Phoenix Top and Dragon Bottom Chapter 1

 Chapter 1: Love Reveals Itself at the End

In the 370th winter of the Heavenly Dynasty, snowflakes danced in the air, creating a desolate and forlorn scene.

As Long Qinghan slowly ascended the smoke-shrouded Fengque Mountain, he caught sight of a man in red standing on the layered steps.

The man in red resembled a blazing fire, using his passion to dispel the coldness of this bleak snowy day. The vicissitudes of time had not taken away his charisma. The mark of a red lotus on his brow still bloomed alluringly and proudly. His lips curved into a slightly sinister smile, standing proudly with his hands behind his back, as if a king overlooking the world.

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The horizon gradually glowed with the light of dawn. The fierce cold wind stirred up the swirling snow, dancing freely. They maintained their standing position, facing each other, for several hours.

They waited until the red sun rose on the horizon, casting a rosy hue. Then, they moved!

A dazzling silhouette of red and blue light flashed across the sky as their figures leaped towards each other with great speed.

“Clang!” The clash of two swords, their eyes meeting, filled with resentment or affection!

“Long Qinghan, after more than twenty years, you couldn’t resist coming to settle things with me today!” The Scarlet Blaze Sword thrust diagonally, its sword light flickering, intersecting with the Phantom Pool Sword, emitting a phoenix-like cry.

“Feng Xuan Yang, no need for excessive words. In the past, you sought to unify the martial world, sparing no lives of the sect leaders, even annihilating my entire sect. I must avenge this grudge!” Even in his anger, Long Qinghan’s face remained icy, his tone devoid of flavor, and his eyes showed no ripple. With the Phantom Pool Sword in hand, he brushed past the Scarlet Blaze Sword and countered with a palm strike as cold as ice.

Feng Xuan Yang countered with a palm strike, bursting into a mocking laughter. “How ridiculous, truly laughable. If you truly regarded me as your enemy, why would you personally come seeking closure after twenty years?”

Long Qinghan’s movement hesitated, and he fell silent. Though his attacks continued, the serene depths of his eyes quietly receded.

Suddenly, memories from the past surfaced in his mind, replaying vivid scenes of bygone days. In this moment, he realized that the memories of these twenty years felt like a fleeting dream, fading away except for the moments spent with Feng Xuan Yang. He could no longer recall anything else.

It seemed that his life was filled with one person—Feng Xuan Yang.

But what could be done about it? Their opposing identities and positions, the deep-seated enmity that separated them—these destined them to an endless entanglement, an unyielding love-hate relationship.

After twenty years of battling, supported by the forces behind them, he couldn’t defeat him, nor could he be defeated. Yet, a lingering affection had taken root in his heart, ensuring his reluctance and their entanglement for twenty years.

Now, Long Qinghan was weary. Today, he had made a painful decision, inviting Feng Xuan Yang to a solitary battle, only to sever this undesired sentiment. If he were to die, it would end this unorthodox unrequited love. If Feng Xuan Yang were to perish, he would live out his days in solitude, accompanying him to the end.

The cruel red sun gradually rose, casting a sliver of light onto the scarlet robes of Feng Xuan Yang, piercing Long Qinghan’s eyes with a dazzling brilliance, stirring up layers of ripples. Long Qinghan had completely succumbed to the imposing figure before him, but having made up his mind, how could he let go?

He pursed his lips tightly, suppressing the surging light in his eyes, gathering strands of cold radiance. With the Phantom Pool Sword in hand, he unleashed a bone-chilling blue light, delivering a powerful strike.

Feng Xuan Yang defended with his sword, their blades meeting with a “clang” sound, revealing a shimmering silver light. His fiery gaze grew even deeper, filled with indescribable implications as he looked into Long Qinghan’s eyes. “Long Qinghan, you should know that our martial skills are evenly matched, but in terms of inner strength, I have a slight advantage. By challenging me to this duel, you are bound to lose. If you admit defeat and leave, I will spare your life, and we can choose another day to fight again!”

“Never!” A faint displeasure appeared on Long Qinghan’s face as his attacks grew stronger. He was like the snow lotus blooming alone on an ancient ice mountain, how could he bend his proud petals for someone else!

Feng Xuan Yang gazed at Long Qinghan with a wicked smile, but unexpectedly, his words revealed a hint of tenderness. “Long Qinghan, after twenty years, you’re still so stubborn, unwilling to admit defeat. Very well, today, I will make you surrender willingly!” Feng Xuan Yang retracted the Scarlet Blaze Sword with a confident demeanor, taking a few steps back until he stood not far from Long Qinghan.

With a flick of his right hand, dense sword energy surged from the blade, causing the snowflakes on the ground to flutter and dance, enveloping him in a display reminiscent of a proud phoenix in the snow.

Long Qinghan coldly swung the Phantom Pool Sword, steadying himself, standing face-to-face with Feng Xuan Yang.

They stood bathed in the red sun, aloof and still amidst the chaotic snowfall of the mortal world.

They were the proudest legends of the martial world, destined to face each other in a fight to the death.

When the last snowflake fell with a desolate chill, as the crimson sun enveloped the vast earth, a cry escaped their lips simultaneously, and they sprinted towards each other.

Masters clash, and with just one sword, the victor would be decided!

But—

The anticipated death did not come.

Long Qinghan stared blankly at the sword piercing through Feng Xuan Yang’s heart, the dripping hot blood slowly freezing his own heart.

“Why?” A weak and trembling voice resonated, filled with sorrow as cold as the polar ice.

At the moment their swords met, the desolate smile in Feng Xuan Yang’s eyes shocked him instantly. It felt as if he was about to lose something crucial, causing his heart to ache and tighten, making it impossible to breathe.

Yet, when the desire to repent arose, it was already too late.

The hand holding the Scarlet Blaze Sword slowly drooped before him. The icy blade, accompanied by a piercing sound of piercing flesh, penetrated his body and withdrew, leaving behind scorching blood.

Feng Xuan Yang smiled despairingly, the smile of one on the verge of death, reflecting the crimson lotus mark, illuminating the entire world. He slowly reached out his hand, exerting force to pull, and the sword completely entered his chest. But—he also embraced the blue-clothed man he had yearned for day and night.

“Qinghan, after more than twenty years, I am tired. I once thought of giving up my dream of ruling the martial world, but I couldn’t find a reason. However, until this moment, I finally understand the reason that made me give up—it’s you.”

The scenery before his eyes began to blur like smoke. His audacious life was reaching its end. “How I wish to spend my days with you, hand in hand in the martial world, until the end of time…”

“Hand in hand in the martial world, until the end of time…” Long Qinghan repeated his departing words in a murmur. He felt as if his own heartbeat had stopped, overwhelmed by immeasurable desolation that gradually submerged his entire being in darkness.

“Qinghan, today, you have finally lost to me…” Feng Xuan Yang smiled lightly, turning his head slowly, and with his last remaining tenderness, he kissed those cold lips, kissing them repeatedly. “I… love you…” A drop of scorching tear slid down his cheek, merging with the myriad wounds in Long Qinghan’s heart.

“Qinghan… my love… I… have never harmed your loved ones… throughout my life… I waged wars, upended the world of martial arts, all for the sake of…” However, the words that were about to leave his lips came to a halt, and the final lingering sound slowly slipped away, forever dissipating into the smoke and dust.

Feng Xuan Yang left with a smile, leaving the love that hadn’t had a chance to deepen lingering in this eternal moment.

“If there is another life, I only wish that we can start over, Qinghan… Qinghan…”

Drop by drop, hot blood merged with the pale snow, staining it with sorrowful blossoms of blood, like flowers of the other shore, mourning the broken tragedy.

He was a proud man, even in death, he wanted to die standing, and—breathe his last breath in the arms of his beloved.

Endless pain choked his throat, and in that instant, the proud man in the blue attire held the gradually chilling body in his arms, tears flowing silently.

Throughout his life, waging wars, upending the world of martial arts, what was it all for? Power, wealth, or love? He no longer knew. He only knew that at the moment of Feng Xuan Yang’s departure, he took away his own beating heart.

Who said that fire and water could never coexist? Who said that you and I were destined to kill each other?

“Xuan Yang, you win.” He won the expression of love that was spoken first.

Long Qinghan steadied himself, unsteadily pulling out the blood-stained sword. The warm blood still clinging to it dripped down, and he smiled desolately. Then, without hesitation, he raised his sword and thrust it through Feng Xuan Yang’s abdomen, piercing his own abdomen as well. Their bodies connected instantly, and their blood merged!

This time, we will no longer be separated. In the bleak underworld, on the Naihe Bridge, I can stay with you.

He tightly embraced him, affectionately kissing those lips that had lost warmth, using his own fading warmth to warm the lips that should have been scorching. Gradually, he smiled bitterly and closed his eyes, slowly exhaling his last breath.

In the vast world, the crimson sun cast a mournful blood-red shadow of the embracing and kissing pair.

-Xuan Yang, let us walk together on the Naihe Bridge and drink from Meng Po’s soup. If there is another life, I will not disappoint your devotion, and we will be together until the end of time. If there is another life, I will precede you and express this unfinished affection.

-Xuan Yang, wait for me, wait for me…

One drop, one drop, the sound of flowing water reached his ears, whether it was the cold rain or the tears of a broken string.

He slowly opened his eyes from the misty haze, hollow eyes surveying the surrounding scenery.

Before him, he saw green curtains and wisps of smoke, and the sight was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Long Qinghan woke up in shock, sitting up straight, instinctively touching his abdomen, yet he felt no pain at all. He clearly had been pierced by a sword, ending his own life, so why was he not only painless but alive?

“Young Master, you’re awake.” A familiar voice sounded by his ear, and as he looked up, he was astonished to see Long Mo, who had long been dead in the massacre that wiped out their clan!

Long Qinghan was stunned. He still remembered how Long Mo had died protecting him during the tragic incident that destroyed their clan. But now, Long Mo was miraculously alive?

He rubbed his forehead, contemplating this strange scene.

Wait, there was something he seemed to have missed.

“Long Mo, why did you call me just now?”

“Young Master,” Long Mo replied, somewhat surprised.

“Young Master?” Long Qinghan was astonished, and a glimmer of understanding flashed through his mind. Excitedly, he asked, “How many years have passed since the founding of the Heavenly Dynasty?”

Frowning, Long Mo replied with a perplexed expression, “Three hundred and forty-seven years.”

With a deafening boom, it felt as if thunder had struck next to Long Qinghan’s ears.

Three hundred and forty-seven years since the founding of the Heavenly Dynasty, which meant he was still twenty-three years away from climbing Phoenix’s Throne Mountain and dying together with Feng Xuan Yang!

At this time, he had not yet inherited the position of the clan leader and had only recently ventured out into the martial world. And this year happened to be the year he first met Feng Xuan Yang.

Could it be that the heavens had given them another chance to love each other again?

Thinking of this, the usually unemotional Long Qinghan grabbed Long Mo’s hand in excitement and asked, “What is the date today?”

Long Mo hesitated before answering, “Young Master, it is the twentieth day of the third month.”

“The twentieth day of the third month… the twentieth day of the third month…” Long Qinghan muttered to himself, completely unaware that his usually stoic expression had turned into a smile. The twentieth day of the third month was the day he was about to attend the wedding banquet at Meishan Manor, and it was also the day he met Feng Xuan Yang.

If this was the case, since the heavens allowed him and Feng Xuan Yang to start over, then he would win him over first and never let go of his hand in this lifetime.

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Translator’s note: Damn, this started with a bang! 

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