Chapter 35: A Heart Deadened
The Immortal Nanbai, though over fifty, was still ruddy-faced and bright-eyed. He walked with a vigorous stride, truly hale and hearty. At this moment, he was leaning against a somewhat withered palm tree in the courtyard of the bedchamber, waiting.
“Master.”
The Immortal Nanbai was one of the few people in this world who did not need to bow or kneel to Feng Qi, and also one of the only two who could make Feng Qi restrain his temper a little.
Feng Qi said, “Why has Master suddenly come to the palace? Why not come in for a cup of tea first?”
“No need.” The Immortal Nanbai looked at Feng Qi’s face and frowned. “Why do you look so wretched?”
The Immortal Nanbai knew that his disciple was not an emperor who would be troubled by state affairs. Could it be…
Feng Qi shrugged, not responding.
“To the ice chamber,” the Immortal Nanbai said. “I have come this time to help you circulate your energy.”
“Why so soon this time?” In Feng Qi’s memory, the Immortal Nanbai usually came at the beginning of the year, once a year. And if he remembered correctly, in his past life, the Immortal Nanbai had only come once half a year ago at this time.
“Your condition is becoming more and more unstable. I sensed something was wrong half a year ago.” The Immortal Nanbai shook his head. “Let me take a look first.”
The ice chamber was located in Chongbo Mountain, converted from a vast, seemingly endless cave. This place was very secret; only the Immortal Nanbai, Wen Ning’an, and Feng Qi knew of it. Thus, it was devoid of human presence, deathly still.
There was a small waterfall on the mountain wall, but it had already frozen into a thick glacier. As Feng Qi followed the Immortal Nanbai inside, he felt a wave of cold air. Countless icicles hung from the stone ceiling, and the surroundings were covered in ice shards and blocks.
An ordinary person would have frozen long ago, but Feng Qi and the Immortal Nanbai were highly skilled in martial arts and could circulate their own energy to keep warm.
The Immortal Nanbai had Feng Qi sit on the ice bed in the inner chamber, while he himself stood behind him and placed his palms gently on Feng Qi’s back to transfer his true energy. Feng Qi felt a wave of heat surge into his body from his back. Two streams of true energy were flowing and clashing violently within him, the pain causing him to break out in a cold sweat, his hands clenched tightly into fists.
Beads of sweat also dripped from the Immortal Nanbai’s forehead, his brows tightly furrowed. Feng Qi’s inner energy was even more frantic than half a year ago, very difficult to suppress.
“Cough, cough—”
As the Immortal Nanbai slapped Feng Qi’s back, Feng Qi could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Immortal Nanbai shook his head and reminded him, “The situation is not optimistic. My inner energy can barely suppress the evil energy in your body. You should have known when you started practicing this evil technique that although it can make you unparalleled in the world, it will grow more and more rampant, out of control, affecting your emotional control and your body. The Murong family of the martial world was destroyed by this.”
The head of the Murong family, Murong Ya, had been obsessed with becoming the number one in the martial world, practicing day and night. After learning of this evil technique, “Annihilating Yang White Bone,” he naturally practiced it without regard for the consequences. In the end, his inner energy went berserk and out of control. He fell into madness, slaughtering seventy-five members of the main Murong family with his bare hands. That night, the Murong Mountain Villa was a river of blood, and Murong Ya was only successfully subdued after the martial arts alliance leader and several major sects had sacrificed many masters.
It was a pity that this noble family sect, which had stood at the pinnacle of the martial world, was left with nothing but people’s sighs overnight.
“I had no choice back then. Didn’t Master also agree for me to practice it?”
The Immortal Nanbai sighed. “I had no choice but to agree. You had already started practicing without permission when I was away from the capital. If you had stopped suddenly, it would have been even worse. What I said back then was that if you truly continued to practice, I would personally kill you before you lost control and went mad, to prevent you from harming the world.”
Seeing Feng Qi’s bitter smile, the Immortal Nanbai frowned and asked, “Why on earth did you practice such a harmful and self-destructive evil technique! Were you crazy with the desire to reach the heavens in a single step?”
“What’s done is done. Master need not nag anymore. I will listen to Master and try my best to control it. After all, I still want to live a little longer.”
Yixin, revenge, the country… Feng Qi narrowed his eyes. There were too many things he hadn’t done yet. The heavens had given him a chance to be reborn, so they didn’t want him to die. Feng Qi knew he was not a good person, so he still couldn’t fathom the heavens’ intentions, but…
Feng Qi stood up, wanting to leave the ice chamber. He looked down and saw the pattern on his palm flickering incessantly, its light eerily strong.
“Master…”
Before he could speak, Feng Qi suddenly convulsed, and dark red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The Immortal Nanbai was startled. The unexpected accident made him react half a beat too slow. He had originally intended to grab Feng Qi, but was suddenly thrown back by the burst of inner energy from him, slamming hard against the stone wall and also spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Feng Qi threw his head back and roared, shattering the ice pillar beside him with a single palm strike. The powerful aftershock of his inner energy made the entire cave shake, and the icicles on the ceiling finally couldn’t hold on any longer and broke, falling.
The Immortal Nanbai immediately got up and leaped to Feng Qi’s side to protect him and pull him away. He was hit in the back by an icicle he couldn’t dodge. The Immortal Nanbai let out a muffled grunt. With his back attacked and the restless Feng Qi in front of him, he couldn’t help but sneer. The disciple I taught, am I afraid I can’t subdue him?
Ice pillars and icicles fell one after another. The small iceberg formed by the waterfall also began to collapse. The cave was starting to fall apart.
Rumble—
The forest seemed to tremble slightly, and a few startled birds flew out.
Two days passed.
“Sister Qin…”
Outside the bedchamber, Ah Bai held onto Qin Zhaohuang, on the verge of tears. Qin Zhaohuang stroked Ah Bai’s head, feeling extremely frustrated himself. Fu Che stood at the side with his head lowered, worried.
“If big brother goes on like this, he will… he will…” Ah Bai didn’t have the courage to finish the sentence. Just imagining it made him feel desperate.
Qin Zhaohuang turned to Fu Che. “Still haven’t found His Majesty?”
Fu Che shook his head.
Qin Zhaohuang sighed, his brows furrowed into a deep “川” character as he thought of a countermeasure.
Feng Qi had locked Wen Ning’an in a room in the bedchamber. The room was surrounded by iron bars, so the person inside couldn’t get out, and by the same token, the people outside couldn’t get in. And the key was in Feng Qi’s hands, so the servants couldn’t deliver any food.
Qin Zhaohuang coaxed Ah Bai, “Don’t worry. Ning’an is a general. When fighting a war, if the situation is bad, it’s common for him to go without food for ten days or half a month. He’s very strong. The worst won’t happen.”
“Mmm…”
“Ah Bai.” Qin Zhaohuang picked him up. “You’re going to be an upstanding man in the future. A real man doesn’t cry when faced with trouble, you know?”
Ah Bai sniffled. “I don’t want to, but I’m really afraid big brother will disappear…”
Qin Zhaohuang sighed again. He thought to himself, I can’t blame Ah Bai for being delicate. Wen Ning’an has indeed been through a lot of disasters recently…
Incense curled up in the room, the decadent “special” fragrance filling the air, making one drowsy and unable to keep a clear head.
The tea on the desk was all gone, and the surroundings were silent. Wen Ning’an was woken by a dampness. He opened his eyes and saw Xingxing licking his chapped lips, transferring its saliva into his mouth. Liangliang was also nestled in the crook of his neck, its round eyes watching him without blinking.
“Awoo…” Xingxing touched Wen Ning’an’s face, keeping him company.
“Good boy…” When Wen Ning’an opened his mouth, he found that his voice was terribly hoarse.
Wen Ning’an got up with some difficulty and rummaged through the only desk he could reach, but found that the tea and food were all gone. Instead, he found the thick, cylindrical object covered with round protrusions in the cabinet under the desk and couldn’t help but tremble.
Facing a thousand troops and ten thousand horses was not as terrifying and despairing as being under Feng Qi…
A wave of dizziness suddenly hit him. Wen Ning’an felt he was running a fever. His forehead was scorching hot, his body alternating between cold and hot. Coupled with hunger and thirst, Wen Ning’an slowly closed his eyes, wanting to fall asleep again to escape it all.
It’s been… two days?
Feng Qi still hadn’t appeared.
Wen Ning’an smiled bitterly. He finally saw it clearly now. Is this the love of an emperor? He was a man who conquered the battlefield, a man! Wen Ning’an looked at the cage around him and felt, what was the difference between him and a beast?
“Awoo…” Liangliang lowered its head and licked away Wen Ning’an’s tears, its furry head gently rubbing against his face.
In a daze, Wen Ning’an fainted again.
It was another night of many dreams. Wen Ning’an hadn’t had a peaceful sleep these past few days, always having fragmented dreams. His first meeting with Feng Qi, getting to know Feng Qi, fighting side by side with Feng Qi…
And that unpleasant memory… no, it was more of a shadow than a memory.
The warm sun hung high, and the capital was a tapestry of flowers and brocade, with weeping willows swaying gently, full of the spirit of spring. The thirteen-year-old Feng Qi and the twelve-year-old Wen Ning’an were riding together on the bustling streets. For them, a spring outing couldn’t be satisfied by just a stroll through the streets, so they held their reins and went to the great Maoshan Mountain outside the city to admire the flowers.
They had never thought they would get lost on Maoshan Mountain, fall into a trap, and be captured. At this time, they didn’t have shadow guards secretly protecting them. When they woke up again, they found themselves tied up in a dilapidated wooden house, with many children of their age or younger beside them. Some had expressions of fear and terror, while others were expressionless, leaning against the side with vacant eyes.
Wen Ning’an shrank back. Beside him was a skinny child, his eyes devoid of light, his skin already rotting, some parts even showing white bones, and his whole body exuded a foul smell.
White bones also hung from the rafters, clattering with the wind. The room was filled with shelves of bottles and jars, all containing strangely colored liquids that didn’t look like anything good.
“Hehehe…”
There was a large pot in the center of the house. A slightly stooped old woman with a hideous smile stood beside it, cooking something. Wen Ning’an, curious, tilted his head slightly and saw that the pot was full of white bones.
“Don’t be afraid.” Feng Qi stuck out his neck and said to Wen Ning’an in an adult’s tone, “I will protect you.”
“I will protect you too.” Wen Ning’an moved closer to Feng Qi.
The old woman took a few more bottles of potion from the cabinet and poured them into the pot. The surroundings were dark. Wen Ning’an asked softly, “Will someone come to save us?”
“They will! I’m a crown prince, after all,” Feng Qi said. “I just don’t know how many days it will take to find this place…”
“Hehehe… new, ingredients…” The slovenly old woman walked over to Feng Qi and Wen Ning’an, her gaze shifting between them. The observant Wen Ning’an immediately understood her intentions and leaned slightly to block Feng Qi, making himself more conspicuous.
“You’ll do…” As expected, the old woman grabbed Wen Ning’an and dragged him to the large pot.
“Ning’an!”
