Volume 4: Hidden Battles and Turbulent Times, Chapter 98: Deceiving the World with Beauty

Chu Tianyu smiled and nodded, saying, “I already have the Mo Yan Sword. Wouldn’t making another sword be redundant? Besides, your ‘Cui Ming’ was destroyed because of me—so it’s only right that I help you make a flute!”
Xue Feifei was about to decline when, as if suddenly remembering something, she blushed slightly and began to explain the composition of the flute in a soft voice…
When the cold air vanished and Chu Tianyu’s Mo Long Sword disappeared once again, he found himself holding a crystal-clear, jade-white flute that seemed to glisten as if covered in liquid fat. On it, the shadow of a jade dragon appeared and disappeared intermittently, leaving even Chu Tianyu utterly amazed and unable to explain it.
This made Chu Tianyu even more proud of his masterpiece, filled with great satisfaction.
“Give it a name!” Chu Tianyu said as he handed the flute to Xue Feifei. She, as if she had already thought of one, replied, “It’s as white as snow, as transparent as jade, and seems to drip with liquid fat—let’s call it ‘Yu Ning’! Ah…”
Before she could finish speaking, Xue Feifei let out a cry, accompanied by a loud “clang~~” as the jade flute crashed onto the ice and disappeared instantly.
It turned out that Xue Feifei couldn’t withstand the extreme cold of “Yu Ning.” The moment she took it, her hands were instantly frozen by the cold air.
Chu Tianyu quickly used his energy to grasp her hands, allowing his Purple Void Dragon energy to slowly penetrate and relieve the stiffness in her blood vessels and meridians. Only after ensuring everything was fine did he release her. Then, with a downward motion of his palm, he summoned energy to lift “Yu Ning” back up. Despite having been completely submerged in ice and snow, the flute remained spotless, untouched by any dirt or impurity—truly a treasure of the universe!
At that moment, Chu Tianyu slapped his head and said, “Ah, I was so happy that I forgot such an important thing!”
He then explained various rituals, such as using precious materials or blood sacrifices to bind the object to its owner, and also mentioned many taboos.
Xue Feifei had been worried and anxious, thinking that “Yu Ning” was right in front of her yet out of reach. But after hearing Chu Tianyu’s explanation, she became skeptical yet hopeful again.
Following Chu Tianyu’s instructions, she bit her finger and dropped blood onto “Yu Ning,” which he had held in front of her using his energy. Three drops of blood fell, then vanished instantly. Suddenly, “Yu Ning” emitted a brilliant glow, surrounded by a red aura, shining brightly and emitting clear sounds that resembled the roar of a dragon.

It took some time before the light gradually faded, revealing the true appearance of the flute. Xue Feifei let out another cry of “Ah!”, and Chu Tianyu also noticed that a light red dragon pattern had appeared on Yu Ning’s body, winding around her and emitting a faint glow.

Overjoyed, Xue Feifei ignored the danger of freezing just moments earlier and reached out without hesitation to tightly grasp Yu Ning…

A wonderful sensation instantly spread throughout her body along her meridians from her hand. It was an extremely cool feeling, and the green dragon energy within her seemed to benefit greatly as well, stirring gently and making her feel as though her overall strength had instantly risen by a level.

There was no longer any sense of coldness in her grip on Yu Ning; on the contrary, the flute seemed to emit a warm aura, bringing immense comfort.

Chu Tianyu also watched Xue Feifei with a smile, seeing her intoxicated expression. He said happily for her, “Try playing a tune! See if it’s accurate!”

Only then did Xue Feifei smile gently. She brought Yu Ning to her lips, and a melodious rendition of “Three Variations on the Plum Blossom” instantly filled the valley. The flute sound was rich, fresh, and distant. Though it was a rather ordinary tune, she performed it so perfectly that it created a state where one could completely forget everything and merge into the music, into this beauty—a truly ethereal sound, one rarely heard in the world…

Chu Tianyu was also captivated, lost in the music, utterly enchanted!

When the tune ended and Chu Tianyu opened his eyes and regained his composure, he saw Xue Feifei smiling sweetly at him, looking proud.

“It’s… truly… I really don’t have words to describe such wonderful music. Only after hearing your ‘Three Variations on the Plum Blossom’ do I realize how inadequate the words used to describe beautiful music are!” Chu Tianyu exclaimed sincerely in admiration.

Xue Feifei smiled and said, “It sounds good!? Then from now on, I’ll play it only for you, okay?”

“Okay, okay, okay…” Chu Tianyu blurted out three “okays” without hesitation.

…

After going through so much, their relationship had become quite ambiguous. Needless to say, Xue Feifei relied entirely on Chu Tianyu—both emotionally and physically. Her current happiness and the joy of obtaining Yu Ning hadn’t yet made her think to ask about Chu Tianyu’s identity or background. In fact, she still didn’t even know his name, still thinking of him as some mysterious master.

Chu Tianyu was the same way—he had his own pile of emotional debts to settle. Now, due to the Black Dragon Energy, he had gotten together with Xue Feifei. Although Chu Tianyu guessed what might have happened between them, he knew nothing about Xue Feifei’s background.

However, judging from her appearance and that of the disciples from the Tianyin Sect, they all seemed simple and pure-hearted, with no trace of ulterior motives. But things needed to be made clear; otherwise, just like the incident in Hong Kong, he wouldn’t be able to explain things properly to Ouyang Ziyi!

So, at Chu Tianyu’s suggestion, the two returned to the cave. But once they sat face to face, without all the unexpected events earlier, and since they had known each other for only a short time—actually, not very well at all—the atmosphere became awkward.

As a man, Chu Tianyu had no choice but to speak first. He said stiffly, “My name is Chu Tianyu. I’m male, nineteen years old. I’m currently a freshman at Beijing Beifu College, majoring in…”

With a “pfft,” before Chu Tianyu could finish, Xue Feifei was amused by his expression. She then followed his pattern and briefly introduced herself: “I’m Xue Feifei. Female, also nineteen years old…”

“You’re only nineteen???” Xue Feifei interrupted, shouting in surprise.

“Yes! What’s wrong?” Chu Tianyu asked in confusion.

“Nothing, nothing… I saw those two talented brothers call you ‘uncle.’ I thought you were at least thirty or forty years old…” Xue Feifei thought to herself, secretly pleased.

To be thought of as thirty or forty years old, Chu Tianyu could only feel disappointed.

At the same time, he thought to himself, “They call me ‘uncle.’ As for seniority, who knows? Maybe in the future they’ll even call you ‘aunt’!”

At this thought, even Chu Tianyu shuddered. Why were such strange ideas popping into his head today?

“Are you okay?” Xue Feifei asked worriedly.

“I’m fine, fine! Oh, by the way, how were you chosen by the Tianyin Sect? And how did you end up becoming a famous singer?” Chu Tianyu quickly changed the subject.

Xue Feifei then recounted her entire life story without reservation. Only then did Chu Tianyu realize that though her background seemed complicated, her actual experiences were quite simple, with little exposure to ordinary societal life.

“Hmm, Chu Tianyu, Chu Tianyu… I feel like I’ve heard this name before,” Xue Feifei said after finishing her story. Her attention shifted back to Chu Tianyu, and she began to murmur the name of her beloved, feeling as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Chu Tianyu knew that things had gone this far, and it would be unfair to hold back any more. Moreover, fortunately, the incident caused by the relationship between Xue Feifei and Shi Dongyun hadn’t led to any serious consequences. Her own experiences since childhood were also worthy of sympathy—after all, after her mother passed away, the only blood relative she had was Shi Dongyun. In such a father-daughter relationship, no matter how much hatred there might be, blood is thicker than water!

So Chu Tianyu could only start talking with an awkward expression, feeling extremely embarrassed, beginning from the encounter on the plane during that trip to Hong Kong, all the way to their second meeting at the dinner party and the series of events that followed.

At first, Xue Feifei was quite interested. But when Chu Tianyu mentioned Ouyang Ziyi’s appearance, her face turned pale, and she bit her lips tightly!

Before she could recover from her dazed state after hearing about the trip to Hong Kong, Chu Tianyu dropped another bombshell—talking about his childhood experiences, his foolishness, and his engagement to Qin Nianran…

By the time he reached the part about his close friendship with Li Rou, Xue Feifei was completely numb!

Chu Tianyu himself was hoarse from talking, swallowing saliva repeatedly. Watching Xue Feifei’s expression, he considered whether to ask more about their relationship. But he felt it would be awkward to bring it up. Since they were already being honest, it didn’t matter if he said a little more. As the love expert, Grandpa San, said, just go with the flow and let things take their natural course!

So he decided to take a roundabout approach. As for whether anything had happened between him and Xue Feifei, he figured she would never admit it even if beaten to death. Thus, Chu Tianyu chose to use a subtle tactic to provoke a response.

He sat upright, serious, and recounted how the Black Dragon took control of him, how, under its corrupting influence, he had relations with Ouyang Ziyi who was there at the time. Through her pure yin energy, she calmed his lust and saved his life.

As he spoke, Chu Tianyu secretly observed Xue Feifei’s reaction. Sure enough, her body trembled, her face turned red, and then she showed a sad expression. This made Chu Tianyu 100% certain of that “truth.” So he continued by describing the incident with Li Rou in the car, explaining that although he tried to hold back at first, it gave the Black Dragon an excuse to erupt, successfully taking control of his body and leading him to Motuo…

After speaking at length, Chu Tianyu couldn’t help but admire his own eloquence, especially when talking about Ouyang Ziyi and Li Rou. He found himself involuntarily implying that under the influence and transformation of the Black Dragon’s energy, his desires were unfulfilled, and that having sex with just one or two people would surely hurt the other party…
When Xue Feifei heard this, her face turned red, and she quickly lowered her head to hide it. She had a deep understanding of what Chu Tianyu had said. Although she was in a state of madness and delirium at the time, she still remembered somewhat how formidable Chu Tianyu was.
As Chu Tianyu mentioned this, he cursed himself inwardly: “What’s the point of saying this? Isn’t it just to persuade her so you can satisfy your animalistic desires? You’re truly worse than an animal!”
At the same time, thinking of many of his bold ideas that day, though surprised by his own changes, he was finally certain of one thing: he had indeed become quite corrupt!!!
Actually, Chu Tianyu had his reasons for speaking this way. Based on his experience and the Black Dragon’s notorious lustful tendencies, it wasn’t hard for him to infer that they had already slept together. Since that happened while he was unconscious, and Xue Feifei seemed like a gentle girl, how could he ask her to speak up?
Moreover, Chu Tianyu knew he had many emotional entanglements behind him and certainly didn’t deserve to pursue Xue Feifei. It was even less possible for him to deceive her by hiding the truth. So, he decided to explain everything clearly, giving Xue Feifei a chance to make her own choice, which might cause her less pain!
“Have you finished?” Before Chu Tianyu could answer, Xue Feifei got up with a deathly expression and walked away.
Chu Tianyu couldn’t let her leave like that, so he quickly got up, grabbed her hand, and said anxiously, “I know I’ve done something wrong to you. I know you’re hurt…”
Hearing these words, Xue Feifei recalled all the experiences she had gone through these days and burst into tears, throwing herself into Chu Tianyu’s arms. With tears streaming down her face, she punched him, but Chu Tianyu smiled happily. Looking at a bud outside the cave, he thought perhaps his spring had arrived too…

No matter how Xue Feifei cried and protested afterward, nor did it matter how Chu Tianyu gave his twisted explanations about “enticement,” by the next day, the two were holding hands, with Chu Tianyu alone enjoying Xue Feifei’s “concert.” Accompanied by her beautiful singing, they began searching together for treasures in the valley.

First, Chu Tianyu went to that Warm Lake—calling it that was no longer appropriate now, as boiling bubbles surged from its surface, and all the floating ice had long melted away, revealing the entire shape of the lake.

Xue Feifei’s flute music rang out again, and Chu Tianyu entered a state of heightened focus. He summoned the Ink Dragon Pattern and conjured the Ink Flame Sword to withstand the high temperature as he descended to the bottom of the lake…

Half an hour later, an amber-colored, warm and fragrant jade piece, threaded with a thin vine made by Xue Feifei, was hung around Chu Tianyu’s neck.

After that, Chu Tianyu dug up many large pieces of Polygonatum sibiricum at the intersection of the two extreme energies. Each piece was as thick as a human arm and was a rare medicinal herb capable of gathering energy and promoting blood circulation.

He also picked all the fruits Xue Feifei had found, saying they were all immortal fruits that could strengthen vital energy, though they were safe to eat.

Chu Tianyu explained that the spiritual energy here had vanished, and soon these magical herbs, precious medicines, immortal fruits, and green trees would wither due to the lack of energy. So his motto as he searched with Xue Feifei was: “Eat as much as you can, take as much as you can—no need to be polite…”