Chapter 468: Dream of Blossoms (3k)
“This flower smells good…”
After a moment of stunned silence, Su Jiu jolted and quickly regained her senses. Her gaze followed the sound, only to discover that no one was there. Instead, a large pavilion stood in the center, with a loquat tree to its left. It was tall and bore small white flowers.
“This mental world is so real, even the sense of smell and touch are so vivid. I can’t even feel what’s happening to my body on the cliff.”
Touching her own body, Su Jiu had a general understanding of her current predicament. This was likely Bai Zhi’s environment. The voice she’d just heard didn’t sound like Bai Zhi’s; it was too cold, with an aura that kept others at a distance.
“Who exactly are you?”
Su Jiu continued to look around, calling out softly. After she finished speaking, a sword’s hum echoed in the air, and with a “swish!”, a cold glint appeared, followed by a beam of sword energy descending.
“Who I am is not important. What’s important is you. Can you exchange two moves with me?”
Hearing this, Su Jiu narrowed her eyes. A rusty iron sword was suspended about ten feet away from her, surrounded by severed small flowers. She took a step forward and pulled out the iron sword. It felt slightly heavy, as if an ordinary person were holding a sword.
As if sensing something, she suddenly turned her head to look behind her, her mouth slightly agape…
“Bai Zhi?”
She saw a figure with Bai Zhi’s face, but she appeared more mature and was considerably taller. She was dressed in ancient-style attire of a swordswoman, her green silk hair casually tied with a wooden hairpin, and two strands resembling dragon whiskers flowing like a stream over her proud peaks. In her hand, she held a broken loquat tree branch.
Tightening her grip on the rusty iron sword, Su Jiu quickly realized that this person was not Bai Zhi at all, but the First Life mentioned by Bai Zhi. However, her appearance suggested that communication might be possible.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she said softly, “A spar is fine. Can you tell me where the real Bai Zhi is?”
“You are… no, you’re not…”
The First Life paused upon hearing this, examining Su Jiu with a touch of confusion in her eyes. She shook her head, then laughed softly, “You mean that useless Young Lady from the second life? She’s dead…”
As if to provoke Su Jiu, she repeated, word by word, “I killed her.”
“You can’t kill her. this is just a mental world, and you are the one who should die.”
With these words, a subtle killing intent flashed in Su Jiu’s eyes, and the fingertips gripping the iron sword’s hilt turned white.
She knew the other party was trying to provoke her into a fight, but her priority was to know if Bai Zhi was safe.
“She is fine for now, but I have killed her once. If she dies again, she will truly be dead.”
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, the First Life casually smiled and pointed towards the center of the flower sea. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, bending the flowers that were as tall as a person’s thigh.
“When she dies completely, I will take her place as this useless Young Lady and become the Flower Lord once more.”
In the center, a large bed appeared. On it lay a woman in plain ancient attire, a loquat branch piercing her chest. Blood seeped from her clothes, turning the loquat flowers a faint red.
As if recalling something, the First Life hugged her chest with both hands and said rather seriously, “The child in her womb will also become… yours and mine…”
“Little fool… Get lost!”
Seeing Bai Zhi’s state, Su Jiu’s pupils constricted. Without further hesitation, she lowered her body and charged forward, but it seemed that everyone in this world possessed only the strength of an Initial Stage Warrior.
“Save her? You have to defeat me first.”
The next moment, a figure blocked her path. The loquat branch in her hand was thrust towards Su Jiu’s throat, creating a fragrant gust of wind that tore through the air. The sound of tearing air erupted in the flower sea, sending countless white petals flying everywhere.
“Such speed.”
Reflecting the thrust in her eyes, Su Jiu’s expression changed slightly. Not daring to be careless, she swung her sword, evoking the phantom of a blood moon, and met the attack. A similar gust of wind roared.
In the blink of an eye, the two collided with a “boom!”, and a vortex of energy erupted from the impact, pressing down the flower sea.
The First Life retreated three steps, while Su Jiu took one. The former looked at Su Jiu with surprise and chuckled, “That sword technique is decent. At least you can suppress me head-on, but I wasn’t known for frontal assaults back then either.”
“Dream of Blossoms.”
Having said that, the First Life advanced instead of retreating, her face almost touching Su Jiu’s. The white flowers on the loquat branch continuously shed petals, and as a breeze blew, the petals transformed into swirling blossoms in mid-air.
“What is this?”
Glancing at the swirling blossoms in the air, Su Jiu’s internal alarm bells rang. She had a feeling that these blossoms could inflict great damage on her in the next moment, and she immediately tried to create some distance. However, she was being suppressed by the First Life.
“Flash!”
Hearing the First Life softly chant, her figure suddenly disappeared, reappearing above the swirling blossoms. She adopted a “thrusting” pose, and some flowers from the loquat branch fluttered down.
“My body has been locked.”
Sensing the sharpness of the loquat branch in the First Life’s hand, Su Jiu’s pupils contracted. She wanted to move but found her body trembling, forcing her to remain in place.
“After all, you’ve had intimate contact with this body. As long as you don’t interfere with our body swap, I can spare you. I can even give the child to you.”
The First Life seemed to be explaining to her, not immediately attacking. She continued to smile, “Anyone locked by Dream of Blossoms can only endure this sword strike unless their mental power exceeds mine.”
Afterward, she gave Su Jiu three seconds to think. Seeing Su Jiu still pondering how to escape, she raised her slender willow-like eyebrows, her arm trembling slightly. The loquat branch in her hand glowed with a pale white light, its angle aimed at Su Jiu’s neck.
“Butterfly Blade!”
Seeing the figure about to strike, Su Jiu gritted her teeth. Her body exploded with a “bang!”, transforming into a small butterfly that rapidly dispersed. Like scattered meteors, she continuously retreated, creating distance.
“Screech!”
In the next moment, the world turned white as flowers rained down from the sky. The First Life’s figure instantly streaked through the spot where Su Jiu had just been. A butterfly, unable to retreat in time, was sliced into fragments on the spot.
About ten meters away from here, the butterflies re-formed into human shape. Su Jiu stood somewhat disheveled in the flower sea, a thin line of blood at the corner of her mouth, her gaze fixed on the figure that had paused.
Although both of them were at the Initial Stage Warrior level, in a head-on clash, she only had an advantage in raw power. In terms of skill and speed, she was at a disadvantage.
If she used [Elegy], her speed would be barely enough to suppress the opponent, but [Elegy] in this state without external Qi could only last for about ten seconds. After ten seconds, she would instantly become prey.
However, the attack trajectory of [Dream of Blossoms] was completely unpredictable. In these ten seconds, she needed to close in and deliver a surprise attack.
This meant she couldn’t attack directly but had to lure and counterattack.
“You actually dodged the first blow? But since you want to save that useless Young Lady, you can die with her.”
Seeing Su Jiu, who was at the Initial Stage Warrior level, evade the killing blow, the First Life sneered. Her body twisted into a strange arc, and with a stomp of her foot, she swept through the flower sea, following Su Jiu like a shadow.
The swift pursuit of the First Life made Su Jiu’s scalp tingle. She hadn’t felt this cornered since facing the Black-clad Bishop, the Duke’s Daughter of the Beastmen.
Her body transformed into a butterfly again, flying towards the distant pavilion. Along the way, the loquat branches and the butterfly’s wings clashed, producing metallic sounds.
“You can’t escape. Die with that Young Lady. Everything you have, I will inherit.”
As two more butterflies were sliced to death, a cold laugh rang out. Su Jiu’s figure appeared inside the pavilion, ten meters away.
Just as Su Jiu re-condensed into human form, the scent of flowers wafted from behind her, and a gust of wind struck again. She abruptly turned her head and saw the First Life’s figure, like fluttering blossoms, closely following Su Jiu. The loquat branch unhesitatingly thrust towards her.
The loquat branch cut through the air, but just as it was about to pierce Su Jiu’s throat, a cold smile crept onto her face. The iron sword in her hand had fully charged its Draw Sword strike.
“The one who should die is you…”
Su Jiu silently recited [Elegy]. Killing intent surged from her blood-red eyes. Her arm trembled violently, and she swiftly drew her sword, striking the First Life’s chest with full force.
“Draw Sword Strike!”
The blade’s strike landed on the First Life’s chest. Su Jiu’s throat was also pierced by the loquat branch, a clear indication of an exchange of blows.
Ignoring the pain in her neck, and letting blood gush out, the potion’s right hand veins bulged. Suddenly, a surge of power erupted from the blade, spreading across the First Life’s body.
“Hiss–”
Accompanied by the sound of liquid splashing, the two streams of blood intertwined, spraying out from the intersection of the two figures. The white flowers nearby were also stained with some of it, blood drops falling from the petals.
Lowering her head slightly, the First Life looked at the iron sword piercing her heart. Her expression was first one of surprise, then slowly turned to calmness, and she said softly, “In reality, you are climbing a cliff. If you die mentally, you will fall.”
“Mmm…”
Su Jiu couldn’t speak. Her eyes were fixed on the other party, like enemies, as she continued to twist the iron sword lodged in her heart. She understood that only if the other party died first could her foolish little Flower Fairy survive.
“Heh heh…”
Unexpectedly, the First Life merely frowned, then re-examined Su Jiu, and suddenly burst into laughter. “What she said is true. You’ve come. It’s a shame…”
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she looked at the loquat tree, her gaze suddenly softening. She softly murmured with an inexplicable tone:
“Conquered a hundred battles, the old friend departed. Dressing table, tears washing the silk.”
“Family and country’s wish, lover’s resentment. A hundred years of waiting, finally to meet.”
“Heh heh… the old friend is no longer the old friend.”
Having said that, she waved her long sleeves, her gaze fixed on Su Jiu’s face. She extended a slender finger and pointed to Su Jiu’s forehead, saying softly, “Protect her for me… This sword is named [Dream of Blossoms]. With this sword technique, I once killed the kings and nobles of several Otherworldly Beings.”
As a technique was transmitted into Su Jiu’s mind, the pain in her head masked the stinging sensation in her neck. The First Life’s body gradually became transparent, even showing specks of light.
Just as the First Life’s figure was about to dissipate, Su Jiu suddenly found a handful of dry loquats in her palm, even with some fuzz.
…Qi Er Ling Ling private Jiu Qi Ling Si
Outside the pavilion, dense black-armored soldiers exuded an aura that pierced the heavens, their killing intent rising like black smoke.
Inside the pavilion, a fully armed black unicorn stood. Occasionally, a cold wind blew, rustling the sparse leaves of the young loquat tree. Two figures appeared somewhat desolate within it.
“Master, are you leaving for the Central Plains today?”
A little girl with two buns tied on her head looked up at the single ponytail girl on horseback. Her gaze followed the silver-bright armor on the latter’s back, then moved up to the dragon-scaled helmet, and she pursed her lips, reluctant.
“Zhi’er… the alien lords have entered the Central Plains. If we who travel don’t defend the king, chaos will surely engulf the world!”
The single ponytail girl sighed, remained silent for a moment, then looked at the girl, forcing a smile. She said softly,
“When the loquats are ripe, Master will return to eat them with Zhi’er…”
With that, she looked into the distance at the neatly arranged silver-armored gauntlets. She waved her hand and said in a deep voice,
“Night Feather Army, heed my command! Follow me into the Central Plains and expel the alien races!”
In the sunset, her profile bore some resemblance to Su Jiu, but it was more resolute, lacking a touch of softness.
“Yes!!” The shouts pierced the twilight, seeming out of place with the small bridges and flowing water of the southern region.
…
Year after year, day after day.
Every time the loquats ripened, a woman in plain clothes would wait. But it was only the woman in plain clothes until a woman dressed in black appeared…
