“For whom the beauty smiles as youth is passing by? In this mundane realm, the heart will not age, but without you, the world is a waste. Don’t climb all alone till gray hair flutters on the steep pavilion. With no time remaining, who will draw her eyebrows in the end?”
The soft tune of the zither lingered in the Martial Tower. There was an unspeakable sadness like someone lamenting the abrupt and bitterness of life, the inevitable graying of a beauty.
Feng Feiyun also felt sad while listening to her singing from the distance. He couldn’t help but become intoxicated. The same unrestrainable sadness emerged in his heart.
Only Hongyan would be able to sing this song. Her wonderful melodies continued to echo in the air.
“Squeak.” Feng Feiyun pushed the door open and saw Nangong Hongyan still sitting on the stone bed with a purple wooden zither in her hands.
His footsteps were very light since he didn’t want to disturb her.
Meanwhile, her back was turned to him as if she didn’t know that he had returned. A red glint flashed across her pupils as she took out a crimson knife from her sleeve and gently peeled a pear with it.
“Swish! Swish!” Her hands were soft and slender while her fingers seemed to be carved from white jade — completely flawless. The knife in her hand seemed to be quite gentle without the slightest murderous intent.
Feng Feiyun quietly came behind her and could sense a sweet fragrance emanating from her hair and white dress. It was the scent of a pure white flower that others couldn’t help but want to embrace.
She had a white veil over her face so her current expression was a mystery. However, her eyes were especially bright just like the stars in the sky.
Feng Feiyun said: “I’m back.”
The skin was peeled and the knife was pointed down. A completely peeled pear appeared.
“For you.” She blinked and handed the pear over to him.
He accepted it and sat down next to her like a wanderer that had just returned home from a long journey speaking to his gentle wife. He wanted to tell her his struggles after arriving home, but he kept it inside lest she became too worried. He alone would bear these struggles.
“I heard your song earlier.” He held the pear in his hand but couldn’t bear to eat; it was as if this pear was a piece of jade.
She gently affirmed: “Yes.”
He continued: “You said that you would only sing when you feel the most vulnerable, but singing can only increase your fear. What are you afraid of?”
She said: “You remember really well!”
“I remember every word you have said.” He replied.
The dark crimson knife in her hand seemed to be full of blood drops. She played with it and said: “I’m afraid of growing old one day, becoming a white-haired grandma. Gray brows and a wrinkly face, needing a walking stick to support my bent back before dying all alone, completely deserted. Eventually, I would turn into bones in a desolate place where the stray dogs shall have their meals…”
She gently sighed with an emotional expression. Anyone would feel sorry for her.
“If there is such a day, then you would still have a white-haired husband with a tobacco pipe, eating the peeled pear that you, the old granny, have just peeled. Even though he wouldn’t have too many teeth left, he would still crouch down next to the door and take bites while yelling at the old granny for not doing a good job at peeling the pear, and that there were still seeds left inside!” Feng Feiyun carefully held her waist before taking her into his embrace.
She gently buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes as if imagining the scene he had just painted. However, she quickly opened her eyes as the knife in her hand became a bit colder. She replied: “The pleasant words of men are only spoken to beautiful women. Thirty years from now, I will have grown old while you would still be young and handsome. At that time…”
“At that time, you will still be the prettiest in the world, just like before.” He caressed her face and murmured: “Everyone will grow old eventually, even after cultivating into a saint. One still wouldn’t be able to escape from old age and death. Hongyan, do not be afraid. In my mind, you will always be at your prettiest, a little beauty tricked by my sweet talk.”
Nangong Hongyan’s knife hand quivered a bit.
“You don’t understand at all.” She bit her teeth and felt that Feng Feiyun was a fool, but the words of this fool made her a bit hesitant.
She was afraid that the moment she lowered the knife, she would never be able to meet a fool like him again.
“Haha!” Feng Feiyun suddenly burst out in laughter and took the knife from her while smiling: “You should put down the knife after you are done peeling or you might hurt others or even yourself.”
She was slightly startled. She wanted to take the knife back, but her slender hand was tightly gripped by him. Her brows slightly lifted while thinking that Feng Feiyun had figured out her identity. She coldly said: “What are you doing?”
A murderous intent brewed in her mind. She moved one hand behind her back with the intention of adorning her divine garment to kill him.
“I want to give you something.” Feng Feiyun pressed his hands on her soft shoulders and made her sit down on the bed before smiling: “Sit, don’t move around.”
She was very confused and forcibly suppressed her murderous wish in order to see what Feng Feiyun was up to. His mysterious expression left her quite curious.
Feng Feiyun turned around and began to carve a formation on the walls and then the base of the stone beds. These runes were very profound, even Nangong Hongyan had never seen them before.
‘What is he doing? Does he want to seal me in a formation?’ She clenched her teeth and was full of regret: ‘A man’s words really can’t be trusted after all. This Feng Feiyun is a liar, he deliberately used sweet words to make me drop my guard before pushing me off the edge. Yes, this son of the demon is indeed shrew and vicious.’
‘It won’t be this easy to kill me. Since you want me dead, don’t blame me for no longer being reserved!’ She became angrier after each thought. Her slightly favorable impression of him had all but disappeared. A plume of flame was condensing in her palm as her eyes turned cold.
“Okay, it’s ready to go! We just need to take the phoenix bone from my body and have you consume it. Your body will be able to nurture spirit energy and embark on the road of cultivation. Moreover, your constitution will definitely be comparable to a Grand Historical Genius…”
“You…” Feng Feiyun turned around and stared at her in slight confusion. He angrily came forward and took the crimson knife in her hand while scolding: “Why are you still holding the knife? What if you accidentally hurt yourself?”
She felt the knife slipping from her grasp into Feng Feiyun’s hand!
“I…I...” Her mind turned blank as she started stammering: “What did you just say? Phoenix bone?”
He nodded in response: “The phoenix bone belongs to one of the four creatures with the strongest spirituality. If you could absorb one, you will definitely be able to cultivate and no longer need to worry about turning into an old granny, hehe.”
“It is a mythical item only found in tales, how can it exist in reality?” She was quite shocked; her heart was pounding and her mind was in disorder.
“Like I said, you are a little beauty tricked by my sweet words, so you must be mine. Of course, one must pay a big price to trick a little girl.” With the sound of flesh being pierced, Feng Feiyun inserted the knife into his chest. He twisted it a bit and stretched his chest cavity as if he wanted to remove the entire section.
Nangong Honyan stood there in astonishment. Her eyes were fixated on Feng Feiyun’s hand and the knife as well as the blood. He was holding a white piece of jade that drove her mind crazy. Her heart started beating even faster.
She initially came to kill him, but now she was worried that he might be killing himself with the knife.
“Whoosh!” A crimson glow shot out like a star on fire. It contained an exceedingly high amount of heat. If it wasn’t for the formation sealing it, it would have turned night into day.
He held the jade-like piece stained by his own flesh and golden blood while it emitted a bright, crimson brilliance.
“This is the phoenix bone!” He handed it over to her.
“I… I don’t want it.” She bit her lips while trembling. She suddenly tried to run out the room to escape; she no longer wanted to see him. Or rather, she didn’t dare to look at him.
This bastard is not only an idiot but also a madman!
‘If he knew that I was the mysterious master, he would be stricken with sadness and think that he was blind for mistaking a ruthless murderer for a friend!’ She thought to herself.
“Come back!” He grabbed her arm and directly pulled her back before forcing her on the stone bed in order to feed her the phoenix bone.
This phoenix bone had been refined by Feng Feiyun’s body for the most part. Its temperature has now cooled, so even a mortal could withstand it.
“Feng Feiyun, you can’t be so kind to me!” Her tightly clenched fists were punching him while she was lost in complex thoughts.
Two teardrops ran down the corners of her eyes. This time, there was no trace of pretension.
Crying fake tears was very tiring; releasing real tears, on the other hand, was very painful.
“I can still cultivate without the phoenix bone, but how can you live until our hair turns gray?” Feng Feiyun’s wound on his chest was slowly closing. He had a happy expression as he gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, as if he was teasing a little girl.