Chapter 61 - When Spring Comes and Flowers Bloom

It was a desperate move, but it was the only way.

Ye Liuyun did all that he could to make any last changes.

At the same time, he no longer had any possibility of change.

Shen Lian's disappearing sword aura was the only thing that was out of his expectation.

With the help of the Ice Jade, he did not have to worry about Shen Lian's Deity Vanquishing Sword. However, Being and Non-Being of the Sword Aura caught him off guard and he was out of means.

This was not within his prediction. No one would have thought that sword aura could disappear into thin air without a trace.

Ye Liuyun did his best, but Shen Lian was beyond his comprehension. His palm strike did not hit the sword aura, but instead, it hit a body. The sword aura too landed on this young body.

As he acted hastily, the palm strength from Ye Liuyun's strike was not strong enough.

He retracted a great deal of the strength in the nick of time, but it could still break the person's heart meridian, and at the same time, the sword aura pierced the person from behind.

The sword aura exploded and was propelled forward by the momentum, thus canceling out Ye Liuyun's palm strength. The young body fell into Ye Liuyun's arms.

The scent of her hair rushed into his nose, followed by the scent of blood.

At the crucial moment, Xiao Zhu had blocked the sword aura for Ye Liuyun with her body.

Xiao Zhu did not know why she acted this way. She was not sure if Ye Liuyun was able to dodge from the sword aura, to begin with. After sensing extreme danger the moment Shen Lian raised his hand, she subconsciously protected Ye Liuyun with her body.

This was the first time Shen Lian killed a person in his past or the current lifetime, a woman no less.

Of course, it was hard to say whether Ye Liuyun's palm strike or Shen Lian's sword aura dealt the fatal blow.

At that point, Xiao Zhu was not dead yet.

Shen Lian was not sure if Xiao Zhu was considered to be someone who should be killed.

Morally, Xiao Zhu was a witch who killed without batting an eye.

Despite being the Eldest Young Lady of Guiyun Peak, she was arrogant and unreasonable. Out of her selfish desires, she killed Li Zhuang and his team from the Shun Feng Escorts.

Shen Lian was not particularly fond of her but he did not intend to kill her.

He did not do it on purpose. No one would have thought that Xiao Zhu would sacrifice herself and blocked the sword aura for Ye Liuyun.

Plenty of people in this world would gladly sacrifice themselves for Ye Liuyun.

At least the sword servants in Mingjian Peak, like Jian Shisan and Jian Shisi, would voluntarily lay their lives down for Ye Liuyun.

However, to speak of those who would not die for Ye Liuyun, Xiao Zhu would definitely be on the list. There was probably no one else who hated Ye Liuyun as much as Xiao Zhu.

Shen Lian was shocked, but Ye Liuyun was not sure what he felt about it.

He did not even think about revenging against Shen Lian. The sword that he controlled with his essential Qi fell into the lake. Ye Liuyun did not have time to think about the precious weapon.

Xiao Zhu had a certain level of attainment in terms of martial arts, so she did not die immediately.

Ye Liuyun instilled a great deal of his essential Qi into Xiao Zhu and managed to preserve her last breath.

"Sorry," Xiao Zhu collapsed onto Ye Liuyun and apologized.

Only Ye Liuyun would understand the reason behind Xiao Zhu's apology. Over the past years, Xiao Zhu had been acting against him. There were a few times where he was almost killed by her.

"Don't speak. Let's head back to the peak. Mingjian Peak has the best medicine, we can definitely stabilize your injuries." Ye Liuyun suppressed his emotions and forced himself to be calm.

"I know how badly injured I am, not even the Daluo immortals can save me now. Would you listen to me, please?" Xiao Zhu struggled with her sentence.

Shen Lian did not know what to do in this situation.

He was not in the wrong, yet he felt guilty.

To be honest, he was jealous of Ye Liuyun. At least there was a woman who would sacrifice her life for him.

Ye Liuyun had always been careful and rational. When it comes to decision-making, he was always very decisive.

He would never regret his decisions, yet he was lost.

Xiao Zhu saw Ye Liuyun's hesitation and smiled brightly. "At this moment, I finally believe that you actually like me and that it was never about us being engaged to each other. I'm so silly," Xiao Zhu spoke.

She hated how she had to marry a crippled man like Ye Liuyun himself due to their engagement, while all she hoped for was that Ye Liuyun had loved her, and there was more than the engagement between them.

Ye Liuyun did not disappoint her. To be fair, she knew what kind of person Ye Liuyun was after all these years.

Shen Lian did not want to intrude on the lovers' talk. He walked away and stood next to Kuhui.

He did not stay to ask Ye Liuyun about the admission details in relation to Qing Xuan Celestial School. He wanted to see if there was anything that he could help out with, just to lessen his guilt despite not being in the wrong.

That was the curious trait of humanity; sometimes a clear line could not be drawn to distinguish right from wrong and black from white.

This was what Shen Lian would never give up. He refused to be a piece of cold hard rock, not even for the path of eternity.

...

After a night of the eastern wind, when spring came and flowers were in bloom, Xiao Zhu succ.u.mbed to her injuries.

She was buried amidst the pear blossom trees, and her soul was accompanied by a white sea of pear blossoms.

Not even the best medication at Mingjian Peak could help her live another day.

Ye Liuyun did not speak with anyone, and he did not express any desire to seek revenge from Shen Lian.

He built a hut next to Xiao Zhu's grave and stayed there.

Shen Lian met with the Old Lord of Mingjian Peak, Ye Liuyun's father.

He was special. His sideburns were greyish white and he looked healthy.

His eyes were what was special about him. Those eyes seemed to have seen through the mortal world and realized that everything was merely a dream.

Old Lord Ye was casually dressed. His eyes aside, if one were to see him on the streets, he would probably be mistaken as an old learned scholar.

His name was Ye Qiufeng, which meant the fallen autumn leaves.

"Old Lord Ye, how is Brother Liuyun now?"

"He is fine, you don't have to beat yourself up for it. Master Kuhui told me about what happened that day."

Shen Lian kept quiet. He did not know what to say.

Could it be that he was not blaming himself anymore? But he knew if it were to happen all over again, the ending would still be the same.

"Liuyun told me to pass you something, and this was why I came to see you," Ye Qiufeng spoke after noticing Shen Lian's dilemma.

Ye Liuyun gave a letter to Shen Lian. The letter detailed the process of admission of Qing Xuan and even mentioned the tiniest elements.

He was a man of great intellect. Through his observation, he guessed Shen Lian's true intention.

After reading the content of the letter, Shen Lian felt a strange emotion welling up in him.

He won the battle, yet he lost.

It proved that Ye Liuyun was not beaten by devastation, and was still the Young Master of Mingjian Peak.

Shen Lian did not look for Ye Liuyun before he left Mingjian Peak.

He believed that they would meet someday in the future. Who knows, they might be enemies, or they might have put behind past betrayal and vengeance with a smile.