PHOENIX TOP AND DRAGON 46

Chapter 46: The Truth Beckons, Yet Remains Unreachable

“Hah, three days later, was it Duan Shuqing who knocked over the incense burner?” Long Qinghan said softly, his tone revealing his displeasure.

Lao Qiyang started, lowered his head, and apologetically said, “Yes.”

A surge of anger instantly welled up in Long Qinghan’s eyes. His voice was filled with resentment: “Is that the reason you decided to give him the Gu?!”

Feng Xuan yang’s face also turned extremely ugly. He could feel Long Qinghan’s anger radiating from their intertwined hands. He tightened his grip and said coldly, “Old man, what happened after that?”

“After that? Hah, after that, we old men gathered together to discuss this matter, but we couldn’t reach a conclusion. After all, Duan Shuqing is a treasure of our sect, and none of us could bear to harm him. But everyone also considered the future of the sect, and in the end, we made a painful decision to invite that Taoist priest back and ask him to find a way to solve it. Afterwards… well… we learned about the Red Lotus Gu from that Taoist priest. He told us that we could trick Shuqing with the imprint, actually giving him the Red Lotus Gu, and then keeping the mother Gu in our own hands. If Shuqing did anything untoward, we could kill the mother Gu, and then Shuqing would die as well. If we couldn’t bear to kill him, the Red Lotus Gu would still activate when he turned twenty, slowly eroding his life, and he would eventually die. At the time, we were still hesitant and unwilling to do it, but the Taoist priest predicted several things, and Shuqing… he actually did as predicted. So we gradually became convinced and obtained the Red Lotus Gu, planting it in him.”

The expressions of Feng and Long grew increasingly worse. Feng Xuan yang remained tight-lipped, while Long Qinghan trembled with rage. For their own benefit, they had dared to secretly harm others, even leading to the later tragedy and Feng Xuan yang’s miserable childhood. How could he not be angry! He shouted angrily, “Based solely on a Taoist priest’s words, you took a human life. Is this the way of the righteous martial arts sect, the Jiu Hua Sect! Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply expel Duan Shuqing from the sect?!”

Lao Qiyang’s eyes darkened, and he sighed, “Actually, we really didn’t want to harm Shuqing. We even secretly searched for ways to remove the Gu. If we later found that Shuqing had no ill intentions, we would have removed it for him. But…” Lao Qiyang suddenly paused, lifting his hand and staring intently at it, as if seeing blood gushing from his palm. He trembled, saying, “But he killed people! He killed the sect leader, and many, many others. The Taoist priest’s prediction came true!”

Long Qinghan’s pupils shrank in surprise. He glanced at Feng Xuan yang, who had a cynical smile playing on his lips, his eyes revealing an enigmatic light.

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“Twxrb!” Wldt Dwyd uydt nszezu pdsavle, bkp ydtla xyjkdt Nys Ckuydt valxczl.

Nsdt Ckdtbyd, bsolhla, rknjle wr sd psxlvbkdt. Tl tzydnle yv vbl ale zsvwp xyaj sd Wldt Dwyd uydt’p qsalblye yde lmnzykxle kd alyzkgyvksd, “Mbyv’p aktbv, ps Pwyd Fbwikdt’p okql, yde Dwyd uydt, olal… olald’v vblu…” olald’v vblu csvb yqqzknvle okvb vbl Qw! Tl nswzed’v qkdkpb vbl pldvldnl. Tl zssjle yv Wldt Dwyd uydt kd vlaasa, bkp wpwyzzu lxsvksdzlpp qynl pbsokdt qlya. Mbyv’p aktbv, bso nswze bl byhl qsatsvvld? Fkdnl vbl Sle Nsvwp Qw nswze zlyhl y ale zsvwp xyaj, vbld Wldt Dwyd uydt xwpv byhl clld yqqzknvle okvb vbl Qw, yde bl bkxplzq… Tl vswnble bkp zlqv yax, yde nswzed’v blzr cwv pxkzl qykdvzu, bkp blyav pweeldzu nyzxkdt esod.

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Nsdt Ckdtbyd pxkzle qykdvzu yde dseele, vbld alpwxle bkp nsze lmralppksd. Tl nszezu pbswvle yv Nys Ckuydt, “Zswa ynvksdp yal ds ekqqlaldv qasx vbspl byaxqwz elxsdkn yde blalvknyz nwzvp. Ohld osapl, usw byaxle vbl dlmv tldlayvksd!”

With a “bang,” Long Qinghan, in his rage, actually shattered the wardrobe beside him with a wave of his sleeve. Seeing this, Feng Xuan yang, heartbroken, went over to hug Long Qinghan tightly. Knowing this, Feng Xuan yang was actually more distressed than Long Qinghan, but since even the calm Long Qinghan was so angry, if he wasn’t calm, it would only cause more casualties.

Long Qinghan was furious. He pushed Feng Xuan yang away, stepped forward, grabbed Lao Qiyang’s collar, and angrily asked, “What is the antidote to the Red Lotus Gu!” Once it involved Feng Xuan yang’s life, he couldn’t remain calm.

Lao Qiyang’s eyes were vacant. He looked deeply at Long Qinghan, apologetically lowering his head, “It’s gone… The antidote was lost.”

“What did you say?!” Long Qinghan was shocked, angrily tightening his grip on his clothes and shouting, his hands trembling.

Lao Qiyang trembled, “My revealing this secret to you is in the hope that you can salvage the situation before it’s too late.” He glanced at Feng Xuan yang, whose eyes were filled with murderous intent, and lowered his head even further.

“Damn it!” Long Qinghan released his collar and angrily struck another blow to the side.

This was the first time Feng Xuan yang had ever seen Long Qinghan so angry. He stepped forward and embraced Long Qinghan, gently patting his back to comfort him, but beneath his gentle demeanor, waves surged in his eyes, radiating intense killing intent.

Long Qinghan’s body trembled uncontrollably, and he resentfully said, “Even if Mo Yue did something wrong later, his descendants are innocent! Your actions in harming them are simply shameful!”

Feng Xuan yang hugged Long Qinghan tightly, glared fiercely at Lao Qiyang, and said with intense resentment in his fiery gaze, “Old man, I never expected you to harm me like this. Considering your kindness to me when I was young, your non-participation in the attack on the mountain, and your remorse after the sect’s decline, I treated you sincerely. Who knew that you… Humph!”

Lao Qiyang stared blankly at Feng Xuan yang, suddenly clutching his head and shouting, “No, I didn’t mean to! I deeply regret it! I killed him… I… If I hadn’t protected him, I wouldn’t have… No, he killed people, it’s true, it’s true… No, he didn’t kill anyone, no, the one who actually killed people was…”

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he fearfully covered his head, stepping back, “No, I can’t tell you, you’ll harm him, no… no… Aaaaaah!”

With a piercing cry, he ran out like a madman.

Long Qinghan angrily chased after him and grabbed him, asking, “What did you mean just now! What’s the antidote! And who is the killer?!”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, Aaaaaah!” Lao Qiyang frantically flung his robe, hitting Long Qinghan with considerable force, causing him to stumble back. Lao Qiyang took the opportunity to flee.

Long Qinghan was stunned and was about to chase after him, but Feng Xuan yang suddenly hugged him, “Qinghan, forget it. He’s already like that, asking more is useless. He’s clearly gone mad again. It’s no use, I know him too well.”

Long Qinghan’s breathing was heavy, and it took him a long time to recover. He sadly said, “Then are we just going to give up like this? The Gu on you…” He clenched his fists, his body trembling with fear.

Feng Xuan yang turned his face, and deeply kissed his lips, his eyes filled with tenderness. He gently brushed Long Qinghan’s disheveled hair and softly said, “Look at what you’ve become. So distraught, this is hardly the Long Shao Zhu who is indifferent to everything.”

“I…” Long Qinghan was startled, then secretly chuckled. He was indeed out of sorts tonight. Once it involved Feng Xuan yang’s life, he cared far more than about his own.

He embraced Feng Xuan yang and softly said, “I will never let anything happen to you. I want you to live until your face is wrinkled and your hair is white, and then we’ll meet together on the Naihe Bridge.”

“Good.” Feng Xuan yang stroked his hair and embraced him back.

I love you, and that’s why I’m afraid of losing you. Long Qinghan sighed softly. This heartfelt love remained deep in his heart, but he still lacked the courage to speak it aloud.

Feng Xuan yang patted Long Qinghan’s back and comforted him, “At least we got a lot of information from Lao Qiyang. Perhaps there’s a hidden truth to Mo Yue’s murder of the sect leader, and we mustn’t give up.”

Long Qinghan emerged from his embrace and looked deeply at him, “Aren’t you Mo Yue’s reincarnation? What exactly happened back then, are you still hiding it from me?”

Feng Xuan yang was startled, a mysterious light flashing in his eyes. He pointed to his nose and said, “Qinghan, where did you hear that reincarnations still retain memories of their past lives?”

“Then…” Long Qinghan’s eyes widened in surprise, “Then how did you know about this place?”

Feng Xuan yang gently patted his head and said, “Qinghan, hearing you say that, it seems that everything you know about me and Mo Yue was told to you by your father. I wonder, how old were you when your father said your mother died?”

“Two… two years old.” Long Qinghan was startled, could it be…

Feng Xuan yang sighed softly, “Two years old. Many people may not have memories of that age. But I clearly remember what my mother said about Mo Yue. As for whether or not I am his reincarnation, I don’t know. I just feel that this place is extremely familiar, so I came here once when I grew up, only to find that it was deserted, with only Lao Qiyang left. Apart from that, I don’t remember anything, but I always feel a sense of familiarity with Mo Yue.”

Long Qinghan was slightly startled and held Feng Xuan yang’s hand.

Feng Xuan yang smiled and continued, “Now I’m just like you, searching for the truth of that year. I absolutely don’t believe that Mo Yue was that kind of person back then.”

“Then…”

Long Qinghan was startled, and suddenly remembered Feng Xuan yang’s bloody rampage before his resurrection. According to the timeline, the deaths of the sect leaders were after the 347th year of the Heavenly Dynasty, August. No, Long Qinghan suddenly realized, the time of death should be from June 15th, which is today!

He suddenly remembered that on this day before his resurrection was the day Xiangzong was destroyed, which was also Mo Yue’s death anniversary!

But they were still here, and Feng Xuan yang seemed unfamiliar with Mo Yue’s affairs. It seemed likely that Feng Xuan yang had extended the time he learned the truth because of him, and thus didn’t go on a bloody rampage. But what about the destruction of the manor three months earlier?

Long Qinghan suddenly became confused. He felt that all these things only needed one clue to unravel the truth.

He sank his face, Feng Xuan yang must have discovered something while searching for the truth of Mo Yue’s death before his resurrection, which caused him to start his bloody rampage. But if that was the case, then that matter…

Feng Xuan yang quietly watched Long Qinghan lost in thought and didn’t interrupt him.

After a long time, Long Qinghan looked up and said solemnly, “Let’s go to Miaojiang and find the antidote to the Red Lotus Gu first. We can’t delay. As for the rest… we’ll talk later.”

Feng Xuan yang opened his mouth, as if about to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded without speaking.

Long Qinghan looked outside and found that it was already dawn. He picked up the box containing the Red Lotus Gu and pulled Feng Xuan yang out. Looking up at the rising sun, he took a deep breath, then pulled Feng Xuan yang around Jiu Hua Sect, finding no clues, and Lao Qiyang was nowhere to be found.

Long Qinghan sighed softly and pulled Feng Xuan yang away from Jiu Hua Sect.

However, in a place unseen by them, a pair of deep, dark eyes were fixed on them, and the owner of those eyes gave a strange smile.