Chapter 45: Bu Jingyun Awakens

When Wuming and his companion left Zhonghua Lou, Bu Jingyun also woke up amidst pain throughout his body.

"Water, water, I want to drink water."

Chuchu, who was slumped over the table nearby, was woken up by Bu Jingyun's call. Hearing that Bu Jingyun wanted water, she hurriedly poured a full bowl and brought it to his lips.

Although her sleep had been interrupted, Chuchu was very happy; this was the first time Bu Jingyun had spoken in two days.

Chuchu slowly poured the water into Bu Jingyun's mouth, and Bu Jingyun subconsciously drank it all in one gulp.

Just as Chuchu was holding the empty cup and about to go pour more water, Bu Jingyun opened his eyes.

Upon waking, Bu Jingyun shouted like a madman: "Where is my sword? Where is my sword? Where is the Peerless Sword?"

Bu Jingyun's cries woke up Duan Fengyun, Qin Shuang, and Nie Feng, who were sleeping in the adjacent room. Hearing Bu Jingyun's shouting, the three immediately got up and rushed over.

The three opened the door to see Bu Jingyun acting like a raving lunatic and Chuchu trembling in the corner; they hurriedly rushed forward to restrain the frantic Bu Jingyun.

The frantic Bu Jingyun kept muttering: "Sword, where is my sword?"

Duan Fengyun looked at the Peerless Sword nearby, picked it up, and prepared to hand it to Bu Jingyun.

"Junior Brother Duan, no. Right now, Junior Brother Yun is not in his right mind. If we rashly give him the Peerless Sword, it will be even harder for us to control him."

Seeing that Duan Fengyun was about to give the Peerless Sword to Bu Jingyun, Qin Shuang hurriedly stopped him.

"Senior Brother Shuang, we must have faith in Senior Brother Yun. Let us try."

Duan Fengyun said to Qin Shuang.

Seeing Duan Fengyun so insistent, Qin Shuang and Nie Feng no longer blocked him, and Duan Fengyun handed the Peerless Sword to Bu Jingyun.

After obtaining the Peerless Sword, Bu Jingyun instantly stopped his manic behavior. He looked at the four of them, then raised the Peerless Sword above his head.

At this moment, a scene that felt miraculous to the four of them occurred: the Peerless Sword began to emit a red glow, and as Bu Jingyun closed his eyes, the burn scars on his face and arms actually fell off completely, leaving no traces at all.

Then Bu Jingyun opened his eyes, which were filled with vitality, and he said to the four of them:

"Everyone, I am sorry. I have made you all worry about me."

Qin Shuang replied: "Junior Brother Yun, what are you saying? We are all brothers who share life and death; we would never stand idly by regarding your affairs. If it were you, you would not stand idly by regarding our affairs either."

Duan Fengyun stepped forward and said: "Senior Brother Yun, the person you should truly thank is Chuchu. Chuchu has been wiping your body, feeding you, and watching over you every day, unwilling to leave."

Chuchu said embarrassedly: "Brother Bu, don't listen to Brother Duan; it wasn't like that."

Bu Jingyun looked at Chuchu and said sincerely: "Chuchu, thank you."

After speaking, Bu Jingyun said to Duan Fengyun: "Junior Brother Duan, did you use the Peerless Sword to kill someone?"

Duan Fengyun looked at Bu Jingyun in surprise and said: "Senior Brother Yun, how did you know?"

Then, Duan Fengyun told Bu Jingyun about how he had seen through Jian Tan's attempt to steal the sword and subsequently killed Jian Tan with the Peerless Sword.

Bu Jingyun replied: "Although I was in a coma, I could feel the Peerless Sword; I could feel it being picked up by you and then killing someone."

Hearing this, everyone applauded the magical and mystical nature of this Peerless Sword.

Bu Jingyun looked at Qin Shuang and the others and said: "Everyone, now that the Peerless Sword is in hand, I intend to go to the Imperial Mausoleum to split the Separation Stone and see Kong Ci. Do you want to come along?"

Duan Fengyun knew that this trip would surely end in failure again, but he could not say so. Just as he was feeling troubled, Qin Shuang spoke up:

"Let's go. Let us go together to see our beautiful sister."

Nie Feng also nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Duan Fengyun also nodded in cooperation, and the group agreed to go to the Imperial Mausoleum the next day.

Bu Jingyun looked at Qin Shuang, feeling that there were some things he should clarify with him, so he said to Qin Shuang:

"Senior Brother Shuang, I have something I would like to discuss with you alone."

Duan Fengyun, Nie Feng, and Chuchu tactfully left the room, leaving Qin Shuang and Bu Jingyun with the opportunity to be alone.

Seeing that everyone had left, Qin Shuang asked: "Junior Brother Yun, what is it? Speak."

Bu Jingyun said with a look of guilt: "Senior Brother Shuang, I am always thinking, if I hadn't disrupted your wedding ceremony, would Kong Ci not have died? Would you and Kong Ci be living happily together? Is all of this happening because of me?"

He had kept his guilt toward Qin Shuang hidden in his heart for a long time, and now that he had finally said it all, he felt much more at ease.

Qin Shuang shook his head and said: "Junior Brother Yun, do not think like that. Kong Ci's death, in the final analysis, lies with Xiongba. Xiongba used Kong Ci as a tool to sow discord among the four of us, wanting us to kill each other. Even if you hadn't disrupted the ceremony, we would not have had a good ending. So, Junior Brother Yun, do not blame yourself too much."

After receiving Qin Shuang's reply and learning that Qin Shuang did not truly blame him, Bu Jingyun completely walked out of the mental prison that had confined him for so long.

In fact, the two of them, including Nie Feng, had always had a question in their hearts that remained unresolved: Why did Xiongba suddenly want to put the four of them to death without any regard for their past relationship? If he wanted to kill them, why not do it sooner, and why teach them his exclusive martial arts?

The three of them had never been able to figure this out.

The next morning, the four martial brothers and Chuchu ate breakfast and set off for the Imperial Mausoleum.

On the way, Qin Shuang finally could not control himself and voiced his doubts to Duan Fengyun and the others.

Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng also responded: "We have also been puzzled by this question for a long time."

Duan Fengyun then remembered that he apparently hadn't told the three of them about this matter yet; what a sin, what a sin.

He thought about his wording and then said to the three: "Three Senior Brothers, actually I do know the answer to this question, but I forgot to tell you."

The three looked at Duan Fengyun in surprise, and Nie Feng said: "Junior Brother Duan, stop keeping us in suspense and just say it."

Duan Fengyun replied: "You should still remember Ni Pusa, right? Actually, Ni Pusa was captured by Xiongba at that time."

Qin Shuang and the others listened intently to Duan Fengyun's account, signaling for him to continue.

Duan Fengyun continued: "Ni Pusa gave Xiongba a prophecy twice. The first prophecy was—'Golden scales are not things of the pool; once they encounter wind and cloud, they will turn into dragons.' This is the reason why Xiongba took me, Senior Brother Yun, and Junior Brother Feng as disciples."

Duan Fengyun took a sip of water, and after moistening his throat, he continued to add: "And the second prophecy Ni Pusa gave was—'The dragon's roar in the nine heavens shocks the world; when wind and cloud meet, they will swim in the shallows.' In summary, it means success comes from wind and cloud, and failure comes from wind and cloud. After Xiongba received this prophecy, he developed murderous intent toward us and began preparing to eliminate us."

Hearing this, Qin Shuang asked him how he knew this.

Duan Fengyun had already prepared an answer, and he replied: "Do you remember the time when I stole the subsequent moves of the Three Ultimates? I discovered these two prophecies in the secret chamber at that time. At first, I didn't understand their meaning, but later events made me understand what these two lines of prophecy meant."

With this, the question that had puzzled Qin Shuang and the others for so long was finally resolved.