Chapter 51#
Chapter Fifty-One#
Pei Huang quickly snapped out of it, knowing that the figure before him was human, not a ghost or a god.
He asked coldly, “Have you been following me all these days?”
The person stared intently at Pei Huang’s face, a flash of nostalgia momentarily passing through his eyes.
But soon, he chanted a string of strange incantations. Instantly, flames erupted from beneath his feet, reducing him to ashes in a breath and freeing him from the constraints of the array.
Although the person had escaped, it wasn’t a total loss.
The way that person looked at him seemed to be reminiscing about something. Wu Huai had mentioned that his mother’s kin were in this world.
Perhaps that person was one of them.
However, since arriving in this world, the Divine Sword had given him no further guidance, so Pei Huang couldn’t be certain.
Pei Huang composed his thoughts and looked at Xue Jingci, saying, “Let’s go back.”
Xue Jingci was surprised. He was usually confident in his arrays, yet the moment those flames ignited, he sensed the array being destroyed.
This power was truly too overbearing.
The two returned to the felt tent. Pei Huang took the initiative to speak, “You’ve likely noticed as well; the spiritual energy here is incredibly abundant, even surpassing the upper realm.”
Xue Jingci just watched him quietly, showing no intention to ask questions.
Pei Huang felt as if this massive secret was about to leap out of his heart at any moment.
It was something he couldn’t speak of to others, a bramble that had entwined him since childhood.
He suddenly found it unbearable and desperately wanted to tell Xue Jingci. He spoke uncontrollably, pouring out the past that shouldn’t have been made public.
“I came here to inherit the power left by my biological parents. That power belongs to this world; it can only be activated here.”
The image of Pei Huang’s finger being singed by fire flashed through Xue Jingci’s mind, and thinking of the strange power that destroyed his array, he instantly had a guess.
What Pei Huang wanted to inherit was this power that was sufficient to destroy everything—fire.
Xue Jingci looked at Pei Huang and suddenly felt that the shadow of the mature and steady man had shattered, turning back into the little boy in Donglai Village.
He reached out and suddenly rubbed Pei Huang’s head, saying, “I can help you.”
Pei Huang widened his eyes and quickly reached out to grab his wrist, subconsciously asking, “You’re not asking what kind of power it is? Aren’t you afraid I’ll lie to you?”
Xue Jingci thought for a while and gave a rare sigh.
“I truly don’t understand these things well, but it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not like I haven’t been lied to before.”
Pei Huang hadn’t expected Xue Jingci to say this. The sealed entrance in his heart seemed to have been pried open once more.
“I haven’t asked you before… Xiao Xun, is his injury alright now?”
Mentioning Xiao Xun, Pei Huang deliberately masked his tone to appear indifferent, then continued asking, “How did you get injured like that and fall into the sea of clouds?”
Hearing him ask about this voluntarily, Xue Jingci finally found the opportunity to explain why he had left without saying goodbye back then.
“At that time, his meridians were shattered, and he collapsed onto me. Senior Sister said he couldn’t be moved at all, so I had to take him back to the Lingxu Sect first.”
“It’s fine.”
Confirming once again that Xue Jingci truly cared for that person, Pei Huang felt a bit sour in his heart. He changed the subject, asking, “I remember you went to the illusion to train because you wanted to get the outer sect elder’s token, right?”
“Did you and he officially perform the master-disciple ceremony?”
Xue Jingci shook his head: “At the ceremony, he took someone else as his master.”
Hearing this, Pei Huang’s breath hitched, and his hand hidden in his sleeve instantly tightened. He wanted to say something but ultimately swallowed it.
He wasn’t one for hollow words of comfort, so the next night when he returned to the tent, he brought a mirror for Xue Jingci.
The mirror had been polished using a special technique; the surface was concave, making whoever looked into it appear very fat.
“I brought you something.”
Pei Huang hid the front of the mirror in his palm. Seeing Xue Jingci, he told him to pick up the kitten.
The kitten had just woken up. In its muddled state, its eyes were dazed by the light reflected from the mirror. Looking closely, it saw its face looking like the large pancake the village chief’s wife made on the side of the pot.
It remembered that it had indeed eaten quite a lot lately and widened its eyes in shock, pressing its face close to the mirror.
Now it looked even more like a pancake.
The kitten turned to Xue Jingci in horror, meowing and crying out.
Xue Jingci couldn’t help but give a light laugh.
Only then did the kitten realize it had been tricked. It turned its head to look around and felt Pei Huang was the most suspicious, dissatisfiedly striking at him with a paw.
Xue Jingci caught its paw and comforted it, “It’s the mirror that makes you look fat, not you.”
The kitten tilted its head, thought for a bit, and said, “Forget it.”
“It’s been a long time since he teased me.”
Since their reunion, Pei Huang had been excessively calm and steady. Only now did he finally show a bit of his youthful spirit.
Xue Jingci was stunned to see the kitten cool down so easily and only then let go of its paw.
He held the mirror in his arms and looked at Pei Huang. “Thank you.”
After a moment’s thought, Xue Jingci added, “You’re the second person to give me a mirror.”
Pei Huang paused his gaze and asked, “Who was the other person?”
He thought to himself that it couldn’t be so unlucky that it was one of Xue Jingci’s first two disciples.
A trace of something unusual appeared in Xue Jingci’s eyes as he said, “It was Grandma.”
Pei Huang breathed a sigh of relief, and true curiosity grew within him. This was the first time he had heard Xue Jingci mention his past.
About Grandma, Xue Jingci had only told the system.
Mentioning it now, however, he had to skip the parts involving another world.
But this was enough for Pei Huang to understand Xue Jingci’s past.
It turned out Xue Jingci had been abandoned in the wilderness as a child and didn’t have a name until Grandma picked him up.
The “Jing” in his name was because Grandma had once given him a mirror and held his hand, saying that as long as he was good to others, others would be good to him.
Just like a mirror.
If you touch a mirror gently, the mirror will respond gently.
Pei Huang vaguely recalled the first time he met Xue Jingci.
His first impression was that he was very fierce.
No one had ever disciplined him so strictly. Pei Huang sometimes felt Xue Jingci was like a block of ice, cold to the bone.
But as time went on, a few traces of clumsy softness would occasionally appear.
He would hold his hand to teach him swordsmanship, take him to the mountains to identify herbs for treating injuries, and prepare meals while waiting for him to come home.
Pei Huang snapped out of it and looked at Xue Jingci, saying softly, “She was right.”
Xue Jingci hadn’t met such a patient listener as Pei Huang for a long time. Even though he didn’t interrupt or respond much, he made one feel that he had heard every word.
Unknowingly, he said a few more words, eventually remembering Xiao Xun’s matter and lowering his eyes. “Forget it, it doesn’t matter.”
Xue Jingci said this without any tone of sadness, yet it made Pei Huang’s heart feel incredibly stifled.
He almost disregarded everything to grab Xue Jingci and take him away.
But thinking that he would eventually go to the Demon Realm, Pei Huang regained his reason and restrained his hand that wanted to reach out.
He stood up, looked at Xue Jingci, and said, “Let’s go back near the tree house and look again.”
“I need your help.”
At the mention of serious business, the complex thoughts buried in Xue Jingci’s heart vanished instantly.
The two came to the side of the stream. This time, Xue Jingci switched to an even more powerful array.
This trapping array was divided into inner and outer layers and included an illusion array. He wouldn’t let that person escape easily again.
The only question was, having startled the target last time, whether that person would appear again.
Xue Jingci bent down to lay the array, and Pei Huang handed him the items he needed one by one.
Just as the array was about to be completed, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly came from behind. Before they could react, they were surrounded by the young and strong hunters of the village.
They usually hunted with Pei Huang and were very familiar with him, but now every one of them had an unfriendly expression.
Tawa walked out from the crowd. Today he wore a lake-blue magic robe, a tall pointed hat, and held a staff made of willow.
“Outsiders.”
A sharp look appeared in Tawa’s eyes as he watched Xue Jingci and Pei Huang intently, like a venomous snake locking onto its prey.
“Was it you who disturbed the Deity?”
Hearing this, Pei Huang subconsciously protected Xue Jingci behind him, pursing his lips in silence and vigilantly watching the people around them.
Tutu leaned over and said something to Tawa. He looked at Pei Huang and said coldly, “Previously you felt the gaze of the Deity, yet you came near the tree house and destroyed this place.”
Hearing this, several hunters raised the bows in their hands, their faces solemn. “Because of you, no one has received the Deity’s blessing these past few days, and all the offerings placed before the statue have rotted!”
Tawa raised his hand to calm them down and looked at Pei Huang. “Today, you must follow me to the foot of the snow mountain to worship. If you can obtain the Deity’s forgiveness, this can be treated as if it never happened.”
The kitten nestled on Xue Jingci’s shoulder and began to cry out nervously, “Host, the level of this world’s plane is very high. Could there truly be some Deity! If we anger Him, how will we get back!”
Xue Jingci rubbed its head comfortingly. “I’m actually quite curious.”
“Is there truly a God in this world.”
The system knew the Host was always bold, so it could only pray desperately that nothing would go wrong.
Seeing Xue Jingci take the initiative to step forward and follow Tawa, Pei Huang also quietly followed the group toward the foot of the snow mountain.
The high mountain carried thick snow, standing eternally on the prairie.
Countless blue-robed monks were praying with palms joined, chanting profound and ancient scriptures.
When Xue Jingci reached the foot of the mountain, it happened to be dawn. Golden light spilled onto the white snow, dyeing the colorful prayer flags with a faint bright yellow.
The long wind swirled around the staggered and stacked golden wheels, making a crisp tinkling sound. All the bustle of the world was shut out.
Unfortunate deceased herdsmen were placed on golden platforms, left to be eaten by vultures and wild beasts.
The people here believed that death was merely shedding the shackles of the flesh, and the soul would follow the birds and beasts to a place of freedom.
Xue Jingci watched, feeling somewhat moved in his heart.
Those thoughts trapped in the past seemed to be swept away by the rising fine snow.
For a moment, he even forgot his mission, and his whole being became relaxed and at ease.
However, this relaxation did not last long. Soon, both he and Pei Huang were pushed onto a golden platform.
On the way here, their hands had been bound behind their backs. Now, facing the snow mountain, they were surrounded by wild beasts watching them intently.
“May the Deity forgive our sins—”
Everyone shouted in unison. Pei Huang gathered strength in his hands, ready to attack.
But before he could act, a red-robed figure descended from the sky and landed before them.
“Let them go.”
Xue Jingci looked up. The man still wore that distorted Golden Crow mask. He walked slowly into the crowd. Wherever he passed, the people moved aside, bowing piously.