Ji Chen was still chatting with Ji Xing, counting the peach blossoms on the opposite hillside one by one for her.
Suddenly, his whole body jolted. He leaped up alertly, narrowly dodging a sword aura. Just as he was about to warn Song Qianji, he turned back and stammered in bewilderment:
"Brother Song, why, why are you hitting me?"
His eyes were clear and naturally innocent, wearing a pitiful expression of someone betrayed by a friend.
Wei Zhenyu sometimes pretended to be innocent, but Ji Chen genuinely believed he was innocent.
"You're exactly who I'm hitting!" Song Qianji's anger flared even hotter. He grabbed his sword hilt like a feather duster and began whacking Ji Chen relentlessly. "Running? Still running?"
"Hey, if you keep hitting me, I'll fight back!" Ji Chen summoned his Array Disk, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Song Qianji only sneered, "Go ahead, try it!"
Ji Chen dashed wildly around the trees, attempting to lay down a few Array Lines to block his opponent.
But Song Qianji was fighting in earnest, his imposing aura crushing like Mount Tai, making Ji Chen feel trapped in an inescapable net.
Formation Masters weren't skilled in close combat. Ji Chen had no time to set up formations and could only rely on his movement techniques to evade. Unfortunately, Song Qianji's movements were faster.
He still had high-level Magical Artifacts and Array Disks on him, but he was saving those for revenge. Using them in a brawl under a tree with Song Qianji simply wasn't worth it.
Besides, this fight made no sense. There was no killing intent in Song Qianji's sword, nor did he use lethal moves—he just kept whacking him hard with the scabbard.
Had Song Qianji's hidden madness flared up? He seemed even crazier than Ji Chen himself.
Song Qianji pummeled him from dawn till dusk, from the mountaintop down to the foothills, and back up again.
At first, Ji Chen fought back fiercely. Later, he fled while cursing and howling like a wounded animal. If they hadn't been in a remote wilderness, someone would surely have complained about the noise pollution.
"Fine, hit me!" Ji Chen stumbled while running and simply flopped to the ground, throwing a tantrum. "Just beat me to death!"
Song Qianji rubbed his wrist. Seeing Ji Chen bruised, tear-streaked, and sniffling, most of his anger dissipated.
Night had fallen, and crows were returning to their nests. A few stars dotted the treetops, and peach blossom petals drifted down from the branches.
They had somehow ended up at Peach Blossom Creek.
Under the flowering tree, Ji Chen pounded the ground, wailing, "Even my father never hit me like this! Dad, it's so sad you died early and didn't get to see how he treats your son!"
"Stop crying!" Song Qianji felt a headache coming on. "A real man sheds blood, not tears! What kind of behavior is all this sniveling? Get up now!"
"I can't get up! My bones are broken!"
Song Qianji crouched down, reaching out to feel for injuries, his tone softening slightly. "Which bone is hurt?"
"Brother Song, have you cooled off now?" Ji Chen rolled over and sat up, grabbing Song Qianji's hand with wide, blinking eyes. "May I ask how I offended you?"
Song Qianji pulled his hand back and sat beside Ji Chen under the peach tree.
"You care about Ji Xing's marriage prospects, but you act on your own without asking if she even wants to marry. You only care about whether you're satisfied. If she and that person despise each other, how could she be happy? Do you want her to be unhappy even as a ghost?"
"So it's about this. I... I just hoped someone would look after Xiao Xing when I'm not around." Ji Chen hung his head, his voice downcast.
"It's simple logic—if the people you send down there resent you, why would they willingly care for your sister?" Song Qianji massaged his forehead. "A forced melon is not sweet."
"You're right." The more Ji Chen thought about it, the more sense it made. He finally admitted his fault. "Brother Song, I'm sorry. Let me prepare a gift to make it up to you. I heard you came to White Phoenix County to search for 'Artifact Fire' for sword training."Song Qianji initially wanted to say it wasn’t necessary—those were matters of his past life, as long as Ji Chen stopped obsessively matchmaking for his sister. But then he remembered that the night after next was the Night of Awakening of Insects, the very night in his previous life when Ji Chen slaughtered the entire Ji Family and descended into madness.
This was a critical juncture in Ji Chen’s fate. Perhaps it would be better to keep him occupied. If Ji Chen entered White Phoenix Mountain tomorrow to search for the Phoenix Ember, he wouldn’t return for at least four or five days.
“Since you’ve offered, you must prepare thoroughly,” Song Qianji said.
“I’ll make sure Brother Song is satisfied, forging the strongest Lifebound Sword for Lonely Radiance.” Ji Chen grinned, tugging at the wound on his lip, hissing sharply from the pain.
The starry night was cool, the fragrance of flowers lingering in the air. They sat beneath the tree for a while, their robes already dusted with fallen petals.
Song Qianji rose, brushing off his sleeves, and reached out to pull Ji Chen up. “Get up.”
“What for?”
“…To treat your wounds.”
“Brother Song is so kind—you finish the job and tidy up afterward!”
“You say I’m good, but do you trust me?”
“Why would you ask such a thing? I see you as my closest kin, and I’ve always trusted you completely, without a shred of doubt… Hey, hey, don’t stick that on me! If you have something to say, say it properly—what’s with slapping Talismans on me?!”
Two figures chased and scuffled along the path, gradually disappearing into the sea of peach blossoms.
…
In White Phoenix County, the number of visiting cultivators had surged overnight, and the streets were unusually lively.
Tales of branch families scheming for wealth and power, and rightful heirs returning for vengeance after arduous cultivation, spread like wildfire.
The Ji Family could neither silence the gossip nor control the influx of outsiders, so they sealed their gates and locked their doors. The people who had once surveilled Song Qianji and Ji Chen vanished without a trace.
Unbeknownst to all, the protagonist of these stories, Ji Chen, had already left White Phoenix City and entered the mountains in search of the Phoenix Ember.
By day, Song Qianji drank tea and gathered information at the Phoenix Immortal Pavilion; by night, he rested at Peach Blossom Creek. Nestled between the mountains and the city, it was tranquil and secluded.
Everything was progressing favorably.
Yet Song Qianji felt a vague unease, as if things were going too smoothly. He ran through his calculations several times but found no immediate cause for concern.
Trapped in the midst of the situation, he could only remain steady and adapt to any changes, waiting for Ji Chen’s return.
Ji Chen had refused his company: “Since it’s a gift, it wouldn’t be right for you to tag along.”
“But if you’re in danger…”
“Brother Song cares for my safety—you truly treat me well. If you see golden fireworks rising from White Phoenix Mountain, it means I’m in peril, and you must come to rescue me.”
Song Qianji agreed.
He could have tracked Ji Chen, but his ultimate goal was to earn the other’s trust.
That day, as Song Qianji returned to Peach Blossom Creek to rest, nearing midnight, the night sky suddenly brightened, and White Phoenix Mountain blazed with golden light.
Muttering “troublesome,” he grabbed his sword and rose from the bed.
Before entering the mountains, he encountered a few cultivators hurrying along the path. As they passed, Song Qianji overheard them mention Ji Chen’s name:
“Ji Chen vowed to take his revenge on the Night of Awakening of Insects. Tonight is the night, but he’s been missing for two days. Will he even show up?”
“A matter of revenge requires thorough preparation.”
“He’s a strange one. Why didn’t he reveal the truth earlier and endure all that criticism for so long?”
“A demonic tyrant has no restraints—they exact revenge as they please. A hero has too many considerations: too ruthless, and they’re condemned; the timing wrong, and they’re condemned. In the end, they still face criticism.”
Song Qianji froze for a moment, then a chill shot through his heart. He spun his sword around and sped toward the Ji Family estate in the city.
He finally realized what was wrong!
Before heading to Peach Blossom Creek for the rendezvous, he had devised over a dozen contingency plans. How could he have known the current head of the Ji Family would be that good-for-nothing Ji Guang?Since Ji Guang was a waste who relied on family resources and his father's guidance, was there anything he could accomplish that Ji Chen couldn't?
Why hadn't Ji Chen done it? It wasn't because he couldn't, but simply because he didn't care.
Whether he was seen as an avenger with just cause or a jealous, deranged madman, he didn't care.
The Ji Xing he cared about was already dead.
All he cared about was his frenzied revenge. All he waited for was this night!
Tonight, no one in White Phoenix City would sleep.
The sky was pitch black, devoid of stars or moon. From the direction of the Ji Manor, flames shot skyward.
Yet the fire was contained by an invisible golden barrier, unable to spread, only burning slowly amidst piercing cries.
Everyone was driven by the flames to the abandoned garden. Suppressed by the formation's power, they couldn't muster their Spirit Qi, moving with difficulty as they knelt on the ground.
This had once been the residence of Ji Chen and his sister, but tonight it had become a living hell.
Ji Guang and his father lay decapitated, utterly dead. Among the remaining crowd were family retainers, as well as the elderly, weak, women, and children. Some cursed while others kowtowed and begged for mercy.
Ji Chen seemed not to hear, his expression cold, as if the agonized cries and venomous curses had nothing to do with him.
Sitting by the pond folding a paper kite, he murmured, "Little Xing, I've finally waited for this day. That person said on the hundredth anniversary of your death, with the entire clan sacrificed, I could see you again... Wait for me."
Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the chaos:
"Ji Chen, you said you were going to White Phoenix Mountain to retrieve weapon fire, but you were actually setting up an Entrapment Formation there. When the time came, a signal would surely lure me there, trapping me in the mountain so you could complete the formation here, isn't that right?"
Ji Chen looked up. "You came after all."
He smiled, revealing teeth as white as unbloodied blades.
Song Qianji stood atop the abandoned garden's wall, his robes flapping and sword blazing as he rapidly attacked the formation's barrier.
Hope ignited among the crowd as they shouted to Song Qianji for rescue:
"Master Song, this man has gone mad! He says this formation is called the 'Yin-Yang Inversion Karma Fire Incineration Grand Formation,' claiming it can summon spirits from the underworld to return to the living world before sunrise. Such delusions! Please, quickly kill this demon!"
"Fellow Daoist Song, save me, and I will repay you handsomely!"
Ignoring them, Ji Chen laughed heartily. "Brother Song, why so cold? I sincerely prepared a gift to apologize. Once I complete the formation tonight and take this formation fire to serve as your weapon fire, I will surely help you forge a peerless divine sword!"
"You think I can't break your formation?" Enraged, Song Qianji moved like lightning and wind, each strike aimed at the formation's weak points.
Ji Chen shouted, "Look carefully! As long as I'm in this formation, it lives and dies with me. Will you come in to kill me? Come on!"
Song Qianji's face turned pale, his movements slowing.
He knew the other wasn't lying; he had sensed the formation's insidious cunning.
If the formation broke, Ji Chen would surely die.
If he gave up breaking the formation, everyone in the Ji Manor would die, and Ji Chen would walk his previous life's path, becoming utterly mad.
Unless Ji Chen voluntarily left the formation, tonight was a deadlock.
But Ji Chen had schemed for so long—how could he leave?!
What else could Song Qianji do?
He sheathed his sword and turned to leave.
Behind him, the sounds of flames crackling, buildings collapsing, children crying, and Ji Chen's mad laughter echoed.
Spilt water couldn't be gathered; hell had been established.Had he given up?
...
Through the roaring flames, Ji Chen watched the man's back disappear: "Go, don't worry about me."
He was still smiling, his expression softening, his eyes shining brightly under the firelight.
"Xiao Xing, when I see you, you must tell me in person what kind of partner you like. It's a pity we can't see the stars tonight. I've waited so many years. If I can't see you, I don't know if I..."
Suddenly, Ji Chen fell silent. The expression on his face shifted from madness and despair to shock and confusion, then to ecstatic joy.
It was as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable miracle.
A fierce wind swept across the land, scattering the dark clouds to reveal the bright moon and a sky full of stars.
Under the silvery starlight, a figure stood atop the wall, sleeves fluttering, silently gazing at him.
Like a distant dream.
The image he had envisioned countless times in his heart suddenly became clear.
—If Ji Xing had lived to this day, this was exactly how he would have looked.
"Xiao Xing!"
The figure smiled faintly and drifted away with a sweep of his sleeves.
"Xiao Xing, don't go!" Ji Chen threw down his Array Disk.
Song Qianji rode the wind to escape, touching the disguise on his face and thinking, When we get back, if I don't make you carry manure for a month to water the fields, I'll take your surname, Ji.
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