Chapter 10: If Life Were Only Like First Meeting (IV)
Standing among the reeds, gazing at the boundless grassland before her, Nan Ke’s small face showed no expression. Her eyes were as indifferent—or perhaps vacant—as always. Only her hands, trembling slightly at her sides, revealed that she was somewhat weakened, and also how furious she was that Chen Changsheng had successfully escaped.
Dozens of white trails still lingered in the sky above the grassland, the effect of the overwhelmingly domineering Peacock Feathers that had nearly torn through space itself. In such a short span of time, she had launched that many attacks at Chen Changsheng consecutively. No wonder her complexion was so pale now, her true essence so heavily depleted.
Under normal circumstances, from a distance of several dozen zhang, Chen Changsheng would have long since been reduced to mincemeat. But this most mysterious grassland within the Garden of Zhou indeed possessed some unfathomable peculiarities. The seemingly clear and unobstructed space was actually distorted. The world seen from outside the grassland could not accurately overlap with reality, and her attacks had failed to even touch the hem of Chen Changsheng’s robe.
A gentle breeze brushed through the sea of grass and the reeds, tousling her hair even more, and her mood along with it. Her chest rose and fell slightly, her breathing heavy. Watching her back, knowing she was on the verge of an outburst—or perhaps in the aftermath of one—the old man with the zither remained silent, while the two maidservants dared not make a single sound.
“I want to go in,” Nan Ke suddenly said, her childish brows and eyes filled with an air that brooked no opposition.
Of course, that was because she knew this decision would inevitably invite opposition, even from her most loyal subordinates and her most fearful servants.
As expected, the old zither player was greatly alarmed and said without hesitation, “Absolutely not.”
Nan Ke raised an eyebrow slightly, impatient. “Why not?”
The old zither player looked at the seemingly beautiful and pleasant grassland before them, a tremor of fear in his voice. “Since the Garden of Zhou opened, no one has ever been able to walk out of this grassland.”
Nan Ke said expressionlessly, “That’s others, not me.”
The old zither player showed no sign of backing down. “Even for Your Highness, before this grassland, there is nothing particularly special.”
Nan Ke raised her right hand and swept a patch of black mist before her, gazing at the four faint, flickering life lamps that constantly shifted positions as if dancing. “When it comes to understanding the Garden of Zhou, no one on the entire continent surpasses Teacher. With Teacher’s help, I am confident I can leave this grassland.”
Hearing this, the old zither player fell silent for a moment. This time, the Demon race’s conspiracy against the Garden of Zhou relied most heavily on the Black Robe’s understanding of the place. Before this, who could have imagined that the Garden of Zhou had other gates besides the main entrance, and that gate was under the Black Robe’s control? After entering the Garden, following the life lamps to hunt down those human young geniuses who must be killed, the more he learned of the Black Robe’s arrangements, the deeper his reverence for him grew, the more he felt the man was unfathomable. Now, hearing Nan Ke’s words, he found himself momentarily unable to refute her, and even somewhat believed her.
“But… why must you enter this grassland? Xu Yourong and the other three have all been driven into it. They cannot possibly come out alive.”
“Xu Yourong is with Chen Changsheng. That makes me uneasy. Don’t forget—one is the reincarnation of the Heavenly Phoenix, and the other went from being unable to cultivate to the upper level of Tongyou in just one year. All humans regard their existence as a miracle. So who knows if, working together, they might actually create some new miracle? That’s why I have to go in. Even if they truly can create a new miracle, I will personally wipe it out.”
Nan Ke thought silently to herself, especially Chen Changsheng—he must die.
Seeing her determination, the old zither player said no more. He sighed, took out the ancient zither he had only just repaired that morning, laid it across his knees, and began to play a tune.
As the zither music drifted into the grassland, faint rustling sounds could be heard among the weeds taller than a man. What it was, no one could tell.
The old man came from the Yin Candle Witch Tribe, skilled in mental attacks and control. His zither music could, to some extent, command—or at least drive away—those low-level demonic beasts. Though it could not affect truly powerful beasts, it would bring many conveniences when traveling through the grassland. The Black Robe had arranged for him to accompany Nan Ke into the Garden of Zhou for good reason.
Much of Nan Ke’s confidence came from this—from her absolute trust in her teacher. She was also extremely wary of this vast, mysterious grassland, which was why, when first pursuing Xu Yourong and later facing Chen Changsheng, she had controlled her emotions. She didn’t want these human opponents to think they were cornered and flee into the grassland to hide. But now Chen Changsheng had already carried Xu Yourong inside.
The zither music not only drove away nearby beasts but also served as a means of communication. Before long, heavy footsteps sounded, and Liu Xiaowan and Teng Xiaoming arrived carrying a stretcher and a pot. Toward this pair of demon general spouses, Nan Ke’s demeanor was noticeably more respectful. She calmly explained her decision.
The demon general couple was silent for a moment, then expressed their agreement through continued silence. The zither music rose softly, the sound of water gently lapping. A line of powerful demon cultivators pushed through the reeds and entered the grassland. This boundless grassland was not a forest, but for this chase—for both hunter and prey—it was an utterly unfamiliar forest. They would face the same dangers.
There were many legends about the vast and mysterious grassland within the Garden of Zhou. But since no one had ever walked into it and come out alive, the reliability of those legends was naturally questionable, and most were simply absurd. Only by truly entering this grassland would one know what lay inside—just as one must taste chili pepper to know it isn’t poisonous, and that burning sensation isn’t real fire.
Zhe Xiu had been carrying Qi Jian through this grassland for a day and a night, yet still had no real understanding of it. He only knew that everything before his eyes was grass, that looking back was also grass, that grass was everywhere. It wasn’t until dawn arrived that they realized the solid ground beneath their feet was gradually diminishing. Instead, the water pools beneath the weeds were growing more numerous, the soil wetter and softer.
The grassland was slowly turning into wetlands. Walking through such an environment became increasingly arduous. Though mosquitoes were few, the demonic beasts lurking in the grass grew more numerous. Just as the morning sun fully illuminated the wetlands, a group of demonic beasts, unable to resist the temptation of fresh blood and ignoring the powerful aura radiating from Zhe Xiu, launched an attack.
For a time, broken grass flew everywhere, water pools shattered into ten thousand golden leaves, and demonic beast blood splashed continuously. Only after leaving several carcasses behind did the beasts reluctantly retreat.
Zhe Xiu reached out and cut down a large amount of thatch, spread it on the damp ground, helped Qi Jian sit down, then sat cross-legged to begin meditating and regulating his breath. He had fought the entire battle alone. It wasn’t too exhausting, but the Peacock Feather toxin suppressed beneath his eyes by his true essence seemed to be showing signs of eroding his sea of consciousness again. He needed to deal with it.
Qi Jian leaned against the stiff grass, looking at the corpse of the huge, pitch-black, scaleless snake not far away—thicker than a roof beam—his face very pale.
His injuries were severe. The sneak attack Liang Xiaoxiao had delivered by the lake the day before was too vicious. Not only had it pierced his abdomen, but it had also insidiously sent true essence along the blade into his body, directly severing two extremely important meridians and leaving too many hard-to-heal wounds on his internal organs. The bleeding had slowed considerably, but it was still seeping out.
With injuries this severe, let alone fighting—he couldn’t even stand now. He could only be carried by Zhe Xiu, only watch as Zhe Xiu fought and killed those terrifying beasts, shouted, fell silent, and suffered. This fact made him feel deeply distressed, as if he were useless. Zhe Xiu’s eyes were now blind, yet he still had to protect him.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhe Xiu awoke. Without opening his eyes, he slowly moved closer to Qi Jian. Clearly, after a day and a night, he was gradually getting used to the fact that he couldn’t see. He took Qi Jian’s wrist, listened to his pulse in silence, then took a pill from his bosom and fed it into Qi Jian’s mouth.
Because he couldn’t see, his fingers touched Qi Jian’s lips as he fed him the medicine.
Qi Jian’s lips were dry, with some cracked skin from thirst, but they still felt somewhat soft. This made Zhe Xiu’s fingers stiffen for a moment. He suddenly said, “If only Chen Changsheng were here.”
It was forced small talk, but Qi Jian didn’t understand. “Why?”
Zhe Xiu confirmed that Qi Jian didn’t mind his lips being touched. After a pause, he said, “His medical skills are very high. Even if he can’t cure the poison in me, he should be able to heal your injuries.”
Qi Jian was somewhat curious about the National Teaching Academy, but this was clearly not a good time for chatting. So after expressing agreement, he fell silent. Only by not speaking could he focus his energy and time on recovering his strength and true essence.
Zhe Xiu understood his meaning. With eyes closed, he continued meditating and regulating his breath, but now he was sitting beside Qi Jian. Qi Jian only needed to open his eyes to see his profile.
During this journey, he had been unconscious for so long that he had often forgotten to guide Zhe Xiu. Of course, in this endless grassland where front and back were indistinguishable, guidance wasn’t really needed. But still, he had slept far too long. So even though he was still weak, he didn’t want to rest anymore, didn’t want to close his eyes.
He opened his clear eyes and quietly gazed at Zhe Xiu’s profile. The longer he looked, the more entranced he became, lost in thought.
Zhe Xiu was very ordinary-looking. No flowers bloomed on his profile. Aside from indifference and lack of emotion, he had no distinguishing features. He looked like a frail human youth. But who would have thought that within that frail body lay such terrifying strength and unimaginable tenacity? Especially after transforming, he possessed a fearsomeness that surpassed his own cultivation level.
Looking at him, a look of admiration appeared on Qi Jian’s small face.
(Two chapters today. The next one is almost finished; just some revisions needed. It should be out in about half an hour.)