On the cold, deserted streets, snowflakes drifted down from the sky as Lu Yun walked quietly through the capital streets, shouldering his noodle stand.
When he came, he was filled with inexplicable grief and indignation; when leaving, it was in silent quietude. At this moment Lu Yun had calmed down. He didn’t think about the State-Protecting Iron Guard’s new schemes and old plots, nor did he care about those strange black-clothed masters. He only looked at this familiar Beijing, pondering some past events in his heart… then he would set out on his journey.
Dingyuan, Zhonghai… even those mortal enemies – all were encountered in the capital. In truth, Beijing had become his hometown. Here he had everything familiar. Tonight, if he truly departed this place never to return, his heart truly felt some reluctance.
Perhaps this was why he hadn’t wanted to come back. Coming back meant having to leave, and leaving would bring reluctance. Rather than tear his heart apart digging up old wounds, bloodily cutting all ties at once, it was better to bury that longing in his heart – quietly, bitterly experiencing it alone for a lifetime.
Actually, Hu Mei’er was right – good people in this world didn’t necessarily do good deeds, and bad people didn’t necessarily only do bad things. The right and wrong he had pursued his whole life had ultimately brought not a bit of good to this human world. Everything only had good beginnings, with bitter fruits to swallow afterward. Whoever became entangled with him ended up with no good outcome.
Not only those he loved, but even those he hated were the same. Look at Sa Mo, such an utterly evil person – just because he befriended him in the heavenly prison, he ended up flattened by the waterfall. Speaking of it, he should go to a temple and draw a fortune stick to see what bad luck he’d been carrying these ten years that was so formidable.
Thinking and walking, he could already see the majestic Yongding Gate. Lu Yun understood in his heart – once he left the city, he would truly bid farewell to this human world. Two words: retirement… hadn’t even emerged yet and was already retiring…
The snow fell heavier, with few pedestrians on the street. Lu Yun’s stomach was somewhat hungry. Tonight he had first shouted loudly, then wept bitterly – if it were an ordinary person suffering such a blow, they might have had a stroke. He smiled bitterly and decided to find a restaurant for a big feast as a farewell banquet for himself.
Walking along, no shops were open on the road. During New Year and so late at night, only one fabric shop along the street still had its doors open. Lu Yun walked slowly past and saw the fabric shop had set up a stall at its entrance with large felt coats and winter clothing – after the Lantern Festival, with spring approaching, they were probably clearing inventory.
Lu Yun had achieved internal energy and wasn’t afraid of cold even on winter nights, but he should buy a large felt hat to wear on his head to cover his sorrowful brows and bitter face. He set down his noodle stand and looked left and right but saw no shop assistant, so he called out himself: “Shopkeeper! A customer is here!”
After calling several times, an old man finally emerged from inside, rubbing his sleepy eyes all the way. Seeing the customer was a poor noodle vendor, he yawned loudly and turned to go back. Lu Yun laughed helplessly: “Shopkeeper, I want to buy something.”
The old man turned back around, lazily arranging the clothes on the stall: “What do you want to buy?” Lu Yun said: “Give me a felt hat.” The old man said lazily: “Ten taels for one.” Lu Yun was shocked – he hadn’t expected prices to soar so high that a felt hat cost such an astronomical price! He rarely haggled in his life, but searching his entire body, he could at most scrape together three taels of silver – where would he get ten taels? He could only say: “Elder, I quite fancy this large hat. Could you make it cheaper?”
The old man yawned and was about to lazily haggle when suddenly his eyes met Lu Yun’s. His face actually changed slightly as he said tremblingly: “Yes, of course it can be cheaper…”
Lu Yun was slightly puzzled, not knowing why this person’s attitude had changed from arrogant to humble.
He picked up the large hat to examine it and said again: “Then quote me another price, reduce it by a few taels.”
The old man said tremblingly: “Reduce what reduce? No money needed, no money…”
Lu Yun was greatly surprised and immediately looked suspiciously at the shopkeeper: “Why no money?” The old man, meeting his gaze, broke into even more cold sweat and said with a forced smile: “Congratulations, honored customer! Our shop is having a Lantern Festival grand prize giveaway today. You happen to be the hundredth customer, so everything is free.”
Lu Yun exclaimed in surprise. As a child he had heard of prize drawings and competitions, but most were fraudulent with very few actually winning prizes. He hadn’t expected such good fortune to befall him! The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He wondered if his fierce appearance had frightened the good common people. Full of puzzlement, he suddenly saw a bronze mirror placed on the stall and immediately picked it up to look at himself.
His eyes saw clearly – the man in the mirror was as before, except somewhat thinner and paler than ten years ago, but showed no signs of having a hideous face with fangs. He frowned slightly and took out ten copper coins from his pocket: “I’ll still give you ten wen.”
The old man bowed repeatedly with a bitter smile: “Too much, too much.” Lu Yun didn’t know what game he was playing, so he picked up the large hat and casually put it on, then asked: “May I ask, elder, will Yongding Gate still open tonight?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” The old man danced with joy, saying happily: “The rain prayer dharma assembly will end before noon, and by then the officials’ families will be waiting to go home!” Seeing the old man rush into the door like a wisp of smoke, Lu Yun was increasingly puzzled, not knowing what he was afraid of.
Just as he was about to pick up his noodle stand and leave, he saw that envelope still placed on the stand – the thing Hu Mei’er had just delivered.
Lingwu Xuanzhi… Lu Yun was slightly stunned. Since he had inexplicably gotten a bargain, perhaps this letter was working its magic. Yang Suguan’s power was extremely great – if he had his protection, he would surely be invincible in this capital. Lu Yun sighed and casually put on the large hat, covering his appearance. Suddenly he felt very at peace, as if he had once again separated himself from this world, just like returning to the great waterfall where he could reach out and catch a dead fish, then smile while gnawing on it.
Thinking of Gu Siyuan, Lu Yun’s heart ached and tears rolled down again. At this moment, he truly returned to White Water Falls – everything before him was hazy and he couldn’t see anything clearly…
Thinking and walking, Yongding Gate drew closer and closer. Along the way he encountered no acquaintances nor ran into any enemies. That city gate drew nearer and nearer to him, as if about to welcome him out… Strangely, at this moment Lu Yun’s heart actually faintly hoped – hoped someone could stop him at the last moment, letting him linger a bit longer…
“I urge you to drink another cup of wine; west of Yang Pass, there are no old friends.” It was a bit like when he saw off Princess Yinchuan in those days. Cold wind blew, cold snow fell – who would see him off now? No one. Hu Mei’er couldn’t persuade him to stay, Qiong Fang couldn’t stop him either – who else in this world could watch him depart?
Before him stood a city blocking his path. Lu Yun suddenly raised his head for one last look at the supreme capital.
Going from here through thousands of mountains and rivers with no return date, Lu Yun no longer thought much. Seeing a queue of over ten common people at the city gate – some supporting old and carrying young, others bearing luggage – all waiting to leave. He joined the end of the crowd, waiting to be inspected before departing.
The weather was very cold and the snow heavier. Several soldier-clerks were hiding in a grass shelter beside the city gate, chatting and idling away on their own. An elderly man couldn’t bear the cold and stepped forward to ask: “Several officer gentlemen, when can the city gate be opened?”
The official clerk was chatting enthusiastically and, hearing the old man interrupt, immediately glared angrily and scolded: “Are you from out of town? The rain prayer dharma assembly at Hongluo Temple hasn’t started yet. If you want the gate opened, come back at midnight!”
The elder said anxiously: “That won’t do, officer! This commoner is still waiting to travel, and this snow is falling so heavily…” The official clerk glared angrily and shouted: “Midnight!” The elder was startled and hurriedly bowed and retreated. The merchants on both sides who had been waiting to leave the city also scattered in a rush, leaving only Lu Yun standing alone.
Lu Yun silently looked toward the city wall. With his current skill level, if he wanted to climb over the city wall, it wouldn’t be difficult. But he didn’t want to flee in panic. Over ten years ago he had entered through the main gate in an upright manner. Now that he was leaving, he naturally should also walk out through the main gate upright and proper. Even if no one saw him off, he still wanted to leave like a proper person.
“Hey! You!” The official clerk noticed him standing there alone and shouted angrily: “Don’t just stand there like a post! Go away quickly!”
Hearing the clerk’s angry roar, Lu Yun didn’t move. The official clerks, seeing him wearing a large hat and shouldering a noodle stand with only a pair of thin lips visible, just from this look felt this person had a gloomy, strange appearance. The official clerks became suspicious and shouted: “Brother! Let us see your identification papers.”
Identification papers were a person’s identity documents, recording their native place, age, status, and appearance with portrait and description. But Lu Yun’s identification papers seemed to have grown wings – first confiscated by corrupt officials when he failed the examinations and was imprisoned thirteen years ago, then lost again when he abandoned his post and fled. After so many years, when suddenly demanded to produce them, where could he get them?
Since Lu Yun had no identification papers, he naturally couldn’t produce them for inspection and could only stand motionless. The official clerks found this person increasingly strange and quickly grasped their sword hilts, shouting: “Brother, put down your noodle stand – we need to search it.”
City gate guards were young men, probably twenty-one or twenty-two years old. If they started searching, they would inevitably be rough as wolves and tigers – it would be strange if they didn’t break several noodle bowls. Lu Yun shook his head: “Officers, this commoner has done nothing illegal.”
The official clerks laughed: “If you’ve done nothing illegal, then what are you afraid of being searched for! If you’re afraid, then you have a guilty conscience about breaking the law!”
Lu Yun nodded: “Very well then, come up.” The official clerks rushed forward with a clatter. The first step was to remove Lu Yun’s large hat and throw it to the ground, then rummage through everything – chopstick containers, pot shovels scattered all over the ground.
Official clerks were always clumsy and heavy-handed. Perhaps from being accustomed to serving country and people, they were always so recklessly devoted. In their eagle-like sharp eyes, every commoner seemed to have just raped and murdered women, bearing mutual suspicion, so inevitably they were somewhat fierce. But strangely, when they were all so recklessly devoted, why were people still dying everywhere in the world?
Lu Yun silently pondered his own thoughts when suddenly he saw a noodle bowl fly out, about to be smashed to pieces. He bent down and steadily caught it with his hand, advising: “Please, friends, be gentler.”
The official clerks, hearing Lu Yun’s dissatisfied tone, immediately turned around about to scold him, but suddenly exclaimed in surprise, their scolding cut off mid-sentence with no continuation.
Lu Yun didn’t know why they fell silent and only asked: “Officers, are you done searching?” The official clerks swallowed and all retreated backward together. Lu Yun frowned and stepped forward. This time the official clerks all shouted and retreated urgently backward – with a “thud” sound, someone even fell down.
Lu Yun was even more puzzled and said: “You’re not searching anymore?” The official clerks’ mouths trembled as they all shook their heads. Lu Yun put the noodle bowls and chopstick containers back and said again: “May I ask, officers, when will this city gate open?”
With a creaking sound, a small door opened beside the city gate. The official clerks muttered: “Open, open.”
Lu Yun, seeing this situation, felt increasingly strange in his heart. He couldn’t help but look again at that letter Yang Suguan had sent, wondering what magic power this “Lingwu Xuanzhi” might have to make both common people and official clerks so frightened.
The official clerks, seeing him hesitating to leave, quickly said: “Your lordship, the small door has already been opened for you. If you… if you want to leave, then please…”
Lu Yun looked at Yang Suguan’s letter, suddenly smiled and shook his head: “No need. I’ll come back at midnight.” He then picked up the large hat and put it back on, turning around to leave.
For someone about to retire from the world, playing with power was most laughable. If he truly couldn’t bear to part with this power and glory, then why leave Beijing?
Snowflakes fell. At this time it was only the end of the You period and beginning of the Xu period – still two hours until midnight. Lu Yun, seeing it was still early, decided to find something to fill his stomach. Since no one on the street was selling food, that was fine – he himself was a noodle vendor. He looked left and right and saw that near the fabric shop there was a small alley with makeshift shelter that could block snow and wind, so he entered the alley, set down his noodle stand, and planned to cook noodles to eat.
If this had been a few days ago when cooking noodles, beside the noodle stand would definitely have been lively – with both Qiong Fang and Xiao Gou causing a commotion everywhere. Now it was only himself sitting alone.
In the past ten years of solitary living by the waterfall, he had long grown accustomed to loneliness and solitude. Seeing no wells around and snow drifting down from the sky, he took out a pot to collect snow, then took out ginger, scallions, and garlic, and found the leftover pork shreds from the afternoon to prepare as topping.
Ten years of painstaking martial arts practice finally had its convenient moments. Watching Lu Yun take out a cleaver and chop the ginger, scallions, and garlic in a flurry, then mince the pork shreds into ground meat – though he cut casually, the sizes were perfectly uniform. Whether meat cubes or scallions and garlic, everything was neat and tidy. If any martial arts master were nearby, they would surely be greatly amazed.
The empty alley was deserted – if anyone came to praise, it would be a ghost, not a person. Lu Yun smiled to himself and proceeded to add charcoal and light a fire. He brought over a charcoal brazier and lit the kindling, first piling wood ash into a mound. Seeing the flames burn more and more vigorously, he gently breathed, slowly drawing a breath of pure oxygen into his chest cavity. In an instant, his lips pursed slightly and a thin stream of air blew from his mouth, steadily directed into the furnace’s air inlet.
During his ten years of waterfall life, Lu Yun had spent two years on the stone island. When violent rains washed down and floods rose high, he had to hold his breath and endure on the great stone island. At the critical moment between life and death, he had discovered many breathing techniques. Thus, regarding the long duration of internal breathing and breath control, no second person in the world could compare with him. If not for having to save Little White Dragon at that time, within four years he would have been able to go upstream against the current and leave the waterfall stone island by his own ability.
In a moment, the charcoal all around glowed red hot, already burning with flame. Lu Yun, afraid the fire was too hot, stopped blowing. He poured oil into the pot – with a loud sizzle, fragrance finally burst forth.
The topping ingredients sizzled fragrantly, and a stream of aromatic vapor drifted out, floating out from the alley entrance. Someone laughed: “So fragrant!”
Lu Yun looked up and saw the fabric shop owner poking his head into the narrow alley. Lu Yun, having taken the man’s large hat for free, was just thinking of treating him as a guest when the owner quickly retreated with a “whoosh” sound.
A strange night – it seemed everyone was afraid of him. Lu Yun didn’t care anymore. Now being able to have this bowl of hot noodles to eat was already heaven’s grace. He stir-fried the topping ingredients several times, then put the snow water on the charcoal stove, preparing to cook noodles once the hot water boiled.
While looking up to admire the snow and waiting to eat noodles, though there was no lover beside him or good friend in the seat of honor, at least there were no official clerks pursuing or bandits chasing – overall it was acceptable. In the silence, Lu Yun threw white noodles into the water and stirred with chopsticks. Just then, a small child stopped at the alley entrance, turning to look at the noodle stand and standing motionless. Seeing him sniffing and swallowing saliva, his stomach must be hungry.
The noodles’ fragrance filled the entire street with no other food stalls – this child must have been attracted by the noodle stand’s aroma. Lu Yun saw the child wearing thick cotton clothing – his family circumstances seemed decent, but he didn’t know where his parents had gone. Seeing the child continuously peering at him from the alley entrance, and watching the noodles tumble in the boiling water, he waved his hand to signal the child to come eat.
The child giggled foolishly, and seeing he could eat for free, ran into the alley to sit on a stool, planning to feast heartily. Lu Yun smiled and divided the noodles into large and small bowls, asking: “Child, where are your parents?”
The child laughed heartily: “Ghosts! Many, many ghosts!”
Lu Yun was slightly startled: “What ghosts?” But the child didn’t answer, only staring intently at the large bowl while swallowing saliva – apparently extremely hungry. Lu Yun didn’t ask further, only handed over chopsticks and then passed the large bowl over. In the steaming heat, the child sat beside the noodle stand and began slurping loudly. Lu Yun smiled: “Eat slowly, be careful not to burn yourself.”
The child ignored him, only eating until soup dripped everywhere. Lu Yun smiled slightly and also picked up the small noodle bowl to eat. One large, one small, slurping noisily while eating noodles, when suddenly they heard light footsteps on the roof – something had stopped on the roof tiles.
Lu Yun raised his eyebrows but remained calm, his eyes shifting sideways to see a figure hidden on the roof tiles – a scout had come to investigate. Someone was following him… Lu Yun smiled slightly. In former days, once he encountered secret agents following him, Lu Yun would immediately rise to fight without a word. But now, having decided to retire, regardless of which faction these people belonged to, it was none of his business. He only lowered his head to eat noodles, pretending not to notice. As for whether that secret agent would be harmful to him, that also needn’t be considered – after all, the cleaver was still ready.
Slurp slurp, munch munch – one large, one small were eating deliciously when shouts came from the alley entrance: “Zhengtang! Zhengtang! Where did you run off to?”
After shouting several times, they heard a woman cry sadly: “My poor child, don’t run away and disappear again! Come back quickly!”
Lu Yun looked up and saw a middle-aged couple outside the alley, looking left and right while shouting repeatedly – these were the child’s parents come looking for him.
This pair of parents seemed quite careless – they rushed past the alley entrance shouting loudly but never entered the alley to search carefully. Lu Yun glanced at the small child and saw him only lowering his head to concentrate on eating noodles, completely oblivious to all the shouting. This child was either a fool or intentionally hiding from his parents.
He pondered briefly, first pulling down his large hat, then picking up a small stone and flicking it with his finger. With a whistling sound, the stone flew out, passing through the narrow alley twenty zhang before flying diagonally right from the alley entrance to strike the father’s backside.
This skill was developed from catching fish at the waterfall – by infusing the stone with rotational force, it could be made to turn left or right. The key lay in the strength of the hand. If used properly, one could achieve whatever one desired and catch fish with unfailing success.
With a “smack” sound, there was no fish in front, but there was a buttocks. The man’s bottom was struck squarely, and he cried out “Aiya!” and quickly turned around to look. Suddenly seeing the narrow alley had a noodle stand and seeing the child by the noodle stand, he was immediately overjoyed: “Zhengtang!”
The couple – one excited, one sad – quickly entered the alley. The child, who had been eating noodles, was suddenly embraced fully and couldn’t help being startled, crying out: “Ghosts!”
Though Lu Yun didn’t know this family’s identity, he was afraid of encountering acquaintances and quickly pulled down his large hat. He saw the man was about his own age, probably in his forties, and the woman was in her thirties. Both husband and wife were thin and refined in appearance.
Though child Zhengtang was embraced by his parents, he seemed bad-tempered and only lowered his head to eat noodles, ignoring everyone. The woman had been crying, but now that she’d found the child, she became angry and scolded: “Zhengtang! Your father worked so hard to find you a doctor for treatment, and you only had acupuncture for a short while – why are you running around everywhere again? Look how dirty these noodles are – aren’t you afraid of getting sick?”
Chattering incessantly, she forcibly pulled Zhengtang away, actually saving the noodle money. The foolish child was still drinking soup and though being pulled by his mother, still cried: “Ghosts! Ghosts!” Though his mouth couldn’t speak clearly, his hand waved toward the soup bowl, showing great reluctance.
The father, however, was a learned and courteous person. Seeing his son had eaten noodles for free, he took out a money pouch from his bosom: “This gentleman, we’ve truly imposed – how much altogether?”
Lu Yun originally wanted to say no money was needed, but afraid the man would ask more questions, he only held up one finger. The man, hearing the noodles were so cheap it was unbelievable, didn’t think much about it and quickly took out one wen and threw it onto the noodle stand. The man was very quick – taking out money and throwing it before wanting to leave. But Lu Yun’s eyes were even quicker. In the shift of his gaze, he had already seen the Ministry of Revenue bank notes in the money pouch, clearly seeing the name and official position on the salary slip – “Ministry of Rites Vice Minister Hu Zhilian.”
Hu Zhilian had achieved second-class runner-up in the thirty-second year of Jingtai, while Lu Yun was that year’s first-class top scholar. The two could be said to be fellow examination graduates with some connection. He hadn’t expected that ten years later, this person had actually become a third-rank vice minister – quite successful in his official career.
But strangely, with this person’s prominent official position, why wasn’t he at the Hongluo Temple lantern festival? Why was he only wandering the streets with his wife and child? Lu Yun glanced over and suddenly saw patches on Hu Zhilian and his wife’s clothes, realizing they were in disguise.
Thinking of the eagle brand on Hu Mei’er’s arm, Lu Yun pondered slightly, wondering if Hu Zhilian’s strange behavior also had some connection with the “State-Protecting Iron Guard.” Just as he was speculating, he suddenly heard another light “click” sound from the roof tiles. Lu Yun looked up and suddenly saw a black shadow lying on the roof across the street. Looking again, the previously hidden figure had already moved, as if about to follow Hu Zhengtang’s departure.
Lu Yun awakened in his heart, knowing these black-clothed people hadn’t come to track him – they had divided into two groups, one following Hu Zhengtang, another tailing the Hu couple. Lu Yun was secretly alarmed, not knowing what heavenly crime the Hu Zhilian family had committed. Just as he was about to call out a warning, he saw a short figure stop at the alley entrance, calling out: “Amitabha Buddha! So the three benefactors came here – this old monk was quite startled.”
Finally, a righteous person had arrived. Lu Yun looked sideways and saw an old monk entering at the alley entrance. He wore a bamboo hat and coarse cloth monk’s robe, holding a staff in his right hand – who else could it be but Shaolin Temple’s “Lingyin Vajra”?
Over ten years ago, when Raging Cang first reestablished their stronghold, they had made an agreement with Shaolin’s Tianjue for three great battles. At that time, this Master Lingyin had followed Divine Monk Tianjue to mediate the warfare between righteous and evil factions. Lu Yun naturally held him in great respect, not expecting to see him in the capital tonight.
As soon as Lingyin in plain clothes entered the alley, the black-clothed people hidden on both sides quietly withdrew. Lu Yun’s heart felt somewhat at ease, knowing this Shaolin divine monk’s power was considerable – those secret agents, fearing he would detect their traces, had withdrawn on their own.
He put down his worries and proceeded to collect bowls for washing, but at this moment there was another extremely light sound from the roof. Lu Yun was greatly shocked – this landing sound was so faint that if not for his accomplished internal energy, he probably wouldn’t have heard it. He quickly looked at the roof and this time only saw a corner of clothing showing under the eaves – that person’s appearance was actually like a bat hanging upside down to observe.
This was a supreme lightness skill master. Though unknown what their hand techniques were like, their martial arts foundation was definitely not weak. Lu Yun saw Lingyin’s expression was as usual, apparently not having noticed this supreme master’s figure. Wanting to remind Lingyin to defend against enemies, he said in a hoarse voice: “Master, would you like a bowl of vegetarian noodles before leaving?”
Lingyin pondered for a long while without answering. Hu Zhilian, being a clever person, said on his own: “Master has been giving acupuncture for several hours continuously. Now I’m also hungry – better eat something before leaving.” As he spoke, he moved a bamboo stool to serve the old monk’s seating.
Seeing the two sit down, Mrs. Hu quickly returned with the child, scolding: “Why aren’t we leaving again?” Hu Zhilian quickly said: “Sit down first. Eating a bowl of noodles doesn’t matter.” He then instructed Lu Yun: “Shopkeeper, serve three bowls of vegetarian noodles. Remember, not a bit of meat or fish can be used.”
Vegetarian noodles were easiest – just boil them in plain water. Lu Yun instantly cooked three large bowls and also threw in two handfuls of green vegetables as nourishment for Lingyin.
Soon the noodle bowls were served. Lingyin, true to his divine monk nature, only lowered his head to eat noodles without much talk. Mrs. Hu beside him had no appetite and only chattered non-stop: “Master, you just gave Zhengtang acupuncture – how is his condition exactly? Can he still be saved?”
Hearing his wife’s annoying chatter, Hu Zhilian coughed and said: “Let Master finish eating first. He gave up even the important task of lecturing at the rain prayer dharma assembly to treat Zhengtang – what are you rushing for?”
Before Mrs. Hu could apologize, Lingyin had already put his palms together: “Amitabha Buddha, benefactor misunderstands. This old monk has long been beyond worldly affairs. As for such great matters as protecting the nation through rain prayers and demon-subduing dharma lectures, naturally my martial brother Lingding handles them. Why would this old monk need to overstep?”
Lingyin said a few sentences then lowered his head to eat noodles again without further explanation. Hu Zhilian quickly said: “Yes, yes. Master hasn’t come down the mountain for ten years, yet came specially for Zhengtang – this junior spoke wrongly.”
Lu Yun lowered his head to wash bowls while quietly listening to their conversation. He now knew this Master Lingyin had come from afar seemingly truly to examine the small child, only not knowing what illness this “Zhengtang” had that would alarm this Shaolin divine monk. He glanced at Hu Zhengtang and saw the child looking up to drink soup with a foolish expression, soup actually dripping down from the corners of his mouth, causing his mother to hurriedly wipe it – apparently there was something wrong with his head.
Seeing her son had become an idiot, Mrs. Hu picked up her chopsticks and lowered her head to pick at the noodles, naturally unable to swallow. She sighed and again pulled her son close, saying gently: “Good boy, Zhengtang, Master Lingyin has given you acupuncture – you should feel better now. Come, sing a song for mother. Mother wants to hear ‘Little Tiger Bounce Bounce.'”
“Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts!” The little tiger was gone, but ghosts floated out. They heard Hu Zhengtang laugh heartily: “Many, many ghosts!”
Mrs. Hu said miserably: “It’s useless! Still going on about ghosts – what kind of Shaolin divine monk has such poor skills!” She reached out to hit Hu Zhilian, scolding: “It’s all you, you dead ghost! You said sneaking over in the dark for diagnosis would cure the illness completely – what got cured? Cured your big head!”
Son laughing foolishly, father smiling bitterly – amid the loud crying and shouting, Hu Zhilian had his ear pinched by his wife and naturally cried out in pain. Lingyin’s face looked unpleasant, but before he could finish one bowl of vegetarian noodles, Hu Zhilian was already asking with a bitter smile: “Master, what exactly is this strange illness my son has contracted? Why has he become so stupid?”
Lingyin sighed: “I won’t hide it from you – this child has been struck by the ‘Bitter Yin Needle.'”
Hearing the three words “Bitter Yin Needle,” everyone was confused, apparently no one having heard of this technique. Hu Zhilian, who had presided over “Kuixing Battles Five Passes,” had some martial arts knowledge and quickly asked: “Bitter Yin Needle? Is this some evil art?”
Lingyin shook his head: “The Bitter Yin Needle is actually not evil at all, but rather a great acupuncture discipline.”
The Hu couple were shocked and said in unison: “Acupuncture? But that’s medical arts?”
Lingyin nodded: “Exactly medical arts. Ordinary doctors who apply needles, if following the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, can at most locate 361 acupoints. This ‘Bitter Yin Needle’ far exceeds this number – it can locate 435 extraordinary points on the human body. All those extra-meridian secret points still under debate, such as ‘Tianying Point’ and ‘Ashi Point,’ are all within the grasp of the ‘Bitter Yin Needle.'”
Hearing this knowledge was so vast, Lu Yun listening from the side couldn’t help being startled. One must know that the acupoints distributed in the human body along the fourteen main meridians belong to regular meridians – bilateral points arranged in pairs total 309 points; the Ren and Du extraordinary meridians belong to central single points along the spine’s centerline, yielding 52 single points. Regular and extraordinary meridians combined give this total of 361 points. But the remaining secret points either move unpredictably or remain under debate. To see that “Bitter Yin Needle” had actually decoded them all – this not only achieved fame for oneself but could advance medical practice by a great step. Truly astounding to hear.
While pondering, he heard Mrs. Hu mutter: “Master, this… this sounds like it should be a good thing, so how did it harm my Zhengtang into becoming foolish?”
Lingyin smiled bitterly: “Going the right path, ‘Bitter Yin Needle’ can naturally benefit society and people. But used for evil purposes, it becomes terrifying. Just by applying moxibustion to secret points, it can not only cause memory loss and mental confusion, deafness and blindness… it can even induce arousal and harmony in women, control thoughts and desires – all manner of conscienceless and deranged opening of intelligence, everything depends on the practitioner’s intentions…”
Hearing this needle technique was so profound yet so evil, Hu Zhilian was naturally greatly alarmed and quickly asked: “This… exactly which school or sect has such formidable skills?”
Lingyin put his palms together and sighed: “Amitabha Buddha. This technique caused a sensation throughout the land thirty years ago – it was the protective medical art of Raging Cang Mountain’s Left Military Advisor ‘Qian Long.'”
Hu Zhilian had originally been anxious and earnest, but suddenly hearing the two words “Qian Long,” his mouth fell open and he couldn’t make another sound. Mrs. Hu, not understanding the implications, immediately shouted: “Good! We’ve finally found the enemy! Let’s quickly go catch him! Make him pay with his life for Zhengtang!”
She spoke for a while, but saw Lingyin pick up Hu Zhilian’s bowl of noodles and begin eating with his head down. Looking at her husband, he wore a bitter smile. Mrs. Hu exclaimed: “What’s wrong with you now? Is this ‘Qian Long’ very difficult to deal with?”
Hu Zhilian smiled bitterly: “More than just difficult to deal with – he’s impossible to deal with. The previous dynasty’s Grand Preceptor Jiang Chong mobilized 100,000 troops and deployed hundreds of elite factory guard masters, yet never even knew what this person looked like… Where would you go to deal with him?”
Thirty years ago when Raging Cang first rebelled, Qin Baxian had talented people under his command, known as “Left Dragon, Right Phoenix, Five Tigers Below.” The top military advisor among them was this “Qian Long Zhu Yang.” But this person’s title included the character “Qian” (Hidden), and indeed his actions were secretive, always lurking in the depths of the nine abysses. This divine dragon showed head but not tail, so even when Raging Cang was defeated, the orthodox martial world had never seen his face. The difficulty of dealing with such a person was imaginable.
Lu Yun carefully pondered past events. Back then, Shaolin had used “Qian Long” as bait to lure Raging Cang heroes up the mountain, followed by three great battles, but he hadn’t heard of this “Qian Long” appearing. He pondered deeply when he heard Lingyin sigh. Stroking Hu Zhengtang’s foolish head, he said softly: “That day I received a letter from Director Yuan of the Imperial Medical Academy requesting to borrow my Uncle Tianjue’s manuscripts. I knew this ‘Bitter Yin Needle’ had reemerged in the martial world. Sigh… decades have passed, yet someone in the world still knows this technique…”
Mrs. Hu muttered: “Master… then… is there still hope for my son?”
Lingyin sighed: “I’m ashamed to say that though I’ve repeatedly studied the manuscripts left by my Uncle Tianjue, when it comes to actual application, it’s completely different. It seems that to fully decode the ‘Bitter Yin Needle,’ we’d need my Uncle Tianjue himself to act.”
Hearing these words caused Mrs. Hu to wail to heaven and earth: “Misery! Didn’t that old monk Tianjue die? You’re toying with me! Toying with me!”
Lingyin, hearing her scolding fiercely, could only lower his head and desperately eat noodles without daring to respond. Mrs. Hu became sadder the more she thought, crying and getting angrier, backhanding her husband with a slap: “It’s all you, useless one! Even going to the Imperial Medical Academy for a consultation could attract assassins’ threats! That Song Gongmai is most hateful, telling me as a mother to accept fate…”
Suddenly hearing the three words “Imperial Medical Academy,” Lu Yun also recalled what Qiong Fang had said – she mentioned that in early December, a black-clothed stranger had broken into the Imperial Medical Academy, first defeating Zhe’er Dan, then overwhelming Su Ying, causing dozens of masters to scatter and flee. He hadn’t expected this incident was actually related to a small child’s illness.
While thinking, Mrs. Hu was already crying loudly with a wail, screaming: “What martial arts masters – they’re all fraudsters! Hu Zhilian! You must think of a solution for me, or I’ll hang myself at home tomorrow!”
Among all the fierce females in the world, Qiong Fang was considered the leader, but seeing Mrs. Hu’s terrifying state, she might have also studied at Ziyun Pavilion. Hu Zhilian sighed and smiled bitterly: “Stop making trouble. I risked the emperor’s scolding and didn’t even attend the rain prayer dharma assembly, all to wholeheartedly bring Zhengtang here for treatment. What more do you want?”
Mrs. Hu angrily said: “What do I want! Hu Zhilian! Is our son mine alone? I’m telling you! As long as my son’s illness doesn’t improve, your days won’t be good! If anything happens to him, watch out – I’ll feed you arsenic!”
This Eastern River thunderclap lion’s roar frightened Lingyin into quickly chanting Buddha’s name, probably grateful he had become a monk and didn’t have to suffer this hell’s torment. Hu Zhilian looked resigned, quite having the sense of having chosen the wrong person. Though Hu Zhengtang had become foolish, he still understood schadenfreude, pointing at the two grown men and clapping his hands in laughter: “Turtles! Many, many turtles!”
Hu Zhilian was so angry he almost wanted to punch his son’s head, but afraid his wife would slap him in return, could only smile bitterly: “Master, I’m usually cautious in word and deed, confident I haven’t provoked enemies. Who exactly wants to harm my family of three? Do you have any ideas?”
Lingyin shook his head: “I’m sorry. This old monk has long been withdrawn from worldly affairs. This trip to the capital is purely to examine your son. As for who bears grudges against the benefactor, this old monk knows nothing.”
Mrs. Hu cried and made a scene: “Old bald thief! Besides saying you don’t know, what else can you do? Never mind! You must think of a solution for me. Even if it requires Master Tianjue to come back to life, you must arrange it! Otherwise, I’ll find ruffians and hooligans tomorrow to burn down your Shaolin Temple!”
Shaolin warrior monks were unrivaled in martial arts and naturally weren’t afraid of ruffian troublemaking, but when female benefactors wailed frequently before the temple, the old monk couldn’t ignore it. Lingyin, disturbed enough to lose his appetite, could only sigh: “Amitabha Buddha. Actually, this old monk has another solution. We only need to find one person – relying on his supreme intelligence, even if he can’t decode Military Advisor Qian Long’s needle technique, he can find a counterstrategy for us.”
Mrs. Hu was overjoyed, as if seeing dawn in darkness. She immediately jumped up excitedly and with a “smack” planted a kiss on Lingyin’s bald head, laughing: “Master! Who is that person! Tell me quickly! Quickly!”
Lingyin, being a monk, shouldn’t have skin contact with women. For a moment he used his monk’s sleeve to wipe off the saliva, quite embarrassed. Hu Zhilian repeatedly apologized with a bitter smile: “Master, please don’t take offense. Since you’ve recommended a worthy person, please instruct us quickly. This official will find this person no matter if it requires ascending to heaven or descending to earth.”
Lingyin put his palms together: “Amitabha Buddha. Thank you for the benefactor’s kind intention. That worthy person is none other than our Songshan Shaolin Temple’s former abbot, Master Lingzhi.”
Hearing the name Lingzhi, Lu Yun naturally nodded slightly. They said “Three Precious Saints in Bodhidharma Courtyard, Four Vajras before Luohan Hall” – the second position in Shaolin Temple belonged to this Abbot Lingzhi. This person was gentle, refined, and profoundly wise – a rare sage in the martial world. According to legend, when Qin Baxian led Raging Cang, he was the brain trust of the orthodox martial world, specifically opposing “Qian Long” and “Phoenix Feather.” But why had he become a “former abbot” when he was perfectly fine as Shaolin’s abbot?
Lu Yun was quite puzzled. Mrs. Hu was also full of doubts, saying blankly: “What’s wrong with you people now? Isn’t that Lingzhi also a Shaolin monk? Let’s quickly go up the mountain to find him! He can’t escape, can he?”
Hearing his wife’s urging, Hu Zhilian smiled bitterly repeatedly. Lingyin sighed deeply and remained speechless. Mrs. Hu frowned: “What exactly are you doing? Speak!”
“Amitabha Buddha… I dare not hide from the female benefactor…” Lingyin lowered his palms together and told the truth: “Ten years ago, on the morning of September 19th, the day the new emperor ascended the throne, my martial brother Lingzhi said he was going to the back mountain to gather herbs. He went and never returned – never came back again.”
Lingzhi had disappeared – the dignified Shaolin abbot had vanished without a trace in his own back mountain. Mrs. Hu was stunned, muttering: “Where… where did he go?”
Lingyin’s face showed compassionate sorrow as he said softly: “I don’t know… I’ve been searching for him these ten years too…”
Seeing Lingyin’s sorrowful expression, at this moment Lu Yun also seemed to hear Gu Qianxi’s pained crying, because in those turbulent years, many people left home in the morning and never returned at night, disappearing forever… Even Master Lingzhi, with his supreme martial arts and far-sighted wisdom, couldn’t escape such fate…
Past events vividly before their eyes, Lingyin was discouraged, Hu Zhilian was dumbfounded, and even Lu Yun the noodle seller was silently speechless. Mrs. Hu, seeing this group of men’s uselessness, couldn’t help crying out miserably on the spot, holding her son: “Zhengtang! What demons and ghosts have possessed you? Misery, my son!”
Hu Zhengtang’s illness had many twists and turns – not only were the symptoms strange, but during diagnosis an assassin had appeared to demonstrate and threaten, scaring Divine Doctor Yuan Chuan into fleeing in panic. Afterward, when Song Gongmai and other elders came, each one passed the buck and no one dared step forward to handle it. With great difficulty, they convinced the current Bodhidharma Courtyard abbot to help, only to meet this outcome.
The venue fell silent. Lingyin said: “Regardless, Zhengtang’s illness falls on this old monk’s shoulders. I still hope the two benefactors will relax – don’t let the child’s illness remain uncured while exhausting the parents.”
The Hu couple, mentally and physically exhausted, hearing Lingyin’s comfort couldn’t help their eyes reddening. Truly pitiful are parents’ hearts – what difficulty they faced.
Seeing the three guests had finished eating, Lu Yun cooked hot tea and poured it for each of them. Seeing Lu Yun approach and bend down, Hu Zhilian also saw his handsome face. But the two hadn’t met for a long time, and with his son’s illness causing mental distress, though he saw Lu Yun’s features, he remained unaware. Mrs. Hu, however, seeing the noodle seller was good-looking, though crying miserably, still didn’t forget to steal glances, weeping: “Woo… my life is so bitter, marrying this useless husband. I want to remarry, I want to remarry… who will marry me?”
Two cups of tea served, causing one to cry loudly and another to laugh dryly. When it came to Lingyin, Lu Yun had just put down the tea bowl and was about to lift the pot to pour water when he saw the old monk raise his head with a smile: “This benefactor, may I ask if you’ve practiced martial arts?”
Lu Yun’s heart tensed, knowing Lingyin’s gaze was extraordinarily sharp and had already detected he possessed martial skills. He pondered slightly, not yet deciding whether to reveal his background, when Lingyin had already extended his palm and pressed down on his left hand’s “Taiyuan Point.”
Lingyin was one of the former Four Vajras, his martial arts extraordinary. Once he made a move to capture, it was the “Pearl Buddha Finger” from Shaolin’s seventy-two supreme arts. Though this technique wasn’t as domineering as the “Great Strength Vajra Finger,” its subtle and ingenious aspects far exceeded the Vajra Finger. Lu Yun, seeing this grab had already covered the major acupoints of his upper body with other fierce follow-ups, knew that if he wanted to completely break it, he’d inevitably have to fight Lingyin extensively. Better to respond to all changes with no change – he simply bowed without moving, letting him grip his wrist.
Lu Yun’s action was quite risky, equivalent to handing over his vital points to another. Indeed, Lingyin pressed the “Taiyuan Point,” thumb and index finger tightly clasped, and a stream of energy emerged from his palm, traveling directly along the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian. He intended to probe Lu Yun’s background.
Lu Yun was unwilling to start a conflict rashly and remained motionless, allowing the orthodox Shaolin internal energy to invade his body. When the two masters’ energies touched, Lingyin couldn’t help being slightly alarmed, feeling Lu Yun’s internal breath condition was quite strange – the internal energy in his meridians was tranquilly mild, seemingly present yet absent, but when external energy tried to advance even an inch, resistance was surprisingly great. Such skill of hiding steel in cotton was exactly like Wudang’s internal martial arts. He quickly looked at Lu Yun’s face, fearing this deeply hidden person was actually a disciple of Zhenwu Temple, which would inevitably offend fellow practitioners.
In his youth, Lu Yun had obtained a book on health cultivation and self-taught internal energy called “Wujue,” quite gaining the essence of “overcoming hardness with softness.” Since then, he had been mistaken for a Wudang disciple more than once. Lingyin was secretly surprised, looking at Lu Yun’s features – this person was about forty years old, with distinguished bearing and extraordinary temperament, vaguely familiar yet unrecognizable. Not wanting to offend people without reason, he was about to let go when he suddenly felt Lu Yun’s internal energy seemed soft but actually concealed another stream of cold killing intent, definitely not Wudang heart method. Shocked, he quickly tightened his grip and intensified his technique.
Lingyin was an old hand in the martial world. No matter how high a martial artist’s skills, just one palm exchange would allow him to discern their background. But now, circulating Shaolin energy, he still couldn’t determine his opponent’s origins – truly a rare occurrence. He took a deep breath, concentrated his internal energy, and intensified his efforts, planning to break through his opponent’s mysterious barrier in one stroke. Just at this moment, he was alarmed to sense his opponent’s true energy faintly gathering, that water-like weak force condensing like a needle, that breath like cold ice instantly counterattacking.
Lingyin was greatly shocked and was about to release his grip, but it was already a step too late. He felt ice-needle-like cold energy reach his thumb’s “Shaoshang Point,” then his wrist’s Lieque went numb – his energy barrier had been broken. Lingyin was greatly startled, thinking: “Kunlun Sword Gu!”
Though there were many martial arts heart methods in the world, only Kunlun Mountain’s various techniques could gather internal breath into a bundle, condensing it to a point. It was by relying on condensing energy like a real object that they achieved divine abilities like “Sword Cold,” “Sword Gu,” and “Sword Radiance.” This shock was truly extraordinary. Though he wanted to withdraw and stop fighting, his mysterious barrier had already been opened. In an instant, the enemy’s internal blade like an overwhelming mountain and overturning sea had invaded his meridians through his thumb’s Shaoshang Point.
Lingyin, in his alarm, was about to raise his staff to defend when in the blink of an eye, his opponent’s internal energy retreated like a tide. Looking at Lu Yun, he was still offering the teacup in his hand as if nothing had happened, appearing calm and unaware.
Lingyin had traveled the martial world for years but had never seen such strange heart method. When still, it was like a trickling stream, long and enduring, but when storms came, it could gather droplets into torrents – like mountain floods bursting, like angry waves churning, truly like waterfall flow, capable of being soft or fierce, changing endlessly.
Lingyin was both shocked and admiring, about to ask about his opponent’s background, but Lu Yun was in no hurry to speak. He offered the teacup in his hand, then slightly tilted the tea water, using the charcoal fire’s light to illuminate the scene behind Lingyin.
Lingyin’s heart tensed as he quickly looked at the tea cup’s water surface. In the dim shadows, he saw someone hidden about ten zhang to the right rear, suddenly appearing like an eight-foot giant bat, making one’s spine cold. Lingyin, seeing he was being watched by secret agents, was naturally shocked and grabbed his staff, about to turn around, when he noticed the reflection in the teacup flicker and the figure under the eaves had already disappeared without a trace.
The scout departed, the narrow alley was empty of people, with only falling snowflakes one after another. Lingyin, covered in cold sweat, realized Lu Yun was friend, not foe, and was about to stand and apologize when his shoulder was pressed down by Lu Yun, who said: “Please sit, Master. In the past, Master Suixi of Shaolin’s compassionate excellent words still ring in my ears. Tonight being able to cook a bowl of vegetarian noodles for Master is truly a great joy.”
Lingyin, hearing this noodle vendor admit to recognizing him, couldn’t help being slightly startled. When he focused on Lu Yun’s appearance, he saw him wearing a large felt hat covering most of his face, apparently unwilling to show his true appearance. Knowing he had encountered a wandering hero, he quickly put his palms together in return salute, sighing: “This old monk humbly occupies the Bodhidharma Courtyard seat and rarely travels in the martial world. I didn’t know the martial world concealed dragons and crouching tigers. Ashamed, ashamed.”
The Hu couple, listening from the side without understanding, were dumbfounded, not knowing that Lu Yun and Lingyin had just exchanged moves, greatly impressing this Shaolin master.
After Lingyin spoke a few sentences, Lu Yun no longer replied and went to wash bowls on the ground. Lingyin sighed and no longer went to disturb him, saying to the Hu couple: “Two benefactors, let’s go to the inn again for acupuncture. Though this old monk has no confidence in curing him, at least I can make his mind somewhat clearer.”
Before his words were finished, hearing about more acupuncture again, the child immediately began crying and making a fuss, shouting: “Ghosts! Many, many ghosts!”
The Hu couple were overjoyed: “He understands what we’re saying!”
Seeing this child still knew to fear pain, perhaps with gradual treatment he might improve. For a moment, mother dragging and father pressing, they seized him to inflict cruel punishment – after many beatings, he would surely have awareness.
Hu Zhengtang left crying and wailing, and all around became quiet again. Lu Yun washed the noodle bowls, packed up pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, and prepared to leave.
At this time, there was still more than half an hour until midnight. Having rare leisure, Lu Yun sat on the noodle stand’s bamboo chair at the alley entrance to doze.
The first day of being indifferent to worldly affairs had begun. In half an hour, Lu Yun would leave the capital forever and never return. At this moment, his mood was extremely calm – whether others despised or respected him, he could accept it all. Indifferent, without desires – everything that should be done had been done. If fate was thus, everything needn’t be forced. This was what Confucius called “knowing the mandate of heaven.”
Wrapped in his long robe, Lu Yun closed his eyes and fell asleep. Street lanterns cast yellow light, and at the alley entrance, pedestrians passed one after another. They saw a man sitting on a bamboo stool, wearing a large felt hat, silent in expression, just resting briefly at the alley beside the fabric shop. The dim yellow light stretched his shadow into a long line. Pedestrians on the street, seeing this person’s shadow, all detoured away, as if that dark shadow was a tiger’s tail – who dared rashly step on it?
Lu Yun didn’t know that tonight the entire city’s people were avoiding him. This wasn’t because of Yang Suguan’s letter, but because he had changed. Ten years of waterfall training had transformed him completely. When he felt sorrow and didn’t know how to conceal it, not only could martial arts masters detect the abnormality, but even people without martial skills could sense his identity and background…
That nameless, anonymous man by the street wasn’t particularly strong nor did he carry sword or blade, but he was extremely like those legendary figures… something like “Sword” something “God”… or “Sword” something “King”…
Dong… dong… dong… After an unknown time, bell sounds came from the distance – finally midnight. But Lu Yun was still sleeping. Though he heard the bell sounds, he only tightened his long robe and turned over.
The first benefit of being a free-roaming crane was being able to sleep endlessly. Without wife or children, alone in the world, when sleeping he knew neither heaven nor earth, let alone sunrise and moonset. While sleeping soundly, he suddenly heard a “whoa” sound as a horse carriage stopped at the fabric shop entrance, its wheels coincidentally pressing exactly on Lu Yun’s shadow.
Like a dog’s tail being stepped on, though Lu Yun was sleepy-eyed, he still opened his eyes from under the large felt hat. Squinting to look, he saw a horse carriage stopped by the street, hearing a woman’s voice: “Shaoqi, you go back first. I need to get off and buy some fabric.”
“Mother!” Came a child’s laughter from the carriage: “I’m going to carry lanterns tonight – don’t forget!”
At midnight, someone was disturbing Lu Yun’s sleep. The carriage drove away and the street became quiet again. Lu Yun also woke up. He warmed his hands in his robe pockets, silently looking down to see a pair of emerald yellow embroidered shoes walking by the street, stepping on his shadow. Looking at those slender ankles, it must be the woman from just now.
Knock, knock, knock – the embroidered shoes turned to the fabric shop entrance. They heard the shoe owner knock on the door and say softly: “Shopkeeper, I’ve come to find some fabric. Please trouble you to open the door.”
A familiar voice, polite and courteous with proper etiquette – he seemed to have heard it somewhere before. With a creak, the fabric shop owner finally opened the door, sighing: “Mrs. Yang! I’ve been waiting for you all evening – you’ve finally come!”
Under the lantern light, Boss Lu of the noodle stand opened his mouth wide. He looked up toward Mrs. Yang at the door – she wore no makeup or powder yet had the fragrance of osmanthus, needed no full moon or blooming flowers yet already embodied youthful beauty. In that cold night, she slightly turned back, seeing the noodle stand owner staring intently at her, but didn’t lose composure – only blinked and smiled before turning to enter the door.
Her face like fire, hot sweat flowing rapidly, Lu Yun’s mouth slowly exhaled warm mist as he stared at the empty fabric shop doorway without moving for a long time.
With a thud, the bamboo stool overturned on the ground. The contemporary Sword King rose from his seat. In the falling snow, he looked sideways toward the fabric shop door, raised his right hand, and tossed his large felt hat upward. At this moment, he truly looked extremely handsome!