Song of Adolescence

Chapter 401 What You See In Your Heart

"Who's there!" At the same time that Xiao Se felt someone touch his shoulder, Lei Wujie also felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around and swung his sword at the same time.

The other person immediately retreated, then lowered his head and coughed softly.

"Shu… shushu." Lei Wujie was stunned.

Standing right in front of him was a man who reeked of alcohol. He was dressed in grey clothes, and his face was pale with dark circles under his eyes, looking as if he was seriously ill. He looked at Lei Wujie and said in a light voice, "Xiao-Jie, I haven’t seen you in so many years."

Lei Wujie only had one uncle in his life, and that was Lei Mengchen. And this person died many years ago.

Suddenly, Lei Wujie burst into tears.

In this world, the person closest to Lei Wujie by blood should be Li Hanyi, his own sister. However, they were separated for too many years and missed out on the time when they really needed each other. The person he spent the longest time with would have been Lei Hong. Lei Hong brought Lei Wujie up, training him from a weakling to an outstanding swordsman. The two of them spent day after day in a backyard in Lei Clan training their swords. However, only Lei Wujie knew that the person he felt closest to in his heart was actually Lei Mengchen.

Although there were many days where Lei Mengchen passed out drunk on his own, he was the one who personally brought Lei Wujie back to Lei Clan. He was the one who stayed by Lei Wujie’s side through his most painful days. During those years, Lei Wujie was often in poor health, and Lei Mengchen was the one who sat in the yard day after day, brewing medicine for him.

Later, Lei Mengchen finally drank himself to death, and the Lei Clan ignored them. Lei Wujie was the one who buried Lei Mengchen himself.

"Shushu, why are you here?" Lei Wujie couldn’t keep the slight tremor from his voice.

Lei Mengchen pointed at Lei Wujie's chest. "I'm not here. I’m in there."

Lei Wujie frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "In my… heart?"

Lei Mengchen neither confirmed nor denied and he waved a hand. "Kill me and you can walk past this floor."

"No." Lei Wujie shook his head and put his sword back in its sheath. "You’ve got to be joking. I haven't seen you in so many years. Why don't we sit down and chat?"

The Azure Empyrean sword in Li Fansong's hand was vibrating with unease, but his heart was beating even more anxiously. Because the one standing in front of him was not anyone else he knew, but his former master, the former Sectmaster of Qingcheng Mountain and one of the five great sword immortals, the Daoist Sword Immortal - Zhao Yuzhen.

"Shi… shifu!" Li Fansong immediately fell to his knees.

"I’m not your only shifu now," Zhao Yuzhen remarked with a smile.

"Shifu, you… you’re still alive?" Li Fansong’s face was already covered with tears as he was overcome with emotion.

"Silly child." Zhao Yuzhen rubbed Li Fansong's head. "How can a dead person come back to life? I’m already dead. What you’re seeing now is just an illusion."

"An… illusion." Li Fansong blinked.

"That’s right. What you can’t see with your eyes but think of in your heart, that’s an illusion. But, come to think of it, our existence is merely the shadow of an illusion." Zhao Yuzhen hooked his fingers and Li Fansong's Drunken Song sword flew into his hand. "This sword is not bad. I’ll use this, then. You use the Azure Empyrean sword. Let’s test our swords."

"Test our swords?" Li Fansong didn’t get it.

"Aren’t you challenging this First Tower Under Heaven? If you can defeat me, you’ll pass through the second floor and go up to the third floor." Zhao Yuzhen pointed upwards.

"Test my sword against shifu?" Li Fansong frowned slightly. "But how could I be a match for shifu?"

"Why are you still so timid?" Zhao Yuzhen chuckled. "I just told you I’m an illusion. An illusion from your heart. How strong I am depends on how strong you think I am. Fight me!"

"Shifu." Li Fansong tightened his grip on the Azure Empyrean sword, trembling slightly in place. "I… I’m still scared."

"Be better than you are." Zhao Yuzhen flicked his long sleeves and rushed towards Li Fansong.

Xiao Se exhaled a sigh. "I wondered who I’d meet. So, it’s you."

The other man smiled. "You already knew from the start."

"There was incense set in front of the ancestor founder of the Directorate of Astronomy. It was a hallucinatory incense and the array set up in this room is a retrospection array. When this incense is combined with this array, even the strongest mind will start to hallucinate. Once you lose your mind, you will bring up your inner demons. What we’re seeing are the mental obstacles that we couldn’t forget in our hearts." Xiao Se grinned. "My mental obstacle is you?"

"It's me." The other man also grinned.

His smile was exactly the same as Xiao Se’s, only a little more arrogant. The other man was dressed in white, radiating with spirit, completely different from Xiao Se, who always had an air of laziness about him. However, his face was exactly the same as Xiao Se, though somewhat younger.

Standing in front of Xiao Se was the Xiao Se from four years ago.

He was the one who entered the Unfettered Heavenly Realm at the age of seventeen, the one who followed Langya Prince to learn the art of war and military arts, the consummate prince whose literary talent and poetic works were praised by the imperial court and the commoners. He was the Xiao Se whom everyone was certain would be the heir to the throne.

That Xiao Se of the past would ride his horse rampantly through Heavenly Revelations City when he felt like it. At other times, he would be introverted and hide in the house to study a chess manual for days without emerging. That was his best time. Everyone believed in him, respected him, and appreciated him, while he was neither humble nor arrogant, nor was he pretentious. He accepted the praises and at the same time, he loved the world where everything was perfect. Until that day, when he became involved in those filthy disputes for the first time, yet was utterly powerless in the end.

"Long time no see." Xiao Se yawned lazily.

The Xiao Se on the other side looked at him, his eyes bright, a smile on his face. "I feel so disappointed looking at the way you are now. Look at me, then look at yourself again."

"What's wrong with me?" Xiao Se asked back. "I think the way I am now is pretty good."

"You’re so exhausted and worn out. You no longer resemble that consummate prince of the past." The white-clothed Xiao Se shook his head. "You have failed to live up to Langya-wangshu’s and Ruofeng-shifu’s teachings."

"I’ve never forgotten what they taught me. And what they didn’t teach me back then, I’ve also learned." Xiao Se raised the Wuji staff and tapped it on his neck. "Don't be hasty, take your time. The years in the martial world hastens ageing. I’ve been in the martial world for so many years. What would a little immature kid like you know?"

"Little immature kid? I entered the Unfettered Heavenly Realm at the age of seventeen. In terms of martial arts, how many under Heaven can surpass me?" The white-clothed Xiao Se boasted arrogantly.

"I really envy you like this." Xiao Se suddenly sighed.

"What did you say?" The white-clothed Xiao Se was confused.

"Although I think you're really naive now, I'm also really envious. Envious of myself when I didn’t yet understand the world." There was a strange light in Xiao Se's eyes. "I miss that person I was before. But, it’s a pity. Although I miss it, I wouldn’t wish for it again."

The white-clothed Xiao Se said angrily, "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to go to the third floor. What do I need to do?" Xiao Se asked.

"Kill me," the white-clothed Xiao Se said slowly.