Chapter 31: Phoenix Clan's past
"Big brother Su, why are you melting that beautiful snow?" Feng Xian'er asked curiously when she saw Meng melting the snow.
"Hm? Because I don't really want to leave it here as it would remain here for a long time unless someone deliberately tried to melt it. Don't you think it would look a bit weird? A few meters wide area covered in snow in the middle of the forest..." Meng said but he had also different reasons for getting rid of the snow.
"Really? For how long it would last here without anyone's interference?" Feng Zu'er asked with an excited expression.
"Hmm...I would say at least around one year." Meng said after a while of pretending to be thinking but in truth, he didn't want to shock them by saying that this snow would never disappear with only the sun's interference.
"Whoa!! Can big brother Su create this type of snow in our village?! Please!" Both kids were shocked and Feng Zu'er immediately begged with puppy eyes.
"We will see but for now, let's just return." Meng said while ruffling both their hair and then he took the kids back to the village where their weeping mother received them already right in front of the entrance.
The kids obviously started boasting about Meng's power to create long-lasting snow.
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"Little brother Su, I really have no idea how to repay your kindness..." Feng Baichuan bowed with tightly closed eyes as if he was holding back his tears.
They were currently at Feng Baichuan's house but only two of them were there.
"No need to repay me...You are letting me stay here for free and I promised to keep your village safe while I am here. Plus those kids grew on me within a few days, there is no way I would let some scums take them away." Meng said with a smile and motioned him to stop bowing.
Both talked for a while before Meng went back to his room where Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er were already waiting for him. He asked if they are here to play but they told him that they want to go on a stroll around the village. Meng just nodded his head and decided to accompany those two.
However, the atmosphere was a bit awkward as siblings kept looking between each other with uncertain expressions.
"What is going on, you two? Are you not feeling well?" Meng knew that they were worried about something but it looked like it was something also regarding him.
Both looked at Meng at the same time before they looked at each other and nodded their heads resolutely.
"Big brother Su, our parents told us not to lead anyone to that place but we want to show you something beautiful." Feng Xian'er said with a nervous smile.
"Eh? Alright..." Meng followed after the siblings as they sneaked out of the village and went behind it where a small hill was located, they walked around the hill, and after a while of walking, a big palace-like building was in their sight. It looked really magnificent so Meng went closer to take a look but both siblings quickly grabbed his hands.
"It's too dangerous, big brother Su."
"...Don't worry about me, please believe in me." Meng said with a smile but he didn't shake off their weak grasp on his hands and instead waited for them to let go on their own.
"..." After 10 seconds of staring at Meng's bright and friendly expression, they finally let go of his hands with a worried sigh.
'Looks like there is some kind of seal on this gate.' Meng thought as he stood in front of the closed entrance gate.
Meng took his right glove off and a thin light blue-gray colored energy flashed, covering his right palm. He slowly moved his hand towards the gate.
"Wait! Stop!" Both kids shouted in worried tones but Meng didn't listen to them.
When his hand gently touched the surface of the gate, the kids' jaw practically dropped on the ground.
'I see...this is a really strong and extraordinary seal but whoever set it up is not an evil person.' Meng thought while slowly and gently moving his hand across the gate's surface. He used his soft palm to probe what kind of seal it is and in case it would be a type of seal that would instantly attack whoever touched it, his soft palm would greatly reduce its power and it also reduced the chance of the seal triggering any defensive mechanism. As for why...as his "soft palm" was suggesting, he was touching the seal but he wasn't disturbing it in any way, in truth, he wasn't touching the gate but the seal itself. His soft touch was as if he wasn't even in a contact with the seal that's why it also greatly reduced the chance of the seal triggering its defensive mechanism.
However, all of that was for naught as he immediately discovered that he can easily touch the gate without using his Yin energy. The seal was only protecting whatever was inside and right now, Meng's mind was only occupied by the seal itself instead of any possible treasure behind it plus he had no intention of robbing this place since it looked like the village was somehow connected to this place. From Meng's perspective, this seal was supposed to cleanse any evil that tried to barge inside, of course, despite Meng not considering himself evil...He would become one if he tried to enter uninvited...
Meng decided to leave this matter for tonight and he would confront Feng Baichuan about this place the next morning. He was too curious to just let it go and he was also curious about this entire situation with this small village.
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The next morning...
"Clan leader Feng Baichuan, might I take a wild guess and ask you if you are somehow connected to the Phoenix with that flame imprint on your forehead? I have heard that the royal family of Divine Phoenix Empire has a similar flame imprint but it's only visible once they start using their bloodline's flames. I have also found something behind the small hill right behind the village. There was a very powerful seal on the gates." Meng confronted him but in a relaxed way as if he was talking about any simple matters.
"...Little brother Su, children here like you a lot, and you have helped us numerous times not to mention rescuing my children..." Feng Baichuan looked a bit shocked at first before he lowered his gaze with a saddened expression.
"Hey, I don't really want you to tell me just because you feel obligated to... I am just curious since I love exploring this world and its fascinating creations. If that place only contains some materialistic treasures, I am not really that interested unless that treasure can teleport me into a different dimension that I can explore with my strength, haha" Meng waved his hand with a relaxed smile while sipping on a herbal tea.
"...*sigh* It's a long story..." Feng Baichuan could feel Meng's sincerity in his words, not to mention that his own children took initiative and shown Meng the Phoenix ruins they are supposed to guard. Feng Baichuan started explaining things, saying that they used to be a large sect but one of the ancestors fought with someone using the power of the phoenix and the flames accidentally spread to a small town and killed thirty-two thousand innocent people. The phoenix spirit was enraged and cursed the bloodline to be suppressed to the tenth level of Elementary Profound.
"No wonder that seal is harmful only to those who want to breach it with force and evil intentions. The Phoenix seemed to be a very kind creature, I am not surprised by its outrage after what one of your ancestors caused but I think it is unfair for new generations to suffer because of the old generation's mistakes. In my eyes...this phoenix spirit isn't exactly a kind existence." Meng said carelessly which caused Feng Baichuan's eyes to almost pop out of his head.
"Please don't say such careless things!" Feng Baichuan said frantically.
"Despite receiving this treatment, you still worship the phoenix spirit...I truly think that this is unfair. Anyway, what is that temple building behind the small hill?" Meng shook his head with a faint smile and closed eyes before he asked.
'Thousand years of worshipping yet it's not enough? None of them here, none of the children have committed any sins yet they are destinated to have low lifespan due to the curse. I think that the Phoenix spirit has no idea about how much a thousand years is for humans. For the spirit, it might be only something as snapping the fingers but to regular humans...it's numerous generations!' Meng thought with a disturbed look on his face while sipping on the herbal tea and looking in the cup.
"That temple is our clan's trial grounds..." Feng Baichuan replied with a depressed tone.
"Trial grounds? So there are no treasures but trial of the phoenix or something like that?!" Meng asked with a slightly excited tone.
"Eh? I thought a little brother Su is not interested in gaining anything. Why are you getting so excited?" Feng Baichuan asked with a surprised expression.
"Of course I am excited...The trial left by the phoenix itself! It must contain some tests like...test of courage, a test of one's willpower, a test of one's heart. Isn't that something incredible and attention-catching? It's something just a few people can experience! Even failing the trial, if one does not die, it's more than enough reward! No treasure can match up to the real experience and memories." Meng turned a bit too excited once he started talking about the word "trial" even Feng Baichuan was flabbergasted by Meng's sudden outburst and loss of composure. He felt as if he was looking at a child who was just recently born and wanted to explore its vicinity which made him form a smile on his previously distressed face.
'It's like being able to write into your CV experience in working for a really famous and prestigious company.' Meng thought with a flash of light in his right eye.
[Except that the host won't be able to use it anywhere...]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
darvom
darvom Here we can see that even mc has his "weak" moments. I don't know how about you all but I find mc's personality quite refreshing and easy to write. I am really glad I didn't go for ordinary "cold mc"
This chapter is just a talk but at least it's a fairly quick update after the previous one.
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