“I’ve said before that you are a person with a very rich inner world, but you are too focused on self-discipline and regard richness as a luxury.”
So, you have a burning passion inside, but on the surface you always appear calm, composed, and taciturn, until... until you yourself forget that you still have a passionate heart.
Ban Lan stood up, shook her long skirt, and said, "I'm going back now."
Cen Ji was stunned. He had forgotten that she was destined to leave.
"Where are you going?" he blurted out. "To, to the Azure Phoenix Forest?"
Is she going to Qingluan Forest to accompany Huang?
“It’s all the same wherever I go,” she replied.
As Huang once said, love is like a rope tied to your heart, with the other end held in another person's hand. You can't escape it, no matter where you go.
Ban Lan turned around and glanced at Cen Ji, as if giving a casual look to a stranger.
Without even saying goodbye, Ban Lan left without looking back.
That touch of crimson disappeared once again.
Mo Sheng
Cen Ji had forgotten how he returned to Kongshanling.
The road is still the same road, familiar yet long.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw Wen Moyin.
Wen Moyin, dressed in a pale yellow gauze dress, swayed gracefully, more dazzling than the most beautiful flowers in the valley.
"Moyin?" Cen Ji was somewhat surprised.
Wen Moyin walked up to him and said, "You're back."
"You were waiting for me?" Cen Ji asked, puzzled.
"Let's go." Wen Moyin smiled gently, her voice as soft as a spring breeze.
When going up the mountain, Cen Ji always seemed to deliberately lag behind by half a step.
Wen Moyin walked very slowly, and Cen Ji walked even slower.
Their hands were only an inch apart, yet they felt worlds apart.
Wen Moyin knew Cen Ji well; he would never overstep his bounds easily, not even in the slightest. Unless she gave the order for him to hold her hand.
But she didn't.
She knew that the woman Cen Ji liked had to be proper, gentle, and virtuous, like a little bird perched on his big tree, quietly preening its feathers.
So in front of Cen Ji, she was like a piece of transparent glass, clean, clear, and fragile.
"You've seen Alan, haven't you?"
Cen Ji calmly replied, "Yes."
There is nothing that Kongshanling doesn't know; there is only things that Kongshanling doesn't want to know.
Wen Moyin said, "I've said it before, she's my junior sister, how could I let her die?"
"It was Cen Ji who was being overly suspicious," he said somewhat apologetically.
A sudden, annoying west wind arose, scattering Cen Ji's apology. Wen Moyin seemed not to have heard anything, and simply said, "Seventh Brother."
"exist."
"We have a mission."
Cen Ji breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, he used to feel somewhat resistant to the word "mission." But now, hearing it again, he felt a sense of anticipation.
Everything has changed. How has everything changed?
"Cen Ji obeys."
Wen Moyin glanced sideways, "We don't need to be so formal."
Cen Ji thought for a moment, and it seemed that he and Wen Moyin had talked in a similar way before, and she had never complained about being reserved. After returning to Kongshan Ridge, Wen Moyin was indeed much closer to him than before.
People have changed, and he's not the only one who has changed.
Wen Moyin said, "You've met Mosheng, haven't you?"
Cen Ji replied, "Mm."
Do you still remember Huang?
How could I not remember? Cen Ji gave a bitter smile. That woman had caused me a lot of trouble.
Seeing that he acquiesced, Wen Moyin said, "Mosheng is Huang's child."
Cen Ji was taken aback. No wonder he always felt that Mo Sheng was not like a child from an ordinary family.
“Mo Sheng is also…” Wen Moyin paused, then said, “The second secret guard of Kongshan Ridge.”
Cen Ji was extremely surprised, "Him? A little child?"
Wen Moyin's lips curled slightly. "Not bad."
Cen Ji thought for a moment before saying, "But he doesn't seem to know anything about martial arts."
Wen Moyin's gaze wandered through the mountains, "But he knows the art of soul-capturing."
Cen Ji only looked down at his path, thinking, "As expected of a phoenix's child, he can even master the Soul-Capturing Technique so easily."
“That’s bloodline, left by Feng. Mo Sheng is just following in his father’s footsteps.”
"So, before Feng died, he was the second-in-command of Kongshan Ridge?"
Wen Moyin tacitly agreed.
Cen Ji suddenly realized that the power of Kongshanling far exceeded his imagination. Even someone like the Lord of Phoenix City was willing to serve Kongshanling.
Cen Ji collected his thoughts and asked, "Is the mission related to Phoenix City?"
Wen Moyin said, "It is Mosheng."
Cen Ji didn't understand. "What?"
Wen Moyin did not answer, but spoke of other things: "The Soul-Seizing Technique is a martial art with extremely strong backlash. For Mo Sheng, to have to master this domineering martial art at such a young age is more harmful than beneficial. If it weren't for the phoenix blood flowing through his body when he used the Soul-Seizing Technique, he would have already lost his mind and gone mad."
Cen Ji couldn't help but interject, "Why not wait until he's older to teach him the Soul-Capturing Technique?"
"Because of the needs of Kongshanling," Wen Moyin said casually.
Cen Ji felt a tightness in his chest, but he didn't know why.
“Even so,” Wen Moyin continued, “Mo Sheng still suffered the backlash of the Soul-Seizing Technique. He can cast the Soul-Seizing Technique on people without warning, causing them to commit suicide.”
It's common knowledge in the martial arts world that the backlash from the Soul-Seizing Technique occurs unpredictably. It not only inflicts immense mental strain on the victim but also poses a potential danger to those around them, as the victim typically appears perfectly normal during the attack. Even if the victim doesn't look the caster in the eye, simply hearing the caster's voice will trigger the spell.
Thinking of this, Cen Ji recalled Mo Sheng's dark pupils and felt a little uneasy.
Wen Moyin suddenly stopped. "Mosheng has a rag doll."
"Ah." Cen Ji recalled the rag doll he had pinched out a tuft of cotton, and the way Mo Sheng held it in his arms like a treasure.
Wen Moyin said, "That was the only thing Huang Wei gave him."
Cen Ji said, "Perhaps Huang will not have the chance to give him a second gift."
Wen Moyin said, "Huang's biggest mistake was not giving birth to Mosheng, but killing Feng."
For Kongshanling, Feng is probably much more useful than Mosheng.
Cen Ji felt a pang of sympathy. He didn't know when he had become so sentimental. For a bodyguard, being sentimental was not a virtue; it would only wear down a hero's spirit and make an assassin unable to grip his blade tightly.
Cen Ji gently shook his head, as if trying to shake off all those messy thoughts.
"What's wrong? Are you dizzy?" Wen Moyin couldn't help but ask.
Cen Ji denied it, saying, "No. What happened to the doll?"
Wen Moyin continued, "When Mosheng has an attack, he becomes inexplicably quiet whenever he sees that doll."
"However, three days ago, the doll disappeared without a trace."
Wen Moyin turned around and stared at Cen Ji.
Mo Yin wondered if she would ask him to go find that doll. Cen Ji's ears twitched. He suddenly wanted to turn Wen Mo Yin's face away; he really didn't think he was any prettier than those warbling birds and tall grasses.
Cen Ji's eyes darted around, deliberately avoiding Wen Moyin who was standing right in front of him.
He said slowly, "That's easy. When it flares up, just blindfold him."
Wen Moyin sighed softly, "He is a secret guard from Kongshan Ridge."
Cen Ji forgot that Mo Sheng was not only a child, but also a secret guard.
To ask a swordsman to abandon his sword is to ask him to die.
Wen Moyin said, "Your task is to help Mosheng get rid of the backlash."
Cen Ji blurted out, "The Soul-Capturing Technique cannot be broken."
Wen Moyin said, "Once this task is completed, I can help you take the position of Master Kongshan."
Cen Ji said, "But I don't want to."
Wen Moyin asked, "What are you not thinking about?"
Cen Ji said, "I don't want to be a hermit in the mountains."
Wen Moyin said, "You have no choice."