Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 51

Raindrops had formed a glistening bead of water on the strands of hair at Yun Qing’s temple, making her face appear like a white rose petal dampened by dew.

She leapt nimbly onto the roof, moving between the tiles before finally landing on a ridgeline.

Fu Xue and the other two followed closely behind. The four of them stood together on the ridge, like a row of roof guardians, all gazing down into the courtyard.

Autumn rain fell steadily, and a miasma of demonic energy permeated the air.

In the courtyard, Chu Yanzhang stood holding his spear, staring at the person opposite him.

Across from him stood a young man who appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, his face still retaining some baby fat.

The young man wore a fitted black outfit embroidered with silver patterns and adorned with a red good-luck knot. His hair was casually tied into a bun at the back of his head. Around his neck, pressed tightly against his skin, was a thin black ribbon with a gold bead fastened in the center.

He stared with somewhat round eyes, his lips pressed tightly together, the seam of his mouth pressed downward into a crescent, as he looked coldly at Chu Yanzhang.

Standing on the roof ridge, Yun Qing recognized from his silhouette that this was the male demon she had encountered on her first night at the City Lord’s mansion.

This demon no longer concealed himself tonight; his demonic energy spread unrestrained. Yun Qing realized that when he had fought with her that night, he hadn’t used his true power—apparently his real target had been Chu Yanzhang all along.

Chu Yanzhang’s face was grim, his long spear held diagonally at his side, like a silver dragon poised to strike.

Yun Qing was curious about what Chu Yanzhang could have done to offend such a powerful demon.

In the courtyard, Chu Yanzhang asked, “Who are you? What brings you to my humble home so late at night?”

The young man said coldly, “Chu Yanzhang, I’ve come to take your eyes.”

When he spoke, his voice was clear and bright, fresh as early spring tea and pure as snow on a cliff. Yun Qing found it familiar and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh!”—then she remembered.

“Isn’t this the little cat?” she said.

“Ah,” Fu Xue raised her index finger and waved it slightly, “Yes, I knew I’d heard that voice somewhere before.”

Cheng Suiyan also remembered, since this was one of the small animals that had slapped him—the impression was quite deep.

Jiang Baiyu quietly said, “Could it be him?”

Fu Xue and Cheng Suiyan didn’t understand what he meant, but Yun Qing did.

She had previously suspected that some unknown power was behind their arrival in Linglong City, and this little cat had appeared around them several times, which was indeed suspicious.

“Whether it is or not, we’ll find out after we beat him up,” Yun Qing said as she jumped down.

The young man seemed to have detected their presence early on. When they moved, his gaze had already turned toward them, his tone somewhat impatient. “Meddlesome fools!”

Yun Qing smiled cheerfully, drawing her sword mid-air. “Indeed, our Way of Compassion’s greatest hobby is meddling in others’ affairs.”

In her heart, she considered Chu Yanhe a friend. Yanhe had already lost one brother, and Yun Qing would never stand by and watch her lose another.

Besides, Chu Yanzhang was a decent person. Just considering how he had gone alone to the border to join the army and fight bandits proved he was a valiant young man.

The young man suddenly moved his palm, and no one could see clearly how he released them, but two projectiles flew swiftly toward Chu Yanzhang’s eyes.

Chu Yanzhang’s form shook violently as he dodged, leaning on his silver spear as he flipped to the ground and stood up. Then he frowned and said, “What grudge do you have against me? I don’t even know you.”

Yun Qing’s sword intent had already swept toward the young man. She had expended too much energy in the battle at Linglong Mountain and hadn’t fully recovered. Moreover, she had no intention of killing this little cat, so her sword strike retained some restraint, carrying an exploratory quality.

The pure black blade cut through the rain as it advanced. The young man calmly untied a soft sword from his waist, and the sword’s light resembled a silver rainbow in the dismal autumn rain.

Holding his sword, he both parried Yun Qing and her companions while coldly questioning Chu Yanzhang, “You don’t know me, but do you know Liaoliao?”

Chu Yanzhang froze.

Though Fu Xue had also drawn her sword, upon hearing this, she became somewhat distracted. She was truly curious about who this Liaoliao was. From the name, it sounded like a girl—could there be some romantic entanglement with City Lord Chu?

So, out of curiosity, she asked directly, “Who is Liaoliao?”

The young man answered hatefully, “Liaoliao is a junior member of my clan who was seduced and abandoned by this man.”

“Ah, really?” Fu Xue was somewhat surprised. “City Lord Chu, so you’re that kind of person?”

Chu Yanzhang lowered his eyes, his face showing some regret as he said softly, “Humans and demons ultimately walk separate paths.”

The young man raged. “Since you knew humans and demons walk separate paths, why did you pursue her in the first place?! She cried until her eyes went blind for you. Today I must take your eyes!”

Chu Yanzhang pressed his lips together and said, “What happened between us cannot be explained in a few words. If my eyes are to be taken, she should come take them herself.”

“Shameless! You know Liaoliao is soft-hearted, yet you say such things. You’re a complete hypocrite!”

Fu Xue suddenly felt sorry for the girl called Liaoliao, but then she also felt that Chu Yanzhang might be innocent too—after all, romances between humans and demons never ended well. Could pulling back from the brink really be considered wrong?

She struggled with this dilemma for a moment, then remembered that Chu Yanzhang was Chu Yanhe’s elder brother. Well, she should help her friend first.

This young man was nimble, his body as light as if weightless, and extremely fast. He had no interest in dealing with Yun Qing and the others, so with a few quick movements, he avoided their encirclement and charged directly at Chu Yanzhang.

Chu Yanzhang grimly jumped backward.

Seeing this, Jiang Baiyu pulled out his small drum and held it in his hand. The drum expanded in the wind.

At the right moment, Yun Qing tossed a yellow weasel skull toward Chu Yanzhang. “City Lord Chu, catch!”

Almost as Chu Yanzhang caught the bone, Jiang Baiyu struck the drum and lowered his eyes to softly recite an incantation. The rain dampened his eyebrows and eyes, making his immortal-like face both clear and hazy in the lamp light filtered through the fine rain.

“One body of fire,
Two faces of self.
Golden light shakes the soul,
Chixia stirs the spirit.”

The young man hesitated at the sound of the drum. He was decisive though—just as he was about to reach Chu Yanzhang, instead of continuing forward, he stopped and took something out.

It was clearly a dandelion.

It was slightly larger than an ordinary dandelion, with a light green stem supporting a white flower ball that looked like a small, soft cloud of smoke. He held the dandelion in front of his face and gently blew.

The flower ball burst open, and the smoke scattered into thousands of tiny fluffs that quickly spread through the curtain of rain.

The young man’s lips moved slightly.

The air changed.

It seemed to grow increasingly viscous. Yun Qing felt as if she had walked into water, her movements becoming heavy and slow. She turned her eyes quickly to scan her surroundings.

The distant houses, lanterns, tree shadows, and the people and swords nearby all seemed as if viewed through water. The raindrops were no longer visible, as if they had merged with this “water.”

The flow of air was like ripples caused by water, making the scene before her eyes sway, sometimes clear, sometimes blurry.

Not only that, but breathing had become difficult.

Her chest felt squeezed by water, her nostrils seemed blocked with water—everything felt exactly like being underwater.

The sound of the Chixia Soul-Stirring Drum was altered by this air that seemed to have turned to water, and the young man was no longer affected by it.

Yun Qing tried forming a Water Avoidance technique hand seal and found it effective.

The other three quickly discovered this as well. Yun Qing was somewhat relieved—during their journey, when bored, she had taught Cheng Suiyan many practical minor incantations, and the Water Avoidance technique was among them. However, Cheng Suiyan’s cultivation was shallow, and she wasn’t sure how long he could maintain it.

Even more troubling was Chu Yanzhang, who didn’t know the Water Avoidance technique.

Chu Yanzhang’s face was turning somewhat red from holding his breath. Seeing the young man getting closer and closer, he swung his silver spear to dodge, but the spear’s speed was also much slower.

A flash of inspiration struck Yun Qing’s mind. The dandelion was a type of flower, so could Cheng Suiyan’s colorful-robed beauty subdue it?

She “swam” to Cheng Suiyan’s side and poked him in the chest, where the Zhaoming Painted Bone Fan was kept.

Cheng Suiyan understood her meaning and slowly took out the Zhaoming Painted Bone Fan. Softly chanting an incantation, he summoned the colorful-robed beauty.

This colorful-robed beauty wasn’t a physical entity, so she wasn’t affected by the dandelion and floated as usual. Yun Qing looked at her through the “water,” and in the swaying ripples, the beauty’s rainbow-colored robes with wide sashes and glowing treasures created a dreamlike, fantastical vision of shifting colors.

The colorful-robed beauty raised her flower basket high.

A powerful spiritual force spread out, and the thousands of tiny white fluffy petals floating in the air gradually gathered into the flower basket. Since there were no flower stems, they finally collected into a small pile of white fluff, lying quietly in the basket.

With just this one action, Cheng Suiyan felt his meager cultivation completely drained.

Without cultivation to sustain her, the colorful-robed beauty returned to the fan. Fortunately, the dandelion problem was solved.

The rain began to fall again.

Everyone felt their limbs become lighter and their chests freer, as if they had just finished swimming and come ashore. They all breathed sighs of relief.

Jiang Baiyu began to beat the drum again.

Seeing that the dandelion had been taken away, the young man’s expression changed dramatically. He raised his hand to touch the gold bead on his neck, yanked it off, and then tossed it into the air.

The gold bead spun rapidly, rising and growing larger until it finally hung high in the sky like a golden full moon.

The surrounding air was stirred by a powerful demonic force, forming an invisible vortex around the gold bead. Suddenly, countless shooting stars fell along with the autumn rain.

The shooting stars flashed with light, turning the raindrops into silver threads.

“Heavenly stars fall to earth!” said the young man with a cold laugh. “Little ones, in the future, truly, mind your own business!”

Yun Qing’s pupils reflected countless shooting stars, which grew increasingly larger and closer.

She suddenly reached into the treasure pouch at her waist and pulled out Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book.

Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book was made of mysterious and tough material and could also be used as a defensive magical treasure. However, being an extremely precious scroll, Yun Qing generally wouldn’t use it for defense except in special circumstances.

This was now a special circumstance.

Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book was one of the rare magical treasures that didn’t require an incantation. She simply unfolded it, channeled her cultivation, and tossed it upward.

The small silk book immediately expanded into a huge canopy, covering everyone beneath it thoroughly, blocking the shooting stars and silver threads.

The moment it covered the sky, the shooting stars thunderously struck Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book, which violently shook as if being pounded by countless stones.

The young man, seeing the complex pattern embroidered on the back of Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book, had his round, bright pupils fill with shock. “How is this possible, this is……”

Jiang Baiyu seized the opportunity while he was stunned, and golden symbols flew quickly toward his chest.

“Ugh.” The young man clutched his chest and looked at Jiang Baiyu. “Contempt—”

Before he could finish speaking, he transformed into his original form.

A completely black cat with snow-white paws stood on the ground, looking up at Jiang Baiyu, “Contempt……”

Yun Qing waved her hand, and Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book shrank back into her hand. The gold bead had also disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.

She bent down, grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up, and said with a grin, “Mission accomplished!”