XIAO SHUXIANG'S
417 - Lan Guan Zhi III
Xiao Shuxiang knew Hu Li's worries and honestly now he did indeed want to return in his prime. But of course, the impact of his desire must be well thought out.
If he were to become a figure who always spread fear, then the greatest risk would be that Xiao Shuxiang would be hated by everyone, including his own parents and friends.
Hu Li, "Master.. I know you've been holding yourself back all this time. It must be uncomfortable to live in an environment that does not reflect you, but to be honest - I'm happy to see you now,"
Hu Li did not want to imagine that his Young Master had returned to being a feared figure. But even though he tried as hard as he could to ban his master, the decision still did not belong to him.
".. All this time, I've only been following you, sir. Even if the actions you take are wrong, I will always be by your side." Hu Li's eyes looked straight down before pointing her at the black-clothed young man beside her.
".. No matter how much the world hates you, I'll still walk by your side. For me.. You are everything."
Xiao Shuxiang looked at Hu Li for a moment before smiling faintly. "I know you're the most loyal to me, Hu Li. You support my decisions and always trust me. You never even hesitate to do it.."
The clarity from Xiao Shuxiang's eyes made Hu Li feel the serenity of the heart. Her Young Master's words sounded so sincere.
He did not realize that there was actually a truth hidden in the clarity of the eye he saw.
Xiao Shuxiang let out a slow breath, preferring not to talk or tell Hu Li about the deepest facts about him.
Xiao Shuxiang simply said that he was lucky to have a friend like Hu Li. The figure that never left him, even when the whole world hated him.
".. For now, this place is the quietest. It feels like being in another world. The atmosphere where the memories of the past and the shadows of the future were seen before me."
"Master is right, this calmness can make us remember something," Hu Li took a slow breath, he reminded Xiao Shuxiang about the start of their meeting.
The two talked about many things, including talking about their meeting with Mu Zan which later became the initial cause of their separation.
".. It's been over a hundred years, but it feels like it just happened yesterday. I can even remember every face of the elders I had on the cliff back then.. Elder Li Fu Chen, senior Guan Wei, Miss Liu Xuling, elder Bai Wu Dang, and senior Zhou Yuan. Their faces.. I can still remember,"
Xiao Shuxiang seemed to be unable to forget the events that involved him with the elders of the three Streams in the past.
He wondered to himself whether the same event would happen again if the people he was with knew who he was - at least, when they saw his true form.
Xiao Shuxiang let out a slow breath. There is doubt in him. He hesitates to be accepted by his friends back.
Humans only humiliate each other and insult each other, especially if they are faced with creatures that are not familiar with them.
Hu Li alone, whose identity was a fox-shaped Demonic Beast figure had always been branded as a monster by humans, especially if it was Xiao Shuxiang.
"Young Master Xiao? You why?" Hu Li asked as she saw her Young Master so silent and seemed to be thinking of something.
"I'm fine, Hu Li. I was just thinking, would Lan Zhi still be by my side if one day I became the old Xiao Shuxiang.."
He snorted softly and smiled faintly. Xiao Shuxiang resumed his words, this time his voice sounded low.
".. Lan Zhi might be the one who stands at the very front to oppose me. He'll be just like senior Zhou,"
"That's why, Young Master. Please never make a decision without thinking about it well, especially if the decision is a big one."
Hu Li had already seen his Young Master have a close family and relationship with the likes of Jing Mi, Ling Qing Zhu, Nie Shang, Mo Huai, and others.
It was impossible if his Master did not feel anything at all, let alone the many things they had already gone through together. His Young Master could not have a heart so hard that he did not realize the affection of the family and friends around them.
Honestly speaking, Hu Li used to hate humans as well. There are many bad things about the creature that can be used as an excuse for its hatred. But all that changed with time.
His first encounter with the savior and the person he already considered Master had changed his mind a little about humans. He was even willing to give his life as proof of loyalty.
Too bad, Hu Li did not realize that his 'Master' was a worse creature than a human. He was a terrible figure who was really hard to change.
If only his Master was in a situation that required him to kill the most loved ones for the sake of his own life, then without a doubt his Master would definitely do so.
'Nothing is more valuable than your own life'. Xiao Shuxiang had always held to that principle. And even if he does one good thing, there is always a reason.
His closeness to Lan Guan Zhi, his relationship with Jing Mi and his brothers in the Butterfly Sect, as well as the bond that was established between him and Xiao WeiWei, Yang Hao, Yang Shu, including Ling Qing Zhu was not sincerity at all. He only did it because he wanted something.
"I love you, Hu Li. I love my father, mother, grandfather, Lan Zhi, brother Jing, brother Hou, and others. You are precious people, something I consider part of me.."
Xiao Shuxiang never lied. He was honest with his words just now and it made Hu Li put admiration on him. Only, the young man beside him did not know that there was any other purpose to his words.
While Hu Li was still talking to his Young Master-far elsewhere, Lan Xiao was too eager to find the whereabouts of his mother.
Originally, the Moon Tiger ran into Xiao Shuxiang's room and instead did not find him. He went out and searched every place, but his mother was nowhere to be found.
Lan Xiao did not know who else he should ask for help except the Mad Beggar Boy. The young man rushed to Lan Guan Zhi's room but was restrained in front of the door.
"Lan'Er Gege..?! Lan'Er Gege's..!" The Mad Beggar Boy was banging on the door in front of him while trying to open it. His face looks panicked.
"Lan'Er Gege, open the door..! Lan'Er Gege, what's wrong with you..?! Don't scare me, let's open the door..!"
New..!
The Mad Beggar Boy continued to call out to Lan Guan Zhi and there was absolutely no reply from inside the room before him. He was really anxious at this moment, his feelings were extremely unpleasant.
"Lan'Er Gege..?! Did you hear me?! Please answer me..! Lan'er..!" The Mad Beggar Boy calmed himself down and then focused his mind on using one of the six types of Inner Energy.
He clenched his right hand and used his Profound Heavens to punch the door in front of him.
!!
The sound of his pounding was extremely loud, even making the walls and roof above the Crazy Beggar Boy shake. Unfortunately, he was still unable to destroy the door in front of him.
Nyawm!
"Tsk, what seal did Lan'Er Gege use until the door was indestructible? He scares me so much. What if something happens to her in there?! What am I going to do?! Lan'er..!"
The Mad Beggar Boy used punches and kicks to get inside Lan Guan Zhi's room. He kept calling out the young man's name nonstop.
Lan Xiao also co-chanted the name of her mother. He was extremely anxious and kept urging the young man beside him to save his mother from inside the room.
The loud noise caused by the actions of the Mad Beggar Boy invited the shock and curiosity of several disciples of the Sky Pagoda Sect, including Jing Mi.
In the not too distant future, people began to come to see who had dared to make a fuss while they were improving the condition of this sect.
!!
All of them were shocked including Yi Wen and Hou Yong who were among the disciples of the Sky Pagoda Sect when they found out Lan Guan Zhi was confined inside his own room.
Yi Wen actually did not know what was happening, but her feelings said Lan Guan Zhi was in a dangerous situation.
He guessed, this was all because the young man from the Sky Sword Sect was helping his Brother Xiao who was hit by the Bone Penetrating Nail.
"Young Master Lan..! Can you hear me?! Young Master Lan..!"
Yi Wen shook his head, there was no answer from inside the room and it made him anxious.
"If anything happens to him, Brother Xiao will definitely kill us. It's very urgent," Yi Wen tried to calm down, but couldn't. He's really freaking out.
Jing Mi came calling Lan Guan Zhi, "Young Master Lan..! Young Master..!" he banged on the door and occasionally tried to break it.
"Go away, let me do it." The Crazy Beggar Boy again used his inner strength and then punched the door in front of him.
!!
The sound produced is loud, but what happens is that the power is reflected and instead pushes them all. Some disciples were even thrown 10 meters away.
!!
Hou Yong and Hai Feng had almost hit the tree if both of them were not nimble to dodge. They were obviously shocked by what had just happened.
Nyawm!
!!
Jing Mi was shocked to hear the cry from Lan Xiao, her eyes were round when she found out Lan Xiao was looking for help to save her mother who kept spewing blood.
Hou Yong, Yi Wen, and the Crazy Beggar Boy were also shocked to hear that. If what this Moon Tiger said was true, then Lan Guan Zhi was indeed in a grave injury.
"Did he do something stupid? Young Master Lan..!!" Yi Wen shouted loudly to Lan Guan Zhi. He didn't want anything to happen to his brother's best friend.
"Young Master Lan..!"
"Young Master Lan, did you hear?! Please open the door..!"
"Young Master Lan..!"
The disciples of the Sky Pagoda Sect also exclaimed. They banged on the wooden walls and also the door of Lan Guan Zhi's room. Some of them even tried to destroy the existing walls.
Those outside were unaware of the situation inside Lan Guan Zhi's extremely quiet room with numerous reddish-black blood stains on the room floor.
The figure of Lan Guan Zhi was seen sitting cross-legged on his bed. The skin of the body until his face looks pale purple, his eyes are closed and not moving at all.
His entire blood flow stopped, including the beating of his heart. His fractured dantian had now melted down and then disappeared.
One thing was certain, Lan Guan Zhi was gone while maintaining his sitting position.
Although a cultivator and a proud figure, Lan Guan Zhi still could not be compared to Xiao Shuxiang who was a creature from The Fallen Angel World.
Lan Guan Zhi's blood was not the same as his good friend's, nor was it his second's immunity to poison. Moreover, the poison that gnawed at him was poison from the Bone Penetrating Nail.
The heirloom was a special object intended for creatures like Xiao Shuxiang. If one were to release it, then the poison hidden within the Bone Penetrating Nail would attack it. And that was what happened to Lan Guan Zhi at this moment.
He is talented, but his age is still very young. There were many things she had not yet understood about the world. The knowledge he gained from books and skill books could not be compared to those in real life.
Time travel makes many changes to the development of science, especially about combat techniques, especially when it comes to cunning tactics that can bring danger.
Lan Guan Zhi was indeed a cultivator, but his practice had yet to reach the stage of perfection let alone head to 'immortality'. He is still a man who can feel pain, including death.
Cultivators do have a longer life than warriors or ordinary humans. However, as strong as any cultivator-they would not be able to escape fate, let alone death.
In fact, there was no knowledge that said being a cultivator would establish oneself as an immortal being. Ling Qing Zhu had once talked about this with Xiao Shuxiang.
When a cultivator was at the highest stage of practice, he would go to a realm sometimes called 'Nature of the Gods' or 'Nirvana'. A realm that is said to escape the cycle of life and death.
Unfortunately, no one knows the truth of nature. Cultivators who went to that realm never came back.
*
*
A vast place with a stretch of dry land was visible under the blue sky.
There were dozens of bodies with terrible body conditions, some even in charred states burned without heads.
The footsteps of a young man sounded. She was the only one walking among dozens of corpses, her immaculate white clothes made her look like a holy figure that had just descended from the sky.
!!
His eyes were shady, clear, and dazzling. In the shade of his eyes, there was a sense of surprise when he saw so many lifeless human beings.
Her eyes were on one of the corpses that had the same colored and patterned clothes as her.
The corpse is a young man with a forehead ribbon, his white clothes full of tears and also blood. He had a pale and broken face in some places.
"This is still the smallest part of the chaos impact that Xiao Shuxiang has caused,"
!!
A voice rang out and made the white-clothed youth startled. Among the many corpses, only he was standing.
"The bodies you see today are nothing but victims of the fierceness of the Destroying Star with its Heavenly Sword. Someone you consider a good friend,"
The voice appeared again and was even clearer than before.
The voice was followed by a thin puff of smoke that formed in the air, solidifying, until it turned into a 39-year-old-looking young man.
She had a beautiful face, her eyes color was blackish-gray and felt ice-cold. Her clothes were black jade, so dignified with her long black hair that was like night.
The figure stood right beside the young man dressed in all white who if he was carefully noticed - then it was known that he was Lan Guan Zhi.
Right now, the future Grand Elder of the Sky Pagoda Sect was in a place that was not bound to any world. His spirit was drawn here without him knowing how it could have happened.
"You're this.. Who?" Lan Guan Zhi finally spoke. He felt that he had never met a young man whose aura of compassion was so powerful.
The figure introduced himself as 'Shouxing', the sword spirit of one of the Heavenly Heirlooms. He also said he had a close relationship with Xiao Shuxiang. Hearing him made Lan Guan Zhi shocked.
"I didn't know this could be called luck or not. But at the moment.. Your body might have rotted and broken, if you were in your present body.. You won't probably be able to endure the pain," Shouxing did not stare at Lan Guan Zhi as he spoke, he simply stood up while looking at the sea of corpses in front of him.
"Are you the one who brought me here?"
"Not, but fate. The ancestral spirit light that entered Xiang'Er's body fused with the Bone Penetrating Nail, and now that light is on you."
Shouxing said he also did not know how. He should have long since disappeared along with the disappearance of the Night Star Sword.
".. I am just a sword spirit. Now can't go back, or have 'Master'. Xiang'Er was the last 'Master' I ever had, and they were all victims of our insanity."
Shouxing blinked slightly and instantly his body started to float. Lan Guan Zhi also lifted up so that the two of them could see the sea of corpses clearly.
The number that initially looked like dozens of bodies is now increasing until it is difficult to calculate. There are probably hundreds of thousands of human lives.
!!
However, the higher Shouxing and Lan Guan Zhi hovered - both were sure the number of corpses below them reached hundreds of thousands. This vast place, was completely filled with a lifeless sea of humans.
"I'm sure you won't believe it.." Shouxing realized the meaning of Lan Guan Zhi's eyes, he smiled faintly and spoke again.
".. Believe it or not, but this is the life of your best friend in the past. He was very fond of tearing apart the human body, making them all formless. And you know what's the scariest thing about him? Xiang'Er never regretted his actions,"
!!
Lan Guan Zhi was shocked as the circumstances around him suddenly changed.
Both of his feet were treading on the ground, the surroundings were dark, this was the atmosphere of the night with the moonlight. A few seconds ago, the sky was still blue.
There were several trees around and there was a large house not far in front of him. The house is in a state of burning.
"It's.."
"Dad..!"
?!
Lan Guan Zhi wanted to ask Shouxing when her ears heard the adorable voice of a child. His eyes were on a 7-year-old boy trying to pull the hand of an adult man.
***
