Chapter 331

The next morning, Yang Yan got up and released the eagle. Then Ji Ji Shijie Huayu came to pass a message, saying Master called him up.

Yang Yan was stunned and nodded. At this moment, he sensitively remembered that usually, if Master wanted to see him, Zhang Shixiong would be the one to call him.

He looked at the white dot in the sky, thinking it wouldn't take long, so he lifted his legs and climbed up the mountain.

It had indeed been a few days since he came. This main hall seemed to have become a bit colder and more desolate. It was unusually high, the windows were few and small, and even the high wind on the cliff top didn't enter much. It was cast from heavy and icy materials like stone and bronze, and there were no screens or compartments in the hall, making it a kind of silent, empty cold.

It only had two opposing doors—besides the one Yang Yan entered, the door on the opposite side leading to the back was locked all year round, and that large lock had rusted.

The old man was still the same, white hair and wrinkled skin, not tall. He sat cross-legged on a mat, holding a book of unknown title, sitting in this empty main hall for a whole day.

Yang Yan always felt the old man was very, very old, at least over seventy, but once an uncle told him the old man was actually not yet fifty. Yang Yan asked his master himself, but only got a few hoarse laughs, so he remained half-believing until now.

"Master," the youth saluted obediently. Although he was closer to his senior brother on weekdays, the old man who raised and educated him had always been like a master and father, like family and fear in his heart. If not for his senior brother who couldn't stay idle and kept instigating him, the youth should actually be the most obedient and well-behaved type of little disciple, who would never do that kind of "rebellious" thing in his life.

The old man turned his head, his voice slow and gentle: "You've come. How has your martial arts practice been lately?"

"Back to Master, 'Swallowing the Sea' seems to have touched on the second chapter," Yang Yan said obediently, "the 'Collapsing Snow' taught by Zhang Shixiong... I can also do the first chapter a little bit."

The old man didn't speak for a while, just looking at him quietly. The youth had seen these old, slightly bright eyes countless times; at this moment, they were inexplicably like the remnant stars before dawn.

Yang Yan looked at him blankly. In this empty and lonely main hall, for the first time in his life, he seemed to suddenly hear the sound of time flowing.

After a long time, he came back to his senses in a daze. The old man in front of him smiled like a sigh and beckoned: "Come here."

Yang Yan walked up obediently.

"Come to my side."

Yang Yan took a few more steps and sat down by the mat. Leaning so close, the long-lost warmth immediately filled the youth's heart.

He remembered when he was a child, when there was a blizzard and strong wind outside the hall, the old man would always light a small night stove in front of the mat and hold him in his arms. The old man sat and he stood, just right with a big head and a small head. The two of them held a Buddhist scripture, and the old man told him the magnificent and magical story of the Buddha subduing demons. In the orange light and gentle voice, the black and stormy weather outside the hall was completely excluded.

But now, he was half a head taller than the old man.

"I heard you've been fiddling with that eagle of yours these days?" the old man said with a hoarse smile.

Yang Yan was startled. He was actually careful enough every time, but he didn't expect the old man to know everything clearly without leaving the house. For a moment, he was secretly angry at the imaginary informant. However, he was quick-witted and hurriedly lowered his head, pretending to admit his playing with things and losing his will.

However, the old man had nothing more to say, asking him many details with a smile, and even telling him his own essential experience from back then, looking like a person who had been through it all.

Yang Yan was a little embarrassed: "Master... aren't you going to scold me?"

The old man laughed and rubbed his head: "What's wrong with loving to play? Aren't you just at this age."

Yang Yan felt warm in his heart, and for a moment he couldn't help but want to tell the old man that this was a birthday gift prepared for him.

But the old man didn't notice his emotions, already looking up at the dome of the main hall, his voice light and hoarse: "In a person's life, happy days are limited."

"..." Yang Yan didn't understand for a moment. The old man had already held his hand, actually stood up, and pulled him toward the outside of the hall.

Yang Yan was a little shocked. After growing up with his senior brother, he had really rarely seen the old man walk out of this hall.

Pushing the door out, the bright white daylight poured down, and the cold wind lifted the lapels of the two, and the entire lake in the mountain like a ring was taken into his eyes.

Yang Yan didn't know what the old man was looking at. He was familiar with almost every piece of land here, and he believed the old man would only know more, but since his master stood motionless, he accompanied him and stood quietly for a long time.

He was thinking about how to mention Zhang Shixiong's capping and naming day today.

Then the old man asked a question that caught him off guard: "Xiaoyan, do you still remember the 'path of life' of our direct lineage?"

"... Ah?" Yang Yan almost didn't react for a moment, staring blankly at the old man's expressionless side face for a long time before realizing he hadn't heard wrong.

The old man had wanted them to remember it long ago, a secret path that had already been arranged, leading two thousand miles to the east. It was called the path for the lucky ones to take when the sect was in trouble.

"Mas, Master..."

"Don't tell anyone," the old man was still looking ahead, his voice very light, "after nightfall tonight, take the things you should take, and leave quietly from there by yourself."

"..." Yang Yan stood in astonishment, not knowing when or where he was for a moment.

"Can't I even tell Zhang Shixiong?" he heard himself ask.

"Don't tell anyone," the old man lowered his eyes and looked at him gently, "promise Master, run as far as you can, don't stop, okay?"

This segment ended here. Pei Ye looked deeply at this old man, his gaze cast behind him. The main hall was high and heavy, and higher up, a steep cliff like a solitary tree stood there, showing a dim darkness that was unclear even in such bright weather.

Pei Ye wanted to see more clearly, but Yang Yan had already taken him down the mountain.

————

Yang Yan walked down the mountain in a daze, looking blankly at everything in the room.

No matter what, his master wouldn't tell him what happened, only wanting him to leave quietly. In fact, they were always like this; big things were always decided by his master and senior brother. So after knowing they were at odds these days, Yang Yan didn't stubbornly ask. He knew they wouldn't tell him, and he had never thought that the friendship of growing up like a family would be broken by a few arguments.

He was just worried about leaving something incomplete for his senior brother's twentieth birthday.

Why suddenly leave some "path of life"?

He should go and find out what happened, but when he wanted to make a decision for the first time, he realized his reliance on his brother and master all along.

He should listen to Master; he had promised.

But.

Yang Yan looked blankly at everything in the room, besides unconsciously pressing his own sword, he didn't know what to pack at all.

Until dusk approached.

The door was suddenly pushed open, and a familiar, tall figure appeared at the door.

"Zhang Shixiong..." Yang Yan's eyes lit up as if he had seen a savior, but he opened his mouth and couldn't speak.

"Lend me your sword." Meng Li's face was drooping. There was no candle lit in the room, and the sunset shot in from behind him, making his whole person look like a shadow.

Yang Yan suddenly felt that the person in front of him was a bit strange: "Zhang Shixiong..."

Meng Li just stretched out his hand, so Yang Yan handed him the sword, asking hesitantly: "What for?"

Meng Li didn't answer, but asked back: "Master called you up this morning?"

Yang Yan was stunned and finally nodded.

"No matter what Master told you..." Meng Li looked at him motionless, his eyes flashing with a faint light in the shadows, "at the hour of the Rat, come to the main hall on the mountain, do you remember?"

"..."

Meng Li turned and left.

————

Yang Yan sat motionless in the room alone for a long time, until night fell completely.

The white eagle didn't come back.

Pei Ye waited quietly.

Finally, this body finally stood up with the help of the chair.

Pei Ye didn't know what choice Yang Yan made in his heart, but from their brief time together, he had already seen that the youth would absolutely not be willing to escape in a daze—deep in his heart, he was actually the type of person who must find out what happened.

Sure enough, the youth walked out the door, looking quietly at the top of the mountain. On his expressionless face appeared some of the look Pei Ye was familiar with.

He walked slowly toward the mountain.

So at this moment, Pei Ye suddenly felt a kind of fit... he began to sink deeper into this body.

This was an absolutely novel experience. Pei Ye had always thought he could only watch a record, but now besides sight and hearing, he even began to have touch... the wind saber whistled in the night, piercing to the marrow, the dry cold of breathing, the beating of the heart and lungs—the state of this body at this moment was completely open to him.

Pei Ye even moved subconsciously—this idea was indeed a bit of a fantasy; he didn't change the youth's path at all.

The cold moonlight shone on the hard white stones, the dark grass was pressed down by the strong wind and couldn't lift its head in the cracks. Amidst the hunting clothes, the cold wind pierced through his whole body.

Pei Ye truly felt the cold, but the youth had no intention of wrapping his clothes. In the cold night, the lonely shadow on the high mountain walked up step by step like this.

Halfway up, Pei Ye paid attention to the lights of the wall-pine courtyard on the side, seeing it was pitch black.

The main hall like a giant beast under the moonlight got closer in his field of vision, and he could see lights leaking out from afar. This body clearly gathered strength again, approaching this large gate quickly. Pei Ye could almost imagine the youth's mood at this time—no matter what happened, his master and senior brother must be up there.

He must ask clearly. When his senior brother entered his twentieth year, he would actually enter his sixteenth year. He was a dignified true disciple of the Hushanjian Sect, already at an age where he could hold a sword tightly.

But Pei Ye suddenly smelled a fresh, intense bloodiness.

This body stiffened violently and stood in place.

A moment later, he walked up with light steps, pushing open the gate in front of him with some hesitation. Pei Ye clearly felt the bewilderment of this action; this body was not prepared for battle at all.

But what was even less prepared was the brain to welcome the scene in the hall.

At the moment the scene in front of him entered his eyes, this body stood stiff and cold at the door, as if frozen by the cold wind.

That old and frail body lay limply in the hall, shriveled and small, like a deer whose internal organs had been removed. After the blood soaked the mat, it flowed into a snake-like winding on the ground. A pitch-black, sharp sword was nailed straight into the old man's chest, as if nailing this miserable scene firmly into the youth's memory.

But if he hadn't seen that figure, Pei Ye believed the youth still wouldn't think in that direction.

Unfortunately, that tall figure was right there.

He stood in front of the back door of the main hall, and the large lock that had been there for years was still firmly fastened to the door. Except for where Yang Yan stood, there was no other exit in the entire hall.

Pei Ye felt this body trembling and staring at him, wanting to say something, as if waiting for the other party to say something.

But Meng Li just looked at him expressionlessly.

Pei Ye suddenly heard messy footsteps coming from the wind behind him, but the youth obviously couldn't hear anything anymore, just standing motionless, until the force behind him pressed him to the ground, and a cold blade was placed on his neck, only then did this body have some reaction.

Voices of shock and anger came from behind: "Yang Yan... you actually dared to kill your master?!!"

Yang Yan raised his head blankly, and in the hall in front of him, except for the old man's corpse nailed by the long sword... it was already empty.

————

Time in the dungeon where day and night were indistinguishable.

Pei Ye didn't know where this body had been thrown—pitch black, dark, silent, and he couldn't get any more news.

In the sudden abruptness, the direct lineage of Hushanjian collapsed overnight, and the branch took over everything. In these few days, Pei Ye only saw light three times.

The first time was Ji Ji Shijie Huayu. Pei Ye heard himself narrate what he saw that night in a dead tone; the second time was an old man with a hateful face. Yang Yan received the harshest treatment here, but almost didn't open his mouth. Pei Ye guessed he was the uncle Yang Yan called "servile."

The person seen the third time was completely strange to Yang Yan. This body had no reaction... but Pei Ye bit his teeth tightly, and his temples jumped.

Black robe.

That uncle was indeed servile behind his back.

He asked Yang Yan a few simple questions. Yang Yan looked at him coldly and didn't say a word, but he seemed to have already gotten the answer he wanted and left.

Everything ended here.

Pei Ye was submerged again in the darkness without time, thick walls, strong iron doors—if not for the favor of fate, it would be impossible to escape from here.

And then fate really favored him.

Perhaps the youth inside was too quiet, the guards were indeed negligent, or perhaps the lock was in disrepair... in short, after delivering the daily meal, this iron door made a slight shaking sound.

After being stunned for a long time, Yang Yan touched it... the lock wasn't tightened.

He climbed out quietly like this. The night of the Hushanjian Sect was as empty and cold as ever. No one discovered him. He climbed to the top of the mountain, everything had been cleared away, and the man in black seen in the dungeon was nowhere to be seen.

The youth sat blankly on the stone for a long time. Before dawn lit up the sky, he finally walked down the mountain alone.

When passing a fork in the road, he paused, and then walked in.

Pei Ye suddenly knew what he was going to do.

Walking in, it was an old hall with a Buddha statue, and the mat on the ground showed the heavy years.

Pei Ye first took a fancy to the second Buddha statue from the left, which was neither big nor small, and then the youth walked up and lifted it as expected. A hole was dug in the base. Yang Yan reached out and touched it, pulling out an eye-shaped jade pendant from inside.

He stared fixedly at this pendant. Pei Ye saw that there seemed to be a corner of paper inside, but the distracted youth didn't notice. He looked toward the edge of the sky outside the door, the first faint cold white just lighting up from the edge.

The picture froze here, and everything turned into gray-white again.

He already knew what happened later, and 【Zhao You】 could no longer record it. Yang Yan traveled a thousand miles to Bowang, and met him while charging around.

It was also at this moment that a wonderful feeling surged into his mind. Pei Ye suddenly found that he had completely sunk into this body... this time, it was thoroughly in fit.

He breathed, and the cold morning air entered his nasal cavity.

Pei Ye was stunned for a while before realizing that the "fantasy" had actually happened. He first raised his hand and pulled out the corner of the paper that the youth hadn't discovered in front of him.

"Master said, 'Li', courtesy name 'Chonghui'."

(End of chapter)