Yun Ye reluctantly set down his plate. This dish wouldn’t taste good once it got cold, and he had no idea whether he’d be able to eat the hot lotus root before Qiu Ran Ke was defeated.

When Qiu Ran Ke saw Yun Ye’s refined face approaching him with a trace of longing for human flesh, his hair involuntarily stood on end. As the saying goes: the soft fear the hard, the hard fear the reckless, but before an evil ghost who treats human flesh as food, none of that matters. If his hands and feet were intact, Qiu Ran Ke wouldn’t fear battling such a demon, but now his entire body was firmly bound to a wooden board. Those thin ropes were made of some unknown devilish material that rendered him completely immobile. Man is the blade and chopping board, I am the fish and meat—he could only sigh: “It’s fate, it’s destiny.”

“Just kill me! Don’t torture those women and children. Come at me if you dare—if I furrow my brow even once, I’m no true hero.”

“I know you’re a hero, which is why I’m not looking for you. Do you still remember the incident six years ago when you encountered the Carefree Master and a young boy on the Longzhong wasteland?”

“I don’t remember! I don’t remember! Just now I had some clues, seemed like I was about to remember who I am. You bastard, don’t disturb me while I’m thinking!”

“That won’t do. Think carefully—on an autumn afternoon six years ago, you came to the Longzhong wasteland. There was a thatched hut on the wasteland, and a white-haired old man received you. A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy sat to the side listening to your conversation. You said you knew about the White Jade Capital and asked the old man how to get there. The old man didn’t tell you, so you left behind a cloth bag, saying it was sent by a friend of the old man’s and you didn’t know what was inside. Do you remember any of this?”

Qiu Ran Ke’s pupils contracted. He asked Yun Ye strangely, “Who are you? Why do you know about my past? Why can’t I remember?”

“Three people knew about this matter. The old man has passed away. So tell me—who am I?”

“I see, I see. Several years have passed, you should have grown up by now. You’re that boy?”

“So you actually remember me. Then tell me where the White Jade Capital is. Your mind is working much better now—many fragments of your life must be appearing. Just piece them together bit by bit. Let’s start from when you left the wasteland and went to the South Seas. Where did you go?”

“I went to the South Seas? I went to the South Seas? I can’t remember, can’t remember. My head hurts, it hurts, it hurts terribly. Let me have some peace—get lost!”

Yun Ye’s smile grew even more radiant. Outside the room, the little girl’s faint voice rose again. Qiu Ran Ke turned his head once more. Heavens—there were actually two arms on the plate now!

“Evil thief! Evil thief! I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!” No matter how hard Qiu Ran Ke struggled, he could only cut himself all over with wounds. Yun Ye compassionately wiped away the blood for him and evenly applied medicinal powder to the wounds—otherwise there would be big trouble when Li Jing returned later.

“Where in the South Seas did you go? Did you put out to sea?” Yun Ye asked Qiu Ran Ke once again.

“Yes, yes! I put out to sea! I went to sea with sixty brothers. The jade tablet showed an island. I’d heard that overseas there are immortal mountains floating upon the great sea, carried by mystical tortoises. Upon them are jade nectar and ambrosia, flowers that bloom in all four seasons, dancing immortals, phoenixes carrying magical fungi, qilin dragons roaming the mountaintops, and white apes playing by the waters. What a magnificent White Jade Capital! Since I, Zhang Zhongjian, had the fortune to obtain a jade tablet and glimpse the immortal gate, why shouldn’t I pursue the obsession of living as long as heaven and earth?”

Yun Ye clapped his hands and said, “Excellent, excellent! You finally remember that your name is Zhang Zhongjian! But back then you kicked me once—how can I not avenge this great grudge? Think more carefully! Remember everything from your past. Where are those brothers of yours? Who were they? Sixty brothers—enough for me to kill for quite a while.”

Zhang Zhongjian looked at Yun Ye strangely and said, “Just because I kicked you once on the Longzhong wasteland, you’ve harbored this grudge?”

“What did you expect? Back then I just wanted to look at your bundle, and you picked me up and kicked me away! Even my master never laid a finger on me, yet you dared to kick me?” When Yun Ye spoke these words, the veins on his neck bulged, his face contorted viciously, and he pounded Zhang Zhongjian’s chest repeatedly with his fist—completely presenting the appearance of someone whose mind had been clouded by hatred.

“In my life I’ve roamed across the world and encountered countless villains, but in terms of malice, you rank first! For a disciple of an immortal to be so tyrannical is truly rare. I kicked you once back then—you could dismember me ten thousand times over, but why must you transfer your anger to others? Why can’t I remember your master’s name? Why?”

Yun Ye’s face flushed red. He jumped onto Qiu Ran Ke’s body, grabbed his throat, and roared, “You’re insulting me again! You’re insulting me again! My master was an immortal among men, and you’ve even forgotten the name of the Carefree Master? You deserve to die!” Only when Qiu Ran Ke’s face turned purple did Yun Ye release his grip.

“Cough, cough…” After violent coughing fits, Qiu Ran Ke began to laugh. He harbored extreme hatred toward Yun Ye—whenever he saw him uncomfortable, he felt unusually pleased inside, even if the cost was severe. He wouldn’t let his enemy feel satisfied.

“The Carefree Master is also an old thief! He taught a beast like you who has extinguished all humanity. I bet he was struck dead by five thunderbolts from heaven, wasn’t he?”

Yun Ye was about to jump up and beat Qiu Ran Ke again, but then he stopped. With a sinister chuckle he said, “You want to provoke my hatred so I’ll spare the people outside, is that it? Want to die quickly? You’re dreaming!”

Qiu Ran Ke had just begun to say “Don’t—” when continuous agonized screams rang out from outside. A blood stench so thick it couldn’t be dissolved poured in through the open main gate. The door slammed, and a blue-clothed person covered in fresh blood stretched out blood-soaked hands toward his direction, then was immediately dragged out by a large hand grabbing his collar. The scream had just begun when it cut off midway—Qiu Ran Ke was intimately familiar with the sound of a steel blade cutting through flesh. He naturally knew this strike had severed that person’s neck.

Yun Ye’s detestable voice rang in his ear again: “Zhang Zhongjian, is the jade tablet you obtained like this?” Fresh blood flowed from the corners of Qiu Ran Ke’s eyes and mouth. What showed in his eyes was no longer hatred, but pleading.

“Kill me! Kill me however you want, but don’t kill anyone else. As long as you agree, I’ll tell you everything I know, including about the jade tablet.”

“Killing a few mortals is of no use to me whatsoever. Since you’re willing to speak, then speak freely. After you finish, I’ll also give you a quick death. I don’t care about the others—sparing their lives is fine. Originally I wanted to steam this family’s young son and send him over to you, but now there’s no need for that.”

“You swear it?”

“There’s no need. Whether I swear or not, you still have to tell me. So you must tell me about your experiences. I also want to search for the overseas immortal mountains, to search for the White Jade Capital. I must fulfill my master’s dying wish.”

Qiu Ran Ke suddenly became elated. In his mind, he actually recalled scenes of himself and his brothers struggling in raging waves. Mountain-like ocean swells easily lifted their giant vessel up, then heavily smashed it down into the troughs. Before reaching the bottom, his brothers were swept away by the waves. He had a wooden barrel tied to his waist, which allowed him to survive. The waves carried him to the shore and mercilessly battered him against the cliffs. He didn’t know how many impacts he endured—he only remembered that at the end his head struck a rock heavily and then he knew nothing more.

His subsequent thoughts suddenly became coherent. He was a great bandit, the greatest pirate on the seas. Back when he met the sons of Li Yuan and felt himself inferior to them, he fled far overseas, recruited soldiers and horses, and quickly ruled over the seventy-two islands of the South Seas. He styled himself King of Fuyu, dominating the outer ocean of the South Seas—quite a carefree existence.

But why had he gone to the Longzhong wasteland? What exactly had happened during those few months?

Qiu Ran Ke clearly remembered carrying a bundle to the wasteland, treading upon withered yellow wild grass with wild geese flying south overhead. He walked for a long time before reaching a valley where he met a person called the Carefree Master. Though that thatched hut was crude, the people inside were anything but crude—a white-haired sage with a child’s face, and a lively boy with his hair in twin buns who was secretly examining his bundle. Out of affection, he had picked the boy up and given him a light kick. These details were all clearly imprinted in his mind, but no matter what, he couldn’t remember the causes and consequences. Perhaps, possibly, he had still lost a portion of his memories.

Five years’ time was enough for his empire to be reduced to ashes and smoke. His sixty capable brothers were all dead. He didn’t believe those pirates from various nations whom he had intimidated would obediently wait five years for him. What a pity—five years spent living like a monk with an oil lamp and Buddha statue had been wasted! Now he had fallen to this state where heaven wouldn’t answer and earth wouldn’t respond. What a pity for my second brother, the Medicine Master! What a pity for my third sister, Chuchhen! All perished here for the sake of an illusory immortal realm. Zhang Zhongjian’s heart filled with great hatred. Medicine Master, when we reach the underworld, you be the eldest brother—I’ll never compete with you again…

“Your jade tablet has the three characters for White Jade Capital on it, right? And some inexplicable writing, correct? Come closer with your ear and I’ll tell only you.”

“I’m not going! Do you take me for a fool? If I put my ear next to your mouth, I’d probably have to be called One-Ear from now on. If you want to speak, speak loudly. I don’t care if others hear—at most I’ll just kill them all.”

“You’re a rare intelligent man—why is your heart so vicious? So be it, I’ll tell you then. Those inexplicable characters are actually a map. If you place the jade pendant under sunlight, the light passes through the jade, and the shadow cast on the wall will transform the characters into a map. Unfortunately it’s incomplete! If you gather all four jade pendants, you’ll have the correct path to ascend to heaven. You’re so clever, you’ll surely succeed. Boy, you can kill me now.”

Yun Ye listened to Qiu Ran Ke’s nonsense and laughed so hard inside he almost stumbled. Fooling others into going to their deaths had always been his specialty—he hadn’t expected this fellow to learn it too. This guy had woven quite a good story. He could use it in the future. If anyone questioned it, he could righteously say it was what Qiu Ran Ke had told him—if there was trouble, they could go find him.

Yun Ye pulled out a small gourd from his chest and said to Qiu Ran Ke, “You’re a hero, so I’ll leave you with an intact corpse so you three siblings can meet face-to-face when you reunite in the underworld.”

Qiu Ran Ke put his mouth to the gourd and drank down the bitter poison in one gulp. He asked Yun Ye sternly, “What’s your name? Don’t let me die a confused ghost.”

Feeling his whole body becoming light and ethereal, Qiu Ran Ke finally heard him say hazily, “This young master doesn’t change his name when walking or his surname when sitting—I’m called Li Huairen!”