Chapter 166: Mysterious Scale

Duan Fengyun looked at the Zhuoshi Mo Chi, and after confirming there was nothing left behind, he flew back to his original spot, put on his upper garment, and picked up the Yellow Emperor Sword, preparing to leave.

But the Yellow Emperor Sword kept trembling in his hand, unwilling to leave.

And the Yellow Emperor Sword kept trembling continuously toward the bottom of the Zhuoshi Mo Chi.

Could it be that there was something in the Zhuoshi Mo Chi that triggered a reaction from the Yellow Emperor Sword?

Harboring a skeptical attitude, Duan Fengyun held the Yellow Emperor Sword and arrived at the bottom of the Zhuoshi Mo Chi once again.

Duan Fengyun circled the bottom of the pool, but did not discover anything strange.

Duan Fengyun looked at the Yellow Emperor Sword, not knowing what exactly had caught the Yellow Emperor Sword's attention.

Duan Fengyun loosened his grip, letting the Yellow Emperor Sword go find the object itself.

After breaking free from its restraint, the Yellow Emperor Sword zoomed, flew directly to the center of the pool bottom, and then the sword body plunged in.

Duan Fengyun came to the side of the Yellow Emperor Sword and carefully pushed aside the medicinal herbs and skeletons around the sword.

Then, on the bare ground, there was nothing else besides the Yellow Emperor Sword.

Duan Fengyun pulled out the Yellow Emperor Sword, then looked at the ground, and finally, under his careful searching, he found the object that the Yellow Emperor Sword had pierced.

This was a black scale, and its hardness exceeded anything Duan Fengyun had ever seen before.

Duan Fengyun had never seen this scale on any animal.

Compared to the scales of the Fire Qilin, this scale felt like nothing when held in the hand.

It was not like the scales of the Fire Qilin, which would give off a burning sensation upon contact.

Duan Fengyun tore off a strip of cloth and carefully preserved the scale.

When he meets Xiao Sanxiao in the future, he will ask him what kind of creature this scale belongs to.

A scale capable of causing the Yellow Emperor Sword to act abnormally was definitely not an ordinary object; Duan Fengyun did not intend to tell anyone else about this matter, as it would be terrible if this object had too great an impact.

Duan Fengyun walked to the side, took a Fire Tinder, and set fire to the poisonous substances in the Zhuoshi Mo Chi.

As the smoke rose continuously, the Zhuoshi Mo Chi completely vanished from the world.

After confirming that nothing was left behind, Duan Fengyun walked out of the room and saw the sorrowful-looking Xiehuang.

"Master, the Zhuoshi Mo Chi has already been destroyed by me."

"Mm, I know."

Xiehuang's reply was filled with helplessness and reluctance.

"Master, what are your plans for the future?"

Xiehuang smiled and said:

"I am a useless person now, what other plans could I have?

Of course, I will continue to wait for death here in the Xiewang Dong, and go to the back to visit my old brothers when I have nothing to do.

I know you still have important matters to attend to; Master is fine, you can go with peace of mind.

Just come back to see this old fellow often when you have time."

"Then Master, please take care; this disciple will take his leave now.

Once I have finished my business, I will definitely come back to keep you company and drink wine with you for a few days."

After bowing to Xiehuang, Duan Fengyun turned and left.

Outside the Xiewang Dong, Zhu Huang and Di San Xiaotong were also waiting for Duan Fengyun to come out.

Changing from his previous silly-smiling self, Zhu Huang said calmly:

"Kid Duan, take good care of yourself out there.

The Jianghu of today is the world of you young people; this old man looks forward to you making a name for yourselves under this sky."

Duan Fengyun smiled and said:

"Senior Zhu, I'm not quite used to you being like this.

Senior Zhu, you all take care as well; next time I come, I will drink with you again."

The stern-faced Zhu Huang finally smiled, and he laughed loudly:

"Kid Duan, no need for the wine.

Next time you come back, you must make some food for this old man; I've been dying for those strange and peculiar dishes you make."

"No problem, Senior Zhu."

Di

(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)

San Xiaotong looked at Duan Fengyun and said with reluctance:

"Senior Brother, please take care.

I have to take care of Master and Grandfather and the others, so I don't have time to go play with you."

Duan Fengyun touched Xiao Tong's head and said:

"Junior Sister Xiao Tong, take good care of Master and Senior Zhu Huang; when Senior Brother comes next time, I will definitely bring you delicious food and fun toys."

"It's a deal."

After saying goodbye to Zhu Huang and Di San Xiaotong, Duan Fengyun went down the mountain to meet up with Nie Feng and the others.

By the time Duan Fengyun went down the mountain and arrived at the inn, it was already evening.

Nie Feng and the others had already chosen rooms and settled in, leaving only Long Er waiting at the front gate for Duan Fengyun.

Seeing that Duan Fengyun had arrived, Long Er jumped up happily and shouted:

"Dad, you're finally back; I was so worried about you."

Seeing the lively Long Er, Duan Fengyun's heart, which had become weary and weathered, felt much more active again.

He pinched Long Er's chubby little face and asked:

"Why are you here all by yourself?

Where are Uncle Nie Feng and the others?"

Long Er smiled and said:

"Uncle Nie Feng and the others were too exhausted during the day, so they are resting in their rooms.

I saw that you hadn't returned yet, Dad, and I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find us, so I waited for you here."

Duan Fengyun pinched Long Er's cheek hard and smiled:

"As expected of Dad's good son; Dad didn't dote on you for nothing.

Dad hasn't eaten yet; have you? Why don't you keep Dad company and eat a little more?"

Upon hearing the word 'eat', Long Er's eyes lit up as he replied:

"Okay, okay! I was so busy thinking about you, Dad, that I didn't eat my fill earlier.

Then I'll keep you company and eat a little more, Dad."

"You little rascal, let's go. Order whatever you want to eat.

Dad will keep you company and make sure you have a good meal."

Duan Fengyun took Long Er and ordered a whole spread of dishes that Long Er liked, while he himself ordered a pot of wine and began to drink it slowly.

As he drank, Duan Fengyun recalled everything that had happened since he transmigrated into this world; he felt very lost, not knowing where he would head now that he had deviated from history.

Seeing Long Er tucking in with gusto, and then thinking of Youruo, Xiao Wuyou, and Xiao Ruoruo far away on Linggui Island, he instantly sobered up.

He still had so many people who needed his protection; no matter where the final outcome led, he only needed to protect those he loved in his heart.

Having figured this out, he finally felt the hunger from his stomach, picked up his chopsticks, and began to tuck in with gusto alongside Long Er.

Arriving at the rooms, he saw that the candles in each room had already been extinguished; it seemed everyone was very exhausted from the day and had gone to sleep early, so he decided not to disturb them.

Duan Fengyun brought Long Er to his room, and after washing away the exhaustion from his body, the father and son lay comfortably on the bed.

Duan Fengyun spoke up and asked Long Er:

"Long Er, Dad asks you, after seeing the fates of so many who study martial arts, do you still wish to learn martial arts?"

Duan Fengyun had expected Long Er to ponder it for a while, but he didn't expect Long Er to answer righteously and sternly without a moment's hesitation:

"I will not give up learning martial arts. As a Martial Artist, how can one be timid and indecisive?

A real man, if he cannot face life and death directly, then what is the point?

I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of dying in obscurity, of dying an ordinary death."

Long Er gave this impassioned reply to Duan Fengyun.

Duan Fengyun had heard something similar to Long Er's words from someone else a long time ago.

Duan Fengyun smiled in his heart:

"As expected of the reincarnation of Jiansheng, the words are basically exactly the same.

However, Long Er is still young; having such thoughts is truly a bit too early for him."

When Duan Fengyun first met Jiansheng, Jiansheng had once said similar words

(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)

, and he did not expect to hear similar words from Long Er's mouth today.

Duan Fengyun did not continue discussing it with Long Er; he just patted Long Er's head and then went to sleep.

Nie Feng and the others were exhausted, but he was even more exhausted than them; he had just been forcing himself to hold on.

Now that he was lying on the bed and had set his mind at ease, sleepiness hit him immediately.

When Duan Fengyun woke up the next day, he didn't know where Long Er had run off to.

Duan Fengyun opened the window to look, and the sun was already high in the sky; it seemed he had slept for quite a long time.

Duan Fengyun walked to the room of Nie Feng and the others and knocked on the door, but there was no response from any of the rooms.

He walked downstairs and saw that the others were already sitting at the dining table waiting for him.

Duan Fengyun walked to the table with a smile, and after noticing one person was missing, he asked:

"Why is Jian Chen not here?"

Nie Feng replied:

"After Jian Chen stayed at the inn for the night, he proposed this morning that he wanted to return to Zhonghua Lou to rebuild it; he is unwilling to let his master's hard work go to waste.

He is even more unwilling for his master to have no place to stay when he returns one day.

So he got up early in the morning, greeted us, and left.

He originally went to your room too, but Long Er said you were still sleeping, so he didn't disturb you."

Duan Fengyun sheepishly touched his head and smiled:

"I was too tired yesterday, so I slept a little longer today; I ask all my senior brothers to forgive me."

Qin Shuang smiled:

"We saw that you were too tired, so we didn't disturb you.

Then we calculated that you would be waking up soon, so we came down, ordered some dishes, and waited for you to come down.

Look, we just finished ordering the dishes, and you came down; sit for a moment, we can eat right away."

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter brought the dishes over.

For the past few days, they had been sleeping in the open and eating in the wind, and hadn't had a proper meal.

Long Er had eaten too much last night, so he had no appetite at noon.

Watching the others tucking in with gusto, he asked:

"Dad, what are your plans for next?"

This question hit the mark for everyone; they really didn't know where to go now.

Looking at Bu Jingyun and Qin Shuang, Duan Fengyun suddenly recalled the scene from the original story where Bu Jingyun broke into the Imperial Mausoleum to bury Ziling.

As of today, it is already an easy task for the current cultivation levels of these few people to break open the Separation Stone.

Taking advantage of the fact that there haven't been any strange antics from Di Shitian's side lately, let's go see Kong Ci.

Duan Fengyun changed his playful expression and said with a world-weary tone:

"Why don't we go see Kong Ci and tell her the stories of our years?"

"But what about the Separation Stone?"

Bu Jingyun replied; how could he not want to see Kong Ci one more time?

He had always regretted why he had buried Kong Ci in the Imperial Mausoleum back then.

"Yun, as of today, do you still have no confidence in a mere Separation Stone?"

Duan Fengyun laughed.

"Fine, then let us go see Kong Ci."

Bu Jingyun shouted.

Long Er, who was to the side, asked in confusion:

"Father, who is this Auntie Kong Ci?

Where is she?"

Qin Shuang replied:

"Auntie Kong Ci was a dear younger sister to us four fellow disciples.

Many years ago, she left us.

And the place where she rests was somewhere we could never enter before.

Now that we have the ability, it is time we went to see her."

Thinking of Kong Ci, the group quickened the pace of their meal.

After finishing their meal, gathering their luggage, and paying the bill, the group headed toward the Imperial Mausoleum.

(End of this chapter)

7017k