mo race women and suffered severe internal injuries. He didn’t want to help the girl out of the cliff cave only to vomit blood and die.
When the soul leaves the sea of consciousness, it becomes divine sense; when it returns from outside, it becomes self-observation.
He saw the lake outside the Nether Mansion. Unlike before, the spherical lake was now covered with frost and ice, radiating coldness in all directions. Even the spirit mountain where the Nether Mansion was located was somewhat unclear. Occasionally, a fierce wind would blow, and the frost and snow would slowly fall. After an unknown amount of time, the wilderness was covered with a thin layer of white.
During last night’s battle, his true essence had burned out completely, and the snow on the wilderness had long since melted away. In the Zhou Garden, he couldn’t sense his life star, and he was worried about how to recover his true essence. Then he saw this scene. It was somewhat surprising, but he wondered why the lake outside the Nether Mansion was so cold.
His divine sense passed through the frost on the lake’s surface and continued deeper… and then he saw a scene that moved him deeply.
A thin black dragon was quietly sleeping in the lake, constantly releasing its aura. That aura was so cold, so pure.
Chen Changsheng then realized that, just like when he had sat in self-observation in the underground space, the black dragon had saved his life again. Those cold thoughts from the dragon’s soul were helping him recover his true essence, slowing his blood flow, and continuously repairing his riddled internal organs. However, compared to the underground space, the black dragon was now countless times smaller, curled up in the lake like a sleepy child, looking very cute.
The black dragon was now just a wandering soul. To save him, it must have paid a great price, which was why it remained asleep.
Without it, he would have been dead by now. He looked at the jade ruyi that had appeared on his wrist and remained silent.
Then he looked at the unconscious girl in white leaning against the stone wall. He didn’t know what had happened last night, but he roughly understood that without her, he would also be dead by now. This girl was a Xiu Ling Clan member. Although humans and demons were different, his relationship with the demon race had always been very close. Not only had she saved him, but he wouldn’t abandon her now, especially under these circumstances.
But how could he take her with him? After recovering some strength, Chen Changsheng knelt before the girl in white and gestured with his hands, trying out several positions. He felt that none of them were quite right. In such a tense moment, he wouldn’t be like those pedantic moralists who worried about the differences between men and women. But he truly had no experience in this area—grab her by the belt and carry her? Support her by the arm and walk together? Hold her horizontally in his arms? In the end, the simplest method was the most reliable. He directly carried her on his back, his hands supporting her thighs.
He carried her out of the cliff cave, observed the surroundings, and stepped on the fallen leaves in the forest, slowly walking toward the foot of the mountain. He was very familiar with the geography of the Zhou Garden and knew that as long as he kept going forward, he would reach the Forest of Lakeside Words. However, before he even reached the zigzag path ahead, he stopped.
(Note: I really can’t help but think of Long Qing… Also, I unhesitatingly wrote “one” in the title instead of “up,” which means I plan to make a big deal out of this plot segment. This represents my determination and also the length of this segment, with all kinds of ups and downs and excitement. I’m really looking forward to it… but I have things to do tomorrow, so only one chapter.)