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071 - Birds of a Feather
🕑 Added 2024-08-26 15:26:25 +0000 UTCQin Yun's voice echoed off the plaza's stones, and silence reigned momentarily. Everyone held their breaths, wondering who would show up, yet no one rose to claim attendance. Qin Yun just looked upwards and sighed before turning to the woman in red.
"I've just realized I never asked you your name." Qin Yun asked, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere and the mocking gazes thrown his way. "I suspect I have no need to introduce myself."
The woman frowned, feeling slightly displeased. Yet, as she looked at her disciple, seeing how perfect her skin now was, she couldn’t help but relent.
“Feng Yanmei...” she said, yet her displeasure was apparent. “Considering your relationship with Jingfei, I’ll allow you to call me that.”
"As expected," Qin Yun replied, yet his voice was barely audible. Yun Jingfei seemed to recognize his tone but held her tongue, knowing she would get an answer soon enough.
"Feng Xia! You have nothing to fear," Qin Yun added, his voice being carried to every part of the plaza, drowning the heavy silence that hung over the audience. "There's nobody here stupid enough to try anything with an expert like Miss Feng Yanmei here to protect you."
Qin Yun then glanced at the woman in red, showing a slight smile. Feng Yanmei looked back at him, her displeasure ever more apparent, yet she could only relent when she saw her disciple plead her with her eyes.
“As long as I am here, I swear that no harm will come to you,” Fen Yanmei said, now somehow interested in where this was all going. “If someone here dares to seek to harm you, they will have to contend with the full might of the Immortal Phoenix Sect.”
Gasps could be heard in the audience as people recoiled backwards, unwilling to involve themselves in whatever was poised to happen. In fact, quite a few chose to leave entirely, even forsaking the auction that was supposed to take place. After all, their lives were worth much more than whatever trinkets they could acquire. They didn't possess the strength to involve themselves in a situation the Immortal Phoenix Sect was part of.
After hearing those words, a small head of red and orange peeked out of the building's threshold, calmly scrutinizing the woman in red. Feng Yanmei looked back only to frown. Then, her eyes widened in bewilderment. Feng Xia's eyes did the same; consternation and puzzlement were evident.
With a slight nod from Qin Yun, Feng Xia finally emerged, showing her usual orange dress. Lian Huiling stood behind her, as did her uncle and aunt. Qin Yun's eyebrow rose slightly as he gazed at those two, yet soon ignored the duo. They were inconsequential in his plans.
Feng Xia walked down the stairs as the auction house's patrons gave way, parting on both sides. Qin Yun's gaze was riveted on the city lord, yet as expected, the man seemed to have no interest in the little bird coming their way. He couldn't help but ponder that man's motives in all this. What did he hope to gain?
Feng Xia stopped before the woman in red, her orange dress slightly fluttering in the wind. They both looked at each other but said no words. Yun Jingfei seemed to want to introduce them, yet Qin Yun gently stopped her, only watching how things played out.
Feng Xia's eyes were somewhat hazy as she looked at the woman, almost as if she was lost in memories. She opened her mouth a few times but couldn't find the words. Her indecision was apparent, just as Feng Yanmei seemed confused by the situation, but also a strange feeling rising in her heart.
This was obviously their first meeting, yet she felt a connection to this teenage girl, almost as if they were long-lost relatives who had just found each other again. Of course, Feng Yanmei wouldn't act on such an unclear motive before fully knowing the underlying matter. She could only turn to Qin Yun, the instigator, to know the true scope of what he hoped to achieve. However, Feng Xia beat her to the punch.
“It's faint, but you feel familiar..." Feng Xia said, her mind still swimming in nostalgia. Feng Yanmei saw tears welling in the corner of the teenage girl's eyes as several emotions flashed on her face. She felt her own emotions stir in response before the girl in the orange dress added as she looked toward Qin Yun, "Why do I have this feeling?"
“Why ask me when you already know the answer?" Qin Yun shrugged, prompting Yun Jingfei to try to pinch his arm. Yet all she found was the sturdiness of metal.
She frowned, then rolled up Qin Yun’s sleeve only to reveal the mechanical arm hidden beneath. She turned to him, her expression grim, yet Qin Yun placed two fingers on her lips, letting her questions be stuck in her throat.
“Just follow your heart,” Qin Yun added as he looked back toward Feng Xia. “You know better than anyone what this feeling is. I just made a guess based on the evidence I saw, but it seemed I didn’t see wrongly.”
Feng Xia nodded and turned back to face the woman in red. She tilted her head as she pondered, yet this evoked strange emotions in Feng Yanmei's heart. She couldn't help but think of Feng Xia as the cutest thing, just as when she first met Yun Jingfei.
As a Soul Formation cultivator, she could feel the hidden hands of fate all around her. Their meeting was no coincidence, even if she didn't know for what reason this all happened. She couldn't help but look back toward Qin Yun, only to see him shrug as if he knew her concerns. She frowned and made a point of remaining wary of this man before she turned back toward Feng Xia, only to be stunned by what happened next.
Despite having her domain surrounding her at all times, Feng Yanmei felt the young woman in an orange dress pass through it as if it didn't even exist and embrace her body. She was stunned by how easily she had been approached despite consistently keeping her guard up. Cold sweat soaked the back of her dress as she realized that if this young woman had wished her harm at that moment, she wouldn't have discovered it.
Fortunately, none of that seemed to have happened. In fact, the sense of kinship only grew more substantial, and the urge to dislodge herself from her embrace slowly faded away. She couldn't help but embrace her back despite her better judgment. It was as if something deep within her psyche controlled her every action.
Qin Yun looked at all this with a smug expression, probably the only one who realized the underlying reason for this behaviour. Even the city lord, who seemed to have everything in his hands, seemed slightly taken aback, as did Yun Jingfei.
“What’s happening?” she asked, taken aback by her master’s odd behaviour.
I have a favour to ask, senior," he said to the woman in red. She looked back at him, seemingly at a loss, yet Qin Yun ignored her helpless demeanour before adding, "This isn't something that should be spread around."
As if only now realizing his meaning, Feng Yanmei nodded before a slight ethereal flame emerged from her body, propagating outward and engulfing everything in its path. Yet no harm came to them. In fact, even as it passed right through his body, Qin Yun couldn't even feel its heat or existence, yet he could feel as if space had shifted slightly.
This was her domain of flames, where she ruled supreme. Unless one possessed a similar or greater domain, one would have no way to disobey its owner's will, much less escape from it. It also doubled as a barrier, shielding them from prying eyes, as Feng Yanmei could prevent sounds and light from escaping the estranged world she had created. It made for the perfect privacy feature, except for a tiny problem.
Beyond the boundary, Sun Yang looked at the group with a slight smile. Feng Yanmei frowned as she raised her hand, preparing to dispense some much-needed punishment for this intrusion, yet Qin Yun stopped her.
"There's no point," he said. "He'll know sooner or later. Nothing can escape his eyes as long as you remain in this city. The formation he is in charge of was built that way."
Feng Yanmei's eyes narrowed slightly, yet she lowered her hand. Qin Yun's words made a significant impact on her resolve. If possible, she didn't wish to be this man's opponent—at least not while in the confines of this city. In fact, she couldn't wait to leave this forsaken place and return to her sect for some much-needed rest. Still, she wouldn't do so without her disciple in tow.
"Speak," Feng Yanmei said, yet Qin Yun couldn't help but chuckle at her response. She had lost most of the shock and awe she displayed as she arrived, and now she looked nothing more than an embarrassed individual trying to save face. Seeing her so vulnerable after how stoic and unyielding she had been as she first presented herself made her seem much more endearing—much more human.
“Let me ask, how much do you know of your genealogy?” Qin Yun asked the woman in red.
“What does this have to do with anything?" Yun Jingfei replied, yet for the first time, there seemed to be a hint of realization in her master's eyes.
“I’m sure you’ve felt as if you’ve just met a long-lost relative,” Qin Yun added. “For your information, Feng Xia, the girl in your arms, isn’t human but a spirit called a Paradise Bird. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Feng Yanmei’s gaze was locked onto Qin Yun as her fingers glided within Feng Xia’s hair, unconsciously stroking her head. She didn’t even realize she was doing so until her disciple pointed it out.
“Master told me she has no recollection of her parents." Yun Jingfei explained as she knew her master would be reluctant to say as much to a stranger like Qin Yun. Yun Jingfei had no such reservations. She knew Qin Yun wouldn't pry as he did without a good reason. "She told me she had been found as a baby near the foot of the Immortal Phoenix Sect by the Sect Leader a long time ago. The only thing that could point to her origins was a blanket depicting the shadow of a bird and a set of hazy memories."
“Did she ever try to find out her origins?" Qin Yun asked, but before Yun Jingfei could reply, Feng Yanmei sighed but then spoke of her own volition. These events were so long ago that she had mostly put them behind her. Still, if her disciple thought this was important for her recovery, she would dredge up the memories she had once buried. After all, she owed her that much.
“The sect leader and I tried long ago, yet nothing came of it. After all, how much can an ordinary blanket tell me about my origins? We only know that whoever left me there wasn't ordinary, as this was within the boundary of the sect's protection formation. To bypass it without activating it would take someone close to achieving immortality at least."
“I thought as much,” Qin Yun said as he sighed. “Nothing is ever simple. I can’t just marry a girl and lead a simple life. There’s always some hidden mystery to be uncovered everywhere as if guiding us to a predetermined destination... what are the odds?”
Qin Yun burst out laughing, to the bewilderment of the group. Even Yun Jingfei was stunned, as this type of overflowing emotion was rare for him. Still, she found this wholly inadequate for the situation and chose to bring him back to reality.
"Don't leave us in suspense, I'm sure you've noticed something. Out with it."
Qin Yun regained his calm yet retained a slight smile. He turned toward Feng Xia and addressed her.
"I'm sure that after all this time, you must have noticed. After all, the two of you are closely related. She's a phoenix, right? At least, one of her parents was."
Yun Jingfei and Feng Yanmei were both stunned. Their mouths hung open slightly. They had many questions yet were unable to verbalize them. They could only turn to Feng Xia for confirmation. The young bird only nodded slightly before burying her head back into Feng Yanmei's bosom. Silence hung in the air as the master and disciple duo tried to process what had happened, only to see Qin Yun smile as if he had expected all of this.
Comments
Arden Burrell
Fun Chapter. I like that the story is leaning into the MC's fate being messed up.
Irakli Jishkariani
So jingfei couldn't keep up or heaven punished her because she tried phoenix cultivation
