Chapter 248: The Reunion of the Head Artisan, the Silver-Haired Legend Arrives!

The young Daoist took his sword and left; Lady Gongsun Wuyue only came to her senses after a long while, only to see Lady Gongsun Feixue gazing at the boy's retreating back, her eyes shimmering with something unusual—since ancient times, heroes love beauties, and beauties love heroes too.

Lady Gongsun Wuyue patted her granddaughter's hand and said, "He's long gone—what are you still staring at?"

Lady Gongsun Feixue pulled her gaze away, her cheeks flushing crimson, and said, "Grandma!"

Lady Gongsun Wuyue said, "My child simply has no such fate."

She studied her granddaughter, noting she still carried the boldness and freedom of a martial heroine, and said, "My child is beautiful in appearance, among the finest in the world, kind-hearted, and gifted in swordplay and mechanism arts."

"Such a fine person deserves anyone."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue rubbed Lady Gongsun Feixue's hair, comforting her as any ordinary elder would: "It's just no fate."

Lady Gongsun Feixue asked, "What is fate?"

Having seen the noble one, how could my heart not rejoice?

To meet a hero of similar age stirs the heart, inevitably creating ripples—when Lady Gongsun Feixue spoke those words, Lady Gongsun Wuyue already knew: her heart had rippled, and a thread of stubbornness and unwillingness had taken root.

She smiled gently, drawing her granddaughter close, and said, "You are a good child—kind-hearted, bold and heroic, straightforward and unreserved. Had you met Li Guanyi earlier, your temperaments would have matched perfectly."

"Think—how would you have met?"

"You'd ride past on horseback, spot him starving, his eyes dim with hunger, and generously invite him to a roadside inn for a full meal. He, in turn, wouldn't eat for free—he'd give you a gift, perhaps a poem, perhaps a qin melody."

"You'd be astonished, and over time, your bond would grow stronger."

"Eventually, as you traveled the martial world, upholding justice, a faint affection would slowly blossom… everything would unfold naturally—using the Gong Shu family's mechanism arts to help him rise to the realm of Tianxia."

"My good child certainly has such vision and heart."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue reached out and gently stroked the tips of Lady Gongsun Feixue's hair, whispering:

"No fate means that when the tiger breaks its leg and grows weak, the hand that reaches out to him, the face that smiles at him, is not yours."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue seemed to see again the gentle Daoist she had met in her youth.

She lowered her gaze, as if soothing Lady Gongsun Feixue, as if speaking to herself.

She whispered:

"This is wu yuan."

When Li Guanyi returned to his quarters, Yao Guang was poking the Fire Qilin with her finger.

The Fire Qilin fixed its eyes on the girl's palm, where a small nut lay; she swiftly switched it between her hands, then clenched both fists, backs upward, holding them before the Fire Qilin. The Fire Qilin glanced left, then right, its tail flicking rapidly.

It should have seen clearly, sensed clearly.

But Yao Guang's strange arts and arrays were unmatched among her generation, leaving the Fire Qilin confused—it hesitated, then extended a claw and pressed against the girl's right hand. Yao Guang's face remained expressionless as she opened her palm.

Empty.

The Fire Qilin's tail, which had been thrashing the bed, froze.

Yao Guang's voice was calm, her expression unchanging: "The Fire Qilin is a divine beast, born to dwell in the Mystical Realm, perceiving qi and releasing its power to claim sacred ground."

"Yet for centuries, you've lived among humans."

"At first, people doted on you; later, they locked you away—you never once used this ability."

"It's all been wasted."

The Fire Qilin didn't care: "I'm the Fire Qilin! The Fire Qilin!"

"I'll reach adulthood in a year or two—after five hundred years, I'll naturally gain the power of a master. Hmph! Besides, I run circles with Guanyi on the battlefield."

"Arrows can't pierce my scales—why would I need to train my aura?"

"Guanyi never pushes me!"

"Who else would push me?!"

"Who dares push me?!"

"Hmph, impossible—give it to me!"

It lowered its head and used its horn to nudge open Yao Guang's left hand—only to find no nut there. It froze, turned its head, and saw the girl's white palm, the nut pinched between her fingers, hidden behind them.

Yao Guang's strange art had concealed its qi, so the Fire Qilin hadn't noticed.

The girl's fingers twitched—the nut flew upward, and she opened her mouth, catching it precisely.

Aowu.

The silver-haired girl stared at the Fire Qilin without expression: "It's because you rely too much on your innate nature as a Fire Qilin that you failed to detect my strange art."

The Fire Qilin pouted and turned away, sitting down.

Having taken the form of a long-haired cat, its fur made it look plump and round.

Its tail, soft and supple, slapped the bed—papapa—clearly sulking and ignoring everyone.

Then laughter rang out.

The silver-haired girl, nut clenched between her teeth, one cheek puffed out, chewing slowly, turned her head—Gong Shu's guest room held its own charm: outside the window lay a pond and trees; the young Daoist, sword at his waist, leaned against the sill, smiling warmly.

Li Guanyi reached out, pressed against the window frame, and flipped inside. He turned the Fire Qilin around, handed it the nut, and the Fire Qilin, still immature like a human youth, was playful and greedy—just moments ago, it had only been playfully teasing Yao Guang, not truly angry.

Seeing it had successfully "tricked" the nut from Li Guanyi, it happily devoured it. Li Guanyi briefly recounted what had happened: "The Mo family matter is conveniently on the way—we're going to the Zhongzhou Xuegong anyway, and must pay respects to its Master."

"As for the thousand infantry of Chen State, I already have a solution. After so many battles, I've gained some skill."

"But right now, the more troublesome issue is the Motian Sect's leader—he's no weakling." Li Guanyi recalled the Hunting Qilin Gathering at Zhenbei Pass a year ago, when the Motian Sect's leader had displayed formidable martial prowess.

His name was Ximen Hengrong. He appeared sixty, but was actually over eighty. His martial arts were both internal and external, and he had built the largest sect in northern Chen State from nothing—Motian Sect's martial academies dotted every city and town within Chen's borders.

Pay money, and they'd teach you Wu Gong.

Fan Qing, one of the current generals of the Qilin Army, was a former disciple of Motian Sect.

Large cities had over a hundred disciples; small towns had dozens.

Ximen Hengrong claimed over ten thousand disciples—exaggerated, perhaps, but revealing his vast influence. His disciples were all tough, battle-hardened martial artists skilled in foot combat, crushing rival sects and expanding his power relentlessly.

He was a true master-level martial artist; though not among the top ten of Tianxia Sect's masters, his martial skill was solid. Li Guanyi, having borrowed the aura of the Green Robe Longevity Guest, had seen great physical improvement—but he remained at the Fifth Heaven Realm.

He also possessed three divine weapons: the Break-Cloud Thunder-Sky Bow and the Tiger-Roar Heaven-Spear were understood—but the bamboo flute he'd received from the Green Robe Longevity Guest, besides its ability to stir the vitality of all things, still held unknown functions.

Li Guanyi spun the bamboo flute in his hand and gripped it firmly.

"Can we really play the bamboo flute mid-battle, making Ximen Hengrong's qi surge and reverse, leaving him too drained to fight us?"

The silver-haired girl spoke calmly: "You've already agreed."

"Chew chew chew."

Expressionless.

Swallowed the fruit Li Guanyi had brought down, cupped both hands, and said:

"You must have some idea by now, right?"

Li Guanyi smiled: "I've got a few ideas." He twisted his fingers; the bamboo flute spun and settled at his waist, fastened to one side. "In the end, it's all just leveraging power to bully others."

He spread his arms, feigning exaggerated mirth: "I'm the great-great-grandson of the Master Jiankuang, the head of the Motian Sect—who dares provoke Young Master me? Isn't that right?"

Yao Guang watched his theatrics, placed the fruit in her mouth, as if to say: Let's see how you play this out.

Li Guanyi smiled, composed and unruffled:

"With the Fire Qilin and me together, even if we can't defeat the Motian Sect, we can hold them off long enough. Mistress Gongsun's Sixth Heaven-level arts, combined with the Piaomiao Pavilion's mechanical devices—so long as the Motian Sect's leader can't win quickly, he'll have to retreat."

"Because he dares not gamble on when Grandpa and the others will arrive."

"Therefore, the more composed I am, the more terrified he becomes."

"Even if he has a thousand disciples, they must fear me."

"This is victory through momentum."

The Master Jiankuang, Elder Murong, and Master Siming had agreed to meet Li Guanyi here; once both returned, the Motian Sect matter would resolve itself effortlessly.

Even if they couldn't arrive in time, with Li Guanyi's current cultivation, combined with the Fire Qilin and the use of the Huangji Jing Shi Shu passed down by the Dao Sect, they still had a fighting chance. Ximen Hengrong commanded great power and was naturally cautious.

The more composed Li Guanyi appeared, the more his mind would spiral into wild speculation.

Li Guanyi said: "But I dare not use this bamboo flute too freely." He gripped the flute at his waist; it looked crisp, as if freshly cut from bamboo, brimming with vital energy.

Yet it was the artifact of the Green Robe Longlife Guest.

Deep down, Li Guanyi still harbored some wariness toward this divine weapon.

Yao Guang nodded. Li Guanyi reached out to take her pulse. Yao Guang had been poisoned by the Longlife Guest's blood and was weak. After diagnosing her, he still said: "Even with the Ze Tian Guai technique passed down by the Dao Sect's elders, Wu Gong cannot magically restore your righteous qi."

"The Gongsun Clan is vast and wealthy—there must be renowned physicians nearby. I'll speak with Mistress Gongsun and ask if any physicians are around. I'll buy medicine and brew it for you to replenish your strength."

Li Guanyi told Gongsun Wuyue, who readily agreed.

Knowing Li Guanyi wanted medicine for his friend, she listed every physician within hundreds of li, and specifically ordered Gongsun Feixue to prepare a thick red envelope.

It could be exchanged for gold and silver at the Yinguo bank.

The thickness startled Gongsun Feixue, who laughed: "Though our family thrives in the Jianghu, we live simply—this gift is worth more than my entire savings from over a decade of New Year's red envelopes."

Li Guanyi thought for a moment and guessed Gongsun Wuyue, pleased by his flattery, had given him all her accumulated New Year's money at once.

The boy first gripped one end of the stack of silver notes, swung the other end into his palm with a slap-slap sound, then spilled them out, licked his index finger, pinched one corner, and counted them with a rustling whisper.

His frugal, shrewd demeanor was vividly rendered.

The boy said:

"Mistress Gongsun is so kind!"

The silver-haired girl showed no expression, only a faint sigh. Li Guanyi laughed, borrowed a horse, and took Yao Guang to visit all the renowned physicians in the area—but even the best doctors, though skilled, had no way to cure Yao Guang's weakness, for the Green Robe Longlife Guest was a legend of the Jianghu.

For these past days, Li Guanyi had stayed here, visiting physicians daily. Though none could resolve Yao Guang's weakness, he bought many fine herbs and brewed them into decoctions to replenish her primordial qi.

Because the medicine was too bitter, Li Guanyi, following Lei Laomeng's earlier method, found a beehive, extracted one-third of its honey, and mixed it into the decoction until the taste became tolerable.

Illness strikes like a mountain collapsing; recovery drags like silk being pulled apart.

Yao Guang's weakness showed no improvement, stuck at the same level. After Gongsun Feixue inquired about Yao Guang's condition, Li Guanyi answered honestly. Gongsun Feixue paused, then suggested:

"If ordinary physicians can't cure the poison, what about obscure folk remedies? Would you be willing to try?"

Li Guanyi readily agreed. Gongsun Feixue gathered a list of reclusive physicians with reputations; Li Guanyi and Yao Guang visited them one by one—but none succeeded. Nightfall approached swiftly.

Li Guanyi rode a horse, Yao Guang seated before him. The young Daoist held the reins; the horse ambled beside a stream. Far off, the sky darkened, the sunset vast and magnificent, filling the heart with peace.

"Hmm. Only one physician remains unvisited."

Li Guanyi checked Gongsun Feixue's notes, estimated the time, and said: "Let's go see him. If nothing works, we'll just wait for Master Siming to return."

"Besides, it's a good chance to scout the surrounding terrain."

Li Guanyi smiled. Over these days of visiting physicians, he had mapped out the nearby areas and roughly determined where Chen State's thousand soldiers would likely position themselves if they threatened the Gongsun Clan.

Riding together, they soon reached a village, asked for directions, then dismounted—leaving the weak Yao Guang on the horse while Li Guanyi walked beside it, leading the reins as a sign of respect.

As they neared, Li Guanyi suddenly paused. He sensed the bamboo flute at his waist glowing faintly, as if stirred by some unseen qi, emitting a soft, clear hum.

This is…

Someone here is resonating with the Green Robe Longlife Guest's divine weapon?!

Who?!

Li Guanyi's heart tightened. His right hand gripped the hilt of his sword, pressing down gently to suppress the flute. At that moment, the wooden hut's door opened. An old white-haired man in gray robes stepped out, his gaze calm.

He appeared aged, yet radiated thick, vibrant life-force, sweeping over the front.

His eyes landed on Li Guanyi's waist—the bamboo flute.

The old man's expression froze. In that instant, Li Guanyi felt an overwhelming stench of blood, malevolence, and killing intent. His hand tightened on his weapon—when a calm voice spoke: "Esteemed elder, we've come for a diagnosis."

The malevolence and killing intent vanished.

Li Guanyi looked up. The silver-haired girl stood quietly. Yao Guang's strange arts were powerful; her sensitivity to hostility was acute. Since fleeing Jiangzhou City over a year ago, they had shared life and death. Li Guanyi trusted her judgment completely. He exhaled in relief and smiled:

"Yes, elder. We've heard your medical skill is the finest for hundreds of li around."

The old man remained silent. "Come."

Li Guanyi led the horse forward, tied the reins to a nearby tree, then naturally extended his hand.

Yao Guang placed her hand on the young Daoist's wrist.

Li Guanyi applied slight force, letting Yao Guang lean on his wrist as they dismounted, then entered the house. It was extremely tidy—too tidy, unlike other village homes, which kept poultry and livestock. The old man examined Yao Guang's pulse.

His eyes fixed on the girl with silver-white hair and said:

"……Lucky to be alive."

"He dripped his blood into your mouth?"

The girl with silver-white hair replied calmly: "I bit him."

The old man froze, his face filled with suspicion, then shook his head:

"Young man, your courage is indeed great."

The old man glanced at Li Guanyi's bamboo flute and said: "You encountered that man in the blue robe and still lived—that's no surprise. But to seize this Moon Snow Xiao and reach here—that's fortune."

Finding this place was naturally due to seeking someone who could cure Yao Guang's weakness; they stumbled upon it by chance.

Yet, from the tone of your words…

Moon Snow Xiao.

Li Guanyi felt a subtle shift within, yet smiled and asked:

"Master, do you know the owner of this bamboo flute?"

The old man looked at Li Guanyi once, turned to fetch something, and said calmly:

"How could I not know? Back then, during a heavy rain, I offered him shelter. Later, when I learned his identity, I sought to learn cultivation from him. But I never expected that a casual conversation nearly turned me into a demon."

The old man paused, then sighed:

"No—I was already turned into a demon by him."

"Back then, I attacked living beings, swallowed their blood, and cultivated Wu Gong."

"My disciples followed behind me, healing and detoxifying those I had harmed. That's why I didn't accumulate too much karmic debt in my madness—but the blue-robed man's words were simply too seductive."

"I cultivated Wu Gong and gradually gained results."

"The more I gained, the more I believed his words were right, and my actions grew increasingly skewed."

"I sank deeper and deeper… deeper and deeper…"

"Eventually, even my disciples abandoned me. He took my alchemical furnace and formulas, vanished somewhere, and led me into the mountains, trapping me in an array. I lived like a beast, drinking blood and eating raw flesh, until I awoke after who knows how long."

The old man pulled out a gourd, shook it, and poured out a few pills, murmuring softly: "It felt like a dream."

"When I regained my senses and stepped out of the array, the barrier before me was nothing more than a simple arithmetic puzzle a child could open. I had lost my reason, and that's why such a basic array trapped me."

"In the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed in the mortal world. I couldn't find my disciples. The names I knew were either aged or dead. Later, I went to Zhongzhou and was summoned by the Emperor to discuss immortality."

"I only bound the Chi Xiao Sword for him, then left again."

Li Guanyi now knew who this old man was—he must be the founder of Hou Zhongyu's lineage, the master of the teacher Hou Zhongyu killed, the great sorcerer corrupted by the blue-robed immortal.

He finally understood why the bamboo flute on his waist had stirred—moving without wind. Li Guanyi didn't know what to say: was it fate's caprice, or was it because they had all encountered the blue-robed man, and Yao Guang's weakness stemmed from him?

In the unseen, karma had brought them together.

Li Guanyi said: "I don't know your name, Master."

The gray-robed old man placed the pills into a small bowl and handed it to Yao Guang, then looked at Li Guanyi's bamboo flute and said: "I am already a dead man. Back then, I swallowed the vital essence of others to make pills—though thanks to my disciples, I never truly ate a person."

"But the moment that thought arose, ten thousand evils were born!"

"The good follow the Dao; the evil become demons."

The old man formed a hand seal, holding it upright before his chest, and replied:

"I am 【Ten Thousand Unforgivable Evils】, a mere alchemist."

"I am searching for two destinies."

"One: the blue-robed man. Two: a man named Hou Zhongyu."

"He is my disciple's disciple. The 【Ten Thousand Ancient Moon】 elixir I refined was inherited by him. Young friend, you have already met the blue-robed man."

"Have you, by any chance, seen this man?"

"Three thousand years of solitary transmission, rejecting the Red Emperor's doctrine, branded by the Red Emperor's great-grandson as the origin of the 【Wu Gu Curse】, the current heir of the Ten Thousand Ancient Moon lineage—the foremost of all eight hundred heretical sects."

"Hou Zhongyu."

Li Guanyi: "………"

………………

Meanwhile, in the Gongsun Clan, Gongsun Feixue's friend—the same Gongye Boxu who once promised to set a small boat for Li Guanyi and Yao Guang—had fled the Gongsun Clan, traveling swiftly by his lightness skill to a secluded villa, saying:

"Master, Master."

A voice replied: "Have you gathered the information I asked for?" The speaker was a middle-aged man, calm in bearing. Before him lay two black weapons—a sword and a blade—both severed at the hilt, replaced by Mojia mechanical limbs.

He was none other than the Sixth Master of the World, Qu Zai Shi.

Since being torn apart by Chen Chengbi's frenzied manifestation during the Chen State's Grand Sacrifice a year ago, he had spent the year seeking Mojia to forge a new arm, resting extensively, treating the limb as a new weapon. His martial skill had not declined—it had grown even stronger.

He came here now upon hearing news of Chen Chengbi's whereabouts.

Gongye Boxu smiled: "Of course I've learned it!"

"The Gongsun Clan is now utterly weak. Chen Chengbi has left, and it coincides with the Wu Lin Alliance's purge. The major sect of northern Chen State, Motian Sect, has arrived, along with thousands of Chen State troops—the Gongsun Clan is finished."

"Gongsun Feixue's attempts to ally with noble families are merely the last desperate struggles before death."

Qu Zai Shi grunted: "Hmph… last desperate struggles?"

He had lost his arm to Chen Chengbi and intended revenge. Knowing the Gongsun Clan's close ties to Chen Chengbi, he planned to destroy the clan first—to make Chen Chengbi feel pain before avenging his severed arm.

For a Jianghu martialist to lose an arm—this was a deep, unforgivable grudge that must be repaid.

Qu Zai Shi paused, then said: "Tell me—what clans are there?"

Gongye Boxu listed Gongsun Feixue's friends one by one: "These families are not weak, but their elders are mostly at the Sixth Heaven level—none are Jianghu Masters. With your power, defeating them would be effortless."

"Ah, by the way, two others arrived recently."

"One is a disciple of the Imperial Academy's Daoist sect, named Li Yaoshi. The other? Even less worth mentioning—a consumptive."

Gongye Bixu chuckled: "Silver-white hair—likely a sign of premature aging, an early death…"

"What a pity, she seems quite beautiful."

As he spoke, he stepped inside to pay respects to Qu Qu Zai Shi, intending to curry favor—but after a few paces, his expression froze.

Qu Qu Zai Shi sat cross-legged, his bearing majestic.

The two famed martial blades, renowned throughout the martial world, were plunged point-down into the ground, radiating a chilling aura—truly worthy of the title of Sixth Grandmaster.

Yet behind this Grandmaster, whose presence was as still as a deep pool and as immovable as a mountain, stood Qu Qu Zai Shi—

stood a man with arms folded, silver hair cascading down, identical to the girl's.

And—

the mighty Sixth Grandmaster Qu Qu Zai Shi, unaware of this man standing behind him—

had not noticed at all??!

Gongye Bixu's heart suddenly pounded violently: in the chamber, the Grandmaster sat cross-legged, golden sunset light falling, the blades humming with resonance—utterly majestic; yet behind the Grandmaster, the silver-haired man stood with arms folded, and the Grandmaster remained utterly oblivious.

This scene sent shivers through him; a strange, creeping dread surged toward him.

Gongye Bixu saw the silver-haired man lowering his gaze, his eyes as still as dead water.

Like one looking at a corpse!

?? Worked until four, also asking for monthly votes, folks!

? Control your schedule, control your schedule, adjust for two more days—if not, take leave.

? Don't stay up late with me—early sleep is the right way.

? (Pain mask)