0070 Huasu’s Past (Pull Yourself Together, Keep Asking for Votes)

Jiang Feng was momentarily stunned, about to examine the message more closely, when Ye Xiao wavered and vanished into thin air.

The wooden door creaked softly as Hua Su stepped inside. At a glance, he spotted Jiang Feng standing by the bed and exclaimed in surprise, “You’re awake? That was quick!”

Deep within his consciousness, by the Celestial Mechanism Cube, Jiang Feng had witnessed all that transpired after he’d fallen unconscious.

Hua Su had arrived just in time, using his six fingers to burst the heads of six black-clad assailants, cleaning up the aftermath and saving everyone.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Feng chose to feign ignorance and asked, “Teacher Hua, was it you who saved us? How is everyone doing now?”

Expressionless, Hua Su replied, “Xiang Sheng is dead. The rest are still alive.”

Shortly before his death, Xiang Sheng had still been rejoicing over the prospect of attending Linjian Academy. Remembering his smile at that time, Jiang Feng felt a twinge of sadness.

He asked, “And the others?”

Hua Su dragged a chair over and sat down. “Huzi was injured and sent home to recover. Ah Cheng and I took Xiang Sheng’s body back; Ah Cheng got punched and isn’t feeling well. Ping Luan Shan and that boy you brought back buried Wu Cang together. They’re resting in the side room now.”

Ping Luan Shan together with Teng Zhi?

It wasn’t surprising that Teng Zhi would do so, but Ping Luan Shan… Jiang Feng pondered for a moment, then nodded with a sigh. “Ping Luan Shan cared deeply for Master. He must understand Teng Zhi’s feelings very well…”

Hua Su gave a low snort. “You’re quite bold, aren’t you? I never said I’d take on a disciple, yet you brought that boy here.”

Jiang Feng smiled slightly. “Didn’t you also feel that Teng Zhi was different from the others in Guteng?”

Hua Su produced a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke. “But he seems to have quite a few prejudices against you.”

He hadn’t even been at the county exam, yet acted as if he understood everything clearly. Jiang Feng wasn’t the least bit surprised by this and shook his head. “Just some misunderstandings. As long as there are misunderstandings, there will always be a chance to clear them up.”

He paused, then asked, “When will Xiang Sheng be buried? I’d like to pay my respects.”

Hua Su asked, “Why? Does your conscience trouble you?”

Jiang Feng shook his head. “It pains me to see someone so young die before their time.”

Hua Su blew out another puff of smoke. “But if it weren’t for you, he would never have crossed paths with Wu Cang and the others, nor would he have met such a fate.”

Jiang Feng’s gaze was clear and his reasoning sharp. “When someone is murdered, the responsibility lies with the killer, not the victim. The only thing the living must do is continue on, and do everything in their power to avenge him!”

Hua Su’s hand paused. In the darkness, his eyes flickered with a ghostly light, wavering like will-o’-the-wisps.

The ember at the tip of his cigarette slowly faded as it burned to its end.

Hua Su let out a long sigh, flicked the cigarette away, and stood up. Without looking back, he gazed out the window and said, “Come with me.”

Jiang Feng had fully recovered and was brimming with energy. He quickly followed behind Hua Su, who turned his head slightly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

The two left Yuanshan Martial Hall one after the other. Already, faint sounds echoed within; Ping Luan Shan and the others were up, washing and preparing for morning training.

Jiang Feng trailed Hua Su across Pear Blossom Creek and into the Twilight Forest.

Dawn had not yet arrived, and darkness still shrouded the land. Hua Su walked with unwavering steadiness, as if he’d trodden this path countless times before. In the gloom, his silhouette could just be made out.

Jiang Feng glanced down thoughtfully. There was a shallow path through the woods, unlike any elsewhere.

After some time, Jiang Feng’s view suddenly opened up.

Here, the forest disappeared, replaced by a black earthen slope rising abruptly.

It was surrounded by trees, inconspicuous in the midst of the woods. No one would expect such a steep incline to exist here.

Hua Su ascended the slope. Just then, a faint glow appeared on the horizon.

By this dim light, Jiang Feng saw clearly that the slope’s blackness was not the color of soil, but of ancient flint!

From top to bottom, the entire incline was covered in ancient flint stones, each one shaped into a flower by the power of Ming Force.

The whole slope was a sea of black stone blossoms!

So this was where Hua Su brought all the stone flowers he assigned as daily tasks, the ones they’d shaped and placed on trays?

No—Jiang Feng’s eyes swept over the scene, quickly estimating the numbers. The assignments he and Ping Luan Shan completed alone could never account for so many stone flowers. This was the result of years upon years of accumulation!

Hua Su reached the summit and crouched down.

Jiang Feng came to his side and started in surprise.

Atop the slope stood a neat row of tombstones, six in all, lined up from left to right. The one on the far right marked an open grave, its stone laid sideways on the ground as if waiting for a body to fill it.

From his sleeve, Hua Su drew six ancient flint sticks. With a gentle shake, six stone flowers bloomed simultaneously.

Jiang Feng’s eyes shone.

That simple gesture was proof enough of Hua Su’s prowess.

For all six flowers to bloom at the same instant—not even a second’s delay—showed he could split his Ming Force six ways, with each stream perfectly balanced, not the slightest difference in strength.

Originally, each tombstone already had a stone flower before it. Hua Su picked them up, set them aside, and replaced them with the new ones.

His movements were slow and deliberate, imbued with a seriousness rarely seen in him. Even the surrounding air seemed to thicken with solemnity.

After completing his usual ritual, Hua Su stood and lit another cigarette.

He drew in a long breath, exhaled slowly, and said, “These six were my old comrades-in-arms. No, to be precise, they were my closest friends since childhood.”

Jiang Feng said nothing, adopting an attentive listening posture.

The story was, in truth, quite simple.

Hua Su was born in a small mountain village, near which grew a Ming Heart Tree. This meant that every youth in the village, upon reaching sixteen, could take part in the Ming Heart Seed trial.

For some unknown reason, that year, fortune blessed the village: seven youths successfully fused with Ming Heart Seeds at once, and each seed was of high quality.

Such a thing was unheard of, especially given the villagers’ diverse bloodlines.

But supreme luck is often shadowed by disaster. That same year, a Demon Rift opened near the Ming Heart Tree.

“A Demon Rift?”

Jiang Feng had never encountered the term before and couldn’t help but ask.

Hua Su offered a brief explanation: “A Demon Rift is a kind of spatial portal. It looks like a cave, but it connects the Wild Mountains directly to the Xuantian Infinity Continent. When a Demon Rift appears, it means a shortcut has opened for the demons to invade the human realm. The chaos of the Nine Heavens was sparked by countless Demon Rifts appearing all over the continent.”

Jiang Feng sucked in a breath. “A Demon Rift so close to the village must have been unimaginably dangerous?”

Hua Su gave a bitter laugh, his eyes flickering with firelight. Clearly, the events of that year had left an indelible mark on his heart.

“Dangerous doesn’t begin to describe it. It was annihilation.”

The village was called Hua Family Village, where most bore the surname Hua. Eight hundred years ago, they might have been kin, but their ancestors’ bloodline was never anything remarkable.

No martial cultivators had ever emerged from Hua Family Village. When the seven youths fused with the Ming Heart Seeds, the village was euphoric and resolved to pool their resources to hire a teacher to help them pass the great examination.

Which meant that, until the teacher arrived, only those seven could wield Ming Force.

The demons struck without warning. Hua Family Village was defenseless. The villagers’ first thought was to hide Hua Su and the others, preserving a sliver of their bloodline—their last hope.

In the end, Hua Su and his friends survived until rescue arrived.

They watched their families slaughtered by demons, the villagers’ screams and dying words echoing in their ears.

Some of them, more than once, tried to rush out and help, but Hua Su held them back. With their strength, it would have been suicide; there could be no other outcome.

Eventually, powerful humans exterminated the demons and sealed the rift. But the hole left in the boys’ hearts could never be filled; a cold wind would blow through it until their dying day.

They fulfilled their elders’ last wish, passing the great examination with distinction: four cleared the provincial exam, three the prefectural. In the end, they all—without prior agreement—chose to enroll at West King Academy and Zhen Stone Military School, the two most prestigious military academies on the continent, both under the direct command of the Demon Suppression Army.

Unspoken, yet united by a common goal, they pledged to treat the demons as lifelong foes and journeyed to the front lines of the Xuanji Continent for a death struggle against them.

Jiang Feng was spellbound by the tale.

He had never seen demons, only read about them countless times in books.

Demons dwelled in the Wild Mountains, an environment so harsh it forged their formidable strength.

They wielded dark Ming Force, born enemies of humanity. When the two met, it was a fight to the death—there could be no other path.

Demons were ferocious, with half their number feeding on humans. Their vitality was terrifyingly tenacious; as long as they drew breath, they could rise to kill again. They were foes of the worst kind.

All who volunteered for the Demon Suppression Army could rightfully be called heroes.

For seven boys to vow such a thing at so young an age showed just how deep their wounds ran.

He asked, “And then?”

Hua Su inhaled the last drag of his cigarette, the ember flaring before it vanished. He tapped the tombstone before him, his voice flat. “They died. I left the Demon Suppression Army alone and shrank back to this small county town. That’s all.”

Jiang Feng shook his head. “No, it’s not just that. Unless something happened, you’d never have left the army. With your character, you’d have fought the demons to the bitter end.”

Hua Su gave a dismissive laugh. “Such a young man, and you think you know my character?”

Jiang Feng met his gaze, silent.

Hua Su gave a low hum, his eyes turning somber. “All six of them died before my eyes.”

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To tell the truth, when I came out of the little black room yesterday and saw the messages in the comments, tears streamed down my face. With all my heart, thank you all. I’ve been anxious and uncertain for some time now. Reading your words, my heart finally settled. You are my support. Thank you!!!