Do You Believe Me?
The night wind howled through the pine forest before spiraling into the ink-dark sky.
The black-robed figure slowly walked toward Ji Chaoyun. Ji Chaoyun instinctively retreated half a step, his pale face drained of all color.
“Don’t be nervous. We can talk this over properly.”
Dense demonic aura spilled from the black-robed man spoke as he spoke, pressing down so heavily it was almost difficult to breathe.
He stopped a few steps away from Ji Chaoyun and said leisurely, “I only want to take one thing from you. As long as you obediently give it to me, I’ll spare your life.”
Ji Chaoyun asked, “You want the phoenix golden feather?”
“That’s right,” the black-robed man said. “Hand over the phoenix golden feather, and I’ll spare your life. How about it?”
“In your dreams!”
A longsword shimmering with silver light appeared in Ji Chaoyun’s hand. With a sweep of the blade, he thrust it straight at the black-robed man.
“Arrogant. You think you can defeat me?” The black-robed man sneered, his figure blurring as he neatly dodged Ji Chaoyun’s strike.
Ji Chaoyun did not stop. The blade abruptly changed course, and a dazzling sword-light illuminated the entire pine forest in a deathly white.
Clang!
The piercing sound of blades colliding echoed through the pine forest. Ji Chaoyun’s strike came with extraordinary speed and force, leaving the black-robed man no choice but to raise his sword to block.
Yet at that very moment, his vision suddenly went dark.
An even stronger wave of sword qi erupted from Ji Chaoyun’s blade. The black-robed man suddenly felt a chill against the side of his face. The instant his mask shattered, he shoved Ji Chaoyun away and retreated several steps.
The pure white mask broke into fragments and fell to the ground. A few drops of warm liquid slid down the man’s cheek and fell onto the grass. He touched the wound on his face and a faint smile appeared on that familiar face.
“I underestimated you... Chaoyun.”
Ji Chaoyun stared fixedly at him, his expression cold, betraying not the slightest emotion.
Yaoguang maintained his smiling expression and said gently, “Chaoyun, why must you be so stubborn?”
“Just obediently give me the Phoenix Golden Feather and pretend nothing happened tonight. Be good and hand over the phoenix golden feather to me. Just pretend nothing happened today. Why insist on investigating who I really am?”
“If I don’t investigate... am I supposed to simply let you hide behind Immortal Venerable Yaoguang’s identity and run rampant?”
Yaoguang’s expression stiffened.
Ji Chaoyun raised his sword and pointed it at him and said coldly, “You are not Yaoguang. Who exactly are you?!”
Yaoguang fell silent for a long moment. Then he slowly said, “You truly are clever, Chaoyun. If you could be of use to me, you would surely accomplish great things. What a pity.”
Ji Chaoyun’s heart jolted as he sensed danger approaching. He swiftly sprang into the air, and a blood-red array abruptly appeared where he had just been standing. Several strands of red cord shot out from the array, binding his hands and feet before forcibly dragging him back down.
Ji Chaoyun landed on one knee. His sword rolled across the ground and stopped beside Yaoguang’s feet.
Yaoguang bent down and picked it up.
“If I’m not mistaken, Feng Qi is already on his way here, isn’t he? Did you think I wouldn’t notice him spending all day flying around beside you in his true form? Phoenixes are always such a nuisance.”
“What are you trying to do?”
Yaoguang merely smiled without answering. Holding Ji Chaoyun’s sword, he turned and walked toward the body lying some distance away.
The fallen lantern flickered weakly. Li Hao lay in the darkness, and the faint outline of his body could still be seen trembling slightly. Yaoguang stopped beside him and lowered his head. A trace of regret and pity appeared in his eyes.
Ji Chaoyun urgently shouted, “Don’t touch him! I’m the one you’re after. Why harm an innocent person?!”
“I don’t want to harm the innocent either.” Yaoguang looked down at the man on the ground, his voice sounding almost helpless. “But who told him to be standing beside you tonight? If you want to blame someone, you can only blame yourself for dragging someone else into this.”
Yaoguang sighed softly. With a turn of his wrist, he drove the blade downward, piercing Li Hao’s chest through the very same wound.
The dim yellow lantern finally went out. In the darkness, the body shuddered painfully before falling completely still.
Blood-red light from the formation reflected in Ji Chaoyun’s eyes.
His eyes turned scarlet. “You—!”
Footsteps could faintly be heard approaching in the distance.
Yaoguang tilted his head to listen and smiled. “I didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly.”
His figure blurred, and he returned to Ji Chaoyun’s side in an instant, placing the sword back within his reach.
Ji Chaoyun struggled desperately, but he could not break free from the crimson bindings. More red cords crawled up his wrists and forced his fingers around the sword hilt. They adjusted its angle, turning the blade toward Yaoguang’s shoulder.
“Stop... stop!”
Ji Chaoyun’s voice trembled, but Yaoguang merely smiled and stroked his hair. The black robes on his body swiftly disappeared, returning him to his usual attire.
The jade pendant in Ji Chaoyun’s robes, which had been trembling violently all this time, suddenly went still. The crimson suddenly tightened with force, leaving Ji Chaoyun no way to evade as he thrust his sword forward. The blade pierced Yaoguang’s shoulder.
The crimson cords and formation vanished at the same time.
Ji Chaoyun raised his head and saw his own pale face reflected in the other man’s astonished eyes.
“Chaoyun? What are you...” Yaoguang lowered his head and stared at the sword embedded in his shoulder before hurriedly retreating.
The blade pulled free and blood immediately spread across his robes.
“Don’t run! Come back!”
Ji Chaoyun gave chase, sword raised, and his voice hoarse, “Get out of him!”
At that moment, a beam of spiritual light shot from the darkness and struck Ji Chaoyun directly on the wrist. His hand went numb with pain, and the sword fell from his grasp with a clang.
Ji Chaoyun turned around. Several figures were already hurrying toward them from deep within the pine forest.
Tianshu was at the very front, staring at him with a furrowed brow. The spiritual light at his fingertips had yet to dissipate.
Yaoguang stumbled toward Tianshu, his shoulder still bleeding. “Tianshu, why are you here? This...”
“Speak slowly. What happened?”
Yaoguang pressed a hand to his wound. Half his face was hidden in darkness, and for an instant, his expression seemed completely blank.
He turned to look at Li Hao lying on the ground and said in bewilderment, “I... I came out to patrol. Yes, while I was patrolling, I heard some commotion here and hurried over, only to see Chaoyun... He killed Li Hao, and even... even wounded me”
Tianshu’s brows drew tightly together. He quickly walked over to Li Hao, crouched down, and reached out to examine the other man’s spiritual meridian.
After a moment, he shook his head. “He has already stopped breathing.”
Ji Chaoyun staggered backward and fell into a familiar embrace. He raised his head and saw the undisguised concern in those beautiful eyes.
“I-It wasn’t me... It wasn’t like that...”
“I know. I know it wasn’t you.” Feng Qi held him tightly from behind and leaned close to his ear, saying softly, “Don’t be afraid. It’s all right. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Tianshu rose and walked toward them. “Ji Chaoyun, why did you kill Li Hao and attack Immortal Venerable Yaoguang?”
“I didn’t. It was him!” Ji Chaoyun said. “There is a demon possessing Immortal Venerable Yaoguang. I saw it myself. That demon killed Senior Brother Li!”
“A... demon?” Yaoguang looked genuinely confused.
“Chaoyun, what is wrong with you? How could there be a demon inside me? Could you have suffered cultivation deviation and started hallucinating?”
“I—”
Ji Chaoyun was about to argue further when he suddenly stopped.
He looked at Tianshu and Yaoguang standing side by side. The hatred clouding his mind finally began to recede.
At this point, no matter how he tried to explain himself, it would be of no use.
That demon had clearly been dwelling within Yaoguang’s body for a long time, yet neither Yaoguang himself nor the other Immortal Venerables had noticed anything amiss. Had that person not revealed himself of his own accord, Ji Chaoyun could never have forced him out.
And if they examined the wounds on Li Hao’s body, they would find that they had indeed been inflicted by Ji Chaoyun’s sword.
With Li Hao’s death, Ji Chaoyun had been pushed into a position where he stood alone, with no one to rely on. Everything had already been decided.
Immortal Tianshu seemed to still be questioning him, while Yaoguang stood to the side, clutching his wound with a confused and bewildered expression, as though he could not understand why Ji Chaoyun had suddenly become like this.
Countless gazes fell upon Ji Chaoyun.
He followed those gazes one by one. There were the senior brothers from the Inspection Hall he had only recently come to know. There were the duty disciples who frequently accompanied Tianshu.
Immortal Lord Kaiyang and his chief disciple Jiangcheng.
Immortal Lord Yuheng.
Immortal Lord Tianquan...
The expressions on their faces differed. Some were shocked, others were furious. However, not a single one of them believed him.
Ji Chaoyun lowered his head. He felt a chill envelop his entire body from head to toe, and he could not keep himself from trembling faintly.
Then warmth spread from behind him and drove that cold away.
From beginning to end, Feng Qi had held him tightly and had never once let go.
Ji Chaoyun turned his head and looked into Feng Qi’s eyes. Helplessly, he clutched tightly at the other man’s sleeve.
“You... Do you believe me?”
“I believe you.” Feng Qi’s said gently.
No matter what happens, I believe you.
That will never change.
Those simple words seemed to give Ji Chaoyun tremendous courage.
He forced himself to calm down and said in a low voice, “He’s trying to frame me. He’s inside Immortal Venerable Yaoguang. I don’t know how he conceals himself, but as long as he reveals himself, that jade pendant will be able to sense his demonic aura—”
His words had barely left his lips when several people suddenly stepped forward and seized him.
He was forcibly dragged from Feng Qi’s embrace, his fingertips slipping from the other man’s sleeve. He struggled with all his strength, barely able to make out what the people around him were shouting. In a daze, he saw Feng Qi silently mouth something to him.
He said, “Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m here.”
All sound and movement seemed to fade away at that moment. In the absolute stillness, only the two of them remained, quietly looking at one another.
Ji Chaoyun stared at him. It was as though a great stone had finally fallen from his heart, and the turbulent undercurrents within him finally stilled.
He slowly nodded to Feng Qi and said softly. “All right.”
☁
Late that night, the Hall of Inquiry remained brightly lit. Feng Qi stood inside with a cold expression.
“Why am I not allowed to participate? He was clearly framed. I already told you about Yaoguang, he—”
“Feng Qi, you have no evidence.”
“Then why won’t you let me investigate?!”
Tianshu replied calmly, “Your relationship with Ji Chaoyun is far from ordinary. You must recuse yourself from this matter.”
“Fine, I’ll recuse myself, but why hand it over to Kaiyang?” Feng Qi’s brows drew tightly together. “Don’t you know that Kaiyang has always been prejudiced against Chaoyun? What could he possibly uncover fairly?”
“You must trust the academy. We will not wrongly accuse an innocent person.”
Feng Qi fell silent.
He looked coldly at Tianshu, who sat within the great hall, and said quietly, “Uncle, I hope you remember what you said today. If anything goes wrong, this will be the last time I trust any of you.”
With that, Feng Qi turned and left the Hall of Inquiry.
Someone was already waiting outside.
Yaoguang’s wound had already been treated. It had not been deep enough to hinder his movement, and he stood in the center of the courtyard with the same warm, composed expression he usually wore. From a distance, his gaze met Feng Qi’s.
Feng Qi walked toward him and said coldly. “Immortal Venerable, you’re injured. Why haven’t you gone back to rest?”
“I... have some matters to discuss with Tianshu.”
Feng Qi let out a mocking laugh. “What? Ji Chaoyun hasn’t suffered enough for you?”
“No.”
Yaoguang said, “No, I wanted to... plead on Chaoyun’s behalf. What he did today was truly strange. We cannot reach a conclusion so hastily.”
Feng Qi looked at him in silence, seemingly judging whether his words were true or false.
Yaoguang paid no heed to his gaze and slowly continued, “Chaoyun has been getting along quite well with everyone in the Inspection Hall these past few days. Why would he suddenly lash out and hurt someone? There may be some other reason behind this.”
Feng Qi lowered his eyes, asking softly. “Speaking of which, there is something I would indeed like to ask Immortal Venerable Yaoguang. You never personally make the rounds at night. Why did you appear at the class halls tonight? What did you go there to do?”
Yaoguang’s expression went blank for an instant. “I... I went there to... I went there to...”
Feng Qi ignored his attempt to explain and continued.
“There’s something else. Chaoyun’s cultivation is not considered particularly high within the academy. How could he kill an Earth-rank disciple with a single sword strike, and how could he have managed to injure you?
If he were truly that capable, perhaps the academy should prepare to replace the person ranked first on the Heaven Ranking.”
“This... perhaps Li Hao was caught off guard. At the time, I was in a hurry to check on his condition, and that was why...”
“I haven’t finished.” Feng Qi interrupted him coldly before continuing, “I already searched that forest earlier. Aside from the traces left by Ji Chaoyun’s sword, there was another, unfamiliar sword mark at the scene, and it did not come from Li Hao’s sword.”
Feng Qi stood slightly taller than Yaoguang. Looking down at him now, there was something unexpectedly imposing in his bearing. “Can Immortal Venerable tell me whose sword left that mark?”
Yaoguang’s face turned pale. This time, he had no answer at all.
Feng Qi tilted his head and smiled before walking directly past him and leaving the courtyard.
Only after Feng Qi had gone far into the distance did a trace of darkness flash through Yaoguang’s eyes.
☁
Ji Chaoyun sat in the dark prison cell, both hands tightly shackled and secured to the wall. He could not see the outside from within the cell and had no way of knowing how much time had passed.
The chains around his wrists suppressed his cultivation and spiritual power. Without spiritual power protecting his body, Ji Chaoyun only felt himself growing colder. He curled up beside the wall, both hands clutching tightly at the collar of his outer robe. Feng Qi had personally draped it over him before the night patrol began.
“Feng Qi...”
Ji Chaoyun closed his eyes and whispered his name.
“Who are you calling for?” A mocking voice sounded from the empty air. “To think that ancestor of the Phoenix Clan is so deeply devoted to you that he even gave you the most important feather on his body. Now you’ve transferred your affections to his descendant. If he were to find out, how is he supposed to face that?”
Ji Chaoyun raised his head and a black figure appeared in the center of the cell.
“What do you want?”
Yaoguang said, “I told you. All I want is the phoenix golden feather.”
“Impossible.”
“Why must you be so stubborn?” Yaoguang said. “The Divine Realm has already sealed itself. It cannot possibly reopen for at least a thousand years. Your Divine Lord Feng Xiao cannot return. Why not obediently hand over the Phoenix Golden Feather, sever your attachment to Feng Xiao, and stay together with Feng Qi instead?”
Ji Chaoyun had no interest in explaining his relationship with Feng Qi and said indifferently, “If I give you the Phoenix Golden Feather, will you truly let me go? Then who will answer for Li Hao’s life?”
“...”
Ji Chaoyun withdrew his gaze. “I won’t give it to you. Kill me. Just like when you slipped into the confinement room without the gods or ghosts knowing and killed Wen Yi.”
You think I wouldn’t dare?” Yaoguang said coldly. “I sent everyone nearby away long ago. If you weren’t the only one capable of undoing the Divine Pact on the phoenix golden feather, you would have lost your life long ago. I’ll give you one last chance. Hand over the phoenix golden feather, and I can get you out of here.”
“No need. Do it.”
Yaoguang’s expression darkened, becoming cold and sinister. The aura around him abruptly changed as powerful demonic energy spilled from his eyes and filled the entire prison cell in an instant.
Yaoguang drew a sword. This time, he did not cast any illusion over the blade.
The crushing spiritual pressure forced a metallic taste into Ji Chaoyun’s throat. He forcibly suppressed the blood surging in his chest and looked at the simple, ancient longsword in the other man’s hand, its entire length a deep black.
Without warning, he remembered the rainy night from his previous life. Back then, he had been just like this. Driven to a place with nowhere left to retreat, he could only watch helplessly as the man before him drew this very sword and slowly walked toward him.
The scenes of his previous and present lives overlapped before his eyes. He saw the man raise his sword and thrust it forcefully toward him—
A golden whip shot inside like a serpent and tightly wrapped around the sword blade.
Yaoguang’s expression changed. In the next instant, Feng Qi flashed into the room and stood directly in front of Ji Chaoyun.
“You... How could you...”
“How could I be here?”
Feng Qi cut him off with a smile. “Do you have some sort of misunderstanding about Hongmeng Academy? This is the foremost academy in the Immortal Realm. Did you really think this was your Demon Realm, where everyone would be stupid enough to let you make fools of them and lead them around in circles?”
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded outside.
Several disciples entered one after another, swords drawn, positioning themselves in front of Ji Chaoyun.
Feng Qi withdrew his whip and returned to Ji Chaoyun’s side.
Then Immortal Venerables Tianshu and Kaiyang slowly entered the cell.
Tianshu asked, “Who exactly are you? Why haven’t you come out of Immortal Yaoguang’s body?”
Yaoguang slowly swept his gaze over everyone and said coldly, “How did you discover it?”
“Why should we tell you?” Feng Qi held Ji Chaoyun against him and gave a cold laugh. “You want to die knowing the answer? Well, we’re not telling you. You can die frustrated.”
“...”
Everyone in the room fell silent for a moment. Tianshu was the only one to clear his throat. “Feng Qi. Stop speaking nonsense.”
“Very well then...” Yaoguang took an almost imperceptible half-step backward, a vicious smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“I fell short at the final step. I admit defeat, but this matter is not over. The gods are in decline, and the Demon Clan holds sway. One day, demons will descend upon the Immortal Realm once more. You will never be able to stop it!”
“Stop him!”
Feng Qi shouted. The disciples immediately rushed forward with their swords, but they were still a step too late.
An An unprecedentedly powerful demonic aura suddenly erupted from Yaoguang’s body. The spiritual pressure shook the younger generation of disciples present so violently that they all collapsed to the ground.
Feng Qi instinctively turned and pulled Ji Chaoyun into his arms, shielding him from that terrifying spiritual pressure. A faint taste of blood rose in Feng Qi’s throat.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Tianshu and Kaiyang, the only ones still able to move, hurry forward and catch Immortal Yaoguang’s body as it fell limply to the ground.
The demonic aura soon vanished completely. Tianshu probed Yaoguang’s spiritual meridians and, after a moment, said quietly, “He escaped.”
Feng Qi frowned. The spiritual pressure from moments ago had sent his qi and blood into turmoil, leaving him temporarily unable to speak. He lowered his head and met Ji Chaoyun’s worried gaze. Feng Qi gently shook his head.
Kaiyang cursed angrily, “Damn it! That demon must have prepared an escape route before he ever came here. We still failed to capture him.”
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy for a time, until the faint clinking and rustling of chains could be heard. Feng Qi unlocked the shackles around Ji Chaoyun’s wrists, lifted him horizontally into his arms, then rose and headed outside.
Kaiyang was still in the midst of his anger and snapped irritably, “We haven’t finished discussing this. Where are you going?”
“Back to the disciple peak.”
Feng Qi glanced at him, then turned his gaze toward Tianshu and said coldly, “Chaoyun needs to rest now. As for the matter of you using Chaoyun as bait, I expect you to give me an explanation afterward. Uncle.”
“What kind of attitude is that—”
Kaiyang nearly exploded with rage, but Tianshu stopped him. “Enough. Let him go.”
Feng Qi gave a cold snort and carried Ji Chaoyun out of the prison cell.
Outside, it was already deep into the night. Countless stars and silver moonlight spilled across distant Hongmeng Mountain, as peaceful and quiet as ever.
Only now did the tension within Ji Chaoyun finally loosen. Exhaustion swept through his entire body, leaving him without even the strength to move.
Feng Qi said softly, “If you’re tired, sleep for a while. Don’t force yourself to stay awake.”
“But Immortal Venerable Yaoguang....”
“Shh. You need to rest now. Don’t think about any of that.”
Ji Chaoyun was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open.
His voice gradually dwindled until it was as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito.
“Then tomorrow... Tomorrow, you have to tell me everything that happened. We agreed.”
“Mm. “We agreed.”
Ji Chaoyun said nothing more. He buried his face against Feng Qi’s chest and finally fell peacefully asleep.
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
Today’s chapter is a little longer. I was stuck on it for quite a while because I realized that no matter where I split it, the reading experience just wasn’t very good, so I ended up writing the whole thing in one go _(:з」∠)_
PS: Senior Brother isn’t dead. He can still keep gossiping about the little dragon and the phoenix, so don’t worry.
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