Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 60 Celestial Changes, Rainy Year Arrives
"Okay," Lin Xiufeng readily agreed.

He was curious to know if Lü Zirui, as he had judged, habitually avoided conflict like his second brother and Sun Ziyue.

Xiao Tong volunteered again, saying, "Big brother, if you have any other friends who need to relay messages, just tell Xiao Tong!"

Renxing had always wanted to contact Fang Yuan and Zhao Youyue, and after hearing about it, he wanted to speak up.

Lin Xiufeng spoke first.

"I don't have any partners, but if it's convenient, could you go to the store and buy me some peanuts to go with my drinks? Exchange them for ninety-nine peanuts, and I'll exchange ten more for you as a reward."

"No pay! I'm not very capable, so I'll just follow my older brothers and sisters and do errands!"

After saying that, Xiao Tong happily ran out.

Willful and puzzled, he asked Lin Xiufeng, "Is there something wrong with her?"

"Uncertain, too little information, no basis for accurate judgment."

"Then what did you do?" Renxing asked, confused.

"Since we can't be sure if it's reliable, there's no need to let her know everything, right?"

"Just like Fang Yuan, full of tricks! But at least you told me beforehand."

Having confirmed that Lü Zirui harbored ill intentions, Renxing felt restless just staying in the room. After a short while, he stood up and said:
I'm going out for a walk!

"I'm not going to keep them company. Don't come into contact with them if you run into them." Lin Xiufeng continued drinking his tea.

This tea is one of the classic Chinese teas from Tianlanxing; it's been a really long time since I've had it.

In the past, Lin Xiufeng would have thought that adding some milk, sugar, and tapioca pearls would make it taste even better.

More than four months after leaving Tianlan Star, I'm discovering for the first time that tea itself is actually so delicious...

It felt like stepping back into the days when my parents would drink tea and watch movies...

Lu Zirui has not returned for a long time.

After the young Tong brought back peanuts, when she came in to change Lin Xiufei's tea for the third time, she took a packet of tea from under her skirt and stuffed it into Lin Xiufei's backpack.

"Bring this to your brother, as he likes to drink it. It's a gift for him."

Lin Xiufeng felt that this scene was a bit... perhaps it wasn't her own?

This is a packet of tea that I swiped from Lü Zirui. Isn't it like offering him tea as a gift?
"Don't worry, you keep your promise, I will take you away."

Lin Xiufeng guessed that Xiao Tong was worried about being deceived, so he comforted her with kind words.

"I believe you!" Xiao Tong's eyes shone brightly, her face full of trust.

Lin Xiufeng saw that she looked to be a high school student and wondered why she was here. He guessed that she was also heartbroken, so he didn't pry into her sad story.

After a while, Lü Zirui returned, apologizing profusely, and asked Xiao Tong to take Lin Xiufeng to rest, as she still had some things to take care of.

Lin Xiufeng then suggested, "I'm going to take a walk around the village. How about Xiao Tong be my guide?"

"Take good care of our distinguished guest!" Lu Zirui readily agreed, adding a final reminder.

Lin Xiufeng took Xiao Tong for a stroll in the village, and when they encountered someone being willful, she would give them a wink.

Lin Xiufeng understood immediately and, acting on impulse, encountered either Zhao Youyue or Fang Yuan, giving them a signal.

The three of them wandered around for a while before heading to the fields behind the village.

At this time, no one was seen busy.

Xiao Tong explained that the stream behind the field leads all the way into the mountains, and at this time everyone had gone back to the village for dinner, so no one was there.

The villagers are keeping an eye on her, so they won't follow her here; it would be too easy to expose her.

"Follow the stream upstream, and you'll be safe once you cross the mountains!"

Xiao Tong led them for a while, and sure enough, they saw a stream. They followed the stream and climbed the mountain, without encountering anyone along the way.

Once you reach the top of the hill, you can see the entire village from above.

During mealtimes, fewer people are out and about in the village.

They left a large area of ​​fields, but no one came out.

Xiao Tong suggested, "Shall we hurry up and go?"

"Let's go." As Lin Xiufeng turned around, he subtly pressed his foot down on the ground, leaving obvious marks.

Renxing walked behind Lin Xiufei, occasionally raising his hand to scratch the tree, leaving scratches.

After some time, Zhao Youyue and Fang Yuan followed the markings.

The two have not yet discovered that anyone is following them.

"Nothing's wrong." Zhao Youyue had wanted to join them for a long time, but she insisted on sticking to the plan.

Fang Yuan remained silent; he was patient and not in a hurry to make a judgment.

They hadn't spoken to the willful one and didn't know what was going on, but the willful one's gestures were both overt and covert, so they felt it was necessary to maintain this state of affairs.

Lin Xiufeng and Renxing followed Xiaotong for half a day, listening to Xiaotong tell them about her life and experiences along the way.

Her parents passed away early, and she didn't want to live as a dependent in her uncle's house, so she dropped out of school and entered the Heavenly Martial Realm.

While at the Seaside House, she fell in love with someone who was a playboy. Not long after being expelled from the Seaside House, he returned to find Xiao Tong and several other girls with whom he had a close relationship, and described the beauty of the Dream Continent.

"Later, he met the powerful Tianwu Po and abandoned us. We joined the Fantian Organization in a daze and found that the organization did a lot of bad things. I pretended to be cowardly and didn't dare to do it, so I was always responsible for doing odd jobs and running errands."

"Actually, I've wanted to leave for a long time, but I was afraid of being wanted by the Heaven-Turning Organization. But I'm not afraid anymore now that I've met you! My brother is a Heavenly Warrior!"

Renxing felt sympathy for Xiaotong's experience, but was also angry at her for following that unreliable playboy, even knowing he was fickle.

“My sister is right to blame me. Actually, I knew at the time that I shouldn’t have continued to follow him.”

“But… I don’t have my sister’s courage and boldness. I’m scared if no one takes care of me. I don’t know what to do. I feel insecure if I don’t go with him…” Renxing listened with sympathy and anger. She couldn’t understand this mentality.

They dared to gamble their lives in the other world of the Heavenly Martial Realm, yet they are afraid to face the future alone?
Then, noticing that Lin Xiufeng hadn't offered any opinion, she couldn't help but say:

"Hey! Why aren't you saying anything? Can't you comfort someone?"

"We are both wanderers in this world... I too am reminded of my own sorrows."

Lin Xiufeng answered, but the willful man pressed on, "I've never heard you mention that."

"Why bring up your sad stories? It only makes you more upset every time you talk about them. Do you really want to see me cry?"

"I really miss you. I've never seen you cry." This was a very serious statement from Renxing.

"Crying is nothing. I've always cried a lot since I was little. Because children who cry get candy and are punished less. If you want to see me cry, just kowtow and I'll cry for you."

She knew Lin Xiufeng was thick-skinned and willful, but she only just realized how thick-skinned she was.

"Who are you? You think I'd kowtow to you just to see you cry? I'd definitely kowtow to you even if you died!"

I snapped at him in a fit of rage.

"So, you want me to cry and complain, so I just cry? You don't even care if I'm sad or not, why should I care if you want to see it or not?"

Lin Xiufeng retorted without hesitation.

"What a petty man who changes his mind faster than turning the pages of a book!"

Still fuming, Lin Xiufeng chuckled and replied, "Likewise."

Xiao Tong seemed startled by their argument. Seeing the water ahead, he quickly shouted:
"Water! Water!"

"Really—" Renxing exclaimed happily upon seeing the river, "After walking for so long, it's finally refreshing!"

Lin Xiufei also wanted to soak in the water, so the three of them quickened their pace.

We hadn't gone far when the red sky suddenly began to change color.

Lin Xiufeng thought there was turbulence and was about to turn back to meet up with Zhao Youyue when he heard Xiao Tong shout:
"It seems... the Rain Year is coming?"

The words "rainy year" struck Lin Xiufeng as having a profound meaning.

He had heard of the rainy season; it meant the rainy season.

Linhai City is naturally rainy.

But this rainy year...

Does "rainy year" mean a year with lots of rain?

Lin Xiufeng was genuinely curious, as neither Wang Guan nor the triangular-eyed man's notes mentioned this.

"According to the records of the Overturning Heaven Organization, several islands in the coastal branch experienced three consecutive years of rain, which turned into a dry year before the birth of the Dream Continent. Look, the sky has turned blue, which matches the data! It's the sky from the rainy year!"

Xiao Tong clearly liked Yu Nian, her face beaming with joy.

The red sky quickly turned orange, then golden yellow, then light blue, and finally blue.

During this process, the celestial martial energy in the sky surged violently.

The energy of the impact turned into rain, which fell gently from the sky.

Then, a torrential downpour swept across the land, relentlessly washing it clean!
"The Rainy Year has arrived! The Dream Continent is entering its first Rainy Year!"

Little Tong looked up to welcome the torrential rain, shouting and jumping excitedly.

It seems the river is no longer suitable for crossing.

It seems there's no need to go down.

In no time, Lin Xiufeng and Ren Xing were both soaked, feeling almost as if they were standing under a shower.

The lighter-colored areas of the top were partially see-through due to the wetness.

"Why is this rain so cold!"

I crossed my arms and realized that not only was it raining, but the temperature had also dropped significantly.

Xiao Tong quickly lost his excitement, hugged his arms, and shivered as he felt the cold rain continuously washing over him. He said:

"It's so cold, let's go hide under the tree!"

"Does it thunder in a rainy year?" Renxing asked Xiaotong as he ran towards the big tree.

"No, I saw in the records of the Overturning Heaven Organization that it does not thunder."

Xiao Tong was still shivering under the tree, so he rummaged through his backpack for some clothes.

Lin Xiufeng consciously turned her back, while Xiao Tong stared at Lin Xiufeng to reassure her that she had changed.

Even if I'm being willful, I'll still make the change. I'll have Xiao Tong keep a close eye on Lin Xiufeng.

"Don't peek! Otherwise, I'll tell Zhao Youyue!"

Xiao Tong asked curiously, "Who is Zhao Youyue?"

Lin Xiufeng suddenly turned around, looked at Renxing, and said, "Don't change it."

“You—” He thought she was being blamed for mentioning Zhao Youyue.

But she felt that at this point, there was no need to worry about Xiao Tong!

Just as Ren Xing opened his mouth, he realized that Lin Xiufei's gaze was not focused on his face.

She turned around quickly and saw two figures getting closer and closer in the downpour.

(End of this chapter)