Early the next morning, beneath the Ten Li Red Pavilion, Miss Hong, Bai Suche, and Fu Cui brought Chi Yun—still bound hand and foot—to exchange him for A’Shui with Tang Lici. Liu Yan remained nowhere to be seen, gone to who knows where. The prisoner exchange proceeded with surprising smoothness. Though Wind and Flow House had dozens of assassins lying in ambush at Ten Li Red Pavilion, Miss Hong never found the perfect opportunity for a killing strike right up until Tang Lici departed with Chi Yun, and could only let him go.
“Tang Lici—an opponent not to be underestimated,” Bai Suche said coolly. “If we could kill this man someday, it would certainly bring great satisfaction.” Miss Hong’s face was covered with frost, remaining silent, her hatred for Tang Lici bone-deep. But Fu Cui laughed heartily, “The deal is done, everyone go back, go back. There will be plenty of opportunities to kill Tang Lici in the future.” Bai Suche turned and led the way forward a few steps, then suddenly pressed her hand to her sword and stopped. “Princess Xi departed without farewell, yet you seem to be in very good spirits?” Fu Cui smiled cheerfully, “Oh? You can see I’m in good spirits?” After a pause, Bai Suche stepped forward without answering. Miss Hong followed behind as they departed, both boarding Wind and Flow House’s white carriage and disappearing behind the door curtains.
Fu Cui watched the departing white carriage with a giggle. That girl Su’er was becoming more and more admirable to him. Perhaps he could suggest to that person that they replace little Hong with Su’er in Hong’s position—it might work out better than Hong. Little Hong was clever enough, and beautiful too, but what she shouldn’t have done, what she absolutely shouldn’t have done, was become Liu Yan’s person.
When Chi Yun was untied and spat out the cloth stuffed in his mouth, Tang Lici was drinking tea, wearing a gentle smile, regarding him with a calm, composed, and refined demeanor. Shen Langhun expressionlessly tossed the ropes that had bound Chi Yun to the ground. Fengfeng stood on a chair, gripping the chair handles tightly with both hands, swaying back and forth, watching Chi Yun with excitement.
When a person is bound into a bundle, he does indeed resemble a ball where you can’t tell head from tail. Chi Yun glared at Tang Lici through gritted teeth. Tang Lici responded with an even more gentle smile. “Feeling better now?” Chi Yun spat. “Terrible!” He looked coldly at Tang Lici from the corner of his eye. “How do you feel?” Tang Lici took a sip of fragrant, elegant tea. “Feeling quite well.”
“That stinking hag put some ‘Azure Spring Water’ on me—supposedly one touch would poison you, but it seems she was just blowing hot air.” Chi Yun moved his numb limbs and swayed as he stood up. “For a treacherous old fox like you, even Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pills couldn’t poison you to death, so what’s some measly ‘Azure Spring Water’…” Tang Lici watched him stagger to his feet, the corner of his mouth slightly raised. “I didn’t get poisoned because the poison on you was already neutralized long ago. It’s not that Bai Suche was blowing hot air. Are you satisfied now?” Chi Yun snorted. “How could you have the antidote?” Tang Lici smiled. “Secret.” Chi Yun asked again, “And how did you know I was poisoned?” Tang Lici took another sip of tea. “Wind and Flow House excels at using poisons. With such a valuable hostage in hand, how could they not poison you? It’s obvious… Not putting thirty or fifty deadly toxins on you was already being polite.”
“So you’re saying the stinking hag was actually showing restraint?” Chi Yun said coldly. Tang Lici set down his teacup. “If you wish to think of it that way, that’s fine. Unfortunately, you insist on thinking the worst of others—I can’t help that. Sigh… Chi Yun, serve tea.” Chi Yun said angrily, “Serve tea?” Tang Lici brushed his sleeves, supporting his chin somewhat lazily. “I stayed up all night for you. Serve tea, then go buy some food later—everyone is hungry.” Chi Yun’s hands and feet still ached terribly. Though the deadly poison was neutralized, his whole body was exhausted. Hearing this, he gritted his teeth. “You—” Tang Lici waved his sleeve while supporting his chin, smiling. “Why aren’t you going?” Chi Yun had no choice but to turn around and leave resentfully.
Shen Langhun said flatly, “Looking at your complexion, it’s not good.” Tang Lici pressed his hand to his abdomen, his brow showing slight fatigue. “It’s nothing. Did anyone investigate this place last night?” Shen Langhun said, “Yes, but just two petty thieves looking to steal money. I threw them in the government office.” After a slight pause, “I thought you would force your way through the Hongmen Banquet last night and come back bloody and bedraggled.”
“Forcing through is Chi Yun’s style, not mine.” Tang Lici smiled. “Being bloody and bedraggled would be too unseemly. Whether facing enemies or friends, one should wear a smile and be gentle and courteous—that’s how people will invite you for tea.” Shen Langhun said flatly, “Haha, this… isn’t that usually called being cunning?” Before Tang Lici could answer, Fengfeng suddenly waved his hands and feet, shaking the chair back, beaming with joy. “Yiwa… yiwa yiwa… buji…” Shen Langhun laughed heartily. “It seems someone understands you very well.” Tang Lici’s brow relaxed slightly, his expression somewhere between a smile and not.
“Speaking of which, what do you plan to do next?”
“Next, I’m going to Wandering Eyebrow Garden, to Bodhi Valley, to find a grave.” Tang Lici said, “Besides that, Liu Yan has disappeared without a trace. Given his current state of mind, he must be plotting something.”
“A grave—you want to find Fang Zhou’s remains?” Shen Langhun said, “He’s already been buried underground. Who knows, his corpse might have been eaten beyond recognition by rats and maggots. Are you still not giving up?”
“Mm, I haven’t seen the coffin or bones yet,” Tang Lici smiled. “What does it mean to give up? Perhaps… he buried the ice coffin filled with ice spring water directly. Perhaps the soil where he was buried has special properties that can preserve the body from decay. The world is full of wonders.”
Shen Langhun looked at him and made no reply, slowly exhaling a long breath.
In the marketplace of Jiufeng Town.
Chi Yun, his white clothes dirty and disheveled, looked around with gritted teeth, searching for where on the street he could buy wine and meat. Poor Jiufeng Town was a remote little settlement—one small bluestone street running no more than twenty zhang from end to end. Apart from a small stall selling chicken offal, in broad daylight there wasn’t even someone selling steamed buns.
He didn’t doubt at all that Tang Lici was messing with him, which was indeed the case. Just as he had walked the street two or three times, not knowing how to go back and report, he suddenly spotted someone. “Eh?”
He saw by the roadside a person in purple robes leading a horse, brows slightly furrowed as if carrying a heart full of inexplicable sorrow. Hearing the sound, she looked up with slight surprise. “Chi Yun?”
Chi Yun grinned. “Little Zhong girl, you’re here to find the white-haired fox spirit, aren’t you? Come with me.” As far as he was concerned, Zhong Chunji was just a boring, uninteresting little turtle, but at this moment she was the perfect excuse for not finding wine and food, so naturally his heart bloomed with joy.
Why is it that when you want to see someone, the search is so difficult, but when you don’t want to see them, you run into them the moment you turn around? Zhong Chunji looked bewildered at Chi Yun, who rarely showed her a smile. Actually, at this moment she didn’t want to see Tang Lici, but just because her heart didn’t want to see him, could she really avoid seeing him? Perhaps after this parting, going their separate ways, she would never see him again… That bottle of medicine in her bosom had been warmed by her body temperature, its presence barely detectable, but could temperature really mask the coldness of what was inside the bottle? After a moment’s hesitation, she forced a smile at Chi Yun. “How has Young Master Tang been lately?”
“Even if everyone in the world died, he wouldn’t be unwell.” Chi Yun said coolly. “Come on.”
In the luxurious mansion of Jiufeng Town, Shen Langhun and Tang Lici had just reached a pause in their conversation when they heard two sets of footsteps outside. Chi Yun strode back with someone following behind. “Look, Jiufeng Town’s streets don’t sell wine or food, but I brought back a person who might interest you.”
“Young Master Tang.” Zhong Chunji avoided Tang Lici’s gaze. “I…”
“Miss Zhong truly has divine foresight—in this vast world, she always manages to encounter us by chance.” Shen Langhun said flatly. “What important matter brings you here this time?” Tang Lici smiled. “Miss Zhong is traveling south on the same route as us—it’s just coincidence. Brother Shen needn’t mind.” He stood up, his sleeves swaying slightly. “Please sit, Miss.”
The room didn’t have just the one chair he had been sitting in. Besides the chairs occupied by Fengfeng and Shen Langhun, there were three other empty chairs. But his gesture of standing and offering his seat involuntarily gave Zhong Chunji a feeling of being especially honored. She couldn’t help but sit down. “I… I…” She steadied herself. “I’m just following my master’s trail, which happens to be the same route as Young Master Tang’s.”
“I see. As for Xue Xianzi’s whereabouts, I can help search for them.” Tang Lici said. “If there’s any news, I’ll notify you immediately. How about that?” Zhong Chunji nodded, but then suddenly shook her head. After being dazed for a while, she said, “Actually I… searching for my master isn’t for any urgent matter. I just don’t know where exactly I should go…” Ever since leaving Green Mountain Cliff, she had lost the direction she wanted to go. What had she traveled the martial world for in the past? Now she couldn’t understand at all. She only felt the world was vast and desolate, the stars and moon bleak. Though she had many friends, not one could truly talk to her and resolve her doubts. Where exactly should she go? What exactly should she do? What meaning was there in her walking through this world? Everything, everything seemed to have become unfathomable mysteries… Life, apart from some completely impossible delusions, had no meaning.
Tang Lici smiled slightly. “If Miss Zhong has nothing else to do, why don’t you travel with us?” As soon as he spoke, both Chi Yun and Shen Langhun glared at him. Zhong Chunji was stunned, as if Tang Lici’s words made her even more confused. “Where is Young Master Tang going?” Tang Lici said, “To search for a corpse and save a life.” Zhong Chunji lowered her head, a faint blush rising on her cheeks as she said softly, “I see… then Chunji should naturally give her full assistance.”
Chi Yun’s mouth twitched, Shen Langhun coughed quietly. Chi Yun was about to curse—problems that Chi Yun, Shen Langhun, and Tang Lici couldn’t solve, what use would this little Zhong girl be? Really fucking clueless! But since Shen Langhun had stopped him, though he didn’t say it aloud, his face showed complete disdain. Tang Lici wanted to go to Wandering Eyebrow Garden and Bodhi Valley to find Fang Zhou’s corpse—what was the point of having this little girl accompany them? Did he expect her to split mountains and crack stones, rob graves and dig up corpses? Meanwhile, Shen Langhun stared intently at Zhong Chunji as if trying to see through her, showing no surprise at all at Tang Lici’s invitation.
“But what kind of place is this? How could such a remote village have such a luxurious mansion?” Zhong Chunji looked around, seeing the house’s decorations were magnificent, the tables and chairs finely carved—completely the appearance of a wealthy family’s home, except there wasn’t a single servant to be seen. Tang Lici bent down and picked up Fengfeng. “This is where a good friend of mine lived in seclusion several years ago. This little town originally had beautiful scenery, with a large plum forest.” Zhong Chunji frowned slightly. “But I don’t see any plum forest now.” Tang Lici said, “That’s because he set a fire and burned all the plum blossoms. The great fire half-destroyed the buildings here, and I later renovated them to their current state.” Zhong Chunji’s troubled heart shuddered. “Is that the friend who writes poetry?” But what she was thinking was: Is that the friend who poisoned you, threw you in a well, and then set a fire? When he treated you so cruelly, why do you speak of him without the slightest resentment? Could it be that what happened back then was truly your fault beyond any excuse?
“Mm…” Tang Lici picked up Fengfeng, then handed him to Chi Yun. “I come here once a year, but have never seen him again.” Zhong Chunji said softly, “I see.”
Chi Yun took Fengfeng. There was half a bowl of rice soup left on the table, and he sat down to feed Fengfeng spoonful by spoonful with practiced skill. Zhong Chunji watched with some bewilderment. Shen Langhun looked at her expressionlessly. Tang Lici showed slight signs of fatigue. Her heart was already in extreme chaos, and now it pounded like a wild deer or galloping horse. For a moment she wanted to throw away the bottle of medicine tucked in her bosom. Suddenly Tang Lici leaned against his sleeve to support his chin and gently closed his eyes, remaining still for a moment. In her heart, infinite pity suddenly surged—this person, this person, no matter what happened in the past, no matter what would happen in the future, whenever he was before her eyes he always tugged at her heart, always made her unable to help herself, always filled her with all sorts of strange imaginings. Could she really… really let him go far away, never again finding a reason to meet?
“Miss Zhong has traveled all over the land—do you know where Praying Soul Mountain is?” Tang Lici supported his chin with closed eyes, but hadn’t fallen asleep, just resting his spirit. Zhong Chunji started. “Praying Soul Mountain? Praying Soul Mountain is a hill in the Wuyi Mountains. It’s surrounded by deep mountains, with rarely any human traces. How does Young Master Tang know of Praying Soul Mountain’s existence?”
“Hearing what you say, such a mountain truly exists in the world…” Tang Lici said, “Miss is indeed learned.” Zhong Chunji shook her head. “No, Praying Soul Mountain is a strange mountain. I’ve never been there either, but I heard my master mention it. It’s a sacred burial ground. Behind the mountain is white strange soil—if you dig the soil to make graves, the graves become indestructible, and after people are buried, their bodies can be preserved from decay for decades.” She said quietly, “Master buried Master’s wife’s remains… on Praying Soul Mountain.” Tang Lici made a sound of surprise. “Such a thing really exists?” Zhong Chunji nodded. “But only Master knows the location. That place is remote and hidden, with few human traces. Those who aren’t martial artists rarely know of Praying Soul Mountain’s benefits.”
“In that case, we absolutely must go and investigate?” Shen Langhun said flatly, “Let’s leave tomorrow.” Zhong Chunji’s mind settled slightly. “What about Wind and Flow House’s affairs—is Young Master Tang just ignoring them?” Tang Lici opened his eyes slightly and smiled. “Wind and Flow House’s affairs will have someone to worry about them. Nothing will change for the time being.”
After that, Zhong Chunji made a delicious meal for the three men. After the battle at Green Mountain Cliff, no one had rested properly. Once they relaxed, everyone felt exhausted and retired to their rooms to meditate and recover.
In Tang Lici’s room.
“There’s one thing I must make clear.” In the deep of night, Tang Lici had just finished his meditation and still sat on the bed when Shen Langhun’s words came from outside the window, his tone the same as always. “The master of Wind and Flow House, the black-robed pipa player Liu Yan—since you can’t kill him, I will kill him in the future.” Tang Lici opened his eyes. “Is this a warning?” Shen Langhun said flatly, “No, just clarifying my position.” Tang Lici sighed softly. “He is my friend.” Shen Langhun stood outside the window, the red serpent mark on his cheek unusually vivid. “I’m not saying you can’t consider him a friend, but—until the day he kills you, will you never know what it means to give up?” Tang Lici didn’t answer. Shen Langhun turned to leave. “Before that happens, I will kill him.” Tang Lici looked up at Shen Langhun’s departing figure, his gaze distant and strange, saying softly, “If someday he could turn back…” Shen Langhun answered from afar, “If he strangled the woman you deeply loved, killed your parents and brothers, poisoned your master and friends, what would you do?” Tang Lici had no words. Shen Langhun departed.
“A’Li,” another person’s voice came from another window, “that utterly wicked bastard—why do you treat him so well?” Tang Lici didn’t look toward the window behind him. “I have very few friends.” Chi Yun spat. “Don’t Shen and I count as your friends?” Tang Lici said, “No.” Chi Yun was stunned. “What…” Tang Lici breathed out gently, supporting himself on the bed with one hand as he slowly turned around. “You… none of you know what I’m thinking, do you?”
“I really don’t know what the hell you’re thinking. But though I don’t know what you’re thinking, I care about you. That bastard Liu is as treacherous and vicious as you, but even if he knows what you’re thinking, he’ll only want you dead even more. I think there’s something wrong with your brain—you can’t tell what friendship means!” Chi Yun said coldly.
Tang Lici stared at him unblinkingly. Chi Yun glared back angrily. Sometimes he felt those eyes were laughing, sometimes he felt they were crying. After a long while, Tang Lici slowly lowered the hand supporting him on the bed and slowly embraced himself with both arms, saying very softly, very softly, “I just want a friend I can talk to from the heart…”
Chi Yun looked at Tang Lici in bewilderment, completely puzzled. What the hell was talking from the heart? Tang Lici quickly released himself, shook his head, and smiled at Chi Yun. “Go rest. After having your pressure points sealed for several days and just recovering from poison, you should recuperate well.” Chi Yun frowned. Tang Lici said gently, “Go on.” Chi Yun glared at him angrily and left with a flourish of his sleeves.
No matter how hard he tried to be a rule-abiding good person, he was still… actually very difficult to get along with. Tang Lici sat on the bed, gazing at his own feet. Outside the window, the moon’s reflection was white as frost jade, casting his shadow on the ground with unusual clarity, unusual darkness.