Chapter Fifty-Three: It Really Is You

Running down the hillside, they entered a dense forest at the foot of the mountain. Once inside, the moonlight grew scant, and soon both the man in black and Blackfeather had vanished from sight.

After running some distance, Stone Fangcheng suddenly realized that Blackfeather had sped ahead and disappeared entirely, so he stopped.

“Where’s Blackfeather?” he muttered. Ahead, the dense, pitch-dark canopies blocked all view; nothing was visible. “Go back, I’ll continue the pursuit!”

“Teacher, let me come with you,” Yixin said.

“Yixin, you take care of Lingmeng and Lingxiaolei. Bring them to a safe place—we’ll meet at the city gate!”

With that, Stone Fangcheng continued the chase.

Yixin had no choice but to stop, for he couldn’t leave Lingmeng and Lingxiaolei alone in the forest. Besides, the two girls ran too slowly and would only slow him down further. With this in mind, Yixin decided to take them back to the city gate and wait there for news from their teacher.

After entering the forest, Blackfeather had quickly left the others behind, leaping up a towering tree in a few steps. Unfurling his black wings, he soared swiftly away.

But the man in black was incredibly fast—even with his wings and all his strength, Blackfeather could only just keep up.

Just as Blackfeather’s strength was running out and he prepared to break his first seal for more speed, he saw the man in black abruptly halt in a small clearing amid the trees. There, two more figures in black converged with him.

Blackfeather quickly dropped to the ground and ran forward with all his might. The man in black handed the boy in his arms to one of the others. The two then turned to leave.

“Don’t follow,” the man in black suddenly said. With a slight movement of his sleeve, he made no obvious gesture, yet a purple vine burst from the earth, twining around Blackfeather’s feet and tripping him.

“Stop! Who are you?” Blackfeather shouted, but the two black-clad figures ahead ignored him.

“Where are you taking him?” he demanded. He raised his staff to attack, but the man who had cast the binding spell immediately stepped before him. With his back to the moonlight, his delicate, pale jawline was barely visible in the dimness. Yet the voice was oddly familiar:

“He is my disciple. I will protect him.”

“Your… disciple?” Blackfeather lay prone on the ground, looking up in confusion. So, it was you who brought him food too... The answer dawned in his heart—this must be Lingxi. The vine binding his ankles was exactly the same as the spell Lingxi had used before to help him defeat the white scorpion.

Since it was Boss Ling, perhaps reason would prevail. Blackfeather bowed his head, his voice sorrowful:

“I only want to know if he’s someone I once knew... Though the boy I knew should be dead by now... Even if he were still alive, he’d be my age, not still exactly the same as all those years ago…”

Memories flooded his mind, and he clenched a fistful of earth tightly in his palm.

“If it truly is him, even if there’s just the slightest chance, I don’t want to miss it…”

Lingxi hesitated, lowering his arms but not giving way.

His throat choked with anguish, tears already streaming down his face, Blackfeather looked up, and with his last hope shouted into the forest ahead:

“Xiaoyu!”

His cry echoed through the empty woods. A piercing, cold wind swept the treetops, making the leaves rustle.

The man in black stopped. The boy in his arms blinked, his expression shifting from blankness to life. He reached out, grasped the man in black’s shoulder, and peered out.

Those two now stood between the treetops. Blackfeather saw the boy’s youthful face gradually appear, wide-eyed, staring at him. Tears slowly welled up, and the boy bit his lower lip gently.

“Xiaoyu, is it really you?”

Blackfeather reached out toward the sky, Xiaoyu’s childish voice echoing in his mind.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Xiaoyu. What’s yours?”

The little boy whimpered, unable to speak, but he too reached out a hand toward Blackfeather, as if to grasp his, despite the vast distance between them.

“Xiaoyu! Xiaoyu!” Blackfeather cried.

Suddenly, the man in black leapt away, running deeper into the forest, carrying the boy with him.

“Xiaoyu! Xiaoyu!” Blackfeather’s voice was hoarse, tearing through the night.

Yet his body was bound fast to the ground, unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as Xiaoyu was taken away. The man’s leap made the treetops tremble, but soon the forest ahead was still once more. Lingxi glanced toward the distant hillside, sensing someone approaching rapidly. He released the vines binding Blackfeather and retreated into the shadows.

“Xiaoyu... How can you possibly be alive…” Blackfeather was filled with remorse. “If only I’d realized sooner…” He pounded the earth with his fists, venting his anguish.

Before long, Stone Fangcheng arrived and, seeing Blackfeather still on the ground, hurried over.

“Blackfeather, are you hurt? Where did the man in black go?”

Blackfeather wiped the cold tears from his eyes and stood. Stone Fangcheng helped him up and checked him for injuries.

“I’m fine, teacher. I’m not hurt,” Blackfeather replied, his expression desolate, his thoughts elsewhere. “Sorry to worry you. Let’s go back.”

Before leaving, he looked back once more at the quiet, dark woods. High above, the full moon shone cold and bright.

Under the moonlight, they returned to the city gate, where Stone Fangcheng and Blackfeather rejoined Yixin and the others.

“Teacher Stone, what happened to that boy?” Yixin asked anxiously.

“From what Blackfeather said, he was taken by someone of unknown identity. That person promised to look after the boy and ensure he would not bring harm to others. Let’s return to the academy,” Stone Fangcheng replied.

Yixin glanced at Blackfeather. “So that monster made you cry? Seems you’ve still got much to learn.”

Blackfeather walked past him in silence, his eyes cold, as if he were a different person.

Lingmeng’s mood was gloomy as well. Along the way, she walked beside Stone Fangcheng and recounted what she had seen in the Light Sprite village within the divine realm:

“Back then, there was a little boy in the village. He was also sadly infected by the darkness and fell terribly ill. His family abandoned him in a nearby swamp. It’s said that land belonged to the Dark Elves, and perhaps some kind-hearted one would take him in. Whether he survived would be up to fate…”

Though some distance away, Blackfeather overheard snippets of her words.

“The Light Sprite clan, infected…” He couldn’t help but think of Xiaoyu’s situation.