Since that one encounter, A’Shui had never seen Fu Zhumei again. After several more days passed, she went to the Silver Horn Tavern to gather information, but was told that little Fu had taken his turtle and left without any reason. The innkeeper was still cursing and complaining, saying that heartless fellow had left just like that without leaving a single word. If he had known little Fu was leaving, he would have given him at least a few more taels of silver. As he spoke, he wiped his nose, seeming genuinely saddened.

Little Fu had left—something must have happened. She thought that since he was after all a martial artist, and people in the jianghu, no matter how much he hoped for peace and simplicity, could never truly have a peaceful and simple life. It was good that he left. Luoyang was a place of disputes, very close to the capital, with many martial artists coming and going. If he wished for peace, he should go to more distant places.

Or perhaps… she should leave here and go see Young Master Tang. For some unknown reason, ever since leaving Haoyun Mountain, her heart had not been at peace. He was too complex and changeable a man, with overly complicated emotions. When she chose to leave decisively that day, would it really not bring him harm? She could not understand Tang Lici, could not even remain by his side with a peaceful heart, but deep in her heart, she still hoped someone could replace her and go back to see him.

Young Master Tang… was too complex and subtle. The more complex one’s thoughts, the easier it was to exhaust oneself, wasn’t it? Moreover, you… from the depths of your heart, you deeply lacked the power to stabilize yourself. Chi Yun was dead. Young Master Tang, when you killed him, what were you thinking?

Haoyun Mountain.

White mist still floated, the scenery still ethereal as fairyland. The bodies of Chi Yun and the two leaders of Plum Blossom Mountain were cremated and their ashes brought back to Plum Blossom Mountain for burial. The several heroes who had once dominated the martial world were thus buried in dust. Tang Lici had sustained some injuries in this battle and had not been going out much lately. Shao Yanping, who had been shocked to hear of the tragic changes at the Central Plains Sword Assembly while halfway to Shaolin Temple, had hurried back. Cheng Yunpao also deeply regretted his careless departure to Famous Physician Valley. Dong Hubi and Meng Qinglei, who had gone to Luoyang, had also rushed back. Everyone was somewhat worried about Tang Lici after he killed Chi Yun, but Tang Lici always maintained a gentle smile, as if nothing had happened.

“Stop, who are you?” A Sword Assembly disciple at the back door of Shanfeng Hall saw someone swaying as they walked over from afar. “You cannot enter here carelessly.” The person covered in moss and looking utterly disheveled paused, “I… I’m here to find someone.” The Sword Assembly disciple looked him up and down several times, seeing that this person’s originally white clothes had basically turned green by now, his hair disheveled, with a baby face. “Who are you looking for?”

“Tang… Tang…” That person stuttered for a long time, hesitated for a moment, but still didn’t finish speaking. The Sword Assembly disciple frowned, “Are you here to find Old Tang from the kitchen? Ah, right, Old Tang mentioned that his nephew would be coming recently to help. So it’s you! Come in.” That person was stunned, “Ah?” The Sword Assembly disciple called out, “Old Tang! Old Tang! Your nephew is here!”

From not far behind the door came an old man of about sixty, who squinted at the white-clothed person for a while. “I haven’t been back to my hometown for many years, and I’ve forgotten quite a bit about what my nephew looks like. Is your mother surnamed Li or Jiang?” The white-clothed person said blankly, “My mother? My mother’s surname is Lin…” The old man suddenly laughed, nodding repeatedly, “Right, right, right! I almost forgot—my third brother’s wife is indeed surnamed Lin. She was still young when I left. I never thought her son would be this grown up now. I haven’t been back home for at least twenty years. Come in, come in! From now on, consider this place your home. Old Tang will definitely look after you, haha!” Saying this, he pulled him inside and touched his face, “Child, you must have suffered!”

This moss-covered white-clothed person was naturally Fu Zhumei. Seeing Old Tang’s genuine emotion, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say the six words “I’m not your nephew.” He rubbed his hair, his face full of embarrassment, and let out an “Ah.” “What’s your name, child?” Old Tang asked. Fu Zhumei said, “I’m called Xiao Fu.” Old Tang laughed heartily, “Tang Xiao Fu—that’s a good name! Come, come, come! From today onwards, you’ll work with me in the kitchen. Master Shao treats people well and absolutely won’t let you suffer any losses.” Fu Zhumei was dumbfounded. Before he could finish a sentence, Old Tang had already pulled him into the kitchen, thus beginning his days known as “Tang Xiao Fu.”

Tang Lici’s room was very far from the kitchen, on the other side of the mountain peak, where the mist was thickest. Recently, Tang Lici had been recuperating from his injuries, and even Shao Yanping rarely saw him, much less Old Tang. The person who saw Tang Lici most often was Zi Yun, but he rarely spoke with Zi Yun. Only at mealtimes would Zi Yun bring him food and tea, nothing more.

“Knock, knock, knock”—three knocking sounds.

Tang Lici’s room was completely quiet. Looking in through the window, one could see him standing with his hands behind his back at his writing desk, holding a brush in his left hand to write. Fu Zhumei, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup, took in this scene and unconsciously let out a gentle sigh.

A’Li… was very talented and versatile. He knew calligraphy, painting, many musical instruments, reading, dancing, many foreign languages, ball games… It seemed there was nothing in this world he couldn’t do, and everything he could do, he could reach the level of “mastery.” Unlike himself… apart from singing, he couldn’t do anything, but…

“Who is it?” The familiar voice came from inside the room. Fu Zhumei held the medicinal soup properly, standing upright at the door. A’Li’s voice was still very pleasant. He was still so outstanding. Back then… how could anyone have said that his singing was better than A’Li’s? Sigh…

“Who is it?” Tang Lici didn’t open the door, still asking in a gentle tone.

After hesitating for a long while, Fu Zhumei carefully answered with one word: “Me.”

With a creak, the door suddenly opened. The speed at which it opened was too fast to accept, as if before Fu Zhumei’s single word “me” had even left his tongue, the door had already opened. Tang Lici’s face suddenly appeared before Fu Zhumei. Fu Zhumei hadn’t reacted at all and just stared blankly at Tang Lici’s face.

After quite a while, Fu Zhumei finally said, “Ah…” Before he could finish his sentence, with a “bang,” Tang Lici suddenly shut the door. The door closed so quickly that Fu Zhumei’s nose tip almost hit the door panel. Startled by this, he remained dazed for a long time before finally understanding: A’Li had opened the door, then for some unknown reason, he had closed it again. Perhaps he didn’t want to see him.

“A’Li…” He hesitated outside the door for a while. “I… sigh… You know I’m very stupid. I think you still detest me and don’t want to talk to me at all, but… but I heard the recent news about you, and it’s all not very good. I think… I think… although you hate me, I want to see if you’re alright. Are you injured? How badly? Are you feeling a bit better?”

There wasn’t the slightest movement from inside the room. Fu Zhumei stood on his tiptoes and peered through the window crack, but couldn’t see anything. He continued, “I haven’t seen you for a very long time. Are you well? Just now you startled me, and I couldn’t see anything clearly.”

There was still no movement from inside the room. After quite a while, Fu Zhumei became somewhat anxious. “A’Li, the medicine will get cold, and if it gets cold, Old Tang will scold me. I… I… would it be alright if I covered my face before coming in? Or you could close your eyes so you wouldn’t see me, and then you wouldn’t be angry.” Saying this, he actually pulled out a sweat towel from his bosom and roughly wrapped it around his head. “I’m coming in.” He gently pushed open the door and entered Tang Lici’s room carrying the medicinal soup.