Orchid

Several months later, Lake Wangyue. The light of the warding array on the island shimmered, mirrored upon the deep, serene waters of the lake. Above the island, people bustled to and fro, and streaks of light chased one another before docking along the shore, creating a scene of flourishing prosperity. A cloud veiled in Sun Spirit Gauze sped silently from the east. As Chen Xuanyu drew to a halt above the lake, Li Qinghong immediately voiced her gratitude. "Thank you so much for escorting us all the way, Senior." "No matter." Chen Xuanyu nodded, resting his hand on his sword. As was customary for scions of prominent clans, the blue ribbon on his pleated robe fluttered, lending him an effortless poise. He said softly, "I merely took a couple of extra turns around Xifeng Island; it cost little effort and was hardly any trouble." He seemed somewhat absent-minded and said little else, merely cupping his hands. "I must also make a trip west to Daxiyuan, so I will not disturb you further." Li Qinghong studied his expression closely and replied gently, "Junior understands. If Senior must stay for many years and will not be in Tongmo Commandery, I shall have Xijun go west to pay a visit." These words followed up on Chen Xuanyu's earlier invitation. There was a reason for it, yet Li Qinghong caught a faint flicker in his gaze. He nodded. "Good." Straightening his sleeves patterned in blue and white, he bowed and rode his cloud westward. Li Qinghong watched him go, lowering her almond eyes into silence. Above Xifeng Island earlier, the lingering Combined Fire had still been blazing fiercely, gray-red clouds churning in the sky—hardly an auspicious sign. At that time, Chen Xuanyu had only looked twice before saying to the aunt and nephew, "I fear a Combined Fire cultivator has fallen..." Hearing those words, Li Ximing's heart had already chilled by half. Flying on the wind for a hundred li, he had hesitated and looked back repeatedly. All the way back from that place, Li Ximing had felt only a bitter, piercing wind, plagued by an enduring chill. Li Qinghong had called out to him twice before he dazedly caught up, drifting along as they flew back to the island. Clad in a reddish-white pleated robe, Li Chengliao came out to meet them, bowing respectfully. "Greetings, two elders." "Do you two elders feel cold here?" Li Qinghong asked a question, and seeing Li Chengliao shake his head, she waved her hand to defer the matter and walked briskly inside. Li Chengliao, unable to sit still, excused himself and sped off toward Mount Qingdu. Li Qinghong stepped into the hall, turning her hand to put away her long spear. Li Ximing quietly followed and took a seat to the side. After waiting for dozens of breaths in the hall, Li Chengliao hurried in, landing on a streak of bright light and exhaling in relief. "Aunt! Xijun's life jade is fine, only slightly dimmed!" Seeing his face suddenly brighten, Li Qinghong could not bear to say much, merely nodding gently. Li Chengliao then reported the news of the visitor from Qingchi. Li Yuanqin and the others had received the bow back and waited for a time aboard the Xiaguang cloud boat, but ultimately did not descend again. The rest, including Ning Hemian, walked about the island for a few days to bid farewell, after which the cloud boat departed. Li Qinghong nodded. Since Li Xizhi had not sent word to inquire, these matters most likely did not require the Li family's intervention. Not seeing Li Xijun return, Li Chengliao felt a slight doubt in his heart. Seeing that the two were in low spirits, he dared not pry too much. Li Qinghong asked, "How are things with Qingchi?" Li Chengliao immediately replied, "There is unrest in both the South Sea and the East Sea. The Shegu family likely backs the Si family, advancing aggressively. A few days ago, after much deliberation, various parties wished to dispatch Uncle Xizhi to the East Sea." Hearing this, Li Qinghong sighed softly in her heart and replied, "You handled this well. There was nothing else to be done. Returning the bow will naturally stir controversy, but it has nothing to do with our family; we need only watch." Not that Li Ximing failed to realize the implications, but seeing no joy on Li Qinghong's face, he sat to the side, turning the Yangli Red Sparrow Banner in his sleeve over and over. He took out the small banner and quietly began refining it. Li Chengliao remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Over the past few months, a fire sparrow has constantly circled above the lake, appearing and disappearing as though waiting or searching for something. Its speed is astonishingly fast, and we could not catch it." "Did it harm anyone?" "No." After waiting for a quarter of an hour in the hall, Li Qinghong suddenly raised her head. A dim, hazy red light rose into the sky. She scrutinized it for a breath, then drew her spear. "I fear it is a Mu Fire monster!" The aunt and nephew rode the wind out of the formation. Sure enough, standing outside was a fire sparrow the height of a man. Its eyes were vivid, looking the two of them up and down. Its body was cloaked in hazy flames, its feathers distinctly defined, and its aura radiant, yet its true cultivation strength was indiscernible. This bird differed from ordinary sparrows; its neck was longer and more elegant, its wings slightly larger, and its eyes shone with a golden-red glow. The hazy firelight radiating from it stung their faces with heat. Li Qinghong recognized the flame as indeed of the Mu Fire path. Yet having never received an order from him before, she could not tell whether this fire sparrow was genuine or false. The flames before the fire sparrow coalesced, forming the two ancient seal characters for "Tu Jun." It spoke in human tongue, its voice sharp and shrill. "By decree of True Master Junjian, please receive the decree into the formation." The two were taken aback. Though they did not know what Tu Longjian commanded, they dared not be negligent in the least. Not knowing the visitor's background, yet sensing no hostility, Li Ximing cupped his hands. "May I ask, Fellow Daoist..." The island formation behind Li Qinghong was merely at the Qi Refinement level; strictly speaking, it offered no real protection against Foundation Establishment cultivators, so they had no fear of letting anyone enter. Seeing that the fire sparrow appeared genuine and well-mannered, she suppressed the apprehension in her heart and said softly, "Please." Her display of trust noticeably softened the fire sparrow's tone. Halting before the main hall on the island, it flapped its wings to decline their invitation to enter, opened its beak wide, and spat out an object. With the Mu Fire illuminating his face, casting flickering light and shadow across his cheeks, Li Ximing saw an object fall before him with a thud. A dark-white jade box rolled once across the ground, and he caught it in his hand immediately. "The Mingfang Sky Stone!" The very treasure he had yearned for day and night had finally fallen into his hands! Li Ximing's pupils dilated slightly, and he looked up in wild ecstasy— Only for the fire sparrow to spew another dark silhouette from its beak. With a dull thud, the object crashed before Li Ximing. It was human-shaped, slamming stiffly onto the ground—a corpse, lying face down, completely motionless. Li Ximing stood frozen like a wooden chicken, clutching the dark-white jade box. He vaguely heard his aunt Li Qinghong's choked words of gratitude. The fire sparrow opened its beak and declared loudly, chattering away: "...Thus he slew Guo Hongyao and Guo Hongkang, seized the spiritual object... was run into by Guo Hongjian... fled heavily wounded, landed on a small island, was then run into by two rogue cultivators, and had his head severed—yet before dying, he managed to strike them dead..." Hearing this, Li Ximing felt lost in a daze. A surge of fury welled in his heart, yet he had nowhere to direct it. As thoughts churned within him, he realized that the person he hated most was himself. Bending down, he tugged at the collar of the corpse and flipped it over, examining the face. The visage was scorched black, white bone bared, yet the remaining contours of the cheeks and frame matched. In his heart, he thought: *This must be Xijun.* The dead youth's gaze fell toward the snow-white long sword held in his hands. Li Xijun's brows were contorted in a spasmlike grimace—brows pressed down, inner brows pulled upward, his neck strained backward as far as possible, bearing an expression of bewilderment. Li Ximing felt as if struck brutally across the face. The confusion vanished instantly, replaced by uncontrollable grief surfacing across his countenance. His eyes clamped shut, his teeth grinding tightly together. He lifted him into his arms and discovered two seams across Li Xijun's neck—he must have been decapitated more than once. Li Ximing narrowed his eyes, while the fire sparrow chattered on. Flames surged before them as the sparrow transformed into a streak of bright, hazy fire, soaring into the sky. Li Ximing was oblivious to it. But the corpse in his hands had only remained intact due to the containment of a divine ability; now that the divine ability had faded, a burst of frigid qi erupted instantly. A dull thud sounded. The frigid qi surged from Li Xijun's neck straight into his face and nostrils. He felt his hands go empty as the solid sensation instantly disintegrated. With a crisp clatter, a shower of red stones rolled out. He reached out to catch them, but they had already bounced down his robes and onto the ground with dull thuds. He looked down: heart, liver, spleen, and lungs were all accounted for, entirely composed of crimson stone, smooth and translucent, resting upon the bluestone floor. A fragrance of pine diffused into the air as snow fluttered down noisily from the sky. *Right... he was mortally wounded back then, and consumed Diwang bloodstone to save his life...* *"If a Violet Palace intervened... it might not necessarily shatter... Under the disruption of a divine ability, how could such crude measures hold up!"* Li Ximing stared at the bloodstones in the snow, unable to connect this ground of rolling red stones with his dashing, handsome younger brother. Beside his ear came Li Qinghong's voice: "Ming'er, put your things away. I will clean this up; you put your things away first." She took out a jade box, picked up the heart, liver, spleen, and lungs one by one from the ground, placing them into the jade box with crisp clinking sounds. She gathered two handfuls of pine snow, poured them over the stones, and murmured softly, "All right." Heavy snow drifted down from the sky, carrying waves of pine fragrance, falling straight onto his robes. Snow piled upon Li Ximing's shoulders, rustling softly in his ears. Only then did Li Ximing come to his senses. He picked up the items on the ground one by one, held them all in his arms, and rode a streak of bright light away from the island. Looking back, he saw snow filling the sky above the island. A cold wind rose from the woods, circling three times reluctantly in the air before heading straight eastward. Li Ximing carried the items back into his cave dwelling, then rushed out once more. Riding the wind above the lake, he watched the entire heavy snowfall. Only when dawn gradually broke did he slowly re-enter the cave dwelling. Several items lay quietly on his table. Hanlin was the most conspicuous, radiating waves of frigid light. There was also the ancient magical artifact Chongming Dongxuan Screen, already returned to its original form. The dark-white jade box rested beside the table, and on the other side piled the dharma robes of Chijiao Island. Li Ximing picked up that snow-white long sword, turned it over several times, set it aside, and only then picked up the storage bag. A clatter sounded. Li Xijun's storage bag was a simple, plain white. Li Ximing likewise knew the Li family's secret method, and Li Xijun had set no special restriction upon it, so it opened effortlessly. Sending his spiritual sense inside to sweep around, he found it nearly empty, with only a few spirit stones, talismans, and pills neatly arranged. The only valuable things were several golden talismans of shamanic Dao, one of which seemed to have been used. Aside from these, only a single small jade box remained; nothing else. Could this be the storage bag of a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He was always the most calculating and foresighted, having long prepared to trade his life for this item! Only for that reason had he left behind everything that could be left! Li Ximing rested beside the table until the sun rose high. Only then did he wipe his lips, taking out the sole jade box from the storage bag. It was merely palm-sized, ordinary in texture, cool to the touch. Li Ximing pondered repeatedly, unable to imagine what could possibly require Li Xijun to carry it out with him rather than leave it at home. He murmured, "Could it be... could it be that he left something inside?" He had originally thought these things were treasures seized from Chijiao Island, but looking closely at the jade box, it was in the standard style of the Li clan—a jade box his own family used to store magical artifacts. Li Ximing placed the jade box on the table, pressed both hands against its rim, and tapped lightly. The lid sprang open on its own. Li Ximing's hands trembled as he slowly lifted the lid completely. Lined with white silk, inside lay a pale blue Qingjin Orchid. This magical artifact was a woman's accessory, crafted with exquisite delicacy and beauty. Each stamen glowed under the sunlight, and every petal unfurled in graceful posture. Under the bright sunshine, the Qingjin Orchid still held that enchanting beauty from youth, lying quietly there. Most of the petals bore golden light, the shadow of its bud cast upon the table, appearing in full bloom. The item before him was intensely familiar. Yet no matter how many thousands of times Li Ximing imagined it, this thing should never have appeared here! That object was like a venomous scorpion, stinging viciously at his face! With a crash, Li Ximing shot to his feet. He clutched his eyes with one hand while shaking his head repeatedly, staggering backward five or six paces like a drunkard before collapsing to the floor! Jade tables and stools in the cave dwelling were knocked over everywhere. The Qingjin Orchid, like a life-claiming fiend, tumbled off the table right after, rolling twice, landing squarely in front of him! Li Ximing squatted there, eyes squinting, letting out a few hoarse gasps from his throat. In memory, all the anomalies, Li Xijun's frequently lowered brows and somber look, all rushed to his heart. That bitter voice echoed in his ears: "Good!" "You!" "You killed her!!" "No wonder... no wonder... you... you never let her go! That's right... a cautious man like you! How could you let her go! Jun'er... you... you!" "The fine mess you made, yet I was the one who had to clean it up..." He slowly raised his neck, letting out a low sound that was half mournful wail, half weeping. Only after a long while did he recover his breath. He coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, which before hitting the ground, transformed in midair into various rising rays of bright light, vanishing into nothingness.