Chapter 381: Xu Qing

"Little friend, this expression—is it because you didn't receive the letter, or could it be... that the letter wasn't written by you?"

Immortal Zixuan's flawless face was beautiful, and beneath her curved willow brows, a pair of eyes were soul-stirring and captivating, revealing a playful intent.

"Senior, I..."

Xu Qing braced himself, just about to explain.

"If the letter wasn't written by you, then you are mocking me. I will have to investigate this matter thoroughly to see who within this Eight Sect Alliance has the audacity to fool me like this."

"Once I find them, I will bury them right here. I imagine that even their masters would have nothing to say about such a disrespectful act."

Immortal Zixuan smiled like a flower, her voice soft, yet it was clear she would truly do exactly that.

Xu Qing lowered his head and glanced at the place where the Captain was.

Not far away, the Captain, who had been scrubbing snake bones, shrank his body. He had heard Zixuan's words; he blinked, looked up toward Xu Qing, and felt a bit awkward.

He naturally heard the seriousness in Immortal Zixuan's words and wanted to warn him, but his mouth was sealed and he couldn't speak. His spiritual sense was the same; he couldn't transmit a single bit, so he could only blink continuously.

Seeing this, Xu Qing sighed inwardly. At this point, he didn't believe Immortal Zixuan couldn't see the reason, nor did he believe she didn't know who wrote the letter. After all, she was a Void Returning mighty figure, on the same level as the Ancestors.

Such a person had experienced too much; how could her schemes be ordinary? Thus, it was very likely that the moment she saw the letter, Immortal Zixuan had already known everything.

And now, to speak like this...

Xu Qing could only turn his head and look at Immortal Zixuan with composure.

Immortal Zixuan's stunning face bloomed with a smile that made one lose their focus. The smile was beautiful, like a sea of flowers in full bloom, and she said softly.

"Didn't you promise to tell me about your past experiences after you returned?"

When she said this, there was sincerity in Immortal Zixuan's eyes.

It was exactly like this; she was afraid Xu Qing would be too blunt and expose the matter. After all, Immortal Zixuan clearly knew everything but chose to tacitly accept it. If he were to expose it now, it would be all over.

Xu Qing was silent.

Amidst the Captain's anxiety, seven or eight breaths of time passed. Xu Qing looked at the sincerity in Immortal Zixuan's eyes and spoke softly.

"My past? I was very ordinary, born in a small city in the Nanhuang Continent called Wushuang City. My family mainly ran a letter station, focusing on flying letters, so we raised many, many birds—crows, sparrows, pigeons. They were all very beautiful and were very good to me. Until one day, a crow brought an eagle, and all the birds scattered, not knowing where they went. So, I left Wushuang City, wanting to find them." "Did you find them?" Immortal Zixuan's voice was soft. "I already know where the sparrows and pigeons are. I will go and bring them home later." Xu Qing's expression was serious. "Blessings to you. Then, along the way, what else did you experience?"

Zixuan looked at Xu Qing, whose expression was also very serious.

"Nothing much. I encountered many vultures; they were very fierce. I once saw turtledoves; they were equally unruly and difficult to communicate with. Oh right, I also encountered cuckoos; they were very cunning, but later they were eaten by the vultures."

Xu Qing spoke calmly.

Immortal Zixuan looked at Xu Qing silently.

Below, the Captain, who had been anxious, also fell silent.

Only Xu Qing's voice continued to echo softly.

"Then I kept walking forward and saw a tree. There was a woodpecker on the tree. I rested there for a while. Later, it rained and thundered, and lightning split the tree, and the woodpecker died too."

"At that moment, for the first time in my life, I saw an egret."

Xu Qing looked at Zixuan and gestured with his hand.

"Very beautiful, very holy."

Zixuan nodded gently.

"But it also died, because its mate had been eaten by a falcon many years ago. So it flew there, circling and unwilling to leave, eventually dying of old age. I was the one who buried it."

"Next, I went to a blood-colored forest. It was the law of the jungle there, very dangerous. But in that place, I saw a third egret, and a lark, and a parrot, and an oriole—so many, many birds. Oh right, there was also a mad dog in the forest." "That is my story."

Xu Qing said this and smiled at Immortal Zixuan. "What about the second egret?"

Zixuan asked softly.

Xu Qing's eyes revealed reminiscence, and after a long while, he muttered, "The second egret also died, killed by a bat. I later killed that bat."

The Demon Snake Secret Realm was quiet.

The Captain lowered his head, his expression unclear. Wu Jianwu had a blank look on his face; clearly, he didn't understand, seemingly thinking that Xu Qing's family was quite fun, raising so many birds.

Immortal Zixuan looked at Xu Qing, her eyes carrying inexplicable emotions—concern and pity. "Then what about your future?" "In the future, I want to find the crow."

Xu Qing spoke without hesitation, smiling. "And then kill it."

"After killing it, I want to see if I have a way to kill the eagle as well."

Xu Qing sat on the snake bone, and when he said these words, he was smiling.

As he spoke, the tension and awkwardness he felt in front of Immortal Zixuan seemed to dissipate a lot. His expression became relaxed, and he even asked a question.

"Senior, what about your past?"

"Mine?"

Immortal Zixuan bent her legs and hugged her knees with both hands, a posture that revealed her beautiful curves.

At this moment, she tilted her head to look at Xu Qing. Her flower-like oval face was as crystalline as jade, her tender skin as smooth as ice and snow, but a stream of reminiscence slowly emerged in her eyes.

"My past is very simple. I have no impression of my parents."

"The deepest impression I have is of my Master raising me and teaching me techniques. At that time, the Xuanyou Sect had not yet joined the Alliance, and it didn't have such a large scale."

Immortal Zixuan spoke with a smile.

"Later, I encountered many things, and gradually the Xuanyou Sect became what it is today and joined the Alliance. Of course, my Senior Brother also contributed to this, but... I despise him very much."

"Why talk about these? Since you asked me, I remembered one thing. I can tell you this."

Zixuan's smile was beautiful, her pink cheeks slightly flushed, especially when her eyes curved like crescent moons. "I often have a dream. It has been many years—at first every day, then every year, and now every ten years..." "In the dream, it is a pitch-black world. I cannot see the surroundings; I can only faintly see a lamp in front of me." "That lamp seems to be purple—of course, this is my guess, because it is extinguished, without firelight. I can only see it vaguely, and I cannot touch it; it is out of reach. It seems very, very far away, yet it feels very, very close." "But I imagine it should look like a blooming flower, with a purple phoenix feather inserted on it."

"The wings are dazzling, as if blooming." "This lamp has always appeared in my dream. Every time, it is extinguished. Every time, in that world, there is no light." "Perhaps, it is because of this that I have been searching for light."

Immortal Zixuan's voice was soft, turning into a murmur as she spoke to the end. "I also don't know why this dream is so real, and that lamp is also so real."

Xu Qing was stunned, silent.

Time passed slowly. Xu Qing didn't speak, and Immortal Zixuan didn't speak either. The two sat there silently for a long time. Finally, Zixuan smiled, her laughter like a lark, very pleasant to the ear. "Xu Qing, lend me your Xu Ling Yongyi Sect wooden block for a moment."

Xu Qing looked at Zixuan and took the black wooden block from his storage bag, placing it in front of him. Picking up the wooden block, Immortal Zixuan just waved her hand, and immediately, this black wooden block emitted a pitch-black radiance. As this light expanded outward, an ancient and vicissitudinous wooden door manifested to the side.

The appearance of the wooden door revealed bursts of cold aura. While permeating the surroundings, the traces of time passing also seemed to be revealed in the patterns on the wooden door.

In front of Xu Qing, Zixuan raised her hand and touched it lightly with her onion-like finger.

Pitch black. Like a deep abyss.

This was Immortal Zixuan's inner world. Perhaps it was not empty, but everything was shrouded in black.

There was no light there, unable to illuminate.

It needed light there to illuminate everything.

Xu Qing faintly understood. He knew that what he emitted behind this door was light.

Soon, the wooden door dissipated, turning back into a wooden block, falling into Immortal Zixuan's hand.

She played with it in her hand for a moment, handed it to Xu Qing, and stood up.

Her waterfall-like black hair swayed as she stood up, very beautiful, and that exquisite figure and elegant posture made one unable to help but think of the dream she had just mentioned, and consequently, couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Xu Qing, 'Departing Sorrow,' do you still remember it?"

Xu Qing nodded, took out the flute given by Zixuan, and played it softly by his lips.

Gradually, the melodious flute sound echoed in this world, like the wind.

I don't know when the song ended.

I don't know when Zixuan's figure had already dissipated.

She had left. It seemed that this time she brought Xu Qing here, she did it just to listen to Xu Qing's past, to listen to the song of 'Departing Sorrow,' and then give a critique. "It wasn't very pleasant to listen to."

This sentence echoed in Xu Qing's ears.

Xu Qing thought for a moment and looked at the Captain and Wu Jianwu.

Both of them shook their heads at this moment, looking as if it indeed wasn't pleasant to listen to.

Xu Qing stood up expressionlessly, took a step forward, and left the secret realm.

When he went out, it was already early morning outside. In the Demon Snake Secret Realm, without realizing it, a night had passed.

At this moment, in the morning light, Xu Qing was about to go to the mountain gate to pay respects to Sixth Master.

On the way, the voice of the little fatty Huang Yan came from his transmission jade slip. "Xu Qing, yesterday I told you I was going back to the Nanhuang Continent with Senior Sister. We plan to set off and say goodbye to you." "Leaving today? Are you at the teleportation array or the port?"

Xu Qing asked. "We didn't go to the teleportation array; we are setting sail immediately. We plan to travel by sea and enjoy some time alone."

Huang Yan's laughter came through; he seemed exceptionally happy about returning to the Nanhuang Continent.

Xu Qing's body suddenly accelerated, heading straight for the port. Not long after, upon approaching, he saw the Second Senior Sister's Dharma ship and also saw Huang Yan standing there.

Looking at the arriving Xu Qing, Huang Yan revealed a happy smile and stepped forward to hug Xu Qing.

The Second Senior Sister also walked out of the cabin, looked at Xu Qing, and smiled. "Little Junior Brother, I just returned from completing a sect mission last night, so I couldn't attend the banquet yesterday. Congratulations on becoming a Sword Holder!"

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Xu Qing hurriedly cupped his fists. He wasn't very familiar with the Second Senior Sister, but he was very grateful for her help in the shop at the Sixth Peak of the Seven Blood Eyes back then. Even if she did it because of Huang Yan, it had indeed resolved some trouble for him at the time.

The Second Senior Sister smiled, and soon, under Xu Qing's gaze, her Dharma ship set sail.

From afar, Huang Yan on the Dharma ship looked at Xu Qing on the shore and shouted loudly. "Xu Qing, I have a good brother in the Capital. I told him to help me take care of you. Also, remember, if it's really not fun outside, then go back to the Nanhuang Continent." "No matter how much trouble you cause outside, in the Nanhuang Continent, it's not a problem!"

Huang Yan patted his chest and said proudly.

Xu Qing didn't mind, smiled and nodded, and in the blowing sea breeze, cupped his fists in a bow. ===== CHAPTER 382 =====