Yami? Is she summoning another version of herself? Yami… this name that her parents and sister used to call her, has long been buried in her memory. That was a past that no one could ever touch.
She said she wanted to save him—but she didn't realize that to save the Yami of the past, she would first have to destroy the Miaofeng of today.
He smiled and bowed slowly: "Please, Valley Master Xue, accompany me to the palace to treat the King's injuries."
Xue Ziye looked at him, feeling even colder all over. It turned out… even a renowned physician was powerless against certain ailments—like Mo'er, and like the man before her.
"Envoy of Wonderful Wind!" In the midst of the stalemate, a cultist guarding the Heavenly Gate rushed over. Seeing the returning person, his voice was joyful and urgent. He knelt on one knee, "You've finally returned! Quickly, quickly! The King has ordered that as soon as you return, you must go to the Great Bright Hall immediately!"
"Ah?" Miao Feng was suddenly startled. "What happened in the sect?"
"Something terrible has happened." The cultist lowered his head and whispered in an almost fearful voice, "The Holy Maiden of the Sun... and Young Master Tong have betrayed us!"
"What?!" Miao Feng exclaimed, and Xue Ziye's expression changed at the same time.
"However, the Pope is unharmed," the follower added, head bowed.
After briefly understanding the ins and outs of the matter, Miao Feng loosened her clenched fist and silently exhaled—the Pope is indeed the Pope! Under such circumstances, he still managed to thwart two rebellions in a row!
However, Xue Ziye, who was standing beside him, suddenly turned pale.
"Where's Tong?" she blurted out, unable to hide her concern for the rebel.
"Young Master Tong?" The follower murmured hesitantly, head bowed. "He..."
3f Knowledge 3f Music 3f Literature 3f Network 3f
Chapter Eleven: Reunion
What exactly happened to Hitomi?
Xue Ziye followed Miaofeng through the jade towers and golden palaces, her heart burning with anxiety. The jade trees and flowers, the vermilion pavilions and embroidered doors rushed past. She stepped onto the long white jade bridge connecting the two ends of the glacier, and looking at the swirling clouds and the frozen, rushing glacier below, she suddenly felt as if she were in a dream.
—Such a vast world is hidden atop the snowy peaks!
And what is hidden in this world is another force that has always been fighting against the Central Plains Dingjian Pavilion, right?
"Oh," suddenly, a soft, alluring voice came from behind, "The Envoy of the Wind is back?"
Miao Feng stopped in his tracks, looking at the blue-clad figure slowly approaching from the other side of the white jade bridge. "Envoy of Miao Shui?"
As he spoke, he subconsciously took a step forward, blocking Xue Ziye's path, his hand hovering less than a foot from the hilt of his sword—this woman was truly unpredictable, and even if they met in the palace, he could not afford to be careless.
Miao Shui, carried by a maid with an umbrella, gracefully arrived at the middle of the long bridge, and smiled at the group of people, her smile as radiant as a hundred flowers in full bloom.
Xue Ziye was taken aback at first glance: this foreign woman had long, wavy, dark golden hair, skin as white as snow, a high nose, full lips, and a pair of eyes that seemed to be both angry and affectionate—her captivating beauty was no less than that of Qiu Shuiyin, the most beautiful woman in the Central Plains.
"You're finally back," Miao Shui covered her mouth and laughed, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "The King has been waiting for you for a long time."
Miao Feng remained calm and said, "We encountered the Eight Steeds of the Shura Field on the way, which delayed us for a while."
"Oh? So, Master Miaofeng wasn't injured, was he?" Miaoshui glanced at him sideways and nodded meaningfully. "No wonder I've counted them several times these past few days. Among all the assassins in the Shura Field, only the Eight Steeds and the Twelve Silver Wings are missing."
Miao Feng's eyes changed slightly: Could it be that in just a few days after Tong's betrayal, the Shura Field has already been taken over by Miao Shui?
"What's wrong with Tong?" Unable to hold back any longer, Xue Ziye rushed forward and asked.
Miao Shui paused for a moment, looking at the woman in purple robes draped in a golden lynx fur. For a fleeting instant, it seemed as if invisible tentacles reached out from her eyes and probed her gently. However, those invisible tentacles vanished in an instant. She covered her mouth and laughed, turning to Miao Feng: "Oh dear, Envoy Miao Feng, is this Valley Master Xue of Medicine Master Valley? Now, the King's illness can be considered worry-free."
Miao Feng glanced at Miao Shui with lightning speed—the King of Pop had actually told Miao Shui his secret of being seriously injured?!
This Persian woman of unknown origin had always been nothing more than a cauldron for the Pope's cultivation, a pretty but impractical vase. Why had she suddenly gained such deep trust? However, he quickly came to terms with it: during this series of upheavals, he was away on a long journey, Mingli died in battle, while this Miaoshui had lent the Pope a helping hand in his time of need. No wonder the Pope looked at her with special regard.
"Valley Master Xue, rest assured, Tong is not dead—not only is she not dead, but she has also regained her memories." Miao Shui's eyes swept over the two people, and she smiled charmingly, tucking the short flute in her hand into her belt. "Please, Envoy Miao Feng, take our distinguished guests to the Great Bright Hall as soon as possible. The King is waiting. I have been ordered to temporarily take charge of the Asura Field, so I must go there to keep an eye on things."
Miao Feng nodded: "Miao Shui, please take your time."
Miao Shui and her maidservant drifted away gracefully. In the instant they passed each other, she lowered her head slightly and whispered a sentence with a smile, "Envoy Miao Feng, how strange... Has someone stolen the smile from your face?"
She glanced at him sideways and said, "It breaks my heart to see you like this!"
Before Miaofeng could answer, she giggled and gracefully drifted away from the white jade bridge, the snow beneath her feet remaining perfectly intact.
Miaofeng stood on the bridge, expressionless, gazing silently at the towering glacier below.
This woman, having served as the "medicine cauldron" and the teacher of the King's dual cultivation of pleasure for many years, now seemed to exude a soft, sweet fragrance from within. However, this alluring aura always carried an unfathomable mystery, chilling the heart. They each held a position among the Five Bright Ones, yet they had little interaction in daily life. Strangely, every time he saw her, he felt a vague unease, the reason for which he couldn't discern.
This time, she noticed something was wrong with him at first glance—it seemed that he could no longer hide the fact that he had lost his Spring Breeze Technique.
"Let's go!" Xue Ziye broke his reverie. "I want to see your sect leader!"
Tong has regained his memory? Did the King of Pop remove the brain-sealing needles for him? So how is he now? She was extremely anxious, leaving Miaofeng behind, and ran on the snow, clutching the Holy Flame Token tightly in her hand.
Miao Feng was startled—what kind of promise did this woman intend to exchange for the Holy Flame Token from the Pope?
Could it be... Hitomi's life?
He shuddered instantly. What kind of person was the King of Pop? How could he allow a traitor to live a good life! If a dangerous person like Tong was not killed, he would surely cause endless trouble in the future. For both reason and sentiment, the King of Pop would not let him go.
If Xue Ziye makes such a request, even if the King of the Sect agrees on the spot, it will be the source of her death in the future!
However, in the brief moment he hesitated, Xue Ziye had already rushed up the steps, heading straight for the towering Great Bright Temple. Countless believers tried to stop her along the way, but upon seeing the Holy Flame Token in her hand, they retreated like a receding tide.
"Wait a minute!" Miao Feng snapped out of his daze, leaped across the bridge, and landed outside the main hall. He reached out to stop the woman, but it was too late—Xue Ziye stepped across the threshold and headed straight for the jade throne!
The main hall was a striking red, with flame emblems painted everywhere, like an ocean of fire. Countless curtains swirled, and the jade bells at the corners of the curtains jingled—and at the highest point of this hall of fire, an old man with a tall crown leaned against his jade throne, seemingly somewhat bored, and stretched out his golden staff to tease the mastiff tied to his seat.
The mastiff, as big as a calf, suddenly stood up, its fur standing on end, and let out a low growl.