Chapter 286

It was Bai Qi; Bai Qi gave me strength, but that sword I threw off the cliff, and the time Bai Qi could support me was still limited. At the moment Bai Qi returned to my body, I finally had strength.

I opened my eyes and saw Yirong with tears like pear blossoms; the Nine Heavenly Maiden's evil charm was gone, and Yirong had returned to her own purity.

"Don't cry; seeing you cry makes my heart ache." I touched Yirong's cheek, and this sudden touch left her unable to react.

After the surprise, Yirong joyfully shouted at me: "Are you okay?"

"No, it's just that Bai Qi is attached to my body, giving me a chance to talk with you one last time." I shook my head and said

"So you're still going to die," Yirong said, trembling hand touching my empty heart, then she suddenly slapped my face hard, crying and scolding: "You bastard, why didn't you kill me, why did you throw away that sword, why...."

"Alright, stop crying." I grabbed her hand, looking at her tear-streaked face, and smiled: "This is because I have this confidence."

"I believe you love me. I'm confident I hold an important place in your heart. So when I die, you will surely wake up."

"You should have picked up that sword and stabbed me to death. You died but left me alone, making me live a lifetime in nightmares and pain—what's the point? You bastard, how ruthless your heart is." Yirong sobbed and cursed me, but I instantly covered her mouth.

"Don't say such foolish things; live well. No matter where I am, I will follow and protect you." I stroked Yirong's cheek, hesitating as I asked: "May I... kiss you?"

"Mm..." Yirong gently closed her eyes and actively brought her lips to mine. That soft, tender feeling made me want to keep kissing forever, until the seas run dry and rocks rot, until heaven and earth grow old.

"What, you plan to abandon me and leave alone?" Yirong lifted her head, tears in her eyes, and asked me.

"Mm, promise me you won't be so willful anymore; my brother and I won't be by your side, so you must take good care of yourself." I stroked her hair, and as I spoke those words, a bad premonition flashed in my mind—this premonition came from the question Yirong had just asked.

Yirong wiped her tears, leaned toward me, and whispered in my ear; at this moment she returned to her former playful self, exactly as before.

"I don't want to; I want to stay willful. I not only want to be willful, I want you to watch me be willful." Hehe. Though her tone feigned playfulness, she could not hide her determination.

A faint sound, like a metal weapon piercing flesh, rang out; I lowered my head and saw Yirong holding a sharp awl, stabbing it into her own heart.

"If you just leave like this, who will tolerate me when I'm willful in the future?" Yirong's playful voice sounded in my ear; she lifted her head, and I saw in her eyes a tenderness like flowing water.

"Yirong..." At this moment I shed no tears, holding Yirong's hand as we gazed gently at each other.

After a long while, I actively moved my lips to hers and kissed her. At this moment I felt no regret; I stopped on the path of inquiry, yet I gained something more important.

At this moment, Bai Qi also left my body. My consciousness gradually faded, and I slowly closed my eyes.

I have always been grateful that we did not forget each other in the world of martial arts, but instead supported each other, holding hands until death; even facing death, we remained together. The one I love has always been by my side.

The desolate battlefield shifted instantly, flags collapsed, and the battlefield returned to its original state on the scar-covered Guiling Mountain. Two breathless corpses lay in the center—a man and a woman, gently kissing each other's lips, hands tightly clasped, as if telling the world they would never part, for eternity.

Under a tangle of wild grass on the mountainside stood a tall, martial man holding a two-pronged spear, one eye on his forehead flashing with a fierce light that made one dare not meet his gaze.

After a long while, the mighty man who overlooked the mountains and rivers weakly collapsed to the ground, his imposing form instantly turning into a tall, somewhat pot-bellied fat man.

From the moment he became an ordinary person, his skin aged rapidly, his face filled with old wrinkles, and his black hair gradually turned white.

He gazed at the distant mountain, tears streaming, and heaved a deep sigh. Then he struggled to rise, his aged body climbing to the summit, where he crouched beside the two corpses, weeping and choking.

"Chen Hai Sheng, we agreed to go through knife mountains and fire seas together, we agreed to live and die together, yet you abandoned me, you bastard, you damned scoundrel!" Pangzi raised his head and howled, tears streaming down his face.

Beside this one person and two corpses stood a tall phantom. Gazing at this vast battlefield, he muttered: "After this matter is settled, I should also lead Heng'er to be reborn."

He turned his head, looking at the weeping Pangzi and the two corpses lying peacefully on the ground, ultimately let out a helpless sigh, and slowly faded into the void.

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Twenty years later, on a bustling prosperous street, an ancient house stood at the center of the street; its appearance was archaic, out of place among the nearby skyscrapers.

The owner of this house was a fat man, only in his thirties yet with a full head of white hair, prematurely aged. Above the door hung a signboard bearing the three characters "Chan Yi Tang".

This fat man was a doctor; in an era when Western clinics were everywhere, he refused the conventional path, insisting on treating people with Chinese medicine, never giving injections or IV drips.

Yet the white-haired fat man's medical skill was superb, his reputation ringing throughout the city; even many people from other provinces flocked to this city, crowding into this dilapidated house to seek his treatment.

That night, as the white-haired fat man was about to close up, a woman holding a child burst into Chan Yi Tang.

"Doctor Wang, quickly look at this child—he was bitten by a dog." The woman was a volunteer at the nearby orphanage; the fat man knew her, and he assumed the child she brought must be an orphan from that orphanage.

"Bitten by a dog, don't panic; I'll first use coins with Chinese medicine to scrape him, see if I can dispel the toxin; if not, I'll have to give him acupuncture." Pangzi, cigarette in mouth, asked routinely: "When was this child bitten by a dog, how long ago?"

The volunteer aunt hurriedly said: "It just happened; this child might have offended the heavenly dog this year, being bitten by dogs twice."

"The first time, I was holding a slightly younger child from the orphanage to buy candy, and he followed behind me. The result: the large dog kept by the restaurant across the street broke its chain and bit him on the buttocks."

"The second time, this was even more sinister. Seeing a dog on the street, he fled in fright into the orphanage. The result: the large wolfdog loitered at the orphanage entrance for a few moments, then actually rushed in and bit him on the buttocks, after which it darted out again."

When the volunteer aunt finished explaining the situation, Pangzi's brush snapped abruptly. In his muddled mind, a figure slowly appeared.

He vaguely recalled that guy saying that when he was very young, he had been bitten by dogs twice in a row. The first time, as he passed someone's house, a dog burst from the fence and bit his buttocks; afterward the wolfdog even snorted disdainfully, complaining his buttocks smelled.

The second time, a large wolfdog ran to his doorstep looking for food; while he was tidying straw, he fled in fright into the house. But that outdoor wolfdog suddenly burst inside, bit his buttocks, then swayed its big tail and swaggered out of his home.

How similar these experiences are! Pangzi's heart felt uneasy; he rubbed his forehead hard. He forced himself to calm down, intensely self-hypnotizing: "Impossible, impossible; this must be a coincidence. Logically, even if that guy were reincarnated, heaven couldn't possibly be so blind as to send him to me."

"Doctor Wang, why don't you look at this child?" Under the volunteer aunt's urgent urging, Pangzi finally turned his eyes to the child.

But upon seeing this, Pangzi couldn't help but widen his eyes, gasp in shock, and stagger backward repeatedly.

On the child's shoulder, he saw a purple birthmark. Though naturally formed, it resembled a person's bite mark so clearly it looked as if it had just been inflicted.

"You from next door to the spicy hot pot, I've finally found you, you bastard. I've waited for this day, a full twenty years." Pangzi excitedly looked up and burst into tears.

"Thanks to heaven for granting me boiled dishes—no, for granting me an enemy." Pangzi gave a sinister grin, cracking his knuckles with snaps, his face turning fierce. Under the volunteer aunt's bewildered gaze, he slowly walked toward the child who was wailing loudly.

The child's buttocks bore a red bite mark from a dog. Pangzi stared at it, rubbed his hands, spat, and said: "In your past life you liked to attract dogs; I never expected you'd still like to attract dogs in this life." He raised his hand, ready to strike the child's buttocks.

"Pfft"—an extremely inappropriate sound rang out as a puff of gas drifted from the child's buttocks and blew onto Pangzi's nose.

Pangzi spat, amid the volunteer aunt's hearty laughter, he staggered toward the well in the rear hall.

Behind him came the child's unrestrained laughter, as if mocking Pangzi's silliness.

"Wuu, you bastard, you screwed me over in your past life, and in this life you keep scheming against me; you'll suffer a loss in my hands. Will you die?"

Pangzi lifted his head, gazing at the lonely, snow-like bright moon above, and actually choked back tears without shedding any.