Estranged - Chapter 119

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Sun Wuxia was breathing heavily. After running for such a long distance, his rapid heartbeat had rendered him speechless.

Half a day ago, he had attached no importance to Jiufang Changming and his companion and had thought that they had managed to pull out the sword by sheer luck. The people he disliked coming to his rescue seemed like a fever dream to him as he had never expected them to do so.

The ghost fires charged at them persistently. Even after being scattered, they gathered back and pressed back at them, closing in on the sword barrier.

Moreover, at this moment, they glimpsed countless pairs of eyes from between the dark trees. They were surrounded from every direction.

Those eyes were from an unknown number of fox spirits.

It was not that Sun Wuxia had never encountered malicious wild spirits, but he had never seen so many appear all at once.

If there was no one responsible for this, how else could they explain this phenomenon?

However, why would anyone spend so much effort to bring such tremendous power to the small town of Hongluo?

Sun Wuxia’s thoughts were in utter disorder. The sharp pain of having his arm severed had almost paralyzed him, and he was reacting slowly. He did not even manage to escape a fox spirit that had broken through the sword barrier with its wailing and launched itself at him. He could only watch the spirit extend its claws towards his forehead, which brought with it a gust of swift and fierce murderous qi, and watch as death approached him.

A white shadow swept across the scene to strike at the fox spirit!

The fox spirit made a piercing shriek and was torn to pieces by the white shadow.

Sun Wuxia looked closely and realized that the torn shadow was not a person. It was a puppet seemingly made of paper, but was also very lifelike. When its head, which had been chopped off, fell to the ground near Sun Wuxia’s feet, it even displayed a pained expression, which made Sun Wuxia shudder.

After the puppet repelled the attack on Sun Wuxia, Jiufang Changming landed in front of him to fight against the fox spirit.

Sun Wuxia realized that the sword in his hand was that very nameless sword Sun Wuxia had not managed to unsheathe. In Changming’s hands, however, it was very docile, obeying his every command, as if [it had developed a spirit], and Changming could kill a person simply by turning his palm over. No matter how wildly the fox spirits and nightmare demons were trying to break the impenetrable sword barrier, they were stopped and even had to retreat quickly once grazed by the sword qi.

Sun Wuxia thought that Jiufang Changming was akin to a tall mountain that was impossible to get past.

Why?

Even a nameless rogue cultivator can appear out of the blue and surpass me so casually? What was the point of cultivating for so many years?

Holding onto his severed arm, Sun Wuxia wondered.

However, the circumstances did not allow him to get distracted even for a moment. Jiang Li quickly pulled him away.

“Let’s talk after we get to the town!” Chi Bijiang said quickly.

Hongluo had a protective barrier around its borders. It was invisible, so common people could not see it, but cultivators could sense the barrier.

Whether it was Chi Bijiang or Jiufang Changming, they both knew they had entered the barrier as soon as they arrived at Hongluo Town.

“I was the one who set this formation. However, recently, people have been tearing it apart all over for some reason. I still haven’t figured out why!”

Jiang Li was breathing a bit more heavily than usual. He had spent too much energy to kill the ghost fires, and looked somewhat pale now.

Chi Bijiang came near him silently to lend him a handkerchief. Without much formality, he thanked her and wiped his pale forehead that was wet with sweat and snow.

It was still dark. The wind had died down a bit, but the snow was still fluttering about. Everyone was covered with snow. Yun Weisi flicked away some snow off Changming’s shoulders, and no one noticed the small scene between Chi Bijiang and Jiang Li.

Jiang Li’s expression was difficult to discern. This was, in part, because he had spent too much energy earlier and partially because while he had been talking before, he suddenly thought of something that made him realize a certain discrepancy.

Everyone who knew how to set a formation had learned it from somewhere, so, obviously, their skills were influenced by their sects. Jiang Li mostly practiced sword techniques, and Immortal Luomei had rarely taught him how to set formations. So, his skills had originated from the texts of the Library of Scriptures that he had used to teach himself. For example, in Hongluo, he had set up a Harmony of Nine Spirits Formation.

The author of the scripture describing the formation was the master of the second generation of the Wanjian Immortal Clan, Yu Jinqian. The aforementioned Nine Spirits corresponded to nine types of naturally created or human-made objects—namely water, tree, soil, tile, snow, jade, metal, and lanterns. This concept was different from the five elements, which both created and suppressed each other. People rarely used snow and tile in their formations as snow could melt, and tiles were only used by the common people. But Jiang Li had noticed that these elements were not limited by the usual restrictions, and felt as if he was breaking completely new ground.

But this formation was rarely set. The one who was breaching it now seemed to know it like the back of their hand, as if [they had expected to see it]. This was suspicious.

If it was not another disciple of the Wanjian Immortal Clan who happened to peruse the same book in the Library of Scriptures, how could someone have found a way to get past the formation so quickly, crushing it with ease?

Could it be that this person was actually Yao Wangnian?

Even if he was really alive for all these years, why would he lure demons and spirits over here, and turn Hongluo into a living hell? Was it to kill Jiang Li?

Jiang Li did not understand.

He was disappointed in his dashixiong, but he still thought of him with wistfulness and affection. In his heart, he never actually believed that Yao Wangnian had turned into a demon living in degeneracy and darkness. Such a bright talent could not have an ending like this.

Chi Bijiang saw that he was just standing in one place silently and thought that he was vexed by the fact that someone had broken through his formation. She could not help saying: “I know a little bit about formations. Daoyou, this formation is really bizarre– perhaps, that person just found a weakness in it by accident.”

Jiang Li shook his head. It was too difficult to explain.

But Yun Weisi had guessed what he was worried about.

“You think it could be Yao Wangnian’s doing?”

“Yes. Right now we can only try to find him and learn the truth.”

If the formation had gaps, these gaps needed to be filled. Changming’s memories were damaged, so he was of no help. Jiang Li did not specialize in setting formations, so the matter was tricky for him as well. Fortunately, Chi Bijiang belonged to the Wanxiang Palace and had succeeded in learning how to analyze formations. Jiang Li and Chi Bijiang talked briefly and expressed regrets for the fact that they had not met each other earlier. Chi Bijiang offered to help with the problem with the formation, and after discussing that together, the four of them split up and went off in different ways.

The evil spirits still acted cautiously due to fear and had not yet broken through the shielding barrier. Several spirits that had managed to enter the city walls could be caught quickly. Jiang Li and Chi Bijiang decided to stay near the formation to repair it, while Jiufang Changming and Yun Weisi were to find the fish that had escaped the net and had gotten into the city. Constable Xing had said that Old He had suddenly changed his disposition and accused the two of them of massacring the caravan of the He family, so they also wanted to pay him a visit and check and see if he had truly lost his mind, or if there was some other reason to this testimony.

As for Sun Wuxia, Chi Bijiang was worried about princess Changning who had been left in the guest house, so she asked Sun Wuxia to return there to rest and protect the princess if something happened.

Had this happened earlier, Sun Wuxia would have done his best to separate Chi Bijiang from Jiang Li, seeing how there was a familiarity between them even during their first meeting. Unfortunately, he had just lost his forearm, and his shishu He Bo had perished while trying to save Sun Wuxia. He felt as if he had lost his soul, and could not even quite process Chi Bijiang’s instructions. He somehow mumbled that he had understood and accepted them and headed to the guest house.

The streets were empty. Evil spirits had been running rampant recently, so everyone remained hidden in their houses, and no one dared to venture out. People were even afraid to light up candles. As far as the eye could see, only several paper lanterns were wavering in the cold wind, but all the doors and windows were tightly shut, as if nobody lived in this town.

Sun Wuxia was holding onto his now empty sleeve as he traveled down the street quietly. He reached the guest house by relying on his senses, and vaguely recognized the name of the inn in the light cast by a lantern. He knocked on the door softly, and heard a noise coming from inside.

“Who’s there?!” the voice sounded familiar. Perhaps, it belonged to an employee of the guest house.

“It’s me—one of the guests!” Sun Wuxia said in a gruff voice.

It seemed like there were a lot of people inside.

Which was not surprising. The members of the He family’s caravan had been killed recently, but the guests could neither leave nor fall asleep, so they had gathered in the main hall in small groups. By engaging in idle talk and keeping each other company, they had managed to gather some courage.

Faint noises came from the guest house, as if they were hesitating about whether to open the door or not. Sun Wuxia was impatient, so he pushed the door with some force several times, until someone finally opened it for him.

Upon seeing the man, Sun Wuxia froze.

“Shishu?”

When He Bo’s gaze fell on Sun Wuxia’s missing forearm, he gasped in astonishment.

“I haven’t heard from you all day long! What happened? What’s with your arm?!”

He Bo pulled Sun Wuxia inside. He grabbed Sun Wuxia’s sleeve with visible grief on his face.

“Who did this!”

“A fox spirit. I went out with Chi Bijiang, and we ran into one in the mountains…” Sun Wuxia felt as if he was in a trance.

Since his shishu was alive, who was that person who had died in the mountains?

Was that man an illusion created by the fox spirit?

He Bo spoke bitterly: “How can I justify myself to your shifu when we go back, and how are you going to participate in the Qianlin Assembly now?”

“I…” when Sun Wuxia started talking, he realized that his voice was unbearably hoarse, “I don’t know…”

Before leaving the sect this time, he had been an ambitious and determined young man who intended to spring into fame during the Qianlin Assembly. However, entering the Jianghu allowed him to understand that he had been narrow-minded. Mere nobodies like that Jiufang Changming had dealt a blow to him head-on, and he was even helpless against being bewitched by a fox spirit.

“Shishu, maybe we should return tomorrow!” He smiled bitterly, but the corners of his lips betrayed his dismal.

He Bo frowned: “How can a man of character beat the return drum upon encountering a small setback? Even if you’ve lost your forearm, you’re still my shixiong’s most valued disciple. Let’s go. After you have a rest, we’ll return to this discussion!”

Beat the return drum: to give up

Sun Wuxia allowed his shishu to pull him inside the guest house. His thoughts were all over the place, and he could not even count all the things that were swirling in his mind.

But when he heard a dog’s bark, his mind suddenly cleared up.

A petite dog had jumped up on a table at some point, and was now leaping from one table to another, overturning countless plates with shelled peanuts while barking desperately in Sun Wuxia’s direction. Even though its barks were anything but intimidating, the chaos it had created was enough to take everyone by surprise.

“Where did this dog come from!”

“Quick, catch it!”

Sun Wuxia looked around. The black dog was jumping from one place to another, yet no one had managed to catch it. Moreover, some people who had been chasing it tripped over the mess it had created and fell down. The clanging sounds of metal colliding with everything came from all directions, and Sun Wuxia’s muddled mind seemed to have cleared up a little from all of this.

Why was the hand that had been holding his wrist so cold and thin?

It was thin to the point that it resembled the claws of an animal rather than the hand of a human.

This realization made Sun Wuxia tremble. It was as if something heavy had been putting pressure on his mind.

Unexpectedly, the dog used the moment of his distraction to jump up on his head, as if to display its dominance!

A no-name rogue cultivator had been holding Sun Wuxia in contempt, and now even Jiufang Changming’s dog was looking down on him!

Sun Wuxia was furious. He freed himself from He Bo’s grip to kick the dog off his head, but it evaded his blow nimbly and jumped at He Bo.

That was when Sun Wuxia saw a scene that terrified him.

Facing the dog, his shishu revealed a beastly expression on instinct. It was a wild face with a long nose and sunken cheeks that, no matter how one looked, resembled a fox.

…Fox?!

Sun Wuxia abruptly returned to his senses. He looked more closely and saw that He Bo’s head had actually turned into the one of a fox, and only his body was still human. People started shouting, calling him a monster, and many guests made a run for the door. Some evil spirits had blended into the crowd, which was obvious from the fact that some of them had no shadows in the candle light.

The fox spirit aimed an attack at Sun Wuxia’s face. He had no time to avoid this attack and lost his balance because of his missing forearm. As he was about to fall, from the corner of his eye, Sun Wuxia saw the dog sitting on a table nearby. It had that annoying appearance of someone who would not mind fanning the flames before watching the chaos and confusion from the sidelines.

But Sun Wuxia did not fall.

Someone caught him and pulled him back on his feet. A sword glow flashed in front of Sun Wuxia, like a shooting star in the sky, and quickly landed on the back of the fox spirit’s neck. The latter had wanted to run away at the sight of danger, but its escape route had already been blocked by another person.

Those two were Jiufang Changming with Yun Weisi!

For some reason, Sun Wuxia breathed out with relief, and sat heavily on the floor to take a breath.

The main hall was in utter chaos. The flames of the candles had been put out. There were shrieks coming from the fox spirits and the nightmare demons here and there, which merged with the voices of shouting people. It was impossible to tell apart evil spirits from humans as some had taken on human skins.

Jiufang Changming decided to bolt the doors and beat the dog. He and Yun Weisi blocked all the escape routes for everyone, both humans and demons included, and trapped them in the main hall that was so dark that one could not see their stretched out hand.

To bolt the doors and beat the dog: prevent the enemy from retreating and crush them

Everybody was in a panic, even the spirits. Pairs of red eyes flickered in the darkness—the fox spirits intended to use the old trick to bewitch and confuse everyone.

Almost at the same time, the Changming Sword slashed down, and Yun Weisi attacked!

A shrill cry pierced the darkness, followed by several other ones. People suddenly felt the smell of blood fill their nostrils. The smell permeated the entire hall.

A strange silence fell after the chaos ended. No one dared to speak out loud, but louds sobs could be heard all over the place.

“Hurry up and light the candles!” Someone shouted.

Another person felt their way to a flint, staggering on the way, before using it to light up the candles.

People helped to pass the fire on to each other through candles, and after a certain period of time, the inn was brightly lit up once again.

Two fox spirits lay on the floor, already dead. Another one was cornered and had no room to escape. It was on the verge of death, taking one of its last breaths.

After the fear faded away, the people became angered. Someone stepped forward to deal the final blow to the fox spirit, but Changming stopped them. He had left the last fox spirit alive to gather information.

“Who’s working with you from Hongluo Town and helping you slaughter people so wantonly?” Yun Weisi asked.

The fox did not say anything, but its eyes were obviously mocking him.

Changming said: “If you confess, we’ll let you live.”

“If you let me go, I’ll turn into a bait you’ll use to catch us all with one net. Do you think I’ll speak?”

The fox spirit spoke in human language. Its intonations were abnormal and, paired with its moving lips, created an eerie image.

“If you don’t kill me, I will.”

While talking, it even laughed in a strange manner, quickly piercing its own abdomen with claws. Even Yun Weisi did not manage to stop the fox spirit in time, and its blood splashed on them.

Changming lowered his head. The blood of the fox spirit caused a burning pain to spread through the back of his hand, worsening the poisoning which had flared up again. But he did not care about the pain coming from the wound—on the contrary, his thoughts and feelings were in a mess.

“I have an idea,” Changming said abruptly.

“No.” Yun Weisi interrupted him before Changming could finish explaining his thoughts.

Changming could not help laughing: “Shixiong knows what I’m thinking?”

The dog leaped up to his shoulder and showed its teeth to Yun Weisi.

Shi-fucking-xiong! I wish a year was deducted from your lifespan each time you were called ‘shixiong’!