71: Chapter 71 "No Spring"

Seeing this, Ye Yuan injected more spiritual power into Su Chen's blade.

That sense of resonance indeed grew stronger.

Slaying demons and eliminating evil seemed to be one of the original reasons for this sword's existence.

And within this, Su Chen's own will was indeed involved.

As a youth of the new era raised under the red flag, it was hard for him not to feel rage upon seeing such a cruel sight.

"Good sword."

Ye Yuan returned the sword to its... oh wait, there was no scabbard.

He merely brushed his fingertips gently across Su Chen's icy-cold blade.

Feeling the sharp sword intent that had not yet fully dissipated and a faint, almost imperceptible hum of joy, he praised it in a low voice.

Although he could not see the sword's appearance,

The sharpness of this sword and its compatibility with his own sword intent far exceeded his expectations.

The cracks covering the blade did not weaken its might.

Ye Jingjun sat on the other side of the carriage, remaining very quiet from beginning to end.

She watched her "father" slay the wolf demon swiftly and decisively.

She watched the barren fields outside the window, the sallow-faced refugees, and the occasional suspicious bloodstains and remains.

Her hands, resting on her knees, slightly tightened around the corners of her clothes.

Her lips were pressed white, yet she remained silent throughout.

In those clear eyes, the bleak light and shadows of this chaotic world were reflected.

Something was slowly settling and cooling within her originally bright eyes.

At dusk, the carriage stopped in a leeward mountain hollow.

Ye Yuan chose a relatively clean spot and started a campfire.

The driver was just an ordinary person without cultivation; after feeding the horses, he was immediately swallowed by exhaustion and fear and fell fast asleep.

Before sleeping, he specifically cautioned Ye Yuan and Ye Jingjun.

This place was less than a hundred miles away from East Lai Prefecture.

Ye Yuan sniffed the air, which already carried the unique salty and fishy scent of the seaside, and did not make a sound.

"Many villages under East Lai Prefecture are said to have been recently infected by a virus brought by sea demons."

"The deceased are covered in things like fish scales, which is extremely terrifying. You two must naturally be careful."

Ye Yuan simply nodded.

He sat down against a rock, laying the "su chen sword" across his knees.

Ye Jingjun sat quietly across the fire, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the crackling flames.

Both were martial artists, so they would not be troubled by plagues that infected ordinary people.

"Kid."

Ye Yuan suddenly spoke, as if talking to himself, yet also as if addressing the sword on his knees.

"Following me counts as terrible luck for you."

His fingertips traced over the locations of the cracks on Su Chen's blade that he perceived.

"Back then, when I, Ye Yuan, first started out, I was also a hot-headed youth who hated evil with a passion."

"Relying on a bit of talent and an iron sword, I dared to say I could sweep away all the injustices in the world."

He let out a chuckle, tinged with self-mockery.

"Later, when I joined the Xuntian Division and put on that official uniform, I was even more high-spirited."

"I thought I could finally use the sword in my hand to protect the peace of a region."

"Slaying demons, uprooting villains—how exhilarating it was!"

"But looking at it now, how laughable it all is."

"But this world..."

"Heh, demons are easy to slay, but the human heart is hard to fathom."

"The loyalty you believe in might be treachery."

"The evil you perceive might just be a chess piece."

"Zhao Feng, my old friend."

"Until the moment he died, he thought he was dying as a martyr."

"How laughable, and how tragic..."

Ye Yuan's voice grew lower and lower, finally turning into a long sigh.

He stopped speaking and just sat there quietly.

As if sinking into those unbearable past memories together with the longsword on his knees.

Slowly, the sound of snoring rose.

The campfire crackled, and the night deepened.

Ye Jingjun remained silent.

Her tender, pretty face was a mix of emotions.

There were complex feelings from hearing what her "father" had said.

But more than that, it was an indescribable anxiety.

They were getting further and further away from Qingzhou Prefecture City.

Can Mr. Su still find me?

He said he would be "active in the Qinglai area recently."

This wild mountain range, though between Qingzhou and East Lai, does it count as the "Qinglai area"?

Will he come?

What if he goes to the place we agreed on last night and can't find me?

All sorts of thoughts flooded in, making her restless.

Just then, an extremely faint mountain breeze brushed past.

The flames of the campfire flickered.

A figure in green robes appeared silently at the entrance of the mountain hollow.

It was Su Chen.

Ye Jingjun seemed to sense something and snapped her head up.

When she saw that familiar figure under the moonlight, her clear eyes instantly widened.

Surprise, relief.

The two emotions intertwined and enveloped her.

She almost stood up immediately.

Su Chen, however, gently placed his index finger to his lips, making a "silence" gesture.

His gaze swept over Ye Yuan, who had already fallen into a light sleep due to exhaustion.

Then he walked slowly to Ye Jingjun's side and sat down next to her.

"Sorry, I was delayed by some matters on the road and arrived late."

Su Chen's voice was kept very low, exceptionally reassuring.

Ye Jingjun felt her heart skip a beat, then it began to thrum rapidly.

She lowered her head to hide her slightly burning cheeks, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"It... it's okay."

"I thought you wouldn't come, Great Hero Su."

Su Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing this.

In the last round of investment, he was at least a teacher.

This round, he had directly become a great hero?

"I never break a promise I've made."

Su Chen turned to look at her.

"Especially a promise made to you."

"A promise made to you."

He said these few words very softly.

Like a feather.

Tickling Ye Jingjun's heart bit by bit.

She looked up suddenly and met Su Chen's smiling eyes, only to feel her cheeks burn even hotter.

She hurriedly lowered her head again, her heart pounding like a drum.

She simply couldn't describe this feeling.

She just felt that this "Great Hero Su," whom she had only met twice, was even more reliable than her most unfamiliar "father," Ye Yuan.

Su Chen smiled and stopped teasing her, turning his gaze to the simple wooden sword lying beside her.

"Today's journey was tiring, but cultivation must not be neglected."

"Come, let me see if you still remember the 'A Thousand Miles Frozen' I taught you yesterday."

With that, the two of them vanished from the spot.

Leaving only Ye Yuan, who seemed to be sound asleep with the sword across his knees.

His hand, which was gripping Su Chen's blade, was in the shadows where the firelight couldn't reach.

It seemed to twitch almost imperceptibly.

...

Three-quarters of an hour later.

The two stood on a flat area on a nearby hilltop.

"Great Hero Su... I really can't go on."

Ye Jingjun seemed completely exhausted, leaning against an ancient tree and panting heavily.

Suddenly, her delicate hand moved slightly.

She looked at the ancient tree in front of her, which was covered in savage claw marks and charred traces.

"This is..."

"The work of a demon."

Su Chen walked over, observed for a moment, and said with certainty.

"What a pity..."

The girl shook her head, her tone full of regret.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should have been a peach tree."

"With the trunk damaged like this, it probably won't ever bloom again."

"No Meeting Spring."

Su Chen murmured to himself.

A peach-pink sword qi swept across the peach tree Ye Jingjun was leaning against.

That charred trunk, which had originally lost all vitality, actually began to slowly regain its original color.