Suddenly, a boat appeared on the river.
At this time, the rainstorm had just stopped, and the dark clouds gradually dissipated. Under the warm sunlight, the vast river surface glowed with a layer of pale golden shimmering light, and this small boat went upstream in this light and floated slowly, finally stopping several dozen feet in front of Gui Wuya.
On the deck of the boat, sat a man in green clothes.
The man in green clothes had a refined and handsome face, with slightly drooping eyes, he looked warm and soft. He was holding a lustrous nine-hole white jade long xiao in his hand, and his tone was indifferent, “I don’t know if the Island Master Gui has any advice for my little disciples? “
Gui Wuya’s mouth twitched, and he snorted coldly, “City Lord Xie doesn’t have to be so sarcastic; no matter what, it can’t compare to the advice City Lord Xie gave to my junior brother Ling.”
“This one does not understand the meaning of Island Master Gui.”
“City Lord Xie, everyone in the world says that you are a tolerant and kind person, and your actions are even more upright. Why did you poison my junior brother Ling seven years ago? Made him lose his memory, go crazy and steal the treasure of this sect. In the end, he even betrayed his sect and died in Medicine Monarch Manor?”
Xie Wanting frowned and said, “Ling Wuhui himself betrayed the North Sea Sword Sect, what does it have to do with this one? Island Master Gui, since you insist on placing guilt onto this one, what is the point of any explanation?”
“Hmph, it’s okay if you don’t admit it. My junior brother Ling’s chaotic appearance after amnesia clearly looked like he was bewitched by some kind of evil song… In this world, for Junior Brother Ling’s memory and the songs he composed himself to be washed away, except for “Lingtai Cleansing Heart Song” by City Lord Xie, there are no others! ” Gui Wuya sternly said.
“Whatever you think,” Xie Wanting’s tone was slightly impatient as if he didn’t want to argue with Gui Wuya anymore.
“Why, your apprentices are apprentices, yet my junior brother is not a junior brother?!” Gui Wuya slowly squeezed the broken string on the iron zither with a calm tone.
The two were at a stalemate when suddenly there were two long clear whistles in the sky, yet it was Bai Hanyuan and Sang Lingxi who arrived.
The two fell from the sky and slowly landed on the river surface, just standing on both sides of the boat, guarding Xie Wanting. Bai Hanyuan looked at Gui Wuya coldly, and didn’t say a word, while Sang Lingxi said with a smile, “Yo, Island Master Gui, why is your iron zither broken? Did you play it too hard? We are all cultivators, so don’t be so angry.”
Gui Wuya’s face sank slightly, and he seemed to think that it would be very meaningless to stay, so he threw the broken zither into the river, and said sternly: “Lao er, Lao si, let’s go!”
As he spoke, he stepped up in the air. A bright red blood-colored long sword gradually emerged from the soles of his feet, and the sword rose from the ground in an instant!
Chen Wushang and Tu Wuwei hurriedly followed with their swords, Chen Wushang rushed to Gui Wuya’s side, panting, “Brother Gui, Xu Dongqing from Medicine Monarch Manor seems to have taken refuge in North Snow City! I don’t know whether the thing is still on him or not, do we want to…”
Gui Wuya said coldly, “You two, just now you couldn’t even take down such a group of little devils. Now that Xie Wanting and his three brothers have come back, what else do you want to do?”
Chen Wushang shut his mouth in embarrassment.
Tu Wuwei remained silent as if he was thinking about something. After a long time, he suddenly looked back thoughtfully and murmured in a low voice, “The two people beside Xu Dongqing just now seem a little familiar…”
……
The disciples in North Snow City cheered loudly when they saw Gui Wuya and the others leaving with their swords.
“Gui Wuya ran away!”
“Shizun is too amazing!”
“Sect Leader!”
“Shizun, Shizun!”
Qiu Yutong’s heart was also agitated. He couldn’t help but take a few steps to the river, and look at his three senior brothers on the river from a distance.
Lu Xiao hesitated for a moment and followed.
Bai Hanyuan and Sang Lingxi were protecting Xie Wanting’s boat. The three slowly approached the shore, and then the ebony wheelchair under Xie Wanting floated slightly by half an inch, and landed on the beach gently and neatly.
Qiu Yutong happily greeted them. The three of them looked at him in astonishment, and their expressions were slightly puzzled. Bai Hanyuan and Sang Lingxi couldn’t help but grab the hilt of their swords.
Qiu Yutong could only stop and hesitate for a while, but he really didn’t know what to say or where to start.
Xie Wanting frowned slightly, “You are…”
Qiu Yutong suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly bent down and picked up a large handful of river water, forcefully brushed off the dirt and grass juice on his face, as well as the messy beard, then raised his face and mustered his courage, saying, “Sect Leader, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, it’s me.”
The three powerful cultivators widened their eyes in unison. They looked like they had been hit over the head.
The disciples in North Snow City were even more stunned. Yang Ruoyu murmured, “What nonsense is he talking about? He said that he is… Fourth Martial Uncle?!”
Hu Hao stammered, “, I, I think that’s what he said.”
“How is that possible?! Didn’t the Fourth Uncle ascend heavenwards?”
“Is he a liar?”
“But his swordsmanship is so good, I think the sword formation he commanded is the real Ziwei sword formation…”
“He is… Feilai Peak Master Qiu Yutong?” Yan Ran blinked extremely slowly, looking almost comical, while Xu Dongqing stared at Qiu Yutong blankly, unable to say anything.
Lu Xiao lowered his eyes slightly.
And here, Xie Wanting froze, “Little Junior Brother? Yutong?! No… No, you just started absorbing qi into the body… You can’t be him…”
Bai Hanyuan was still in a daze, but Sang Lingxi had come to his senses and suddenly remembered something, “Did I see you when I was in Daning Palace? The little guy who ground ink…”
“En, that’s me,” Qiu Yutong smiled bitterly, “I don’t know what happened, in short, I seemed to have failed to ascend. I returned to Daning Palace inexplicably and when I opened my eyes, five years had passed. “
He was afraid that the three of them would still not believe it, so he said anxiously, “Sect Leader, do you still remember that when I was very young, you taught us to play the xiao. Third Senior Brother learned a song and went to fool around with your maid. Second senior brother played only five notes and it was particularly unpleasant. I thought it was very boring, so while you were teaching Third Senior Brother, I used your jasper flute to fight with Second Senior Brother. As a result, the jasper flute was broken, and you were so angry that you chased after him. I played for two hours… Later, you changed to this jade flute.”
Xie Wanting stared at him blankly. After a long time, the powerful cultivator said in a trembling voice, “You, are you really Yutong?”
Qiu Yutong’s throat constricted for a moment. He couldn’t help but stepped forward and tightly held Xie Wanting’s cold hands, “Sect Leader, it’s really me.”
Xie Wanting shook his hand back and said, “You, you are really Junior Brother, you are Junior Brother, you are Yutong…”
Bai Hanyuan stood beside him, still showing no expression on his ice-like face, but his fingertips trembled involuntarily.
He was silent for a while, and suddenly with a “shua”, “Beheading Wind and Snow” swept towards Qiu Yutong’s neck; it was murderous! Qiu Yutong didn’t even lift his head, he just brushed the slender reed on “Zhan Feng Xua”, and gently brought the sword edge to one side; the technique was extremely clever!
Bai Hanyuan took back the spirit sword and took a deep breath, “Yes, you are indeed Junior Brother.”
Sang Lingxi stared at Qiu Yutong with his bright peach blossom eyes, as if he didn’t quite believe it, “You say that you are Junior Brother; apart from these, is there any other evidence? Why didn’t you recognize me when you were in Daning Palace? “
“Ahem, I was embarrassed with the situation at that time. After a little hesitation, you had already left.” Qiu Yutong was a little embarrassed and hesitated for a while before saying, “As for evidence, Third Senior Brother, when you were in North Snow City, your monthly quota of spiritual stones was not enough, and you did not dare to ask for more from the Sect Master, so you always came to Feilai Peak to borrow from me. So far, you owe me a total of 31,483 spiritual stones, and it has been over a hundred years and you have never paid it back…”
“Lingxi, did you go to Yutong to ask for spirit stones? And you haven’t returned them for over a hundred years? Why don’t I know? Where do you spend so many spirit stones?” Xie Wanting frowned fiercely.
Bai Hanyuan snorted coldly, “He went to look for girls.”
Sang Lingxi blinked in embarrassment, coughed dryly, and hugged Qiu Yutong fiercely, “It’s alright, don’t say anything, we are all brothers, I’ll just believe you! Little Junior Brother, I have missed you so much! Have you been wronged these days? Have you been bullied? If anything has happened you must tell us, I will avenge you!”
The corners of Bai Hanyuan’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch lightly, Xie Wanting looked like he was silently asking the sky, and Qiu Yutong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “It’s fine, Third Senior Brother, you don’t have to do this… I understand, those spirit stones don’t need to be returned. “
Sang Lingxi immediately said, “This is what you said, my sound transmission stone has written it down.”
“…” Qiu Yutong was speechless for a moment, before he suddenly remembered something. He turned around and pulled Lu Xiao over, “Sect Leader, this is my apprentice, Lu Xiao. Xiao-er, this is your Sect Leader, Xie Wanting.”
Lu Xiao pursed his lips and said a little stiffly, “Sect Leader.”
“Oh, isn’t this your disciple the one who is an emperor? Why did you bring him into the secret realm? I remember, he was very proud,” Sang Lingxi touched his chin.
Xie Wanting looked at Lu Xiao carefully for a moment then nodded slowly, “Although this boy is young, he seems to have a very calm temperament and good apititude. Yutong, when I was in North Snow City, I advised you to accept a few apprentices, so you can also train your temperament at the same time, but you had been obsessed with practicing swords and refused to accept apprentices. Later, when you went down the mountain to gain experience, I heard that you accepted a mortal apprentice, but I didn’t know what you preferred… Now I’m relieved.”
Qiu Yutong couldn’t help showing off, “My taste is naturally good, my little disciple is very capable, and I don’t need to worry about anything.”
“It’s good to have a reliable disciple to serve you.” Xie Wanting sighed, “Yutong, you are the one with the most talent and the purest temperament among our brothers and sisters. And you are the one that worries me the most. Hanyuan is cold-hearted and treat others as nothing. Not too mention Lingxi, it’s fine if he doesn’t harm others… It’s just you, I’m really worried. Alas, no matter what, it’s good to be back, it’s good to be back. “
Sang Lingxi protested loudly, “What do you mean? You are too partial, Sect Leader, I’m not happy.”
Xie Wanting glared at him and said to Qiu Yutong, “By the way, Hanyuan and Lingxi have been taking care of your Feilai Peak; it’s exactly the same as it was back then. No matter when, the gates of North Snow City are always open for you. If you are bullied outside and unhappy, come back.”
“Sect Leader, I…” Qiu Yutong felt both gratitude and guilt in his heart, for a moment he hardly knew what to say.
Xie Wanting babbled on for a while, until the sun was slowly sinking to the west, and the sunset gradually filled the sky.
“Forget it, it’s getting late. Let’s not talk about it, and find a place to rest, then talk slowly at night,” Xie Wanting sighed.
Sang Lingxi said, “All the disciples in North Snow City, listen to my orders – find a good place and prepare to spend the night!”
The disciples responded with a smile, “Yes!”
After the disciples responded, they immediately dispersed and went around to find a place to spend the night. In less than a cup of tea’s time, Hu Hao, Bai Hanyuan’s eldest apprentice, found a huge cave. It was only two or three miles away from the river, and it was more than two feet high. It was very wide and could accommodate hundreds of people.
After finding the cave, Yang Ruoyu instructed the boys again to pick up a lot of soft withered leaves and stalks, slightly arrange the cave, and light up a roaring fire at the entrance. Then he went to the riverside and invited Xie Wanting and his party to go to the cave.
Along the way, Yan Ran kept shouting around Qiu Yutong, while Xu Dongqing was in a trance, and even spoke less as if stunned by Qiu Yutong’s true identity.
Lu Xiao didn’t say much, he just followed Qiu Yutong silently. After entering the cave, he carefully selected a flat place and spread a thick layer of dead leaves and stalks again, “Shizun, it’s been a tiring day, let’s take a break.”
“Yeah.” Qiu Yutong sat down, and Lu Xiao squeezed his arm gently, “Shizun, your body is not as good as before, will it be too much for you to use swords like this?”
“It’s okay.” Qiu Yutong was squeezed very comfortably and couldn’t help squinting his eyes when he suddenly remembered something, “By the way, I’ll ask the Sect Leader to look at your condition later. He has been cultivating for hundreds of years. He has a lot of knowledge and understands everything. Maybe he will have new information. “
Lu Xiao lowered his eyelashes, and after a while, he said softly, “Shizun, you and the Sect Leader have just met, so you should catch up first. You…You don’t have to worry about my business.”
Qiu Yutong blinked, and felt a little strange. His little apprentice had always wanted to cultivate, so how come after entering the secret realm, and having the opportunity in front of him, he was instead using all sorts of excuses?
He was muttering to himself, when Xu Dongqing suddenly stood up over there, walked straight to Xie Wanting, and knelt down, “City Lord Xie! Please… I beg you to accept me as your apprentice!”
“You are? Well… you seem to have come with Yutong?” Xie Wanting looked at Qiu Yutong suspiciously.
Qiu Yutong quickly got up and walked over, explaining, “Sect Leader, this is the Second Master of Medicine Monarch Manor, Xu Dongqing. His elder brother Xu Qiushi saved my life so I brought him here.”
Hearing the words “Medicine Monarch Manor “, Bai Hanyuan couldn’t help frown deeply, and Sang Lingxi’s expression became very strange; obviously, both of them thought of the devil bride.
Xie Wanting had naturally heard of this, but he didn’t seem to care much, so he just nodded lightly, “Oh, it’s you, get up first.”
“City Lord Xie, please accept me as a disciple! City Lord Xie, please accept me as a disciple!!” Xu Dongqing knelt on the ground, kowtowed heavily, and refused to get up no matter what.
Xie Wanting looked at Qiu Yutong with some awkwardness, “Yutong, this… what’s going on?”
Qiu Yutong sighed, and told Xie Wanting everything about Daning Palace and Medicine Monarch Manor, including the two weird turtle shells, “…Senior Brother, everything is like this.”
Xie Wanting listened, his original calm and collected expression gradually becoming a little dazed, “Yutong, you just said… You obtained two spiritual turtle shells in Daning Palace and Medicine Monarch Manor?”
“Well, it’s these two pieces.” Qiu Yutong nodded, took the tortoiseshell out of his arms, and handed it to Xie Wanting, “I’ve never understood what this tortoiseshell is, and why Gui Wuya and the others desperately want to snatch it… Sect Leader, you have a lot of knowledge, do you know what this is? “
Xie Wanting looked down at the two small turtle shells on his knees and his expression was extremely complicated.
An unknown amount of time had passed when he slowly took out two things from the storage bag, and lightly put them together with Qiu Yutong’s two tortoiseshells on his knees – it just happened to make up a complete tortoiseshell.
Under the bright light of the fire, they saw this dark tortoiseshell, covered with fine lines of mountains and rivers, and four small totems on the edge, the Green Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South and the Black Tortoise of the North.
Qiu Yutong was stunned, “Sect Leader, what is this?”
Xie Wanting said slowly: “The two tortoiseshells in my hand, one was passed on to me by Shi Zun/Spiritual Master Minghui, and the other was entrusted to me by Palace Master Lin of Yuqin Palace. And the two pieces in your hand should be handed down from Nanshan Temple and North Sea Sword Sect respectively. This entire tortoiseshell is the only way to the place where Immortal Qingheng fell—Cuiwei Cold Pool. “
T/N: Take note that when Qiu Yutong calls Sect Leader, he’s actually calling him Zhangmen-Shixiong, which would be more accurate to say “my senior brother who is also the sect leader”, so just shortened to sect leader instead. Sometimes, Qiu Yutong will also cut down on that title and just call Xie Wanting Senior Brother (shixiong).
