Book 15: Chapter 7: No Longer Worry Free Youth
Book 15: Chapter 7: No Longer Worry Free Youth
The Devil Eye Flower’s fragrance was extremely strong.
In the darkness of night, the Devil Eye Flower’s pollen released faint fluorescence, making this type of beautiful and dangerous flower seem even more beautiful.
Zhang Ping seemed to carry no emotions as he stood within this sea of Devil Eye Flowers, as if he became an ice-cold sculpture, as if the beautiful flower in front of him wasn’t any different from pure darkness.
Only when he waited until Lin Xi’s familiar figure slowly appeared from the darkness, making his way through the flowers, did endless complicated expressions appear in his eyes, endless indescribable emotions.
Lin Xi walked towards Zhang Ping.
In this sea of flowers rich with strong fragrance, the pollen flickering with fluorescence made him feel a type of misconception.
He felt as if he was walking through Summer Spirit Lakeside where fireflies flew about, as if this was the first time he met Zhang Ping and the other bumpkin students.
Only, he quickly noticed the black robes and the tall black hat filled with a demonic nature on Zhang Ping’s body, the scepter in his hand, saw the faint indigo blue color on Zhang Ping’s face. He knew that that year’s firefly filled Summer Spirit Lakeside was already a thing of the past, now only existing as scenes of their worry free youth.
They already couldn’t carefreely discuss what department they were trying to get into, unable to carefreely discuss beef jerky and other foods, they had to face a cruel reality.
However, regardless of what kind of things they experienced, when he saw his good friend standing there, waiting for him, Lin Xi still felt warmth.
That was why he looked at Zhang Ping, revealing a gentle smile.
“Long time no see.” Four ordinary words, yet words that carried meanings of life and death separation were slowly spoken from Lin Xi’s lips, and then slowly disappeared into the fragrance filled winds.
The corners of Zhang Ping’s lips twitched slightly.
In this instant, when he saw Lin Xi’s smile, a type of emotion completely seized his body. Meanwhile, he didn’t even know what kind of emotion this was, but many scenes he had already forgotten returned like streaks of lightning, stabbing into his brain. In the end, an extremely beautiful face blocked all of the other scenes, appearing just that fresh in his head.
He suddenly felt endless fatigue, feeling like the dignified robes he wore and the scepter in his hands were just that cold and hard, that heavy.
He couldn’t help but sit down in weakness, sitting down just like that in the Devil Eye Flowers.
“The others… are they well?”
Only after placing the scepter in his hands in front of his knees, did he seem like he could breathe evenly. He looked at Lin Xi who also sat down in front of him, saying this with a difficult voice.
Lin Xi looked at Zhang Ping, remaining silent for a moment before saying, “Vice Principal Xia has left… Li Kaiyun has also left.”
Zhang Ping repeated a bit sluggishly, “Li Kaiyun, he…”
Lin Xi thought that Zhang Ping already knew. However, at this moment, when he looked at Zhang Ping, he knew that even though Zhang Ping knew Vice Principal Xia already passed on, he hadn’t received the news that Li Kaiyun already died in battle.
“I already killed Di Choufei, getting revenge for him.” He did his best to speak slowly, giving Zhang Ping more time to take it all in. “Only, if the emperor didn’t tacitly agree to it, this type of thing wouldn’t have possibly happened. That is why the final enemy is still the emperor.”
Zhang Ping looked at his fingers, asking, “Has she been well?”
Lin Xi looked at Zhang Ping. Even though Zhang Ping didn’t say who ‘she’ was, he knew extremely well that the ‘she’ he spoke of could only be Qin Xiyue. Right now, he could also feel extremely clearly that Zhang Ping only chose to become a Purgatory Mountain spy because of Qin Xiyue.
“She has been extremely well… she is indeed quite the excellent girl.” Lin Xi nodded. “She has never returned to Qin Family. She also came to Great Mang, just that she felt like seeing you at this time might not be good for you, so she wanted me to tell you in her place that she hopes nothing bad happens to you, that she hopes she can see you again in Yunqin.”
“It it because she is scared that I will do something abnormal because of my emotions, that Purgatory Mountain’s people will be able to tell?” Zhang Ping laughed, his smile indescribably bitter.
Lin Xi nodded.
Zhang Ping’s smile became even more dismal. He looked at Lin Xi as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
When the smile gradually disappeared and he remained silent for a bit longer, only then did he speak, his voice a bit hoarse. “All of you must leave Great Mang within three days… After three days, the Divine Wooden Flying Cranes can no longer be used.”
Lin Xi’s brows suddenly furrowed, saying gravely, “What kind of methods has Purgatory Mountain researched that can restrict the Divine Wooden Flying Cranes?”
Zhang Ping tore off a Devil Eye Flower, looking at the pale colored liquid seeping out as he said, “Purgatory Mountain has bred a type of small bug that is extremely sensitive towards the Divine Wooden Flying Crane’s wood material, able to sense it even within a thousand li. Purgatory Mountain has also created a type of flying wadding-like soul weapon that can destroy and interfere with some of the air’s vital energies. That is why this type of bug has tracking and locking properties on the Divine Wooden Flying Crane, while the soul weapon can make the Divine Wooden Flying Cranes lose their flying ability. Regardless of whether the Divine Wooden Flying Crane is stopped or flying through the air, it will be similarly dangerous.”
“Purgatory Mountain is indeed a terrifying place.” After a slight pause, Zhang Ping then continued, “Apart from these two conditions, perhaps they might also research some other things that can deal with the Divine Wooden Flying Cranes.”
“War is the most effective catalyst as expected.” Lin Xi nodded his head gravely. He gave Zhang Ping’s face and fingers a look, quietly saying, “After meeting Zhantai Qiantang, I have always had the desire to cultivate Devil Transformation and increase my own strength. However, I never expected that you would have already successfully cultivated Devil Transformation.”
Zhang Ping remained silent for a bit, completely crushing the Devil Eye Flower in his hands. “Once the Devil Transformation’s liquid enters the body, it will be extremely dangerous. Do you really want to cultivate Devil Transformation?”
Lin Xi nodded. “I believe there should be no issues.”
“The medicine for Devil Transformation is in the hands of this person.” Zhang Ping reached out his hand, an extremely fine small scroll falling out from between his fingernails.
Lin Xi opened the small scroll, clearly seeing the portrait and characters in this scroll. He was a bit stunned. “It’s just that simple?” He said this quietly, almost in a bit of disbelief.
Zhang Ping obviously knew why Lin Xi would feel this type of disbelief.
Devil Transformation was Purgatory Mountain’s highest level secret.
The medicine for Devil Transformation had always been controlled to the strictest degree in Purgatory Mountain. No one could possibly bring out a single vial of Devil Transformation medicine from Purgatory Mountain without anyone’s notice.
“Completing the final step is extremely easy, just that reaching the point where this step can be completed is extremely dangerous.”
Zhang Ping looked at the small scroll in Lin Xi’s hands, saying coldly without much emotions. “There must always be sacrifices… This person is a low level Divine Adjudicator in Purgatory Mountain, he has left Purgatory Mountain with a crystal vial of Devil Transformation medicine on my orders. Only, he doesn’t know that if it was me alone, there is completely no chance of him bringing this Devil Transformation medicine crystal vial out of Purgatory Mountain, he doesn’t even know that what he has brought out is the medicinal liquid of Devil Transformation. He also doesn’t know that from the moment he has left Purgatory Mountain, his ‘betrayal’ has already been detected by Purgatory Mountain, already deemed a Yunqin spy. He believes that what he is carrying out is a certain Purgatory Mountain secret mission, but he doesn’t know that Purgatory Mountain’s people are currently tracking him down and searching for him.”
“He will most likely be discovered by Purgatory Mountain’s people in the place I tell you all about. What you all have to do is kill him before Purgatory Mountain comes into contact with him, and then bring out the Devil Transformation medicine crystal vial. Otherwise, I will be exposed, and I will die in Great Mang.” After a slight pause, Zhang Ping looked at Lin Xi and continued, “If you want me to be a bit more at peace, then all of you can try to kill all of the Purgatory Mountain Divine Adjudicators who are chasing down that person. This way, you can make it look like the Purgatory Mountain Divine Adjudicators who were chasing after that person killed that person, and were then intercepted by Yunqin. This way, there will be even less doubt traced back to me.”
Lin Xi nodded.
He easily understood why it was this simple.
Using some sacrificial pawns, great figures could easily accomplish some things. The key lies only with how to become a great figure.
Only, when Zhang Ping spoke about these things, the coldness in his tone and eyes was something he was a bit unaccustomed to.
“That armor in the academy… in the very beginning, I wasn’t the one in charge of it. Later on, something happened to that spy in Purgatory Mountain, many clues were cut short. Before something happened to that spy, I was only informed that a batch of fine metals that were extremely important to Yunqin has already been prepared. I did not know that this was precisely something of vital importance to Green Luan Academy.”
Zhang Ping gripped his scepter. He slowly stood up, looking at the distant mountain peaks and caves, saying, “Later on, I spent a long time before I finally found out that the batch of fine metals shouldn’t have entered Great Mang’s hands, ultimately narrowing it down to one place… That place is precisely the place where I had that Purgatory Mountain low level Divine Adjudicator with the Devil Transformation medicine crystal head to. As for the final material needed for that set of armor, the jade used as a cushion, I have also already tracked down some clues. When the timing is suitable, I will try to find a way to send it to Yunqin then.”
When he looked at Zhang Ping who stood back up, Lin Xi’s mood became indescribably grave.
He wanted to tell Zhang Ping to be a bit more careful, but when he looked at Zhang Ping’s side profile, he also felt like speaking these words lacked all meaning.
Zhang Ping also became silent again.
According to normal reasoning, he should have more words to tell Lin Xi, but before he returned to Yunqin, he felt like all words were meaningless.
After all, Yunqin was too far from this place. Right now, he was in a completely different world.
“Are there any words you wish for me to pass on to Qin Xiyue in your place?”
Lin Xi looked at Zhang Ping, asking this.
“It’s alright.”
Zhang Ping slowly shook his head and said, “If possible, help me ensure her safety. Don’t let her die like Li Kaiyun.”
Lin Xi nodded.
“I will guarantee that she will be waiting for you to return in Yunqin.”
“No matter what happens, when you return to Yunqin, everything will definitely be better.”
Zhang Ping spoke a word of thanks.
Then, he turned around to leave.
His giant figure slowly disappeared from Lin Xi’s sight within the gorgeous sea of flowers.
“You have to continue living… you absolutely cannot let anything happen to you…”
Lin Xi heard Zhang Ping’s quiet word of thanks, feeling a bit estranged. He didn’t like this type of feeling, nor did he like this type of separation where he didn’t know when they would meet again. He hoped that everything would just be like their first temporary separation of departments after Green Luan’s entrance examination. That was why just like that past underripe youngster, he inwardly quietly and seriously said these words.