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Chapter 60 Past Life and Present Life

Chapter 60 Past Life and Present Life

The twilight was golden and red, the setting sun like blood.

The moment Liu Cenfeng stepped out of the stone house, this thought flashed through his mind. The knife that possessed his soul had stabbed him deeply; although it hadn't pierced his heart, it had severed the arteries near his heart. The bleeding had stopped, but his dizziness was getting worse; occasionally, his vision would go completely white, and he couldn't even control his thoughts. It truly was a broken body.

Liu Cenfeng took a few steps, his ears filled with the roaring sound of water and the shrill, hoarse screams. He leaned against a maple tree with a cold smile, watching the thin, desperate figure in front of him. Fiery red maple leaves fell from above, sticking to the bright red marks on his chest. Some clung to them, while others fell to his feet.

He casually brushed the maple leaf away, but in that instant, another one clung to the back of his hand. With a gentle flick of his wrist, a ball of fire flickered in his pale, crystalline palm, dazzling his eyes—a stinging pain he found strangely sweet. Liu Cenfeng smiled mockingly, releasing his grip, and the red maple leaf drifted down slowly, like a blood-stained butterfly. He hadn't always disliked maple leaves, nor had he ever liked wearing white, had he?

The hoarse shouts gradually subsided, and he saw the woman with long, disheveled hair, wearing only a thin undergarment, suddenly sobbing and muttering something. Liu Cenfeng took a few steps forward, but only heard the words, "I'm going to find you..." Then, as if forgetting her surroundings, forgetting herself, forgetting heaven and earth, she walked step by step towards the cliff.

Liu Cenfeng felt his heart being torn apart, the pain intense, as if something precious would vanish the moment the woman left. Yet, despite the excruciating pain, he merely moved from one maple tree to another, closer to her, leaning against the trunk in a more comfortable position, coldly watching her descend into collapse and death.

Perhaps, even he himself didn't realize that his icy blue pupils had turned as red as fire, the wound on his chest had reopened, and the smile on his lips was so tragic, so beautiful.

"Young Master—!!" Almost as soon as the warning arose in his mind, a swift, lightning-fast green shadow flashed past his eyes, accompanied by a panicked scream. At that distance, and with the woman's foot already hovering in mid-air, there was no way she could catch up, Liu Cenfeng thought, and the pain in his heart eased slightly, only to become even more heart-wrenching.

Even after the man in blue cried out in pain and distress, Liu Cenfeng was still reeling from his own agony. Startled by the cries, he looked up and saw the man in blue tightly holding the girl in his arms, his voice soft and strained to conceal his fear as he said, "Young master, wake up!"

The girl slowly raised her head to look at him. Her exquisitely beautiful face was breathtakingly beautiful in the sunset glow, yet she was as delicate and fragile as a soulless porcelain doll. She struggled, her voice already hoarse, and said, "Let me go. I need to find Zimo, otherwise he'll abandon me. Abandon me all alone, it'll be so lonely..."

"Young Master! Young Master!" The man in blue hugged her tightly, without asking who Zi Mo was or showing any suspicion. He just kept repeating, "Young Master, don't be afraid, I'm here, I've always been by your side."

"I don't want to be alone!" The girl struggled but couldn't break free, and began to cry and scream. Crystalline tears slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the man's blue robe. "I don't want to be alone! Xu Lie abandoned me, the child abandoned me, and now even Zi Mo has abandoned me. In this world, I'm all alone. I don't want to! I don't want to!"

The man in blue held her, trying to persuade her, but the girl seemed to have lost her soul, only crying and trying to walk towards the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, the man in blue's dark eyes flashed violently, turning into an eerie dark green, followed by a faint dark purple. He lowered his head and kissed the girl's lips, their faces pressed tightly together. He firmly restrained the girl's struggling hands with one hand, and with the other hand, he held the back of her head tightly, preventing her from retreating. The girl's petite body was completely enveloped in his arms, as if she wanted to become one with him.

He abruptly pulled away from the girl's lips, a vibrant dark purple surging and washing over his eyes, almost completely obscuring the emerald green and pitch black. He grabbed the girl's shoulders and shook her violently, shouting in a hoarse voice, "Qin Linyu, wake up and look at me properly!!"

The girl's delicate face was scrunched up from being shaken, and she groaned softly. Her light blue eyes slowly regained their luster, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and fiery sunset, only to be completely replaced by the man in blue. A thin, crystalline mist veiled her pale blue eyes, and her pale lips trembled as she uttered those two words, filled with a thousand grievances and a myriad of emotions: "Yi Han..."

Liu Cenfeng could clearly feel that the tension that had been holding the man in blue so tightly to his core finally eased. His eyes gradually regained their dark luster, like the clearest night sky, shimmering with soft starlight. The lingering fear and panic on his face gave him a tender yet poignant expression: "Young Master, it's me."

"Yihan..." The girl murmured his name over and over through tears, tears that were both the tears of utter heartbreak and the tears of utter relief. "Yihan... I'm so sad... I regret it so much... I really regret it... I didn't listen to him... Zimo... Zimo disappeared... because of me, his soul was scattered... and he finally left me all alone..."

"Young master, no!" The man in blue hugged her tightly, his voice gentle as if he didn't want her to suffer even the slightest harm. "Young master, no matter what, I will always be by your side. For all eternity, I will never abandon you."

Liu Cenfeng trembled slightly. He suddenly remembered the chubby boy, covered in blood, carrying the girl step by step down the cold, deserted street, repeatedly telling her, who was unconscious, "Lanlan, don't...don't be afraid, I...won't...let anything happen to you, never...!" He thought he had long forgotten those distant and childish memories, but it turned out he hadn't...he had never forgotten them at all!

"Yihan..." He heard the girl call him in a trembling, cautious, and fearful voice, "Don't forget what you said, never, ever forget it."

"I know." The man in blue gently smoothed her disheveled hair, wrapped her trembling body tightly, and said in a clear, low voice, "Lin Yu, I love you. I will always love only you, and I will never leave you."

The girl's trembling gradually subsided, then she let out a soft, cat-like whimper, hugged him tightly, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Me too...me too...I only love you, and I will never, ever leave you..."

Liu Cenfeng suddenly stepped forward and, before the man in blue robes with his back to him could react, struck out with a powerful palm. This palm strike contained all of his inner strength and true essence. Although he was injured at the time, the immense destructive power it contained was something no one could withstand.

Sure enough, the man in blue coughed up a mouthful of blood, which landed on the girl's white undergarment and fair neck. The girl's eyes widened in shock, her clear, bright eyes reflecting her own hideous and beautiful face, as well as her blood-red pupils.

Suddenly, her expression changed from fear to shock, from shock to pain, and from pain to confusion. The girl screamed "Ah—!" and squatted down, clutching her head tightly with both hands, groaning and moaning. Her expression seemed as if a thousand hands were tearing at her soul and entangled her thoughts.

Liu Cenfeng paused slightly. The man in blue had already turned around, his first instinct being to protect the struggling, groaning girl behind him. Liu Cenfeng gave a cold laugh, a laugh that chilled to the bone. He suddenly drew his soft sword from his waist, the blade pointing directly at the girl behind the man in blue.

A flash of panic crossed the man in blue's eyes. Before he could draw his sword, he used his flesh and blood to block the attack. In that instant, Liu Cenfeng withdrew his sword, and his other hand, fair and slender, with well-proportioned joints, like a piece of fine jade, slowly extended. In the setting sun, in front of the maple forest, the hand seemed to be pierced by red light as if it were transparent, and stopped in front of the man in blue's chest.

The pulse of his heart was right beneath his palm. With a single burst of force, the heart meridian would rupture, and even a divine being would be powerless to save this man's life. Liu Cenfeng thought cruelly, channeling his true energy within his body at breakneck speed. But at that very moment, the man in blue fell straight backward. The roaring water couldn't drown out his terrified cry: "Young Master—!!"

Then, Liu Cenfeng saw the pale face of the girl behind the man in blue, her watery eyes devoid of any lingering affection or panic. She pulled the man's blue robe back, looking at him quietly with pity, guilt, sorrow, and even a hint of blessing, calm and serene. As if she had suddenly become a different person, the girl's expression became calm and peaceful, her blue eyes deep and unfathomable yet radiating a strange warmth. Her bloodless lips parted, silently saying to him, "Yufei... go back!" Then, both the blue robe and the white robe disappeared from him, sinking into the endless abyss, leaving him alone, wandering aimlessly in the mountains.

Liu Cenfeng stared blankly at the cliff shrouded in mist, his gaze slowly moving from the white, blood-stained clothes to the fiery red maple leaves, to the desolate sky, and finally to the bottomless precipice.

He suddenly remembered a saying he had kept for a long, long time: When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks back at you. He chuckled softly, his slender, white fingers playing with his hair, and said in a deep, seductive voice, "Liu Cenfeng, is it I who have taken over your body, or you who have devoured my soul?"

He couldn't see his own smile at that moment, so naturally he couldn't know how stunning or breathtaking it was.

The image of the girl's silent lips reappeared before his eyes. Though she still harbored hatred, she still spoke to him with hope, saying, "Yufei, go back!" A gentle, clear smile bloomed on his face again, and a sudden brightness and peace filled the depths of his heart, allowing him to momentarily forget the pain in his body, the pain in his soul, and the pain of his memories.

Liu Cenfeng gently opened his arms, his white robes fluttering in the wind. He slowly leaned forward, falling down in an extremely comfortable and graceful posture. The wind tousled his hair, water splashed onto his clothes, and the force of the impact made every drop of water on his face sting like needles, yet he chuckled softly.

Lanlan, is there a place for me in your forever?

Suddenly, he heard a strange voice, neither male nor female, yet it was melodious and clear, as if it had blended naturally into nature. However, the voice was not speaking to him: "...Lin Yu, I'm sorry, only when this lonely soul completely dissipates in this world will I have enough true essence to awaken again."

"...Born into the world in the golden dawn, soaring through the raging waves, reborn from the ashes in the blazing flames, our souls will merge anew, and only then can you become the true son of the goddess Ishuel—Chifei!"

"Lin Yu, history has changed. Yang Yi is no longer the destined ruler who will unify the world. The gears of fate have finally begun to turn, and the true emperor of all time on the continent of Yixiu will be..."

Liu Cenfeng suddenly felt as if he had been struck hard in the head by a blunt object. In the moment of his blurred consciousness, he only saw a landscape painting of a vast country in Chinese ink, with a silver-haired man reaching out to gently stroke it. Then all his consciousness disappeared into the heavy descent and the rumbling sound of water...

Volume Two, "The Storm Is Brewing, the Wind Fills the Tower," is now complete.

Part 1 Postscript

Switzerland, April 20××.

"Drip—drip—drip—"

The previously stable electrocardiogram suddenly displayed chaotic waveforms, while a rapid alarm sounded from the electrocardiogram machine. The slender man lying on the bed had his handsome brows tightly furrowed, his face as pale as snow.

Hasty footsteps came from outside the door, and a middle-aged woman of around forty years old burst in, muttering something: "Yufei... God bless... Amitabha..."

The door, pushed open forcefully, was still banging against the wall. The middle-aged woman rushed anxiously to the bedside to check on her son, but she stared intently, almost pleadingly, at the electrocardiogram for a long time; the waveform remained the same steady, waveless pattern only seen when he was unconscious. The man lying on the bed had a thin, oval face with delicate features, skin so white it was almost translucent, revealing faint blue veins beneath. His lips were pale and slightly cracked. Yet, his face was serene, completely devoid of the pain or furrowed brow he had shown earlier, as if he were already dead.

The middle-aged woman's hopeful expression slowly turned into disappointment and a sorrow tinged with despair. She stroked her son's increasingly thin face as she stood up, tears dripping onto the sheets.

A knock came at the door, and the middle-aged woman quickly wiped away her tears and turned around. A young man in a blue shirt and black suit trousers was standing outside, asking with concern, "Is Yufei awake?"