Chapter 2: Main Text: The Four Young Lords of Wind, Thunder, Fire, and Mountain

Main Text: The Four Young Lords of Wind, Thunder, Fire, and Mountain

When the old man opened his mouth, Li Yijie had already settled, ears upright, listening quietly.

Now he heard the old man ask a sudden question, after a brief pause.

Li Yijie tentatively replied: "Is it 'no'?"

"Wu", the name of the beginning of heaven and earth. Legend says, after the Great Dao collapsed,

before yin and yang qi formed, all things of heaven and earth were in a vague, formless, elusive yet profoundly mysterious state.

No sky, no earth, no objects, no sight, no hearing, no perception.

A strange sage appeared in a dream with this condition, unable to name it, forcefully called it "wu".

He paused briefly and continued: "There is a twisted saying that attaining 'wu' has three great mysteries.

First, attaining 'wu' does not undergo samsara; even burying heaven and earth cannot bury the body of 'wu'.

Second, attaining 'wu' is beyond cause and effect; passing through the crowd of sentient beings, not a single fruit touches the body.

Third, attaining 'wu' attains the world; heaven and earth, the universe, all heed the command of 'wu'; the six directions and eight wildernesses recognize only 'wu' as supreme.

Because of these three great mysteries, I, with trembling courage, believe that the universe is vast, yet only 'wu' can rule heaven and earth!

Hearing this, the old man, half‑smiling, said: "Little Yijie, let me tell you a story."

The old man lives by the principle "no story, no teaching". In the twelve years Li Yijie has known him,

he has heard countless strange tales—more than eight thousand, fewer than a hundred thousand. Moreover, whenever the old man is about to begin,

he always gives that half‑smile.

He wears a terrifying hat while being funny, deepens your doubt within the terror, and that doubt lures your curiosity!

Li Yijie, once he finished speaking, listened attentively.

He only heard the old man say: "Legend has it, a thousand years ago at the pinnacle of the shattered heavens,

there occurred a battle that illuminated the ages. A mysterious fool hat sent a war notice to the four most renowned peerless young lords of the time!"

Hearing this, Li Yijie's whole body surged with adrenaline; he knows the old man well.

Though aged, his spirit is proud, his eyes small but his gaze lofty! He rarely praises anyone; without at least two brushes, you cannot be lifted onto his 'praise wall'.

Even when he does praise, he says: "Hmm, not bad, decent. I was only a hair's breadth away back then."

Keep striving, keep flourishing!

As for 'peerless', I've never heard of it, let alone four of them at once?

Add a mysterious youth who looks like a fool hat, and my curiosity has already rolled from my chest to my ears!

But the old man, as if already aware, took a sip of tea, his demeanor serene, and then paused.

What else could Li Yijie say?

He was eager to pry his mouth open with his hand, but could only suppress his agitation and, in a surrendering tone, asked: "What happened next?"

What abilities do the Four Young Lords possess to match the old man? Oh—no… it's you who praise them so; even a genius like me must grow to become peerless,

I dare ask you, master, to explain in detail.

His humility moves; his sincere words are heartfelt!

The old man, hearing this, felt greatly benefited and, unhurriedly, spoke again:

That Feng Gongzi, with the innate character "Wind", created the Wind‑Light and Dust Technique; he can transform his body into a shadowy specter, unrivaled in the world,

often slaying foes without a trace, and wields the divine fan "Fuyang".

A single swing, in an instant, turns a person to ash. Truly ferocious!

There is also a light‑hearted verse that says:

Riding the wind across ten thousand li,

One step, one life ends.

When the deed is done, the fan is waved away,

All proclaim his name!

To put it bluntly, after six years of hard work, you're barely fit to fetch shoes for others.

Do you understand? MrJJ.

Immediately after, the old man let out a series of bell‑like laughs!

Heaven, have mercy on Li Yijie; other old men are like calf‑protectors, what about his?

Scram, Lord Yijie!

Fortunately, Li Yijie's talent for enduring provocation, and his innate ability to provoke, are both extraordinary and defiant of fate,

When he was young, the old man gave him the grand nickname "Against the Extraordinary",

telling him that anyone hearing the name would look at him with new respect.

Alas, the folly of youth!

One must pay the "extraordinary" price to marry maturity!

What else could Li Yijie say?

No, he must say something!

Li Yijie, hearing the old man's laugh, burst into a hearty laugh himself!

That laugh was like thunder cracking the heavens, like lightning illuminating the four winds,

high‑pitched and bright, its momentum like a tiger devouring silver bells!

The old man, hearing this, smiled contentedly and thought:

Today I finally realized Little Yijie is a master!

It truly fulfills that saying,

Masters are among the common folk; every trade can produce a champion!

He laughed, saying there is a pinnacle, and only Li Yijie reaches it.

But his smile falling into Li Yijie's eyes carried a different flavor!

The old man thought of belittling the path, but it wouldn't work, and upon reconsideration,

the scheme formed in his mind, and he then presented:

Young Master Lei is also unrivaled in the world, and his Heaven-defying Wild Sky is uniquely favored by Heaven.

With every gesture, he seemed like a heavenly tribulation descending, and the crooked chronicles record him as:

A lift of his hand, and a thunder erupts across the sea.

A step of his foot, and a calamity thunders the mountain.

Mighty as the thunder that shatters the heavens, swift as the lightning that flashes across the sky!

One day you'll be like him, ibelieveyou!

Those who don't know will surely be moved by the old man's sincere demeanor,

Fortunately, Li Yijie, since childhood, has cultivated a heart of iron and stone,

In a Zen saying: whether the wind moves or the banner flutters, my heart remains unmoved!

Nevertheless, the story still needs to be heard; within Li Yijie's heart, Xiao Yijie stands atop the "Crown Peak",

raising a proud banner and shouting: For the story, for curiosity,

to honor that fool, I am willing to be smooth once more!

Suddenly two verses sprang in his mind; finding it marvelous, he ordered Xiao Yijie to sing loudly:

'Bend the heart and suppress ambition, endure blame and ward off scorn!'

'And what my heart cherishes, though nine deaths may come, I still will not repent!'

After Xiao Yijie's brief TikTok, he felt revitalized.

Although he didn't grasp the final eerie melody, the books he read told him:

For most languages in the world, repeating once when you don't understand is always a good method!

Even the art of duì says: using others' words to duì others may seem childish but is actually clever!

Thus Li Yijie likewise replied sincerely: ibelieveyou!

When duì masters spar, tone and intonation cannot be careless at all.

The old man, seeing this, was greatly surprised, and the little old man inside him frowned in puzzlement:

Could this fellow truly be the kind of person described in the crooked legends? I've always thought so, but…

Ah, never mind.

I don't care who he is; he is the Xiao Yijie I raised,

In this six directions and eight wildernesses, past, present, and future, whoever dares to utter a "no",

I'll twist their skull off.

idon'tcarewhoyouare!

One thought just finished, another arose; the old man, seeing Li Yijie's slight expression, knew:

This kid again thinks I'm deceiving him; most people are like that,

always taking truth as a joke and jokes as truth; of course, I am also a common person!

Fine, I'll be a good person this time and speak up proactively.

Before Li Yijie could ask, the old man again presented:

As for Young Master Huo, he is rather mysterious.

When he appears, strange flames always swirl around him; no one has seen his true visage.

The most astonishing thing is that "he" can change his voice.

Sometimes rough as a bull, sometimes gentle as fine jade, sometimes delicate as a eunuch…

The ultimate is that "he" can at times sound like you, at times like me,

His throat cavity is like a voice‑changing magic box, making it impossible to tell male from female,

Only because "he" shares the same name with other princes, he insists on being called "he".

His fame also stems from Feng Xue Mountain Villa, a fire in winter!

Upon hearing this, Li Yijie's mind involuntarily conjured an image of that mysterious Young Master Huo.

But he found the old man took another sip of tea and then stopped,

as if intoxicated by the past, unable to extricate himself; also as if a sip of tea had sealed all his vocal tracts,

anyway, it's three parts similar to being dazed.

It truly made Li Yijie want to cry without tears!

However, this time he refuses to submit, pretending like a dead duck,

deadly sealing the surging curiosity within.

But the old man, who is what, is the flamboyant heir of their Lao Clan,

His state of mind is beyond words!

The old man appears as leisurely as before, dazed as ever.

Even two straight men fear the air suddenly falling silent!

A wisp of awkward wind drifts in. Li Yijie is already ready for a protracted battle.

Who would have thought, the old man suddenly stood, gazing at distant mountains, seas, and the sunset on the horizon.

Two white eyebrows fluttered backward with the wind, as if the afterglow dyed them golden. Mi Dou's eyes grew even smaller.

It felt as if all the vital energy inside the body were retracting inward, and as if the gaze were piercing back into the past.

Li Yijie saw this and inexplicably felt sorrow welling up. He only felt that the lingering radiance was fading,

His thoughts were discordant, unable to articulate the strangeness and discomfort, as if he had fallen into a boundlessly dark abyss of sorrow.

He was about to rise, beside the old man.

Unexpectedly, the old man suddenly spoke, startling him out of the abyss of sorrow.

The old man didn't even notice his subtle expression, remained immersed in the story and continued:

It is said that at that time, Sealed Snow Mountain Villa encountered an unprecedented strange snow.

Behold,

Cold wind like a blade cut the heavens into a chopping board;

Crimson snow stretched for ten thousand li, melting everything into a river of blood;

Truly it can be said: "Suddenly, a night of crimson snow descends, and a thousand towers and myriad halls bloom with blood flowers!"

This snow, upon touching things it melts them, upon touching people it transforms them; it is utterly bizarre!

Even later, the villa's people broke out in cold sweats that kept flowing.

All that is remembered is that the rumor said:

After the crimson snow arrived, at midnight within the villa one often heard mysterious mournful cries!

Faint and intermittent, on and off.

Like a baby's wail, yet like a woman's sobbing;

Like timid whispers, yet like a head‑raised wailing…

A hollow, mournful sobbing, unending as a thread.

Those outside the villa who hear it feel sorrow, their hearts shatter, "want to cry but have no tears."

Even more terrifying, those inside the villa, at best suffer mental chaos and dimmed intellect, at worst their cultivation goes awry, igniting fire, suddenly turning mad.

Hearing this, Li Yijie couldn't help but ask:

Is that wailing actually from a baby or a woman?

How could it be so strange?

Could it be that the Sealed Snow Mountain Villa's mortal foe, the Ice Realm Daughter Palace, in order to corrupt it,

and deliberately exaggerated the rumor, huh?

And what exactly is that crimson snow, so bizarre?

Has Sealed Snow Mountain Villa perished because of this?

Master, the rumor says: whenever there is a great injustice, an omen will descend from heaven to warn the world,

so are the crimson snow and the wailing also such omens?

He fired off six questions in a row; even though Li Yijie's mind is quick, he cannot untangle the myriad doubts surrounding Sealed Snow Mountain Villa.

He urgently signaled with his eyes that the old man could continue.

Alas, the old man, oblivious to the mood, since being ruthlessly interrupted, seemed to have fallen back into a dazed reverie.

Whether he heard Li Yijie's six questions clearly remains unknown.