Chapter 377: Chapter 377 I Once Had Feelings for You, Ruthless Sword Intent
Soon, the man and woman left.
They did not notice Huo Yunjie at the street corner, nor did they see his tightly clenched fist beneath his sleeve.
“Senior Brother, are you okay?”
Qiao Jiaxi placed a hand on Huo Yunjie’s shoulder, asking in a lowered voice, her face full of concern and worry.
“I’m fine,” Huo Yunjie shook his head.
He looked at a tea house in the distance and said, “Let me treat you to some tea.”
Having said that, he walked ahead, still wearing the green bullhorn cap that Ye Feng had given him, his steps somewhat unsteady.
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
At that moment, they felt the figure of Huo Yunjie wearing the green bullhorn cap was rather desolate, like a defeated rooster, pitiable.
“Ah, this is tricky!” they exclaimed.
Both of them shook their heads and quickly followed.
Inside the tea house.
The three sat opposite each other, sipping tea.
Huo Yunjie’s face bore a look of sorrow and gloom.
As he held his teacup, he accidentally crushed it, the tea splashing out, but fortunately, Long Tianxing used his breath to channel it into a bucket nearby.
“Senior Brother, are you really okay?”
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing were very worried.
“I’m fine, I just find it strange. When did I start to like Baixue Ding? How come not even I could detect it? If it weren’t for today, I wouldn’t even know I had ever liked her…”
Huo Yunjie placed his hands on the cool wooden tabletop, letting out a light sigh.
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing remained silent.
They chose to be the listeners to Huo Yunjie.
“I met Baixue Ding in Baisha City, back then she had shoulder-length short hair and stood on the street, asking if I wanted to go to the Demon-locking Tower to subdue demonic beasts. At the time, I agreed.”
“That night, the five of us joined forces, but still could not overpower the beast. At the brink of life and death, she and I saved each other’s lives, we forged a bond of life-saving camaraderie.”
“Afterward, she took good care of me until the Sect Leader, Junior Sister Mo Ying, and Junior Sister Ru Yu found me, injured and bedridden.”
“Later, I practiced the Sword Drawing Technique by the banks of Flowing Water River, and she was always there beside me, silently supporting me.”
“At that time, I didn’t think much of it and only regarded her as a good friend.”
Huo Yunjie continued to pour out the words in his heart.
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing listened attentively, occasionally sipping on Spiritual Tea, frowning slightly. From what Huo Yunjie said, it was indeed not apparent that he had ever liked Baixue Ding.
Above a stretch of white clouds.
Ye Feng sat cross-legged in the void, holding the once again reinforced Heaven-Asking Mirror, watching the three disciples inside the tea house.
“Foolish!”
“That’s not called liking someone,” Ye Feng muttered with a curl of his lip.
What Huo Yunjie felt for Baixue Ding was not true fondness, but a kind of dependency and habit.
In the past, Baixue Ding was always around Huo Yunjie, making him accustomed to her companionship. Now that Baixue Ding had suddenly become a pair with someone else, it caused Huo Yunjie to feel a sense of loss.
“Forget it, I can’t be bothered to give a reminder. Such things should be realized by the disciples themselves, a breakthrough within one’s soul.”
“For them, this is the true journey of heart refinement,” Ye Feng whispered to himself.
He did not show himself but watched silently from the background, overseeing everything, strategizing.
In the tea house.
“Perhaps, this is what it feels like to lose something,” Huo Yunjie took a deep breath, smashed the newly brought teacup onto the floor, and jumped straight out of the third-floor window. He bought a jug of wine from the street and staggered along, drinking as he walked.
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing paid for the tea and hurriedly followed.
“Could Second Senior Brother be thinking of something drastic?” Long Tianxing whispered.
“I don’t know either!” Qiao Jiaxi spread her hands, “I haven’t liked someone either, nor have I experienced this. How would I understand?”
“What a coincidence, I don’t understand either,” Long Tianxing said.
At that moment, five men and women, all clad in the attire of the Divine Wind Sword Sect’s Inner Sect disciples, were approaching from the nearby street.
Among them were Baixue Ding and her partner.
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At that moment, Huo Yunjie and Baixue Ding locked eyes, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Huo Yunjie gave a bitter smile.
A flash of joy appeared in Baixue Ding’s eyes at first, but then she bit her lip and lowered her head.
“Xue Er, what’s wrong?” the handsome white-robed swordsman beside her asked, his demeanor cultured and gentle. Then, he turned to Huo Yunjie, “So it’s Brother Huo from the Misty Sect; Xue Er often speaks of you.”
“Huo… Big Brother Huo, hello there!” Baixue Ding could hardly meet Huo Yunjie’s gaze.
“Brother Huo, I am Jiang Jingtian, Xue Er’s fellow disciple and her future dual cultivation companion.” Jiang Jingtian revealed a gentle smile, seeming sunny and upright, as if basking in the spring breeze.
Seeing this scene, Huo Yunjie just gave a bitter smile.
“I wish you well.”
After a long while, he drank his liquor, staggered away, leaving behind a forlorn silhouette for Baixue Ding.
“Ah…” Baixue Ding sighed softly.
She watched the direction in which Huo Yunjie disappeared, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
“Big Brother Huo, do you know? I once had feelings for you, but in your heart, there was only the sword, only sword practice. I knew that in your heart, I could never be as important as your sword…”
Baixue Ding felt helpless within.
She had fought and risked her life alongside Huo Yunjie and had long harbored feelings for him.
Alas, hers was an unrequited affection; though she loved, he was indifferent.
Huo Yunjie, you understand only swordplay, you don’t understand a woman’s heart!
Baixue Ding clasped her fingers tightly together, squeezing so hard that they turned blue and pale, but she completely ignored the pain, roaring silently in her heart.
“Xue Er, we have tasks to take care of, we can’t stay long.” Jiang Jingtian, standing beside her, glanced in the direction Huo Yunjie had gone, a hint of smugness forming at the corner of his mouth. Turning towards Baixue Ding, his expression softened into one of concern.
Nearby, Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing saw everything clearly.
They exchanged looks and promptly labeled Jiang Jingtian:
Hypocrite!
This man might appear suave and debonair, but surely, he was no good bird.
They thought as much.
With a leap, they followed Huo Yunjie.
…
Outside Divine Wind City.
Huo Yunjie belched, lying on a patch of grass, his face flushed as he stared blankly at the sky.
“Senior Brother, a woman isn’t worth this!”
“Indeed!”
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing began to persuade him.
“By the way, Senior Brother, don’t you still have Miss Lin Yuyan from Yunhua Sect?” Long Tianxing suddenly remembered someone.
She was the Inner Sect Disciple of Yunhua Sect and Miss Lin Yuyan of the Lin Family from Beacon Fire City, who had known Huo Yunjie for a long time.
Once, Huo Yunjie and Lin Yuyan had been almost engaged.
Although it didn’t work out, everyone felt that there was still hope between the two.
“Women… heh, women!”
Huo Yunjie smashed his wine jar against a nearby rock, drew the Cold Light Sword, and began to perform his drunken sword play on the grass.
His sword moves seemed full of flaws, his form staggering, but each thrust, slash, lift, and strike carried a sharp and ruthless breath, devoid of emotion and incredibly fearsome.
“Women, they only slow down the speed of my sword drawing!”
“Without a woman in my heart, my sword becomes divine!”
“The first page of the sword manual, forget the one in your heart!”
Huo Yunjie suddenly swung the Cold Light Sword, channeling all his negative emotions into his Spiritual Sense, then into the sword itself along with his energy.
Rip!
A ghastly trail of sword light tore through the air, skimming the ground like an antelope’s horn before suddenly leaping up, smashing a looming boulder on a nearby mountain into dust.
Crack!
The area hit by the sword qi frosted over, emanating a chill that stunned Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing.
From the shadows.
Ye Feng stared wide-eyed at the scene.
“This is… Ruthless Sword Intent!”
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