Qin Ming remained still and silent, yet mottled silhouettes of time surfaced in his mind. At first they seemed veiled in dust, wrapped in thick black fog, but in an instant, like thunder crashing into a sea of clouds, tearing through the dark and sweeping away the smoke and dust, they unveiled scene after bloody scene to him.
The night was deep, flames soaring to the heavens. A youth clad in feathered robes stood graceful as an immortal, yet beneath his feet lay countless corpses and rivers of blood...
Qin Ming touched his head, his frame trembling slightly. "Feathered robes" had left an indelible brand in his subconscious; now it stung him, awakening the memories of yesteryear like a wind blowing away the sand that veiled his soul.
He closed his eyes, resolutely reining in his churning emotions. His body swiftly relaxed, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
The present occasion was wrong—he could not show any unusual behavior. Employing Harmonize with Light and Dust, he dimmed his spirit and aura, blending into the crowd.
Qin Ming's eyes cleared once more, his hair lifting in the wind. He stood upright as if nothing had happened, yet in his heart, fragmented scenes began to surface.
He composed himself, breaking free from the cage of his own emotions, and examined the past with a detached calm, watching the bloody events that had once happened to him like a bystander.
Night, towering infernos, the entire mountain forest burning, raging flames threatening to devour the night sky.
The village at the foot of the mountain was likewise ravaged by roaring fires that spread everywhere; houses collapsed, bodies littered the streets, and blood flowed through the alleys.
Amidst the blistering flames and crumbled walls, a youth's hair whipped about, ethereal in feathered robes, his brows and the corners of his eyes seeming to shine with light, transcendent and otherworldly.
A faint glow flowed across his body, his white shoes and socks untainted by dust. Even amidst the ruins, surrounded by blazing fires, he remained as though detached from the mortal world, untethered by worldly dust.
Fourteen-year-old Qin Ming lay collapsed on the ground, his nose and mouth filled with the pungent reek of scorched earth and ashes. Shrill screams echoed in his ears, and wherever he looked, ruthless flames raged; behind him, the charred beams and pillars of a house snapped and crashed down with a roar.
He saw many familiar faces dead, the entire village engulfed in a sea of fire.
Holding a gleaming purple bamboo staff, the youth in feathered robes stepped across the rubble and came before Qin Ming. Though possessed of an extraordinary bearing, with starlight seemingly flowing in his eyes, his actions were merciless.
The youth swung the glowing bamboo staff, striking Qin Ming squarely on the head. Blood gushed instantly, sending his world spinning as if the night sky above were also engulfed in roaring fire.
Qin Ming's clothes were tattered, and he had already been injured beforehand. Stricken by this blow, choked by smoke and fire in the blaze, he coughed violently, unable to rise.
Then, the feathered-robed youth's slender hand swung the bamboo staff repeatedly against Qin Ming's body, each strike accompanied by the sickening crack of breaking bones.
"I thought I had only suffered a severe head wound; I never imagined that in my forgotten memories, there were scenes like this."
Qin Ming whispered inwardly. Looking back upon those past events, he remained calm, as though observing another person's history.
Figures flitted through the village, ruthlessly delivering killing blows to survivors, but only the feathered-robed youth stood where he was, doing nothing more than using the gleaming purple bamboo staff on Qin Ming.
"It's obvious he could have shattered my skull with a single strike, yet he didn't. What grudge did he have against me, to insist on making me suffer that agonizing pain over and over?"
Qin Ming firmly etched the youth's face into his memory. Though handsome and ethereal, in the firelight his cruelty had been laid bare.
"My arm was broken, yet afterward I had no idea. Just how long was I unconscious when I was fourteen?" Qin Ming wondered.
"My chest hurt so badly—he must have cracked my ribs with that bamboo staff." Qin Ming watched the bloody scenes in the flames in silence.
"Torture me first, then kill me?" More than two years had passed, yet recalling it now, Qin Ming could still vividly feel that helplessness and agonizing pain.
The feathered-robed youth seemed repulsed, avoiding any physical contact with him; using only the bamboo staff, he struck Qin Ming's head twice more.
Qin Ming distinctly heard the sound of bone fracturing. Blood splattered onto his neck, while more trickled down his cheek.
Both were youths: one had the grace of jade and an ethereal transcendence, while the other was scorched in rags, face covered in blood, prostrate in the dirt—a stark contrast.
Finally, the fourteen-year-old Qin Ming's consciousness began to fade. Hazily, he saw two figures rush out from the ruins, violently forcing the feathered-robed youth back, grabbing Qin Ming, and sprinting into the darkness.
On the way, through blurred eyes, he saw a colossal city spanning the earth, brilliantly ablaze with light.
"Luoyue City... best to avoid it," the two whispered. Rather than carrying him inside, they bypassed it from afar and sped away.
In a daze, he heard a sigh: "Three skull fractures, scalp and flesh battered to a pulp. It's too severe—he probably won't survive. His arm and chest..."
In the end, Qin Ming sank completely into darkness.
Now, he quietly experienced that boundless darkness, motionless.
"Someone carried me away and brought me to this remote region. With severe trauma in three places on my head, nearly cracked open, no wonder I forgot so much and only remembered wandering after I woke up."
He realized he might have been unconscious for three months or more, because by the time he woke, the fractures in his arm and chest had already healed.
Had he not seen someone clad in feathered robes again today, he still would not have recalled this, remembering only the heavy blow to his head and blood splattered in the flames.
Though his chest felt tight, he did not indulge in excessive rage. What had happened had happened; what use was grief, fury, or temper?
What he needed was to effectively solve the problem in the future—to find that feathered-robed youth and finish him!
"Feathered robes, fluttering and ethereal... his background is no simple matter. Seeing so many experts active in that sea of fire, this probably involves a formidable organization," Qin Ming sighed softly.
Afterward, he regained his composure.
He was even reflecting from the other's perspective: if he had been that feathered-robed youth, he would not have tortured an opponent he meant to kill; one strike would have ended it cleanly, eliminating all future trouble once and for all.
"Luoyue City!" Qin Ming's eyes seemed poised to pierce the night sky as he silently recited the city's name. The ruined village could not have been too far from Luoyue City.
Old Man Liu was quite agitated, whispering, "So strong! What is that feathered-robed woman's background? She actually doesn't fear the Moon Insect, confronting it tit for tat and blocking it in the night sky."
Others in the snow felt the same. Moreover, she was the only female powerhouse to appear, so everyone was curious about her identity. Standing on the back of the large azure bird suspended midair, she was shrouded in misty radiance, extraordinarily mysterious.
An elder said, "They probably won't fight. Experts like them are generally meant to deter. If they truly came to blows, both sides would be tearing off all pretense, locked in a fight to the death."
Yet no sooner had he spoken than across the boundless wild forest, amidst towering mountains veiled in faint night, the Moon Insect suddenly unleashed blinding light. Like brilliant thunderous arrows, shafts of radiance shot forth, hurtling to impale the feathered-robed woman atop the large azure bird.
Many people's expressions changed. Could a major battle really be breaking out?!
Only the four beings seated in the snow remained calm, none of them rising.
In the night sky, the woman atop the large azure bird raised a pale hand, drawing upon the wind and snow and transforming them into a dense shower of sparkling raindrops. In an instant, a curtain of rain draped the night sky, blocking the arrows of light unleashed by the Moon Insect.
Amidst metallic clangs, all the arrows of light were intercepted, revealing their true forms: silver-white insects that looked cast from refined gold, exceptionally hard, darting through the night sky in an attempt to tear through the curtain of rain.
The curtain of rain grew incandescent. Every raindrop stretched out endlessly, turning into glowing threads that sliced through the night. With soft squelches and pops, the dense cluster of silver insects was either cut apart or pierced straight through.
In the end, the vast swarm of silver flying insects burst apart on their own like ephemeral phantoms, dissolving into nothingness.
Only two luminous insects remained undamaged, falling toward the mountains. A tremendous boom followed, like a violent earthquake, triggering an avalanche that buried the area in blinding white.
The crowd watched in shock, not daring to utter a careless word.
Suspended high above like a bright moon hanging over the mountain forest, the Moon Insect struck no more.
The woman atop the large azure bird also stood quietly, her robes flapping in the wind. She maintained her composure and actively drew back some distance.
This was clearly a probe between top-tier figures; if one side had fallen short, the so-called final negotiation would not have been necessary at all.
Qin Ming gazed toward the feathered-robed woman on the large azure bird, thinking it unlikely to be such a coincidence—someone wearing feathered robes was not necessarily connected to that youth.
Yet he could not help wanting to ask. Turning toward Mu Qing, he asked, "Does wearing feathered robes signify a prominent background?"
Mu Qing, enveloped entirely in black robes, glanced at him. "People beyond the mundane world are generally very transcendent, detached from secular matters. As for her specific background, I do not know either."
Qin Ming nodded and asked no more.
Up ahead, the atmosphere among the four figures seated cross-legged in the snow had actually softened, and smiles even appeared on their faces.
Though the onlookers could not hear their conversation, they presumed the talk was going well.
Naturally, people believed this was related to the probing clash between the Moon Insect and the feathered-robed woman, which had facilitated the smooth progress of the negotiations.
Ling Xu spoke: "We will help you drive away those migrating anomalies. We are not greedy either; if the special nodes yield any resources, share a portion with us, nothing more. In addition, all anomalies that expanded outward recently must retreat."
The pure white old weasel sat cross-legged, turning the prayer beads with one hand. "Why share with you? Wouldn't it make more sense for us to simply ally with the newly migrated higher beings to deal with you?"
White-robed Ling Xu sat calmly and said, "There is no need for probes between us; our time is precious. I have only a few simple words—listen and see. We only want the special resources that might arise in those nodes. Those newly migrated higher beings, however, not only covet those things, but are also eyeing your old lairs. Claiming they have no dwelling for now, that they're only passing through and staying for a few months—do you truly believe that?"
"Very well, we agree."
"Good, straightforward!"
Both sides stood. The broad direction had been agreed upon, crisp and decisive without any dragging of feet. As for the details, others would negotiate them; it was no longer their concern.
"It's finished just like that?" Seeing the higher-ups rise, the crowd was dumbfounded, having never expected it to conclude so swiftly.
"Head back and wait for now. Be ready to enter the mountains at any time," the tabby cat carrying the crimson longsword turned and said to everyone.
The people from Chixia City were instantly exhilarated—an agreement truly had been reached!
Qin Ming saw a crow flying not far away, looking rather conspicuous. It landed on a large, protruding green rock in the snow.
Beside it stood a woman draped in a fur cloak, her black hair drifting in the wind, who actually cast two glances in his direction.
The crow spoke: "How has that kid's aura gotten even weaker than last time? Something's not right. He's probably practicing a method to conceal his vitality—he must feel he stands out too much himself. Didn't I say he was no ordinary boy? Just what suitable candidate did you find that you're not going to consider him any further?"
"The one I chose is like a blazing sun waiting to burst through the black clouds, but they should not be exposed too early, lest they draw the jealousy of the heavens. I have already sent them away in advance." After speaking, the woman looked once more in Qin Ming's direction and said, "Later, I'll find someone to test him and see if he can serve as one of the alternates."
Chapter 28