Novel Full Book 15: Chapter 105
Book 15: Chapter 105
Ming Feizhen’s assertion sent him back to the Western Regions. In the afternoon, he would smell an unidentifiable smell in a room where something was boiling. Every now and then, one of the pots being stirred sound no different to an explosion. He was always heard the stirrer mumbling stuff he didn’t understand while keeping his brows together. Every time he removed the contents from the pot, Ming Feizhen would widen his mouth, while the other person would throw it away with discontent. It was the individual in question who inspired Ming Feizhen’s method of separating the toxic qi. The procedure wasn’t something Ming Feizhen could’ve thought up when he barely knew anything about Six mastery of Spring Wind Rainy Night Art wasn’t something anyone could hope to match.
Noticing Feng Jiutian’s gaze on him, Ming Feizhen lamented with a smile. “Not me. One day, you’ll realise that some people were born on a higher level. No matter how underprivileged their starting point is, no matter how you try to stop them, they’re bound to eventually shine. No matter how you try to stop them, you’ll know hear about them in the end.”
After all, the individual aforementioned did go from commoner to the leader of Divine Moon Cult. Still, he went missing at Lawless Cliff. There was no question that were was a logical explanation. Ming Feizhen just needed to have the patience to wait until the day he uncovered the truth.
“Because of that, I’ve lost an arm,” Ming Feizhen said in a deep voice.
“Is… he dead?”
“Even if he is, his death can’t be in vain.”
Feng Jiutian shut his eyes, knowing he wasn’t supposed to pry further, and fell asleep for a while. Upon coming to, he discovered Feng Qizhi had also woken up and was staring at him. The last time they made eye contact with each other was when Feng Jiutian dragged his cousin into the secret chamber and triggered the mutation. It had only been days since then, but he didn’t know what to say.
“… Brother Jiutian,” Feng Qizhi uttered in a raspy voice.
Hearing the emotions in Feng Qizhi’s voice, Feng Jiutian sighed. “Brother Zhi.”
“**** you, *****.”Tears formed in Feng Jiutian’s eyes as sadness flourished in his heart. The reason Feng Qizhi seldom held grudges was due to the fact that he usually had his revenge the moment a grudge was formed. Hearing himself get cursed and threatened to be reduced to ashes had him worried for a second, though he celebrated inside at the same time. For Feng Jiutian, he felt he had broken out from a prison and didn’t mind perishing at Feng Qizhi’s hands. If nothing else, he wouldn’t have to continue living every day in fear.
Ming Feizhen, standing in between the two cousins, had finished up with the procedure, including sewing up Feng Qizhi’s wounds. Although Feng Qizhi was no longer leaking blood, Ming Feizhen was drenched in cold sweat. Feng Jiutian wasn’t trained in martial arts, while Feng Qizhi was asleep throughout the process, so neither of them were aware of how challenging the procedure was.
Exchanging blood demanded immense qi strength. Ming Feizhen’s medical skills were still a long shot from Ming Huayu’s and Hero Shenzhou’s. The process of exchanging blood wasn’t a procedure that many in the world dared to attempt. Ming Feizhen, combining techniques utilised in the Western Regions in conjunction with Spring Wind Rainy Night Art’s blood manipulation and his proficiency in string manipulation, drew the blood onto the string and then used his own internal energy to guide it along. In the process he had to manage the pace the blood travelled so as to keep their body in balance without cutting off the supply for a single second. In addition, he had to simultaneously cut off Feng Qizhi’s excess flesh. Luckily for Feng Qizhi, the flesh hadn’t had time to fuse with his own flesh, or Feng Qizhi would’ve suffered extra damage to the point that he was a lost cause. On top of all that, Ming Feizhen had to clean and close Feng Qizhi’s wounds. Not only did that require extreme concentration and a high level of skill, but extreme patience was also needed. Nonetheless, just sweating and breathing heavily when he was able to complete those tasks while still having to separate the phoenix and qingluan bloods was an accomplishment he had every right to brag about.
“Feng Xiangxiang, stay down. Get up, other guy. Come take a look at the principles you must obey for your survival.”
It took Feng Jiutian a while to understand what was being implied. Though it was a struggle to get up, he didn’t feel anything odd about his body besides weakness in his lips. When he suddenly coughed, however, he felt as if his throat was set alight. At the same time, he felt a second mind in his own mind. “I-is this what they call an awakening?”
“No, you’re just dehydrated and delusional.”
“…”
“Why the look of disappointment?”
“I just… thought transforming is pretty cool.”
“…”
For everyone’s sake, Ming Feizhen prayed Feng Clan didn’t try what they did for such a childish reason. He shook his head and then placed the glass bottle of qingluan blood in front of Feng Jiutian. “In here is the qingluan blood you injected into Feng Qizhi. I’m taking this with me for sure. I’m just telling what you and your cousin must do in order to survive henceforward.”
Ming Feizhen took out two vials from his shirt – one containing a red liquid and one empty. He injected a small amount of the crimson and green liquids into the vial and then poured in wine. “You and your cousin need to drink a drop of this daily.”
“What is this?”
“None of your concern. This is the two types of blood in Feng Qizhi synthesised. I can’t clear out all of the qingluan blood, so there’s still residue in both of you, although it’s a tiny amount, so the phoenix blood will naturally erase it. With that said, to prevent your bodies’ homeostasis going out of balance, I’ve mixed in some phoenix blood as a suppressant.”
As much as he wanted to ask why the scathing response was needed before an explanation was provided, Feng Jiutian just asked, “Why did you have to add wine?”
“Good question, but I don’t know the reason, either.”
“… What?”
“I don’t know.” Ming Feizhen shrugged. “Mount Daluo’s records barely mention Nirvana. Whenever Nirvana is mentioned, alcohol is mentioned. Nirvana supposedly likes to drink alcohol. It was alcohol that triggered the fight between Nirvana and Pangu back then.”
“…” It sounded so ridiculous that Feng Jiutian thought offering alcohol and meat at shrines wasn’t just a superstitious act anymore.
Ming Feizhen shrugged. “In any case, adding some alcohol will amplify the phoenix blood activity level, which assists in clearing out the qingluan blood. Listen, you rich snob with nothing better to do: the process of messing with your family’s blood is significantly more complex than Six Evils, so stop getting involved so much when you don’t have what it takes, will you?”
There was a difference between being told to not get involved and to not get involved so much, and Feng Jiutian could tell the difference. Anyone with a functioning brain would’ve known better than to spill the secret of Six Evils to the public. Forget conspirers, even the imperial court wouldn’t let leakers off easily. A secret that could’ve put the entire world in jeopardy wasn’t something for ordinary folks to play with.
Mount Daluo was arguably the primary censorship enforcer, yet Ming Feizhen’s attitude seemed to suggest that he tacitly granted Feng Clan permission to study Six Evils. Feng Jiutian couldn’t tell if Ming Feizhen was serious or not, but he felt asking for clarification would’ve been perceived as questioning an intent, so he just stared at Ming Feizhen in bewilderment.
Ming Feizhen, with knitted brows, managed to understand Feng Jiutian’s confusion before he lost his temper over the stare. “You have the wrong idea. Mount Daluo doesn’t care about you scum. There’s never been a day where someone with power and money hasn’t done something immoral. As long as it’s not in our view, one extra problem is no big deal and too much for our full plates.”
Ming Feizhen pointed to the dissected flesh on the table. “There are too many people attempting mutations to stop. You think it’s possible to kill everyone who knows about it? The majority of those who possess remains of Six Evils are up to no good. Selling the remains is considered a minor offence. Some morons try to produce weapons or drugs from them. The most common type of result achieved is what you achieved. They could’ve lived easy-going lives, but no, they just had to ruin themselves and someone else with what sound like reasonable excuses. People have tried before you, and they ended up ruining their families. They haven’t contributed anything to society besides creating another monster. Feng Clan has the conditions to go farther; however, you’re still far from succeeding. I can’t be bothered wasting my time on a product that can’t even qualify as a ‘shell of its former self’.”
It was only a matter of time before Feng Jiutian had to pay the price for his experiment.
“As long as you don’t tamper with Six Evils,” casually added Ming Feizhen, although frigid. “If you cross the line, someone will come for you – them if not us.”
Able to pick up on the two different tones, Feng Jiutian queried, “Is there… anything different between you and them?”
“Everyone dies versus a life worse than death.”
It was tough to tell how different the two outcomes were. Feng Jiutian wasn’t going to test the limits, nonetheless.
“It wasn’t your clan, was it?” questioned Ming Feizhen, condescendingly. “If your clan was able to recreate the phoenix roar, you wouldn’t be so interested in Feng Qizhi and his father. Plus, who’d shove Nirvana’s bloodmarrow down someone’s throat if they weren’t out of ideas?”
Indeed, Feng Clan didn’t peacefully obtain a successful mutator back then or obtain the phoenix roar for free. As Ming Feizhen pointed out, nobody would’ve poured the extremely expensive bloodmarrow down their own clansman’s throat if they had a choice. Due to the consequences they had to bear and their inability to replicate the result, Feng Qizhi was fortunate enough to still be alive. Feng Qizhi wasn’t some rare commodity they were raising for a task; he was just a rare card that they just couldn’t accept binning.
Feng Qizhi’s phoenix roar was a shoddy replica that would’ve only afforded a moment. While it was possible, it would’ve been awfully difficult to have been sufficient to guarantee they could kill a Divine Realm warrior. Abels would’ve been able to use his powerfield to shield himself without moving a limb if they tried on him. As long as a Divine Realm adept expanded their Enlightenment radius to its maximum capacity before they were in that sort pinch, they had plenty of opportunities to escape the crisis if they couldn’t kill their foe. Feng Jiutian’s logic made sense on paper, but it was full of holes regarding details he overlooked. The situation that Feng Clan was faced with back then was different. What they obtained and then lost must’ve been invaluable to them.
“So, you are not going to pursue this line any further?” inquired Feng Jiutian.
“Didn’t I collect it?” Ming Feizhen pointed to the confused Feng Qizhi who was still warning his cousin to be careful when he went to the toilet. “Why do I need your clan when I have him? If there are any clues worth further research, he’d be the go-to source. How much can you tell me about what happened back then even if I interrogated you? The fact that he carries phoenix blood tells us that his father was infected with it prior to his birth. How many years older are you compared to him? What the hell would you know?”
As much as Feng Jiutian wanted to rebuke the insults, he didn’t have any grounds to form a rebuttal.
“Besides, I’m as busy as can be at the moment, so now is not the best time for me to investigate this matter further. When I’m ready to get back to it, even if you don’t want to talk, hah.”
For whatever reason, Ming Feizhen’s “hah” rendered Feng Jiutian aghast. Therefore, Feng Jiutian shook his head, inwardly warning himself to not be hung up on it. “Uh, but are you not taking a break right now? What do you mean by as busy as can be?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd for me to bring you here for a meal?” Ming Feizhen slouched as he exhaled at the ceiling. “Didn’t you say you’re always under surveillance?”
Feng Jiutian spent a moment thinking before he caught up with Ming Feizhen. “Yes, but not always. At the very least, in recent years…”
“I have a good guess. Given your young age, there are lots of things that you don’t have a say in. In saying that, you aren’t free of secrets. In fact, you probably know some that you can’t divulge, so putting you under surveillance is justifiable. There’s one thing I disagree with you on, however. I don’t believe three years is long enough.” Ming Feizhen hiked up a corner of his lips. “Let’s suppose that you were forced to spill everything to me today. What would you say Gan Fengchi’s last job would be in that case?”
Numerous answers to mysteries Feng Jiutian couldn’t figure out poured into his head. Gan Fengchi had been in charge of reporting his whereabouts all the time. On account of Gan Fengchi’s loyalty and reliability, Feng Jiutian didn’t suspect anything when his father assigned Gan Fengchi as his companion. Did he not surrender all information unconditionally to Gan Fengchi, though? Who else would’ve been a better candidate to keep watch over him than someone always by his side?
As hard as it was to accept, Feng Jiutian replied, “Silence me…”
“That’s one possibility.” Ming Feizhen supinated a hand. “He may not go that far. That said, Gan Fengchi certainly monitored you excessively. Keep in mind, however, that it was Feng Clan who assigned him to you. I’m talking about someone else.”
“And that is…”
“He’s been with you for three years and has been trying to find out if you truly know about what happened back then. He might not keep tabs on you every day, but what if you were plotting something dangerous that had an embedded risk of failure? I believe you’d be put under surveillance again. Moreover, if you fail to follow any plan and get stuck in one spot, I’m sure they’ll find a way to find out what you’re doing and if you leaked anything.”
Feng Jiutian instantly understood why Ming Feizhen needed to choose Dongpo.
Ming Feizhen cracked a smile. “The fish has taken the bait.”
Ming Feizhen vanished out of view, apparently teleporting into the sky. Filtering out all unnecessary input to his eyes and ears, he sought out the one thing out of place. He chose Dongpo because being up so high increased their visibility and conveyed, “I’m right here. Something is going on, you know? You’re all about to be exposed, you know?” If someone wanted to see what was happening on Donpo’s top floor, then they needed to position themselves up equally as high.
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