I was reborn after cheating on the aloof and powerful man.

Chapter 31 A Glimmer of Light Transforms into a Torch of Sunlight

"Yes, your master is absolutely right. We girls must stay away from perverts!"

Fei Xi, regaining her senses, nodded affirmatively, and the four of them quickly returned to the Qingcheng Sect's headquarters amidst laughter and conversation.

A Taoist priest with an otherworldly air stood at the entrance of the camp. His expression was solemn, and a trace of sorrow was hidden between his brows. He looked at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.

"Uncle Yin, when did you get back?"

Fei Xi skipped a few steps forward, ran up to the Taoist priest, tugged at his sleeve and shook it coquettishly, then raised her smiling face.

Infected by the smile, the Taoist's serious expression softened, and he said in a gentle tone:

"I just returned with Tie Jiaoling, and Tie Jiaoling has already returned to the Thunderbolt Fortress sect's headquarters. Hmm, who is this young lady?"

"This is Wu Yanluo, a disciple of Qin Lu, the heroine of the Taibai Sect."

After hearing his junior apprentice's introduction, the Taoist priest paused for a moment, then a slight smile returned to his face:

"I recognize your master. Is she alright?"

The girl in red, Wu Yanluo, looked puzzled. She had never heard her master mention anyone from the Qingcheng Sect. If it weren't for this chance encounter today, her impression of the sect would still be based on her master's words, "I heard that it was a Qingcheng Sect disciple who broke the Nightmare Illusion Array in Sanhe Town."

After a moment's hesitation, Wu Yanluo didn't mince words and asked directly:

"My master is very good. What is the relationship between you and my master, senior?"

Seeing the confusion on the girl's face, Yin Zheng immediately guessed that she probably had never mentioned him to her disciple. A trace of melancholy flashed through his mind, but he suppressed his lingering thoughts:

"An old friend she might not want to mention."

His momentary lapse in attention went unnoticed. Ignoring the young girl who was eyeing him, Yin Zhengyi led the four of them through the gate with a perfectly normal expression.

"Welcome to my Qingcheng Sect. You young people have your own ways of getting along. Your senior uncle is too old to join in the fun, so please make yourselves at home. If there is anything I have done wrong in our hospitality, please feel free to speak up. Please treat this place as your own home. Xiao Xuan and Feng, please take good care of Miss Wu. Xi, come with me."

After bidding farewell to the three, Fei Xi followed Uncle Yin into the side hall. Her face, which had just been smiling, quickly turned stern the moment the door closed.

"Hands out!"

She pursed her lips, untied the wristband on her wrist, and without hesitation, Fei Xi extended her hand.

She knew it was only a matter of time before her martial uncle found out, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon...

Feeling his nephew's pulse, a chill gradually crept into Yin Zheng's eyes:

"Nonsense! How could you use medicine like that!"

The girl stubbornly remained silent, straightening her back. She looked intently into Yin Zhengyi's eyes, her determination shining as eternally bright as the stars.

Deep within her dark eyes lay an unyielding stubbornness. Yin Zhengyi knew that once his niece had made up her mind, persuading her would be extremely difficult, and the little girl always responded better to gentle persuasion than force. He couldn't help but soften his tone and gently persuade her:

"Your body has been restored to normal, but do you know how much effort Senior Brother Wei has put in? Just because he heard that the silver fish from the Cold Pool had miraculous effects on the body, he braved the icy waters of the pool in the dead of winter to catch fish for you; and because he heard that the eggs of the Flamebird could heal meridian injuries, he ventured into the Flamebird's nest in the Flame Mountain, risking his life to steal eggs for you. Over the years, he has taken you all over the world, searching for countless spiritual herbs and miraculous medicines, all so that you can live like a normal person. Whatever your reason, you must stop taking the strong medicine you are currently taking! You must not take it anymore!"

Fearing that his commanding words would offend the little girl, Yin Zhengyi quickly soothed her gently:

"Xi'er, listen to me. If anything really happens, your senior uncles and aunts will take care of it. They will be in charge of protecting Nanxuan City from now on. I'll prescribe you another dose of medicine. It's important for you to go back to the sect and recuperate properly."

"I know!"

With a gentle yet firm voice, Fei Xi bowed to her martial uncle.

“Because I know that my life was given to me by my master, I must do this, I can only do this. Uncle-Master, please trust me this once more. I will not waste my life. Please give me some more time. I cannot afford to fall ill now, nor do I have time to slowly heal this broken, funnel-like body. Uncle-Master, I promise you, once the defense of Nanxuan City is over, I will return to the sect and never come out again.”

The two stared at each other for a long time. The girl's eyes held an unwavering will, and Yin Daoren sighed, conceding defeat.

"What exactly are you planning to do? Can't you tell your martial uncle?"

The girl smiled gently, looking confidently at Yin Zhengyi, a hint of mischief in her smile:

"Uncle-Master, this grand gathering of the origins of the three religions is for you."

……

As Fei Xi emerged from the side hall, she immediately spotted the young man, whose demeanor always carried a hint of arrogance, standing quietly in the corridor, waiting for her.

"Junior Brother Ji, were you waiting for me?"

"Senior sister, this item is returned to you."

Ji Zhongxuan gently placed the jade pendant in Fei Xi's hand, then turned and left.

Seemingly not expecting the jade pendant to return to her hands, Fei Xi subconsciously stroked the still warm jade pendant in her hand, and stood there stunned for a long time, unable to come back to her senses.

*

The people one meets when they first fall in love often change the course of their life. Fei Xi herself couldn't be sure whether her encounter with Bian Yuan in her past life was a blessing or a curse.

Her sect was wiped out overnight, but she, her junior brother Ji, and her junior sister escaped because they were at Wushuang Manor at the time. After her junior brother Ji woke up, the three of them left Wushuang Manor together.

During their escape, Fei Xi accidentally got separated from her junior brother and sister.

Fei Xi had no internal energy, but by disguising herself, she easily blended into the crowd and escaped the pursuit.

Once she was safe, she did not immediately search for her junior brother and sister.

Without seeing it with her own eyes, she refused to believe that her sect had really been wiped out, and refused to believe that only the three of them were left alive.

The ominous divination revealed a fog of uncertainty and no resolution. Clutching a faint, flickering hope, she gritted her teeth and embarked on a solitary journey of wandering. After enduring countless hardships, leaning on her beggar's cane, she finally returned to her home—Mount Qingcheng.

The day she returned to Qingcheng Mountain was half a month after she heard the news of her family's massacre.

As dawn broke, a frail figure climbed along an unknown path to the mountainside of Qingcheng Mountain. Before the sect's gatehouse halfway up the mountain, dark red bloodstains still clung to the steps, a horrifying sight. She climbed forward step by step, her heart slowly clenching. She refused to believe it; she wanted to deceive herself.

Until a familiar, cold corpse came into her view. She opened her mouth wide, but couldn't utter a sound.

He lay by the mountain road, facing a tree, seemingly caught off guard and killed in a sneak attack. His body had begun to rot, and his swollen, festering form made him difficult to identify. But Fei Xi recognized him by the colorful silk ribbon on his wrist; he had said he would wear it until next year, waiting for his senior sisters to replace it with a new one.

As Fei Xi climbed the mountain steps, her pace quickening. More and more corpses appeared before her, and she examined them one by one. A tide of despair slowly washed over her, rendering her speechless and even unable to breathe. She tried to grasp at a sliver of hope, but only grasped at cold reality.

The nightmare from 15 years ago seemed to replay before her eyes, once again dragging her into an abyss. She tormented herself by recalling every word, voice, and smile of the corpse from the past.

Finally, she reached the mountaintop shrouded in thick fog. Exhausted, she could no longer support herself and collapsed to her knees at the entrance of the sect's main hall. Through her blurred vision, she still recognized Sect Leader Mu and Martial Uncle Liu lying on the hall floor at a glance.

Those loving eyes, always filled with sorrow yet always smiling as they told their junior sister to take good care of her on the journey, will never open again; those hands, as gentle as her mother's, will never again stroke her hair or comb her disheveled strands.

As soon as she thought this, she felt a sudden pain in her chest, and a mouthful of blood gushed from the corner of her mouth, splashing onto the ground and instantly merging into the dark red stains.

Fei Xi staggered forward, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the floor. Her eyes were vacant as she walked on.

Uncle Wei, Uncle Li, Uncle Yin… Fei Xi felt as if she had died along with her sect. She stood bewildered before the ancestral tablet. Pain and sorrow intertwined, making it hard for her to breathe. She couldn't help but ask herself:

Why should she continue living? Why should she allow herself to be immersed in this excruciating pain? Without her sect, what meaning does her life hold?

……

As she looked up, her gaze swept over the memorial tablet of her grandmaster, Wei Xingjian. A sudden realization dawned on her.

No! She couldn't let her sect's legacy end here!

Wait, Fei Xi suddenly realized something...

Master...where is Master?

She didn't see her master, Wei Jiucheng, among all the corpses!

Realizing this, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Like an abandoned child, she stumbled out, sobbing loudly in grievance.

"Master! Master, where are you... come out quickly... Master... Master!!! Don't leave me... don't leave Xiaoxi..."

From within the thick fog came cries of pleading, the cries carrying far down the steep cliff, sounding like the soft whistling of the wind.

Below the cliff, on the jagged rocks, lay an old man, nothing but skin and bones. In his final moments, he seemed to sense something, struggling to open his cloudy eyes. Did he hear a baby crying?

Don't cry... It's all Master's fault... Don't cry...

The baby's crying made him want to cry too; he knew he would never be able to protect his baby again.

"Waaah... Jia Zhen, Yi Li, Bing Xin Kun, Ding Qian, Wu Kan, Ji Xun... Qian Gua resides in the southwest... Waaah..."

The sound of crying grew closer and closer to the old man.

"Waaah... Master... Master, are you here?"

"Xiao...Xiao Xi...Xiao Xi..."

A trembling, weak voice responded to the girl's cries.

"Master! Is that you? I'm coming to save you!"

Fei Xi heard it; she heard her master's voice!

Wiping away her tears, she looked toward the sound as if grasping at a last straw.

But her view was obstructed, and she couldn't see what was happening below the cliff. If only she knew martial arts... she suppressed the hatred welling up in her heart.

She was no longer the helpless child she once was...

Finding a rope, she located the right spot and slowly approached the craggy cliff.

A moment later, an old man and a young man, both disheveled and smelling foul, appeared at the edge of the cliff.

Fei Xi touched the bones beneath her master's skin, tears welling in her eyes but refusing to fall. She didn't want her master to worry about her... She sniffled, forcing back the tears.

“Master, let’s go down the mountain first. Junior Brother Ji has already woken up. After I heal your injuries, we’ll go find Junior Brother Ji and the others together.”

The old man's trembling hand gently wiped away the tears that had inadvertently seeped from Fei Xi's eyes. He knew perfectly well that he was on his deathbed, and the seemingly kind young doctor was merely deceiving himself. He sighed, his weak voice almost inaudible:

"Baby, don't cry..."

As she grew up, Fei Xi rarely heard her master call her that. She could no longer hold back her tears. She didn't want to be an unwanted little child!

His withered hands were quickly soaked with tears. As if in a final burst of energy, Wei Jiucheng suddenly felt a surge of strength. Tears streamed down his face as he gazed worriedly at the child he had raised with his own hands.

"Life and death are predestined... The Qingcheng Sect is destined for this great calamity, and there is no way to escape it. Child, you don't need to avenge us. From now on, just live well for yourself."

These words, like a deathbed testament, nearly drove Fei Xi to the brink of collapse. Why hadn't she been faster... If only she had arrived sooner...

A cold, heartless voice abruptly pierced the sorrow of the master and disciple:

"You're quite philosophical about it. If those who were saved by your Qingcheng Sect back then had even a shred of gratitude, the Qingcheng Sect wouldn't be in this state today!"

"Your arrival makes all the actions of our Qingcheng Sect meaningful."

Upon hearing the voice of the newcomer, Wei Jiucheng, who had persevered to this day, felt a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"I won't avenge you!"

Wei Jiucheng was already used to the visitor's cold attitude; he knew that when talking to this person, it was best to be direct and to the point.

“Our Qingcheng Sect’s grudges should be avenged by our own people. I only have one request for you.”

"You'll ever have to ask for help one day? Tell me!"

"For the sake of our acquaintance, I hope you will take care of this child for me. If she gets married someday, you don't have to worry about her anymore."

Seemingly surprised that the old man was asking for such a thing, the visitor, who remained hidden in the mist, remained silent for a long while before replying:

"……it is good!"

"Master!"

Realizing something, Fei Xi gripped her master's hand tightly, and Wei Jiucheng used his last strength to laugh out loud:

"Hahaha, with you here as witness, I, Wei Jiucheng, have not lived in vain! Walking through green hills and under the moon, I am no less than a tiny ray of light that transforms into a blazing sun."

After saying this, Wei Jiucheng died on the spot!

Fei Xi opened her eyes wide but didn't shed a single tear. The light in her eyes had been extinguished with Wei Jiucheng's death. She couldn't accept the fact that her master had passed away.

A sudden commotion arose not far away:

"I saw someone going up the mountain!" "They must be remnants of the Qingcheng Sect!" "Look, there are people ahead!"

"Remnants of the Qingcheng Sect, come out and face your death!"

'It's so noisy! I really want to kill them all!'

In the blink of an eye, a group of villains dressed in the clothes of different sects appeared in front of Fei Xi.

"They're the ones who killed everyone in my Qingcheng Sect!"

'Why can't I do martial arts! I hate it... I hate it so much!!!'

Just as Fei Xi's inner demons surged and became uncontrollable...

A single sword strike chilled fourteen provinces, and countless blood blossoms bloomed before her eyes. In the quiet world, an immortal dressed in white approached her.