Chapter 154: Friends

[Volume 3 - The Place Where My Heart Feels At Peace]

Song Zining took out a masterfully crafted crystal box. The box had four compartments, and half of the box's contents were already empty. There was a dead leaf inside each of the remaining two compartments of the box, and the bottom of the cover was inscribed with two rows of tiny text: a leaf heralds the coming of autumn; a leaf hides the bigger picture.

He took out a dead leaf and dripped a few drops of Qianye's blood on it. The moment he let go, the dead leaf actually soared to the sky instead of falling to the ground, riding the wind up into the air before it scattered into thousands of light dots that fell like the rain!

Qianye felt as if the world was knocked by something in the unseen world amidst the dazzling light show. When he looked at his surroundings once more, he felt as if the entire world had become different altogether. It was as if a great terror and awe existed behind its dream-like beauty; it was as if a true corner of the world was finally unveiled.

The rain of light came and went as quickly as a meteor. Its brilliance lasted for only an instant before it subsided into nothingness. Qianye's blood evaporated into dense mists that ultimately condensed into three types of blood energies: dark red, purple, and shadow with only a bit of gold in it.

Song Zining's face suddenly turned pale as his aura swiftly declined from its earlier state. He now looked a lot weaker than before. He stared at the normal dark red energy, grabbed, and kneaded it in his own hand. The blood energy suddenly began struggling with all its might, doing its best to split up several tendrils to its surroundings. But it was all for naught, and it vanished into nothingness in the end. The purple blood energy also seemed to have sensed something as it vanished almost at the exact same time.

Song Zining said thoughtfully, "Look, that dark red blood energy is the source of the blood power. It is also the standard by which we use to determine if someone is a vampire. Normally it should have taken the shape of a clan's symbol, which helps us identify the vampire's roots," He flicked his fingers once, and the illusion of a dark red blood energy struggling madly appeared out of nowhere once more. This time, its split tendrils entangled and merged with each other to form the symbol of a castle beneath a moon.

Qianye exhaled and felt cold sweat drenching the entirety of his back. It was only now he realized just how lucky he had been to slip past the inspection of Qiqi's subordinate, the Champion rank Elder Du, with ease.

Song Zining was still staring at that last golden shadow, "You were not Embraced, but you still possess blood power. The reason no one has found your secret all this time is thanks to this little thing here... What is this? Is it a blood energy or an ability?" He extended a hand and poked at the shadow once. The gold blood energy dissipated in response and turned back into innumerable light dots that floated in the air, unfading.

Qianye answered with a wry smile on his face, "It's probably blood energy, I think?"

By now Song Zining had thought through the entire matter, and he told Qianye, "Whatever it is, the important thing is that it's effective. It is only a matter of time before everyone notices that you're different from the average person. The fact that Yin Qiqi could bring you along to the Profound Heaven Spring Hunt meant that the Yin Family had probably put you through a talent inspection process, but since your constitution is abnormal the normal method is ineffective. For now, we can safely deduce that you have nothing to be worried unless you are scanned by the Art of Heaven's Mystery or several other secret arts possessed by the imperial family."

"However, you've drawn too much attention during this spring hunt. Therefore, rather than endure the probes and inquiries that are sure to come, you may as well take the initiative and show them something they can see," Song Zining's hand passed through the air. The golden light dots continued to bob up and down in the air, "Take a look. This is the answer you may present them with. If we keep this in the open, there is a high chance that they will assume that it is some sort of talent ability."

Qianye's eyes lit up. This might actually be a better solution than Concealed Bloodline. People were only going to pay extra attention to him if they couldn't find out his secret, so he might as well show them something they could see, "So what talent ability is similar to this?"

Song Zining suddenly snickered, "If even you have no know idea what this talent ability is, then your reactions after you were found out would be realistic, wouldn't it?"

Qianye was stunned. Song Zining obviously had a plan in mind already, but he wasn't planning to tell him about it. His current expression was serious, damaging the gentle and cultivated appearance of an aristocratic descendant he carried himself with, though. It did match up with Qianye's memories of his classmate while they were training at Yellow Springs.

Suddenly, the dead leaves that were falling infinitely around them were disturbed. There were two or three spots of the illusion where the leaves had flown up to the air and formed tiny turbulences instead.

Song Zining straightened his expression and said, "Your saviors are going to show up immediately," He knelt down beside Qianye and examined the wound between his chest and abdomen closely. Then, he said, "Your constitution has changed quite a lot. It is to the point where your old wound looks much faded. Remember: you mustn't tell anyone that this is an old wound."

Qianye's expression changed slightly at his words. He opened his mouth, but wasn't sure which one of the plethora of questions he had to ask first.

Song Zining cast a glance at the silver necklace Qianye wore around his neck and said indifferently, "Marquis Bowang's son of the Far East Wei Clan is absolutely not an idiot. I'll have to take my leave."

Having said that, Song Zining got up, turned away and walked away from the scene. When he stepped out of the illusion's zone, his figure suddenly blurred and disappeared.

The sky of falling leaves and petals abruptly halted, vanishing into nothingness as if they never existed. Qianye's mind was thrown into chaos by Song Zining's final two lines as countless memories fought their way to surface within Qianye's consciousness.

It was at this moment a loud noise of argument rang from the forest not far away. One of the female voices sounded extremely familiar to his ears. It sounded like Qiqi.

Neither side had traded more than a few lines before a loud explosion suddenly erupted, followed by a huge fireball that slowly rose into the air. Dozens of trees collapsed from the explosion, and one particular figure was pushed out of the forest by the explosion's shockwave. They collapsed to the ground and moved no longer.

The person was an aristocratic family bodyguard who was half scorched black. It was obvious that the signs bode ill for this person, considering they hadn't moved at all after hitting the ground. The arguing voices had vanished completely as well.

Qiqi walked out of the forest with a frigid look on her face. She was carrying an origin gun that was as tall as her and with a gun barrel that was so huge that the weapon might as well be renamed a hand cannon.

The bodyguard's corpse was blocking Qiqi's way, so she sent it flying with a single kick.

Qiqi saw Qianye half lying on the hill the moment she walked out of the forest. She finally gave him a smile and asked, "Are you dead yet?"

Qianye looked at her and smiled wryly, "Almost there."

Qiqi sighed, "No one told you to be a show off! I really wasn't planning to get number one in this spring hunt, you know."

Qianye shook his head, "No, I did it for myself. The Zhao household tried to kill me, and I was only retaliating in kind. The points were a side benefit."

Qiqi's smile immediately became frozen. She then waved her terrifying looking origin gun and pretended to be angry, "You have no idea how to talk pretty! I should've stayed away and left you to your own devices! Hmm, I wonder if I should shoot you right now? There's no way to cure this frustration otherwise!"

A series of rapid footsteps resounded again from the forest before Qianye could answer her. Someone was swiftly approaching towards them.

An apprehensive look fleeted across Qiqi's face, and she instantly turned around, knelt down and fired a shot right in the direction of the voice!

A ball of fire escaped the gun barrel and flew straight into the forest. It immediately transformed into a fearsome explosion that knocked over all the trees that were in its way. A ghastly wail immediately rang from the center of the explosion, but even more shocking was the fact that the sight of a person covered in flames charging out despite bearing the full brunt of the shot.

Earthen yellow origin light flickered repeatedly before it finally extinguished the flames around this person, but not before large patches of smoke traces and scorch marks were left on the body. He let out a furious yell the moment he saw Qiqi, "What the hell are you trying to do, Yin Qiqi? Are you asking for a fight?"

Qiqi covered her mouth in great surprise and embarrassment. The person who showed up was actually Wei Potian.

"What are you here for?" Qiqi calmed down. She had completely forgotten that she had sent a notice to the Wei's camp.

Wei Potian answered without a second thought, "I'm here to... rescue Qianye, of course! Who knows what's going on in that air head of yours?"

Qiqi looked at Qianye before she turned back to look at Wei Potian once more. At this point it was impossible not to notice how abnormal Wei Potian was acting, "You guys knew each other before?"

Wei Potian said smoothly without revealing anything on his face, "We've drank together once in the past and built a small friendship."

Qiqi continued to ask curiously, "Small friendship? What kind of small friendship could make you this anxious?"

The follow up question irritated Wei Potian, and his expression immediately darkened, "What are you talking about at this time! Are you using Qianye as a target, Qiqi? What else did you do during this spring hunt except barbeques and spring outings? If you aren't going to work seriously then stop holding up mine. If the Yin Family doesn't want Qianye then give him to me instead!"

Qiqi's expression changed before she turned around to look at Qianye. For once, she actually held back and said, "You! Hah... Wei Potian, I won't bicker with you today, but I will remember this. I'll teach you the proper way to speak to me once this spring hunt is over."

After that, Qiqi ignored Wei Potian and walked straight towards Qianye. Wei Potian scratched his head, finally realizing that the situation might be a little different from what he had initially imagined in his head. Apparently, Qiqi herself had broken through many obstacles before she made it to this place. He hadn't seen her use that big gun of hers for a very long time already.

Wei Potian wasn't sure what to say, so he could only follow behind Qiqi and walk towards Qianye.

Qiqi strode all the way up to Qianye and let out a snort. She said coolly, "Hmph! You're the one who caused all these troubles, but I'm the one who has to receive a scolding on your behalf, huh? Get up on your feet and stop playing dead; it won't save you from what's to come!"

While saying this, Qiqi grabbed onto Qianye's arm and attempted to lift him to his feet. However, she had just exerted a little strength when her movements came to a sudden halt. She cast a glance at Qianye's body and felt her breathing grow a little heavier than before.

Qianye smiled helplessly, "I'm not playing dead. I'm really about to die soon."

Without a word, Qiqi knelt down on one knee and placed a hand on Qianye's chest. She poured origin power fiercely into Qianye's body until his pale white face finally regained some color, and his breathing steadied. At this point Qiqi's face was white, and her nose was covered in sweat.

Wei Potian could do nothing but walk anxiously in circles at the side. His Thousand Mountains was completely useless when it came to treating wounds, but the Yin Family's Moonlight Flowing Cloud Art had the ability to heal others.

Suddenly, he felt a blur before his eyes, and Qiqi's huge origin gun fell from right above his head.

"Grab my gun!" Qiqi said loudly.

Wei Potian subconsciously grabbed the weapon before he finally reacted to the situation and rolled his eyes, "Why should I listen to a woman?"

Qiqi lifted Qianye up on her back and shot a glare at Wei Potian. She said angrily, "Another word and I'll beat you half dead ten times when we get back!"

Qiqi led at the front of the group while Wei Potian followed behind her with her weapon. As a result, Wei Potian looked just like a lackey, and the man was extremely dissatisfied with his current image. He mumbled, "You can't break through my Thousand Mountains now!"

"Then I'll ask Qianye to shatter your turtle shell before I hit you."

"That's unfair!"

"Aren't you the man who claimed that you will shatter the sky? Are you that cowardly that you won't accept a girl's challenge?"

Wei Potian opened his mouth and wanted very much to retort with a, "are you even a girl, Qiqi?" remark. But in the end, he forced himself to swallow the words.