Chapter 133 (2/2)
Sadly, this was not a reunion that was meant to be. Ling Yin could hear nothing that he said. She was a mere relic of his past while he lived in the present time. The call that she shouted was not for him, but his younger self in the memory.
A young boy, looking about ten years old, snuck a wicker basket behind his back. His clothes were covered with grime and soot was daubed on his face. A couple of live carp fishes sprang in protest in his basket, trying to escape his capture. The boy was none other than the little Xiao Chen of his own past.
“How many times I have warned you against leaving the grounds without permission,” Ling Yin scolded the little Xiao Chen crossly, realizing the wicker basket hidden behind him, “What’s more, why are you endangering the lives of innocent animals! What have I always taught you?”
“But I’m not going to slaughter them…” The little Xiao Chen muttered meekly, “I was going to release them into the stream here so that they can accompany me when I’m training…”
Xiao Chen’s eyes only grew wetter by the moment as he relived his own memories from a third-person view. There was no one in the Yaoguang Temple at the time, save only him and his mentor, Ling Yin. As the chief of the Violet-night Peak, her responsibilities had kept her from coming regularly to the main hall of the stronghold, leaving the young Xiao Chen to train and meditate alone, hence his desire to keep some animals to accompany himself. It not until Ling Yin had presented him with the Fuxi Zither, where he had the Zither Spirit, Evernight, as a friend to stay by his side.
“Master…” Xiao Chen gasped, moving a few more steps closer to his mentor. They were so close, yet he could no longer touch her and feel the warmth of his parent-surrogate. His heart was filled with emotions at being able to see her again, yet he felt equally empty at the same time; the distance between them so vague and undefined.
Suddenly, it dawned upon him: he could experience the illusions of his memories and that of others that would also mean that others might be able to peer into his past as well! He could not suffer anyone prying into his past, most ominously Xiaoyue of the Thousand Feathers Sect!
He began to feel distressed, his heart began racing with fear. He needed to erase the illusions of his memories, no matter how he refused to. Even if the Ling Yin was only an illusory rendition, he still wanted to keep on gazing upon her.
Slowly, the images began to dwindle once more. The kaleidoscope of colors coalesced and gave way to another scene. He found himself still atop the Violet-night Peak. A voice, as gentle as a bird yet clear as a bell, called from behind, “Heh heh heh! What’s this, Senior? Has the Master sentenced you to another punishment?”
He would never forget the voice. A voice that summoned his anger as he flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles with fury. He turned and saw a gorgeous young woman. Who else would it be, but Qianyu Nishang!
Not far away he saw himself, now almost adult, with features identical to himself now.
“Why have you come, Junior Qianyu? My Master will be back any minute now! You should not be here!”
“Heh heh heh! There’s no need for fear! I’d just overheard Master Qingxuan mentioned that they still have a business! Martial Uncle Ling Yin will not be back for some time! Let’s slipped off the grounds for some fun!”
“B-but… I’d be dead if my Master were to return and find me missing…”
Xiao Chen scoffed. What were your aims, Qianyu Nishang? What are your designs for trying to approach me?
“I think I’ll pass, Junior Sister… I’ll come to see you in a day or two. I have something for you.”
Xiao Chen felt his anger began to burn to such a point that the knuckles of his clenched fists cracked under the tension. He knew what it was, the gift that his former self wanted to present to Qianyu Nishang: the sword, Autumn Water that he had gone through great trouble and risk to obtain.
With a burst of his True Energy, he cast a blow upon the phantasmal depiction of his former romance with Qianyu Nishang, reducing into nothingness. He could no longer bear to watch, while at the same time, it was a scene that he hoped that Xiaoyue would never see.
Just then, a deafening sound echoed through the empty space around him, a noise so strong that the entire domain constructed by the enchantment that held them began to shake and shudder. The sound seemed to originate from the illusory domain that replayed Xiaoyue’s memory.
But Xiao Chen detected a distinct familiarity that accompanied the loud and terrible noise. The horrifying noise that came from Xiaoyue’s memory illusion… It suddenly reminded him of Qianyu Nishang. But why her, he asked himself.