Zhang Xiaofan froze for a moment, recognizing this person as the beautiful young girl who had argued over the Mei fish during dinner. Seeing that she still wore that same set of water-green clothes, her skin like snow in the moonlight, incomparably pure and beautiful, like an immortal fairy.
The girl placed the freshly plucked flower to her nose and inhaled deeply. An intoxicated expression floated across her face, carrying a heart-stopping beauty. And that flower before her lovely face seemed even more brilliant.
Yet from the depths of his heart, Zhang Xiaofan felt a burst of nameless fury. Frowning, he said, "This flower was blooming perfectly fine. Why did you snap it off?"
The green-clad girl's bright eyes shifted, her gaze like water sweeping over Zhang Xiaofan. She said lightly, "My plucking this flower is its good fortune; my smelling its fragrance is a karmic connection it cultivated over three lifetimes. How could a boorish person like you understand?"
Zhang Xiaofan was stunned. It was the first time in his life he had heard such absurd logic. He shook his head. "This flower lost its life when you plucked it. How could it be happy?"
The green-clad girl glanced at him. "You're not the flower. How do you know it isn't happy?"
Listening to this girl's completely unreasonable words, Zhang Xiaofan grew even angrier. "You're not the flower either, so how do you know it's happy? Perhaps this flower is in agony right now. Ah, look, there's water on the flower. Maybe it's crying from the pain."
The green-clad girl was obviously startled for a moment, then burst out laughing. This truly was as beautiful and breathtaking as a hundred flowers blooming, nearly causing Zhang Xiaofan to stare dumbfounded.
"Flower tears? Haha, flower tears. This is the first time in my life I've heard a grown man call dewdrops flower tears. You're killing me."
Zhang Xiaofan's face reddened. He stammered, unable to speak, but seeing the girl bent over with laughter, his face burned. He forced himself to say, "Wh-what's wrong with that?"
Unexpectedly, hearing these words and seeing his appearance, the girl's laughter grew even louder. Her clear laughter echoed through the quiet, dim garden, adding a touch of warmth.
Zhang Xiaofan couldn't quite get angry, wanted to say something but didn't know how. Looking at the girl's joyful smile, he stamped his foot in frustration and turned to leave.
He hadn't taken two steps when he suddenly heard the green-clad girl behind him stop laughing, though her tone still carried some mirth. "Hey, wait a moment."
Zhang Xiaofan had been in a good mood tonight, but after meeting this girl, his mood had turned terrible. Hearing her call out now, another wave of irritation rose in his heart. He couldn't help but turn back and say, "My name isn't 'hey.' Who are you calling?"
The girl froze. The smile on her face immediately vanished, and her gaze toward Zhang Xiaofan seemed to cool several degrees. It seemed few people had ever spoken back to her like this. But a moment later, she seemed to think of something. Though she didn't resume her brilliant smile, her tone was still relatively gentle. "Oh, then what is your name?"
Zhang Xiaofan blurted out, "My name is—" He choked, then snorted. "Why should I tell you?"
The green-clad girl's face turned solemn; she seemed somewhat angry. But seeing Zhang Xiaofan's petulant expression, just like a little boy throwing a tantrum, she couldn't help but let out another laugh.
This laugh completely dispersed the imposing air from when she had put on a stern face. Set against the moonlight in the sky and the fragrance filling the garden, this beautiful woman's face was full of smiles. She seemed to know this wasn't very proper, shaking her head as she tried to hold it in, but still laughed out.
It was as if the innocence of long ago had come alive again tonight.
Moonlight like water gently spilled across her shoulders and cheeks, reflecting a soul-stirring beauty.
Zhang Xiaofan didn't know when he had begun staring in fascination.
After laughing for a while, the girl realized Zhang Xiaofan was staring at her. She let out a "hey," actually without the blushing appearance typical of young ladies, instead directly asking, "Am I good-looking?"
Zhang Xiaofan was startled by her, like a thief caught in the act, feeling greatly embarrassed. Yet beneath the girl's gentle, water-like gaze, he had a feeling of having nowhere to escape. "I—you—uh, you, beautiful!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Xiaofan himself froze, an indescribable, strange feeling rising in his heart. But the girl didn't seem to care. A faint smile on her face, she said, "I thought so too. From childhood till now, who hasn't said I'm pretty? You men are all the same."
Listening to the tone of her voice, despite her young age, she seemed to have experienced the vicissitudes of life. Zhang Xiaofan's anger flared, and he was about to retort, but inadvertently looking over, he saw her bright eyes and white teeth standing alone in the moonlight, carrying a faint sense of familiarity. He immediately thought of the beautiful figure of his martial sister he had seen with his own eyes by Bishui Pool on Mount Qingyun. In that moment, his interest suddenly waned, and he couldn't muster any energy. He gave the green-clad girl another look, let out a low sigh, and without a word, turned and left.
"Hey," after walking a few steps, he heard a call from behind. Zhang Xiaofan turned around frowning, looking at the green-clad girl.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, her moist lips seeming to press together a bit, as if thinking something. But the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
"What's your name?" she still asked like this, his reflection in the ripples of her eyes.
Yet Zhang Xiaofan suddenly wavered. The anger from before completely dissipated in an instant. Facing this figure, even the slightest anger seemed inappropriate. He avoided that gentle gaze, carrying a trace of timidity that even he himself found uneasy, and said, "Zhang Xiaofan."
Then he quickly walked away, looking somewhat like he was fleeing in defeat.
He strode forward with his head down. Just as he reached a bend in the winding path, he suddenly discovered a black figure ahead. In this dim garden, if one didn't approach close enough, it would truly be difficult to notice.
He nearly couldn't stop his momentum. Fortunately, his body's reactions were still quick, and he stopped just before the person. In the darkness, a pair of bright yet serene eyes appeared before him.
The two were too close together. Zhang Xiaofan was startled and quickly retreated a step. Only then did he see clearly that this person was the veiled woman sitting beside the green-clad girl during dinner. Now she still wore her veil, but had changed into a black silk dress. In this night, she was almost like a ghost.
Zhang Xiaofan calmed himself but was still somewhat breathing heavily. He faintly smelled an elegant fragrance in his nose, unsure if it was the garden's aroma or from when he had been close to that woman just now.
His heart skipped a beat, feeling that coming out tonight had truly been a mistake. He mumbled an "apologies" and walked past the veiled woman toward his lodgings.
From beginning to end, the veiled woman hadn't said a single word, only standing quietly there, her eyes watching this youth. After Zhang Xiaofan passed by her, she slowly turned to watch his departing figure.
A long time passed. When her figure had almost merged with the darkness of this dim garden, she turned her body and walked toward the garden's depths. Very quickly, she saw that green-clad woman still standing in her original spot, playing with a plucked flower in her hand.
The green-clad girl looked up, not looking surprised. Smiling, she said, "Aunt You, you're back."
The veiled woman glanced at the flower in her hand. Her veil moved slightly, seemingly nodding. She said, "Those four are from the Qingyun Sect." Her voice echoed through the garden, deep and drifting, though soft, carrying a ghostly air. "Leading them is Qi Hao of Longshou Peak. The other three I've never seen; they seem to be of the younger generation, their names unknown."
The green-clad girl smiled slightly. "I know one. The one who just passed by is called Zhang Xiaofan. Such a rustic name."
The veiled woman glanced at her and said lightly, "Bi Yao, it's been a long time since I've seen you appreciating flowers."
The green-clad girl, the one called Bi Yao, seemed to freeze for a moment. The next instant, a smile reappeared on her lovely face. "Yes, Aunt You, it's been a long time."
She picked up the flower and looked at it carefully again. Then, under the veiled woman's gaze, the green-clad girl smiled as she resolutely and decisively clenched her hand, crushing the beautiful flower into bits.
※※※
The next day, the four Qingyun Sect members rose. After washing up, Qi Hao gathered the four and discussed, "Kongsang Mountain is three thousand li to the east. The journey is not short; we should hurry on our way." The other three had no objections, so they settled the bill and set out.
The boss of Shanhai Garden indeed held the Qingyun Sect in admiration. The originally expensive room fee was actually given at fifty percent off, almost the same as ordinary room rates. Zhang Xiaofan watched Qi Hao chat and settle accounts with the boss, but his gaze swept around. Yet until they left, he didn't see the green-clad girl and her group from last night again.
The four of them traveled through the air. The three thousand li journey took a full ten days. During this time, Zhang Xiaofan naturally greatly held them back. But in the later days, Zhang Xiaofan's dao techniques gradually matured, and he became more familiar with the "firestick," actually flying quite decently. Every day as he soared high through the sky, that feeling of traversing between blue heavens and white clouds truly excited him for several days.
On this day they finally reached Kongsang Mountain. Everyone descended from the clouds and was shocked to see that within a hundred li, a towering mountain rose steeply, but with many rocks and sparse vegetation. At the foot of the mountain, there was no sign of human habitation—completely desolate.
It was nearing dusk, the sun sinking in the west. The yellowed sunset shone on Kongsang Mountain, seeming to carry a bit of bleakness, and a bit of horror. The group landed at the mountain's base and put away their immortal swords and magical treasures. Qi Hao looked at the sky and said, "I see there are no households here to stay with. We might as well immediately ascend the mountain, searching for the 'Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats' while looking for a suitable place to rest for the night."
Zeng Shushu nodded. "Senior Brother Qi makes sense. Let's ascend the mountain." Zhang Xiaofan, seeing Zeng Shushu agree, had no objections either. Lu Xueqi looked at the sky, not saying a word, but was the first to walk toward the peak.
Though Kongsang Mountain couldn't compare to the exaggerated height of Mount Qingyun's Tongtian Peak, it wasn't low either. Adding to that its remoteness and steepness with no path to follow, the four had only reached the mountainside when the sky had completely darkened.
The four walked onto a flat platform. Qi Hao called everyone to stop and took out a small bronze mirror from his bosom. The other three immediately recognized it as the Qingyun Sect's supreme treasure, the "Liuhe Mirror." They were all stunned for a moment, not knowing what Qi Hao intended to do.
They saw Qi Hao hold the Liuhe Mirror in his hand, softly chanting a few incantations. The originally dim and lusterless Liuhe Mirror seemed to respond, gradually brightening. Then it floated up from Qi Hao's hand, stopping two feet above his head. The light gradually intensified, carrying a faint yellow halo that illuminated a circular area about six feet around the four of them, protecting them in the center.
Only then did Qi Hao say, "Eight hundred years ago, Kongsang Mountain was a gathering place for the demonic cult's monsters. Moreover, I observe that this mountain is desolate and strange; I'm afraid there are many mountain spirits and demons. The Liuhe Mirror can protect its master, so we can take precautions before anything happens."
Zhang Xiaofan glanced at the Liuhe Mirror floating in the air. He saw that this small mirror seemed unremarkable in appearance, but within its ancient simplicity hid auspicious qi—not to be underestimated. Just at this moment, everyone suddenly heard a loud noise in the distance, followed by crackling sounds. The sounds gradually grew denser, and by the end not only grew louder but became almost impossible to distinguish any rhythm. Only a huge rumbling noise echoed through these desolate mountains. In the distance, relying on the faint light emitted by the Liuhe Mirror in the darkness, everyone suddenly saw a black cloud of qi rise up from behind the distant mountain. In this darkness it became even more strange, and the deafening rumbles were coming from there.
Everyone's expressions changed. Zeng Shushu's eyes turned, and he suddenly lost his composure, shouting, "The Liuhe Mirror!"
The moment his words left his mouth, before the others could react, that mass of black cloud growing increasingly enormous in the air seemed to sense something, shifting toward them. A moment later, as if an ear-piercing whistle came from within the black cloud, in an instant that black cloud completely turned around and pounced toward this spot—the only light in this dark night.
In an instant, the originally starry and shining night sky was pitch black, as if covered by something. Everyone felt a fishy, foul odor instantly filling the surroundings. Zhang Xiaofan and the others all turned pale with shock. Only Qi Hao remained relatively calm, though his face had also turned white. He urgently said, "Don't move randomly. Absolutely do not leave the Liuhe Mirror's light circle."
A few moments later, the whistling and rumbling was already at their ears. Reflecting the Liuhe Mirror's light, everyone finally saw clearly that the black cloud was actually countless black bats, densely packed. And looking at their size, they were actually more than double the size of bats normally seen. Every one of them had its mouth gaping open, and within all that blackness, their mouths were scarlet red, hideous and terrifying.
But the faint yellow light emanating from the Liuhe Mirror displayed its effect at this time. Everyone saw that all the bats were blocked outside the light circle. No matter how they crashed and pressed, this light circle didn't budge at all. Rather, the bats near the light circle that touched the faint yellow light emitted sizzling sounds from their black bodies, and after a moment fell to the ground, struggling bitterly, clearly unable to survive.
But there were truly too many bats. Looking out, even the stars in the night sky were covered. There were probably millions or tens of millions. Those dead on the ground probably didn't even amount to one in a million. But seeing countless bats rushing forward one after another, the four were surrounded in the center. Though temporarily safe, in every direction were terrifying bloody maws. The fishy stench was almost enough to make one vomit.
However, the Liuhe Mirror was after all a supreme treasure of the Daoist sect. Under the attack of these countless ferocious beasts, it showed not the slightest sign of fragility or wavering. That yellow light circle seemed thin and light, yet stood firm as a mountain. Before long, the bat corpses around the light circle piled higher and higher.
At this moment, who knew how many black bats surrounded the air above this light circle? It wasn't just three layers inside and three layers outside; probably three hundred layers inside and three hundred layers outside. But these beasts' crashing against the light circle seemed to gradually slow, as if knowing it was futile, they stopped doing this useless thing. Yet these bats seemed unwilling to part with the food within reach, still surrounding them and refusing to leave.
Zhang Xiaofan's mind was in turmoil. He had never seen such ferocious things in his life. Even now he was still somewhat nervous and afraid. He withdrew his gaze from the outer bats, breathing heavily, but from the corner of his eye saw that Lu Xueqi standing beside him was also extremely pale.
As if at the same time, Lu Xueqi also sensed his gaze and looked toward Zhang Xiaofan. Their eyes met in the air.
Lu Xueqi suddenly turned her head away. Her pale face seemed to pale a bit more, but she never looked back.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, all the bats flapped their wings and flew up. Zeng Shushu watched them and finally let out a breath, saying, "Finally..."
Before he finished speaking, he couldn't continue. He saw the sky full of black clouds as countless bats flew to great heights, suddenly turned around, and the ones in front charged down like hailstones, striking the Liuhe Mirror's light circle. But they were rebounded by the light circle, then a cloud of blood mist rose up, and under the faint yellow light, they fell to the ground smashed to pieces.
Filthy blood flowed everywhere, the stench of blood assaulting their faces. Countless terrifying blood flowers flashed in the night air then fell to the ground. But the bats that followed seemed completely unmoved by the deaths of their predecessors, still crashing without stop. The four Qingyun Sect members were all pale-faced, watching these rarely seen ferocious monstrosities of the world.
Around the light circle, very quickly, a thick pile of bat corpses nearly half a person high accumulated.
Zhang Xiaofan suddenly realized that the clothes on his back were completely soaked with cold sweat.
No one knew how long this terrifying scene lasted. Until the bat corpses outside the light circle had almost piled up to the height of a person, the bat swarm finally stopped this powerful and savage attack. At this moment, even the precious Liuhe Mirror's emitted light circle had dimmed somewhat, but it still flickered in the darkness, standing firm.
The black clouds filling the sky still surrounded this sole light in the dark night, unwilling to leave.
The four didn't even dare to close their eyes, each gripping their immortal swords and magical treasures, not daring to slacken for an instant.
But these massive swarms of bats seemed to have no other good methods. They just surrounded them and refused to leave, but didn't launch any more attacks.
This continued until dawn.
When the first ray of sunlight shone from the horizon, as if some call from the unseen, all the bats suddenly flew up, circled in the air for a moment, then all flew back toward the place they had emerged from last night. They came quickly and left even faster. In no time, these countless bats had disappeared without a trace.
The four Qingyun Sect members slowly relaxed. But after a long while, only when Qi Hao was completely certain those bats wouldn't emerge again did he withdraw the Liuhe Mirror.
The light circle dissipated.
A muffled sound. The mountain-like pile of bat corpses around the four suddenly collapsed inward from all directions, burying the four in this disgusting and horrible torrent. At that moment, Zhang Xiaofan's heart leaped violently, almost thinking he had stopped breathing. And at the same time, he heard a scream from beside him. A jade hand reached over, tightly gripping his arm.
The force was so great that through his clothes, nails dug into his flesh.
This pain bored into his heart. He turned his head to look at this frightened beautiful woman. Her pale face in the morning sun carried a trace of panic, causing an inexplicable pain in one's heart.
Suddenly, all fear in his heart disappeared. Though still somewhat nervous, his attention was completely drawn to Lu Xueqi. It was as if before her, he absolutely could not show timidity.
He took a step forward, positioning himself before her.
Lu Xueqi's panting slowly calmed. She slightly raised her head, her lips moving lightly, took a deep look at Zhang Xiaofan's face, and let go of his arm.