MOF Chapter 102

Chapter 102: Nangong Ci’s Ten Years of Suffering – From this point on, the Red South Flute guides the spirit to gather…

What the various immortal families did not expect was that the Tian Yong Residence, which had recently made great achievements in the extermination of Jiang Yanhua, was reduced to ashes overnight.

The people of Yong City were frightened and panicked. Without a backbone, they had no choice but to seek help from other cities.

The Tian Yong Residence was the residence of the immortal sect in Yong City. Now that it had been tragically destroyed, other sects would have to rebuild if they wanted to move there. To avoid making a big fuss, the immortal families, after careful consideration, decided to divide Yong City into five areas according to distance, with each immortal sect assigned to govern one area.

As for the real culprit who attacked and burned the Tian Yong Residence at night, the immortal sects had no other clues except that it was Yan Wuji.

Even the clue of Yan Wuji was left by himself.

During this period, in order to clean up the old site of the Tian Yong Residence, the various immortal families were busy from morning till night, and at the same time, they did not slacken in their pursuit of Yan Wuji.

However, after searching everywhere, there was no trace of him.

Water-Ink Immortal Estate, Yuan Pavilion.

Mo Linyuan had just finished taking his medicine and was sitting listlessly by the window, staring blankly at the branches of pomegranate flowers outside the window.

As his vision blurred, everything in front of him became hazy. A figure suddenly appeared and caught his eye.

“Mo Yao!”

The person picked a pomegranate flower and threw it at his head, waking him up.

Mo Linyuan let out an “Ah” sound, picked up the pomegranate flower that had fallen on the windowsill, looked up, and his doubtful expression turned to joy.

“Brother Ji?”

Ji Bie bent over and climbed into the room from the windowsill.

Before he even landed, his facial features wrinkled: “Why does your room smell so bitter? Are you still taking medicine?”

Mo Linyuan subconsciously fanned the air with his sleeves: “That’s why I specially opened the window to let it air out.”

Ji Bie knew that his health had been poor for many years, so he didn’t say anything more. He shook his sleeves, stretched out his hand, and dangled a package of oiled paper bags from his index finger.

“I brought it for you when I passed by Wei City. It’s candied fruit made by the best dim sum shop on Changming Street. Try it.”

Mo Linyuan’s eyes lit up, carefully unwrapping the bag. As soon as a gap appeared, a rich fruity aroma wafted out, instantly filling the room.

He took a piece of candied fruit and, under Ji Bie’s expectant gaze, praised, “It really is freshly made, the texture is just right, I love it.”

Ji Bie casually sat down in his room, poured a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp: “If you ask me, you shouldn’t stay in the room all the time, you should occasionally go out and take a look around.”

Mo Linyuan smiled and shook his head: “It’s rare enough that I can walk and move now, I don’t ask for much more.”

Ji Bie sighed: “Let’s not talk about this. I recently learned a set of sword techniques that are very different from the past. You stay here, and I’ll go outside and show you.”

Mo Linyuan sat on the soft couch by the window, watching Ji Bie dance his sword among the pomegranate flowers.

He met Ji Bie because of sword techniques.

At that time, Ji Bie, in order to learn sword techniques, disguised himself as a new disciple and sneaked into the Water-Ink Immortal Estate, but he was unwilling to be bound by the rules of the Estate, so he often hid in the Yuan Pavilion, where there were few people.

The first time he ran into Mo Linyuan, he was so frightened that his face turned pale, thinking he had seen a ghost.

After finishing his sword dance, Ji Bie felt refreshed. He sheathed his sword, sat sideways on the windowsill, and said to Mo Linyuan, “By the way, have you heard about the Tian Yong Residence?”

Mo Linyuan looked blank: “What’s the matter? Tian Yong Residence, what happened?”

Ji Bie said: “It seems that the people around you really don’t like to tell you these things. The Tian Yong Residence was exterminated a few days ago.”

“What?” Mo Linyuan was first shocked, then smiled, “Brother Ji, I have limited knowledge of the outside world, so don’t tease me.”

Ji Bie said: “How could I tease you about the extermination of a family? That’s too immoral.”

Seeing that his tone and expression did not seem to be fake, Mo Linyuan trembled in his heart and said, “Really, was it really exterminated? That’s the Tian Yong Residence.”

Ji Bie said: “When times are bad, what does it matter if it’s the Tian Yong Residence? When the natural disaster came before, I almost died at that time.”

Seeing beads of sweat slowly falling from the tip of his nose, Mo Linyuan got up and poured a cup of tea and handed it over.

After Ji Bie finished drinking the tea, a handkerchief appeared in front of him. He raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, saying, “You keep it for yourself, I’m not particular.”

Mo Linyuan smiled, but after smiling, he thought of the Tian Yong Residence, his expression froze, and he couldn’t help but say, “Who is so bold and fierce that they could exterminate the Tian Yong Residence?”

Ji Bie said: “It’s said that it’s a person named Yan Wuji.”

Mo Linyuan said: “Yan Wuji? I’ve never heard of him. However, to be able to exterminate an entire family alone, it can be seen that he is ruthless and highly skilled.”

“I don’t think so.” Ji Bie shook his head, “I’ll only tell you this. Actually, on the night of the Tian Yong Residence’s extermination, I happened to be passing by, and I also saw that Yan Wuji. But when I saw him, there was also a man in black beside him. Guess who I saw?”

Mo Linyuan shook his head, the number of people he knew was limited. Apart from the people commonly seen in the Water-Ink Immortal Estate, there were almost no people from the outside world.

“You probably don’t know him.” Ji Bie thought about it and simply told him, “But you may have heard of him. The richest man in Qing Zhou, the Wen family’s eldest son, Wen Liangchen.”

This sentence brought no small shock to Mo Linyuan, because he had indeed heard this name. But the last time he heard it, his eldest brother clearly said that this eldest son had died young, which was a great pity.

His expression was too easy to guess, Ji Bie smiled: “True or false, false or true, it seems that the eldest son’s method of faking death is not bad, it deceived everyone.”

Mo Linyuan suddenly thought of something and quickly asked, “Did they discover you?”

“No.” Ji Bie didn’t care, “So what if they discovered me, they can’t find me.”

Seeing Mo Linyuan stunned after listening, Ji Bie reached out and flicked his hair: “Okay, don’t think so much. Just rest and recuperate, the changes in the outside world are impermanent, you can’t think of every single thing.”

He got up, stretched his limbs, turned his head and said to Mo Linyuan, “I have to go, A Yao, you take care of your body, don’t always sulk in the room.”

Mo Linyuan wanted to see him off, Ji Bie leaped up with both legs and directly flipped out of the window.

“See you next time, A Yao.” Ji Bie waved his hand, “But it may take a while, I plan to go to Ghost City to break through this time.”

Mo Linyuan only had time to wave his hand, and the person was gone.

As in the past, he watched Ji Bie leave, and never saw him again.

The pomegranate flowers bloomed and fell seven times, and seven years had passed in the world. In those seven years, Nangong Ci never stopped his research on the art of rebirth.

After the disappointment of not being able to use a spiritual artifact, he gave up on the idea of spiritual artifacts and searched for methods in the Record of Strange Contracts and other ancient books. Relying on a Bìluò and a song of guiding spirits, he explored bit by bit in the Yin and Yang worlds.

At this time, news of the destruction of Mo City came from afar.

With successive incidents involving immortal families, the head of the Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion urgently summoned Nangong Ci back.

The situation in Mo City was even more tragic than in Yong City. Except for a few small surrounding states that survived, the rest of the land had become mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Although the various immortal sects tried their best to search, there was indeed no survivor in Mo City. They could only transport the corpses of the entire city to the Azure Maple Forest and bury them one by one.

After finishing all this, the various immortal sects sent disciples to travel around and inquire about the whereabouts of Yan Wuji.

After Nangong Ci returned to the Southern Return, the task of taking disciples down the mountain to train fell on him. However, there were also times when he was alone.

At that time, he walked in the world, using Bìluò as a zither and spiritual power as strings in the night, composing a song of guiding spirits.

Occasionally, he attracted some ghosts of unknown origin, and he used Bìluò to communicate with Yin and Yang, dispelling their confusion and sending them to the underworld.

This night, Nangong Ci had a premonition when guiding the spirits, and when he turned around, he saw a semi-illusory figure.

His heart floated in mid-air, and after seeing the face of that figure clearly, it fell heavily again.

“Young Master Mo?” Nangong Ci said softly.

Mo Nanyi, who was now a soul, looked towards him, completely dissimilar: “You are?”

Nangong Ci frowned slightly, assuming that his soul was damaged and his memory was incomplete. He explained the identities of the two, and asked: “Young Master Mo, why didn’t you go to the Yin Si Spring, but instead wander in the world?”

Mo Nanyi responded slowly, his tone as light as mist: “I… I still have something on me, I don’t know who to give it to.”

Nangong Ci said: “If you need to entrust it to someone, I can help you.”

Mo Nanyi paused for a long time before saying: “There are no blood relatives in the world, no one to entrust, no one to rely on.”

Nangong Ci fell silent.

Mo Nanyi floated to Nangong Ci like a cloud of mist: “However, I vaguely remember one thing in my heart, but I can’t remember it. Daoist Fufeng, I wonder if you have a way to help me?”

Although Nangong Ci did not have complete certainty, it was unlikely that the final situation would be worse than it was now. He nodded in agreement, and used his spiritual power to help Mo Nanyi explore the situation.

All three souls and seven spirits were present, and the spiritual sense was also intact, so it should not be like this.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing that Nangong Ci was silent, Mo Nanyi couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s a little strange.” Nangong Ci thought for a moment, and suddenly thought of Xie Ci.

He asked: “Young Master Mo, do you still remember Xie Ci?”

Mo Nanyi was stunned, and his expression fell into recollection.

“No,” he shook his head, “I don’t remember. But, it seems that I have heard this name somewhere.”

Nangong Ci understood the situation.

In the dark, it seemed that the heavens were interfering, determined to completely erase Xie Ci’s traces in the world.

Before he could think of a countermeasure, Mo Nanyi suddenly said: “I remember.”

Nangong Ci raised his eyes in surprise, and heard Mo Nanyi continue: “I don’t know why, but Immortal Lord Yiling is clearly in my memory, but he always seems to be covered with a layer of cloth, I can’t see clearly, I can’t see through. However, I still remember that he saved me and the Mo family disciples in Beiman Mountain.”

Xie Ci mentioned this matter to Nangong Ci, and he had an impression.

Mo Nanyi remembered Xie Yiling and asked, “Why isn’t Immortal Lord Yiling with Daoist Fufeng?”

Nangong Ci pursed his lips, avoided his expression, and after a long time, he opened his lips and said softly: “Xie Ci, he has passed away for seven years.”

Mo Nanyi was shocked by this news and stood there, it took a long time before he said: “It’s really the fate of creation, how could a person like Immortal Lord Yiling…”

But he never thought that he himself was also the “kind of person” he was talking about.

Nangong Ci’s heart was sad and chaotic, and he barely said: “Young Master Mo, then you should also enter the Yin Si Spring next, if you delay any longer, I’m afraid the Yin servants will come to you.”

Mo Nanyi thanked him for his kind reminder, and suddenly remembered something: “By the way, Daoist Fufeng, what I want to give you is this.”

He slowly opened his five fingers, and a square, bright object appeared in the palm of his hand.

Although Nangong Ci was strange, he didn’t ask much, only saying, “Young Master Mo, what do you want me to do with this thing?”

Mo Nanyi smiled: “Daoist Fufeng doesn’t ask what this is?”

Nangong Ci said as he was told: “What is it?”

“Side Spirit.” Mo Nanyi raised his hand and handed the thing to Nangong Ci, “Mo City no longer exists, my heart is dead. Side Spirit is useless to me, Daoist Fufeng, you take it and dispose of it as you wish.”

Nangong Ci thought for a while and shook his head: “There’s no need. The effect of spiritual artifacts is extraordinary, how can I decide alone? Young Master Mo, you should think of another arrangement.”

Mo Nanyi said: “What Daoist Fufeng was playing before, was it the Song of Guiding Spirits?”

Nangong Ci’s eyes immediately swept over, belatedly realizing his gaffe, and slightly lowered his eyes: “Yes.”

“The Song of Guiding Spirits gathers broken souls,” Mo Nanyi smiled, “Daoist Fufeng couldn’t possibly be guiding my spirit and gathering my soul, right.”

“That’s it then.” Seeing that Nangong Ci was silent, Mo Nanyi continued to say on his own, “Since you need it, why not take it? Just consider it as repaying the kindness of Beiman Mountain.”

Nangong Ci clenched Bìluò, his arms trembling, and his eyes were red.

Mo Nanyi said: “When I was young, the head told me that the only thing in the world that has the effect of rebirth is a spiritual artifact. But I don’t know the specific usage, Daoist Fufeng, have you found a way in these years?”

Nangong Ci’s throat seemed to be cracked by sourness, and his voice was extremely hoarse when he opened his mouth: “I found it.”

“That’s good.” Mo Nanyi’s expression relaxed a little, and he suddenly took out a section of white bone, “The effect of the Song of Guiding Spirits played by a spiritual sword is ultimately not as good as a proper musical instrument, but unfortunately I don’t have any extras in my hand now, I can only make a Red South Flute out of bone flute.”

The white bone became a flute and was handed to Nangong Ci.

“Young Master Mo,” Nangong Ci looked at him with a complicated expression, and the gratitude in his chest almost burned to ashes, “Today’s kindness, Fufeng will remember in his heart.”

As the spiritual artifact left the palm, Mo Nanyi’s soul became more and more transparent: “The kindness is the nature of things, no need to thank you.”

The next moment, he disappeared into the clear night.

Nangong Ci lowered his head and looked at the spiritual artifact and bone flute in his hand, his black hair scattered by the night wind. He put the bone flute to his lips, sending the soul in white, the flute sounded sadly.

Three years later, Yin corpses appeared in the world, and Nangong Ci led a group of disciples down the mountain.

On the way, he secretly used his spiritual power, avoiding the disciples, and sent the sound of the guiding flute to the distance.

On the second day of October of that year, he used the Myriad Ghosts to Guard the Corpse for the first time, handing the spiritual artifact to the thousands of ghosts of the Mo family who refused to enter reincarnation, and letting them wait for the next order.

From this point on, the Red South Flute guides the spirit to gather the broken soul, and the old friend is reborn when the clouds clear and the moon appears.