After three rounds of wine, Situ Fanzhi was somewhat drunk, and Jiagu Qing was even more drunk, staggering as he walked. He threw the unconscious Situ Fanzhi heavily onto the bed and said in a slurred voice,
"When it comes to drinking, you are still no match for me."
Then he staggered crookedly out of Situ Fanzhi's room.
Qingyuan, who had been waiting outside Jingyun Residence, nervously looked around in every direction.
"Come out, boy."
All drunkenness had vanished from Jiagu Qing's face. He weighed the token he had stolen from Situ Fanzhi in his hand as he spoke.
"Did you get it?" Qingyuan asked.
Jiagu Qing walked straight into Jingyun Residence. Qingyuan followed close behind.
In the dungeon at the back mountain of Nangzhe's residence,
Li Luoning looked at Mie Xingzhe, whose body was covered in wounds and whose mind was unclear. His eyes were full of heartache. He had just moved closer to wake him when he heard Mie Xingzhe murmur weakly,
"Master, …"
Li Luoning tested Mie Xingzhe's pulse. After sending some spiritual power into him, he tried to wake him.
"Nian, wake up, wake up."
Li Luoning gently pushed him, but suddenly felt warmth on his hand. When he turned his palm over, it was covered in bright red blood. Only then, in the dim light, did he realize that Mie Xingzhe's back was covered with whip marks.
"With the golden seal protecting him, how could he still be hurt this badly?"
He gathered his inner power again and examined Mie Xingzhe's golden core, only to sense that its aura was weak. His brows immediately drew tight.
At that moment, the corner of his eye caught sight of something on the shoulder pinned beneath Mie Xingzhe's body. He reached out to feel for it and found the other Soul-Fixing Spike still embedded in him.
The Soul-Fixing Spike had gone all the way into Mie Xingzhe's shoulder. If not for the occasional flicker of golden light, it would have been nearly impossible to notice how deeply it had sunk into the flesh.
Li Luoning quickly lifted Mie Xingzhe, who was still unconscious, helped seal his meridians, and used his power to slowly force the Soul-Fixing Spike out of his body.
"Ge, it hurts."
Li Luoning's heart tightened. He used all his strength to push the last inch of the Soul-Fixing Spike out. With a sharp cry of pain, Mie Xingzhe suddenly opened his eyes.
"Master..."
Inside Jingyun Residence,
"Oh, have you found it or not? Hurry up, hurry up."
Jiagu Qing leaned against a chair in Jingyun Residence and kept urging Qingyuan, who was frantically searching nearby.
"I found it."
Qingyuan came over holding a small medicine bottle.
Jiagu Qing's eyes lit up at once when he saw the bottle in Qingyuan's hand. He took it like a treasure he had long been waiting for, then tossed the token in his own hand back to Qingyuan.
"Who goes there, daring to trespass into forbidden grounds?"
A clear voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.
Jiagu Qing shot Qingyuan a look. Qingyuan leapt out through the back window and escaped.
Only then did Jiagu Qing unhurriedly open the door and walk out.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Oushi Nan asked with a face full of vigilance.
"Hey, and who are you? Are you the owner of this place? Such meddling."
Jiagu Qing had no intention at all of paying attention to Oushi Nan at the door. He strode straight past him toward the exit of Jingyun Residence.
"Sneaking around and still trying to run."
Oushi Nan muttered the words darkly and raised his hand to strike Jiagu Qing from behind.
Jiagu Qing dodged with ease. With one quick turn, he pushed lightly at Oushi Nan's elbow.
His balance broken, Oushi Nan stumbled several steps to the side. Unwilling to give up, he attacked again. Jiagu Qing dodged easily once more, tucked both hands into his sleeves, and kicked Oushi Nan in the backside.
Oushi Nan staggered again, nearly pitching face-first to the ground. Jiagu Qing rubbed his nose carelessly, as if he had caught a certain scent. Oushi Nan grew annoyed. He summoned a sword and thrust it straight at Jiagu Qing.
Jiagu Qing caught the hand holding the sword and confirmed once more that the fragrance he had noticed really was coming from Oushi Nan.
"A man, smell so sweet...eww.This is boring. Play by yourself."
Jiagu Qing spoke in a tired tone. Then he thrust his palm lightly against Oushi Nan's face. By the time Oushi Nan reacted, Jiagu Qing had already vanished without a trace.
In Situ Fanzhi's drunken dream,
"Senior brother, if in the future you were to take charge of the immortal sect…"
The young Situ Fanzhi sat beside the young Jiagu Qing. The two of them dangled their legs over a cliff edge, swinging them leisurely as they looked at the beautiful scenery before them.
"I do not want to manage any immortal sect. I only want to be a wandering immortal drifting like clouds and wild cranes, keeping company every day with these plants and trees, making friends with the animals in the mountains and forests. Managing all the great and small matters of the immortal sect, all the rules and discipline, would suit you much better, junior brother," the young Jiagu Qing said.
"But Master will never pass the seat of the immortal sect to me," the young Situ Fanzhi said.
"I have a way. You only need to cultivate diligently,"
Several years later,
"What are you talking!"
Inside Shangqing Hall, the old Immortal Lord furiously smashed the teacup in his hand onto the ground. The broken porcelain flew up and cut the face of the young Jiagu Qing. He did not dodge at all. The young Jiagu Qing remained kneeling, unmoving, his gaze firm.
"Master, to govern the immortal sect, one must know the seven emotions and sever the six desires. Only then can one place the world first and all living beings above oneself. Now that Qing has already broken that rule, I fear I will not be able to bear such a responsibility in the future. I ask Master to choose another,"
"Are you truly willing to abandon the whole world and all living beings for the sake of those plants, trees, birds, and beasts?" the old Immortal Lord asked in confusion.
"Master bears the world in his heart. Qing cannot compare. But each person has his own will. Why must it be forced? Qing knows very well that I do not understand how to deal with worldly affairs or the affairs of men. If I spend my whole life keeping company with plants and trees and befriending beasts of the forest, then since they too belong beneath heaven, am I not still keeping company with living beings?"
"Qing, how can you still not understand? But do you know that among my disciples, there are only you and Fanzhi? And your junior brother Fanzhi, because his six desires are not pure, cannot in the future inherit the position and govern the immortal sect. Only you are the most suitable one."
"Junior brother Fanzhi cultivates diligently and keeps the world in his heart. In talent and in hard work, in what way is he worse than I am? Why can he not become a benevolent Immortal Lord?" the young Jiagu Qing asked.
"If one cannot know in this way, then ignorance will go hand in hand with betrayal of virtue."
This entire conversation was overheard by the young Situ Fanzhi, who was hiding to one side. His eyes filled with unwillingness and resentment.
Not long after that, the young Jiagu Qing disappeared without a trace. The old Immortal Lord's time came to an end, and the young Situ Fanzhi at last had his wish fulfilled. He inherited the title of Immortal Lord of Liao Yin Immortal Realm, taking charge of the immortal sect and succeeding to the responsibility of maintaining peace in the mortal world.
"Qing now your seven emotions are no longer full and your six desires are faint. Fanzhi's six desires are not pure, while his desire for authority is too strong. I fear that in the future there will be changes across the three realms."
The old Immortal Lord stood beneath a peach tree, worry all over his face.
"Master, do not worry. Though Qing may be fated to never attain the Dao and become immortal, in this life I will remain in Liao Yin Immortal Realm to make certain that junior brother does not betray your painstaking hopes,"
"Immortal Lord, Oushi wishes to see you on urgent business."
The voice of a servant from outside woke Situ Fanzhi from his dream.
"Tell him wait."
Situ Fanzhi answered impatiently, shaking his head.
Inside Situ Fanzhi's study…
"Immortal Lord, are you aware that someone entered Jingyun Residence today?" Oushi Nan asked.
The moment he heard those words, Situ Fanzhi instinctively reached for the token at his waist.Realizing the token was missing, Situ Fanzhi immediately rose and headed for the door.The moment he reached the doorway, he came face to face with Qingyuan.
"Qingyuan? Have you found the whereabouts of that master and disciple?" Situ Fanzhi asked.
"Replying to Immortal Lord, I did indeed find Li Luoning's place of hiding earlier. But he seemed to have sensed something. By the time I arrived, they were already gone,"
"So that means you found nothing?" Oushi Nan mocked from the side.
"However, patrol soldiers just reported to me today that they found this in Moon Pavilion. Immortal Lord, did you go there yesterday?" As he spoke, Qingyuan presented the token in his hand.
Situ Fanzhi stared at the token Qingyuan offered up. His pupils narrowed slightly as he examined Qingyuan with a suspicious gaze. Half trusting and half doubtful, he took the token back.
"Is there anything else?"
"No."
Situ Fanzhi waved Qingyuan away, then returned to the study with Oushi Nan.
"How could Immortal Lord's token have fallen in Moon Pavilion for no reason?" Oushi Nan asked as he shut the study door behind them.
Situ Fanzhi knew very well that Jiagu Qing had stolen the token while he was drunk. What he could not understand was why Jiagu Qing had used his token to go to Jingyun Residence.
"You said just now that someone entered Jingyun Residence today?"Situ Fanzhi set the token aside and asked.
"I met that person face to face, but I was truly not his match. From the way he looked, he did not seem to be from our Liao Yin Immortal Realm," Oushi Nan said.
"That person is a friend of mine. He simply likes wandering about for no reason. It is nothing."Situ Fanzhi had no intention of looking further into the matter.
"Did you come to see me for something?"
"Does Immortal Lord know that Yun Wannian's Floating Light Golden Seal is now dormant?" Oushi Nan slowly fanned himself as he spoke.
"Dormant?"
"For the Floating Light Golden Seal to keep running with an endless flow of spiritual power, it must resonate with one of the twin cores. But if it is used by itself, it can easily exhaust its spiritual power and fall dormant. As far as I know, Yun Wannian was injured a few days ago after entering Pingyan Land. In order to preserve his life, the Floating Light Golden Seal used up all its spiritual strength. Right now is the best possible time to seize it."
"That is excellent. But did you not say before that the best time for the Chixi core would be during the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"The Dragon Boat Festival is indeed a fine day. But now that the right timing is already here, why should Immortal Lord pass up what is near and go seeking what is far?"
Situ Fanzhi nodded. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Then this means you know where that master and disciple are now?"
"I do not truly know. But…" Oushi Nan deliberately paused, then looked at Situ Fanzhi and continued, "An Immortal Lord as clever and resourceful as you surely does not need me to help you find them. At present, the two of them are being hunted by Liao Yin Immortal Realm, and earlier they fought with Wuming Demon Mountain. If Yun Wannian was injured in Pingyan Land, then in all three realms, where else could that master and disciple possibly go?"
He raised the fan to cover part of his face as he asked the question.
"Xueling?!"
Xueling was layer upon layer of mountains, countless ridges rising and falling, all connected without end. It was indeed an excellent place to hide.
Li Luoning had already rescued Mie Xingzhe and settled him inside a cave. The Heart-Hiding Flower poison in Mie Xingzhe's body had not yet been removed, and together with the severe injuries he had suffered earlier, he was still unconscious.
"No, stay away, stay away, do not come near. Stop talking, all of you stop talking, I do not want to hear it, I do not want to hear it…"
Within his nightmare, Mie Xingzhe cried out hoarsely, both hands waving wildly in front of him.
"Nian Nian, Nian Nian, calm down. Master is here. Do not be afraid. It is all right, it is all right."
Hearing his voice, Li Luoning quickly came over carrying the water he had just found. He sat beside Mie Xingzhe, gently lifted him, and let him lean against his shoulder as he tried to soothe him.
"Master… "
Hearing Li Luoning's voice, Mie Xingzhe slowly calmed down. Tears quietly slipped from the corners of his eyes as he murmured,
"Master, do not abandon me. Now I have nothing left. Only you. I am sorry…"
Mie Xingzhe choked on the words even in his sleep.
Those words were like a sharp blade thrust straight into Li Luoning's heart. Looking at the still unconscious Mie Xingzhe, Li Luoning felt a deep ache of guilt. He had never imagined that one foolish act of his own in the past had become a nightmare that Mie Xingzhe could not escape.
"Nian Nian, how could your master ever abandon you? You are the one Qingyi entrusted to me. It is I who have wronged you."
Li Luoning's voice was thick with guilt. His eyes were full of pain as he looked at Mie Xingzhe, who leaned against his shoulder, crying in aggrieved silence. He had just reached up, wanting to wipe away the tears at the corner of Mie Xingzhe's eye—
"No, I did not do it, Borther Qingyi, do not, do not—"
Mie Xingzhe sank into the nightmare once again. His hands flailed nervously all around, as though he wanted to drive away the illusions in front of him. His body trembled as though it had fallen into an ice cavern ten thousand years deep. Then suddenly he went silent, biting hard into his own lip.
Li Luoning had been holding Mie Xingzhe tightly in his arms, trying to calm him, but when he suddenly fell silent, Li Luoning smelled blood. He quickly pulled back to look and saw that Mie Xingzhe had clamped his teeth hard into his lower lip. His brows were knotted tight, the veins at his temples stood out, and his face was flushed red, as though he were enduring some unbearable torment.
"Nian Nian, loosen your mouth."
Li Luoning forcefully pinched Mie Xingzhe's cheeks, but Mie Xingzhe could not hear his voice at all. He only bit harder on his own lower lip, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, with no sign at all of letting go, as though he could no longer feel the pain.
"Nian… Nian… ah…"
Seeing that Mie Xingzhe had no intention of loosening his bite, Li Luoning reached out to pry his mouth open. He slid his fingers between Mie Xingzhe's lips and teeth, letting him bite down hard on his own hand.