Phoenix's Requiem

Chapter 418: The Price of Rashness

As she glanced at her regressing cousin, Lin Qingchen couldn’t help trying to analyze her own life: should she or should she not try to find a husband? Lin Qingxue’s round face had turned thin after pining for Zhuo Yifeng for so long, and she had even ended up on bad terms with their beloved cousin.

As for Yun Ruoyan, she seemed very happy after marrying the Slaughtering King, but her intellect and personality both seemed to have regressed.

It was a common adage that women who gave birth to children would seem foolish for three years. Yun Ruoyan was of childbearing age, and Lin Qingchen couldn’t help imagine Yun Ruoyan’s appearance as she chased after a runaway toddler, her noble mien and bearing all but dissipated.

Lin Qingchen vowed to herself that, even if she had to refrain from marriage altogether, she wouldn’t let a man change her the way Li Mo had changed Yun Ruoyan.

“Qingchen, are you alright? What’re you thinking about?” When Yun Ruoyan saw that Lin Qingchen was in a daze, she lightly prodded her.

“Ah, I—I wasn’t thinking about anything...”

“You weren’t thinking about Old Lin, were you?” Yun Ruoyan suddenly asked. Old Lin was the captain of the Feng city guards, and he had been a guard at the manor for a short period of time. Once, when he was injured, Lin Qingchen had treated his wounds.

“Sister Ruoyan, if you keep talking nonsense, I’ll ignore you!” Lin Qingchen hurriedly said, then turned to leave.

“Cousin, if you’re ever interested in a man, let me know. I’ll help you nab him for sure!” Yun Ruoyan called out behind her. Her words, like a needle, stabbed into Lin Qingchen’s back, causing her to speed up and vanish in an instant.

“Ah, teasing Qingchen’s more fun than I thought,” Yun Ruoyan mumbled to herself as she headed back to her own cottage. Because she wanted to talk to Lin Qingchen, she had told Li Mo to head back to the cottage first. If she didn’t head back promptly, Li Mo would surely rush out to find her, so she started to walk faster.

As she passed by a small side path, a shadow darted out and gave Yun Ruoyan a big shock. “Who is it?!”

“It’s me, Ruoyan,” the shadow replied.

Yun Ruoyan instantly recognized the voice as Zhuo Yifeng’s.

“You—why did you drink so much?” Yun Ruoyan frowned, then pinched her nose in distaste. Zhuo Yifeng’s body seemed to have been steeped in alcohol, and his words were slurred. “Zhuo Yifeng, you know how strict Lord Feng is with regards to drinking now that we’re preparing to fight against the Pis, don’t you? If you’re found out, you’ll be expelled from the troops and punished according to martial law.”

“I know,” Zhuo Yifeng replied carelessly.

“Then why do it? Quick, go take a cold shower. Don’t let anyone else find out!”

“Ruoyan, are you concerned for me?” Zhuo Yifeng suddenly laughed. “He told me you cared about me—you’re worried I’ll be chased out of the Feng troops, so you do care about me, don’t you?”

“Who’s he?” Yun Ruoyan frowned. “You’re drunk, and I can’t understand what you’re saying,” She tried to walk around Zhuo Yifeng, but Zhuo Yifeng blocked her whenever she tried to move. If Yun Ruoyan headed left, so did he; if she went right, so did he.

Zhuo Yifeng had never behaved in such an inconsiderate manner, and Yun Ruoyan was very confused as to what was going on with him. If it were anyone else, Yun Ruoyan would have long since knocked them down, but she felt a strong sense of kinship and comradeship with Zhuo Yifeng.

“Zhuo Yifeng, move aside. I don’t want to fight you.” Yun Ruoyan’s patience was quickly being exhausted.

However, Zhuo Yifeng didn’t seem to understand what Yun Ruoyan was saying at all. He stared at Yun Ruoyan with his bright, luminous eyes, then pointed at his brain. “He told me to confess to you, but I didn’t dare. He kept urging me on, goading me, from day to night, then night to day. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I drank. When I’m drunk, I can’t hear his voice.”

“Who’s he?” Yun Ruoyan asked.

“Haha.” Zhuo Yifeng began to laugh. “He’s me, another me, a truer me. He told me to tell you—” Zhuo Yifeng’s eyes seemed to glow even brighter, and he leaned in close to Yun Ruoyan with his tall, broad body. Yun Ruoyan had no choice but to step back. “He told me to tell you, Yun Ruoyan, that I love you! That I want you!”

Yun Ruoyan’s eyes opened wide. Although she had known that Zhuo Yifeng liked her, she had never expected that he would suddenly confess to her under such circumstances. She was very shocked by the sudden confession: after all, she was a married woman, and Zhuo Yifeng’s behavior was inappropriate on both the Chenyuan and Mingyuan continents.

“You...” Yun Ruoyan was just about to shout at him when Zhuo Yifeng suddenly extended both his hands and clutched Yun Ruoyan tightly. His lips, still smothered with the stench of alcohol, met Yun Ruoyan’s own.

Yun Ruoyan was shocked and offended by Zhuo Yifeng’s behavior. As far as she knew, he was a guarded, stoic man, one who refused to expose too much of himself to anyone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his affection for her a secret, and he wouldn’t be so unmoved by Lin Qingxue’s advances. But, tonight, he had done something so bold...!

Yun Ruoyan finally reacted and began to struggle to break free from Zhuo Yifeng’s grip. In her anger, she neglected to use her Scarlet Eye against him, nor her fireball technique. Instead, she kicked and clawed at Zhuo Yifeng, but he easily shrugged those attacks off.

Yun Ruoyan’s forbidden taste was so captivating that he didn’t want to break off the kiss.

Just then, a black shadow floated down from the skies, bringing a flurry of wind with him. In an instant, Zhuo Yifeng was knocked aside, and he landed on the paved walkway with a thud.

“Li... Li Mo!” Yun Ruoyan was a little lightheaded from the kiss. Because of how much she had struggled, her hair was a little unkempt, and her lips swollen. On her fair cheeks were clear imprints from Zhuo Yifeng’s fingers.

When Li Mo saw Yun Ruoyan’s present state, his eyes glowed with an eerie green light, one that immediately caused Yun Ruoyan to grab ahold of Zhuo Yifeng. Instead of speaking, she slowly shook her head. Yun Ruoyan knew that Li Mo’s eyes would only glow green when he was struck by some particularly strong emotion or when he was radiating with killing intent.

Li Mo forcibly suppressed the anger and fury in his heart, as well as a sudden, indescribable feeling, as though the tastiest dessert that belonged solely to him had been stolen and consumed by someone else. In the end, he closed his eyes and quashed his anger. Pulling Yun Ruoyan’s hand, he walked to Zhuo Yifeng’s front and dowsed him in a bubble of icy cold water.

“Argh!” Zhuo Yifeng screamed and sat up, wiping the water off his face. “What’s the matter? Why am I here?” He seemed to have no recollection of what was going on.

“Zhuo Yifeng,” Li Mo said from above his head. “If not for the fact that you’re a beastkin, it’d have been spirit fire that rained down upon your head. If there’s a next time, I may not be able to control my anger.”

Zhuo Yifeng raised his head to look at Li Mo. His face was shrouded by a veil of hair, so Zhuo Yifeng couldn’t see his expression, but his anger was evident in his tone.

Zhuo Yifeng then turned to Yun Ruoyan, who stood beside Li Mo. Rather than avoiding his gaze, she was staring at him with wide, wide eyes, still filled with shock, incredulity, and chilling disappointment.

Zhuo Yifeng’s brain buzzed. What he had done slowly floated to the top of his brain, the drunken words—the heartfelt words?—he’d said, his offensive behavior toward Yun Ruoyan, even a forced kiss...

Zhuo Yifeng could still feel the remnant of the kiss on his lips, causing his face to redden, his brain to buzz, and his heart to jump. “Just what... just what did I do?” Zhuo Yifeng clutched his hair, his face crestfallen.

“Li Mo.” Yun Ruoyan saw that Zhuo Yifeng seemed to have come to his senses, but she didn’t want to observe his regret and pain. “Let’s go back.”

Li Mo turned back to Yun Ruoyan, nodded warmly, then pulled her away, avoiding Zhuo Yifeng.

Zhuo Yifeng sat dejectedly on the ground. Yun Ruoyan’s disappointed expression seemed to be engraved in his brain. He suddenly shook himself, leapt up, and chased after Yun Ruoyan, trying to apologize. However, Li Mo didn’t give him the opportunity to do so. With a sweep of his sleeve, he knocked Zhuo Yifeng into the distance.

Zhuo Yifeng cradled his head as he lay on the ground, looking at Yun Ruoyan’s retreating figure. In his mind, he chuckled bitterly to the demonic spirit. “Are you satisfied now? You are, aren’t you!”