Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  For a young child at the tender age of five years old it truly scared her to be sent away from her caring mother, and she had chosen life as a boy.

  Truthfully this life was not bad. Wang Ju Long was treated well by everyone within the clan, especially after she managed to learn Qi Lightning, but no matter how well she was treated those elders would always stand behind her telling her that if she fell behind she would be married off to some other family as a gift to ensure an alliance could be formed.

  These elders were the ones who now looked at the memory stone with greed shining within their eyes, while other elders were having astonished and happy expressions on their faces. Befriending the student of a martial art expert would definitely benefit them all in the future, and they were more filled with honoured feelings, curious to see which benefits they had reaped.

  “You need to share these notes with the rest of the clan,” one of the elders finally said his greed obvious as he was still unable to break from the Duke rank into the King rank.

  “Yes, such amazing notes are definitely meant to be shared,” another elder chimed in, his eyes too shone with greed as he thought of teaching it to his grandchildren.

  “I am terribly sorry,” Wang Ju Long said apologetic, “Hui Yue told me that they were only for me.’ She paused slightly before making her eyes big and continuing, ‘I really don’t want to go against my word. If he gets mad I can’t fight his master.’

  Saying this was obviously a way to protect herself, but it was an effective method as all the elders whom had just eyed the memory stone with greed retracted their gazes, albeit reluctantly.

  No one present felt that they should go against something which was said by Hui Yue as he was the disciple of the Saint ranked expert. Should ‘Li Fen’ feel like attacking the Wang family as revenge for not listening to her disciple, then no one would be able to stop her.

  As the elders withdrew a satisfied smile appeared on Wang Ju Long’s lips, and she rushed back to her own courtyard where she placed the memory stone on her forehead, after feeling a flash the information about a cultivation technique rushed into her mind within moments teaching her how to train.

  At the outskirts of town, Hui Yue was walking towards the city gate where he was to meet with the others, ready to set out to the Magical Forest.

  Although Hui Yue’s soul now had memories of more than thirty years, he still felt as excited as a child waiting for their Christmas presents; as he thought about his excursion into the wild, which would be a great way to stabilize his Qi after absorbing the Divine Flower and also a way to practice his martial art skills which mainly were used in training alone.

  Walking through the busy streets, Hui Yue managed to slip past the people going about their day, and he rushed towards the gate and as the tall city walls came into view, Hui Yue increased his speed until he exited the gates, and there he saw all his friends gathered waiting for him.

  The Rong twins were riding their qilins, while Deng Wu was riding on his dragon looking creature. Ma Kong and Gao Yan both rode on magical horses.

  Had it been the previous day, then Hui Yue would have had no hope of getting close to the horses, yet today things were different. After Lan Feng had absorbed the spiritual energy from the Divine Flower, he now was able to perfectly hide his aura, and the only animals who seemed apprehensive were the qilins which he had travelled with the year before when he had entered the academy.

  Hui Yue moved towards the magical horse which he was borrowing and he slowly mounted the magical beast.

  Sitting on a horse was a strange feeling for Hui Yue, as he felt the warm back through the saddle, and an awkward feeling emerged as he could feel something moving him. Every movement made by the magical horse caused Hui Yue to jerk around, causing him to almost fall at first.

  Fortunately, Hui Yue was a cultivator, and his balance was superb allowing him to stay in the saddle as the horse started moving down the road towards the magical forest.

  A sigh of relief escaped Hui Yue as he noticed the horse which he was riding was following the others so that he did not need to stir it. He had no idea how to use the reins, and he just held them within his hands an expression of confusion evident on his face.

  Laughter arrived from behind Hui Yue as Gao Yan and Ma Kong appeared on either side of him laughing at the way he was swaying from one side to another. His legs were trembling as they tried to hold on to the horse between his legs, and in his hands the reins were hanging loose, allowing for the horse to move as it pleased.

  At first, Hui Yue felt as though he would fall down with each movement the horse made as they galloped down the road, but ever so slowly did his body get used to the movements, and he no longer looked like a bag of potatoes that had been tied to the horse, instead his back was straight and his eyes gained a lustre which could be determined as pride in finally being capable of riding a horse.

  As Hui Yue and the others were riding on magical beasts, the surroundings rushed by rapidly, yet the group still had multiple villages to travel through on their way.

  Last year when Hui Yue had travelled through these villages, he had thought them to be fairly rich, yet now he knew that although these villages were not as poor as his home, they could not hold a candle to the impressive families within Riluo City.

  As they travelled through these villages, Hui Yue noticed how great respect was shown to Rong Ming and his entourage, and no trouble was seen on the way. As the group travelled through villages, Hui Yue noticed something which he had missed at first.

  After two or three villages, Hui Yue noticed how Gao Yan would always look directly at some of the servants, after which the servant would give an almost unnoticeable nod. Hui Yue had curiously been searching and slowly he seemed to understand just how vast Gao Yan’s connections spread.

  As the group of friends travelled through the villages Hui Yue stayed at the back conversing with Gao Yan and Ma Kong, when Ma Kong suddenly widened his eyes and gaped.

  “Wait, Hui Yue, since when were you a five-star Disciple?!” Ma Kong exclaimed surprised. His voice was loud, and instantly the others stopped their mounts turning back to stare at the white-haired child as if he was an alien.

  When the Rong twins saw him three days prior, Hui Yue’s cultivation base was of a three-star Disciple, yet now after only three days had passed he had suddenly jumped two stars which was simply unbelievable.

  Rong Xing and Rong Ming were both shocked, but Ma Kong and Gao Yan were even more so. The days within Riluo City had not been spent on cultivating, but visiting two great families. The only one who could guess the reason was Deng Wu, but even though he knew it had to do with the treasure from his family he still had no way of guessing how Hui Yue had managed to use it.

  The sun was setting as the group finally reached the outskirts of the Magical Forest, and the purple and red rays of light illuminated the tall trees causing it to look like an otherworldly place.

  The mounts were slowed down allowing them to walk through the forest at a steady pace rather than the galloping speed which they had been at so far.

  The plan was for this group to enter Hui Yue’s home village where they would set camp. As they were only students and no guards, it was obvious that the group did not wish to traverse too deeply into the forest.

  Setting camp in Hui Yue’s village allowed for them to have their beasts looked after by a village boy, and then they could walk into the forest to harvest medicinal plants and fight magical beasts.

  Usually they would do this for more than two months, yet this time they only planned to use one month in the wilderness.

  The group would not enter too deeply into the Magical Forest, and they planned on returning to the village each evening at most every second evening as neither of the young ones fancied sleeping within the dangerous Magical Forest. Even the outskirts were dangerous. The lowest ranked magical beast was on par with a Disciple ranked cultivator and although they had six people, if they were up against tw
o beasts it was likely that they would struggle.

  Still, even while considering all the dangers smiles were spreading on everyone’s faces. Excitement grew within their very soul as they finally had to try relying solely on themselves to survive in the upcoming life and death battles.

  Since these students were going on their own, everything they got from this trip would be theirs to keep, and Hui Yue wished to gain quite a few magical crystals and beast cores to study them.

  As the group of six travelled through the outskirts of the magical forest they entered a small valley which seemed to lead out from the forest itself, but truly led towards Hui Yue’s home.

  Excitement grew within Hui Yue’s stomach, and a uncontainable smile appeared on his face as he beckoned the horse to gallop the final few miles of the road, as Hui Yue was looking forward to once again see the place where he had spent the first ten years of his life.

  Chapter 53 - Returning Home

  * * *

  Chapter 53: Returning Home

  Hui Yue was riding on a magical horse a nostalgic expression evident on his face. The landscape which they were currently traversing through was the hillsides on which Hui Yue had trained his martial arts, and watched goats for the first ten years of his life within this different world.

  Hui Yue noticed that there were no goats on the hillsides today, and he could not help but furrow his brows, wondering if anything was wrong with the village. These goats were the only treasure which they possessed, and they were to be treated well. For them to not be out today was indeed quite a shock.

  A sigh escaped Hui Yue’s lips as he saw how Gao Yan and Ma Kong on either side of him were riding with big smiles and shimmering eyes, clearly excited as to see what a village that existed within the Magical Forest truly looked like.

  “Don’t expect too much,” Hui Yue warned them with a chuckle. “We have no cultivators within our village, and it is really poor since we can’t hunt within the forest itself.”

  Hearing this caused doubt to surface on the two bright faces. Although they understood that they might be overestimating the village, the stories from their childhood had set up deep roots within their mind, and they could not understand how anyone without the proper cultivation base could survive in such a dangerous location as the Magical Forest.

  “You should believe him,” Rong Ming laughed from the front while looking at the hills they were currently travelling through. “When I first met him he was always running around on these hillsides, looking after goats for his village.”

  Hearing that Hui Yue, the young child who had gained immense fame within Riluo City, actually used to spend his days on these hillsides looking after goats made all of them laugh heartily as they kept their steady pace towards the village.

  Hui Yue finally lost his patience and pushed the horse into a gallop after which he quickly overtook the Rong twins and Deng Wu, rushing towards his home. As soon as Hui Yue had started rushing towards the village clear laughter followed him from behind and within seconds, the calm entourage had turned into a bunch of youngsters who were racing each other, truly enjoying their time together.

  As Hui Yue got closer to the village he passed the few fields which the village had and he instantly recognised the many weather-beaten faces which were working hard with the crops.

  As soon as these villagers heard the sound coming from the galloping horse, they had rushed to gather up their tools and inform the village elder that guests were arriving.

  Hui Yue seeing the village within sight, slowed down his horse and allowed for the others to catch up. Everyone, apart from the Rong twins and Hui Yue, had shocked expression on their faces as they looked at the meager crops which were next to them, struggling to survive within the overused soil.

  They all rode between these fields into the village square, yet arriving here none of them said a word, everyone flabbergasted. Hui Yue really had not exaggerated when he said that this village was poor.

  At first, the villagers had hidden themselves the best they could trying to escape should it be a bandit attack. Instead, excitement broke out as they noticed the white haired boy who was riding atop of the magical horse.

  “Hui Yue!” the village elder exclaimed with a shocked voice. Although it was the time when the Rong twins would usually come visit with the guards from the Rong family no one from the village had expected that they would be bringing Hui Yue.

  The previously deserted village suddenly came abuzz, every hidden person rushed out from their hiding-places and greeted the darling child who had just returned for the first time in almost a year.

  Hui Yue looked around, but even though he had been gone for almost a whole year everything in the village felt the same as it had before. The goats were all resting within their pens, and the houses seemed as though they could collapse with a slight gust of wind.

  Everything was the same, and this feeling caused a wave of nostalgia to wash over Hui Yue as he looked for two specific faces in the crowd.

  “Your mother is home,” the village elder said with a chuckle, “and your father is out in the forest together with the rest of the men in the village.”

  Hui Yue nodded, it made sense that his father was not here, yet he could not understand why his mother was at home, rather than working together with the rest of the women out in the fields.

  “Go,” a beautiful voice sounded from behind, as Rong Xing appeared and took over the reins of the magical horse he had been riding.

  Rushing towards the edge of the village, excitement shown on Hui Yue’s face as the run down cabin appeared in his view. This cabin was considered one of the worst cabins within the village itself, yet it held incredible importance to Hui Yue, as he knew this was where his current parents were living.

  As Hui Yue reached the house he suddenly came to a halt outside the door, and calmed himself before he knocked. He was nervous and suddenly unsure as to whether he should just enter the home or knock first.

  Eventually he decided to knock on the door, before he slowly slid it open enjoying the creaking sound that the door made as it revealed the inside of the shack.

  Hui Lifen was standing at the kitchen preparing porridge for her husband to eat for dinner that evening. Her beautiful face was exactly like Hui Yue had remembered, but her body had changed drastically as she was currently pregnant, and it seemed as if she could give birth at any moment.

  Seeing this caused Hui Yue to be startled, but his shock was replaced by happiness. Hui Yue had no siblings in his old world, but it seemed as though he would be able to get younger sibling in this world, and a sudden feeling of protectiveness appeared from deep within Hui Yue’s very soul.

  Hearing the sudden creaking of the door, Hui Lifen turned around and an expression of utter joy appeared on her face as she smiled, and rushed towards her young son.

  “Little Yue!” she cried as she instantly drew the young boy into her arms, and gave him a big hug. “We have been so worried about you, you little rascal,” she scolded with love as she cried for some time. A mother’s love would always be the strongest feeling of connection, and Hui Yue had to admit that he felt good to be back home with his mother in their run down shack.

  Being released from the hug, Hui Lifen dragged Hui Yue towards the table where she seated him, and went to brew some tea curious to hear everything her son had experienced throughout the last year when he had been gone.

  Seated at the table, Hui Yue withdrew three memory stones. One was a storage memory stone of high quality while the other two were of medium quality and seemed to contain something different.

  Hui Lifen quickly moved to the table her eyes big in surprise as she saw the three black stones which were placed on the table.

  “These are…?” she asked curiously.

  “They are gifts for you,” Hui Yue said with a big smile on his face. He picked up the storage stone, and placed it in front of Hui Lifen. “Open it,” He said with a happy smile on his face which showed some k
ind of anticipation. He could not wait to see how happy his mother would get when she saw what he was gifting them.

  Hui Lifen did not need to be told more than once, and she quickly opened the memory stone. Her excited face quickly turned shocked as she noticed the large quantities of food, drinks, fabric and even money.

  “Little Yue, you did not steal this right?” she asked with a shaking voice as she had never seen such extravagance before.

  “They are a gift from my teacher,” Hui Yue said, not actually lying since Lan Feng was a part of him and anything gifted from Hui Yue was therefore also gifted from Lan Feng.

  “You found a good teacher?” Hui Lifen asked as a pleased expression removed the shock she had felt before.

  “I found a very good teacher; he also gave me these,” Hui Yue picked up the two mediocre memory stones. “One of these contains a cultivation technique, and the other contains a martial art skill,” Hui Yue started to explain, “I originally wanted to give them to some random kids within the village so that they can start cultivating and protect you all, but seeing that I will be having a little brother or little sister I would ask you keep them for him or her. When the child is born, put these memory stones against its forehead and then you can give the stones to the village elder.”