SOL Chapter 6

Locked Bones Guanyin (Part 1)

As fresh blood was fed into Li Shan’s mouth, vitality seemed to return to his body miraculously.

Seeing his complexion improve slightly, Li Huai Su used his thumb to wipe the bloodstains from his lips before slowly withdrawing his hand. He wrapped Li Shan in his outer robe and prepared to take him away from Between Water and Cloud.

As he raised his foot, he kicked a long sword on the ground. Li Huai Su looked down and saw it was Li Shan’s Withered Wood Meeting Spring.

He knew that before he arrived, Li Shan had been using his sword to defile himself in public, and the copper bell had sensed it. Li Huai Su had also heard the men’s foul words.

Li Huai Su hesitated for a moment, then lifted his leg and picked up Withered Wood Meeting Spring, wrapping it together with Li Shan in his robe.

Using spatial magic to shrink distances, they arrived in the human world in the blink of an eye. On RedPolygonum Ridge, there were no flowers, only the moon reflected on old trees, with branches hanging with red silk.

The body wrapped in his arms finally showed some movement. Li Huai Su lowered his eyes and met Li Shan’s confused gaze.

Li Shan said with a hoarse voice, “…Brother?”

Li Huai Su paused at the sound, casually threw Li Shan on the grass, and looked down at him: “The people of Cui Wei Sword Pavilion have trampled you into the mud, and you don’t even know how to resist. Has someone put a bit in your mouth? Who are you putting on this pitiful act for?”

Hearing this, Li Shan obediently shut his mouth and quietly lay beside Li Huai Su’s boots.

This made Li Huai Su even angrier.

Li Shan’s restrictions had been lifted, and spiritual energy was circulating through his body, repairing his almost dying body. Withered Wood Meeting Spring was also quietly placed beside him, as if his near-death experience was just a daydream.

He blankly raised his hand and gently pressed it against his chest. The hole that had been bleeding incessantly had now healed for the most part.

Li Shan looked at Li Huai Su with some fear: “What did you feed me just now?”

“Traction Toxic Medicine, you won’t live past tonight.” Li Huai Su threw down these words and turned to leave, not looking at Li Shan again.

But before he could take two steps, a sharp sword aura attacked from behind.

Li Huai Su subconsciously raised his sword to block, and the sound of clashing metal was like a thunderclap in the silent night, shattering their false tenderness. Li Huai Su’s arm was numb from the almost sneak attack. He looked in shock and anger at Li Shan, who was struggling to stand up with Withered Wood Meeting Spring, still wearing his robe in a disheveled manner.

Li Huai Su laughed in anger, his handsome face almost showing a bit of ferocity. He lowered his voice and said, “Li Shan, I just saved your life, and this is how you repay kindness with hatred?!”

His anger burned his organs, making Li Shan also uncomfortable.

The blood Li Huai Su had fed him had just repaired the wound on his chest, but now, driven by Li Huai Su’s anger, it was almost boiling in his chest.

Li Shan covered his chest, almost squeezing out the words from between his teeth, breaking each sentence into several parts: “I will kill you first, then commit suicide to apologize, repay your kindness, and never live alone.”

He was determined to perish together, even if it meant destroying everything.

Li Huai Su could see that Li Shan was so affected by him that he could barely stand. It would be unsportsmanlike to win, and even more shameful to lose. He had no intention of drawing his sword.

He said angrily, “The cultivation world treats you like this, and even now, you are still bewitched and want to work for them?”

Li Shan’s hand was weak, and he could barely lift Withered Wood Meeting Spring, so he could only borrow strength. Before the words could be spoken, the sword had already arrived.

“Others don’t matter, but Master treated you and me well. Why did you kill him?”

Li Huai Su had not expected to hear anything he wanted to hear from Li Shan. Hearing this, he sneered even more: “Why? I killed him because I wanted to. What kind of good person do you think Guan Shanxue is? What do you think he meant by giving you this Withered Wood Meeting Spring?”

Li Shan pursed his lips and did not speak, moving with the sword, attacking Li Huai Su almost recklessly.

Li Huai Su also did not dodge, his long sword like a snake, aiming straight for Li Shan’s face.

Although Li Shan was carrying a heavy sword and his injuries had not healed, his reaction was extremely fast. He spun around and rose like a forest bird, using the Enraged Sea Rising Tide to suddenly explode with force, and the heavy sword slashed down.

Although Li Huai Su reacted quickly, he was still unable to dodge completely and was forced back dozens of steps by the heavy sword before barely stabilizing himself. Then, he vomited a mouthful of blood. He smiled at the corner of his mouth, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face, and continued to say to Li Shan, “Is it ‘unstable mind, needs to hide the edge and hone’? Or ‘young and vigorous, should always introspect’?”

These two sentences were the first Master’s comments on Li Shan, and therefore, he gave this blunt sword to Li Shan.

At this point, Li Huai Su couldn’t help but laugh out loud, despite being injured: “Did he think your temperament was not gentle and easy to bully enough, not easy enough to be manipulated? He was simply jealous of you, knowing that he was mediocre and could not reach the immortal stage of eternal bliss, unable to enjoy the endless life of thousands of years, so he wanted to drag you down with him, constantly tormenting you to relieve his hatred.”

Li Shan had unloaded most of the force of his attack just now and could barely stand with the support of Withered Wood Meeting Spring. Hearing this, he almost glared at Li Huai Su: “Master is not that kind of person at all…”

Li Huai Su angrily interrupted him: “What do you know? He is that kind of person, dressed in elegant clothes and morally upright, hating you as much as I do. Whenever I see the way he looks at you, I know what he is thinking.”

Li Shan looked at Li Huai Su in a daze. Since betraying the sect, Li Huai Su had never concealed his hatred for him, but when he said it so clearly, Li Shan, although he had expected it, still felt a sourness in his heart.

Li Shan took a few deep breaths and asked, “Then why didn’t you just kill me that day?”

Li Huai Su had finally poured out what he had been thinking day and night, and at this moment, he felt a sense of relief after going through thousands of sails. Especially when he saw Li Shan’s somewhat hurt expression, he felt even more pleasure.

He gave Li Shan a gentle smile and said slowly, “Because killing you directly would be too easy for you. I want to see you suffer, dragged into the mud, unable to live and unable to die. Only in this way will I feel happy!”

Hearing this, Li Shan almost trembled and closed his eyes, extremely disappointed: “I understand.”

He raised his sword, and the sword’s edge wildly stirred up dust all around. Li Huai Su felt an extremely strong pressure all over his body, overwhelming and engulfing.

In the world, there is nothing bigger than life and death. Li Huai Su first felt a bit of fear of death, but then his heart was filled with resentment and jealousy—how unfair the heavens were, to give all the spirits of heaven and earth, and the beauty of all the mountains, to Li Shan alone.

Enraged Sea Rising Tide left his hand, making bursts of wailing under the magnificent sword aura. In a duel between masters, the ultimate moves are revealed, and the victory or defeat is only in an instant. The dust and fallen leaves suddenly stilled, only the moonlight was bright and lonely, illuminating the world and the dust.

Li Huai Su fell backward as if exhausted, and only managed to stabilize himself by supporting himself on the old tree beside the road. Blood gushed from his mouth and nose due to Li Shan’s sword force, but a creepy smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, like a madman: In the end, he had won by luck.

Enraged Sea Rising Tide penetrated the stone three inches, nailing Li Shan to it, unable to move. Withered Wood Meeting Spring was also broken.

Li Huai Su slowly regained his strength and slowly got up and walked to Li Shan.

Looking down, Li Shan, because he had been fed demonic blood, still had the strength to struggle despite suffering such injuries. His fingertips and tiger’s mouth were covered in blood, and the wound on his chest was getting worse due to his violent struggle, making it extremely tragic.

Li Huai Su watched coldly, then withdrew his hand and pulled out Enraged Sea Rising Tide. Li Shan lost this only support and immediately fell to the ground. Li Huai Su said silently in his heart, I am truly benevolent, and I have left him half a life.

Just as he was thinking this, a gust of demonic wind suddenly blew around him. Li Huai Su seemed to sense something and turned to look back, and saw a young man dressed as a monk walking slowly. The man had high nose and deep eyes, with beautiful features. His three thousand long hairs draped down his shoulders, and his every move was unrestrained and romantic, looking not like a serious monk.

Seeing the visitor, Li Huai Su couldn’t help but frown slightly: “What are you doing here?”

Shi En smiled and said, “Li, that question is interesting. This place is originally the territory of the No Ferry Sea. You have made such a noise on my territory, shouldn’t I come and see?”

This person was the Right Guardian Shi En of Demonic Lord Tian Chang. Li Huai Su didn’t have a deep friendship with him, but he couldn’t leave without giving him face, so he said lightly, “Now you have seen it, nothing major happened.”

Shi En slowly walked past Li Huai Su and saw Li Shan on the ground, disheveled and unkempt, with Li Huai Su’s copper bell hanging on his chest, which was really a bit interesting.

He used the tin staff in his hand to lift Li Shan’s chin and saw his pale face, and couldn’t help but laugh jokingly: “Benefactor Li doesn’t usually show it, but he is quite wild.”

Li Huai Su wiped the blood from his sword and reminded coldly, “He is Li Shan.”

Hearing this, Shi En was stunned. Li Shan also woke up slightly at this moment and met Shi En’s scrutinizing gaze. He wanted to force himself to stand up, but only coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seeing his miserable state, Shi En couldn’t help but laugh: “Benefactor Li is too careless, how did you get into this state?”

But he was obviously more interested in Li Shan, so he turned his head again without waiting for Li Huai Su to answer.

Shi En asked with a smile: “Does young hero Li know who I am?”

Li Shan was blacking out from blood loss and shook his head with difficulty.

Shi En sighed leisurely, pretending to be regretful: “I know young hero Li’s heroic name, he just left the mountain and killed Demonic Lord Tian Chang’s Left Guardian Garuda, truly becoming famous at a young age and shocking everyone. But how can you not know me?”

Li Shan didn’t know what Shi En wanted to do, so he had to remain silent and wait for his next words. He only heard Shi En laugh: “My Dharma name is Shi En, and I am Garuda’s biological brother.”

Li Shan looked at Shi En with some surprise. In the eyes of ordinary people, Shi En was handsome.

If Li Huai Su was as pure as the lonely moon in the sky, then Shi En was as beautiful as a peach and plum blossom, with thick eyebrows and unforgettable eyes.

Li Shan killed Garuda when he was fourteen years old, and it had been many years since then, but he still remembered Garuda’s appearance. Garuda was not the mythical bird, but a ferocious, ugly, and irrational bird-shaped monster.

If Shi En hadn’t said it, he wouldn’t have been able to associate the two together.

Li Shan’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and finally he spat out two words: “Sorry.”

Hearing this, Shi En couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows: “Young hero Li is eliminating demons and defending the Dao, doing a great good deed, why are you apologizing to me?”

Li Shan knew that he could not escape death, so he simply spoke frankly, with a bit of guilt in his tone: “Garuda is a great disaster for the cultivation world and the human world, but for you, Master, he is a close brother, so naturally… If you want to kill or beat me, I have no complaints.”

Hearing this, Shi En couldn’t help but laugh: “Young hero Li, you are thinking too far ahead. We demons have always had weak kinship, unlike you and Benefactor Li, who have such deep brotherly ‘affection’. When I and Garuda were still in our mother’s womb, we were enemies competing for food, and our relationship never got better.”

Li Shan was inevitably a little surprised. Shi En said slowly, “However, you killed him, which did cause me some trouble.”

As if in response to his words, a hideous ghost face suddenly appeared on Shi En’s extremely handsome face, screaming incessantly. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been scared out of their wits, but Li Shan recognized it at a glance, it was Garuda!

Shi En flicked his long hair, covering the ghost face, and then smiled: “I and Garuda are monsters born from the same mother, although we have no affection, we are born together. You killed him, so he has to parasitize on me, his anger has not subsided, and he is reluctant to leave.”

Li Huai Su folded his arms and watched coldly for a while, then said at this moment, “If you want to kill him, do it quickly, why bother explaining so much to him?”

Shi En slowly got up and smiled at Li Huai Su: “Benefactor Li, your words are terrible, I don’t like killing, let alone such a beautiful little beauty, I feel pity for him. Since Benefactor Li doesn’t want him, then give him to me.”

Li Huai Su sneered: “Are you asking for alms from me?”