Chapter 87 (2/2)
As he worried and reflected over this, he heard Liu Fenghuang’s sudden exclamation. “Wow, Junior Brother Han, is that your zither? It looks so unique!” Xiao Chen now recalled that he had not kept his Nine-heaven Jade Pendant since last night. He turned his head and found her running over to the Jade Zither. He cried out to her, “Senior Sister, don’t touch that!”
It was too late. Liu Fenghuang had started plucking its strings. No sound emitted from the zither, but Liu Fenghuang gave an ear-piercing scream instead. She pulled back her hand as if struck by lightning.
Xiao Chen hurriedly dashed over and grabbed her hand to examine it. Her fingertips had been cut, yet bizarrely, not a single drop of blood had oozed out. All her blood had been sucked in by the Nine-heaven Jade Pendant.
Liu Fenghuang’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “It’s so painful. What happened… ?”
The Nine-heaven Jade Pendant was the most ferocious zither in the world. It not only could cut a person’s fingers, but could also inject a deadly qi into the wound within an instant. The person who had cut his finger would suffer unbearable pain. Xiao Chen wanted to force that deadly qi out from her with his inner strength, but suddenly realized that it would be exposing himself. He said, “Mobilize your inner strength quickly and force the blood out.”
Liu Fenghuang immediately did what she was told. After a while, her entire palm was covered with dark purplish blood. The pain subsided a little. Xiao Chen wiped the blood from her palm and asked gently, “Does it still hurt?”
Liu Fenghuang’s pretty face turned crimson and she quickly withdrew her hand. She said in a whisper, “No… not anymore.”
Although she was the daughter of the Sect Leader, only a few senior brothers were genuinely concerned about her since she was a child. Most of the male disciples were just trying to please her. Yet when she saw Xiao Chen’s anxiety, he looked almost as if he was really concerned. She asked, “By the way, Junior Brother Han, what’s wrong with your zither?”
Xiao Chen turned back, looked at the Nine-heaven Jade Pendant and sighed. “The owners of this zither have all encountered hideous deaths. This zither now only feeds on blood to injure its player. Senior Sister Liu, you must never touch it again.”
In the face of this innocent young girl, he must still deceive her in every way. Yet he must have treated Liu Fenghuang as his first friend since arriving at this strange place.
“Oh!” Liu Fenghuang exclaimed in alarm. “Do you mean you are in grave danger yourself, Junior Brother Han?”
Xiao Chen smiled gently. “It doesn’t matter. This zither cannot hurt me.” He continued, “Another 20 days and it will be the Immortals League Competition. Senior Sister, go back and prepare for it. Don’t come looking for me here in the future.”
“Alright.” Liu Fenghuang nodded her head and said, “Get well too, Junior Brother. Tomorrow, Dad will get someone to help you recover your inner strength.”
Xiao Chen nodded and smiled. He saw her out of the courtyard, watching her figure retreat and sighing softly and helplessly in his heart. “Xiao Chen, you’re here for the zither strings. You cannot bear any feeling for even a flower or a tree here, or they will fetter you on the way in the future.”
While he was in the Human World, he had borne much feelings for Li Muxue, Huangfu Xin’er and so many other people. Had it not been so, he would not have experienced such deep melancholy, having to play the zither to the moon to relieve his loneliness.
Another twenty days or more to the Immortals League Competition. He had learned from Liu Fenghuang how this competition had begun. Several decades ago, before the Zhou State and Qing State were divided in the East Divine Continent, the two states used to be one until riven by all sorts of disputes.
Immediately after they broke into two, the two states used to war with each other, year after year. Even the religious sects from both sides fought each other furiously for the Zhou State’s Earth Spiritual Meridian. Finally, the two states agreed to hold an Immortals League Competition once every three years. The side which won would hold on to the Spiritual Meridian for three years. The elders did not take part in the Immortals League Competition. Had they done so, with Core Forming and even Nascent Soul superiors participating, it would cause a bloodbath and grave havoc to the living.
The Zhou State had won the competition five times in succession. Rumor had it that the Qing State had gotten a large number of Heaven List warriors to take part this time, even a young recluse superior ranked in the top 10. It looked like the Spiritual Meridian would switch ownership this time.
Xiao Chen had wanted to win Liu Yunzheng’s trust in the past days, so that the latter would entrust him with the Fuxi Zither strings for the upcoming Immortals League Competition. If he could create a little chaos there, he could take the opportunity to escape. Right now, however, he had no way of knowing whether Liu Yunzheng really wanted to get someone to help him recover, or he was just testing him out. If Xiao Chen were to arouse his suspicions, the loss could not make up for the gain.
So he decided not to hide his true strength anymore.
Suddenly, he saw a figure streak past in the distance. That figure aroused in him a feeling of deja vu. He trod on toward that spot.
He was not familiar with the terrain of Teal Jade Sect. Had it not been Liu Fenghuang out taking him for saunters in the past few days, he would not have recognized the way. As he went after the figure, it seemed at times close by and at times far off, finally disappearing into a white-walled building with green tiles.
Xiao Chen sprinted up in one breath and saw the place the figure disappeared into. Nearby was the gate of a courtyard, with two guards standing by. From their uniforms, he could tell that they were Imperial Palace Guards.
How could there be imperial troops in Teal Jade Sect? As he wondered to himself, puzzled, a guard yelled out to him, “Who is it? Don’t you know you should not be here?”