Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Daylight broke, and warm sunlight softly spilled across the floor, accompanied by the crisp chirping of birds outside the window.

A gentle breeze passed through the hall, causing the light curtains to drift gently. The bed curtains swayed, and the silver bells hanging by the bedside jingled. The long eyelashes trembled, and after a moment, the person nestled under the covers suddenly opened their eyes.

Her vision was momentarily blurry, the surroundings dim, and everything seemed shrouded in a dark haze. Lu Yuanyin blinked, staring blankly at the dim world before her, thinking it was still night.

After a moment, tears welled up in her eyes, and colors slowly returned to her vision. Several brightly colored birds perched on the table, stealthily pecking at the pastries there while casting wary glances at her. The room was utterly silent.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling a dull ache across her body. The previous night's exertion had drained her nearly completely, leaving her muscles sore as if run over by a cart. Lu Yuanyin lay limp on the soft bedding, staring at the glazed beads adorning the canopy above, her thoughts drifting in a daze.

She had dreamed again.

Ever since learning of the plot in that book, she had been plagued by bizarre dreams. In them, she died beneath a rain of arrows at the foot of Chongyao Mountain, showered with curses, with countless disciples celebrating her fall, cursing her as deserving of her fate.

Just then, her long-missing grandmother appeared at her grave. The usually spirited old woman now looked weathered and worn, as if she had aged centuries overnight. Her once-gray hair had turned snow-white, and her once-straight back had bent slightly.

Grandmother stared at the humble grave mound, scolding her for being heartless, for being a worry, for leaving her old woman behind to see the older burying the younger.

In Lu Yuanyin's memory, her grandmother was an eccentric elder—stern, unsmiling, and merciless in her reprimands. The senior and junior disciples of the Hehuan Sect had always feared her the most.

When Grandmother first took her in, she had been cold and distant, so much so that Lu Yuanyin once believed the old woman disliked her. Yet this seemingly heartless elder now wept until her eyes were nearly blind, each word she spoke soaked in blood, the mountain wind itself seeming to mourn with her.

With trembling fingers, she wiped the dried blood from her face, dressed her in clean clothes, and rebuilt the grave.

Grandmother wanted to seek justice for her.

Lu Yuanyin watched her stooped figure, desperately wanting to rush forward and stop her, but she was powerless to intervene. She could only watch as Grandmother passed through her intangible body, resolutely stepping onto Chongyao Mountain.

But Lu Sisi and her allies were too many. No matter how formidable Grandmother was, she couldn't defeat them. She died at Lu Sisi's hands, her hot blood staining the mountains beneath them.

Grandmother lay beside her, both buried together at the foot of Chongyao Mountain.

This scene had appeared in Lu Yuanyin's dreams many times. Just when she thought it would end as before, a new image emerged at the very end: a massive dragon with golden flames beneath its feet and wings growing from its back soaring above Chongyao Mountain. Its face was ferocious, its horns broken from the roots, its body covered in gaping wounds, golden scales twisted and flesh mangled.

It gazed down at the mountain with madness in its crimson eyes, filled with murderous intent.

A deep, resonant dragon's roar echoed, and flames consumed the entire mountain.

Those hypocritical righteous cultivators screamed in agony amidst the fire, falling to their knees, weeping and begging the dragon for mercy.

Lu Yuanyin watched their tear-streaked faces with unspeakable irony. Had they ever shown her or Grandmother any mercy? She stared unblinkingly as the dragon's claws tore them apart, reducing them to ash in the flames. A fierce satisfaction filled her heart.

After every soul on Chongyao Mountain had perished, the golden-red dragon folded its wings and coiled silently atop the peak, never leaving. It stood guard like a guardian spirit, watching over the lifeless mountain, forbidding anyone from approaching.

Only then did Lu Yuanyin realize that this dragon was none other than Huo Wuyan. In this world, only he possessed wings of gold.

But his appearance was vastly different from now, which was why she hadn't recognized him immediately.

Thinking of his broken horns and shattered golden scales, Lu Yuanyin felt a pang of shock. She wondered who could have wounded him so grievously, and why he would have slaughtered everyone in the Chongyao Sect. She also pondered the meaning of the dream's final scene.

So many mysteries lay hidden within, ones she couldn't unravel.

Lu Yuanyin gazed at the bustling street outside the window and let out a low sigh, wondering where Grandmother was at this moment.

She sat on the bed, hugging her knees for a while, then suddenly stood up, startling the birds on the table. They fluttered their wings and flew out the window.

Lu Yuanyin frowned. At this hour, Qing Nong should have been awake already, but the courtyard was eerily silent. A few maidservants tiptoed across the corridor from time to time.

A worry crept into her heart. Last night, Qing Nong had shielded her from the most fatal blow with his own body. His injuries must have been severe, yet he was nowhere to be seen. She wondered how badly he was hurt.

After tidying herself, she hurried toward Qing Nong's room.

*

Qing Nong's condition wasn't as grave as Lu Yuanyin had feared, but it was still serious. First, he had been brutally beaten by the Black Flood Dragon and his men, then thrown into the sea, where a giant octopus swallowed him whole. If not for his thick skin and resilience, he might have been digested and turned into excrement by now.

Even so, the octopus had broken one of his legs and badly mangled his body. Qing Nong looked at the wound on his leg, then at the trembling old medical cultivator before him.

He shook his head and sighed softly. "Doc, I haven't married yet. Am I going to be lame?"

The medical cultivator quickly reassured him, "No worries, no worries. Even if your leg falls off, I can reattach it!"

That comforted Qing Nong a bit.

He lay on the bed, letting the old medical cultivator wrap him up like a zongzi. The burning pain all over made him grimace, cursing the Black Flood Dragon under his breath. As he was being treated, a tall figure suddenly appeared silently in the room.

Huo Wuyan stood over him and the old medical cultivator, his expression dark. He idly tapped his fingertips on the table, and Qing Nong immediately had a bad feeling.

Qing Nong couldn't help but smirk. "What's with the sudden kindness? Coming to see me today? You're scaring me like this."

Huo Wuyan only glanced coldly at the teacup on the table.

As the old medical cultivator finished bandaging Qing Nong and whispered a few words of advice before attempting to slip away, Huo Wuyan hesitated for a moment, then said coldly, "Come here."

The old medical cultivator's heart lurched. He clutched his medicine case, his face scrunching up like a prune. He looked nervously at the tall male cultivator, fearing he had somehow offended this fiend.

Huo Wuyan stared at the anxious old cultivator, then extended his hand. Recently, he'd been inexplicably irritable and tormented by nightmares. The chaotic scenes from the cave kept intruding into his mind, and he sensed something strange.

Those human medical cultivators always had strange tricks. He suspected Lu Yuanyin had secretly used a mind-control gu or slipped him some rare poison.

She would definitely do something like that—she was a wild, fearless girl.

Frowning, Huo Wuyan said coldly, "Check my pulse."

The old medical cultivator's brow twitched.

After transforming, the Spirit Beast Clan were naturally tall and robust, and Huo Wuyan was among the finest—tall and straight, further accentuated by the twisted horns on his head, making him even more imposing.

He had heard of Huo Wuyan's reputation but had never seen him in person. He was even more terrifying than in his imagination.

Just standing before him, the old medical cultivator felt a primal fear—the natural fear of a prey animal facing a predator. His face paled, his whole body trembled, and even his goat's beard bristled with fear.

The old cultivator's beard trembled as he stared at the large, clearly defined hand before him. His heart raced, terrified of offending this tyrant and losing his head.

He carefully probed Huo Wuyan's wrist. The temperature was slightly higher than normal. The old medical cultivator frowned and tested for a long while, his brow furrowing deeper. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Milord, you are in excellent health, vigorous as a dragon and tiger. There is absolutely nothing wrong!"

As he finished, he sneaked a look at the tall cultivator. To his dismay, Huo Wuyan's expression darkened further. His brows were furrowed, his thin lips pressed tightly together. A bad feeling crept into the old cultivator's heart. He quickly added, "However... Milord seems to have some pent-up heart fire. It would be good to release it appropriately."

The old medical cultivator said slowly, "Holding back in that regard too long is bad for your health."

Qing Nong caught on immediately and almost burst out laughing.

Huo Wuyan's gaze froze. He gave an icy look at the old medical cultivator and asked sternly, "Is there any poison or gu worm?"

The old cultivator's expression turned serious. He took a sharp dagger from his medical box. "Pardon my rudeness, Milord."

He pricked Huo Wuyan's fingertip, squeezed out a few drops of blood, and placed a small porcelain bottle beside the wound. After a while, neither the wound nor the bottle produced any reaction.

The old medical cultivator sighed in relief. He said respectfully, "According to this old man's observation, Milord is not suffering from any poison or gu worm."

Huo Wuyan was silent for a moment upon hearing this, watching the blood dripping from his fingertip, a nameless irritation stirring inside him.

Qing Nong looked at the trembling Old Medical Cultivator and said with a smile, "Alright, it's all done here. Go check on the little girl next door."

He watched Huo Wuyan's gloomy expression, finding it both absurd and ridiculous. Never before had he imagined that Huo Wuyan would have such a day—that he would actually brood and start obsessing over all sorts of random things, becoming more human.

This Huo Wuyan was always so cold and distant with Lu Yuanyin, constantly coming and going without a trace, appearing so detached from desire on the surface. Yet now he was so worked up that even that old man could tell.

Qing Nong laughed so hard he nearly reopened his wounds. Holding his wounds, he chuckled uncontrollably, "You should take it easy. This human girl is delicate—fragile, even; she can't handle rough treatment."

Huo Wuyan shot him a cold look, his crimson eyes dark and deep.

The moment he caught Huo Wuyan's icy gaze, Qing Nong's smile froze. He glanced guiltily at the people passing by outside the window and said dryly, "Fine, I'll stop talking..."

Just looking at his stupid face annoyed Huo Wuyan. He glanced at the next room, hesitated, then discreetly made his way toward Lu Yuanyin's small courtyard. His gaze landed inside the room, where the Old Medical Cultivator was cheerfully taking her pulse.

As if sensing something, Lu Yuanyin suddenly raised her head and looked in his direction in surprise. Huo Wuyan kept a straight face and walked calmly into the room.

Then he felt something hard under his foot.

Huo Wuyan lowered his eyes slightly and saw the small porcelain bottle with bold, flamboyant characters: "Golden Spear Everlasting Pill, Strong-Effect Edition."

Huo Wuyan: "?"

Despite being naive about worldly matters, he knew exactly what this spiritual pill was for. Looking at the small bottle, he suddenly recalled the time Lu Yuanyin had scorned his inadequacy.

Huo Wuyan's expression turned grim.

Author's Note:

None.