While the three of them just sauntered away without a care, the Gao Family at the moment was in utter chaos. Cao Weining was still fuming that this affair was obviously due to Huashan Sect's unscrupulous behaviour; to stop him from idle talk, he simply commanded him, "Shut up."
Cao Weining turned his head to look at his shishu, and was just thinking of saying, Shishu, how can you lower your head in the face of evil? when Mo Huaikong pointed at Yu Qiufeng and said, "Don't you see him wailing about killing himself? Shut up, it's got absolutely nothing to do with you, watch closely!"
Cao Weining shut his mouth accordingly.
He looked around for a moment, then lowered his voice to ask Mo Huaikong, "Shishu, say, why did Hero Zhao and Hero Gao let Zhou-xiong take the Zhangs' kid away so easily?"
Mo Huaikong was glaring in the forward direction like a hawk; at this, he coldly swept his gaze at Cao Weining, and squeezed a sentence from between his teeth, saying, "Has your brain been eaten by a dog?"
Cao Weining had long grown a thick skin from his scolding, and didn't flush one bit, still waiting extremely sincerely for his shishu to demystify the situation. But Mo Huaikong turned his head away, and ignored him again; Cao Weining only understood a beat later, discovering that his brain was really eaten by a dog that he couldn't even tell--obviously, not even his shishu knew why!
Reverend Cimu hurried over, with a middle-aged man following behind him. This man was skinny in build, and was dressed in black ceremonial robes. The corner of his mouth was downturned, and he had two deep nasolabial folds. His sword-sharp eyebrows extended into his sideburns, and his eyes were extremely bright ;one look, and one could tell that he was one not to be crossed. Upon seeing this chaotic scene, Reverend Cimu had to resort to the Shaolin Lion's Roar. Many of the low-levelled martial artists had spots swimming in front of their eyes from the single bellow, and the crowd only settled then.
Gao Chong and Zhao Jing caught sight of the man behind Reverend Cimu and stood instead, with Zhao Jing exposing this man's identity first, calling, "Shen-shixiong!"
Upon hearing Mo Huaikong make a questioning sound, Cao Weining hastily took his chance to ask, "Shishu, who is this?"
Mo Huaikong frowned, and said, "This is the head of the Shen family in Shuzhong, Shen Zhen, usually he's like a maiden, never leaving his house at all, staying indoors to maintain his pale face. He's only ever scared of the sun tanning his skin, why is he willing to risk his tender skin to brave the sun in Dongting so far away from home today? It's truly a miracle."
Cao Weining had never heard of this person, and said, "Ah" dumbly. Mo Huaikong could not tolerate his dull manner, and glared at him, ultimately explaining, "Most of you youngsters wouldn't know, the five major clans with the greatest reputations in the jianghu were the Zhangs of Jiangnan, the Zhaos of Taihu, the Gaos of Dongting, the Shens of Shuzhong, and the Lus of Taixing. Though, today, apart from Gao Chong and Zhao Jing, all that's left of the Zhang family is one person, the Shen clan has already retired from the jianghu and washed its hands of all matters, and there's no one left of the Lus. The five major clans have long lost their might, and most of the younger generation no longer remember them."
Cao Weining counted off with his fingers, and asked, "That's not right, shishu, including the descendant of the Zhang family, only four surnames have come, how are there five clans?"
Mo Huaikong said, irritated, "That's because the head of the Lu clan died of illness ten years ago, and he didn't accumulate good karma in his previous life, so he didn't leave behind any children and the bloodline died with him. He had some ties with the Taishan Sect Leader who turned into a Ghost, Hua Fangling, and so left his properties and a few disciples with the Taishan Sect. Since Hua Qingsong is here, doesn't he count as the Lu clan? Why do you not know jackshit, how do you have so many questions? Don't tell others that I'm your shishu, and embarrass me!"
Shen Zhen murmured something to Reverend Cimu. Reverend Cimu sighed and murmured a Buddhist mantra, nodding. Soon after, he stood and received a box presented by a Shen disciple, opening it. Inside it was a silk pouch; Shen Zhen opened the pouch, and there was the sound of someone drawing an intake of breath, shouting, "It's the Lapis Armour!"
Cao Weining also stretched his neck out to look. When that object was completely revealed, it was an extremely exquisite glass fragment no bigger than a palm, glinting weakly under the sunlight. Had it not been announced, who would have guessed that it was such a small plaything that had whipped up a frenzy of blood and gore?
The knot of Yu Qiufeng's throat bobbed as he cleared his throat, mumbling, "Is this really one of the five pieces of the Lapis Armour?"
Shen Zhen said, "Absolutely, "and turned his gaze to Gao Chong.
Gao Chong's expression was inscrutable. After half a beat of silence, he finally instructed Deng Kuan, standing to his side, "There is a secret compartment on the cupboard to the left of the door in my study, behind the copy of the Book of Rites on the third shelf. Open it, and bring whatever's inside to me."
Deng Kuan did not understand why, but went as ordered, returning in a short while with a small box in his hands as well. Gao Chong took the box, sighed, and opened it in front of the crowd, putting it side-by-side with Shen Zhen's small box. And just like this, two pieces of the legendary Lapis Armour were displayed in front of everyone.
Gao Chong said, "Since matters have come to this, this old man owes everyone an explanation. It is indeed true that there are five pieces to the Lapis Armour; all these years, each of us five have actually held on to one. A few years ago, Lu-xiong died before his time, and entrusted his piece to the Hero Hua, the Taishan Sect Leader, but he never thought that...it would draw fatal trouble to him."
Reverend Cimu continued, "Amitabha, this old monk too knows some of what had transpired."
All gazes turned to this kind-looking, white-whiskered Shaolin monk, only to hear him say, "I'm not sure who here remembers that disaster that happened to the pugilist world thirty years ago."
Once he said this, the expressions of some of the older people present changed instantly. Even Ye Baiyi, a bystander enjoying the show, lifted his head slightly.
At this point, Zhou Zishu was regaling old stories of the Zhang family to a totally clueless Zhang Chengling from memory. Off to the side, Wen Kexing slept on, ignorant. Despite Zhou Zishu kicking him away, he was still gripping onto his sleeve tightly, lying sprawled out in an indecorous manner.
When Cao Weining had dragged Zhou Zishu out this morning, Zhou Zishu had been just about to eat; unable to do so, he could only wrap it up and keep it for later. Now, he took it out and gave it to Zhang Chengling, watching this youth scarf it down quickly.
"About things that happened thirty years ago, I only know of them approximately. Your father was probably still young then, when a martial arts genius named Rong Xuan appeared on the jianghu. With his long sword, he was nearly unparalleled in the world, and he loved to travel to make friends with the heroes all over; supposedly, he was very close with the younger generation of the five major clans back then. Now, the five major clans never speak of him, but as the descendant of the Zhang family, you should know about this too, right? "
Zhang Chengling nodded. There was a smidge of cake on the corner of his mouth. He said, "But my father never mentioned him."
"Not only did your father not mention him, but for these thirty years, his name has also been taboo to utter." Zhou Zishu sighed, and continued, "Afterwards, Rong Xuan married a wife. According to hearsay, his wife was also an outstanding lady, extremely beautiful, and was by birth of the Healers' Valley…"
At this point, he paused suddenly, and lowered his head to look at Wen Kexing off to the side, thinking, Also born of the Healers' Valley, unless this too is a coincidence?
He raised his head, and Zhang Chengling was staring at him unblinking, waiting for him to continue. Zhou Zishu had some suspicions, but didn't reveal them in front of him, and continued, "The two of them were deeply in love, and were a heavenly match, but who knew, one day, someone had caused the death of Rong Xuan's wife."
Zhang Chengling was shocked, and asked a stupid question, "Why?"
Zhou Zishu laughed. To kill someone, did anyone need a reason?
Still, he thought about it, and explained, "Let's say that most of it was…"an innocent person convicted for his stash of jade". I haven't witnessed Rong Xuan's sword techniques, only heard that it truly lives up to being unprecedented and impossible to imitate. Before he even turned thirty, he started a sect and invented the legendary "Fengshan Sword". The inability to see the Fengshan Sword Technique that split mountains and divided the sea back then in action is also one of life's greatest regrets. That Fengshan Sword of his is divided into two parts. The upper scroll is the mantra behind it, the lower scroll the sword technique; the lower scroll was his own invention, while rumour has it that he penned the upper scroll after chancing upon a secret ancient manual. You do know that…the words "peerless master" alone can drive people to madness."
Zhang Chengling asked, "What happened afterwards?"
"Afterwards, Rong Xuan sunk into deep grief and experienced qi deviation. His behaviour transformed, and he started killing innocents. Without any other choice, the five major clans back then worked together, even invoking the Realm's Command to hunt him down together--to think about it, from that last time the Realm's Command made an appearance to date, it's been about thirty years. Afterwards, Rong Xuan fled into the bamboo ridge on Fengya Mountain, and had a fierce battle with those hunting him down who were led by five major clans. No one knows how many died in that battle, and according to hearsay, you still can hear the dead wailing till this day. Who could have thought that the best of friends could turn their weapons on one another, and give one another continuous hell?"
Could it be, that all the bonds in this world were this impermanent?
He paused for a while, and nodded his head. "Indeed, the bamboo grove on Fengya Mountain is the Ghost Valley. Until today, no one knows why the Ghosts back then had stood with Rong Xuan. That battle was fought over countless days and nights, until Rong Xuan committed suicide in the end. The number of heroes under this sky was halved, and the five major clans never recovered. It was because of this battle, where both parties suffered heavy losses, that the rule that once one enters the Ghost Valley, they can never leave was set, earning us thirty years of peace."
Here, Zhou Zishu frowned. He had gotten to know of this story through hearsay, and did not embellish it with his own guesses. Narrating it like this, there were actually many parts he did not understand, such as what had truly happened at Fengya Mountain back then, or how Rong Xuan's wife had died. How did such a genius, who should have rightfully become a grandmaster of his era, end up in the Ghost Valley, and fall in with those people? Thankfully, Zhang Chegling was not a smart child, and only listened, befuddled, without understanding much.
The happenings within this affair were buried by the passage of time. How much of it was scandal-free enough to be exposed?
Those who were participants were either dead, or dared not to speak of it; not even Tian Chuang had unravelled the truth. Zhou Zishu suspected that...the Lapis Armour was a relic of the battle at Fengya Mountain all those years ago.
In the evening, Zhou Zishu finally pried off the hand of Wen Kexing's that had a death grip on his clothes, and hunted some game to roast for dinner. He mused that he could go anywhere without issue, but bringing this little tyke with him would be a burden.
Yet he didn't want to force him either, but would rather let Zhang Chengling decide his own path.
Wen Kexing was quite heavily drunk; even as night fell, he was still lying there like a pile of mud, unable to get up. Zhou Zishu taught Zhang Chengling a few more lines of the rhyme, told him to understand it by himself, then leant against the wall to the side, closing his eyes to recuperate. He didn't know how long had passed before he dozed off, but he suddenly felt a hand find its way onto him, craftily unbuttoning his top.
Zhou Zishu grabbed the person's wrist and opened his eyes.
The Wen Kexing of this moment had not the slightest bit of drunkenness; seeing that he had been caught, he didn't panic, only smiled at him in the dark, and still said, reasonably, "I just wanted to see what the legendary Three-Autumn Nails of the Seven Acupunctures looked like, I wasn't about to do anything to you, neither was I going to make any moves on you."
The adage "The provision of an explanation is always an attempt to cover up the truth, and covering up is always the beginning of a mistake" was embodied in this slimy man with the surname Wen.
With one of his wrists caught by Zhou Zishu, his other hand braced on the ground, he was almost half lying on Zhou Zishu. Zhang Chengling was already sleeping like the dead; their breaths and words were as quiet as they could make them, and in the darkness, there was a suggestiveness to them that could not be defined.
Wen Kexing suddenly drew close, took off his outer robe, and wrapped it around Zhou Zishu. He played with a lock of hair at the side of Zhou Zishu's head, and asked in a low voice, "A-Xu, is 'Zhou Xu' your real name?"
Zhou Zishu threw his hand off and shoved him away, and said, confident with justification, "What joke is Wen-xiong cracking? Like 'Wen Kexing' is your real name."
Hearing this, Wen Kexing raised his eyebrows, and asked him in reply with an even softer voice, "So, according to you, what should my name be?"
Zhou Zishu was silent for a while, before he asked in a murmur, "Wen-xiong, is your surname truly Wen? I feel that, your surname should be Rong instead."