Ever since seeing that old woman, Zhu Qinghe’s wild joy suddenly receded. He slowly closed his eyes and gradually tilted his head back. The bloody wind stirred, and his long robe fluttered. A line of clear tears suddenly trickled down from the corner of his eyes, winding over his bloody and mangled cheek, forming a shocking trail of blood.
Qing Xia’s heart shook violently. She had encountered this old man twice now and had some understanding of his character. This person had lived a life of misery, yet his nature was resilient and strong. Otherwise, no matter what kind of person, after being imprisoned in such a sunless underground cave for thirty years, would have long since turned to dust and died without a complete corpse—how could they still be alive like this? What person or what matter could make such a strong person, firm as stone, shed tears in front of others with such heartbreak and despair?
The old woman descended from the fire bird and stood in the center of the bloody stone chamber. After those fierce beasts had quieted down, she spoke softly: “Senior Brother Zhu, how many years has it been? I never expected to still see you here.”
The dark wind stirred, and the stench filled the air. In this stone chamber that had been deprived of sunlight for too many years and was saturated with the bloody smell of fresh blood, the dust that had been buried for too many years was slowly brushed away, revealing the towering waves that had been buried beneath but forcibly frozen.
The old man who had borne a bad reputation for many years hovered high in mid-air, his brow tightly furrowed, his chest rising and falling. Finally, he still asked in a hoarse voice: “Is she… well?”
The old woman slowly turned her head and answered: “In the ethereal Divine Maiden Palace, the blessed cave of Mother Heaven. Time passes in a snap of fingers, like flowers in a mirror and moon in water. Years pass in a blur, mountains and rivers age—what good or bad is there to speak of? Senior Brother Zhu, all these years she has missed you very much.”
“Missed me?” The old man’s lips curved slightly, a trace of inexplicable bitter smile pulled at his lips. His graying hair danced in mid-air, and his skeletal face bore infinite loneliness and mockery. His hoarse voice mocked: “How could she miss me? I repeatedly ruined her good affairs with Tan Mianzhi—she must have long wished for me to die.”
The old woman slowly shook her head and said softly: “Time passes in a snap of fingers, and those old matters are already like passing clouds. Why are you still so obsessed with this? Your current appearance—even the fire phoenix doesn’t recognize you anymore. Isn’t that enough?”
Zhu Qinghe’s expression shook. He looked down and saw that red fire bird standing beside the old woman, a pair of green phoenix eyes watching him warily. Seeing him looking at it, it suddenly flapped its wings at him threateningly and cried out shrilly. He remembered that when he had tamed this small fire bird years ago to give to her, fearing that this strange bird’s fierce and unyielding nature would hurt her, he had personally fed it for more than half a year. At that time, it was still a young fledgling, and the first thing it saw upon birth was himself. It was completely attached to him, like a child attached to its mother. Helplessly, the years were hollow and passed without a trace. Meeting again today, they were completely unrecognizable to each other, like strangers. A trace of desolate feeling couldn’t help but rise in his heart. Thinking of his current appearance—neither human nor ghost—let alone this small bird, even he himself could hardly recognize himself anymore. The grief and indignation in his heart became even more severe, and he couldn’t help but laugh coldly:
“The reason I am like this today is entirely thanks to Tan Bian and Tan Mianzhi. When I was pressed under this Hongtian Water Prison, I swore to heaven that one day I would break out and take revenge for these thirty years of imprisonment. In these ten thousand days and nights, if this thought hadn’t been supporting me all along, I would have long since turned to dust. If you came here today as her mediator to persuade me to give up revenge, quickly abandon this thought. For the sake of our past friendship, I’ll let you off this time. If not, don’t blame me for not considering our sect brotherhood.”
The old woman smiled bitterly, reached into her bosom, and took out a bird that seemed to be woven from slightly yellowed dry grass. She said gravely: “Three days ago, when I learned that Hongtian Water Prison was about to collapse, she knew that Senior Brother’s day to see the light again was not far off. She told me that good and evil ultimately receive their due, and Penglai has owed Senior Brother for so many years—it’s time to repay. If Senior Brother wants revenge, she told me not to stop him. What’s meant to come cannot be avoided. She is now on Qingzhi Mountain where we once learned our arts, waiting for Senior Brother’s towering waves to completely submerge this Penglai that appears bright on the outside but is rotten grass and败絮 within, to repay the debt owed to Senior Brother for many years.”
The old woman’s voice was calm like an ancient well, not stirring a single ripple. But Zhu Qinghe’s body began trembling even more violently. He asked in a deep voice: “If that’s the case, why did you still come here?”
The old woman smiled bitterly and said in a low voice: “When Senior Brother was imprisoned under Hongtian Water Prison by the Young Valley Master, all beasts were enraged, nine mountains all sank, and Penglai’s eastern wall completely sank underground. After she returned and learned of this matter, she fought the Young Valley Master for three days, severed ties in the Holy Temple, and for thirty years never stepped foot in Phoenix Cry Palace again. Even when the Young Valley Master died a year ago, she didn’t leave the inner valley. Over these years, she descended to the water prison seven times, experiencing countless hardships, yet could never find Senior Brother’s whereabouts. She only found this green wood cloth bird that was once picked from the cloth tree on Qingzhi Mountain. Today, she just asked me to come say that she wronged Senior Brother back then, and today she’s willing to die in apology.”
Zhu Qinghe suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring intently at the small cloth bird held in the old woman’s hand. His eyes were bloodshot red, and both hands trembled uncontrollably. How could he forget? Back then, he had led a group of junior brothers and sisters through those carefree days in the Golden Garden behind Qingzhi Mountain. At that time, she was still young, secretly following her brother up the mountain, always following behind him, sweetly calling him “Senior Brother Zhu” with every breath. Those hazy youthful days now seemed like events from a past life. White clouds and grey dogs, past events scattered—those simple youths had long been submerged in time’s great tide. Only he remained obsessed with it, unable to forget for a long time.
He still remembered those beautiful days when sunlight spread across the mountain slopes, still remembered her charming appearance when she pulled at his sleeve asking for cloth birds from the towering cloth trees, still remembered the love and burning emotions hidden in his heart. He even began to doubt whether it was undying hatred that made him endure humiliation in this sunless cave, or whether the thought of seeing her once was too strong and had supported him until today.
The old man covered in blood stood on the giant mechanism, empty past events drifting before his eyes like smoke. Morning dew and transient flowers, beauty turning to white hair—after lonely years, they were already worlds apart!
Seeing Zhu Qinghe’s appearance, the old woman’s lips suddenly curved in a faint smile. She slowly reached out and placed the green wood cloth bird in her hand on the stone floor covered with blood and dust, saying softly: “The message has been delivered. I’ll go back to see her now. Does Senior Brother have anything you’d like me to tell her?”
Zhu Qinghe’s whole body flowed with fresh blood, his entire being feeling as if on fire with pain. Countless wounds dripped black blood, his skeletal face terrifying and grim. He stood in mid-air, looking down at the green wood cloth bird that had crossed thirty years to return before him. The proud young hero who once rode in fine clothes and wielded his sword through the martial world was long gone. What remained in this shell now was just a puppet demon crazed by hatred. He slowly closed his eyes—what else could he say? What was there left to say? The madness that had been wild and insane suddenly quieted down. He slowly shook his head: “Go tell her that I wronged her. The reason I am like this today is also what I deserve.”
Hearing this, the old woman’s eyebrows raised. She then mounted the fire phoenix’s back, let out a clear whistle, and rode away on the wind. From afar, her voice drifted over leisurely: “Senior Brother Zhu, when the underground waves submerge Penglai in a moment, you might also see that on Qingzhi Mountain now, the Yearning Flowers have bloomed all over the mountain, the cloth trees have grown dozens of zhang taller, green wood cloth birds fill the entire tree, and the twin-wing flying grass we planted back then now blooms across the entire slope. When the great wind comes, the air is filled with the fragrance of flying grass. Penglai’s next generation of children are still learning arts on the mountain—the sounds of mechanism forging, reading, ring clearly in the ears…”
“Boom!” The giant Tianji Lock suddenly emitted dazzling light. In the chamber filled with roaring flames, the old man closed his eyes tightly, suddenly rose up, his hands continuously moving, repeatedly striking various mechanisms.
Qing Xia was furious. Although she only half-understood what they had just said, she had hoped that the old woman could persuade this fierce god to abandon the idea of unlocking the Tianji Lock. But who knew that the old woman would just say a few words and leave, while Zhu Qinghe continued doing the same thing as before. Angrily exchanging glances with Chu Li, she was about to step forward to stop him.
“Wait!” Qin Zhiyan suddenly raised his eyebrows, grabbed Qing Xia and Chu Li, and said gravely: “He seems to be re-closing the mechanisms.”
“Waste!” Xi Linyu suddenly roared and charged toward the old man. How could the others give him this opportunity? Silver spears and daggers struck together, directly slashing at Xi Linyu’s chest. Three people fought Xi Linyu together, and Chu Li laughed loudly: “Mr. Zhu shows mercy to heaven and earth, finally understanding the true meaning of compassion. How can we let a scoundrel like you with a human body and pig lungs ruin it? If you want to fight, come practice with me!”
At this moment, their techniques flowed like the great Yangtze River, like setting sun and white clouds, unrestricted in form, beating Xi Linyu back step by step into a dangerous situation.
Qin Zhiyan smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth, stepped lightly with his right foot, rose with the wind, his robes floating lightly, wide sleeves slightly spread, like an immortal.
Seeing he couldn’t win, Xi Linyu glanced at Qing Xia and the others, then a flash of light appeared in his eyes. He turned and rushed toward the tunnel. With a sound of breaking air, he had already disappeared. His skills were also quite remarkable—even under such encirclement, he could still break through and escape.
Events developed too rapidly, so much so that Qing Xia didn’t even react. It wasn’t until Xi Linyu had fled in panic and disappeared that she suddenly realized this troublesome fellow had actually run away. She couldn’t help but feel great joy, but just as she was about to laugh loudly in celebration, she suddenly heard a heaven-shaking roar rise into the sky.
Qing Xia was shocked and turned around to see the old man’s white hair flying, his body rapidly shrinking, his skin withering like a dead tree. His skeletal face appeared even more aged and terrifying. His blood seemed to have been completely drained, and his entire person had no trace of life left.