upper scroll remained on Changming Mountain back then, and he...we destroyed it."
At once, Zhou Zishu obtained two pieces of information from his words. Firstly, there was a person of the same generation and who was close friends with Ye Baiyi on Changming Mountain. Secondly, this person had dared to restore this ancient artefact with supplementary material, and was thus definitely also an expert. He recalled Ye Baiyi's words "When did I say I was the ancient monk?", and cocked his brow, thinking, Could that person be the true ancient monk of Changming Mountain?
Then, was the reason why Ye Baiyi had left the mountain alone in the name of the ancient monk because the actual ancient monk was unable to carry out these actions, or was it...because he was no longer of this world?
These thoughts stayed for less than a second before they flashed past. Long Que continued, "We all read that half of the ancient text. Its contents were really too profound, and no one could grasp it completely. In that period of time, every one of us forsook food and sleep to scour ravenously for information in the vast sea of classical manuals. We hoped to find any minute trace that would help explain that cultivation mantra--its attraction was too great. Rong Xuan said that if we had a complete grasp on the knowledge in that book, we would have a complete grasp on the universe, and achieve true oneness with it."
That was a state of existence that had been passed down by legend since the ancient times. Everyone was pursuing that level of lofty existence at the top of the world, and no one could resist that sort of temptation.
However, these things never had their so-called "shortcuts". Just as how the rarest and most precious ingredients always grew in the most perilous places, the more powerful an object could make someone, the more mercilessly it tested their psyche. The more profound the martial technique, the easier it was to qi deviate.
Even Ye Baiyi fell silent this time round.
"Among us, Rong Xuan had gone the furthest, and was the one whose obsession was most deeply-rooted. He was almost fanatically besotted with that cultivation mantra, but none of us noticed, because at the time, we were all fanatically besotted--until one day, he declared that he had finally understood that the fundamental theory of the Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra was to 'Reforge after destruction; without termination, the new cannot exist'."
Ye Baiyi was thunderstruck. He murmured, "What…"
Long Que's hand was trembling a little--his whole body was trembling. "In the Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra, it's said that 'At the most extreme point of one's journey, one can glean the secrets of the universe.' What was this 'extreme point of one's journey'? It could be ridding yourself of martial ability, it could be severing your own meridians, or it could even be ending your own life…"
The oddest expression surfaced on Ye Baiyi's face as he asked, "All of you thought so?"
Long Que had just nodded when Ye Baiyi suddenly laughed out loud. Even when he laughed heartily, his face was still stiff, and the corners of the eyes were unable to crinkle no matter what. Instead, they twitched unnaturally, generating a vague sense of tragedy. "Ridding yourself of martial ability, severing your own meridians, ending your own life...haha, to think that you could come up with that."
Woodenly, Long Que related, "At the time, we had all gone mad. Everyone had become more irritable and impatient, most of all Rong Xuan. He said that to accomplish something top-notch, we had to have top-notch bravery, and dare to walk the path that others dare not even imagine...at the time, Yu Zhui was already heavily pregnant. Although I had been affected by that wicked manual, I had not been affected to the extent that I would abandon my wife and child, so I was the first one to back out. This was a risky endeavour, so they let me oversee the ritual as support."
He took a deep breath. "They chose a time, and sat in a circle. If they did not succeed, they would have sacrificed themselves for a higher cause. But unexpectedly, when it actually came down to it, apart from Rong Xuan, the others withdrew unanimously at the last moment."
Ye Baiyi said frostily, "Others practice martial arts for no more than identity and status, or their ambition for accomplishments, and not for martial arts itself. It's not worth so much risk. Only Rong Xuan, that rascal, is a real fool for martial arts. What is so unexpected about that?"
Long Que nodded, and said, "He severed his meridians and stopped his own heart. He still had a smile on his face, but had already stopped breathing. We held our breaths and waited for a very long time, then, we finally understood that he was wrong...we woke from a great, fantastical dream, and all of us, either standing or sitting, were dumbfounded. Though Madam Rong did not know any martial arts, she was from the Healers' Valley and had saved innumerable lives. Naturally, she was unwilling to accept that her husband had died just like that. She calmed down, took out eighteen silver needles, and inserted them into Rong Xuan's chest. For three whole shichen, she persisted, preserving a bit of warmth in his chest and, surprisingly, some shallow breathing. We all thought that he had lived, but he could not awaken. Clearly, he was comatose."
"Tears rinsed Madam Rong's face for three days. In the end, she decided to return to the Healers' Valley to steal the Yin Yang Manual. She did not know martial arts, and it was a risky venture, so I accompanied her on the journey. Come to think of it, I personally brought that thing into this mortal world with my own hands."
Wen Kexing suddenly looked at Zhou Zishu, lips tightening, and interrupted Long Que for the first time to ask, "That...Yin Yang Manual, can it really save the life of someone whose meridians have been severed?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zishu was stunned for a moment. He raised his head, and his gaze coincided with Wen Kexing's. Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his chest--unbelievably, there was someone who constantly kept an injury that even the Great Shaman of Nanjiang had shaken his head at and deemed hopeless in their thoughts. Why bother doing so? Dazed, he reflected that everyone in this world was as though strangers who met by chance; they were no more than guests from another place who were briefly in the same situation. Could it be that...this person was actually sincere?
Once again, he turned his gaze away out of reflex, but felt Wen Kexing's gaze on him. It felt like it had weight and warmth to it.
Long Que chuckled coldly. "A medical book, truly a sacred artefact. The kind of place the Healers' Valley is, acclaimed for saving people from ailments and diseases--could it hide the manual away from sight? This Yin Yang Manual is a technique of transfer. To restore a person's pulse, one has to exchange the patient's heart with a beating heart that has been freshly ripped out from another person's body...what kind of sacred artefact is this?"
Zhou Zishu asked, "Did Madam Rong really…"
Long Que was silent for a long while, then he sighed. "It is human nature to favour close ties and treat strangers with detachment. She was no saint; she was no more than a woman who betrayed her sect for her husband. Us outsiders cannot comment on whether her actions were right or wrong."
"Rong Xuan lived," Ye Baiyi said.
"Yes," Long Que said. "He didn't only live. I do not know if it was coincidence, or if that mantra is truly so devilishly strange, but after he woke up, the true qi within his body experienced explosive growth. After experiencing death once, he had really grasped that half of the manual. He didn't even give Madam Rong the chance to cry on his shoulder in relief at regaining the person she had lost, and headed to cultivate in seclusion straightaway in order to restore the upper half of that book."
Ye Baiyi evaluated, "Little beast."
Long Que continued, "Whatever happened afterwards, I do not know in detail either. My wife was about to give birth, and I focused on staying by her side. It was extremely risky for her in labour. The doctor managed to pull mother and son from the gates of Hell back to the land of the living, but after that, her body was completely depleted of vitality. I stayed by her side for half a year wholly; in the end, even the doctor was powerless to do anything else, and finally…"
As he spoke, tears slid down from the corners of his eyes. He gave a slow shake of his head, and said, "I had lost all hope. A friend of mine accompanied me on my return to look for them, as I intended to bid my farewells and part ways with them...when I returned to the martial store, we happened to come across Madam Rong grievously injured and near death. Rong Xuan's sword was sticking out of her chest, and Rong Xuan's hands were entirely covered with blood. We did not know if he had been struck dumb or if he had returned from the demonic insanity to his senses, as he had only stood to the side and gazed at her in a daze. Out of a moment's impulse, that friend of mine hefted his sword and swung it at him. I wanted to stop him, but it was too late. Thankfully, Rong Xuan's desire had been shaken--he had no interest in fighting, and he fled. By that point, the Lapis Armour had already vanished without a trace. Near death, Madam Rong handed the key to the martial store to that friend of mine. We took a vow on death to never reveal a single word about this in our lifetimes, so that no one could open that martial store."
When his voice died down, the few of them were silent for a long moment. After a good while, Zhou Zishu finally asked, "Then Rong Xuan went mad and turned savage, hid in the Ghost Valley from the people hunting him down, and was besieged and killed afterwards?"
Long Que sighed, and said, "By that time, I had already returned to the Puppet Manor, and no longer paid attention to mortal affairs. Approximately, that should be how things went."
"A death well-deserved." Ye Baiyi closed his eyes, gripping the hilt of the Baiyi sword tightly with both hands. The veins on the back of his hands bulged, and that hilt was crushed into dust by him. The blade cut his palm, hit the floor with a clang, but Ye Baiyi appeared to have not felt it. He merely repeated himself, the words separated by pauses, "A death...well-deserved."
Without warning, he turned and left. His figure flashed, and there was no trace of him.
From beginning to end, Zhang Chengling had only grasped some parts of what had been said and had not understood the rest. Seeing that they were all silent, he picked up his courage to ask, "Grandpa, what are you going to do?"
Long Que considered it for a long while. Feeling around for the corner of Zhou Zishu's robes, he said in a low voice, "Young man, do a good deed. Take that sword of yours and deliver me a straightforward and satisfying death. That unfilial bastard Long Xiao did not let me die; now that he's gone to meet the King of Hell, I can also go down there as well, and settle my debts with him!"
Before Zhou Zishu could speak, Wen Kexing approached him, bent down, and carefully supported Long Que's body. Extending his palm, he placed it against Long Que's chest, and said in a solemn and respectful tone of voice rare of him, "I can shatter your meridians in an instant. It'll be satisfyingly straightforward. Senior, consider it carefully."
Long Que roared with laughter. "Sure! Sure, you're accumulating merits by doing a good deed, do it…"
He had just uttered the word "it" when Wen Kexing's fingers that were loosely placed there suddenly exerted force. Before Long Que's laughter stopped, his whole body jerked once, and that smile remained on his face forever.
Not daring to believe it, Zhang Chengling said, stunned, "Grandpa…"
Wen Kexing reached a hand out to close Long Que's eyes, and helped him to lie down. Caressing Zhang Chengling's head, he said, "Don't humiliate him any further. He was a hero, and should die like one."
He paused, then said to Zhou Zishu, "I'd like to stay for a while, as a send-off for him."
Zhou Zishu leant his weight on the bedpost and rose to his feet as he replied, "Sure."
He was about to walk towards the door, but Wen Kexing called out to him, "A-Xu, stay here with me to recuperate from your injury."
Zhou Zishu laughed. "Even if I can recuperate from this one, can I recuperate from the other? Since I can't recuperate from it, I should seize the day and eat, drink, and make merry to my heart's content, it's more worth it that way…"
Wen Kexing lowered his head with a small smile, and said softly, "Then...treat it as spending a few days here with me?"
Zhou Zishu paused in his tracks and remained silent for a good while, before he finally said, "Sure."