Naturally, he could not tell Yin Fan any of this. Wu Fei used his Exquisite Heart as an excuse and explained, "The Exquisite Heart is more sensitive to the ghost qi within the great inheritance tomb."
This was also true. During their days in the great inheritance tomb, the ghost qi around the two of them had been several times denser than it was around the others.
Understanding dawned on Yin Fan. "So that's why."
"Thankfully, it was you, Senior Brother Wu Fei..." A smile lingered at the corners of Yin Fan's lips as he looked at Wu Fei with a burning gaze.
Wu Fei's eyes shifted slightly, and he asked, "Why do you say that?"
No sooner had he spoken than Yin Fan sneered. "Had it been certain sanctimonious hypocrites, once they learned about my spirit physique, they would probably have tried every means to extract my spirit bones and study them in detail."
At this, Wu Fei lowered his eyes slightly. Hearing about something was never as affecting as experiencing it firsthand. When he had read the book, he had merely thought that the male lead's experiences were tragic. Only now, after getting to know Yin Fan better, did he realize how much the book had glossed over...
The two walked side by side, the wind carrying tiny peach blossoms down onto the white-robed Buddhist disciple and the black-robed Demon Venerable.
"There are even peach trees here?" Wu Fei said, raising a hand to brush the pale pink petals off his shoulder.
Ahead of them stood a grove of peach trees, their brown branches laden with clusters of tender pink blossoms, a lovely sight.
Yin Fan also caught a petal between his fingertips and rubbed it. "They really are ordinary peach blossoms."
Spiritual qi was abundant here, yet the peach trees growing here contained not a trace of it.
A wind from some unknown direction swept petals off the branches, faintly carrying another sound with it.
It seemed to be... the sound of fighting?
The two exchanged a glance and concealed their auras in unison, slowly approaching the source of the sound.
After they passed through the peach grove carpeted with petals, several bamboo cottages appeared before them. A man and a woman were sparring in the courtyard with bamboo swords.
For some reason, Wu Fei's Exquisite Heart suddenly throbbed. An inexplicable feeling rose from the depths of his heart and vanished in an instant. His brow shifted slightly as he looked at the bamboo cottages before him, a hint of wariness entering his calm eyes.
Though they saw someone approaching, the two cultivators sparring did not stop. Their bamboo swords danced as each displayed profound sword techniques without using spiritual power.
Seeing this, Wu Fei turned slightly toward Yin Fan. Sure enough, the protagonist was intently studying their sword techniques, having entered a wondrous state.
While standing guard over him, Wu Fei examined the sparring pair.
The bamboo cottages were fresh and elegant. A tall peach tree grew in the enclosed little courtyard, and a small vegetable patch had been cultivated in one corner, where leafy greens and other produce were thriving.
The entire courtyard felt peaceful and serene.
The male and female cultivators sparring looked nearly middle-aged. The man was handsome, the woman gentle and beautiful, and both had peaceful demeanors. Whenever their eyes occasionally met, a faint affection flowed between them.
They were dao companions.
Wu Fei reached this conclusion, and the wariness in his eyes receded slightly. In his view, these dao companions were not evil people, and besides...
He raised a hand to his chest. That inexplicable feeling earlier had actually contained a faint sense of closeness.
At that moment, the two cultivators finally finished sparring, and Yin Fan also emerged from his moment of enlightenment.
"Guests from afar, why not come in and join us?"
Wu Fei's expression remained calm at these words, while Yin Fan raised an eyebrow. After exchanging a glance, they stepped into the bamboo courtyard.
A stone table and several bamboo chairs stood beneath the enormous peach tree.
Wu Fei went straight to the point. "May I ask your names, fellow daoists? And why do you live here?"
"My name is Lu Feiyuan." The male cultivator took the teacups from the woman. "This is my dao companion, Yun Huai."
Wu Fei went over the two names in his mind, but neither rang a bell. They seemed to be characters who had never appeared in the book.
His expression unchanged, he and Yin Fan introduced themselves as well.
"Are you a Buddhist cultivator, fellow daoist?" Lu Feiyuan asked after looking at them both.
Wu Fei gave a slight nod. "That's right."
Though exquisite, the teacups woven from bamboo twigs did not look capable of holding water. Strangely, however, they did contain tea, without leaking a single drop.
Yun Huai fetched a box of unfamiliar tea leaves and handed it to Lu Feiyuan with a faint smile.
And his movements as he brewed the tea...
Wu Fei's expression grew slightly solemn, his clear eyes fixed on the dao companions before him.
Yin Fan, who had seen Wu Fei brew tea before, also paused in surprise, then frowned slightly and looked at the Buddhist disciple beside him.
This man's tea-brewing technique...
Amid this somewhat strange atmosphere, Lu Feiyuan finished brewing the tea. The pale green tea was clear and transparent, and the cups holding it were likewise woven from thin bamboo twigs.
There were clearly visible gaps between the twigs, yet not a single drop of tea leaked out.
Taking a bamboo cup, Wu Fei handed it to Yin Fan first before taking another for himself.
Seeing this, the husband and wife across from them could not help exchanging knowing smiles.
Wu Fei took it all in, then lowered his eyes and brought the cup to his lips, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
The instant the tea entered his mouth, he thought, Just as I suspected. This was not real tea, but a stream of exceptionally pure spiritual qi.
While these dao companions had been sparring with bamboo swords, Yin Fan had been too absorbed in studying their sword techniques to notice, but Wu Fei had detected a faintly insubstantial quality to their figures.
If his guess was correct, the dao companions before him were both remnant souls.
But why was this fellow daoist Lu Feiyuan's tea-brewing technique exactly the same as the one his martial uncle in the Buddha Spirit Sect had taught him?
Author's note:
Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard-
Chapter 18: Deep affection
While Wu Fei and Yin Fan drank their tea, Lu Feiyuan noticed their confusion from across the table and said, "Yun Huai and I are indeed remnant souls at present..."
From Lu Feiyuan's explanation, Wu Fei learned that neither Lu Feiyuan nor his dao companion knew when or why they had appeared here. Part of their memories was missing, and they could only move within a hundred paces of the bamboo cottages.
"It has been a thousand years now. You two are the first people to have found your way here," Yun Huai said gently.