The Blood of Youth – CH 034

Chapter 34: A Flight of Dragons without a Head Appears

The three people held their breaths at the same time.

One copper coin fell on the table first.

“Nüwa face.” The page boy clenched his fists.

The second copper coin also fell and revealed its face.

“Nüwa face.” The page boy’s breathing became more and more anxious.

The third copper coin fell on the table, but it continued to rotate in place, as if it were not in a hurry to reveal this odd divination of a hexagram. However, a moment later, when the copper coin finally slowed down and appeared to be stopping, a hand suddenly reached out and covered it. The face of the copper coin had revealed itself, but it was blocked by that hand.

The page boy looked up, his head covered with sweat. “Why?”

Xiao Se still had that look of utter indifference, and he returned a lazy smile. “Right now, this hexagram divination has only two outcomes. I would like to ask, Mister, if this is a face of yin, how would you resolve it? And if it’s a face of yang, how would you resolve that?”

The page boy calmed down, not eager to look at the hexagram as he replied, “If it’s still the yin face, then it’s six lines of greater yin. If all six lines are lines of change, then the hexagram becomes ‘all nine,’ and a flight of dragons without a head appears.”

“Oh?” Xiao Se smiled slightly. “Is that adverse or auspicious?”

“Most auspicious,” The page boy said slowly. “All under Heaven is governed together, a flight of dragons without a leader. When the time comes for the one who waits, he will transform into a dragon and fly straight for the Ninth Heaven.”

“What if it’s the face of Fuxi?” Xiao Se continued to ask.

The page boy sighed. “The dragons battle in the wild, and the blood that flows is black and yellow.”

Xiao Se did not continue to ask but uttered a soft “Oh.”

“Hey, why did the weather change suddenly?” The waiter walked out of the teahouse and looked up at the sky. Some time ago, the sky had become overcast with dark clouds, and a rolling thunder could be heard.

The scholar clenched his fists, and the peach wood sword on the scholar’s back began trembling, as if it was about to fly out any time.

“Most adverse hexagram.” The page boy continued to explain, “The Azure Dragon’s Seven Mansions are coming, and the conflict between yin and yang will bring forth a fierce war. The dragons battle and die in the wild, and blood will flow for 30,000 miles.”

“Boom!” A clap of thunder resounded loudly from the sky.

“Alright,” Xiao Se declared loudly, and with an abrupt swing of his hand, he flung the coin far away.

Most adverse or most auspicious, no one will ever know the result.

The dark clouds dissipated instantly, and the blast of thunder seemed like an illusion. The sun was shining once again, leaving the waiter standing outside, his face full of bewilderment. “This weather… changes really fast.”

“Why?” The scholar didn’t understand.

Xiao Se collected the other two coins and placed them back into the bamboo tube. “I’ve never believed in Heavenly Law or whatever, only in myself. It’s just that last night, I felt a fleeting doubt and wondered if I should make a decision. But I didn’t have the courage, so in my cowardice, I thought I could ask Heavenly Law for a sign. Then, just now, my thoughts became clear, so this fortune doesn’t matter anymore, nor is it important.”

The page boy kept his bamboo tube quietly, his expression calm. After a while, he suddenly knelt on both knees and cried out, “Thank you!”

“It wasn’t just for you.” Xiao Se chuckled. “If I really caused Qingcheng Mountain to lose eight-tenths of its Heaven’s fortune, I’m afraid that Zhao Yuzhen will bring his peach wood sword and chop off my head.”

The page boy exhaled a sigh. “It was Fei Xuan who couldn’t see past my ego.” He knew in his heart that if Xiao Se hadn’t ended the divination when he did, the lightning and thunder earlier would probably have struck him.

Just then, a sudden exclamation echoed from the city. “Miss Sikong is back!” Following the shout, there was a flurry of activity as many roadside vendors immediately took down their stalls and started running away in a hurry.

“Miss Sikong is back!” The cries of alarm repeated again and again until the entire Lower Pass City seemed to be echoing with the same proclamation.

The waiter from the teahouse walked over, his expression bitter, as he attempted to get rid of his last customers—Xiao Se and the priests.

Xiao Se glared at him. “My friend has gone to the tower and will soon return. Do you really have to take down the stall right now?”

The waiter wavered because the news had just arrived that the youth in red had already passed the thirteenth floor and was on his way up to the next floor. Presumably, he would become someone important in Snow Moon City in the future. How could he afford to provoke him? He wouldn’t dare to offend him. On the other hand, there was Miss Sikong…

Seeing the waiter’s hesitation as he faced this predicament, Xiao Se put down his teacup and stood up.

“Young master, what are you going to do?” The scholar looked out of the teahouse.

“The person in the tower owes me eight hundred taels, so I’m going to give him a hand to reach that sixteenth floor.” Xiao Se walked out of the teahouse and stood in the middle of the street. Then, he turned to face the direction where a black-colored horse was coming from the end of the street. Riding the horse was a girl dressed in black, a long, dark golden spear in her hand. She possessed an extraordinary spirit, and in some ways, she resembled someone Xiao Se met quite recently—Spear Immortal, Sikong Changfeng.

“I only left the city for half a day, and you guys let someone reach the thirteenth floor? You bunch of useless trash!” The girl scolded angrily.

A retainer riding another horse, following closely behind her, replied, “They said he’s already passed the thirteenth floor, and right now, he’s heading up to the fourteenth floor.”

“Whose turn is it to guard the fourteenth floor today?” The girl blinked in surprise.

“I think it’s the young miss,” the retainer replied.

The girl whipped her horse furiously. “If that guy doesn’t see anyone in the tower, wouldn’t he think that I’m scared of him? Ride!” However, the woman looked up and noticed that there was still a teahouse open on the main street, when it should have long been emptied of people. Right in front of the shop, a man in blue robes stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves as he yawned to himself.

Although this girl was notorious in Lower Pass City for being rude and unreasonable, she was not an evil person. She was not going to ride her horse to trample someone to death. She hurriedly pulled on her reins and cursed, “Who the heck? Are you tired of living?”

Xiao Se raised his head and looked at the girl in black, a small smile on his face.

The girl in black was taken aback for a moment. She thought to herself how there could be such a good-looking man in the world and found herself caught in a daze. After a while, the retainer beside her had to remind her, “Miss, if we don’t hurry and get to the Tower of Ascension, I’m afraid that fellow is going to climb straight to the fifteenth floor.”

The girl in black collected herself and pointed her spear at Xiao Se. “Who are you? Why are you standing in my way?”

Xiao Se did not answer but eyed the spear thoughtfully. “Daughter of the Spear Immortal?”

“I don’t give a damn about your spear or whatever immortal or daughter of whoever. This missy is Sikong Qianluo, and I’m asking you, why are you standing in my way?” The girl in black was getting annoyed, and she seemed to be very sensitive at being called Daughter of the Spear Immortal.

Xiao Se turned around and pointed vaguely at the Tower of Ascension. “The one climbing the tower is my friend.”

“You’re thinking of delaying me here?” Sikong Qianluo leaped off her horse and drew a spear flower in challenge.

But the man in blue robes had disappeared.

“That’s right.” Suddenly a voice sounded right next to Sikong Qianluo’s ear, and a warm breath blew past her earlobe. She was startled, and the spear in her hand flew out, but the man in blue robes retreated once again, stopping about one zhang away.

“Little shishu, didn’t you say that this person doesn’t know any martial arts?” The page boy had been observing the scene, and his eyes widened with disbelief.

The scholar chuckled awkwardly. “That’s not martial arts. Clearly, it’s lightness skill.”

“Which lightness skill?” The page boy asked.

“The number one lightness skill under Heaven, Cloud Step!” The scholar swallowed a gulp.

On the thirteenth floor of the Tower of Ascension, Lei Wujie sat on the floor with his eyes closed, regulating his breath. Although the tower guardian suffered quite heavy injuries, he wasn’t in a hurry to treat his wounds. He retrieved the dice that had been scattered earlier. “What’s your name?”

“Lei Wujie. I announced my name three times when I first came in.” Lei Wujie smiled with his eyes still closed.

“Hmph. You may have defeated me, but you still have to pay me back the silver you owe me,” The tower guardian scoffed. “I lost this gamble. When I get back, that old woman is going to mock me for a long time.”

“Your mother?” Lei Wujie completed regulating his energy and opened his eyes.

“My shifu, Yin Luoxia. This troublesome woman said that she doesn’t care if I lose to anyone with my martial arts, but I’m not allowed to lose in gambling. Having such a shifu is a real pain in the head.” The tower guardian scratched his head, looking aggrieved.

“Yin Luoxia? Luoxia Fairy? One palm strike to break a river on the shore of Canglan River, that Luoxia Fairy?” Lei Wujie’s eyes lit up. Luoxia Fairy was an immortal-like being, and for more than a decade, she had ranked on the list of beauties compiled by some busybodies in the martial world.

“She’s already in her thirties, fairy my ass. What’s the big deal about breaking a river with one palm strike? It’s not even the Yangzi River or the Yellow River. Why are you worshipping her as if she hung the moon? I’m telling you, she’s just an old woman…” As the tower guardian was babbling, suddenly, a gentle female voice sounded, “Mingxuan.”

Lei Wujie looked all around, but he didn’t see anyone.

“Mingxuan, come to Sunset Pavilion.” The female voice sounded again, and Lei Wujie suddenly realized that although the voice seemed to be right next to his ears, it was actually coming from a long distance away.

The tower guardian’s face sank, and he looked like he was about to cry. He sighed heavily, and with a leap, he jumped out of the tower. Right before he left, he turned his head and said to Lei Wujie, “My name is Luo Mingxuan. We’ll see each other again real soon, and the next time we gamble, I won’t be losing.”

“What an interesting person.” Lei Wujie picked up his package that he’d laid on the floor and continued to climb up the stairs. When he reached the fourteenth floor, the tower was deserted. Nobody was here. He frowned slightly and searched his surroundings warily. There was really no one on the fourteenth floor. There could only be one explanation, and that was the tower guardian on this floor had hidden themself. A person of such skill may appear anytime and take his life with one move.

“Break!” Lei Wujie yelled furiously, and he released his qi in all directions. However, apart from stirring the dust, there were no other movements. After a long time, he finally convinced himself that there wasn’t some master assassin hiding in the dark, and the fourteenth floor was just an empty floor. So now, should he go straight to the fifteenth floor? Lei Wujie considered his options for a while and decided to sit down on the floor.

A quarter of an hour later, there was still no movement on the fourteenth floor. Lei Wujie finally stood up, brushed off the dust on his clothes, and headed for the stairs to the fifteenth floor. However, just as he stood up, he realized there was someone standing in front of him.

He was dressed in black with a tall and sturdy physique. On his face was a smile that carried a hint of humor.

He was someone that Lei Wujie was very familiar with. Someone with whom he had gone through a life-and-death experience together.

“Da-shixiong!” Lei Wujie’s eyes were wet with emotion.

Tang Lian nodded. “You’re finally here. Who would have thought that when we met again, it’d be under such circumstances?”