#cheluofeng

[langtaoxuejin]

Some sad moments in C-BL novels I've read

spoilers warning!!!

Qiang Jin Jiu : Li Jianheng's death - i didn't like him that much so i was surprised that i was sad... but he really was trying his best to be a good emperor. in his last moments he was worried about Xiao Chiye and Hai Liangyi... what really broke my heart was when he said 'don't make me the emperor in my next life... i want to be born as a swallow in dazhou' all he really wanted was to live his life happily and have fun... the author really wrote it so beautifully

TGCF : When HC disappeared - 'There is no banquet in the world that doesn't comes to an end' i can't explain the way this line tugs at my heart... like we all knew he's going to come back but i couldn't help being sad about it... Hua Cheng was literally always there, so it caught me completely off guard when he started fading

Qiang Jin Jiu : (again) Xiao Fangxu's death - i wasn't expecting it. i wasn't expecting it all. i know the the war was ongoing but i still wasn't expecting it... i wish i could transmigrate into the novel and hug the poor wolf pup (even though Lanzhou would probably hack my head off) and it being a trap made me feel worse about it for some reason

Lord Seventh : although it wasn't particularly a moment but He Lianyi pining for Beiyuan was kind of sad to me... for some reason... i didn't like He lianyi that much either but i'm sooo weak for the unrequited love trope... whether it was because of the circumstances or the people themselves that they couldn't be together but He Lianyi truly loved Beiyuan and no one can tell me otherwise. but that doesn't means i don't like the canon ship coz i love love looooove wuxi sm and Beiyuan deserved someone like wuxi.

Dinghai Fusheng Lu : Che Luofeng - let me tell you i'm still traumatized. i hated what he did, how he treated Zhou Zhen and poor Chen Xing also suffered but i still felt bad that he had to end that way... that's just what the beauty of writing is... these authors write so beautifully it can't be blamed on me... it's not like i wanted him to live but it's not like i wanted him to die either... thankfully in the next half he lived, but still... the unrequited love...

Fox Demon Cultivation Manual : the truth about Feng Zhoujun - firstly i liked this arc a lot... despite my emotions being played at every turn... after seeing how Jiang Liang was harassed, humiliated and beaten up before "Feng Zhoujun's" eyes i hated Feng Zhoujun(obviously) but when the truth was revealed which was that the real Feng Zhoujun loved Jiang Liang so much he would literally give him the world i was so heartbroken. how Feng Zhoujun tried so desperately to hang on but still died... how Jiang Liang saw Feng Zhoujun dying but he was still unable to do anything... it was all sad to me... (bless wen changchu for hanging madam bitch feng to death)

alright this post became way too long so i guess this is enough for one post... (i haven't finished QJJ yet so i have no idea what's in store for me up ahead)

[mistypurplespark]

Chapter 45: Crack In The Sky

Chapter 45.1: Crack In The Sky

"Wakeup!CheLuofeng!Theyourightnowhasalreadybecomea monster!"

Translator(s): Zryuu

Editor(s): juurensha

The rotten monsters surrounding them hissed and the sound converged into an ear-piercing stream of noise. Within an instant, they lunged at the two people. A resentment tsunami that carried animal bones instantly engulfed Xiang Shu and Chen Xing as if it was crushing Mount Tai.

"Chen Xing! Chen Xing!"

A voice rang out; Xiao Shan had come!

"Xiao Shan! Take him away!" While Xiang Shu resisted the enemy's attack, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I can't leave!" Chen Xing shouted in a hurry. "You'll die without the Heart Lamp!"

Chen Xing forcibly urged the Heart Lamp within that darkness. Mana vibrated constantly as it rushed left and right madly within his body, causing his already damaged heart to once again twinge with acute pain. However, Xiang Shu was relying solely on the protection of this light -- the heavy sword he wielded relied on it to shine brightly and resist the waves of attacks from the living animal corpses time and again. If Chen Xing withdrew  his  mana  right  now,  Xiang  Shu  would  be  swallowed  by resentment in an instant!

"You knew everything!" Che Luofeng roared madly. "Throughout all these years, you knew everything!"

With vengeance in his heart, Che Luofeng flung his first whip. An indistinct shadow that brushed by emerged within the dark resentment. It was a scene

of Xiang Shu standing in the tent in front of Chen Xing as he gave Che Luofeng a slap.

Within the twinkling of an eye, a blinding light burst out of Xiang Shu's hands, blocking Che Luofeng's whip. An autumn scenery under Chi Le Chuan appeared -- they were sitting by a stream, and together with Zhou Zhen, the three of them sat fishing side by side.

"Yes," Xiang Shu said. "I knew everything. You only chose Zhou Zhen because you couldn't get what you wanted from me."

Che Luofeng was suddenly taken aback. Xiang Shu brandished his sword horizontally to parry and pushed Che Luofeng out!

Xiang Shu, "But so what? You're not satisfied to just be my Anda? Che Luofeng, I said this before: no matter who I am with in this life, I will always regard you as my family."

Che Luofeng cried out like he had gone mad, "Shulü Kong! You're a liar!"

Countless farewells in an instant: Che Luofeng saw by the lake the scene of Xiang Shu's back as he urged a horse to leave that emerged within the resentment.

Xiang Shu shouted angrily as well, "Wake up! Che Luofeng! The you right now has already become a monster!"

The heavy sword burst with an intense light that dispelled the thick fog. Memories  flooded  Che  Luofeng's  mind  with  a  bang:  on  the  plains illuminated by the brilliant sunlight, Xiang Shu was riding a horse as he looked back at Che Luofeng. He was smiling while whistling at him, and this scene made Che Luofeng unable to swing his whip again for a moment.

"Zhou Zhen should have been the one you entrusted yourself to," Xiang Shu said. "I told you that long ago."

"He's already dead..." Che Luofeng gritted his teeth as he choked out his words. "And you didn't even let me avenge him!"

Xiang Shu roared angrily, "It's already over! All that hatred, you nodded back then too to admit that it was all over!"

Che Luofeng shouted madly within the resentment. "You didn't let me avenge him, and you weren't even willing to… on his behalf… Shulü Kong! You liar! I'll kill you myself!"

Chen Xing urged the Heart Lamp a few times, but the resentment was truly too strong. It kept countering the Heart Lamp. He just wanted to get a little closer and dragged that iron chain with all his might.

Xiao Shan rushed over and kept striking the iron chain with his claws, but it didn't even budge an inch. Soon after, an enormous object shot over from the resentment cloud. Chen Xing immediately hugged Xiao Shan; the two of them rolled on the spot to avoid the tail that violently swept over!

It was the living corpse of a giant black snake, currently shooting over towards them from the surging black fog to kill them.

Xiao Shan let out a mad shout. Just as he was about to rush forward to fight as if his life were on the line, Chen Xing abruptly seized his collar with his chained hand and dragged Xiao Shan behind him. Then, a blinding light burst from his heart; it circulated from his Heavenly Pool acupoint to Heavenly Spring, then past Marsh at the Crook and Inner Palace, gathered in his palm, converged within his Middle Rushing acupoint, then he pointed at the darkness.

With a whoosh, the intense light suddenly seemed to take on concrete form and pierced through the darkness like a sharp sword! The snake corpse cried out in pain, rolling about as it tried to dodge. That light had converged into a beam, and without losing its momentum, passed through layers of thick fog and illuminated Sima Yue, who was high above. Sima Yue immediately flew back to avoid it.

Suddenly, Xiao Shan saw the item that Sima Yue was holding in his hand and was stunned.

Chen Xing was taken aback as well; he remembered what Lu Ying had said when they were in Carosha. That antler staff might be the horns that had

been cut off from the deer god's head!

Chen Xing shouted without regard for anything else, "Xiao Shan!"

But he was too late. Xiao Shan struggled so hard he tore the martial robe that covered half his body, and the soft rip of the cloth could be heard, then he rushed high up.

On the other side of the battlefield, Xiao Shan leapt up high, eyes filled with humiliation. He had seen Lu Ying's horns in the hands of his enemy reduced to being used like a toy. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he roared loudly.

Sima Yue cleanly swung out the staff. It struck Xiao Shan's waist, brutally smacking him down to the ground.

Blood was streaming down the corners of Xiao Shan's mouth from the impact, yet he crawled up again in an instant to attempt another lunge.

Sima Yue brandished the staff horizontally in front of him and used it to hit Xiao Shan on his forehead, beating him down again from a place about one zhang high.

Xiao Shan lunged again. Sima Yue drew out a dagger.

"Xiao Shan--!" The moment Chen Xing saw Sima Yue take out the dagger, he felt all the blood in his body surge upwards.

Xiang Shu saw that their lives were in imminent peril, so he could only give up on Che Luofeng to go save them.

After losing the power of the Heart Lamp, his movements were bogged down within the resentment. With every breath he took, the resentment seemed to carry with it a piercing chill that collided madly within his body. An intense guilt enveloped him.

But Che Luofeng didn't allow Xiang Shu to get away; he had already lunged over. However, right at that moment, a mad shout rang out again within the resentment -- another living corpse rushed over from the back

and hugged Che Luofeng in a vice-like grip. With two hands clasping it, Che Luofeng's head was actually twisted off!

"Youduo!" Xiang Shu shouted.

Che Luofeng cried out in a frenzy. He entwined his bone whip around Youduo's body and brutally wrung him with it within the darkness, then ripped it away harshly. Youdou's body was torn into shreds, but his head was still biting onto Che Luofeng's shoulder, and he bit down so hard that Che Luofeng's shoulder blade was torn apart.

Xiang Shu found his chance; he swung his blade with a horizontal strike and sent Che Luofeng flying with this hit!

Xiang Shu finally rushed over to Chen Xing and pushed him away. Just when he was about to take on Sima Yue, Che Luofeng had already dealt with Youduo and emerged within the black fog. With one hand facing Xiang Shu, he twisted it at a slight angle.

In a flash, the animal carcasses that surrounded them all turned into white bones. Their rotten flesh drifted amidst the resentment, and their bones sunk into the ground, then they began connecting one after another, turning into countless bony thorns that flew out from the ground.

"Be careful!" Chen Xing shouted.

Xiang Shu was in mid air and had nowhere to jump off, so he could only block forcefully with his heavy sword. Bony thorns that could blot out the sky flew out of the ground and firmly locked him within.

Xiao Shan fell from high above and into the thicket of bony thorns akin to a blade mountain; his shoulders, arms and thighs were all pierced by the bony thorns in an instant!

Chen Xing, "..."

Xiao Shan struggled to raise his claws. When he looked down at his body, his gaze turned blank.

Sima Yue's voice rang out slowly, "I'll be taking the Exorcist away. Che Luofeng, I'll leave the rest to you. The debt that Zhou Zhen owns our Lord must be repaid in full by you. Remember to send the rest of the Chi Le Chuan corpses to Huanmo Palace..."

Xiao Shan, "AHHHHHHHHH--"

Xiao Shan let out a guttural roar as he approached his demise.

He kept struggling on the bony thorns, his blood trickling down endlessly.

In the next moment, the resentment in the surroundings suddenly turned even more intense. It congregated into a whirlpool and swept fiercely towards Xiao Shan.

Chen Xing had already lost his mind. He roared, "CHE LUOFENG!"

Che Luofeng walked towards Xiang Shu, who was bound by a cluster of bony thorns. He took down the bow on his back, nocked a bone arrow on it, and aimed it at Xiang Shu, who was in the cage.

"Anda..." Che Luofeng murmured.

Xiang Shu stared at Che Luofeng in a daze. But right at the last moment, Che Luofeng's gaze seemed to clear up a little. His hand pulling the taut bow trembled a little, but he could never release the arrow. A teardrop actually rolled down from his eyes.

Chen Xing finally lost it. Immense strength burst forth from nowhere, and he swung the crushed stone pillar that weighed more than 60 jin connected to his chains, making it fly through the air.

"ROURAN DOG!" Chen Xing roared with utter indignation. "THE ONE WHO SHOULD DIE IS YOU!"

This was an extremely rare moment of desperation in which Chen Xing was dominated by rage. Che Luofeng could finally witness this moment; what he got in return in addition to that mad roar was a giant stone that brutally smashed into the back of his head.

Xiang Shu, "……………………"

Che Luofeng didn't expect Chen Xing to actually mount a sneak attack on him. After all, he was too far away, and his fighting capabilities were so weak that it was negligible. And it was even less likely for him to expect Chen Xing to actually use the heavy stone as a weapon. His "Cyclone Counterattack" was so powerful it could shatter the skies; it smashed Che Luofeng from five steps away with a muffled thud. Che Luofeng's head cracked apart from the impact, and his head sank into his shoulders!

The white bone cage collapsed in an instant. Xiang Shu wielded his sword in hand and shouted, "Quick!"

Resentment first turned even thicker, then it all disappeared with a "whoosh". Before Chen Xing could understand what had happened, he quickly activated the Heart Lamp, only to see the heavy sword in Xiang Shu's hand shine with a blinding light as it was placed against Che Luofeng's chest.

"Anda." Xiang Shu choked, "Sleep ba. After you sleep...it'll be okay..."

Immediately after, Xiang Shu cried out bitterly. With his sword against the staggering Che Luofeng, he dove down fast, and pierced through Che Luofeng's abdomen. His body was cut along the wound that Chen Xing had sutured for him, and the blade tore through his lower back accompanied by the white light of the Heart Lamp.

Che Luofeng's body was like a kite with its string cut -- he flew straight out with the pungent stench of rotten blood.

Chen Xing suddenly felt as if his heart was being twisted. With the Heart Lamp's power, his and Xiang Shu's souls seemed to be connected at this moment. He felt an enormous sorrow since the dawn of time attack him, making him shed uncontrollable tears.

"Xiang Shu..." Chen Xing choked.

Che Luofeng kept twitching as he laid on the ground. He reached out to the sky with one hand. On his head that had sunken into his shoulders, his lips

moved as if he wanted to say something, yet he couldn't speak.

Xiang Shu slowly turned around, and, along with Chen Xing, looked at Xiao Shan lying on the ground. The boy was struggling to rise up.

"Xiao Shan?" Chen Xing dragged his chains and the stone pillar as he arduously walked over. Yet Xiao Shan slowly got up with the two steel claws in his hands. The endless stream of resentment that had still been curling in the sky were all sucked into the claws!

Chapter 45.2: Crack In The Sky

"If it wasn't for me, perhaps you wouldn't have encountered all this."

Translator(s): Zryuu

Editor(s): juurensha

Cangqiong Yilie turned pitch black. It flickered with a cold glint, just like to the Senluo Wanxiang after it was refined by resentment. Similarly, Xiao Shan was like the Feng Qianjun then: both his eyes were bloodshot and his body was entwined with resentment as he stared at Sima Yue standing high above.

Crap was Chen Xing's last thought. How on earth did this kid learn to use this magic treasure? Lu Ying couldn't have taught him how to, right?

Sima Yue flicked his left hand and a pitch black shield appeared. "Really interesting, what you wield is also..."

Xiao Shan waved his first claw. The black phantom of the ancient dragon god appeared behind him, a vaguely audible cry of a dragon ringing out.

Xiang Shu turned around and pressed Chen Xing onto the ground. Chen Xing's chains shook, and when it brushed across the claws' Qi, it was silently sliced apart in mid air. Before Sima Yue could finish his sentence, he saw the mountains, earth, and even the entire piece of sky get sliced like pieces of paper. His shield was cut into three neat sections. His sturdy black breastplate misaligned, and he lost his balance, his entire body above his shoulders falling backward.

The ridges and peaks deep within the Yin mountains slumped, then fell with a thundering 'bang'.

Sima Yue, "...Divine weapon."

Xiao Shan took a step forward and swung out his second claw. Sima Yue's helmet and head were both torn into shreds, scattering in the wind with a

whoosh. The place where he stood collapsed, and cleanly sliced slabs of mirror-like stone pieces crashed down!

The moment the mountain ridges behind turned into slippery slopes, they were sliced apart by the second claw once again. Like stormy waves, they crashed violently towards both the north and south, resulting in an earth shaking avalanche!

Xiao Shan slightly raised his left claw and drew a circle with his right, utilising the move "Gray Wolf Chases the Moon". Just when he was about to rush forward, Chen Xing had already sneaked over and successfully approached Xiao Shan from behind.

"Expel!" Chen Xing roared angrily next to his ears, then mustered all the strength he had left. He covered Xiao Shan's eyes with his left hand and pressed against Xiao Shan's lower back with his right. A bright white light burst out, piercing through Xiao Shan's consciousness.

Cangqiong Yilie fell to the ground with a clang, and the resentment dissipated.

Xiao Shan lost consciousness, and his head drooped. Chen Xing collapsed into the snow, all his energy sapped.

The avalanche had covered the entire battlefield, making it seem as if nothing had happened.

Snow started drifting down. Giant broken antlers jutted out from the ground, towering aloft like a lonely tombstone in this silent world.

"Xiang Shu..." Chen Xing turned his head sideways and looked at Xiang Shu, who was looking up at the sky as he laid on the snow. "Are you okay?"

Xiang Shu didn't speak. He turned his head to look at Chen Xing. Chen Xing's hand moved, then he struggled to move over. Xiang Shu's fingers twitched and grasped his hand.

"Xiao Shan?" Chen Xing turned over and got up, exhaling in exhaustion. With his hair a mess, he inspected Xiao Shan's wounds. The bone thorns

had pierced through his legs and arms, but fortunately he was small enough it didn't injure his chest.

Chen Xing grabbed a handful of snow and applied it to Xiao Shan's face, waking him up. He opened his eyes, baffled, and grit his teeth in pain the moment he shifted. Chen Xing motioned for him to not move around recklessly and bandaged him up simply for now.

Xiao Shan pointed at the antlers in the distance, so Chen Xing went to retrieve them. Xiao Shan held them in his arms sadly and refused to let go. Chen Xing then rubbed Xiao Shan's head.

At that moment, a sound rang out again in the distance. Xiang Shu got up slowly. After all those fierce battles in succession, he was thoroughly spent and didn't have much strength left anymore. His body was covered in wounds as he limped slowly towards the end of the snowfield.

Che Luofeng's broken body had Xiang Shu's heavy sword piercing through it. He laid on the ground, his rotten blood already soaking a small area.

Xiang Shu knelt down in front of Che Luofeng. He held Che Luofeng's hand with his left hand and plucked away the fingers that were still gripping onto the bow tightly, while he covered the back of Che Luofeng's hand with his right.

Xiao Shan looked at Xiang Shu, then at Chen Xing. Chen Xing shook his head to signal that he couldn't go over right now, then made a "shh" gesture.

"Leave him alone for awhile," Chen Xing sighed again and whispered.

Xiang Shu couldn't stop trembling. He buried his face in Che Luofeng's hand and sobbed in a low voice. Wind started blowing, swirling up snowflakes that hid the sky and covered the earth.

"Go ba."

Xiang Shu's trembling voice was carried over by the wind.

"Shulü Kong will abide by the oath we made as Andas, I will avenge you."

"It's over, it's really over now, you'll never wake up again, Che Luofeng, but you'll rest in peace, forever... forever..."

"Lu Ying." Xiao Shan seemed to sense something and said, "Lu Ying."

"Do you also want to take revenge for Lu Ying?" Chen Xing lowered his head a little and asked Xiao Shan.

Xiao Shan didn't reply and looked into the distance. The two of them stood in the snow for a very, very long time, until Xiang Shu dragged his tired body out with lethargic steps from the valley. His tall, robust body was covered with frost and snow, and he was carrying Che Luofeng's misshapen corpse wrapped up in cloth with both arms. On his back was the keepsake he shared with Che Luofeng when they became sworn brothers -- the longbow.

"Let's go."

Sima Wei, dressed in a suit of black armour, stood high up on the mountain to the south of the Yin mountains as he watched the three people leave from afar.

Nightfall, in a cave on the Yin Mountains.

The three of them were constantly on the move for three days, and after experiencing so many rounds of violent battles in succession, they all looked like savages now. Xiang Shu started a bonfire in the cave. Xiao Shan was already sound asleep.

"Where are we going?" Chen Xing asked.

"Back to Karakorum." Xiang Shu looked up from the bonfire and glanced at Chen Xing. Chen Xing nodded in response. Too many things have happened here, they had to go back to consider at length their options.

Chen Xing said, "Che Luofeng shouldn't be able to be revived."

"I know," Xiang Shu said. "He has been dead ever since he drank the medicine Zhou Zhen gave him and massacred the entire Akeles tribe."

Chen Xing recalled the scene before Che Luofeng transformed into a living corpse and said a little sadly, "At the very beginning, he didn't want to drink that cup of wine."

Xiang Shu had already heard Chen Xing narrate it once, yet he asked again, "Did he mention me then?"

"He shouted for Zhou Zhen," Chen Xing said, "and also shouted for you. At that moment, I think he must have been terrified."

Xiang Shu didn't reply. He stared at Che Luofeng's corpse that was wrapped in cloth. Xiao Shan turned over in front of the fire, wanting to scratch his wounds from discomfort. Chen Xing quickly grabbed his hand, afraid that he would scratch off the places that Chen Xing had bandaged.

Xiang Shu said, in a daze, "After Zhou Zhen died, the entire Chi Le Chuan knew that only I could convince Che Luofeng not to avenge him anymore. From that day onwards, I accompanied Che Luofeng for a whole month... I know he wanted me to accompany him in Zhou Zhen's place, but he didn't dare ask. Once he did, I would leave."

Chen Xing said, "You wouldn't leave." Xiang Shu answered, "I would have."

He added a little firewood to the bonfire and whispered, "I can't give him what Zhou Zhen did, because I don't like him that way. I can only be Andas with him."

Chen Xing didn't know how to respond for a moment either. After thinking about it, he said, "You have treated him very well."

Yet Xiang Shu answered, "No, I let him down."

Chen Xing didn't know how to console Xiang Shu, but he could sense that at this moment, he just needed to listen to Xiang Shu and accompany him by his side, and it would all would be all right. Just like how Xiang Shu had accompanied Che Luofeng when Zhou Zhen died.

"Perhaps you just don't know what it means to like someone that way..."

"I do," Xiang Shu said softly, "I understand it very well. Don't compare me to Tuoba Yan. I know what it feels like to like someone, and I also know that I really don't like my sworn brother that way. For me, there's nothing that can be done about that."

With that, Xiang Shu glanced at Chen Xing. The blazing fire within the cave flickered. Chen Xing leaned against the cave wall and looked down at the Zheng Drum that they had retrieved from Sima Yue. They had two magic treasures now.

"Xiang Shu," Chen Xing whispered. "Sorry."

Xiang Shu seemed a little confused. He stared at Chen Xing, baffled. "What are you apologising for?"

Chen Xing smiled bitterly. "If it wasn't for me, perhaps you wouldn't have encountered all this."

Xiang Shu's expression turned angry. Chen Xing was at a loss for a moment, staring blankly at him.

"So that's how you think?" Xiang Shu frowned, studying Chen Xing as if he didn't know who he was anymore. "What kind of person do you take me as? In your heart, am I that much of a stupid and ignorant fool?!"

Xiao Shan was all muddled from sleeping. Chen Xing was afraid of waking him up, so he quickly motioned to Xiang Shu to keep it down a little.

Xiang Shu sighed, evidently not in the mood to argue with Chen Xing. He glanced at Xiao Shan, yet he couldn't help but say, "If it weren't for you, the situation would only be worse ba."

Chen Xing, "En."

In the past few days, Chen Xing has always been thinking about what Xiang Shu had said. If it wasn't because of him, perhaps King Akele wouldn't have died. If Xiang Shu hadn't gone North, Chi Le Chuan wouldn't have encountered this sudden calamity… but what should come would eventually come. Without him, when the unforeseen event occurred, then

even if the 16 Hu people hid in Karakorum, they wouldn't have been able to defend the city.

"I want to do something for you." Chen Xing still felt a little guilty and said, "Is there anything I can do?"

He looked at Xiang Shu seriously. Originally, he had wanted to talk to him about the future, about Shi Hai, so that he would shift his focus from his sorrows to revenge, yet Xiang Shu remained silent for awhile before saying, "Do you know how to perform Transcendence?"

"Transcendence," Chen Xing said. "Uh, I don't."

Xiang Shu said, "Confer Che Luofeng a sky burial. In this world, you're an Exorcist and also Chi Le Chuan's benefactor. If you think it's too much of an imposition, then..."

Chen Xing could roughly understand what Xiang Shu was trying to convey. Che Luofeng was already dead, so all of this had come to an end as well. After taking this corpse back to Karakorum, a sinner like him would only be given an earth burial, and the deceased Akeles people had also all been killed already.

Xiang Shu thought that he was the only one who can pardon Che Luofeng of his sins, or admit that Che Luofeng's actions weren't done of his own volition but because he had been possessed by the devil.

"Give him a sky burial ba," Chen Xing said at last. "Any method would be fine for one's return. Death is an immutable fact."

"Thank you," Xiang Shu replied in earnest. "This is the last thing I can do for him."

Xiang Shu bowed down and picked up Che Luofeng's body, then left the cave. Chen Xing thought, now? But bringing him back to Chi Le Chuan would only stir up some minor issues, so he went to the cave's entrance. The first glimmer of light could already be seen in the night sky. Coincidentally, there was a sky burial platform right on the mountain summit.

"Next..." Xiang Shu thought for a bit and said to Chen Xing.

Chen Xing, "Xiang Shu, I don't think I should go back to Karakorum with you after all."

Another year had passed. Chen Xing's time was whittling away, and he had to leave; he couldn't waste anymore time in Chi Le Chuan.

Xiang Shu remained silent for awhile before saying, "Let's talk about it again after I come down."

Xiang Shu trekked up to the summit. Chen Xing didn't follow along. He covered Xiao Shan with a robe and stood halfway up the mountain, staring at the vultures flying high above in the distance.

At the first ray of dawn, he heard Xiang Shu sing the Tiele mourning song at the mountain peak. The faint music travelled over. Groups of vultures flew to the sky burial platform one after another. The mourning song stopped, and more and more vultures came over.

Chen Xing stood in silence. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard behind, and at the next moment, a hand tucked in iron gloves covered his mouth. Chen Xing immediately struggled, his eyes widening, but his eyes were covered by another hand and his vision went black before he was dragged into the darkness.