The Journey of Flower - Chapter 60

All these years, she had held fast to her father’s advice: ” People feel empty because they are fallen. People are unhappy because they are not content.”

She had followed beside Bai Zi Hua for close to 6 years. Ever since she had stepped into Chang Liu Mountain, it was as thought she had stepped into the world’s most beautiful crystal palace. The black ghosts, demons and monsters that had haunted her all these years could not enter. From then on, there were no longer any worries in her life.
Friends were her dew, and her Shi Fu was her sun.

She worked hard, so she could meet his expectations. She smiled, because he was looking on.

Shi Fu was the center and the direction of her entire life.

Days spent like this were so peaceful and blissful that she often questioned whether she was in a dream when she woke up in the middle of the night.

When a person’s happiness is at its peak, what comes with it is the fear of losing this happiness.

And her fear, was none other than her realisation of her feelings for Shi Fu.

Everything just happened so naturally. However her sensitivity and intelligence immediately allowed her to realise the horrifying consequences of her feelings. Before this young and raw bud of love could take form, she had already killed it in the crib. She had subconsciously stopped her own growth, so that she could forever be an innocent child, following behind Shi Fu.

What she did not expect was that over time, she had already fallen deeply for him.

However, she tried her very best to maintain status quo and seal and bury those forbidden feelings. Perhaps if she ignored it, her entire life would just pass peacefully in this manner. Hua Qian Gu did not ever want to know what is love or permit herself to know who she loved!

However, on Tai Bai Mountain, the most private corner of her heart had been cruelly exposed by Zi Xun Qian Xia. The world she tried so hard to maintain had started to crumble little by little.可

In the next year, she and her Shi Fu had travelled and traversed the land. This could be said to be the happiest time in her life. However this hidden worry, had filled her with fear.

In this period, Shi Fu had been fatally poisoned to save her and had to feed on her blood to extend his life. All this had only served to further exacerbate the pent up emotions and feelings over all this years, and made it harder for her not to face her feelings.

After accompanying him all these years, how could she not understand Bai Zi Hua? If he found out about her despicable and shameless thoughts, she could not imagine the consequences.

However Ni Man Tian was now holding on to the evidence. She had pointed out Hua Qian Gu’s biggest secret in broad daylight.

Hua Qian Gu could almost hear all her blissful years of living in this crystal palace collapsing, her memories fading into tiny glass shards. Her Shi Fu’s caring love, the smiling faces of her friends — disappearing. What kinds of storm will her life face from now on.

Hua Qian Gu gave a bitter laugh and suddenly recalled how Dong Fang Yu Qing made a very apt comment when he saw that she had stopped growing —

Nobody can be a child forever.

Hua Qian Gu gave a light sigh and closed her eyes in despair.

She knew that she was wrong. She should not love him. However, how could she control her heart?

She only wanted desperately to hide it and to return the situation to how it once were. How great it would be If she really could be a child forever.

She only asked that everything remained unchanged.

Hua Qian Gu looked at Ni Man Tian and felt herself slowly calm down

Other than shock and fear, there was also a slight sense of release. After all, she had grown tired of keeping this secret all by herself. There would come a time when she could no longer keep it a secret….

“What do you want?” Hua Qian Gu’s entire face was ghastly white. Her entire body was so frail, it was like a leaf dancing in the wind.

Ni Man Tian cocked her head and laughed heartily. She never though that Hua Qian Gu would be so easily beaten. However, she felt angry when she saw how Hua Qian Gu could still keep calm when she had evidence against her.

“Yo. Shi Shu, you really are not sincere. Do you think I, Ni Man Tian is someone who will blackmail and extort? It just that I can’t stand how cocky you are and how you always love to attract attention! If Mo Yan Shi Zun knows about this, he will surely chase you out of the sect right? But if Shi Zun knows that the disciple he has been doting on harbours such thought, what kind of expression will he have?”

Hua Qian Gu felt a stab in her heart. She could not speak. Drop of sweat began rolling down her forehead.

“Just what do you want?”

Ni Man Tian looked at her hatefully. Her beautiful face looked especially frightening: “You owe this to me. Hua Qian Gu! I want you to kneel on the ground and beg me!”

Hua Qian Gu clenched her fist tight, and kneeled facing Ni Man Tian, her back ramrod straight.

“I beg you.”

Ni Man Tian was shocked still. She creased her eyebrows and stared at her. Then, she let out a huge laugh, her laughter, sharp and frightening.

“For?”

Hua Qian Gu lips lightly trembled: ” I beg you not to tell my Shi Fu……”

Ni Man Tian circled her and walked behind her, landing her foot on Hua Qian Gu’s straight back: “Don’t you have a lot of backbone? To think there would come a day that you would beg me?”

Hua Qian Gu’s expression remained unchanged.

Ni Man Tian hated that look on her face. Hua Qian Gu was already kneeling before her, yet she could still look so strong and proud.

“Hua Qian Gu!” She took two steps forward and pulled at her hair. “You competed with me so desperately to be Zun Shang’s disciple because you fell in love with him right?”

If not for her! If she did not fight with her, then today, she would be Zun Shang’s disciple! Then she and Luo Shi Yi would be in the same generation of disciples. Then they could legitimately be together and receive everyone’s blessings. However, because of Hua Qian Gu, she and Luo Shi Yi had become teacher and disciple.

At that time she was still young, and had just started to experience the first buds of love. She did not know anything. She only thought that since she liked him, she wanted to spend everyday with him. However, she did not expect that their teacher disciple relationship would become her biggest obstacle. It was only now did she realise what a big mistake she made! However, she could no longer do anything to remedy the situation. Overtime she saw Luo Shi Yi, Qiao Mu Qing Liu, Shuo Feng, Qing Shui drinking and eating happily together, she was mad with jealousy. Especially that stupid worm. Why was Luo Shi Yi so nice to it?

“If, If you and that worm did not appear……” Ni Man Tian clenched Hua Qian Gu’s neck with one hand.

Hua Qian Gu looked at her with pity. Ni Man Tian let go, took two steps back and started laughing.

Who was more pitiful? She thought that she was very pitiful. She did not expect that Hua Qian Gu would be more pitiful than her. Even though they were all in love with their teacher’s Zun Shang and Luo Shi Yi were on entirely different levels. She was definitely in greater despair.

“I can give this hankerchief to you. The Immortal’s Sword Meet is coming. I want you to lose to me.”

“I promise you.” Hua Qian Gu’s voice was icy cold. She remained kneeling, not moving a single inch.

Ni Man Tian nodded her head in satisfaction and came close to her, giving a beautiful smile: “Remember, from now on you are no longer my Shi Shu. You are just my dog!”

Hua Qian Gu was infuriated. She hit out at Ni Man Tian. Ni Man Tian smiled heartily, not even bothering to dodge. In the end, the palm strike stopped mid air.

Ni Man Tian waved the handkerchief in her hand and laughed heartily before turning around to leave.

Hua Qian Gu was so angry that her entire body was trembling. She strikes the ground with her palm, causing the entire surface to tremble.

May, this is heaven’s will……

Hua Qian Gu buried her face into her legs in despair, curling up into a ball int he corner. The house was pitch black, without a single lamp. At this moment, how she wished Tang Bao was beside her.

She patted her face and told herself to buck up. Shi Fu was now fatally poisoned and still needed her care.

She got up and ran to Shi Fu’s room.

“Shi Fu.” She lightly called, pushing the door and entering before she received an answer. Bai Zi Hua was gravely poisoned. His self-control was detonating. He had slowly begun to stop rejecting her blood.

She saw Bai Zi Hua quietly sitting on the bed, mediating. His face was entirely pale without a single trace of blood, like a beautfil ice sculpture.

Hua Qian Gu went close and stretched out her hand adeptly. Bai Zi Hua did not open his eyes. The tip of his nose brushed across her wrist. With a light bite, the fair translucent skin, like a thin sheet of paper tore open. Blood slowly seeped out like roses in full bloom, fragrance filling the air. Hua Qian Gu could only smell the smell of blood. But to Bai Zi Hua, he was like a caged beast, who only lusted after more blood.

However, he only drank a few mouthfuls before immediately pushing her away, afraid, that she would lose too much blood.

” Shi Fu? Are you better?” Hua Qian Gu used her sleeve to wipe the traces of blood at the corners of his mouth. She felt terrible for him. The usually ethereal Shi Fu had been reduced to this state because of her.

“Much better……” Bai Zi Hua patted her head. These days she had become much more pale and weak.

“How’s your preparation for the Immortal Sword’s Meet? Don’t slack off now that Shi Fu is not supervising you.”

Hua Qian Gu felt her chest tighten. Her expression unnatural, as she lowered her head.

“Your disciple has been obediently training hard. Shi Fu, you are poisoned so badly, are you still going to attend the meet? Surely Shi Bo and Shi Shu will detect something. If not, just tell them? Then everyone can think of a solution together!”

Bai Zi Hua shook his head: ” As the sect leader I must attend the meet. If news of my poisoning spreads, the immortal realm will be thrown into chaos. This poison has no cure. Even if they know, they will only worry for nothing.”

“But Lan Yu Lan Feng will surely tell Chun Qiu Bu Bai.”

“She will not. Yi Xiu Ge had done something to her, so that she cannot tell anyone. Otherwise, we would nt have let her off so easily.”

Hua Qian Gu nodded, somewhat understanding.: ” Shi Fu, I will help you treat your injury.” She transferred her internal energy to him as she said this.

Bai Zi Hua stopped her: ” Leave the internal energy for the Immortal Sword’s Meet. It is very late. Go back to your room and rest.”

Only on hearing this did Hua Qian Gu retreat to her room.

The day of the Immortal Sword’s Meet quickly arrived. Hua Qian Gu was waiting at Bai Zi Hua’s door.

“Xiao Gu, come in.”

“Yes, Shi Fu.” Hua Qian Gu walked in. Her eyes bags were huge as she had not slept well.

When she saw Bai Zi Hua’s long unbridled hair, she walked behind him and picked up the comb

“Shi Fu, let me!”

Bai Zi Hua nodded.

Hua Qian Gu’s small hands picked up his long hair. It was so smooth that it barely needed any combing. In a short while, it had been combed into a simple, pretty bun.

Bai Zi Hua looked into the mirror and suddenly remembered how clumsy she was when she first combed his hair. he felt his heart warm.

“Let’s go!”

“Shi Fu!” Hua Qian Gu walked before him and raised her arm.

“There’s no need Xiao Gu. It’s still awhile before the poison takes effect.” ”

“I am worried that Shi Fu cannot hold on any longer. I am afraid Shi Bo and the others will find out.”

Bai Zi Hua’s heart ached as he looked down to see her wrist covered in his teeth marks.

Hua Qian Gu quickly withdrew her hand and raised the other: “If not, change arms?”

Bai Zi Hua gently raised her left hand to his lips” “Your right hand needs to hold the sword in a while.”

It felt like the kiss of a butterfly as his icy lips softly pressed onto her wrist. Hua Qian Gu’s heart was thrown into chaos and she lowered her head not daring to look at him. Everytime, what she felt hardest to bear was the hurried hammering of her heart that came with the feeling of her blood rushing into his body.

After a while, Bai Zi Hua let go of her, his hand lightly brushing across her wrist, removing all traces of the wound.

A wave of grief swept over Hua Qian Gu. If he knew of her feelings, he would no longer be able to care for her like a child anymore.

She did not want SHi Fu to hate her. Hence, she would rather die than let him know.

The Immortal Sword’s Meet was going smoothly. On the high platform, Hua Qian Gu stood beside Bai Zi Hua. When she saw Ni Man Tian smiling smugly at her, she felt as though millions of ants were gnawing on her heart. 仙

Even though there were many people attending this year’s competition and the battles were very exciting, Hua Qian Gu was not in the mood to spectate.

Because Luo Shi Yi and the rest were now teachers themselves, they no longer needed to participate. Unsurprisingly, the final four in their category were Hua Qian Gu, Ni Man Tian, Shuo Feng and Yun Duan.

Hua Qian Gu wanted to duel with Shuo Feng first. Even if she lost to him, it was better than losing to Ni Man Tian. However, things always do not go as desired. Shuo Feng’s opponent was Yun Duan and she was up against Ni Man Tian.

She had to lose and she had to lose in such a way that nobody would find out something is amiss. This was a very big problem for Hua Qian Gu who was now much stronger than Ni Man Tian.

For the last few rounds of the competition, the arena had been widened. The contestants could now fly into the sky, enter the sea or even go underground.

Ni Man Tian stopped mid-air, holding a sword in each hand. The two faced off, each harbouring their own thoughts. Hua Qian Gu’s Duan Nian had not left its shaft for the entire duel. She did not want to sully the sword that Shi Fu had given her in such a duel.

They exchanged blows and even though she was no longer the Hua Qian Gu of the past, she still could not escape failure.

Shuo Feng, Luo Shi Yi and the rest quickly saw that she was holding back. Given her current powers, how could she dally so long with Ni Man Tian.

Hua Qian Gu felt very grieved. She glanced at Bai Zi Hua, knowing that he wanted to see for himself the fruits of all her years of training. However, she could only let him down.

The exchange of blows became more and more intense, and the two flew higher and higher. Huge vines sprang out from Ni Man Tian’s sword and trapped Hua Qian Gu securely. Layers and layers of vines then encapsulated the two of them in a giant green sphere, blocking them from the view of the spectators.

“Time to surrender?” Ni Man Tian laughed devilishly. After seeing how Hua Qian Gu’s blood had destroyed the Bi Luo Sword the previous time, she formed a sharp icicle in her right hand. Hua Qian Gu stood there dazed and simply let the icicle pierce her abdomen. A wave of grief swept over her heart. So it was going to end the same way!

Ni Man Tian laughed heartily. How could she miss a chance like this. She reached out and struck Hua Qian Gu’s body a few times with her palm, severing a few tendons and veins in an instant.

Seeing that Hua Qian Gu did not even make a single sound, she grinded her teeth in anger.

“To think that you are actually so deeply in love with Zun Shang. I am going to be touched to death…” Ni Man Tian said this entirely with in a secret code, so that the others could not hear it. As she said this, she pierced another icicle through Ni Man Tian.

“What an obedient dog. It’s been a long time since someone had made me so happy. What should I call you? What should I do with that stinking worm that harasses my Shi Fu everyday?”

Hua Qian Gu felt her body tremble with rage when she heard this. She raised her head and glared at Ni Man Tian in anger.

Ni Man Tian felt her heart shiver under her piercing gaze and she angrily pierced the third icicle into her abdomen. However, it was shattered by Hua Qian Gu.

Ni Man Tian could not help but start to feel afraid: “Don’t forget. I still have a hold over you!”

Hua Qian Gu only stared at her with a gaze so deep it was unfathomable.

She, had never killed anyone before.

It was so high and there was a barrier around. People below them could not see anything. Even if Ni Man Tian died, she could pretend it was an accident during the duel. Even if they wanted to punish her, she would gladly accept it as long as she could get rid of this person. If she did not do this, she would be subject to NI Man Tian’s never-ending  threats and blackmail. She knew Ni Man Tian too well……

Suddenly, Hua Qian Gu’s eyes glinted with murderous intent. She stretched out wards NI Man Tian’s chest, planning to kill her while destroying her Xu Ding.

– – Her most important secret, must never be revealed.

However, just before her hand penetrated Ni Man Tian’s chest, a giant wave of light from afar hammered hard on her chest. Hua Qian Gu’s committed a huge mouthful of blood and crashed hard on the ground, unable to get up.

Before she or anyone else could react, a white figure has already appeared before her.

Hua Qian Gu quickly raised her head: “Shi……”

A heavy slap landed on her face, sending Hua Qian Gu flying back a few metres. Hua Qian Gu spat yet another mouthful of blood.

“Shi Fu……” she struggled to get up and kneeled fearfully, her entire body quivered in fear. She did not dare to even raise her head.

The few thousand spectators presents were all shocked. They completely had not idea what happened. What was even stranger was that they had never seen Bai Zi Hua so angry that he actually hit his own disciple on the spot.

Ni Man Tian’s back was covered in cold sweat, her legs trembling slightly. She was still unsure what had happened back there. She only knew that if Zun Shang had not intervened, she would have died by Hua Qian Gu’s hand.

Bai Zi Hua stared at his trembling disciple who was kneeling before him. His lips were bloodless and face steeled, however his gaze was filled with an unsuppressed anger.

He turned around with a sweep of his sleep and flew straight back to Jue Qing Dian.

Hua Qian Gu’s entire face quickly swelled up, a tiny smear of blood at the corner of her lips. Her entire mind was in a daze. Qing Shui hurriedly rushed over, hugging her tight and trying to shake her to her senses. However Hua Qian Gu just sat there in shock.

“Shi Fu……” as though she had woken up from a dream, she quickly flew to Jue Qing Dian, ignoring any opposition from everyone.

Ni Man Tian could not hide her joy as she saw Hua Qian Gu’s disappearing figure. She would surely be the champion this time. To make Zun Shang so angry, Hua Qian Gu was in for it. Such a conclusion wasn’t bad at all.

It was just that… she wiped the cold sweat on her forehead and felt a chill in her heart. The gaze that Hua Qian Gu had earlier was too frightening.

“Shi Fu, I was wrong. Shi Fu, I was wrong. Shi Fu I was wrong….”

Hua Qian Gu kneeled outside Bai Zi Hua’s door, kowtowing her head in an almost deranged manner. For every apology she made, she would knock her head against the icy floor once. Quickly her forehead was a mess of blood and flesh. Together with her abdomen that had been pierced by the icicle, the entire ground was covered with her blood.

In his room, Bai Zi Hua’s emotions and internal energy ran amok. He raised the tea cup to his lip, and he fought hard to control his trembling. Before the tea reached his mouth, the cup had already been crushed to dust in his hand.

What a good disciple he had taught! To think that she would resort to such despicable means just to win a tiny Immortal Sword’s Meet. She actually wanted to kill her fellow disciple. How vicious.

To think all these years of careful grooming and teaching raised such an abomination!

For a few hundred years, he had never been so angry before. He did not know whether it was disappointment. If he really could not change her personality or fate, and she was going to be a bane to the world, why not just kill her now.

She had learnt everything from him. When he was dead, who could stop her?

When he thought of this, his hand started to tremble slightly, his palm burning. How could he feel good after hitting her so hard?

For the past century, he had yet to lose control like this before. It looks like the poisoning had became more and more serious. He was close to losing his immortal body.

Hua Qian Gu was still crying and begging him desperately outside. However he sat on his bed like an ice sculpture, not moving a single inch.

Outside, the wind was howling and dark clouds had gathered. In a moment, huge raindrops started falling. Hua Qian Gu had shouted herself hoarse, her small, skinny body was soaked to the bone and looked as though she would collapse at any moment. Yet, she continued kowtowing, bow by bow, just that each bow was slower than each bow.

The heavy rain carried on for one day and one night and she kowtowed for one and day and one night. She fainted a few times in the rain and when she awoke she got up and continued kowtowing. She only wanted Shi Fu to forgive her.

Her blood flowed with the rain into the courtyard, even the peach blossom tree which had bloomed for a thousand years had wilted overnight.

It was only until Shen Xiao Mo came up to Jue Qing Dian to find Bai Zi Hua, that the unconscious Hua Qian Gu who had passed out in the rain was found and carried into her room. That door did not open again.