Three thousand worlds, empty sighs for the red spider lily. The bright mirror and dust—originally there was nothing at all.
That night, Bodhi Valley was as if not of the mortal realm.
Xue Xianzi walked into the mountain valley, his steps very light, making no sound whatsoever, as if he were merely stepping into a dream where the slightest exertion would wake him from it.
White flowers bloomed throughout the mountains and fields, and there was a faint fragrance in the air—very subtle, seeming to exist yet not exist. Xue Xianzi wove between the tombstones, found a blue stone monument, and sat down in front of the grave.
That tombstone was extraordinarily smooth. No matter how gentle the moonlight, reflecting on the stone it carried a cold, clear resonance. Ren Qingchou stood behind Xue Xianzi, and in his eyes, this tombstone had been ground and polished by hard-style palm force like Iron Sand Palm, not knowing how much effort it had taken. On the stone were simply written a few characters: “Tomb of My Wife Zhao Zhen.” The calligraphy was rough, formed by sword energy. When writing, the sword wielder’s emotions must have been extremely agitated, resulting in poor composition.
Xue Xianzi sat down in front of the tombstone and shook his head. “Why is there no wine?” Ren Qingchou was only carefully studying the swordwork used when writing those characters, secretly pondering and learning. “I don’t drink.” Xue Xianzi glanced at the tombstone and sighed. “Clear breeze and bright moon, a widower’s lonely grave, separation of life and death, heartbreaking pain—such a melancholy and moving scene, yet you’re stealing glances at the sword techniques I carved on the tombstone…” He lay down on the ground with the attitude of someone who might as well die right now.
Ren Qingchou carefully figured out the sword energy patterns on the tombstone before saying, “Senior, the third watch approaches. If we don’t act now, we’ll soon lose our chance.” Xue Xianzi had wanted to follow the ancient style and sing a lament, but finding no kindred spirit, he could only get up from the ground and gaze at the field of Lone Branch Like Snow covering the mountains. “So many flowers—where should I start burning? These aren’t like the dried goods in your pharmacy; I’m afraid they won’t burn easily.” Ren Qingchou pondered. “Then we can only dig up the roots and stems one by one and use Blazing Sun palm power to burn the flower branches.”
“Then let’s work separately!” Xue Xianzi’s hands moved like lightning, pulling apart the Lone Branch Like Snow on Zhao Zhen’s grave. These strange vines were very tough—when Xue Xianzi pulled, he dragged out seven or eight underground root systems before barely breaking it. Ren Qingchou grabbed another vine, carefully found its main root, dug it out with his sword tip, then tried to burn it to ash with palm power. Unfortunately, he was still young with insufficient cultivation, only burning the root into something neither black nor white, unable to turn it to ash.
Ren Qingchou’s face reddened. Xue Xianzi laughed heartily and picked up the root. With a squeeze of his five fingers, that grayish mass immediately emitted a wisp of smoke before turning to ash. Though Ren Qingchou felt ashamed, he wasn’t discouraged. He went to dig up flower roots while Xue Xianzi crushed them to ash.
Working together, in just half an hour they had destroyed most of the Lone Branch Like Snow in the valley.
“Ah—” Suddenly a scream came from the other end of Bodhi Valley. “Who—” Ren Qingchou’s form flashed like lightning as he grabbed the person who had screamed—a young maid about sixteen years old. She looked at him in terror. “You—you—you betrayed the master—” Ren Qingchou raised his palm, about to kill her, but when the palm fell it paused.
The palm struck down and the little maid’s face turned white as she fainted. Xue Xianzi spat. “I thought you were going to kill without blinking again! Quick, see if she has any accomplices.” Ren Qingchou nodded, drew his small black bow, nocked an arrow, and searched the valley. Xue Xianzi picked up the little maid, looked around briefly, then hastily stuffed her in a pile of grass under a tree.
Ren Qingchou circled around but saw no other traces, returning with his bow. Xue Xianzi was greatly puzzled—it was exactly the third watch, and this little maid had come out alone. Could she have come specifically to the graveyard to test her courage? He thought and thought but couldn’t understand. The two returned to digging flowers.
On a hilltop not far away, a person sat cross-legged under the moon. His face was pale with purple-red cheekbones, large bone structure, and only one arm—it was unmistakably Zhu Yan.
He practiced breathing exercises facing the moon, seemingly unaware of Xue Xianzi and Ren Qingchou. His eyes were tightly closed, completely immersed in the circulation of true energy within his body. The little maid Ren Qingchou had caught was the one bringing him medicine. In the battle at Wangting Manor against Yu Konghou and Gui Mudan, he hadn’t died.
The true energy in his body flowed drop by drop, and everything in all directions became very clear and transparent. This state began to slowly expand outward—one zhang, two zhang, three zhang… ten zhang, fifteen zhang…
Just as his hearing power gradually reached a twenty-zhang radius, suddenly there was a “scrape” sound from beyond twenty zhang. He trembled slightly and suddenly opened his eyes.
At the same moment, Xue Xianzi, who was pulling Lone Branch Like Snow among the tombstones, sensed something and suddenly turned around.
In an instant, their four eyes met. The wind suddenly changed. Ren Qingchou also turned around to see wild wind rising with a whoosh, rolling sand, stones, and fallen flowers straight up to the sky. Zhu Yan swung his long halberd with a thunderous crash—the hillside beneath his feet was shaved off by a layer, and the collapsing earth and stones tumbled down, blocking most of the wooden door at the foot of the slope.
“Who are you?” Zhu Yan rose with his halberd, his voice very hoarse, with a trace of confusion amid his majestic bearing.
Xue Xianzi focused his attention. Facing an opponent who could shave off half a hilltop with one halberd strike, he dared not be careless. Ren Qingchou quickly found a large rock to hide behind, drawing his bow and aiming at the half-blocked door. With Zhu Yan making such a huge commotion, the Romantic Shop would have to be deaf not to notice.
“Who are you?” Zhu Yan held his halberd behind his back, walking down from the hillside step by step. Though his voice was hoarse and confused, it still carried killing intent.
Xue Xianzi quickly took a breath, then slowly exhaled, and smiled at Zhu Yan. “I’m your good friend.”
Zhu Yan had already reached the valley and continued walking toward him step by step. “I have never had friends in my life.”
“Then what do you have?” Xue Xianzi asked with a grin.
Zhu Yan seemed startled by the question and fell silent.
Xue Xianzi stared at him intently. It seemed he had injured his brain again. Judging by Zhu Yan’s usual behavior, he would never waste so many words and would have attacked to kill already. Seeing him confused, as if he had forgotten who he was, yet still seemed to remember certain fragments.
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yan slowly said, “I have martial arts.” Xue Xianzi turned around with his hands behind his back. “You’re very pitiful.” Zhu Yan asked, “Why?” Xue Xianzi said, “Because martial arts isn’t a form of possession. You have no friends, no family, no home, no money—isn’t that very pitiful?” Zhu Yan slid his left hand forward on the halberd shaft until he gripped the handle. “I have martial arts. I will defeat anyone. I can kill anyone, including you!”
Xue Xianzi sighed. “Do you still remember Xue Tao?”
Zhu Yan heard but didn’t respond, shaking his halberd blade upward and thrusting straight at Xue Xianzi’s chest.
At that moment, the blocked wooden door at the foot of the slope suddenly exploded, and three people burst out. Ren Qingchou’s bowstring rang as three small black arrows shot rapidly at the three people, but unfortunately all three were prepared—two arrows were caught by hand, one shot into empty air.
The arrivals were Yu Konghou, Gui Mudan, and Lady Hongchan.
On the hillside where Zhu Yan had been sitting, Bai Suche pressed her hand to her blade leading a team. Behind her were the remaining white-robed attendants and about twenty red-robed attendants in neat formation, all watching Ren Qingchou.
When Zhu Yan’s snow-white halberd blade thrust forward, it didn’t create much wind noise. Xue Xianzi’s form flickered, disappearing at the instant the halberd struck. When others could see his form clearly again, he had already darted under the halberd, his palm gliding forward along the weapon. Zhu Yan twisted his wrist, wielding the halberd like a staff, roaring as he smashed down at Xue Xianzi’s head. Xue Xianzi dodged aside—others saw him flash right, but he suddenly appeared on the left, still reaching to seize the halberd.
Yu Konghou observed the battle and smiled slightly. “For Xue Xianzi to practice ‘Body Transposition’ to this level is indeed a miracle, but no matter how well ‘Body Transposition’ is practiced, it’s impossible to escape unscathed from under Zhu Yan’s long halberd.” He had come along the passage and already seen the swordsmen wounded by Ren Qingchou’s arrows, but he was neither anxious nor angry. Watching Zhu Yan and Xue Xianzi fight, he found it quite interesting.
Lady Hongchan laughed charmingly. “Oh my! Scholar Xue is a master of the ‘Thousand Traces Solitary Form Change’! Zhu Yan’s brain was injured by you—if he suddenly becomes stupid, he might lose.” She giggled. “Speaking of that night, I really thought you would kill him!”
The wound on Yu Konghou’s cheek had healed, leaving only a very faint scar on his chin. “Kill him? How could I kill him?” he said gently. “He harmed my cousin. I want him to be my ox and horse, to kill enemies and achieve merit for me. I want him to gain nothing in life and possess nothing in death, to die for me in the midst of thousands of troops and horses.”
“How vicious of you.” Lady Hongchan smiled even more broadly. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll die at Scholar Xue’s hands?”
Yu Konghou watched the battle with pursed lips and a faint smile. “Heh!” Gui Mudan laughed sinisterly. “His power alone cost me and Seventh Brother each ten percent of our true energy. Do you think he can kill Xue Xianzi? Seventh Brother, in order to strike him on the head, was poisoned by his ‘Demon Pearl-Spitting Energy’ and his internal injuries still haven’t healed. Do you think he can kill Xue Xianzi?”
“So now—we just need to catch that little mouse over there?” Lady Hongchan smiled sweetly. “First catch him, then slice his beloved Wen Hui into a thousand pieces before his eyes.” Gui Mudan laughed heartily. Yu Konghou, dressed in men’s clothing today, flicked his sleeve. “I’ll leave Ren Qingchou to you.”
Ren Qingchou hid behind a large stone. Lady Hongchan giggled as she circled around to catch him. Ren Qingchou remained very calm, waiting until she was almost in front of him before shooting an arrow. Lady Hongchan swept her sleeve to knock down the short arrow. Ren Qingchou’s sword at his waist flashed out swiftly, stabbing straight at her throat. Lady Hongchan’s red sleeve rolled and wrapped around his long sword. Where her internal energy reached, Ren Qingchou’s blade twisted and deformed. Lady Hongchan smiled sweetly, her left sleeve brushing toward Ren Qingchou’s face. Her sleeve was soaked with deadly poison—if it touched him, he would certainly be disfigured. Ren Qingchou struggled to withdraw his sword. Lady Hongchan deliberately moved her sleeve very slowly, wanting to force terror onto Ren Qingchou’s face. Suddenly there was a soft “pop” from behind her. She paused slightly, not yet understanding in her heart, when sharp pain shot through her rear shoulder—it was the short arrow Ren Qingchou had shot earlier that missed, struck a tombstone, bounced back, and shot through her shoulder in reverse!
With her shoulder wounded, the strength in her hands diminished. Ren Qingchou pulled out his sword and retreated in extreme danger, his figure turning to hide behind another tombstone. Having wounded the notorious Lady Hongchan in one exchange, Ren Qingchou showed no pride, concentrating wholeheartedly on hiding behind that tombstone without making a sound.
Yu Konghou watched Xue Xianzi appearing and disappearing, advancing and retreating as he fought with Zhu Yan on the left, and observed Ren Qingchou’s clever wounding of Lady Hongchan on the right. Both sides entertained him greatly. “Although these two destroyed many Lone Branch Like Snow flowers, the destruction wasn’t in vain. Just based on their abilities, they could indeed destroy my entire pharmacy—but unfortunately—that’s all they can do.”
“With those flowers destroyed, what do you plan to do in the future?” Gui Mudan observed the battle. “Where are you hiding your other medicines?” Yu Konghou smiled quite charmingly. “This… telling big brother would be of no benefit to me whatsoever.” Gui Mudan sneered. “Would I steal your medicines?” Yu Konghou’s eyes shifted. “Secrets are always best known by only one person.” He patted Gui Mudan’s shoulder and pointed at Ren Qingchou. “Someone has betrayed the Romantic Shop—you can’t possibly let him truly escape, can you? I’ll bet you that you can’t finish him within three moves.”
Gui Mudan gave a cold laugh and flashed forward. Lady Hongchan, furious after being wounded, joined him with fierce finger and palm techniques as they pounced on Ren Qingchou.