The thick white fog obscured their vision, and the figures that were originally nearby seemed to suddenly disappear.
Li Fei instinctively cast two layers of the Bronze Wall technique, looking around while calling out, “Xiuyuan? Gelin? Are you there?”
The only response was those waves of ethereal, illusory songs. Around her, a subtle fragrance drifted, and many half-naked women danced gracefully. Li Fei reached out to push and grab them, but couldn’t touch them. Although there was a fragrance, seemingly right before her eyes, they were illusory.
Li Fei suddenly found it amusing. She wasn’t a man, so naturally had no interest in these naked women. This heart-bewitching fierce beast wasn’t so frightening after all! She waved her sleeve and cast the Leaving Fire technique. Instantly, a great firelight blazed, and those half-naked women disappeared in an instant, along with the ethereal, illusory women’s songs.
The fog seemed to gradually dissipate a bit. Li Fei walked forward quickly, calling out her companions’ names loudly. Gelin, like her, probably wouldn’t be bewitched by naked women, but the rest of their group were all men. Ye Ye was singularly devoted to Chang Yue, so he should be fine; Lu Li looked serious and proper, hopefully he was right; Ji Tongzhou, being a noble prince, must have seen countless beauties, so those faceless women shouldn’t make the prince lose his senses; Lei Xiuyuan…
At the thought of Lei Xiuyuan, something seemed to sink inside her, and she couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.
This man had always been aloof, never seen showing favor to other women. He shouldn’t, shouldn’t be seduced by those half-clothed women, right? Li Fei’s reason clearly understood what kind of person Lei Xiuyuan was, but when her emotions got involved with him, everything became chaotic.
The thick fog finally completely dissipated. She saw the setting sun in the west, weary birds returning to the forest, and the cold wind of late autumn brushing her face. Maple leaves were red all over the mountains, the undulating hills interwoven with bright red and old yellow, like a colorful brocade.
Li Fei was both confused and alarmed. She looked around anxiously. Was this Yin Qiu? The simple and crude small courtyard where she lived with her master? How did she get back here?!
She stared blankly at the tightly closed wooden gate. If she opened this door here, would she see her master? As if possessed, she couldn’t control herself and slowly walked to the wooden gate of the cabin. There was candlelight flickering inside—someone was there. Was it her master?
Just as her hand touched the wooden gate, it was suddenly opened from inside. Unexpectedly, the person standing before her was Lei Xiuyuan. He wore a plain cloth robe, his long hair loose, his misty eyes looking at her with gentle affection. He suddenly reached out to grasp her arm, saying softly, “Where did you run off to? Coming back so late.”
Li Fei felt a moment of confusion, vaguely feeling as if she had indeed been living with him in Yin Qiu all along. She gripped his sleeve tightly, looking up at him in a daze. The thick black long hair, the straight nose, the lean face, and those moist eyes. The expression on his face always had a hint of arrogance, a sense of keeping others at a distance, like a solitary, proud crane.
Li Fei unconsciously murmured his name: “Xiuyuan.”
He smiled and pulled her into the room. The wooden gate closed quietly behind them. The room was dimly lit by candles, and the table was already set with dishes, all vegetarian dishes that she loved.
“Went to wait for Master again?” Lei Xiuyuan picked up some bamboo shoots for her with his chopsticks. “He won’t be back for a few days, don’t be impatient.”
Yes… Master had gone out on business and wouldn’t be back for a few days, specifically instructing her and Xiuyuan to take good care of the house. Li Fei’s confused and chaotic heart gradually settled. She ate a little, and Lei Xiuyuan filled her bowl with plenty of dishes, saying lightly, “Eat more, you’re so short.”
Li Fei also picked up a lot of dishes for him, sneering, “You’re the one who needs to eat more, to grow stronger!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Had she said these words somewhere before? Deep in her consciousness, she felt as if she had forgotten something. After slowly finishing the meal, she watched Lei Xiuyuan carry a jar of salt and sprinkle it outside the house. The snow-white salt grains formed a circle of strange patterns. She remembered this was a method to ward off evil spirits. When Master was here, he would sprinkle it every night to ensure they wouldn’t be secretly eaten by demons while sleeping.
Li Fei asked curiously, “What demons are you warding off? With me here, no demon would dare cause trouble, right?”
Lei Xiuyuan looked at her with an amused smile: “A little girl who can’t even learn magic properly, what nonsense are you talking?”
Her heart skipped a beat. That’s right, she had nothing special about her, and her aptitude wasn’t good either. At sixteen, she still didn’t know how to draw spiritual energy into her body. Master scolded her for being useless all day long. It was fortunate that he had taken in Lei Xiuyuan, this exceptionally talented individual, otherwise there would be no successor for their magic techniques. At the thought that she was just an ordinary person, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief and comfort.
Night enveloped the entire small courtyard. Lei Xiuyuan gently embraced her from behind, saying softly, “Let’s go to sleep.”
What was going on? She seemed to be restless all day today. This beautiful and peaceful life, like a dream, filled all the invisible cracks in her heart warmly, which made her feel afraid instead. Li Fei looked up at Lei Xiuyuan again, and he raised an eyebrow: “What’s wrong, don’t want to sleep yet?”
There was a fearful question deep in her heart, already on the tip of her tongue. Li Fei said softly, “Xiuyuan, do you… do you like me?”
He smiled slightly, turning her around to face him with both hands: “Of course I like you. I like you.”
She felt as if she had been waiting for this sentence for a long time, even to the point of exhaustion. Now that it finally came from his mouth, she couldn’t help but tremble slightly all over, her eyes burning. She hurriedly covered her eyes.
He gently held her hand. Li Fei looked at him as if bewitched. His face drew near, and his warm lips gently pressed against her forehead. The unfamiliar kiss, the heat of his lips didn’t seem right, as if it should be hotter, scorching as if it would burn her skin. Li Fei instinctively dodged.
Lei Xiuyuan was a bit surprised: “What’s wrong with you today? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Li Fei slowly pushed him away, her heart in turmoil, feeling all confused. She forced a smile: “I’m going to bed.”
She turned and pushed open her room door. Lei Xiuyuan grabbed her: “That’s the storage room.”
Storage? Li Fei looked closely into the dim room. The room was empty, with only a small wooden bed under the window, brand new, freshly oiled, gleaming in the silver moonlight.
It seemed so familiar. Where had she seen this scene before?
Li Fei broke free from Lei Xiuyuan’s hand and walked over step by step. The small wooden bed was covered with clean cotton bedding, on which lay only a blood-stained jade-colored swaddling cloth. There was nothing else.
In a flash, some scene flashed through her mind. Suddenly, a hoarse and proud voice sounded from outside the window, both familiar and strange: “Fool! Fool! What use is exceptional talent? In the end, you’re still entangled by these burdens! You’re seeking death! You can hide it for a day, a year, even a hundred years, but how can you hide it for a lifetime?”
Another old voice laughed ruefully, suddenly letting out a long cry as if chanting: “Alas, I am old and declining day by day, the years fly by and do not return! I think of my long life and eternal immortality, but it’s not as good as returning to my homeland!”
Li Fei was struck as if by lightning, almost jumping up. She turned back hurriedly to look at Lei Xiuyuan beside her. He wore a gentle smile on his face, but gradually, his body dissipated like sand and disappeared. The house, the small courtyard, and everything in Yin Qiu, also turned into sand and dissipated in an instant.
A soft white light emanated from all around her body. The original spiritual energy that had erupted in Li Lie Valley suddenly enveloped her entire body, and she could not conceal this layer of white light no matter what. Li Fei looked around in panic, wanting to find a place to hide. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this.
However, the thick fog had dissipated, and all the people who had been swallowed by the thick fog suddenly appeared around her. Everyone was looking at her, her secret exposed for all to see. Li Fei was terrified. She couldn’t find any place to hide. What she feared most, what she wanted to hide most in her heart, finally happened. They were all looking at her—Gelin, Ji Tongzhou, Ye Ye, Chang Yue… Their eyes were so unfamiliar as if looking at an alien who didn’t belong there.
It felt like something was choking her throat. Her vision blurred, and she kept retreating. Suddenly, her back bumped into someone. That person suddenly opened his arms and gently embraced her.
“Don’t be afraid.” He whispered in her ear, his warm breath blowing on her earlobe. “I’m here.”
Li Fei turned back, dazed. Lei Xiuyuan was gazing at her with a smile. She clung to him like a drowning person grabbing a lifesaving piece of wood, curling up in his arms, fearful yet dependent.
“Help me, Xiuyuan!” Li Fei called out to him pleadingly.
But Lei Xiuyuan gently pushed her away. His gentle smile gradually turned into a mocking sneer as he said softly, “You alien, how could I truly like you?”
Li Fei stared at him blankly. Around her, countless voices of mockery, curses, and hatred, like a tidal wave about to swallow her, suffocating her.
A burning hot hand suddenly pressed on her forehead, followed by a heavy slap on her face. The pain startled her awake. In an instant, all the absurd illusions disappeared like a receding tide. Li Fei gasped for breath, her body roughly picked up by someone. She looked up in fear, meeting Lei Xiuyuan’s anxious eyes. His forehead was covered in sweat. Seeing her awake, he instantly showed a relieved expression. “This is the fierce beast, Shen, it spews mist to create illusions, using this to absorb people’s essence.” Lei Xiuyuan whispered in her ear, his voice extremely low, his scorching breath once again blowing on her earlobe. Li Fei felt a chill, involuntarily breaking out in goosebumps. She hurriedly moved away.
Still shaken, she looked around and saw countless disciples lying on the ground as if sound asleep in the thick fog. The wisps of mist seemed to have a life of their own, entering each disciple’s seven orifices.
The lush green small island floated several zhang above their heads, with faint thick white mist continuously overflowing from it.
She could no longer distinguish what was real and what was false. Looking down at her own body, there was no white light enveloping it. She wanted to stand up and leave this place on a cloud, but her limbs had no strength at all. Li Fei struggled to break free from Lei Xiuyuan’s arms, crawling forward with difficulty for a few inches.