Chapter 66: The Companions

Song Zining retrieved an exquisitely crafted crystal box, divided into four compartments. Half of the compartments were empty, while the other two held a withered leaf each. The inner lid was inscribed with two lines of small characters: “One leaf can herald the arrival of autumn, one leaf can obscure the vision.”

He picked out a withered leaf and added a few drops of Qian Ye’s blood onto it. As he released it, the withered leaf did not fall but instead rose, floating in the air, suddenly transforming into countless glowing points that rained down like a shower of meteors!

In this dazzling and ephemeral moment, Qian Ye felt as if something had struck the world from the depths of the unknown. When he looked around, it seemed as if the entire universe had transformed, appearing like a dreamy beauty with a sense of immense awe and dread, as if the veil of reality had finally been lifted to reveal a genuine corner of the world.

The light rain, like shooting stars, shone brilliantly for a brief moment before fading into silence. Qian Ye’s blood condensed into a mist, finally forming three streams of blood energy: one dark red, one eerie purple, and the last a faint golden shadow.

Song Zining’s face suddenly turned pale, his aura rapidly weakening, making him appear much more feeble. He looked at the ordinary dark red blood energy, reaching out to grab it. The blood energy began to struggle wildly, splitting into several fine threads, but eventually vanished in futility. The purple blood energy seemed to be affected, disappearing almost simultaneously.

Song Zining said thoughtfully, “You see, that dark red blood energy is the source of the blood force, and it is also the standard we use to determine whether someone is a member of the Blood Race. Under normal circumstances, it should coalesce into a clan symbol, indicating the lineage.” He flicked his fingers, and the illusion of the madly writhing dark red blood energy reappeared. This time, the several fine threads twisted and entangled, eventually forming a symbol of a castle under the moon.

Qian Ye exhaled, feeling a cold sweat on his back. Only now did he realize how lucky he had been to pass the test of General Du, Qiqi’s guardian, so easily.

Song Zining still gazed at the remaining faint golden shadow, saying, “Since you haven’t undergone the initial embrace, there is no clan symbol in your blood energy. However, the blood force still exists. It has remained undetected because of this… oh, what is this, blood energy or ability?” He reached out, tapped the shadow, and the golden blood energy dissipated, turning into innumerable, barely visible glowing points that floated in the air, refusing to disperse for a long time.

Qian Ye smiled bitterly, uncertainly, “Blood energy?”

Song Zining, having considered everything, then said to Qian Ye, “Regardless of what it is, it is effective. You are different from ordinary people, and this will eventually be noticed. Yin Qiqi brought you to the Spring Hunt, and the Yin family must have already tested your talents, but your unique constitution rendered the usual methods ineffective. Now, aside from the Great Derivation Heaven’s Secrets and the Imperial Court’s few secret techniques, there’s nothing to worry about, at least not in the Tianxuan Hunting Grounds, where no one possesses such abilities.”

“But you’ve attracted too much attention during this Spring Hunt. Rather than being repeatedly probed and questioned, it would be better to actively show them something.” Song Zining’s hand swept through the air, and the golden points of light continued to float. “Look, this is the answer I prepared for them. If this is kept on display, it will likely be mistaken for a natural talent.”

Qian Ye’s eyes lit up; this might be a better solution than hiding his bloodline. If others could not uncover his secret, they would pay even more attention to him. “What kind of natural talent is similar to this?”

Song Zining suddenly smirked, “If even you don’t know, your reaction when others discover it will seem more authentic!”

Qian Ye was taken aback. Clearly, Song Zining had a plan in mind, but he didn’t intend to share it. However, the expression on the seventh son of the Song family ruined his elegant and refined image, overlapping surprisingly with memories of his time with Huangquan.

At that moment, the endless falling leaves around them suddenly became chaotic, with a few rising off the ground and creating a small whirlwind.

Song Zining straightened his expression, saying, “Your savior is about to arrive.” He knelt beside Qian Ye, carefully examining the wound on his chest and abdomen, and said, “Your physical constitution has indeed changed significantly. This old wound looks much shallower on the surface. Remember, never tell anyone that this is an old wound.”

Qian Ye’s expression changed slightly, his mouth opened, but a thousand thoughts jumbled together, leaving him unsure of what to ask.

Song Zining’s gaze fell on the silver necklace around Qian Ye’s neck and said indifferently, “The crown prince of the Weibo Marquis of the Wei family in the Far East is no fool. I need to leave first.”

With that, he stood up and walked away, his figure blurring as he stepped out of the area of falling leaves and then disappeared.

The falling leaves and petals ceased abruptly, dispersing as if they had never existed. Qian Ye’s mind was in turmoil after Song Zining’s last two statements, with countless past events rushing to the forefront of his mind.

Not far away, in the dense forest, a heated argument broke out, one of the voices being familiar—Qiqi.

After a few words, a loud explosion was heard, and a massive fireball slowly rose from the forest, toppling over a dozen trees. A figure was pushed out of the forest by the shockwave, crashing to the ground, motionless.

It was a family guard, half-burned and lying motionless, clearly in grave danger. The other voices in the argument had also completely disappeared.

Qiqi emerged from the forest, her face icy, holding a force gun nearly as tall as she was. The thick barrel made it more fitting to call it a hand cannon.

The dead guard blocked Qiqi’s path, and she kicked him away with a thud.

As Qiqi emerged from the forest, she saw Qian Ye, who was half-sitting, half-lying on the hillside, and finally smiled, asking, “Are you still alive?”

Qian Ye turned to look at her and smiled bitterly, “Barely.”

Qiqi sighed, “Showing off! I don’t really care about being the first in the Spring Hunt.”

Qian Ye shook his head, “No, I did it for myself. The Zhao family wanted to kill me, and I just retaliated. Helping you score some points was just a bonus.”

Qiqi’s smile froze, and she raised the terrifying-looking force gun, pretending to be angry, “You really don’t know how to talk! If I had known, I wouldn’t have come to save you and let you fend for yourself. Hmm, should I just shoot you? Otherwise, I can’t swallow this anger!”

Before Qian Ye could respond, another sound of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the dense forest, with someone approaching quickly.

Qiqi’s expression turned grim, and she immediately turned and crouched, firing a shot in the direction of the sound!

A fireball shot out from the gun, exploded into the forest, and shattered the trees. Amidst the center of the explosion, a person, covered in flames, staggered out.

His yellowish earth force light flashed continuously, finally extinguishing the flames, but leaving behind large patches of burn marks. He immediately roared upon seeing Qiqi, “Yin Qiqi, what exactly are you trying to do? Do you want to fight?”

Qiqi covered her mouth, extremely surprised and embarrassed. It was actually Wei Potian.

“What are you doing here?” Qiqi asked, completely forgetting that she had sent someone to the Wei camp for help.

Wei Potian, without hesitation, replied, “Of course, I’m here… to save you! Who knows what goes through that scatterbrained head of yours?”

Qiqi looked at Qian Ye, then at Wei Potian, and it would have been strange if she didn’t notice his unusual behavior, “You know each other?”

Wei Potian, maintaining his composure, replied fluently, “We had a drink together a long time ago. We’re a bit acquainted.”

Qiqi, intrigued, asked, “Acquainted? What kind of acquaintance makes you so eager?”

Wei Potian, annoyed, his face darkened, “What are you talking about at a time like this! Qiqi, are you using Qian Ye as a decoy? All you do is barbecue and spring outings! If you don’t want to do the right thing, don’t hold me back. If the Yin family doesn’t want him, give him to me!”

Qiqi’s expression changed, and she turned to look at Qian Ye, suppressing her anger, “You! Fine, Wei Potian, wait for me. I won’t bother you today, but after the Spring Hunt, I’ll teach you how to talk to me.”

Ignoring Wei Potian, Qiqi walked directly towards Qian Ye. Wei Potian scratched his head, realizing the situation was a bit different from what he had expected. Qiqi had apparently broken through the encirclement to get here. She hadn’t used the giant force gun in a long time.

Wei Potian, at a loss for words, followed Qiqi to Qian Ye.

Qiqi strode to Qian Ye, huffed, and coldly said, “Hmph! Your trouble, and I end up getting scolded for it! Stand up, stop pretending to be dead. Pretending won’t help!”

She grabbed Qian Ye’s arm, intending to pull him up. But as she applied a little force, she froze, her gaze sweeping over Qian Ye, her breathing suddenly becoming heavy.

Qian Ye smiled bitterly, “I’m not pretending, I’m really close to dying.”

Qiqi, silent, knelt down, placing her hand on Qian Ye’s chest, channeling force into him until his pale face regained some color and his breathing stabilized. By then, Qiqi was pale, beads of sweat forming on her nose.

Wei Potian, panicking, was helpless. His Thousand Mountains technique was useless for healing, while the Yin family’s Water Moon Flow Cloud technique had both healing and fighting capabilities.

As he watched, Qiqi’s giant force gun suddenly appeared, smashing down towards him.

“Hold it!” Qiqi shouted.

Wei Potian instinctively caught it, then, realizing what he had done, rolled his eyes, “Why should I listen to a woman?”

Qiqi helped Qian Ye up, hoisting him onto her back, and glared at Wei Potian, “If you keep fussing, I’ll beat you ten times to the brink of death when we get back!”

Qiqi led the way, Wei Potian following, cradling her weapon like a dutiful attendant. However, Wei Potian was very unhappy with this role, muttering, “You can’t break my Thousand Mountains anymore!”

“First, I’ll have Qian Ye break your shell, then I’ll deal with you. How about that?”

“That’s not fair!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the man who breaks the sky? Can’t even handle a girl’s challenge?”

Wei Potian opened his mouth, wanting to retort, “Qiqi, are you even a girl?” but he swallowed the words.