Chapter 121: Protective Talisman
Chapter 121: Protective Talisman
Clang…
Just as Mu Feng refined the Jade Green Xiao into a pool of bloody water, his blood and energy surging, a sharp sound suddenly came from a distant bamboo forest.
Before Tranquil Recluse, a Guqin lay, and one of its strings snapped with a sharp twang.
“Huh…”
Tranquil Recluse let out a surprised cry. His usually calm heart suddenly rippled, and his expression shifted uncertainly.
“Heaven’s will, could it really be heaven’s will…”
Tranquil Recluse muttered to himself. After a long time, he finally calmed down and slowly reattached the broken string. He held the xiao with his left hand and played the qin with his right. A distant, ethereal melody spread out, carrying a hint of fate’s aura. Suddenly, his right hand plucked the strings forcefully, producing a harsh, urgent sound. The vast bamboo sea rustled loudly, and countless bamboo leaves fell from the sky.
Life is the continuation of death;
Death is the beginning of life.
In the Great Thousand World, everyone, you and I, is born and dies.
The past life is a memory,
This life is an illusory dream.
…
Tranquil Recluse played softly while murmuring to himself. The once peaceful and secluded bamboo forest imperceptibly gained a slightly chilling aura.
Past and Present Lives!
The musical score “Past and Present Lives,” which most people considered worthless, was something he had longed for. By carefully savoring the notes on the first few pages, he found endless mysteries.
Ancient Town of Maguan, Green Kill Pass.
After slaughtering all the masked men and absorbing their blood energy, strength, and Yang Energy, Mu Feng quickly bandaged Jing Wushuang’s wounds. Then he lifted her up and gently placed her inside the carriage.
Her pretty face was pale, her brows slightly furrowed, as if a trace of sorrow and worry lingered…
Mu Feng quietly gazed at Jing Wushuang’s deathly pale face, his heart filled with deep regret and guilt. He fed her several Blood Pearls.
The once peaceful Jing Family Village had turned into a sea of flames because of him. The old and young were all slaughtered, leaving only Big Brother Sky Splitting Tiger, Chu San, and Jing Wushuang. The underage Chu San suffered a tragic fate; his arms were severed at the roots, and his face was crisscrossed with knife scars, making him look neither human nor ghost. If the delicate Jing Wushuang also came to harm, how could he ever face Big Brother Sky Splitting Tiger when he woke up?
After swallowing the Blood Pearls, a faint hint of color returned to Jing Wushuang’s face. She woke up weakly. “Brother Mu Feng, is Shuang’er still alive?”
When she opened her eyes and saw Mu Feng quietly sitting beside her, Jing Wushuang felt joy, but deep down, she had another thought. She wished time could stop forever at this moment, with the carriage on the road, never reaching the distant Hengling Mountain Range.
“If I, Mu Feng, haven’t died yet, how could my Shuang’er possibly die?”
Looking at the weakly breathing Jing Wushuang, Mu Feng smiled.
Revenge and the pursuit of power should not be the entirety of cultivation. In this life, one should cherish life and protect every loved one by their side. The body may be injured, but the spirit remains unbroken!
The words Zuinü said to Chu San were still fresh in his memory. At the time, he hadn’t felt deeply moved. But now, seeing Jing Wushuang lying weakly in the carriage, her breath as faint as a thread, he deeply understood how correct those words were.
If he watched his loved ones leave one by one, or even die before his eyes, what meaning would there be even if he one day reached the pinnacle of cultivation and became invincible? Besides loneliness and desolation, what would he gain in the end?
No!
Mu Feng clenched his fists tightly. He would never let such a thing happen.
To make him cultivate the Heartless Sword Dao like the Chief Transmission Disciple Mu Tie, forsaking familial love for the sake of power, severing all emotions and desires, and abandoning everything in the world—that was absolutely impossible!
“Brother Mu Feng, those bad people, are they all gone?”
Remembering the vicious North Flow Twin Ghosts and the cold, cruel masked men, Jing Wushuang, lying in the carriage, still felt her heart palpitate with fear.
“No, killed. I killed them all!”
Mu Feng’s expression was calm, as if he had merely crushed a bunch of ants. He continued softly, “The Heavenly Dao is unjust, demons run amok. A true man must cut through thorns, eliminating all monstrous evils that block his path.”
“Mhm, Brother Mu Feng, Shuang’er doesn’t really understand what you’re saying. But no matter what you do, Shuang’er believes in you! If possible, Shuang’er is willing to follow you to the ends of the earth, to every corner of the Great Thousand World…”
Jing Wushuang responded softly. Due to excessive blood loss, she was extremely tired. Under Mu Feng’s gaze, she slowly closed her eyes. Her face held an unprecedented tranquility and a faint trace of happiness.
To love someone is to love all of him!
Even if Mu Feng had only killed a group of bandits, even if one day Mu Feng were condemned by thousands and became a peerless Devil Leader, he would still be the person she loved in her heart. She would still stand silently behind him, without hesitation!
After breaking through to the Late Mortal Realm, Mu Feng’s strength grew greater and greater. But in her heart, he would always be the scholar she first laid eyes on.
Ambitious, aspiring, incredibly talented, and unyielding, carrying a strong scholarly aura, along with the particular respectfulness of a scholar…
Jing Wushuang closed her eyes, but her mind was still full of Mu Feng’s figure.
Somehow, Mu Feng alone had come to occupy the entirety of her heart!
“Shuang’er, Shuang’er…”
Mu Feng called out softly a few times. Seeing that Jing Wushuang had fallen asleep, he gently covered her with a thin blanket.
He was just about to go to the front to drive the carriage when a rustling sound came from nearby. The coachman, who had been taciturn the whole journey, climbed out from under a carriage completely unscathed. Covered in dust, it seemed he had found a corner to hide in as soon as the fighting started. His voice was hoarse. “Young Master Mu, shall we continue forward?”
“Mhm, no… wait a moment!”
Mu Feng’s heart stirred. He jumped down from the carriage and quickly went to Xiao Wu’s side, who was covered in bloodstains. He reached out and touched him. His breath was faint, his internal organs ruptured, his tendons and bones shattered beyond repair. Feeding him a Blood Pearl only stimulated him briefly—a last glow before death.
“Young… Young Master Mu…”
Supported by Mu Feng, Xiao Wu barely lifted his head. He coughed and spat out a large mouthful of blood. “Young Master Mu, I… I, Xiao Wu, won’t make it through today. Before I die, could I ask you for one thing?”
“Speak!”
Mu Feng nodded. Although he had witnessed life and death many times, seeing a young man who not long ago had a sunny smile now lying bloody in his arms in the blink of an eye made him feel a pang of sorrow.
“Young… Young Master Mu, my home is under the tallest, oldest phoenix tree at the foot of Xiangshan Academy. I beg… I beg you to take this Protective Talisman to my mother and pass it to a girl named… named He Chunlan. Tell her… tell her that I, He Wu, am not worthy of her, that I found… found another woman outside, and I have no face to return to Wutong Village anymore!”
Severely injured and in his final moments, Xiao Wu grabbed Mu Feng’s right hand as he spoke, pulled the Protective Talisman from his neck, and forcefully pressed it into Mu Feng’s palm. His eyes stared straight at Mu Feng, holding a last hope for this world.
As death approached, he also worried that the girl he loved, upon hearing the news, wouldn’t be able to bear the heavy blow and might take her own life.
Originally, he had planned never to come out again after this mission. He would no longer live this life of licking blood from blades, but return home to build a new house and marry his long-engaged fiancée. He never expected that while he earned the money for the new house, he would lose his life.
“Alright, Brother Xiao Wu, rest assured. As long as I, Mu Feng, have a breath left, I will definitely fulfill your request!”
Mu Feng nodded. As soon as he finished speaking, the severely injured Xiao Wu’s head slumped, and he breathed his last. His eyes stared straight north, towards the direction of Jiangling. As if his gaze could traverse the many mountains, seeing a small mountain village filled with phoenix trees, seeing his elderly, white-haired mother, and that slender figure that had appeared in his dreams countless times.
“Dust to dust, earth to earth. Rest in peace, brother.”
After burying Xiao Wu’s body by the roadside and hastily cleaning up the battlefield, Mu Feng gave a heavy command. The sturdy carriage sped away, leaving a cloud of dust. Behind, the sinister Green Kill Pass gained another lonely grave. Looking back from afar, it seemed even more eerie compared to when they arrived.