Shaojun riding the sea

Chapter 217 He is not the High Priest

The morning light was dim, the mist was lingering, and the wind brought a biting chill. Shi Xuanling stood in front of the door, her sleeves fluttering. She looked up at the quaint and elegant plaque of Feng Tower. When she came here again after a long absence, her mood was completely different from the past.

"You, little girl, finally came to our master. He is such a worrywart. He has to take care of everyone. You don't know how much energy he has spent on curing your Madam Wan's illness. He won't listen to me no matter how I try to persuade him. We in Fenglou are just making wedding clothes, so why bother getting involved in all the troubles..."

Uncle Quan was holding a lantern and chattering incessantly as he led Shi Xuanling on the way. A white-feathered parrot was hovering over his shoulder, its feathers still puffed up as before, as if it was very dissatisfied with the outsiders who kept coming to disrupt the peace of Fenglou.

Shi Xuanling looked at the familiar parrot with a chattering mouth, couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, and gently spoke to the back in front of her:

"Uncle Quan, you could have refused to let me in, but you still brought me in. You can see that you couldn't bear it. Although Fenglou is a place for making wedding dresses, I only saw a hard-mouthed but soft-hearted parrot here. It looks very much like a gorgeous bird that flies freely in the mountains and forests of my hometown. I felt very familiar with it when I saw it, just like meeting an old friend in a foreign land..."

"Who says we are old friends? Can you please stop trying to get close to our Fenglou?" Uncle Quan was startled, and the white parrot on his shoulder became even more ruffled. He obviously looked a little strange, and his steps became much faster, as if he wanted to stay away from Shi Xuanling.

"I don't have any regrets. The head of the family has already given instructions. You outsiders just want to trouble him. Don't come to Fenglou as often in the future. We have been alone on the island for so many years. We don't want to care about anything, and we can't care about anything. Do you hear me?"

Uncle Quan said as he hurried upstairs and led Shi Xuanling to the highest point of Feng Tower in one breath. It was still the huge and empty ninth floor, still the quiet secret room, and still the cold and otherworldly figure sitting in the wheelchair.

"Young Master, we have arrived."

Uncle Quan stood by the door, holding a lamp, wanting to say something but stopping himself, his face full of worry, but the figure in the secret room was obviously as still as a mountain, and had made up his mind. He could only sigh, shake his head and leave, "What is coming will inevitably come. Fenglou, Fenglou, the bright moon sends off the sea tide every year, and a piece of idle cloud welcomes the returning guests..."

Listening to Uncle Quan's incoherent mumbling, as if he was telling a riddle, Shi Xuanling was stunned, but then he thought about the purpose of his visit, calmed himself, took a deep breath, and stepped into the secret room.

"Master Feng, we meet again."

The wheelchair turned, making a light "click" sound, and the white-haired boy turned around. As if he had expected it, his snow-white face remained calm, and he only smiled faintly at Shi Xuanling:
"Miss Shi, long time no see. You came earlier than I thought."

"You, you knew I would come to see you?" Shi Xuanling's eyes moved, and she asked tentatively: "Am I here too early? Is the timing wrong? Then when does Master Feng think I should show up at Feng Tower?"

"Any time is fine. I will serve you tea and treat you with courtesy. The so-called early or late is just a slight deviation in the abacus. Things in the world are unpredictable. Beyond the laws of nature, human determination is even better. Even if you are hit by wind, frost, and swords, as long as you remain determined and keep moving forward, and never give up on yourself, why not turn the world around and change your fate? What do you think, Miss Shi?"

Looking at the pair of clear, intelligent eyes in the wheelchair, which were not stained by a trace of worldly dust, Shi Xuanling could not help but feel a warm current in her heart. She had to say that she was greatly comforted by Feng Shuxing's words that "man can conquer nature". Many of her anxieties and confusions also dissipated in an instant. She finally smiled at him with relief:

"Thank you, Master Feng. It seems that I came to the right place today."

The aroma of tea wafts in the air, the room is quiet, and the two people sit opposite each other, as familiar and natural as if they have known each other for many years.

Before revealing the real purpose of her visit today, Shi Xuanling couldn't help but mention Madam Wan's illness. She still had some inexplicable expectations for Feng Shuxing. Perhaps he was always so mysterious and powerful, able to save people from danger at critical moments time and time again.

"Master Feng, my master's poison... is there really no cure? Even you have no way to cure it?"

In fact, before coming to Feng Tower, she had already found Little Shark and asked him to send people out to sea to find Junior Master Uncle Youming. However, the journey was long and she didn't know whether her master could hold on until that time. Now she was willing to try any method, even if there was a glimmer of hope.

However, Feng Shuxing just raised his hand to pour her a cup of tea, shook his head and said calmly: "Even if man can conquer nature, there are still many things in the world that are difficult to achieve. We can't force it, we can only try not to leave any regrets. Madam Wan's wish is to see you again. Now it has come true. This ending is not too cruel. Miss Shi, you... should be more open-minded."

Through the white mist lingering around the tea, Shi Xuanling's eyes turned slightly red. After calming herself down, she picked up the cup of tea and took a sip.

"Okay, I will find a way to save Master's life. I will not beat around the bush with Master Feng. I will not say anything else. Actually, I have another purpose for this trip. Master asked me to come here. She asked me to seek answers, to seek... the answers to the missing part of Qingli Mountain."

Shi Xuanling gently put down the teacup, moved closer to Feng Shuxing, and lowered her voice and said, "Master Feng, do you... do you know Qingli Mountain?" Feng Shuxing still looked calm and just nodded.

"Did my master tell you that?"

"No, this is a record left by the first owner of Fenglou."

"The first owner?" Shi Xuanling was greatly surprised and blurted out, "How could he know all this? Could it be that you, you really are…"

Her heart suddenly began to beat very fast, and her brown pupils were filled with urgency. However, the matter was of great importance, so she had to confirm again and again:

"Master Feng, I came here today to be honest with you. I will not lie to you about anything I know, and I hope you can tell me all the deepest secrets of Feng Tower. Since you are willing to let Uncle Quan bring me up, you actually intend to reveal everything to me, right?"

Feng Shuxing remained silent, just smiled slightly, with a look of assent in his eyes.

So Shi Xuanling no longer hesitated, dipped her fingertips in tea, and wrote a clear word "奉" on the table.

"Master Feng, your real name should actually be Feng Shuxing, right?"

"Yes." Feng Shuxing remained calm and uttered one word calmly.

Shi Xuanling's heartstrings suddenly trembled, and even her breathing became disordered. She forced herself to suppress her excitement and continued to ask, "Are all the people in Feng Tower descendants of the Feng family? You are actually from the same clan as me, and are related by blood?"

"Yes." It was still the calmest single word answer.

But this time, Shi Xuanling's hands trembled even more violently. She was so agitated that she could hardly control herself. "Then, then do you know about the four major families hundreds of years ago? Do you know about the past grudges? Do you know why the Feng family left Yunzhou Island, wandered to other places, and finally hid in the Qingli Mountains under an assumed name?"

Feng Shuxing looked directly into Shi Xuanling's brown eyes, his expression still calm. He just opened his thin lips and slowly said sixteen words -

"Use war to end wars, bring peace to the universe, clear rivers and seas, and pray for a prosperous age."

Shi Xuanling's pupils suddenly shrank, and her heart was beating wildly and almost jumped out of her chest. Yes, this was the correct sentence. This was exactly the inscription on the picture of the four friends celebrating together!
"If you really do know everything, then the Feng clan clearly broke away from the other three clans, and High Priest Feng had already led all the clan members away from Yunzhou Island. Why is there still a Feng Tower on the island? And there are also... descendants of your lineage of the Feng clan?"

Seeing that Shi Xuanling was too excited, Feng Shuxing couldn't help but reach out and pour her another cup of tea, and slowly pushed it in front of her.

"Miss Shi, I can only tell you that I not only know the things you know, but I also know the truth hidden beneath those things, or in other words, the whole picture."

"What's the truth?" Shi Xuanling's breathing was completely disordered. Not only were her hands shaking, but even the bell on her wrist made a slight sound. "Don't tell me that Fenglou is the real Feng family? Those of us who are wandering outside are not 'orthodox'?"

"Why do you think so?" Feng Shuxing raised his lips, and couldn't help but laugh at Shi Xuanling's wild guess. He took a sip of tea slowly, and then said slowly:

"Don't worry, Miss Shi. I will answer your first question again. The reason why the first owner of Fenglou knew that you were hiding in the Qingli Mountains was because someone told him personally. You are very familiar with that person. His name is Feng Qiyun. You respectfully call him - High Priest Feng. All of this has to start with him."

After a pause, Feng Shuxing looked straight into Shi Xuanling's eyes, smiling but not smiling, and said something calmly that made her face change drastically and she couldn't believe it -

"You know, Feng Qiyun is not actually Feng the High Priest."