Flowers Reflecting The Sky Chapter 19

FRS: Chapter 19 – Unknown Love (1)

Translator: Momoe Pom

TLC: Puissansa

Editor:  Isabelle

Quality Check: Kai

First Published on Ainushi. 

The first day back at home was fresh, the second day was emotional, but the third, fourth, and fifth day were…

Ji WuDi idly sat in front of the pond, holding a handful of gra.s.s in his hand. He threw them one by one into the pond.

Yuan AoCe finished competing with Zhong Yu in martial arts and walked over delightfully. He patted Ji WuDi's head and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Feeding the fishes." Ji WuDi answered quite earnestly.

Yuan AoCe looked at the gra.s.s in his hand, then at the pond that was too calm to find even half a fish and asked, "How many died from eating?"

"Not even one." Feeling depressed, Ji WuDi threw all of the gra.s.s in his hand into the pond.

Yuan AoCe said, "En. This is the only way to survive in the Huihuang Sect."

Ji WuDi rested his chin in both hands. "The a.s.sa.s.sin Sect has been on a.s.sa.s.sination missions for quite a while now. Why haven’t they achieved anything of scale yet?"

"For any new sect that wants to become capable, they must have the right time, the right place, and the right people in order to achieve it. Although the Xuetu Hall has been dissolved, it will still take time for the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect to replace it." Yuan AoCe chose a large stone next to him and sat down.

Ji WuDi shook his head and said, "Actually, I'm worried that they can't wait till that day."

Yuan AoCe raised his eyebrows.

"No matter if they are able get rid of Hua HuaiXiu before Fan JiJing arrives, or if they don't make it, the outcome is still that they will end up being eliminated." Ji WuDi lowered his eyes in disappointment. "Haaa, the Demonic Sect left its trades [1], the Xuetu Hall went to meet its death, only the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect is left, which is going to die prematurely before it even gets anywhere. Why is it so hard to stir up some winds in the pugilistic world?"

"Left its trades?" Yuan AoCe only identified this one phrase clearly.

Ji WuDi was suddenly inspired and suggested, "Ah-ce, if I let the Huihuang Sect flaunt the banner of uniting the entire pugilistic world, how much reaction will the world have?"

"Let's talk about it after you live through Zuo SiWen's reaction first." Yuan AoCe was not a bit worried about the future that the other was planning.

Ji WuDi was discouraged: "Aaah, if I had known earlier, I would not have written the letter to Fan JiJing. I should've let the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect expand a little more at least."

Yuan AoCe looked at him from the corner of his eyes, "Do you have the heart to do it?"

Ji WuDi blinked, his expression blank.

Yuan AoCe narrowed his eyes. "Back then, who was the first one to jump out and say that the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect needed to be eliminated after hearing they were after Hua HuaiXiu?"

"Ah, who was it?" Ji WuDi was thinking hard with vexation.

Yuan AoCe glared at him with cold eyes.

Ji WuDi suddenly started untying his belt, "Ah-ce should question me through tortures on bed at a time like this."

Yuan AoCe: "……"

Inside the pavilion.

Shang Que was standing together with Zuo SiWen side by side, overlooking the two people sitting by the pond.

Shang Que said, "I wonder if third Hua Gongzi is safe and sound now."

Zuo SiWen replied, "It can be counted as sound but not safe."

Shang Que tilted his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Master has ordered the entire Huihuang Sect to make sure that he is unharmed."

Shang Que nodded, "En, the third Hua Gongzi is dashingly handsome indeed."

"But Mister Yuan said keeping him alive will suffice."

Shang Que thought about it again and repeated, "En, the third Hua Gongzi is dashingly handsome indeed."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Zuo SiWen slowly let out a sigh and said, "I hope Fan Zhangmen can act faster." To rescue someone without rescuing him completely was in fact a very painful business. Deciding and controlling how far to go for it gave him headaches every time he listened to the reports.

Shang Que said, "Rather than Fan Zhangmen, I'm more curious about how Marquis Xue and Mingzun [2] are doing now."

Zuo SiWen suddenly frowned, saying, "In fact, whether it be the Hua Family or the Jiuhua Sect, how are they involved with the Huihuang Sect?" If it was Xueyi Hou, then at least he was somewhat related with the Demonic Sect and Imperial Court.  But for Ji WuDi to be concerned about Fan JiJing and Hua HuaiXiu was in fact something incomprehensible. After all, even if the Jiuhua Sect was to rise abruptly to a towering position, it would still be impossible for it to threaten the Huihuang Sect.

This time, Shang Que answered without even thinking about it, "Because he's outstandingly pretty."

Zuo SiWen opened his mouth with great difficulty. "In fact, Master isn't really a lecher."

Suddenly, a loud sound of something astir came from the direction of the pond.

Ji WuDi jumped up, throwing himself at Yuan AoCe.

Yuan AoCe had no choice but to hold him in his hands as they fell into the pond together.

The sound of one falling into the water was extremely loud, with water splashing around.

"…"

Shang Que turned his head to look at Zuo SiWen.

Zuo SiWen was staring at the sky faraway with a solemn and respectful expression.

The sky was getting dark. The only thing left in the west was the light of the setting sun which was about to be erased at any time.

The shade of trees that stretched as far as his eyes could see was like a black cloud covering the sky, making the somber sky even more gloomy and cold.

Hua HuaiXiu was sitting on a towering tree with dense leaves, holding a flat bread in his hand, which he bought five or six days ago. Ever since he encountered the first group of killers half a month ago, he had been nibbling this kind of ration all the way as he fled westwards. The Jiuhua Sect and the Hua Family were both on the east side, but at the moment, they were exactly the two places he was most reluctant to go to or to rely on.

The night fell. It was getting darker and darker all around him, even the scenery within his reach started to become indistinct.

He lowered his head, biting off a small piece of the flat bread only after gnawing into it and pulling it hardly for a while. As the dry, hard flat bread entered his mouth, his eyebrows soon furrowed. Even though he had been eating it for half a month, he was still not used such a texture that was harder than a rock.

Bo.

It was the sound of foot stepping on branches.

Hua HuaiXiu froze, his hand covering his breath, trying his best not to make any sound.

He had no idea where the killers had come from.

By right, according to the Hua family's unique position in the pugilistic world, no sect should dare to even lightly brush against its blade. After all, the Hua family definitely deserved the t.i.tle of "G.o.d of Wealth". If one was to offend the Hua family, it was equivalent to offending all people in this world who was fond of wealth. One might as well ask how many people in this world could treat wealth as dung?

But the killers were really out there.

Hua HuaiXiu vaguely saw figures appearing within his sight.

Judging by his insight, these killers' martial arts could not be considered as skilled. They were at most on a par with him. However, they moved in a groups of seven every single time. The only reason why he could escape again and again was thanks to them making coordination mistakes at every crucial moment. Either all seven of them started to attack each other, or one of them would rush forward and block the blades for him. Were it not for these mistakes, he would have probably died long ago. Now that he thought about it, maybe there were G.o.ds and spirits in the unseen world blessing him to escape death?

The figures were approaching step by step. Their footsteps were extremely light. Were it not for the crisp sound of stepping onto a branch just now, he probably would not have noticed yet.

One, two, three… seven.

As expected, seven people again.

Hua HuaiXiu heard his own heart beating involuntarily inside his chest, and all his muscles tensed into rocks. He dared not move even a bit.

The figures slowly walked to the place under the tree. One of them made a gesture.

Because the light was too dim, Hua HuaiXiu could only vaguely tell that the man had waved his hand.

Another person suddenly jumped onto a tree next to him.

Hua HuaiXiu's heart almost jumped out of his chest. If it weren't dark, that person would certainly be able to distinguish him from all these leaves and branches.

Immediately, another person jumped onto another tree.

Hua HuaiXiu's heart almost stopped beating because it suddenly occurred to him that if the person who had just gestured also jumped onto trees, he would definitely jump onto the one he was on. His hand moved inch by inch till he was touching the sword hilt.

This was his third weapon. The blade was twisted in certain areas due to usage. However, at this very moment, it was all he could rely on.

The person under the tree finally moved. Just as he jumped up, he felt a killing intent rushing towards him from above, leaving him with practically nowhere to escape.

Hua HuaiXiu had to attack.

If the other person found out that he was hiding on the tree, he would be thrown into a even more pa.s.sive position.

After all, the killer had trained for a long time. At the instant, when he sensed the killing intent, his body had already reacted involuntarily, the sword he carried in his hand aimed up at nearly the same time.

Clink.

The blade and the sword crossed each other, splashing little sparks.

The other killers immediately dashed towards them without a word.

No matter how many times they had missed in the past, no matter how many mistakes they had made in coordination, at least at this very moment—

They were flawless.

Hua HuaiXiu instantly fell into that fishing net woven with sword energy.

His martial arts were not good, but this half month had trained his reflexes to an extraordinary level. In that moment, he kicked the trunk with both feet and his entire body leaped out of the net like a carp.

Yet the killers would not let this fish that was already inside their mouths fly out again.

The sword net suddenly contracted into seven chains, dashing towards his ankle like the shadow following its form.

Hua HuaiXiu's mind was extremely clear now. If he were hanged up by them, he would die for sure. He rolled right on the ground where he was standing, turned around and wielded the sword in his hand with all his might into a staunch shield!

The moon rose to the top of the tree.

A dim light was shed from the sky, illuminating both parties in the fight.

Hua HuaiXiu groaned in his heart.

With darkness as his cover, he could still trick them. but now he was simply isolated and helpless. His only choice was to give it a final struggle.

His martial arts were not good enough to fight seven people by himself in the first place. With the help of the moonlight, the killers easily spotted his weak points. Three swords struck at him altogether, like tokens from Yama [3] demanding his life.

A moment of life and death.

Hua HuaiXiu's sword slowed down. He was too lazy to even lift his hand to dodge. Anyway, the result would be the same whether he dodged or not.

The only thing he regretted and was unwilling to accept in his heart was the fact that he would die in such an obscure way. Neither the Hua family nor Fan JiJing could possibly have guessed that his life would end like this.

Or rather, for a rebellious and deviant son like him, for a self-sentimental cousin like him, even his death would not be worthy enough to be pitied.

Was there someone in this world who would sob over his death? He didn't know.

Hua HuaiXiu slowly closed his eyes…

It was a pity…

He would never know.

As he was waiting for his life to end—

A hand firmly pulled him into one's arms, with the sound of crossing swords and screams ringing at the same time.

The rest of the four killers stared at the three corpses on ground in horror and those pair of eyes that were cold to the core under the moonlight.

Translator’s Notes:

[1] The world originally means prost.i.tutes getting married and leaving their trades. [back]

[2] A special honorific in this novel. Zun usually refers to the respected, religious, leader of a cult, while Ming means bright. It refers to a character from another novel in this series. [back]

[3] King of h.e.l.l in Buddhism. [back]