"Wasn't the young master's eyes originally red?" Yu Chi Feng was somewhat astonished after hearing Feng Che's words.
Feng Tingliu's eyes were a thorough red, a natural and extremely aesthetic color. If one were to look into those eyes, their soul would seem to be swallowed by them.
Yet such a pair of eyes was not something Feng Tingliu was born with.
"Alas, this is my fault..." Feng Che sighed and continued to speak.
-
After that incident, Feng Che resumed his daily routine of taking care of the child.
Fortunately, Feng Tingliu was a relatively worry-free type. Every day, he either practiced swordsmanship or sat in the room in a daze. He was composed and not at all like an ordinary child.
However, Feng Tingliu's nature as a young master remained unchanged. He often disliked the meals Feng Che cooked or the clothes Feng Che bought for him.
But they still passed a period of time relatively peacefully.
Feng Tingliu's martial arts skills were improving day by day. He learned the family's inherited swordsmanship and also integrated the moves that Feng Che taught him.
One for defense and one for attack, he was steady yet wild.
The young Feng Tingliu was already able to exchange blows with Feng Che. His future was promising.
However, Feng Tingliu's outstanding swordsmanship often made Feng Che forget that he was just a teenager. After witnessing the death of his parents, he had to wander and eventually take revenge, staining his hands with blood.
Feng Che couldn't imagine the true pain in Feng Tingliu's heart. Nor could he have predicted that Feng Tingliu would therefore fall into a state of deviation.
That day was no different from any other.
Before the sunset, Feng Tingliu was practicing swordsmanship under the willow tree behind the house. The thick trunk of the tree was already covered with scars from the sword qi, and with the passage of time, those scars were increasingly overlapping precisely.
Feng Che, on the other hand, was squatting in the courtyard, looking worriedly at the small stove for decocting medicine. He was developing a kind of herbal medicine, attempting to restore the internal energy of the heretic who had fallen into a state of deviation to normal. But he was not good at decocting medicine and didn't know how to make the fire stronger and make the water in the pot boil.
But just then, an accident occurred.
Suddenly, Feng Tingliu's sword dropped to the ground with a clear sound.
Not knowing what had happened, Feng Che shouted without looking back, "Keep it down! You've made my fire smaller!"
Feng Che waited for a long time but didn't receive a response from Feng Tingliu. Only then did he realize something was wrong. He turned his head and saw Feng Tingliu holding his head with both hands and squatting under the tree, emitting a painful roar.
"Uh ah!"
Feng Tingliu inserted his hands into his hair and tightly grasped his own hair, as if resisting something. His body trembled violently, seemingly enduring great pain.
"Hey! What's wrong with you!" Feng Che was immediately stunned. He threw away the medicine stove and hurriedly ran forward.
"Uh... Get out... Everyone must die... Everyone must die!"
Feng Tingliu seemed to have erupted. Suddenly, he released his hair and, regardless of the weapon that had fallen to the ground, actually attacked Feng Che with his bare hands!
Feng Tingliu was still young and naturally not Feng Che's opponent.
Feng Che grabbed his wrist and twisted it backward, thus subduing him.
At the same time, on Feng Tingliu's neck, black lines began to spread and entwine.
"Damn! No way! I don't want to bring another heretic back!" Feng Che cursed and felt panicked.
Taking advantage of his panic, Feng Tingliu broke free from his restraint and turned to attack him again.
"Kill... Kill..."
His eyes were bloodshot and crimson, fixedly staring at Feng Che but without a focus. That was also a sign of deviation and internal energy reversal, a proof that Feng Tingliu was about to fall into the demonic path!
For the first time, Feng Che felt panicked. Without hesitation, he immediately raised his hand and struck the back of Feng Tingliu's neck.
Feng Tingliu let out a muffled groan, and the hand that was attacking lost its strength, falling along with his body.
"Although you shouldn't be the first to try... But I have no other way!" Feng Che picked up the person, took the herbal medicine that was slowly simmering on the fire, and hurriedly entered the house, fearing that others might see.
Feng Che couldn't wait for the medicinal soup to cool down. He casually added a ladle of cold water, then supported Feng Tingliu's shoulders and forced a bowl of bitter medicine down his throat.
"Jade Emperor. Bless me, this medicine must be effective!" Feng Che was so anxious that sweat broke out on his head. He stared fixedly at the demonic lines that spread to Feng Tingliu's face, praying that they would quickly fade away.
Feng Tingliu let out a painful gasp in a coma, and his whole body trembled violently. And the demonic lines actually gradually faded away during the trembling.
Feng Che was so excited that his hands were shaking. He quickly felt Feng Tingliu's pulse, sensing that the internal energy had changed from reverse to normal, and then he let out a sigh of relief.
"It seems that I'm really a genius to be able to develop such a medicine." Feng Che muttered to himself, laid Feng Tingliu flat on the bed, and covered him with a quilt.
Feng Che couldn't wait to take this herbal medicine formula to the heretic sect to see if those who had already turned into heretics could be restored to normal with it.
But before Feng Che could be excited for a while, he heard a muffled groan from behind. It seemed that Feng Tingliu was showing signs of waking up.
Feng Che turned his head and saw Feng Tingliu sitting up, one hand covering the back of his neck that had been struck, frowning in pain, and his eyes still not opened.
"So soon? How do you feel?"
"What... happened to me..." Feng Tingliu rubbed the back of his neck and slowly opened his eyes...
"You almost fell into a state of deviation, don't you know..."
Feng Che stared wide-eyed at Feng Tingliu's opened eyes and froze in place.
The originally dark pupils had turned into a blood-like crimson, making that already handsome face even more beautiful, yet also causing a sense of dread.
"Your eyes..." Feng Che hurriedly approached and waved his hand in front of Feng Tingliu's eyes.
Feng Tingliu frowned, waved his hand away, and said unhappily, "What are you doing? What's wrong with my eyes?"
"It's good as long as you can see..."
Feng Che found a bronze mirror for Feng Tingliu to see his own eyes and then recounted the process of how he had almost fallen into a state of deviation.
"Among the heretics, there are very few cases where the eyes turn red, but none are as purely red as yours. Maybe the medicine, although it made the internal energy operate normally, also affected the eyes." Feng Che sighed and said, "But in any case, as long as you're okay. You think too much, and I didn't even notice the signs of your deviation... It seems you need to relax."
-
"Then, I took Feng Tingliu to travel the martial arts world, while tracking down the traces of the old heretic sect and also making some preparations for the establishment of Liudu City." After saying that, Feng Che picked up the wine cup and drank it in one gulp.
"So that's how it is..." Yu Chi Feng recalled those crimson eyes and couldn't help worrying about the past Feng Tingliu, "Does that crimson eye really have no impact on him?"
"For now, except for making him more handsome, there is no impact." Feng Che shrugged, "But he has always disliked revealing his true thoughts. Whatever is on his mind, he likes to keep it to himself. Despite his current strength, who knows what he's thinking about every day."
Yu Chi Feng also strongly agreed with this statement by Feng Che. Ever since he came to Liudu City, until he regained his memory, and even up to now, he still doesn't know what's on Feng Tingliu's mind.
"Then when was Liudu City established?" Yu Chi Feng couldn't help but ask.
"That's a long story. You know, establishing a city is not that simple. The first problem to be faced is the issue of manpower." Feng Che smiled and said in a very proud tone, "So, during my travels with Feng Tingliu in the martial arts world, I also saw that with his own charm, Feng Tingliu attracted many subordinates."
"Like Ruo Lan and Yu Ji?" Yu Chi Feng recalled the story that Feng Tingliu told him and asked.
"Ruo Lan and Yu Ji are only part of them. The first one to be recruited under him is Zhong Shu, Bai Zhong."
"Zhong Shu..."
Bai Zhong was the first person Yu Chi Feng met after coming to Liudu City.
Everyone knew Bai Zhong's loyalty to Feng Tingliu.
That loyalty, in addition to the awe for Feng Tingliu, also contained a kind of elder's love for the younger generation.
"That's right. Although Zhong Shu seems kind and approachable, in fact, several years ago, he was also a murderous martial arts expert in the martial arts world. Even at that time, his name wasn't Bai Zhong..."
Yu Chi Feng couldn't help but fill Feng Che's wine cup to get a story.
Feng Che received the wine, happily drank it in one gulp, coughed lightly twice to moisten his throat, and continued to speak:
"We were tracking down the old heretic sect and headed north to a small border town. We happened to see a wanted notice on the notice board. The person on the wanted notice was called Bai Ye, which was Zhong Shu's old name. We inquired around and only then learned that his wife and children were killed by a rich man. In a fit of rage, he killed that rich man. Now, he is being heavily rewarded by the rich man's relatives."
"It sounds similar to the young master's experience."
"That's right. So at that time, Feng Tingliu turned and left. I was still wondering what he was going to do. As a result, somehow, he found Bai Ye after looking for a while.
At that time, Bai Ye was in a state of emptiness after taking revenge, just like Feng Tingliu in the past. He was planning to end his own life to be with his relatives. Feng Tingliu stopped him and gave him a reason to live - 'Live for me'. It might sound absurd, but Bai Ye really listened and decided to follow Feng Tingliu."
-
The emptiness after taking revenge is far more terrifying than the killing during the act of revenge.
Feng Tingliu knew this well. Standing in front of the dispirited Bai Ye and looking at the bitter smile on his face, he spoke calmly.
"Your relatives would be disappointed to see you like this."
"But without them, how can I live alone?" Bai Ye let out a bitter smile, "Young man, you wouldn't understand."
"No, I would understand, because I was once like you, thinking that I had lost everything, even the obsession with revenge. But I'm still alive now, and I believe you can be the same."
Bai Ye was shocked by what the young man said. He didn't know what had happened to the young man and how he could say such words so calmly.
Seeing his expression, Feng Tingliu briefly told him about his own experiences.
Although Bai Ye was shocked, he was also confused. He found that he didn't even have the courage of the young man in front of him, and he didn't know how to find a new goal like him.
"But I don't know what I can live for."
"I can give you a reason to live." Although Feng Tingliu was still young at that time, he already had the demeanor of a king, with a commanding presence. But even so, he was still full of sincerity. He extended his hand to Bai Ye and said slowly, "I want you to live for me."
Bai Ye looked at the young man's crimson eyes and couldn't resist the light emanating from them.
"Okay, I promise you."