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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 28: [The Feather Robe Immortal]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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Qin Ming stood motionless, his expression serene. Yet within his mind, fragmented images of the past flickered like dusty, smoke-shrouded shadows.
At first, they were obscured by a thick black fog, but then, like lightning piercing through a sea of clouds, the darkness shattered, the dust cleared, and bloody scenes were revealed before him.
Deep in the night, flames soared into the sky.
A youth in a Feather Robe, ethereal as an immortal, stood amidst a sea of corpses and blood...
Qin Ming touched his head, his body trembling slightly.
The "Feather Robe" had left an indelible mark on his subconscious, now piercing him with pain, awakening memories that swept away the dust obscuring his mind.
He closed his eyes, resolutely suppressing the turmoil within. His body quickly relaxed, and he slowly opened his eyes again.
This was not the time or place for excessive emotional displays.
He must maintain a facade of normalcy, using the technique of Harmonizing With the World to dull his spiritual energy and blend into the crowd.
Qin Ming's eyes cleared, his hair fluttering in the wind.
He stood perfectly still, as if nothing had happened, yet his mind was now flooded with fragmented images.
He calmed himself, breaking free from the emotional cage that had held him captive.
With a detached perspective, he began to examine the past, like an outsider observing the bloody scenes that had once unfolded before him.
Night had fallen, and a massive fire raged, consuming the entire mountain forest.
The roaring flames seemed to devour the night sky itself.
At the foot of the mountain, the village was also engulfed in flames, spreading everywhere. Houses collapsed, corpses littered the streets, and blood flowed through the narrow alleys.
Amidst the scorching inferno and the ruins, a youth's hair danced in the wind, his Feather Robe fluttering like an immortal's.
His eyes and brows seemed to glow with an otherworldly radiance, transcending the mundane world.
A faint light emanated from his body, and his white shoes and socks remained pristine, untouched by dust.
Even amidst the ruins and surrounded by fire, he seemed detached from the mortal realm, a being apart.
Fourteen-year-old Qin Ming lay on the ground, his mouth and nose filled with the acrid stench of burning flesh and ash.
Screams pierced his ears, and all he could see was the merciless glow of the flames.
The beams and pillars of the house behind him snapped under the heat and crashed down with a thunderous roar.
He saw many familiar faces among the dead, the entire village consumed by a sea of fire.
The Feather-Robed Youth, holding a purple, glowing bamboo staff, stepped over the rubble and approached Qin Ming.
Though his bearing was extraordinary, his eyes shimmering like starlight, his movements were cold and ruthless.
With a swing of his luminous staff, the youth struck Qin Ming's head. Blood gushed forth, sending him reeling. The night sky seemed to ignite with flames before his eyes.
Qin Ming's clothes were tattered, and he had been injured earlier. After taking another blow, he was choked by smoke and fireworks in the sea of fire, coughing violently and unable to rise.
The Feather-Robed Youth then swung his slender bamboo staff repeatedly, each strike landing on Qin Ming's body with the sound of cracking bones.
"I thought I had only suffered a severe head injury. I never imagined that these scenes were hidden in my forgotten memories," Qin Ming murmured inwardly, watching the past unfold.
He remained calm, as if observing someone else's life.
Figures darted through the village, swiftly finishing off the wounded.
Only the Feather-Robed Youth stood still, using his purple-glowing bamboo staff to attack Qin Ming.
"It's clear he could have shattered my skull with a single blow, but he didn't. What hatred does he hold against me? Why must he make me endure this excruciating pain repeatedly?"
Qin Ming etched the Feather-Robed Youth's face into his memory. Though the youth was handsome, ethereal, and otherworldly, the firelight revealed a cold, ruthless side.
"My arm was broken, yet I didn't even realize it afterward. How long was I unconscious that year, at the age of fourteen?" Qin Ming wondered.
"My chest hurts badly. It's probably cracked from his bamboo staff," Qin Ming observed the bloody scene in the firelight with detached calm.
"Torture me first, then kill me?" Even after more than two years, Qin Ming could still vividly recall the helplessness and excruciating pain.
The Feather-Robed Youth seemed disgusted, never making physical contact with him.
He only struck him with a bamboo rod, then struck his head twice more.
Qin Ming distinctly heard the sound of bone cracking.
Blood splattered, some landing on his neck, some trickling down his cheek.
Both were youths, yet one was as handsome as jade, ethereal and otherworldly, while the other was left in tattered, blood-soaked clothes, face covered in blood, collapsed in the dust — a stark contrast.
Finally, Qin Ming, at fourteen, was losing consciousness.
Through a haze, he saw two figures burst from the ruins, suddenly repelling the Feather-Robed Youth.
They grabbed him and swiftly plunged into the darkness.
On the way, his blurred vision caught a glimpse of a colossal, dazzling city stretching across the land.
"Luoyue (Fallen Moon) City... let's avoid it," the two figures murmured, bypassing the city and quickly fleeing.
Through the haze, he heard a sigh: "Three fractures in the skull, scalp and flesh completely crushed. It's too severe... he probably won't survive. His arm and chest..."
Finally, Qin Ming plunged into complete darkness.
Now, he lay motionless, quietly experiencing the boundless darkness.
"Someone took me away and brought me to this remote area. My head suffered three severe blows, nearly shattering my skull. No wonder I've forgotten so much, only retaining fragmented memories of wandering after waking up."
He realized he must have been unconscious for over three months.
By the time he awoke, the fractures in his arm and chest had already healed.
If he hadn't seen the Feather-Robed Youth again today, he still wouldn't have remembered these details, only the image of his head being struck and blood splattering into the flames.
Though a knot of unease tightened in his chest, he didn't harbor excessive anger.
What good would it do to be sorrowful, enraged, or furious now that it had already happened?
What he needed was an effective solution for the future: to find and eliminate the Feather-Robed Youth!
"The Feather Robe Immortal... his origins are far from simple," Qin Ming sighed softly.
"Judging by the numerous experts present in that sea of fire, this likely involves a powerful organization."
He then regained his composure.
In fact, he began to reflect from the Feather-Robed Youth's perspective. If he were the youth, he wouldn't have subjected his target to such prolonged torture. He would have ended it with a single blow, eliminating all future threats.
"Luoyue (Fallen Moon) City!" Qin Ming's eyes seemed to pierce the night sky as he silently repeated the city's name in his mind.
The village where the incident had occurred couldn't be far from Luoyue (Fallen Moon) City.
Old Liu was visibly excited, whispering, "How powerful! What's the background of this Feather-Robed Woman? She dares to confront the Moon Insect head-on, standing defiant in the night sky."
The others in the snow shared his sentiment.
Moreover, as the only female powerhouse present, her identity piqued everyone's curiosity.
She stood suspended in mid-air atop the Azure Great Bird, shrouded in a mysterious, hazy glow.
An elderly man remarked, "I doubt they'll come to confrontation. High-level experts are usually deployed for deterrence. If they truly engage in a full-scale battle, it would mean tearing off all pretense and fighting to the death."
No sooner had he spoken than the Moon Insect suddenly erupted in blinding light above the towering mountains and endless wilderness shrouded in the faint night.
Radiant bolts of light, like dazzling lightning arrows, shot forth, piercing toward the Feather-Robed Woman on the Azure Great Bird.
Many faces paled.
"Are they really about to start a major war?!"
Only the four beings seated in the snow remained calm, none of them rising to their feet.
In the night sky, the Feather-Robed Woman on the Azure Great Bird raised her slender hand.
She summoned the wind and snow, transforming them into countless crystalline raindrops that fell in a dense curtain.
In an instant, the night sky became a shimmering veil, blocking the Moon Insect's light arrows.
With a resounding clang, all the light arrows were deflected, revealing their true forms: silver-white insects, seemingly forged from refined metal and exceptionally hard. They shot through the night sky, attempting to pierce the rain curtain.
The rain curtain grew crystalline, each raindrop stretching infinitely into a glowing thread that sliced through the darkness.
With a series of muffled pops, the dense swarm of silver insects were either severed or directly pierced.
Most of the silver flying insects shattered into nothingness, like bubbles bursting in a dream.
Only two light-transformed insects remained undamaged, plummeting towards the mountains.
With a thunderous boom, as if a violent earthquake had struck, an avalanche erupted, blanketing the area in a sea of white.
The onlookers watched in awe, too stunned to comment.
The Moon Insect hung high above, like a bright Moon suspended over the forest. It made no further move.
The woman on the Azure Great Bird stood still, her robes fluttering in the wind. She maintained her composure and even took a step back.
Clearly, this was a probing test by the higher echelons. If one side proved utterly inadequate, there would be no need for the so-called final negotiation.
Qin Ming gazed at the Feather-Robed Woman on the Azure Great Bird, thinking it unlikely that her attire was related to the Feather-Robed Youth.
Yet he couldn't resist the urge to ask.
Turning to Mu Qing, he said, "Does wearing a Feather Robe signify a significant background?"
Mu Qing, completely shrouded in a black robe, glanced at him.
"Outsiders are generally detached, transcending worldly affairs. I don't know her specific origins."
Qin Ming nodded and didn't press further.
Ahead, the atmosphere among the four figures meditating in the snow had surprisingly softened.
They were even smiling at each other.
Though the crowd couldn't hear their conversation, they assumed it was going well.
This was likely due to the earlier probing clash between the Moon Insect and the Feather-Robed Woman, which had paved the way for smoother negotiations.
Ling Xu spoke first: "We will help you drive away those migrating Aliens. We won't be greedy. If those special nodes contain valuable resources, we only ask for a share. That's all. Also, the Aliens who have recently expanded their territory must retreat."
The Snow-White Old Weasel sat cross-legged, one hand twisting a prayer bead.
"Why should we share with you? Wouldn't it make more sense for us to join forces with the newly arrived Higher Lifeforms to deal with you?"
Ling Xu, dressed in white, remained seated.
"There's no need for us to test each other. Both our time is precious. I'll keep this brief. Listen carefully. We only want the special resources that might emerge from those nodes. But those newly arrived Higher Lifeforms aren't just after those resources; they're also eyeing your ancestral home. They claim they have no permanent dwelling and are merely passing through, staying for a few months as guests. Do you believe them?"
"Very well, we agree."
"Excellent! That's settled then!"
Both sides rose to their feet.
The general terms had been agreed upon with remarkable efficiency, without any hesitation.
The details would be hammered out by others; it was no longer their concern.
"That's it? Already?" The crowd was stunned to see the high-ranking figures rising to leave.
They hadn't expected the meeting to conclude so quickly.
"Return and await further instructions. Be prepared to enter the mountains at any moment," Li Hua Cat said, turning to address the crowd with a crimson sword strapped to his back.
The people from Chi Xia City were instantly ecstatic.
This meant the negotiations had truly succeeded!
Qin Ming noticed a crow flying nearby, its presence rather conspicuous. It landed on a large, protruding blue-gray stone in the snow.
There, a woman draped in a fur-lined cloak stood with her black hair fluttering in the wind.
She glanced in his direction twice.
The crow spoke: "Why is that boy's aura even weaker than before? Something's not right. I suspect he's practicing a technique to conceal his life force, probably because he himself felt too conspicuous. I told you he wasn't simple. What suitable candidate have you found? Are you sure you won't reconsider him?"
"The person I've chosen is like the sun about to break through dark clouds, but premature exposure would only invite heavenly jealousy. I've already sent him away," the woman replied.
She glanced at Qin Ming again and added, "I'll have someone test him later to see if he can be considered as an alternative."
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END OF CHAPTER
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