Accompanying the Phoenix

Chapter 80

Ch 80 ~ Side Story of Feng Lai (Ending)

Editor & Translator: Sonrisa t.n.t

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Feng Lai looked at Liu Yu blankly: “What does marry mean?”

Liu Yu smiled and patted his head lightly: “This can only be understood through experience and cannot be described in words. When it’s time for you to understand it, then you will naturally understand it. So before you understand it, obediently go back and sleep in your room.”

Feng Lai did not make a move to leave. Liu Yu looked at him for a very long time. Finally, she sighed as if admitting defeat: “Okay, I will stay with you until you fall asleep. Come, let’s go back to your room.” She took Feng Lai’s hand and went toward his room. However, Feng Lai just stood still and did not move even a little bit. With his red pupils, he looked at Liu Yu silhouetted against the moonlight, “Then I won’t sleep.”

If he did not fall asleep, then Liu Yu would always be with him.

Startled, Liu Yu looked into the teenager’s eyes. Suddenly, she felt that she had raised this child to be too dependent on her…

The matter about sleeping separately, Liu Yu was really adamant about it, even though Feng Lai stuck himself to Liu Yu for a few days. After thinking about it, Liu Yu felt that maybe Feng Lai’s world was too monotonous. Apart from her, there was nothing else. Therefore, Liu Yu caught a bird and gave it to Feng Lai. Originally, the tiny bird was meant to be something for Feng Lai to play with, but Liu Yu did not expect him to be so happy after getting it that he no longer pestered her as much.

Liu Yu was very pleased, but after a few days, the tiny bird suddenly passed away. It was probably because the tiny bird could not withstand the demon beast aura on Feng Lai’s body, which was becoming more powerful by the day.

Feng Lai cupped the tiny bird’s body in his hands and went looking for Liu Yu: “Liu Yu, what’s wrong with it? Why doesn’t it move and doesn’t look at me anymore?” Feng Lai’s eyes were so sad that Liu Yu could not bear to look into his eyes. She stroked Feng Lai’s head and said, “The little birdie is dead.”

Feng Lai looked at her: “What does dead mean?”

“It simply means that it will no longer move, it will no longer be able to open its eyes to look at you.” Liu Yu explained to him, “It means that… It’s gone.”

“How…”

“It’s probably… Because you can’t control your own power yet.”

With a blank expression, Feng Lai did not ask Liu Yu anything else. He just buried the tiny bird with her. Since then, Feng Lai never raised another tiny bird again, never bothered Liu Yu to have her sleep next to him again.

Feng Lai’s power was still growing, so Liu Ming ordered Liu Yu to take Feng Lai to the place where the domesticated demon beasts lived every day. As such, Feng Lai would be familiar with the other demon beasts and learn how to subdue them. Although Liu Yu was still worried, she recalled the power of his flames. Therefore, she still took Feng Lai there, but she followed close to Feng Lai’s side, fearing that when the demon beasts came, one of them would accidentally hurt Feng Lai.

However, in the end, Liu Yu did not expect that the one who got wounded was herself, and the one who got protected… Was also herself.

When the barrier made of raging flames unfolded around her, Feng Lai stared at the demon beasts outside the barrier with blood-red eyes.

Outside the barrier, those bloodthirsty demon beasts surrounded them. While clutching her arm that was slashed by a demon beast due to her carelessness, Liu Yu said through gritted teeth: “I was too careless.”

She looked at the little demons that were burnt to ashes by Feng Lai with a sigh, “These animals have already detected the scent of blood, so I’m afraid that it won’t be a good day.” Outside, there were at least dozens of demon beasts staring at her and Feng Lai. Once they found an opportunity, they would pounce on her and Feng Lai and devour them both completely.

Liu Yu frowned; Feng Lai was not completely grown yet, so it was inevitable that he would be at a disadvantage compared to so many of the other demon beasts… She was anxious, but then she saw Feng Lai turn his head to glance at her: “Don’t be afraid.” He said, “No matter what, I will get you out of here.”

As the firelight illuminated the teenager’s overly beautiful face, Liu Yu’s heart suddenly throbbed. She turned her head away hurriedly and scolded herself for this inexplicable moment. When she came back to herself, she still wanted to discuss the next step with Feng Lai. However, Liu Yu saw Feng Lai walking out of the barrier of the raging flames. Before Liu Yu could even shout, Feng Lai waved his hand and a huge raging flame burst out from his palm, burning a black path on the ground. No matter if it was demon beasts or trees in front of him, they were all completely burnt by this blow.

Obviously, for the current Feng Lai, using such a large amount of power was still extremely exhausting. Therefore, his flame barrier weakened a lot. Feng Lai turned his head back, and before he could say “let’s go,” he suddenly saw something black pierce through his flame barrier. From behind, it struck Liu Yu’s waist and wrapped her entire body up.

Feng Lai’s pupils immediately constricted. His probing hand reached out to grab Liu Yu, but that long black thing was just a little faster than his movements, dragging Liu Yu and pulling her outside the barrier. It turned out to be a frog-looking demon beast, and that long black thing was the frog’s tongue! It dragged Liu Yu back into its mouth. Feng Lai only heard a “glug-glug,” did not even hear Liu Yu make a sound, and she was swallowed by it.

Dazedly, Feng Lai froze in place. The frog did not look at Feng Lai again, it simply turned around and jumped away.

“Stop!” Feng Lai’s voice was hoarse like a malicious spirit from hell, “Stop!” His figure flashed and in an instant, the jumping frog was suddenly torn in half in mid-air. As its belly was ripped open, its internal organs splattered to the ground. Among the watery blood, there was something struggling under the weight of the frog’s skin and flesh. Feng Lai rushed forward, used his sharp claws to slice open its flesh, and carefully pulled Liu Yu out.

“Liu Yu…” As his voice trembled, his reddened eyes broke into pieces of glistening stars.

“Hack!” Laying on the ground, Liu Yu coughed heartwrechingly.

“Liu Yu…” Helplessly, he looked like he was about to cry, “You…” He wanted to grab Liu Yu’s hand, but he was afraid that he would hurt her by holding onto it too tightly. Gradually, he came to understand that Liu Yu was different from him. When he got injured, he felt no pain. The injury would even heal quickly. However, this was not possible for Liu Yu. Compared to him, Liu Yu was almost like she was made of porcelain, so easy to break, “Are you gonna die soon…”

Liu Yu’s body was completely covered in the demon frog’s digestive juices. The digestive juices were poisonous, making it difficult for her to breathe. Her fingers quickly twirled a heart-protecting spell to protect her heart’s arteries and veins. She turned her head to look at him, but was momentarily stunned. Feng Lai looked panic-stricken and helpless, just like that day when he came to her with the tiny bird’s dead body. In the deepest part of his eyes, he was completely at his wits’ end.

Just like that, Liu Yu became heartbroken.

“I won’t die.” She tried to calm her breathing, “I won’t die. I’ve taken the Immortality Pill. I can’t grow old and I can’t die.” With all her might, she raised her hand to touch Feng Lai’s cheek, “So, don’t show this expression on your face, I’m fine…”

The muscles on Feng Lai’s face trembled uncontrollably. Even the frog’s lumps of flesh were trembling on the ground as if they were about to recover. Feng Lai’s eyes immediately turned cold. Suddenly a cluster of flames emerged out of nowhere, burning the flesh to ashes. He picked up Liu Yu bridal-style, and turned around to stare at the demon beasts behind him. A suffocating energy overflowed from his body, which shocked the demon beasts, making them retreat to the side. Only then did Feng Lai look down at Liu Yu: “I’m taking you back.” In an instant, the words that he said softened immediately.

While Liu Yu, who was held in Feng Lai’s arms, just realized that this child had grown again without her knowledge…

Following the course of time, it had only been two months since Feng Lai was created, and after half a month, Feng Lai’s appearance was no different from that of an ordinary young man. When he stood next to Liu Yu, they resembled a couple. Gradually, gossip about Liu Yu and Feng Lai had spread among the disciples. It was not because Liu Yu had never heard about the gossip, she just did not want to pay attention to it. Or… It was because she could not deny that she did seem to have strange thoughts about Feng Lai and could not control it herself.

While at the same time, the oppositional forces in court grew stronger and stronger, but Liu Ming ignored them completely. A few days later, the domesticated demon beasts escaped from the place where they lived and killed hundreds of people. The elders in court were furious. Hundreds of officials and Liu Ming’s disciples wrote a petition to him, asking him to exterminate the demon beasts, but Liu Ming ignored them. Due to this, Shen Mu Yue broke off her master and disciple relationship with Liu Ming and went to discuss the eradication of the demon beasts with the other opposers.

At this moment, Liu Yu’s heart was also shaken. Finally, she decided to find a time to go see Liu Ming, have a real discussion with him, and persuade him. However, no matter where she went, she could not find Liu Ming. She had no choice but to give up. On this very day, Feng Lai also disappeared. It was not until the next day that Feng Lai came back from outside covered in blood.

Astonished, Liu Yu looked at the blood on his clothes: “This is… What happened?”

“Liu Ming told me to command the demon beasts and kill all the opposers.” Liu Yu suddenly felt weak from head to toe. Her knees immediately softened and she fell on the chair. Feng Lai hurriedly stepped forward to support her, crouching on the ground and looking up at her, saying eagerly, “I didn’t listen to him. Liu Yu, don’t panic. I have always remembered your words, so I didn’t kill anyone.”

Only then did Liu Yu’s eyes clearly see the frown on Feng Lai’s face: “All of this blood…”

“It’s mine.” He said lightly, “Liu Ming was very angry and sliced me with a blade, but it didn’t matter, the wound had already healed, and I didn’t feel any pain.”

Liu Yu grabbed onto Feng Lai’s sleeve and looked at the blood all over his body. She thought about the amount of cuts he had to suffer at that time. She thought about the pain that was drilled into his bone marrow: “Why didn’t you try to dodge it, you…”

“Because he’s your master, I can’t listen to his other demands, but if it’s just a few strikes, then it doesn’t matter to me.”

“It does matter!” Liu Yu bent down, grabbed her sleeve, and wiped the bloodstains off his face. The more she wiped, the more her hand trembled, “Next time, you have to dodge it. No matter who hurts you, dodge it. If you can’t dodge it, then do everything possible to protect yourself. Do you understand?”

Seeing the pain in Liu Yu’s eyes, Feng Lai looked at her calmly: “When I’m injured, Liu Yu feels hurt?”

“Yes.” She stared into his eyes and said sternly, “Yes.”

At such a close distance, with such clear eyes, Feng Lai could hear his uncontrollable heart beating wildly. For some unknown reason, he suddenly stepped forward and lightly touched Liu Yu’s lips with his lips, and then his face turned red first: “I won’t make Liu Yu feel hurt.”

Before his voice faded away, he turned around and left, leaving Liu Yu alone in the room, covering her lip in stunned silence. In the evening, a knock was heard on the door. Feng Lai came in and saw that Liu Yu was still sitting in the same position from this morning. He was slightly taken aback: “Liu Yu, you haven’t left your room all day nor eaten anything.” He placed the tray in his hand on the table. As if she was awakened by the sound, Liu Yu turned her head to glance at him.

Feng Lai had already changed into clean clothes. While he stood beside her, he handed her a pair of chopsticks. Liu Yu took the chopsticks, she looked at the food, but did not start to eat. It was as if she pondered for a long time, then looked at Feng Lai: “Do you- do you…” The words lingered on her lips, but she could not utter them. Feng Lai crouched down and slightly raised his face up to look into Liu Yu’s eyes: “I like you.” He said, “In the past few days, I have heard a lot of words. I understand what it means to marry. I also understand what it means to like. Liu Yu, I like you. I only like you. What about you?”

“Me?” The child that she raised suddenly confessed to her and immediately threw the question right back at her, Liu Yu did not know how to answer, “I…” Her hesitation made Feng Lai doubt himself, and a look of disappointment slowly appeared within his eyes. Liu Yu’s heart immediately ached. She stopped sitting on the stool. She stopped making Feng Lai look up at her. Instead, she crouched down opposite him. She took Feng Lai’s hand and placed it on her heart, letting him feel her wildly beating heart. She said: “If you can’t stand even the tiniest bit of that person’s grievance and sadness, that means that you like that person, then I must feel the same way as you…”

Feng Lai’s eyes suddenly lit up. He gazed at her, and the smile on his lips could not be contained.

“I like you!” He swooped forward and took Liu Yu into his arms, “I like you!” He kissed Liu Yu’s lips, but it was only a touching of lips without any other movements. Finally, he asked suddenly, “Liu Yu, when I marry you, I can sleep with you again?”

Liu Yu’s heart was beating like a drum: “Yes… You can.”

The next day, Liu Yu became Feng Lai’s wife. It was just that no one held a wedding for them and no one came to congratulate them. The both of them did not even wear the formal attire that newlyweds should wear. In a place that only the two of them knew, they became a married couple.

After the third month since Feng Lai was created, there was a lot of opposition in court. Liu Ming approached Feng Lai again. Feng Lai still did not listen to him. Liu Ming was furious and withdrew his sword to kill Feng Lai. However, he was no longer going to be obediently beaten. Grudgingly, Liu Ming flicked his sleeve and left abruptly. Within the next few days, Fu Sheng was created to replace Feng Lai. Fu Sheng was indeed much easier to control than Feng Lai. However, Fu Sheng still did not have Feng Lai’s formidable powers. If he wanted to control the demon beast, then it was very likely that he still lacked strength.

Liu Ming thought of every possible method to develop a medicine that would simply make Feng Lai a puppet.

At this time, someone in court reported the chaos with the demon beasts to the Heaven Realm. The heavenly generals and troops descended into the lower realm, but they were outmatched and outnumbered by thousands of demon beasts. Then, not long after, the Heavenly Emperor asked the Divine Sovereign, Xing Zhi, to descend into the lower realm. Liu Ming became impatient and put the unfinished medicine into Feng Lai’s drinking water. After taking the medicine, Feng Lai fell unconscious.

The Divine Sovereign, Xing Zhi, used the power of one person to stop thousands of demon beasts, captured Feng Lai, beheaded Liu Ming, and established the Ruins of Heavenly Poles…

In the darkness, the noises drifted further and further away.

When Shen Li opened her eyes, she saw the moonlight coming in from the window. She was momentarily confused about where she was currently at.

“What’s the matter?” Xing Zhi, who was beside her, placed his hand on her waist and asked with a hoarse voice that was beginning to wake up, “Did you have a nightmare?”

Shen Li shook her head: “I dreamt of them…”

“Who?”

“Many people.” Shen Li said, “It was a very long dream.”

She said softly, as if she could see Liu Yu standing alone with her growing belly. Among the chaos of war, Liu Yu was struggling arduously across rivers and mountains. When she finally reached the Ruins of Heavenly Poles, she kept watch over the entrance hoping to see Feng Lai on the other side, but in the end, she died outside the entrance separated from Feng Lai. Her bones were buried into the yellow sand.

Shen Li closed her eyes and suddenly remembered the moment when Feng Lai opened his eyes in the Ruins of Heavenly Poles, and released that extremely hot sigh, which hid his longing for a millennia. To him, this millennia was just a big dream. However, after he woke up from the dream, he lost his most precious thing.

Therefore… In the end, did he step back into the Ruins of Heavenly Poles without a second thought?

Maybe it was to save her, the daughter who he had never met, or maybe it was to just follow in Liu Yu’s footsteps… However, no matter what it was, no one could verify it. All of it was buried in the disappearing Ruins of Heavenly Poles…

“Xing Zhi.” She turned sideways, placed her head close to Xing Zhi’s side, and also reached out to hug his waist, “Tomorrow, let’s go to the Demon Realm and see.”

“Mhm?”

“I want to go see the place where they left, one more time.”

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The author has something to say:

The Side Story of Feng Lai ends here~

The online serialization part also ends here~~~~

Ah Jiu will also write a side story about Shen Li and the Divine Sovereign, Xing Zhi, around 10,000 words, which may involve a cluster of small grapes~

This side story will not be published online, but will appear in the published book edition~

It is said that the review of the publishing market has been relatively strict recently, and the literary works involving the subject of gods, demons, and monsters are relatively low, so the publication may take some time.

Additionally, a new pit is under construction, but because Ah Jiu is currently looking for an internship, the opening time of the new pit is uncertain. If the pit is opened, it will definitely be declared on Weibo. Please support me at that time~~~

*pit – new book project (?)

Finally, after finishing the first 280,000-word text, Ah Jiu expressed her great relief and joy~ Thank you for your support along the way~ Accept my bow