Chapter 227: 220 The Journey Home

At this time, the few of them had already left Kungang and entered the Silk Road between Yongzhou and Kungang. The Silk Road was narrow, and with every twist and turn, one could see neither the path ahead nor the way back. The mountain walls on both sides rose straight into the clouds like sharp swords thrusting diagonally. There was not another soul to be seen, neither before nor behind.

Jiang Shenyi's voice was light and airy; when he spoke, he seemed like a ghost.

Tang Zhao had become somewhat hypersensitive after staying in Jianzhou. Upon hearing this, he tensed up and said, "What? What kind of earth-shattering matter is it? Will I be scared?" He pressed his hand against his sword, his expression unchanging. Gui Ye, inside the pouch, also poked his head out to listen.

Jiang Shenyi turned his spirit beast bag and released the crocodile. The crocodile had likely been enhanced by some Art Tool, as its body was not as massive as before, being only a little over a person's length. Surprisingly, it did not lie flat like other crocodiles; instead, it propped up its upper body, which was very strange. Jiang Shixiong said, "Originally, I hesitated about whether to tell you this, but I thought, what is there that we brothers cannot say to each other? Besides, I will need you to help me smooth things over when we return to the mountain. This one..."

He made a gesture of introduction: "This is Senior Zhu Yang."

Tang Zhao was confused for a moment, then immediately stunned, saying, "He... he..."

Then he heard a voice say, "It is indeed this old man."

The voice came from the crocodile, but it was not "spoken" by it; rather, it was produced using a method similar to vibrating internal energy. The voice was very stiff and did not sound much like Zhu Yang's original voice.

Tang Zhao took a step back and said, "You... what is going on?!"

Gui Ye gasped along with him and shrank his head back.

The crocodile sighed and said, "To put it plainly, it is simple. This old man's killing of Xiao Guangwang was exposed, and I was cornered by those turtle bandits; the crisis was imminent. Although I was determined not to yield, I had to leave behind a few contingency plans. One of them was to bind my soul to my crocodile, to swap at any time. It's just that at the time, I still intended to fight to the death. I thought they would make their move on the third day, but I didn't expect them to launch a sneak attack on the night of the second day. I exhausted all my means, but in the end, I could not avoid death. I had no choice but to activate the soul-transfer technique, letting the dragon-crocodile die in my stead, while I lived on in the identity of the crocodile."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: No wonder this crocodile was so proactive, able to save people and even take a pulse; it turns out it really is a person.

A person turning into a crocodile—you would call this "soul possession," right?

This was something he had never heard of before. Soul possession—even a Spirit Official probably couldn't do it. After all, Spirit Officials do not involve the soul; only when the soul is strong to a certain degree can possession occur.

Seeing the crocodile as it was now, Tang Zhao was astonished and could not help but feel conflicted. Zhu Yang had a grudge against him, but he also respected Zhu Yang's knowledge and admired the other's purity. Now that Zhu Yang was in this state, the grievances would not be mentioned.

As for Zhu Yang, saying it was a pity was a little true, and saying he felt schadenfreude was also a little true.

In the end, he only said one sentence: "Then what are Senior Zhu's plans?"

Jiang Shenyi did not know the history between the two, but Zhu Yang knew it clearly. Knowing that Tang Zhao meant to let bygones be bygones, he felt a sense of relief from the bottom of his heart: he had previously used Tang Zhao's life as a cover without caring about his survival or attitude. At that time, he held a lofty position and was full of ambition; why would he care about Tang Zhao? But times had changed. He had lost everything, become a crocodile, and was now living under another's roof; instead, he had to pray that Tang Zhao would not hold a grudge.

He sighed and said, "Now that this old man is like this, I am merely lingering on in a wasted breath. Originally, with Xiao Guangwang dead, I could consider myself to have no regrets. But my research has only just begun, and the door to a new world has only opened a crack; I am truly unwilling to give up. Now that my body is inconvenient for research, I can only entrust a successor to continue my path and continue the research. I have always walked alone and never had a disciple to entrust with this, but a few days ago, heaven favored me and I found one—it is Shen Yi."

As he spoke, in his crocodile form, his eyes actually revealed a touch of tenderness.

"I originally wanted to invite him to go to my old residence to continue the research, but he said that since Longyuan knew of that place and could come to find me, naturally many people know of it, and it is not necessarily safe now. The turtle bandits might be interested in my research and track me to my home; the North Pole Palace knows I am the culprit, so it is inevitable they will seek revenge. It would be better to hide outside."

Tang Zhao nodded; Jiang Shenyi was thoughtful. He said, "So you want to move to Jiugao Mountain... and live on the same mountain as my mentor?"

The crocodile's expression could not be read, but there was a moment of silence before he said, "I originally intended to hide it from him, but Shen Yi would not allow it—and I suppose it couldn't be hidden anyway. So I will tell him myself; Zhu Yang is not one to hide his head and show his tail. I hope you... you will not stand in the way. I expect he will not necessarily press too hard; after all, I was the one who suffered in our previous feud." He originally wanted to ask Tang Zhao to put in a good word, but thinking that the two had no friendship and even had grievances, he could not bring himself to say it.

Tang Zhao was silent, then suddenly asked, "What grudge do you have with Xiao Guangwang and the North Pole Palace?"

Zhu Yang said coldly, "A grudge as deep as the sea! That Xiao Guangwang, he mocked my research as wishful thinking and almost destroyed my life's work."

That really was a deep grudge.

At least in Zhu Yang's heart, it was a hundred times greater than the grudge against Xue Xianyun.

That was just Xue Xianyun taking one of my hands, but that Xiao Guangwang almost destroyed my research!

Tang Zhao was not unable to understand.

The two brothers each brought a water creature along the way. When they reached the end of the Silk Road, they saw a person leaning against the cliff.

That person was not old, looking at most about twenty. He was slightly thin, his appearance not bad but completely unremarkable, save for a pair of eyes that were lighter in color than an ordinary person's, calm yet with a hint of dullness, which made him slightly recognizable.

He was leaning against the mountain wall, actually sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees, as if in a daze.

Tang Zhao took one look, moved his lips slightly, and said, "Wei Se."

The man stood up, his body straight, and said, "Tang Xiansheng, it is me."

Every time Tang Zhao had seen Wei Se before, he had changed his appearance, and he had to hear his voice to recognize him. But now, seeing this person, he suddenly blurted out the name "Wei Se."

Or perhaps this face, this person, and these eyes were quite fitting for the name Wei Se?

This should be his true appearance, right?

Wei Se bowed and said, "This is my true appearance. Tang Xiansheng—I want to follow you, as a student or in some other capacity. Please take me in."

Jiang Shenyi was very surprised and looked at Tang Zhao. It was common for promising Talisman Sword Masters to make a few friends in the martial arts world, and those with exceptional luck and talent might have the chance to take on potential students. But this year was so chaotic that people didn't even have time for social gatherings, let alone opportunities to make pacts with Martial Artists.

Tang Zhao probably didn't have the time either, but after leaving Kungang, a Martial Artist who looked quite capable had chased after him for hundreds of miles, and the first thing he said was a pact of "studentship." This was truly...

Oh, it's Tang Shidi, then that's no problem.

Tang Zhao stared at Wei Se and said, "You're here again? You've really set your sights on me? Haven't you noticed that you and I are not compatible?"

Tang Zhao had been taught by Chen Zong since he was young; his values were sound, definitely on the side of kindness, and he counted as half an official person. It was just that when his temper flared, he was prone to acting on impulse; he wasn't exactly lawful, but he had to be neutral. And Wei Se... being both a killer and full of lies, and perhaps even prone to betrayal at any moment, calling him chaotic neutral was a stretch. Their temperaments were poles apart. Although Tang Zhao did not reject taking on students, he could not possibly take in someone like this.

Wei Se said humbly, "I naturally know that I am not compatible with Tang Xiansheng. Therefore, I will obey Tang Xiansheng and put Xiansheng first in all things. Since I do not contend, there is no incompatibility."

Tang Zhao almost wanted to scratch his head and said, "Why are you so stubborn with me? Is it really because of Li Qiongsheng's recommendation? He is already gone; are you still dwelling on the person who recommended you at the time? Are you two really brothers of life and death?"

Jiang Shenyi asked curiously, "Who is Li Qiongsheng?"

Tang Zhao said, "A person from the Kun Yu Sword Sect. I never even met him. He should be an enemy. Wei Se, you killed him, right?"

Wei Se said calmly, "I killed him. Before, he was my friend; later, he was not." He thought for a moment and explained, "Xiansheng is discerning; last time in Jianzhou, you had already guessed eight or nine out of ten. It was nothing more than some causes and effects that were not yet clear. Since I wish to defect, naturally I will not hide anything. Today, I will speak everything."

Tang Zhao stared at him and finally said, "If you want to speak, then speak."

Wei Se said, "Xiansheng should have guessed my background; I am a killer from the Yama Shop. Lady Hua Rong is my foster mother."

Jiang Shenyi said in surprise, "You are Junior Sister Hua's foster brother?"

Wei Se said, "I dare not. Lady Hua Rong has hundreds of foster sons in the Yama Shop, perhaps more now. People like us are not qualified to be called foster brothers by that lady. Xiansheng once said that Lady Hua Rong is a woman with a mother's heart in front of you, but she is not in front of us."

Tang Zhao was silent, thinking that was likely the case. Lady Hua Rong was known in the martial arts world as Flower Yama; there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names.

Wei Se said, "I was raised by her and learned many things from her. After growing up, I became a killer and had some small achievements. My ranking in the Yama Shop gradually rose, and my situation improved. But I have always wanted to leave her."

Tang Zhao asked, "You don't like being a killer?"

Wei Se said, "Being a killer... it's alright, I suppose. There is no like or dislike; I just don't like a life of living on the edge, with no security. Moreover, many people die in the Yama Shop. Since I left, there are less than ten of my foster brothers from the same batch left."

He thought for a moment and added, "A portion of them died by my hand."

He spoke very calmly, but Tang Zhao's expression changed slightly, and he thought again of Lady Hua Rong's kind and gentle appearance.

Wei Se continued, "I actually wanted to leave a long time ago, ever since I killed a brother for the first time at the age of ten, but I never had anywhere to go. I have been in the Yama Shop since I was small; I only know the work of a killer and do not know how to live in the outside world. Moreover, Lady Hua Rong would not let me leave. So I waited until I was eighteen and made a good friend I could trust. Li Qiongsheng."

Tang Zhao nodded and said with a grave expression, "Li Qiongsheng is a member of the Kun Yu Lower Court, but he would also anonymously accept assassin missions at the Yama Shop. We originally wore Masks to hide our identities, but through fighting side by side time and again, we gradually came to trust each other and learned one another's true identities. At that time, he was my only friend, and thinking we were kindred spirits, I couldn't help but reveal a bit of my thoughts. He pointed out to me that Lady Hua Rong wields monstrous power, and absolutely no one in the pugilistic world would offend her for my sake. Simply running away would not work; unless I became a Sword Guest, I could not be my own master."

"He also said that in this regard, he was the same as me. He was not living happily at the Kun Yu Lower Court; there are thousands of people in the Lower Court, yet every year there are only a few spots to advance to the Kun Yu Sword Sect. Even after advancing to the Kun Yu Sword Sect, one must still face screening, and only one percent have a chance to become a Sword Guest. With his talent and background, he could not count on it no matter what, so he could only seek his own way out."

"I asked him how one could become a Sword Guest. He said one must either seek refuge with a major power or go find a Sword Smith to help me with Sword Casting. For someone like me with a problematic identity, seeking refuge with a major power is certainly very difficult, and an ordinary Sword Smith would never even glance at me. But he knew of a place with many young Sword Smiths; as long as one chose a mentor to apprentice under and waited quietly for a few years, there would naturally be an opportunity to become a Sword Guest."

"I knew nothing about this, so naturally, I believed him completely. Taking advantage of the time when the Lady left the mountain once a year to visit her daughter, I escaped the Yama Shop with him and traveled thousands of miles to Kungang, all for the sake of the Talisman Assembly."