socalfunplaces Page 34
Page 34
The cultivators inside the Celestial Academy were initially stunned, watching their companions perish instantly, before being overwhelmed by rage.
Hundreds of people, armed with weapons, launched a frenzied counterattack. Talismans and spells exploded with dazzling light in the rainy night, but they couldn't even touch the hem of Mu Qinghan's clothes.
He moved through the crowd like a white shadow, each swing of his sword accompanied by a scream and a falling figure.
One of them was even an elder of Wangquan Manor. Upon seeing this, he roared and rushed forward, only to be pierced through the shoulder by Mu Qinghan's sword and pinned to a pillar. Blood flowed down, and no one in the courtyard dared to step forward to stop him.
"Cough cough, you little beast...you...you've gone mad? Are you really not afraid of the wrath of my Royal Power Manor?"
"You don't represent the royal family, you are nothing..."
As soon as he finished speaking, his head fell to the ground.
The rain continued to fall, washing away the bloodstains on the ground, but it couldn't dispel the thick, overwhelming stench of blood.
The last cultivator from the Immortal Academy fell to the sword that day, and the entire headquarters fell into complete silence.
Hundreds of monks stationed there were uprooted overnight, and nearly a thousand people lost their lives.
Carrying a blood-dripping sword, Mu Qinghan walked out of the Heavenly Immortal Academy step by step. His footsteps, treading on the ground where blood and rainwater mingled, echoed like a nightmare in the empty road.
Very few people survived; they huddled in a corner, their eyes unfocused and their bodies trembling.
After that, whenever someone mentioned that rainy night, these survivors would run around frantically, shouting incessantly.
"Devil! Devil! The devil has come to claim my life!"
That snow-white figure and the sky full of sword light became their eternal nightmare, recurring repeatedly in countless rainy nights.
The candlelight flickered before the lonely moon in the east, and the dancing light and shadow fell on his face.
That complex expression... was cut into pieces that flickered between light and shadow.
Dongfang Huaizhu sat to the side holding her young daughter, Dongfang Qinlan, and the two sisters' eyes were both fixed on their father.
He had just hurriedly summoned the two to his study, clutching a folded letter tightly in his hand, but remained silent for a long time.
I simply let the warm light of the candle cast dappled patterns of light on the letter paper.
The air was filled with a faint scent of ink and candle wax, and silence slowly spread through the study.
Dongfang Qinlan quietly looked up at her father's slightly white fingertips, then glanced at her sister's calm profile beside her, and finally suppressed the question she wanted to ask.
It was only after a long time that Dongfang Guyue slowly loosened her fingers and unfolded the letter under the candlelight.
The paper contained only three words, yet they plunged him into a long silence once again.
"Is it... time to begin?"
He finally spoke softly, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible melancholy, before turning his gaze to the window.
The night rain had stopped sometime earlier, and the sky was tinged with a very faint pale white.
Suddenly, as if he had figured something out, he burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha—you old fox, you dare to scheme against that little guy? Aren't you afraid he'll find out later and come after you, Wang Quan Shou Zhuo?"
"Father...you..."
Startled by the sudden laughter, Dongfang Qinlan couldn't help but try to ask a question, but Dongfang Huaizhu quickly covered her mouth.
She looked at her sister in confusion, only to see Dongfang Huaizhu gently shake her head, indicating that she should not interrupt her father's thoughts.
Dongfang Guyue paid no attention to his daughters' little antics. As their laughter subsided, his eyes suddenly sharpened.
"No, that little fellow is so clever; he must have seen through Wang Quan Shouzhuo's intentions long ago. So... he wasn't tricked, but rather he had already made up his mind?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed his hand on the table, his tone filled with a long-suppressed sense of relief.
"Good, good! Kill! They should have been killed long ago! These maggots entrenched in the Dao Alliance should have been completely wiped out long ago!"
"It'll be more satisfying to kill them all!"
He turned to look at his two daughters, his expression instantly turning serious, and his tone becoming solemn.
"Huaizhu, Qin Lan, remember this: from this day forward, the leader of your generation will only be that little guy from the Mu family."
"No matter what happens in the future, we must never antagonize him, let alone stand on the opposite side of him."
"Mu Qinghan from the Mu family?"
Dongfang Huaizhu frowned and confirmed softly.
Although she had heard of this name before, she never expected her father to value it so much.
That legendary...human genius...
Dongfang Guyue did not reply directly, but simply picked up the letter with three words written on it and slowly handed it to the candlelight.
The orange-red flames quickly licked at the paper, burning it completely.
There were only three words on it, which turned scarlet in the firelight.
Chapter 44 Returning Tide
The rain finally stopped, leaving only damp moisture in the air.
Outside the headquarters of Tianxian Academy, several bright yellow seals were crossed and pasted on the vermilion gate, the edges of which were slightly curled up by the morning breeze.
The courtyard was eerily quiet, with only a few monks dressed in plain robes silently cleaning up the corpses on the ground.
Their movements were slow and deliberate, but they couldn't hide the fear in their eyes.
The ground was littered with corpses and blood, piled up like mountains.
That boy... actually...
Outside the courtyard wall, two ordinary people passing by stopped at a distance, and one of them couldn't help but lower his voice to ask a question.
"Huh? Why is the Heavenly Immortal Academy suddenly sealed off today? I heard some noises last night, could something serious have happened?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the person next to him immediately reached out and tugged at his sleeve, his eyes full of warning.
"Shh—don't ask questions you shouldn't! Didn't you see even those Taoist priests are avoiding you?"
"We can't get involved in this, let's get out of here!"
The two left in a hurry, not looking back any longer.
Meanwhile, the Mu family mansion
Mu Qinghan sat on the edge of the bed, his upper body bare, a deep, bone-revealing wound spread across his back, with dried blood still clinging to the edges.
Grandma Mu sat behind him, holding ointment in her hand, gently applying it to the wound with her fingertips. Her movements were gentle, but her eyes were terribly red. Several times, she wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back.
The mother didn't know what her son had done; all she knew was that he was hurt, he was in pain, and it pained her deeply…
Mu Qinghan lowered his eyes and silently looked at his hands.
The blood from last night still seemed to linger on my fingertips; the warm touch and pungent smell of blood lingered in my mind.
His hands were steady, without the slightest tremor, but deep in his eyes lay a complex and indescribable emotion.
The room was very quiet.
Old Man Mu sat in the chair opposite him, holding an unopened flask of wine in his hand, his gaze fixed on his son, without saying a word.
Mu Shenqi leaned against the door frame, his usually lively personality now much more subdued.
He looked at the scars on his brother's back, then at his tense profile, opened his mouth, and finally just sighed softly.
No one in the room mentioned what happened last night, just like the outside world.
The morning light had just spread over Tushan
Suddenly, a series of light footsteps came from outside the mountain gate.
At first, there were only a few people, but soon they gathered into dozens of figures.
Among them were fox spirits, rabbit spirits, and cat spirits…
Some had tears streaming down their faces, the tear tracks mixed with the dirt.
Some looked tired, but couldn't hide the joy in their eyes.
Some of them still had unhealed wounds, with newly formed scabs oozing blood...
On the city wall, Tu Shan Honghong's pupils contracted as she looked at the scene outside the gate, her face filled with shock.
She instinctively clenched her sleeves, and the hands hidden beneath them trembled slightly uncontrollably.
"These... are the residents that Tushan has been searching for all these years, but has never been able to contact!"
"Weren't they missing? How come they suddenly came back together?"
Tu Shan Rongrong stared blankly at the scene before her, her mouth slightly agape.
"Miss Honghong, open the door! I want to go home!"
Outside the mountain gate, a fox spirit woman helped her injured companion and shouted loudly towards the city wall, her voice full of urgency and grievance.
Then, more voices rose up: "Waaah... I'm home, I'm finally home..."
"Mother! I'm back alive! Where are you?"
Cries and shouts mingled together, drifting on the wind into Tushan.
Tu Shan Honghong snapped out of her daze, her shock turning into urgency. She quickly turned to Tu Shan Ya Ya, who was still in a daze beside her, her voice trembling slightly, "Quick, open the door! Let them in! Carefully examine their injuries and arrange for treatment immediately!"
"Oh oh oh!"
Tu Shan Ya Ya then realized what was happening and quickly turned around to loudly relay orders to the guards below the city.
The heavy gate slowly opened, and the returning monsters crowded into Tushan. When they saw the familiar plants and buildings, many of them couldn't help but tear up, and their long-suppressed emotions were finally released.
"Waaaaahhhhhh—I survived! I survived—"
This scene is not unique to Tushan.
Monsters that had been missing for many years began to reappear in various places.
When the tribespeople pressed them on how they escaped danger, all the monsters gave surprisingly consistent answers.
Last night, a young human, with only a sword, destroyed the Heavenly Immortal Academy and released all the women imprisoned there.
Humans killed humans, but saved demons.