Book 3 Chapter 48 – Phoenix’s Love
"Are you sure about this? There's no turning back from this, you know." A skinny figure holding a knit bag on his left hand stood on top of the clouds, cast down a look at the ruins of Shangbei.
"Thank you for bringing me here. I have given it a lot of thought already. Doesn't this remind you of what happened many years ago? People know about phoenixes, but do they know that we always live in pairs? If it weren't for…" A voice which came from the man's chest was heard; it was the voice of the phoenix Li Yiming had met back in Ning Village.
"I've lived for the sake of living ever since then, but I've lost my purpose a long time ago. I've just sensed the explosion of that fruit of Nirvana, and it made think. Maybe this is the reason I stayed alive, for this little girl. Maybe helping her will help me pay back some of the debt that I owe you. I can't help you with what you want to do, but maybe she will be able to," the phoenix said calmly. It was completely unlike how it acted back in Ning Village.
"Well, it's your choice, and if you've thought this through." Mr. Kong waved his hand and the cloud that supported him fell quickly.
"Thank you," the phoenix answered sincerely.
Li Yiming gazed at the sky, hoping to see a miracle coming down from the clouds. It was not long before he really did see something.
"What is that? Bai Ze? Come look!" Li Yiming saw a silhouette drop down from the sky.
"Mr. Kong?" Bai Ze's eyes were better than Li Yiming, and she recognized the newcomer. Mr. Kong's technique only made it hard to remember him after meeting him, but once he actually showed up, the memories would come back easily.
"Mr. Kong? He was there all along?" Anger flashed in Li Yiming's eyes. 'If he was here the whole time, why didn't he save Liu Meng?' Li Yiming knew that it would have been very easy for Mr. Kong to save Liu Meng.
Mr. Kong stopped his descent right above Li Yiming and took out a red egg.
"What is he trying to do?" Li Yiming squinted and observed Mr. Kong's movements carefully. The moment the egg appeared, the burning fire in the sky had reappeared and gushed toward the egg.
"This is a phoenix that's about to be reborn! It's the one at Ning Village! What is he trying to do?" Bai Ze recognized the object, but she was not quite sure what Mr. Kong was up to.
"The fire that vanished a moment ago quickly gathered around Mr. Kong as he landed on the ground." Mr. Kong stood in front of Li Yiming with his countenance unchanged, phlegmatic as always.
"Mr. Kong." Bai Ze greeted him first. She lowered her head, as it was typical for a beast salutation.
"Don't look at me like that. I arrived after sensing Liu Meng's sacrifice. There was nothing I could do." It was as if Mr. Kong could read Li Yiming's mind.
"Is there anything you can do for Liu Meng?" Li Yiming did not mind Mr. Kong's remark. Instead, he looked at him helplessly; this was going to be his last hope.
"I can't save her. But she can." Mr. Kong raised the red egg.
"The phoenix? She can save Liu Meng?" Li Yiming was overjoyed.
"I've already gathered the fragments of Liu Meng's soul. The phoenix has decided to sacrifice her own fruit and offer it to Liu Meng," Mr. Kong explained concisely.
"Sacrifice? Offer her fruit of Nirvana?" Bai Ze was baffled. 'The fruit of Nirvana… It's the equivalent of the human heart for a phoenix! What's going on today? Two phoenixes that don't care at all about their immortality?'
"So Liu Meng can be saved?" Li Yiming ignored everything else and only focused on what was the most important to him.
"She won't die, but a phoenix is a phoenix, and Liu Meng is still just a guardian. I don't think that I need to explain how big of a difference that is. It's going to take her a while to merge with the new fruit of Nirvana, and, if she was left alone, it would be impossible for Liu Meng to ever hatch from this egg."
"What should I do then?"
"Someone is going to have to incubate the egg."
"Incubation?" The word rung a bell in Bai Ze's mind.
