A City Swept by Wind and Snow GL - Chapter 32

◎”Qianxun, we don’t care for other people’s things.”◎

“Before officially declaring war against the entire Water Moon Palace, come and defeat me first.”

That not-so-unfamiliar voice reached her ears. Xue Qianxun’s forward-moving steps were abruptly halted. Her upper body was still leaning forward. Just as she was about to stumble, Xifeng flashed past and caught her.

Pain quickly spread from Xue Qianxun’s ankle to her knee. Fine beads of sweat instantly permeated her forehead—this was the pain Xifeng and Jinse had experienced, no, perhaps not even a tenth of it.

Xue Qianxun swayed slightly, then stood firm, feeling Xifeng’s trembling fingers. Their eyes met, and Xue Qianxun gave a wry smile: “Sorry, you always have to see me looking so embarrassed and weak.” After saying that, she pushed Xifeng away, bent down, and said softly, “Thank you, Fifth Charm. I was just worried I couldn’t grasp it!”

Fifth Charm realized something was amiss. Just as she was about to retract her hand, Xue Qianxun had firmly grasped the zither string that penetrated and wrapped around her ankle. The speed was so fast that it exceeded even Xifeng’s imagination. Fifth Charm was about to pull back, but the zither string had already been dismantled and was tightly clenched in Xue Qianxun’s hand. Clearly, she wasn’t going to let go.

Fifth Charm had always been curious about Xue Qianxun’s strange strength. Seeing her look as if she wouldn’t stop until she got it felt truly tricky. However, as a senior, she had once had a zither string stolen by Xue Qianxun. Now that it was an official tournament, she absolutely couldn’t allow her to snatch another one. Therefore, she also concentrated her zhenqi into her hands and struggled to take it back.

The two zither strings were pulled taut.

Xue Qianxun had a flash of inspiration. She held the string with her left hand and quickly slid her right hand across the string. Through subtle control of the force in her left hand, the string relaxed and tightened with subtle changes. Thus, that brief strumming contained dozens of musical notes. Fifth Charm only felt her head swirl, a slight trance. She quickly focused her mind and stabilized her spirit. A fleeting look of regret appeared on Xue Qianxun’s face across from her.

Fifth Charm noticed her opponent’s emotion and suddenly understood, overjoyed: “So you still can’t control the Bewitching Sound and Demonic Sound at will! When panicked, you make mistakes. I reckon you haven’t even entered the threshold of ‘Sound Manipulation’ (Yuyin) and can’t be considered a true Puppeteer at all.”

Xue Qianxun was hit spot-on by her words. Annoyed in her heart, she forced a cold laugh: “Then how about you let me try again?”

Fifth Charm said, “It’s my turn to try!” Following Xue Qianxun’s method, she also strummed the zither strings.

The mere two zither strings instantly vibrated with a mighty sound, echoing repeatedly in the air, captivating the soul. Xue Qianxun felt a surge of nausea in her chest, a splitting headache, and an inexplicable sadness welled up in her heart.

“See, this is the Demonic Sound! The ‘Sorrowful Ballad’ gifted to you.” Fifth Charm said in a teasing tone. She then looked at Xue Qianxun sideways and murmured, “It truly exceeds my expectations: beneath your pure appearance, you hide such a profound inner demon.”

The zither strings had settled, but the sound still lingered in Xue Qianxun’s heart. She barely managed to stand firm and said coldly, “Thank you for the guidance!” She raised her trembling hand, intending to strum the strings as well.

Unexpectedly, the other end of the zither string suddenly drooped, and Fifth Charm’s laughter was heard: “I still have twenty-one zither strings here. Why should I duel with you over the sound of two strings?”

Before her voice faded, the zither music burst forth. The sound was trickling and flowing, mournful and weeping. It was not loud, yet it seemed to vibrate directly on the tip of the heart. Xue Qianxun hurriedly covered her ears with both hands. However, Fifth Charm’s zither music penetrated her skull and went straight to her eardrums, driving straight into and conquering her heart. Xue Qianxun found it difficult to stop the sound’s intrusion on her will. A feeling of grief and pain consumed her entire soul. The greatest sound is rare, and the greatest sorrow is silent. Xue Qianxun wanted to cry but couldn’t, wanted to shout but couldn’t speak. All kinds of distress were suppressed in the most fragile corner of her heart. Suppressed again and again, it finally became unbearable. With a wah sound, she spat out a mouthful of fresh bl00d, and her vision turned pitch black. She stood motionless.

Fifth Charm took the opportunity to lean forward. Her long, slender fingers searched Xue Qianxun’s embrace and took out her Name Token, saying, “The difference in strength between us is vast. Your failure was destined. Ha, though it was a bit too fast.”

After saying that, Fifth Charm tried to pull the two loose zither strings from Xue Qianxun’s hands. She couldn’t pull them out, so she turned to first take the zither with only one string that Xue Qianxun was carrying on her back. Unexpectedly, Xue Qianxun’s body flickered, and she abruptly flipped the zither into her arms, hugging it tightly. She also refused to let go of the two scattered zither strings in her palm.

Fifth Charm was annoyed and shouted, “You lost! Are you still hogging the opponent’s things? You’re acting like a child!”

Fifth Charm continued to snatch. Xue Qianxun held on desperately. The zither strings cut into the old wounds on her palms, reopening them, yet she did not answer. Her eyes were empty and unfocused, gazing at some distant place. At this moment, she was like a stone statue carved from stubborn rock, motionless and indestructible, with only fresh bl00d slowly flowing down from the corner of her lips.

Only then did Fifth Charm realize that Xue Qianxun had already lost consciousness. However, she did not know what kind of conviction was deep in her heart, compelling her to cling to the three zither strings no matter what.

Xifeng rushed up and hugged Xue Qianxun tightly, whispering in her ear: “Qianxun, we don’t care for other people’s things.”

Tears suddenly flowed from Xue Qianxun’s hollow eyes, yet she remained silent, simply refusing to let go.

Xifeng looked up and stared at Fifth Charm, slowly saying, “Then, you let go.”

Fifth Charm was stunned by Xifeng’s frightening gaze. She then sighed softly, let go, and turned to leave. She had taken Xue Qianxun’s Name Token but did not take her life.

The incense stick for timing the second battle had only burned a fifth, and the outcome was already decided.

Xifeng carried Xue Qianxun to Zhuque. Zhuque was shocked when she saw Xifeng’s face. She had never seen Xifeng like this, never seen a demon king whose heart was torn apart.

Zhuque ignored Xifeng and quickly slowly injected yuanqi (vital energy) into Xue Qianxun’s body. After a brief moment, Zhuque suddenly spat out a mouthful of bl00d, rebounded by some invisible force.

Tang Fei and Xifeng anxiously questioned her. Zhuque was drenched in cold sweat, murmuring, “Xue Qianxun’s seven energy fields have actually—all opened up!”

A person has three hun (spiritual souls) and seven po (corporeal souls). The hun governs the spirit, and the po governs the material.

The seven po—Tianchong (Heavenly Rush), Linghui (Spiritual Wisdom), Qi (Vapor), Li (Force), Zhongshu (Central Hub), Jing (Essence), and Ying (Valiant)—correspond to the body’s seven energy centers: crown, brow, throat, heart, solar plexus, navel, and root chakras. Martial artists activate these energy centers through cultivating qi or spirit, thereby gaining power that surpasses human limits—martial arts. As the cultivation realm improves, the energy centers can slowly be opened.

—This is a gradual process. Even a person with high martial arts aptitude would need at least seventy years of cultivation to activate all seven energy centers, and those who can open all seven energy centers simultaneously are even fewer.

Xifeng hurriedly placed her palms against Xue Qianxun’s back, slowly injecting lingli. She only felt a torrent of bl00d surging through Xue Qianxun’s body, her meridians tangled, like raging underground magma. Xue Qianxun’s surface was so calm, yet her body contained such terrifying and chaotic power.

Xifeng turned back to ask Zhuque, “What should we do?”

Zhuque had already calmed down. She quickly took out silver needles and said, “I’ll seal the three hundred and sixty-one pressure points on her body. You suppress her twelve meridians. If we can put her into a state of suspended animation in one go, we can calm those seven rioting energy centers.”

Xifeng asked, “And after suspended animation?”

Zhuque said, “When the power of her po can no longer harm her, I will wake her up.”

The second match of the tournament, the duel between Xue Qianxun and Fifth Charm, ended surprisingly quickly.

Jinse was far away. She couldn’t hear her companions talking, nor could she keep her eyes on Xue Qianxun at all times. When the battle ended over there, she only knew that Fifth Charm had taken Xue Qianxun’s Name Token but had not killed her. She was about to feel relieved, but then noticed Xifeng, Zhuque, and Tang Fei surrounding Xue Qianxun, which made her worry again.

Tang Fei, mindful of Jinse, stepped out, waved his single arm, and shouted loudly: “Xue Qianxun was hypnotized by Fifth Charm’s Puppetry! Little Sister Yi is healing her! She’s fine, it’s just a shame her Name Token was snatched!”

Jinse was continuously playing the Spirit Control Flute while thinking: Can Puppetry also hypnotize? After a moment of thought, Puppetry is the art of controlling people, so it seems reasonable that it could hypnotize. The one duel she worried about the most had finally concluded, and she felt even more relaxed than before.

A moment later, Xue Qianxun entered a state of suspended animation. Xifeng and Tang Fei sighed in relief. Thank goodness for Zhuque. The three of them once again focused their attention on the battle between Jinse and the Little Wolf Cub.

The current situation: the Little Wolf Cub had one Heavenly Wolf mother, two tigers, three black panthers, and many bats and owls. The ten Taiyin Dolls were mostly injured, but none were killed. However, they were not yet considered Jinse’s tamed beasts.

The Heavenly Wolf most resented Jinse, while the Taiyin Dolls held a grudge against the Little Wolf Cub. The Heavenly Wolf was eager to swallow Jinse alive immediately, but the Taiyin Dolls also had no intention of letting the Little Wolf Cub off. The Heavenly Wolf kept howling. No one understood what it meant, and the Little Wolf Cub seemed to turn a deaf ear, playing the wolf flute to control the remaining tamed beasts to fight against the Taiyin Dolls.

Tang Fei frowned: “The Heavenly Wolf flew with such majesty just now. If it carried the Little Wolf Cub into battle, the Taiyin Dolls couldn’t hurt them, and Jinse would be in big trouble.”

Xifeng agreed deeply and added, “Then the Heavenly Wolf’s intention must be to ask the Little Wolf Cub to jump onto its back. But why does the Little Wolf Cub refuse?”

Zhuque recalled diagnosing the Heavenly Wolf: “The Heavenly Wolf seemed to have suffered very severe internal injuries. Perhaps the Little Wolf Cub knew his mother was unwell, so he couldn’t bear to?”

Tang Fei couldn’t help but ask, “Who could have injured the Heavenly Wolf?”

Zhuque mused, “Perhaps only the Heavenly Wolf itself knows. Because the Little Wolf Cub also seems to think his mother is only sick, not that she was injured by someone’s internal energy.”

Just as the few were talking, the Heavenly Wolf seemed to have gathered some strength. It suddenly let out a frantic howl, flipping several surrounding Taiyin Dolls several zhang (tens of feet) away. Knowing that the Taiyin Dolls’ movement technique was as swift as lightning, it quickly rushed to the Little Wolf Cub, bit his clothes with its mouth, and flew up, flapping its wings.

Jinse shouted “This is bad” in her heart. If the Taiyin Dolls couldn’t harm the Little Wolf Cub, they would turn to attack her. And if the Heavenly Wolf attacked from the air… She thought about this while staring at the Heavenly Wolf. However, to her surprise, the Heavenly Wolf carried the Little Wolf Cub away, looking extremely anxious.

Did he flee? Why? Jinse had no time to ponder these things. Now, her opponents had changed to the Taiyin Dolls.

Xifeng gathered her qi, ready to rush over to assist Jinse.

Tang Fei suddenly cried out, “Xue Qianxun is gone! And the little fox is gone too!”

The shout was loud, and even Jinse heard it. As she paused and looked towards her companions, a Taiyin Doll suddenly pounced. Jinse was unable to dodge, and her arm was sliced open. Jinse had no choice but to flee, pursued relentlessly by the ten Taiyin Dolls. Dodging back and forth, she was getting farther and farther away from her companions.

On one side was Jinse in danger, and on the other was the unaccounted-for Xue Qianxun. Xifeng hesitated.

At this moment, Jinse shouted from a distance, “Xifeng, hurry and find Xue Qianxun!”

Zhuque pushed Xifeng and said, “Tang Fei and I will go assist Jinse.”

Xifeng could only choose one. She ran in the direction where Fifth Charm had disappeared to look for Xue Qianxun. Meanwhile, Zhuque and Tang Fei, each armed with their weapons, went to pursue Jinse.