C10. Burning
If you are seeing this text, you are NOT reading it on the original site. Head on down to lovelysweetdream 959085286 dot wordpress dot com to read the original!
“Say that again!”
Even the sect elders could no longer hold it in.
“He wanted to have the pond filled up? Why didn’t you stop him?”
All the people who had originally been lying in wait on the court walls of the Chen residence had escaped up to this point as well. Faced with this interrogation, they all carried awkward expressions, muttering and mumbling the truth.
After they pressed the page boys for answers, they had wanted to test the Chen family further, so they only wiped the later part of the page boys’ memories. When Chen Shu returned, the page boys had reported to him that the young master of the Yao family of Linshui had brought a notice of visit.
After they told him of Young Master Yao’s strange actions, Chen Shu flew into a rage, hitting the lantern hanging in front of the gate with his whip.
Chen Shu had looked as if his eye sockets were about to split open. The moment he stepped in, he rushed straight to the backyard, ordering the servants to fill up the pond. The Chen family’s rules were strict, and the backyard only had servant girls and old maids; they were so scared that they hid away. The old madam was bedridden with a serious illness; the matriarch of the eldest branch had long since passed on; the head of the household was working as a government official; for years, Chen Shu’s parents had been filling in as the heads of the household.
The ghostly happenings in the backyard had caused much unrest within the Chen family. If Chen Shu rushed back with a completely different expression after going out, maybe he had received some advice from some competent master? Maybe the filling of the pond had something to do with fengshui. Thinking such, the servant began to work hard.
But when they dug it open, no one had expected the water level to decrease rapidly – following that, a funnel-shaped vortex appeared in the pond.
The Chen family’s servants ran away, startled. In the pond that had dried up enough to show the bottom, the temperature continued to rise. The cultivators who had been crouching nearby and watching on immediately felt that something was wrong, and left the scene.
When they turned to look again, the ground was shaking, and a column of flame had risen up to meet the sky.
Now that they were being stopped, they all pleaded not guilty, “It has nothing to do with us, we didn’t do anything…”
“We possess spiritual energy, so of course we wouldn’t dare touch the Stone-borne Flame. The Chen family are all mortals, so by right, there shouldn’t be anything going wrong even if they went to fill up the pond!”
They wanted to stay out of it, waiting until Chen He sensed the changes and showed up, but who would have expected the Stone-borne Flame to blow up.
The Stone-borne Flame had endured so many years in the pond, so it should have been happy when it heard that the pond was going to be filled! For would that not mean it would be able to return to the earth and slumber peacefully?
The elders could not help but ask, “The rumours previously stated that the owner of the Stone-borne Flame was the lost child of the Chen household; did you find him? Does the Stone-borne Flame going out of control have anything to do with him?”
The happenings in the tavern were also reported to them. By the time everyone hurried over, there was no longer any trace of Chen He and Shi Feng except a window that had disappeared. No one had seen them leave.
After the prestigious elders heard the cultivators’ description of Chen He, they could not believe what they had heard.
—seventeen years old, completion of the Foundation Establishment stage. This meant that the amount of time he had devoted to cultivation did not even amount to fifteen years.
Physical characteristics could be passed down, but talent could not be passed down. Natural-born treasures would only increase spiritual power, not the cultivation level.
“Which sect has him as a disciple?” an elder of the Qianyun Sect asked sternly, staring at the demon cultivators opposite him.
“Don’t pin the blame on us of the demonic Dao!” the demon cultivators rebuked, unwilling to show weakness. “Who doesn’t know that the major sects have a strong foundation and abundant information? We of the demonic Dao are despised by the heavens; if we could make a little whiskerless[1] whelp complete the Foundation Establishment stage, we’d be laughing so much that we could wake right up from our dreams!”
The column of flame stretched all the way to the sky, its swelteringly high temperatures forming waves of heat.
Such a horrifying anomaly could not be smoothed over simply with water. The citizens of Yunzhou City all attempted to bring their family with them and escape from the place.
Previously, many places had experienced violent tremors and collapses, which had made a mess out of the streets and alleys. The bustling, prosperous sights were gone, replaced by cries and screams all around. Ruffians and knaves took the opportunity to rob and burgle. Before the flames had even reached here, there were already people who lay dead in the ruins.
“Enough! The Stone-borne Flame has left its confines, and Yunzhou City is on the verge of destruction. Whether you choose to save the people or escape on your own, it is up to yourself!” After leaving behind those harsh words, the sect elder of the Qianyun Sect hurriedly left with his disciples.
The demonic grandmaster laughed coldly as he left with his subordinates. So what if he had completed the Foundation Establishment stage? If that fellow from the Chen family did not die today, there would be another member of the demonic Dao; it would be enough of a headache for those old posers!
~~~
The column of flame became thicker and thicker. The eastern side of the city was enveloped in black smoke; the grand manors and courts now seemed like dark hells.
Houses continued to collapse, and the frames and ceiling beams, burned completely black, turned to dust.
It seemed as if this scorching hot air could rip through one’s skin.
Chen He coughed, choked by the hot air and smoke. Holding his breath, he switched to embryonic breathing[2]. He did not understand; there had only been tremors previously, so why was there suddenly a tall column of flame, and why was Shi Feng bringing him towards the fire?
When the flames had risen, the cultivators had been hollering about someone triggering the Stone-borne Flame, and they had hinted in their quarrels that they would be able to obtain the Stone-borne Flame if they killed him.
So, all this before his eyes was the Stone-borne Flame?!
“Senior Brother, this is mine?” Chen He pointed to the violently blazing flames, his expression strange.
Shi Feng’s heart clenched. When he turned back and saw that Chen He was still behaving normally, he gave a sigh of relief.
But Chen He muttered, puzzled, “Those people came after me, just for this?”
Up close, it was easier to notice that there was something different about these flames. They were a brilliant red. The edges of the leaping flames layered upon one another, like some monstrous beast; it seemed to be wrapping tentacles around the house and its rooms, chewing and chewing until there was only dust left.
“No, they’re not looking for me, but ‘the Chen family’s child who had an accident by the pond’. Senior Brother, where are we going?” Chen He’s gaze held complex emotions. He had thought many times of the scene of his return to the Chen family, but he had never imagined that it would turn out this way.
The wind whipped past their ears, bringing with it the sweltering heat, and the dust and smoke.
Although he had always been apprehensive about the incident with the pond, there was no one who was willing to believe that his relatives would not care or even ask about him.
Chen He had always thought he had gotten lost in the mountains, and the truth had proved he was quite close. Perhaps the cultivators of Black Depths Valley had not sent him back because of his confoundment, for it was incurable in the mortal world.
However, his Senior Brother had never mentioned the Chen family, and the memory he used as a reminder contained no such mentions as well. Chen He had sensed that there must have been something wrong, and always avoided thinking about it. Even when he came to Yunzhou City, he purposely forgot that he could look for his relatives here.
Deep in the courts, the heated air formed violently shifting waves in the cramped spaces, as if they were monsters and demons stretching and cackling madly.
Chen He trembled without meaning to, and cracks appeared in the spiritual energy that was protecting his body.
—the broken remains of the manor, the scorched, shrivelled trees, they had overlapped with his cloudy memories.
There was no mistaking that this was the Chen residence.
There were no people plotting against him, there were no siblings who eyed him coldly or curiously, and there were no agitated relatives who were wiping their tears. All that remained was a manor that was slowly collapsing in the raging flames.
A bout of familiar spiritual energy surged in. Chen He knew who was protecting him; swaying, he turned and lay against Shi Feng’s shoulder.
He did not weep, but his gaze held despair.
Shi Feng embraced him silently, and they continued to walk in further.
The original plan had been to go in the middle of the night and search for the Stone-borne Flame by the pond in the backyard.
With Shi Feng’s ability, he could not be stopped even if the tops of the walls and roofs were full of people. Although the Stone-borne Flame could not be touched, Shi Feng could seal it in Chen He’s dantian, only removing the seal when Chen He’s cultivation level was sufficient; it could then be safely converted into a source of strength. But now that the Stone-borne Flame had broken free, things had become troublesome.
Patting Chen He’s back lightly, Shi Feng fixed his gaze towards the roaring flames in the distance, sending a thought to Chen He:
“Find somewhere to hide. Do not use your spiritual force to attack the flames. Its target is you.”
Stunned for a moment, Chen He quickly began to realise something. He reached out to grab Shi Feng, but came up with nothing.
“No, Senior Brother, let’s go!” Chen He vaguely guessed that the Stone-borne Flame was something quite precious; otherwise, there was no way the cultivators would fight for it. However, he could not see a single person in the Chen residence, which showed just how dangerous it was.
Shi Feng was too fast. The flames rolled, making it appear as if they had swallowed that bundle of red robes.
“Senior Brother—”
Chen He chased after him, using his bare hands to split apart two large banyan trees that were falling, but lost his bearings in the smoke and flames.
His spiritual energy manifested, enveloping his body in a faint golden glow. However, he soon discovered that this fire seemed to be able to consume everything, including spiritual energy.
“Senior Brother!” Chen He glanced about anxiously. He knew why Shi Feng had taken the risk – cultivators could not owe the heavens any karmic debt.
If this so-called Stone-borne Flame really had such a deep connection to him, to the point that others could obtain it if they killed him, then it was highly likely that they either shared the same fate, or it had acknowledged him as its owner. Regardless of which it was, if the flames were to consume Yunzhou City and raze it to the ground…even Chen He, who was quite bold, felt his legs weaken for a moment at the very thought.
“Senior Brother, come back! Let’s not bother about it! I don’t mind falling into the demonic Dao, as long as you don’t abandon me for being a demon cultivator!” Chen He shouted hoarsely.
He received no reply at all.
Carefully avoiding the flames, he passed by each burning house.
The ornamented corridors had become nothing more than ruins, which the tongues of flame continued to lap at. A misshapen gold cage rolled about in the corner, where laughingthrush feathers floated about; one lick from a tongue of flame, and the feathers turned to dust, vanishing without a trace.
Suddenly hearing a sound behind him, Chen He dodged expertly. He saw a dusty-faced, dishevelled man raising a broken wooden stick to hit him.
“So it’s you, you devil[3]!”
With a careless swing of Chen He’s hand, the man lost his balance, falling over.
“Shu’er!”
The shrill scream had Chen He frozen for a moment. Then he saw a similarly dishevelled woman leap towards the man, crying loudly.
“You were the bane of the family, and you’re still coming back to ruin the Chen family even after you’ve become a ghost!” The man lay panting on the ground, coughing non-stop from the smoke. “Mother, why did you not listen to me; we should have moved away and split off from the family when the ghost hauntings happened, then we could have avoided this disaster.”
The woman cried even louder, “You say it so easily, but that old thing won’t leave so easily since the Chen family’s ancestral hall[4] is here. Every year, so many people die in the wilderness, and how many of them have become ghosts? Splitting from the family; are you crazy, it would take a long time, and we wouldn’t be considered direct descendants anymore. And it’s the clan’s elders who decide who your uncle’s assets go to, you think those old fogies will give us an easy time?”
“Mother, why are you still talking about such things when it has come down to this? Hurry and escape!”
“Where to? I’d rather die than live with nothing but suffering.” The woman cried and laughed; when she lifted her head and saw Chen He glowing faintly in the firelight, his hair barely messy and his clothes without a speck of dust, she let out a shrill shriek, shoving at her son, “Shu’er, that devil is looking at me, kill him!”
Chen He also recognised that man as the one who had passed by the tavern earlier that day, while he was on his horse.
He had not recognised him by the appearance, but by that pair of eyes, filled with venomous hatred.
C10. Burning
If you are seeing this text, you are NOT reading it on the original site. Head on down to lovelysweetdream 959085286 dot wordpress dot com to read the original!
“Say that again!”
Even the sect elders could no longer hold it in.
“He wanted to have the pond filled up? Why didn’t you stop him?”
All the people who had originally been lying in wait on the court walls of the Chen residence had escaped up to this point as well. Faced with this interrogation, they all carried awkward expressions, muttering and mumbling the truth.
After they pressed the page boys for answers, they had wanted to test the Chen family further, so they only wiped the later part of the page boys’ memories. When Chen Shu returned, the page boys had reported to him that the young master of the Yao family of Linshui had brought a notice of visit.
After they told him of Young Master Yao’s strange actions, Chen Shu flew into a rage, hitting the lantern hanging in front of the gate with his whip.
Chen Shu had looked as if his eye sockets were about to split open. The moment he stepped in, he rushed straight to the backyard, ordering the servants to fill up the pond. The Chen family’s rules were strict, and the backyard only had servant girls and old maids; they were so scared that they hid away. The old madam was bedridden with a serious illness; the matriarch of the eldest branch had long since passed on; the head of the household was working as a government official; for years, Chen Shu’s parents had been filling in as the heads of the household.
The ghostly happenings in the backyard had caused much unrest within the Chen family. If Chen Shu rushed back with a completely different expression after going out, maybe he had received some advice from some competent master? Maybe the filling of the pond had something to do with fengshui. Thinking such, the servant began to work hard.
But when they dug it open, no one had expected the water level to decrease rapidly – following that, a funnel-shaped vortex appeared in the pond.
The Chen family’s servants ran away, startled. In the pond that had dried up enough to show the bottom, the temperature continued to rise. The cultivators who had been crouching nearby and watching on immediately felt that something was wrong, and left the scene.
When they turned to look again, the ground was shaking, and a column of flame had risen up to meet the sky.
Now that they were being stopped, they all pleaded not guilty, “It has nothing to do with us, we didn’t do anything…”
“We possess spiritual energy, so of course we wouldn’t dare touch the Stone-borne Flame. The Chen family are all mortals, so by right, there shouldn’t be anything going wrong even if they went to fill up the pond!”
They wanted to stay out of it, waiting until Chen He sensed the changes and showed up, but who would have expected the Stone-borne Flame to blow up.
The Stone-borne Flame had endured so many years in the pond, so it should have been happy when it heard that the pond was going to be filled! For would that not mean it would be able to return to the earth and slumber peacefully?
The elders could not help but ask, “The rumours previously stated that the owner of the Stone-borne Flame was the lost child of the Chen household; did you find him? Does the Stone-borne Flame going out of control have anything to do with him?”
The happenings in the tavern were also reported to them. By the time everyone hurried over, there was no longer any trace of Chen He and Shi Feng except a window that had disappeared. No one had seen them leave.
After the prestigious elders heard the cultivators’ description of Chen He, they could not believe what they had heard.
—seventeen years old, completion of the Foundation Establishment stage. This meant that the amount of time he had devoted to cultivation did not even amount to fifteen years.
Physical characteristics could be passed down, but talent could not be passed down. Natural-born treasures would only increase spiritual power, not the cultivation level.
“Which sect has him as a disciple?” an elder of the Qianyun Sect asked sternly, staring at the demon cultivators opposite him.
“Don’t pin the blame on us of the demonic Dao!” the demon cultivators rebuked, unwilling to show weakness. “Who doesn’t know that the major sects have a strong foundation and abundant information? We of the demonic Dao are despised by the heavens; if we could make a little whiskerless[1] whelp complete the Foundation Establishment stage, we’d be laughing so much that we could wake right up from our dreams!”
The column of flame stretched all the way to the sky, its swelteringly high temperatures forming waves of heat.
Such a horrifying anomaly could not be smoothed over simply with water. The citizens of Yunzhou City all attempted to bring their family with them and escape from the place.
Previously, many places had experienced violent tremors and collapses, which had made a mess out of the streets and alleys. The bustling, prosperous sights were gone, replaced by cries and screams all around. Ruffians and knaves took the opportunity to rob and burgle. Before the flames had even reached here, there were already people who lay dead in the ruins.
“Enough! The Stone-borne Flame has left its confines, and Yunzhou City is on the verge of destruction. Whether you choose to save the people or escape on your own, it is up to yourself!” After leaving behind those harsh words, the sect elder of the Qianyun Sect hurriedly left with his disciples.
The demonic grandmaster laughed coldly as he left with his subordinates. So what if he had completed the Foundation Establishment stage? If that fellow from the Chen family did not die today, there would be another member of the demonic Dao; it would be enough of a headache for those old posers!
~~~
The column of flame became thicker and thicker. The eastern side of the city was enveloped in black smoke; the grand manors and courts now seemed like dark hells.
Houses continued to collapse, and the frames and ceiling beams, burned completely black, turned to dust.
It seemed as if this scorching hot air could rip through one’s skin.
Chen He coughed, choked by the hot air and smoke. Holding his breath, he switched to embryonic breathing[2]. He did not understand; there had only been tremors previously, so why was there suddenly a tall column of flame, and why was Shi Feng bringing him towards the fire?
When the flames had risen, the cultivators had been hollering about someone triggering the Stone-borne Flame, and they had hinted in their quarrels that they would be able to obtain the Stone-borne Flame if they killed him.
So, all this before his eyes was the Stone-borne Flame?!
“Senior Brother, this is mine?” Chen He pointed to the violently blazing flames, his expression strange.
Shi Feng’s heart clenched. When he turned back and saw that Chen He was still behaving normally, he gave a sigh of relief.
But Chen He muttered, puzzled, “Those people came after me, just for this?”
Up close, it was easier to notice that there was something different about these flames. They were a brilliant red. The edges of the leaping flames layered upon one another, like some monstrous beast; it seemed to be wrapping tentacles around the house and its rooms, chewing and chewing until there was only dust left.
“No, they’re not looking for me, but ‘the Chen family’s child who had an accident by the pond’. Senior Brother, where are we going?” Chen He’s gaze held complex emotions. He had thought many times of the scene of his return to the Chen family, but he had never imagined that it would turn out this way.
The wind whipped past their ears, bringing with it the sweltering heat, and the dust and smoke.
Although he had always been apprehensive about the incident with the pond, there was no one who was willing to believe that his relatives would not care or even ask about him.
Chen He had always thought he had gotten lost in the mountains, and the truth had proved he was quite close. Perhaps the cultivators of Black Depths Valley had not sent him back because of his confoundment, for it was incurable in the mortal world.
However, his Senior Brother had never mentioned the Chen family, and the memory he used as a reminder contained no such mentions as well. Chen He had sensed that there must have been something wrong, and always avoided thinking about it. Even when he came to Yunzhou City, he purposely forgot that he could look for his relatives here.
Deep in the courts, the heated air formed violently shifting waves in the cramped spaces, as if they were monsters and demons stretching and cackling madly.
Chen He trembled without meaning to, and cracks appeared in the spiritual energy that was protecting his body.
—the broken remains of the manor, the scorched, shrivelled trees, they had overlapped with his cloudy memories.
There was no mistaking that this was the Chen residence.
There were no people plotting against him, there were no siblings who eyed him coldly or curiously, and there were no agitated relatives who were wiping their tears. All that remained was a manor that was slowly collapsing in the raging flames.
A bout of familiar spiritual energy surged in. Chen He knew who was protecting him; swaying, he turned and lay against Shi Feng’s shoulder.
He did not weep, but his gaze held despair.
Shi Feng embraced him silently, and they continued to walk in further.
The original plan had been to go in the middle of the night and search for the Stone-borne Flame by the pond in the backyard.
With Shi Feng’s ability, he could not be stopped even if the tops of the walls and roofs were full of people. Although the Stone-borne Flame could not be touched, Shi Feng could seal it in Chen He’s dantian, only removing the seal when Chen He’s cultivation level was sufficient; it could then be safely converted into a source of strength. But now that the Stone-borne Flame had broken free, things had become troublesome.
Patting Chen He’s back lightly, Shi Feng fixed his gaze towards the roaring flames in the distance, sending a thought to Chen He:
“Find somewhere to hide. Do not use your spiritual force to attack the flames. Its target is you.”
Stunned for a moment, Chen He quickly began to realise something. He reached out to grab Shi Feng, but came up with nothing.
“No, Senior Brother, let’s go!” Chen He vaguely guessed that the Stone-borne Flame was something quite precious; otherwise, there was no way the cultivators would fight for it. However, he could not see a single person in the Chen residence, which showed just how dangerous it was.
Shi Feng was too fast. The flames rolled, making it appear as if they had swallowed that bundle of red robes.
“Senior Brother—”
Chen He chased after him, using his bare hands to split apart two large banyan trees that were falling, but lost his bearings in the smoke and flames.
His spiritual energy manifested, enveloping his body in a faint golden glow. However, he soon discovered that this fire seemed to be able to consume everything, including spiritual energy.
“Senior Brother!” Chen He glanced about anxiously. He knew why Shi Feng had taken the risk – cultivators could not owe the heavens any karmic debt.
If this so-called Stone-borne Flame really had such a deep connection to him, to the point that others could obtain it if they killed him, then it was highly likely that they either shared the same fate, or it had acknowledged him as its owner. Regardless of which it was, if the flames were to consume Yunzhou City and raze it to the ground…even Chen He, who was quite bold, felt his legs weaken for a moment at the very thought.
“Senior Brother, come back! Let’s not bother about it! I don’t mind falling into the demonic Dao, as long as you don’t abandon me for being a demon cultivator!” Chen He shouted hoarsely.
He received no reply at all.
Carefully avoiding the flames, he passed by each burning house.
The ornamented corridors had become nothing more than ruins, which the tongues of flame continued to lap at. A misshapen gold cage rolled about in the corner, where laughingthrush feathers floated about; one lick from a tongue of flame, and the feathers turned to dust, vanishing without a trace.
Suddenly hearing a sound behind him, Chen He dodged expertly. He saw a dusty-faced, dishevelled man raising a broken wooden stick to hit him.
“So it’s you, you devil[3]!”
With a careless swing of Chen He’s hand, the man lost his balance, falling over.
“Shu’er!”
The shrill scream had Chen He frozen for a moment. Then he saw a similarly dishevelled woman leap towards the man, crying loudly.
“You were the bane of the family, and you’re still coming back to ruin the Chen family even after you’ve become a ghost!” The man lay panting on the ground, coughing non-stop from the smoke. “Mother, why did you not listen to me; we should have moved away and split off from the family when the ghost hauntings happened, then we could have avoided this disaster.”
The woman cried even louder, “You say it so easily, but that old thing won’t leave so easily since the Chen family’s ancestral hall[4] is here. Every year, so many people die in the wilderness, and how many of them have become ghosts? Splitting from the family; are you crazy, it would take a long time, and we wouldn’t be considered direct descendants anymore. And it’s the clan’s elders who decide who your uncle’s assets go to, you think those old fogies will give us an easy time?”
“Mother, why are you still talking about such things when it has come down to this? Hurry and escape!”
“Where to? I’d rather die than live with nothing but suffering.” The woman cried and laughed; when she lifted her head and saw Chen He glowing faintly in the firelight, his hair barely messy and his clothes without a speck of dust, she let out a shrill shriek, shoving at her son, “Shu’er, that devil is looking at me, kill him!”
Chen He also recognised that man as the one who had passed by the tavern earlier that day, while he was on his horse.
He had not recognised him by the appearance, but by that pair of eyes, filled with venomous hatred.
