The Legend of the Demon Hunter

Walking to the backyard, Yun Zhonghe arranged accommodation for the people from Nowan College and left. He told them to have a good rest tonight and the competition would be held as scheduled tomorrow.

As night fell, everything was silent. The moonlight shone through the window into the room, creating patches of light and shadow. Xiao Zhu was alone in the room. Perhaps because he was not used to the new environment, he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, and began to have wild thoughts in his mind.

He thought of Ruqing, the dean of Novan College. This poor mother lost her husband and children at an early age. She had not been able to get out of the shadow for seventeen years and had been in a state of madness.

Then he thought of himself. He knew that he was not born in Heshan Village, but was adopted by a hunter named Xiao Chengren when he was a baby. He was named Xiao Zhu, but Xiao Chengren died when he was very young. Fortunately, the people of Heshan Village were simple and honest, and the villagers took good care of him, so he was able to grow up healthily.

Thinking about it this way, where is his biological mother? Where is she? Why did she abandon him outside Heshan Village?

The more Xiao Zhu thought about it, the more upset he felt. He lost all desire to sleep, so he simply put on his clothes and walked out of the room.

Although Yanhui Peak is located in the south, the wind at night is still bitingly cold because of its high terrain. Xiao Zhu couldn't help shivering when a gust of cool wind blew. He walked aimlessly and unknowingly came to the back of the mountain. This place is remote, with nothing but some rocky cliffs and few people.

Xiao Zhu had no intention of moving forward. When he was about to turn around and go back, he suddenly noticed a figure on the edge of the cliff in front of him, and this figure gave him a sense of familiarity.

Xiao Zhu walked towards the figure, and his footsteps startled the other person, who slowly turned around. Xiao Zhu saw that she was slender and tall, with a beautiful but haggard face. It was Ning Zhiwan.

The moment Ning Zhiwan saw Xiao Zhu, she showed a look of surprise, then blushed and put on a slight smile. In Xiao Zhu's impression, she seemed to rarely smile, and seeing her smile in this hazy night was as beautiful as the autumn sunset.

The two looked at each other speechlessly.

"Wan'er, it's so late, why aren't you sleeping yet?" Xiao Zhu was the first to break the silence.

"Isn't it the same for Brother Xiao?" Ning Zhiwan's voice floated faintly.

Xiao Zhu walked forward to Ning Zhiwan's side and said, "I had too many thoughts at night. I thought about some past events and felt depressed, so I went out for a walk and accidentally walked here."

"It is a fate that we can meet here with the same mood. Brother Xiao, are you willing to tell Wan'er about your troubles?" Ning Zhiwan said with a blink of her eyes.

Since that competition, Xiao Zhu and Ning Zhiwan have not spoken a word. Ning Zhiwan seemed to have frozen her heart and looked cold to everyone. Ning Zhiwan's state at this time was completely different from the cold and frosty appearance a few days ago. Xiao Zhu no longer felt alienated, so he inadvertently opened up and told her about how he grew up in Heshan Village, accidentally met Gu Chuan and Xia Shi and became a demon hunter, and how he was deceived by Gu Chuan and fell into the snow ant nest.

Ning Zhiwan turned into a good listener. She held her chin with both hands and listened carefully to Xiao Zhu's story. She would ask about some details from time to time. Before she knew it, the moon had risen to the zenith.

"Brother Xiao, do you know? Sometimes I really feel that I envy Xia Shi." Ning Zhiwan suddenly said.

"Why?" Xiao Zhu asked puzzledly.

"After the fall of Fuguang Town, Xia Shi has had Brother Xiao by her side all these years, and she must have been very satisfied. But I have a deep hatred for my mother's murder, and I have had to face it alone for so many years. Who can understand the hardships involved?" Ning Zhiwan looked into the distance, her words drifting with the wind.

After hearing Ning Zhiwan's words, Xiao Zhu didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Brother Xiao, can I ask you a question?" Ning Zhiwan asked without waiting for Xiao Zhu to answer.

"Well, go ahead and ask." Xiao Zhu said.

"Over the years, is the feeling you have for Xia Shi the sympathy between a brother and sister, or the love between opposite sexes?" This sentence seemed to have been held in Ning Zhiwan's heart for a long time. Two flames burned in her beautiful eyes, and in the center of the flames was reflected the shadow of Xiao Zhu. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

Hearing this question, Xiao Zhu was stunned. He had never seriously thought about it from this perspective before. He thought for a long time before answering, "Both!"

The voice of this sentence was not loud, and in this cool night, it was soon drowned out by the chirping of insects and birds around. But to Ning Zhiwan it was like a bolt from the blue. The light that had just ignited in her eyes was extinguished, and her gaze quickly dimmed.

"I understand..." Ning Zhiwan replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

At this moment, Xiao Zhu could no longer guess what Ning Zhiwan was thinking, but he didn't know how to respond, because he could neither give her an answer nor a result.

"Brother Xiao, do you know? Before entering the illusion of nothingness, I never thought of relying on anyone. When I first saw you in the illusion of nothingness, I was actually a little disdainful in my heart, because I have a firm goal in this life, which is to improve my cultivation and revenge. My childhood experiences made me a little cynical. I never thought about taking the initiative to make friends. People of my age are just competitors in my eyes. But in the illusion of nothingness, you saved my life twice, which made me feel attached to you. At first I didn’t think much of it and just thought it was a relationship between friends. Until I walked out of the illusion of nothingness and saw you and Xia Shi hugging each other, I felt the torment and torture in my heart. I realized that I was wrong..." At the end, Ning Zhiwan had tears in her eyes and her voice was a little choked.

"Wan'er, I'm sorry. I..." Xiao Zhu was speechless for a moment.

These words had no comforting effect at all, and Ning Zhiwan's tears flowed down her fair cheeks.

She looked up at Xiao Zhu and suddenly said, "Brother Xiao, can I hug you?"

Xiao Zhu couldn't bear to refuse, so he nodded slightly.

Ning Zhiwan walked forward, hugged Xiao Zhu tightly, and buried her head in his shoulders. Xiao Zhu could clearly smell the faint fragrance coming from her body.

"Brother Xiao, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to hurt you and Xia Shi on the stage that day." Ning Zhiwan said with a choked voice.

"It's okay, I never blame you." Xiao Zhu replied.

Ning Zhiwan let go of Xiao Zhu's arms, took a step back, wiped away her tears, and said in a calm voice: "Brother Xiao, the order of appearance in life is really important..."

After saying this, without waiting for Xiao Zhu to answer, she turned around and walked back the way she came.

Xiao Zhu looked at her thin back and felt an unspeakable feeling in his heart. He really wanted to call out "Wan'er". Ning Zhiwan walked very slowly, as if she was also expecting something, but he did not call out in the end, because he knew in his heart that once he said these two words, he would hurt another person whom he did not want to hurt even more.

Ning Zhiwan's back gradually disappeared into the night. Xiao Zhu sighed and turned to walk towards his residence.

The night is as cold as water, whose heart is hurt?