CH 19

The moment Mu Xiyun remembered Li Yao, he couldn’t sleep anymore and decided to sit under the begonia tree in the courtyard. The moonlight bathed him under its glow, just like that night.

That year, Li Yao brought the disciples of Tianliang Peak to Linmo Abyss. The battle was imminent, but this carefree master did not feel any nervousness at all, and even had the leisure to make fun of his little disciple.

Why did the Master laugh at that time? 

Mu Xiyun closed his eyes and tried to recall. Yes, in the assembly that day, he saw the disciples of the Southwest Medical Valley, and kept looking for Gu Qingqiao in the crowd, which made him not hear the Master’s question.

Later, after Master went out for two days, he helped him organize his belongings when he came back, but found that Master’s blue dragon pendant was nowhere to be seen. Although Li Yao said that it didn’t matter, Mu Xiyun still persevered thinking he might find it by luck. That night, he searched carefully everywhere to no avail. When he looked up, he inadvertently looked outside the window and saw the master sitting by the table. He looked like he was suppressing something, and a blue totem flashed on his face. It was too fast, and it made him wonder if saw it wrong. When he looked more closely, Li Yao had returned to normal.

What happened to you, Master? 

The courtyard door swung softly, and Gu Qingqiao and Zhang Jinjin swept in.

Unexpectedly, they spotted Mu Xiyun in the courtyard, and both of them were stunned. They were forced to stay rooted in place. An awkward atmosphere spread in the small courtyard. Gu Qingqiao opened his mouth and thought to just say a bunch of reasons like stealing things, drinking flowers and wine, listening to storytelling and a lot of messed up answers, yet in the end, he eventually chose to tell the truth.

“Gu worms?” Mu Xiyun was startled, a bold and unbelievable thought suddenly flashed in his mind, and for a while, he felt like a knife twisted in his heart, and his face quickly turned pale. 

“Are you okay?” 

Gu Qingqiao was shocked and immediately grabbed his hand. His palm was cold and covered with a thin layer of sweat.

“I’m okay,” Mu Xiyun reluctantly withdrew his thoughts and said casually, “I am a little afraid of bugs since I was a child.”

Although it was a little girly to tell that he was afraid of bugs, the Central Plains people had always thought that the Gu Art was vicious and mysterious, and it was not easy to avoid Gu worms and treat Gu witchcraft. Therefore, it was normal for some to overreact.

Gu Qingqiao hesitated at first but eventually took out the porcelain bottle. He put it on the stone table, but did not open it. The moonlight shone on it and the porcelain vase seemed to emit a cold chill . 

“Yes.”

Gu Qingqiao continued, “Lin Xuewu is no different from an ordinary person when he is sober, but I can’t say the same when he goes insane. It should be a manifestation of his mind and spirit being controlled. When I probed him using my spiritual energy just now, I focused on the condition of his heart and brain. Fortunately, I happened to detect the Gu worm.”

Mu Xiyun looked at Gu Qingqiao, and there seemed to be doubts in his eyes. “Why didn’t the people from Lingshan detect it before?” Gu Qingqiao felt nervous.

One must know that Gu worms are usually dormant unless the caster decides to act. The Gu worms in Lin Xuewu’s body were connected to his heart and blood and it was hard to detect a Gu worm when one is sober.

Today, Lin Xuewu had two attacks, both when Gu Qingqiao was near. When it sensed the threat, naturally, it would become irritable and uneasy. Furthermore, Gu Qingqiao probed it with his blood, revealing its exact location.

If he says all this, his identity as a disciple of the Southwest Witch Medical Valley would be inevitably exposed.

I don’t know how he will react.

He could finally be able to sit together with him like friends, Gu Qingqiao doesn’t want to take risks.

So he grimaced and simply answered with a smile. “Must be my lucky day. I just so happened to discover it on him that time. As for who was controlling him and for what purpose, we need more clues.”

Mu Xiyun seemed to be persuaded, and nodded lightly. Gu Qingqiao breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and quickly changed the subject. “Cousin, I want to participate in the Lingshan discourse with Mu Yun and to also obtain a celestial weapon.”

Zhang Jinjin, the cheap cousin, had a toothache for a while, and quickly said, “It’s fine, you two go together and take care of each other.” Without waiting for Mu Xiyun’s reaction, he immediately put on airs that of an older brother and pushed the two of them. “It’s getting late, go to bed, prepare for tomorrow, and leave early the next morning.”

When it came to preparation, Gu Qingqiao didn’t care, he might just as well meditate in his room, but Zhang Jinjin sent some healing medicine pills in case he needed it from time to time. Gu Qingqiao went out all day the next day, and only returned to the small courtyard in the evening looking excited.

Both Zhu Yicheng and Mu Xiyun were still in the courtyard at this time, and were about to go to the hall to have dinner when Gu Qingqiao came in with a box in his hand. Zhu Yicheng’s eyes lit up, he rushed over to him and smiled. “I say, why did you stay in the Qianjin Pavilion for so long? Did you really buy something good?”

The Qianjin Pavilion of Hongye City, a side branch of the Nie family in Lingshan, inherited the secret method of forging iron from the Nie family, specializing in the creation of various weapons. It was famous in the human world and even in the immortal world.

Zhu Yicheng opened the box, and inside was a long sword. The style was ordinary but the sword’s edge was excellent, and the blade was flexible. It could be regarded as the best work of Qianjin Pavilion.

“Oh, I thought it was some kind of divine weapon! The sword is not bad, but it’s not of the highest quality.” After blurting out, Zhu Yicheng closed his mouth immediately, feeling uneasy in hindsight.

Gu Qingqiao didn’t care, he took out the sword and handed it to Mu Xiyun.

“Your Chixia was broken in Ping County. I went to Qianjin Pavilion today and saw this sword and felt that it is suitable for you to use. It’s not of good quality, but it is stronger than what you’re using now.”

Before Mu Xiyun could decline, he continued, “You will definitely be able to get your destined celestial weapon when you go up the mountain, but the trial is dangerous after all, so don’t be careless. If you really don’t want it, just take it as you are borrowing it from me, and when you finally get a good sword, you can return it to me later.”

Having heard that, Mu Xiyun didn’t have the heart to refuse. He took the sword and touched the hilt with his fingers, and surprisingly felt a very familiar feeling. The pattern on the handle, the length of the sword and even the weight of the sword were like the Daoxin sword of the previous life.

Mu Xiyun raised his eyes to look at Gu Qingqiao, as if he wanted to see through this person’s soul through his eyes. Zhu Yicheng saw that the two fell into silence again, and was about to speak, but Gu Qingqiao spoke first and smiled, “I’m hungry, let’s go eat.”

The three walked towards the hall together, passing by the small courtyard of the immortal maidens from Meishan, Zhu Yicheng poked his head and glanced at the window, Gu Qingqiao pulled his back collar and smirked. “Looking for your Miss Luo again? Say, what’s the relationship between you two?” 

Zhu Yicheng was startled, his face flushed red, however, he was bright and straightforward. He didn’t hesitate and answered generously. “Three years ago, My mother sent me to participate in the Lingshan discourse. That’s when I met Miss Luo.”

Mrs. Zhu was right, Zhu Yicheng indeed had good roots. He inevitably became the pride of his parents to show off since he was a child. Most of Green Willow Villa’s disciples only had  average aptitude, and mostly were only in the middle stage of core formation, and so far there was no breakthrough. That’s why Zhu Yicheng’s parents put all their hopes on their son.

Two years ago, Mrs. Zhu’s close friend Mrs. Luo from Baihua Valley wrote a letter saying that her son Luo Ziqi was going to participate in the Lingshan discourse. 

Zhu Yicheng hesitated in his heart. He had just established his foundation and his realm had not yet been consolidated. When he met Mrs. Luo and her party, he saw Luo Qingyao.

Luo Qingyao was about thirteen years old at that time, but she already had a slender figure and a picturesque appearance. She was the concubine’s daughter of the Luo family, and this time she just came along to gain experience. She stood inconspicuous among the sons and daughters of the Luo family. For some reason, it made the young man’s heart burn.

At that time, Zhu Yicheng asked about her secretly and found out that Luo Qingyao was only at the stage of Qi refining and she planned to come to Lingshan three years later. Zhu Yicheng also wanted to only go there three years later to be with her. He acted shamelessly to his mother, and finally persuaded her to postpone it to three years later.

“Speaking of it, why do you have to be with her? Is there anything particular about it?” Gu Qingqiao was puzzled.

The three had already arrived at the door at this time, and before Zhu Yicheng could answer, there was a sudden commotion in the hall.

The hall was already full of people, and everyone stretched their necks to look at the wooden platform at the front. This platform was usually used for storytelling, but now there was Zhang Jinjin standing on the platform, speaking to the crowd.

“Thank you for taking care of the Golden Pavilion. Hongye City’s Golden Pavilion has always been committed to helping everyone win in Lingshan Taoism discourse. Everyone here has purchased the guidance books produced by Golden Pavilion. Today, we specially invited the Lingshan Nie family’s Elder to answer the questions of everyone.”

After speaking, the forty-year-old Nie family elder stood on the wooden platform. Zhang Jinjin waved his hand, and about a dozen young men dressed in the same sky blue robes, holding jade slips, immediately dispersed into the crowd.

Someone in the audience immediately asked, “Senior, why do the experiences of some old participants often contradict each other? Some say they were together with a group but wound up alone upon entering and some say that although you might be with someone you know, who knows if that someone was truly the person you know ” 

Near him, a servant from the Golden Pavilion faithfully recorded.

The Nie family replied with a smile, “The Lingshan Illusion is different from the general magic circle. After entering the mountain, everyone faces different situations. Let’s put it this way, the person who entered the illusion with you may be himself, or it may be the entities generated in the illusion or even your own demons. You can’t judge this. So I advise everyone to be firm in your belief, mind and heart so as not to be easily fooled and to be tenacious.” 

Everyone in the audience was stunned. Then someone asked, “I have heard people say that someone has completed his own trials but stayed in the mountains for two more days. Why’s that?” 

The middle-aged man on stage said with a smile, “Someone may have passed the trial, but someone else’s trial needs the other person’s presence to complete his own. Therefore the magic circle will temporarily keep him until they meet so that the other person can complete his. Of course, the magic circle will ensure his safety.” 

Hearing this, Zhu Yicheng’s face showed excitement, he pulled Mu Xiyun and Gu Qingqiao and whispered, “Do you know? In the past, an immortal disciple named Cheng from Moming Lake, was injured in the trial, and everyone around her was disappearing out of thin air. It should be considered as the end of the trial for her, but she stayed in the magic circle for another day until a senior brother from Qingcheng Mountain rescued her. “

Having said that, he stopped for a while.

“Well, it’s a bit baffling,” Gu Qingqiao raised his eyebrows. “Then?”

Zhu Yicheng squinted at him. “And then of course the two fell in love because of this, and became a Daoist couple!” 

Gu Qingqiao couldn’t help laughing, and patted Zhu Yicheng’s shoulder. “Turns out that was the reason why you wanted to participate together with Miss Lou!” 

Being seen through, Zhu Yicheng was not annoyed. He just blinked, feeling pleased that his conspiracy had succeeded. 

Mu Xiyun shook his head with a smile, but suddenly remembered that when he participated in the Lingshan discourse in his past life, he had also met a person. A person that somehow had become the pain in his heart forever.

As Gu Qingqiao sat at the table, he noticed the brilliance in Mu Xiyun’s eyes dimmed, and he couldn’t help clenching his fists.

The exchange between the audience and the Elder continued, until the discussion went to nonessential details. After a while, Zhang Jinjin announced that it was over, and sent Elder Nie away. The young people in the hall were still excited and chatted while eating.

Mu Xiyun didn’t like the noise, therefore after eating silently, he excused himself, got up and left. Gu Qingqiao got up also and chased after him.

The gentle evening wind carried the noise into the distance, and the two walked on the path along the lake without speaking. The lake water gently slapped the shore, and in the shallow splashes of water, only the footsteps of the two of them could be heard on the stone slabs.

Mu Xiyun stopped. The lights in the distance could not illuminate Gu Qingqiao’s face and somehow he reminded him of the teenager of that year. 

For some reason, this person always made him recall his distant memories of him. “I have a friend,” Mu Xiyun said in a low and hoarse voice, “I trust him very much, but he has hurt my dearest person. If you were me, what would you do?”

Gu Qingqiao’s heart immediately sank, thousands of words came to his mind but he could not speak. He tried his best to suppress the tone of voice and asked, “Do you still believe him?”

“I don’t know….” Mu Xiyun looked at the lake and replied in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible, “Does it matter whether I believe him or not? Things have already happened and cannot be changed. “

Perhaps the sadness in the words was too obvious, Gu Qingqiao’s heart ignited a fire. For a time, he gave up his usual probing and cautious nature, pulled Mu Xiyun’s shoulder, forced him to face himself, and said word by word, “If you are really friends, then your opinion is the most important thing to that person.”

“Is it?” 

Mu Xiyun looked back at him in a trance, and his eyes seemed to gradually recover their usual light. 

“I just want to know what happened back then.” 

“Then we will find out!” He stared at Mu Xiyun’s eyes, “Even if it’s not for him, then it’s for yourself!”

The word “we” gave Mu Xiyun a slight start, and subconsciously wanted to refuse, but there was a longing in his heart, which was the warmth he had experienced more than fifty years ago. 

Even if I’m like an ostrich, who temporarily buries its head in the sand, I still want to feel the warmth and be reluctant to leave it.

The night wind blew, and whisked the two people’s robes upward until both gently touched together in the air. The moonlight illuminated the white-robed Immortal eyebrows, and his crow-like eyelashes cast a long shadow on his face. At this moment, the entanglement and hesitation of the past few days seemed to be washed away by the moonlight, and Mu Xiyun raised his face with a smile.

“En. “