The Steward Demonic Emperor

Chapter 1283: Illusion

Proofreader: Papatonks

Between the walls of an empty valley stood a bamboo pavilion. The waterfall next to it rumbled as it fell in a clear pool, completing the mesmerizing scenery.

A youth in white of around twenty sat in the pavilion, playing the zither. His finger gracefully traced the strings, sending a soothing melody throughout the valley.

Birds and butterflies gathered around, drawn to his music.

“Ugh…”

A groan came from a bed hidden by a curtain.

The young master never stopped his performance, “Awake?”

“Where am I?”

Chu Qingcheng parted the veil and looked about.

She was pale, squinting at the scenery with alertness, “Who are you?”

The youth smiled, “Miss, you’re safe here. I mean you no harm. You have exhausted yourself in the 6th Sacred Mountain, affecting your soul. You’re still weakened and need rest.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Chu Qingcheng was on guard.

The youth paused, “Miss is so cautious. I can’t understand how you could let that He Haodong fool you so easily into wasting your Yuan Qi. Ha-ha-ha, it’s good that you didn’t care too much about him, or you’d have lost more than just your Yuan Qi, the thing someone granted you. But this proves how kind you are. I can understand why he’d give it to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, I’m just recalling some old matters.”

The youth continued playing, “Allow me to introduce myself. Everyone calls me Sir Shui Jing and Miss can call me the same. This is my home, Mirror Moon Cottage. Miss, you can stay here safely and no one will disturb you.”

Chu Qingcheng gave him a long look, “You’re keeping me here?”

“No, I’m only inviting Miss to be my guest.”

“You won’t stop me from leaving?”

“Of course not. I’m a man of my word.” Shui Jing focused on playing the zither. 

Chu Qingcheng nodded and smiled, “You’re a dog if you break it.

“Not just a dog, but a she-dog.”

“I want to find Zhuo Fan. Don’t stop me.” Chu Qingcheng flew out of the pavilion and into the sky.

Shui Jing kept playing the zither.

Chu Qingcheng raised an eyebrow, “I don’t care who you are but you can’t keep me here. I am looking for Zhuo Fan to see what he has to say about you. If you’re nice, I’ll come back and thank you. But you’re too strange to be nice.”

Chu Qingcheng flew further away.

An hour later, Chu Qingcheng crossed ten mountains and saw no one on her way, not even a trace of civilization.

She was perplexed.

[Where am I? There’s no one here.] 

She wanted to find someone and ask for directions to the Luo clan.

Six hours later, Chu Qingcheng was still feeling weak. She was getting tired from flying and the blazing sun overhead.

She then noticed a creek in a valley and landed.

But then she heard a zither being played and perked up.

[Where there’s a zither, there’s people!]

Chu Qingcheng skipped over to the source, brushing the veil away to enter the pavilion.

“Excuse me, is…” Chu Qingcheng froze in her tracks.

It was Shui Jing who kept playing.

Shui Jing smiled, “Miss Chu, you’re back? You need to rest in your condition.”

“W-why is it you?”

Chu Qingcheng looked around dumbstruck, “Why am I back here. I clearly left…”

Shui Jing shook his head, smiling.

Chu Qingcheng cupped her hands in anger, “Goodbye!”

Chu Qingcheng rushed out again, with Shui Jing still playing.

Another twelve hours passed and Chu Qingcheng looked determined but tired. She paused in the air in shock. 

The familiar zither was heard once more.

[Maybe… no, he can’t still be here…]

Chu Qingcheng shook her head and landed in the familiar valley, seeing Shui Jing with his zither.

Shui Jing smiled, “Miss Chu, you need to rest after being gone for so long or you’re only going to get worse.”

“W-what did you do?”

Chu Qingcheng clenched her hands in anger, “You said you won’t keep me but you’re not honest!”

The zither stopped and Shui Jing smiled, “Miss Chu, have I done something to you?”

“You must’ve put up an illusory array to keep me returning here every time. You’re holding me prisoner.”

Shui Jing shook his head, “Miss Chu, I vow on my Dao Heart that there’s no array around.”

“Why can’t I go out?”

“This is Mirror Moon Cottage, where everything is an illusion. Fame and fortune, love and hate, these are what trap mortals from seeing the way out. What keeps you here is no array, but your own heart.”

Shui Jing smiled and vanished, his voice sounding through the valley, “Miss Chu, just rest here. I will come back every few days. Take care!”

“Wait! Let me go!”

Chu Qingcheng shouted at the air.

She took a deep breath and shot out with determination in another direction. But she still ended up here.

Panting from exhaustion, Chu Qingcheng tried again and again, with the same result. All she had done was waste time and energy.

After trying for eight times, Chu Qingcheng was too spent and blacked out in the air. She fell but the stones below warped and turned into the bed in the pavilion.

The next morning, Chu Qingcheng woke up to find herself back in the bed and saw the same waterfall outside and birds chirping.

Her heart was in a panic, unable to escape.

Shui Jing looked down from a tall peak with a sneer, “Everything is an illusion here, with riches and fame ephemeral. The ignorant can’t escape their own hearts. Chu Qingcheng is a rare good person, yet not even she can, let alone others. The world is hopeless, isn’t it Sword Heart?” 

“No matter whether they appear hopeless, fate is not for ants to decide. It’s the will of the heavens!”

A middle-aged man next to him had a sharp gaze. His empty left sleeve floated in the wind.

Shui Jing held a confident smile, like he was in control, leaving. Sword Heart watched him go with a hard gaze.

The last act of heaven’s will was about to start…