Zhou Fuxue fell into a pensive silence and spoke no more.
Before long, the group finally arrived at the legendary Wenfeng Tower.
True to the tales, the tower soared into the clouds. People bustled in and out of every floor. Looking up, one could see countless glass lamps hanging from the upturned eaves, with jade bells suspended from their bases. When the wind blew, they emitted a crisp, melodic chiming that blended into a beautiful symphony.
Upon the ridge of each floor sat *Chiwen* roof-beasts, depicted in mid-stride as if galloping. Their mouths were agape as if swallowing clouds and spitting mist, while their tails were pinned to the eaves by sharp swords, making them look like monstrous beasts executed and nailed to the roof.
Ming Zhu watched the *Chiwen*, which looked as though they were struggling to break free. "Tsk," he remarked. "Are those roof-beasts?"
Shen Hongchuan gently adjusted the flower that had tilted in Ming Zhu’s hair. "Not exactly," he said nonchalantly. "The roof-beasts of ordinary households are always carved from stone or jade. Who would use the real thing? These are merely spirit beasts forcibly pinned here to suppress the tower and ensure its safety. Pay them no mind; we’re going straight to the thirtieth floor."
With that, he led Ming Zhu into the crowded Wenfeng Tower.
The tower was filled with people seeking information—young and old, from common peddlers to those in silk finery. They carried heavy loads of spirit crystals, lining up to enter this gold-paved hall, all to exchange their wealth for a thin slip of paper before departing satisfied.
From the moment he stepped inside, Ming Zhu’s eyes wandered everywhere, his curiosity seemingly boundless.
Shen Hongchuan turned to the two behind them and said coolly, "Alright, I’m taking my Senior Brother to collect some correspondence. You two can amuse yourselves in the tower. Just try not to cause trouble—and if you do, don't say you know me."
"..." Lu Qingkong was left speechless and could only roll his eyes.
Zhou Fuxue frowned. "Is Eldest Senior Brother not coming with us?"
Shen Hongchuan’s expression immediately darkened.
Ming Zhu smiled and patted Zhou Fuxue’s soft hair. "I have important business to attend to. Didn't you two have things to do here as well? Let’s handle our affairs separately and meet at the entrance when we're done. Your Seventh Senior Brother will take us for a feast then, alright?"
Zhou Fuxue had always been obedient to Ming Zhu. Hearing this, he nodded immediately. He gently tugged at Ming Zhu’s wide sleeve, swaying it back and forth like a child acting spoiled. "Then Senior Brother must be careful in all things."
Ming Zhu’s heart nearly melted at the gesture. He hurriedly promised, "I will, I will, I’ll definitely be careful!"
Only then did a rare, faint smile appear on Zhou Fuxue’s cold face.
Shen Hongchuan watched from the side with a cold gaze. Seeing their endless farewell, he placed a hand on Ming Zhu’s shoulder and said with forced tenderness, "Senior Brother, let’s go. The Tower Master does not wait for people lightly."
"Right, right, let's go," Ming Zhu said.
He followed Shen Hongchuan toward a side corridor.
Lu Qingkong watched their retreating figures, his brow suddenly furrowing as a thought occurred to him. "Something’s not right."
"What is it?" Zhou Fuxue asked.
"I looked into Wenfeng Tower before we came," Lu Qingkong said. "The Tower Master only receives guests on the thirtieth floor if the matter concerns a powerful demonic cultivator. And they just said they were going to the thirtieth floor..."
Zhou Fuxue recalled Shen Hongchuan’s words, and his brow furrowed as well. "They’re investigating something related to demonic cultivators?"
Lu Qingkong’s face was grave. However, the thirtieth floor was not a place small figures like them could enter at will. No matter how curious they were, they could only suppress it and wait to ask Ming Zhu when he returned.
The Ming Zhu they were worrying about was currently acting quite carefree, following Shen Hongchuan while chattering incessantly. "How did they build a tower this high? That whatever-it’s-called Linglong Tower back at our Rizhao Mountain only has ten floors at most, and it feels like it’ll topple whenever the wind blows. Every time I walk under it, I’m afraid I’ll be crushed. Oh, by the way, how do we get up? By sword?"
His expression soured at the thought, and he clutched his stomach in distress. "Please, let’s not."
Shen Hongchuan listened to his rambling with infinite patience, showing no sign of annoyance. He chuckled and said, "Of course not."
They reached the end of the corridor. Shen Hongchuan pushed open a door with practiced ease. A jade token on his wrist flashed, forming a circular barrier that enveloped them both.
Ming Zhu felt his vision blur. The surroundings changed abruptly, as if they had been teleported through the void.
They were now in a room where every wall was lined with scrolls. Ming Zhu looked up and saw that even the ceiling was covered in volumes, suspended by invisible barriers and fluttering slightly in a phantom breeze.
Shen Hongchuan tapped Ming Zhu’s wrist. "Senior Brother, that is the Master of Wenfeng Tower."
Ming Zhu withdrew his wandering gaze and looked where Shen Hongchuan was pointing. He saw a woman in a blue robe sitting amidst a pile of scrolls as high as a person, writing furiously.
She read with incredible speed, scanning ten lines at a glance. In just a few breaths, she finished a thick volume and tossed it onto a pile without looking, appearing to be in an extreme rush.
The Master of Wenfeng Tower was remarkably young, with a pretty face and a graceful bearing. A vermilion mark between her brows was strikingly beautiful. However, she looked as though she hadn't slept for days; there were dark circles under her eyes, and her lids remained half-closed. She looked sluggish and weary, as if she might fall asleep at any moment.
Ming Zhu always minded his image in front of a beauty. He immediately shed his roguish, idle air, straightened his back, and flicked his sleeves, trying his best to look dignified and imposing. He said with feigned restraint, "Ming Zhu, first disciple of Immortal Guining of Rizhao Mountain, greets the Master of Wenfeng Tower."
Wen Feng looked up from the mountain of scrolls, spared Ming Zhu a lazy glance, and murmured, "Hmm. Good-looking. Barely tolerable to the eye."
She spoke as if the words were caught in her mouth, her lips barely moving as she squeezed the sounds out one by one. Her voice was so lethargic and weak it made one want to nap just listening to her.
Ming Zhu didn't quite catch the nuance of her words, but he was inexplicably happy to be praised. He smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."
Wen Feng gave him a languid look and turned to Shen Hongchuan. "He’s the one who wants the whereabouts of Ming Zhao, right?"
The moment that name was uttered, the smile on Ming Zhu’s face faded significantly.
Shen Hongchuan remained expressionless. "Yes."
"Fine," Wen Feng said. "Ten."
"Deal," Shen Hongchuan replied.
Wen Feng nodded, covered her mouth to yawn, and began to shuffle around the walls with sluggish steps, searching for scrolls related to Ming Zhao.
Watching her move as slowly as a tortoise, Ming Zhu wanted to help but feared he would only get in the way. He leaned in to whisper to Shen Hongchuan, "What did she mean by 'ten'?"
Shen Hongchuan smiled. "Wenfeng Tower has always traded information for money. This 'ten' naturally refers to spirit crystals."
"Oh," Ming Zhu said. "Ten spirit crystals. That’s quite cheap. I heard people say Wenfeng Tower likes to demand exorbitant prices, but it seems they aren't as ferocious as the rumors suggest."
Shen Hongchuan watched Ming Zhu’s earnest expression as he looked at Wen Feng. He curled his lips into a smile but said nothing more.
That "ten" was naturally not ten spirit crystals. Only someone like Ming Zhu, who had been shut away on Rizhao Mountain for years and was unacquainted with the ways of the world, would interpret a "ten" without any qualifiers in such a way.
The two waited for a long while before Wen Feng finally shuffled back to Ming Zhu. She carelessly tossed him the scroll worth "ten spirit crystals" and said, "Here. Take it and get lost. Don't be an eyesore."
Ming Zhu hurriedly caught the bamboo scroll. He stared intently at the bamboo slats, which glowed with a faint white light. For some reason, his eyes began to redden.
Seeing his dazed state, Shen Hongchuan tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. "Senior Brother?"
Ming Zhu snapped out of it as if waking from a dream. "Ah... thank you."
Shen Hongchuan and Wen Feng seemed to be old acquaintances. He familiarly tossed a ring to her and said, "The crystals are all inside. Have someone count them. Also, I’m borrowing the side room. I need to help my Senior Brother open a scroll."
Wen Feng didn't even look up. "Get out, get out, get out."
Shen Hongchuan smiled, taking her words as permission. He led Ming Zhu slowly into an adjacent side chamber. "Senior Brother, long nights bring many dreams. It’s better to open the scroll right here."
Ming Zhu looked down at the delicate bamboo scroll in his hand. After a long silence, he whispered, "Okay."
The side chamber wasn't large, but its decor reflected the extravagant style of Wenfeng Tower. It was furnished with tables, chairs, a chaise longue, pearl curtains, and incense burners—every detail exuding refinement.
"I’ll wait for you outside, alright?" Shen Hongchuan asked.
Ming Zhu looked up at him blankly, but soon nodded. "Alright," he said softly.
Seeing his distracted state, Shen Hongchuan gave him a comforting smile and considerately closed the door as he stepped out.
The door clicked shut. Ming Zhu stood before the curtains of crushed jade, staring at the scroll in his hand, seemingly struggling with whether to open it.
After a long time, he gritted his teeth. With trembling hands, he unwound the red string around the bamboo slats, circle by circle—as if peeling back the layers of a hidden wound he had kept for decades to reveal the mangled flesh beneath.
The bamboo slats were spread open one by one. In the center lay a translucent jade token, its purpose unknown. But Ming Zhu had no interest in it now. He stared obsessively at the lines of text on the bamboo. By the time he reached the end, his entire body began to shake violently.
*Crash—!*
Pacing outside, Shen Hongchuan heard a loud noise and rushed into the room. He found Ming Zhu collapsed on the floor, still clutching the bamboo slats. The jade curtains behind him had been shattered by the force of his aura, the strings snapped and beads clattering across the floor.
Shen Hongchuan watched Ming Zhu sitting there in a daze. Unable to tell what was happening, he took a tentative step forward and whispered, "Senior Brother?"
To his surprise, Ming Zhu still recognized him. He slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Shen Hongchuan. He said softly, "Hongchuan... the dead cannot return to life, a broken mirror cannot be made whole, and spilled water cannot be gathered. Even a three-year-old understands this. Why does he, Ming Zhao, not understand?"
Shen Hongchuan remained silent, not knowing how to answer.
"Back then, he killed my mother, forcibly destroyed my spiritual veins, and fell into the demonic path right before Fuhua." Ming Zhu seemed lost in a memory, his handsome face twisted with agony and grief. "Leaving me to live all these years like..."
He paused, then chose the most fitting description with a sense of self-abandonment: "...like a useless piece of trash."
Shen Hongchuan dropped to one knee and reached out to him. "You are not trash, Senior Brother. I know that."
It was unclear if Ming Zhu heard him. He raised the bamboo slats, and a flicker of flame instantly reduced them to a pile of ash. In the corner of his eye, Shen Hongchuan caught a glimpse of a few blurred words.
"...entering the secret realm at the cost of his life... delusional hope for the Soul-Anchoring... resurrection..."
The words that followed were illegible.
Ming Zhu closed his slender fingers, crushing the ashes within his well-defined grip. He stared into the void, his beautiful face as cold and indifferent as a sculpture of ice.
"Resurrection? Delusional thinking. Since you regret killing her so much, I will make sure you are separated by heaven and earth, so that you may never disturb her peace again for all eternity."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
:--- | :--- | :---
闻风楼 | Wenfeng Tower | An information hub in Shuoyu City.
闻风 | Wen Feng | The Master of Wenfeng Tower.
螭吻 | Chiwen | A dragon-like spirit beast used as a roof ornament.
明昭 | Ming Zhao | A figure from Ming Zhu's past.
镇灵 | Soul-Anchoring | A mysterious artifact or power mentioned in the scroll (lit. "Suppressing/Stabilizing Spirit").
归宁真人 | Immortal Guining | Ming Zhu's master.
浮华 | Fuhua | A name or title mentioned in Ming Zhu's past.
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Is Everyone Else's Eldest Disciple Like This? | Chapter 28 | Delusional Hopes | Novela.app | Novela.app
