Xie Wanting soon found out about Qiu Yutong’s invitation to Xiao Wu to go to Nanshan Temple with North Snow City.
The Lord of North Snow City seemed to be very unimpressed by this but did not say much. Bai Hanyuan, as usual, didn’t react. It was Sang Lingxi who teased Qiu Yutong, “Little Junior Brother, since when do you do anything other than practice the sword, and even make friends? Don’t be tricked by the bad guys and come back to Third Senior Brother to cry.”
Sang Lingxi said this while Xiao Wu was right next to him, making Qiu Yutong unable to help but feel a little embarrassed, but Xiao Wu just smiled lightly and didn’t seem to care.
“Third Senior Brother, don’t be ridiculous, Daoist Xiao is a good person,” Qiu Yutong said as he couldn’t help but glare at Sang Lingxi.
He was already over two hundred years old; how could he be easily deceived? Besides, if Xiao Wu really wanted to harm him, he could have just stood by and watched while he was falling to his inner demons, why bother saving him?
“He is a good person? Then this Third Senior Brother is also a good person?”
“Third Senior Brother, you…” Qiu Yutong was speechless, and could only give Xiao Wu an apologetic look.
Sang Lingxi looked at Qiu Yutong and then at Xiao Wu, before sighing sadly, “Little Junior Brother, how can you side with an outsider? How long have you known me and how long have you only known him… I’m just so sad.”
“Third Senior Brother, if you keep this up, then pay me back all the spirit stones you borrowed before!”
Sang Lingxi immediately said with a straight face, “In my opinion, this Daoist Xiao, is indeed a good person, so Little Junior Brother you should treat him well.”
“……”
……
North Snow City’s New Year was an exceptionally casual one. As soon as the Lantern Festival was over, Xie Wanting took the North Snow City crowd and headed majestically for Yongzhou City.
There was a mountain outside Yongzhou, the highest peak of which was called Bodhi Peak. The famous Nanshan Temple was located on top of this Bodhi Peak.
This time the Immortal Alliance Conference, which would be held on Bodhi Peak after the Qingming Festival was quite some time away. With the accidental death of Master Wuchen in the secret realm, the seclusion of Gui Wuya for several years, and the reappearance of the Demon Emperor, the Immortal Alliance Conference had become particularly confusing.
So, after careful consideration, the North Snow City group didn’t go directly to Nanshan Temple by sword. Instead, they flew to Yongzhou City sometime earlier, asking for information along the way, so that they would be less passive.
Fortunately, there was no shortage of silver in North Snow City, so Yang Ruoyu hired a good caravan and the group rode to Yongzhou City on horses and carts, all the way along the flat, yellow official road, which was very pleasant.
Xie Wanting, Bai Hanyuan and Sang Lingxi stayed in the same carriage from time to time, discussing the affairs of the Immortal Alliance Conference, while the disciples rode along on horseback. The youngsters rarely got to go to the mountains, so they were so excited that they laughed happily all day long, almost treating the trip as a spring excursion.
As for Qiu Yutong and Xiao Wu, they naturally rode in the same carriage. Although Chen Yuelin was very unhappy about this, he could only find excuses to go in and out every day to serve tea and water to please Qiu Yutong and give Xiao Wu a few warning glares.
Chen Yue Lin’s childish behaviour made Qiu Yutong speechless, but he couldn’t care less. In the past few days, whether in the carriage or at the inn, he seized all the trivial time to meditate and practice his qi, nourishing his inner core, silently preparing for the upcoming battle at the Immortal Alliance Conference.
Although he might not necessarily be required to act, he had to be prepared nonetheless.
In all these years, he had never done anything for North Snow City, but his senior brothers had always worried about him, so this time, it was time for him to pay it back.
……
Gradually, the snow on the official road went from thick to thin and finally melted completely and by this time the caravan had made its way from Canglong Snow Mountain in the northwest to Yongzhou in the south of the Yangtze River.
Yongzhou was located in the watery village of Jiangnan, with white walls and black tiles, small bridges and flowing water, and it was just the beginning of spring when the willows were green and the swallows murmured. The city’s streets were bustling with people, and the hawkers’ voices were particularly lively.
“Gardenias for sale, they smell so good~”
“Sweet-scented osmanthus hair oil~ Sweet-scented osmanthus hair oil~”
Yang Ruoyu led the caravan to the famous ‘Immortal Inn’ in Yongzhou City and booked dozens of rooms. The innkeeper didn’t dare to be rude and respectfully welcomed Xie Wanting and the others inside.
But there were only a limited number of rooms in Immortal Inn and originally the four of them had been given individual rooms, but now that there was an extra Xiao Wu, it wasn’t easy to arrange the rooms.
“Fourth senior uncle, there aren’t enough rooms, your friend…” Yang Ruo Yu looked at Qiu Yutong and then at Xiao Wu, looking rather embarrassed.
Qiu Yutong said unconcernedly, “It doesn’t matter, just let him share a room with me.”
Chen Yuelin’s eyes widened, “How can that happen?”
But Xiao Wu had already nodded, “Then I’ll bother Peak Master Qiu.”
Chen Yuelin could only glare, but in front of Qiu Yutong, he didn’t dare to say anything more, so he kept muttering and complaining endlessly.
After the group had stayed, it was still early in the morning, so Yang Ruoyu asked Xie Wanting, “Sect Master, the disciples would like to go out for a stroll.”
Xie Wanting thought about it then nodded, “Come back early and don’t cause trouble outside.”
“Yes!!” The disciples cheered and then almost in a flurry, they went out to wander around.
Qiu Yutong stood up after listening to the heckling noises of the youngsters in the corridor and gazing out of the window at the tender green weeping willows for a moment.
Xiao Wu asked, “Master Qiu Yutong, are you going out?”
“Hmm, I’m going out to get some air,” Qiu Yutong nodded.
“I’ll go with you,” Xiao Wu didn’t wait for Qiu Yutong’s answer, already standing up.
“…Okay.”
**As the two of them walked along the busy streets of Yongzhou City, Qiu Yutong looked at the hustle and bustle of the people passing by, and for a moment he was a little dizzy, almost as if he were in a different world —— the Jiangnan waterways of Yongzhou City, which he and Lu Xiao had visited more than ten years ago.
Back then, Lu Xiao was just an unpopular Prince Yan, who had come to Yongzhou City on orders from the emperor to investigate a major case of embezzlement along the river, a case that involved so many people that the previous official investigating the case had even died.
Qiu Yutong and Lu Xiao had stayed there for more than a month after their arrival, slowly working their way through this complex case and investigating it clearly before finally uncovering evidence of other crimes during the investigation and directly imprisoning the Minister of Justice, who belonged to the Crown Prince’s party.
Revisiting this place, Qiu Yutong’s heart was so full of emotion and felt so heavy that he almost didn’t want to say anything. Xiao Wu didn’t say anything either. The two of them walked side by side in silence, not knowing how long they had been walking when Qiu Yutong involuntarily turned into a quiet alley.
This secluded alley was built along a small river, which was only about ten feet wide and narrow, and was bordered by a pathway with a row of whitewashed houses. It was so quiet that only a few “woof woof!” could be heard from afar. The sound of barking dogs was exactly the same as it was then.
Qiu Yutong felt a pang in his heart. Xiao Wu seemed to see what was going on and said softly, “Has Master Qiu been here before?”
Qiu Yutong stared blankly at a willow tree by the river, which had just sprouted a little bud, “Yes.”
Back then, when he and Lu Xiao came to Yongzhou City to investigate a case, it was also early spring, and they stayed in a house deep in this alley for over a month.
“Nothing has changed here…” Qiu Yutong murmured.
Xiao Wu didn’t ask any more questions, the two of them walked along the river, slowly going deeper into the alley. The deeper they went, the more Qiu Yutong became distracted and from time to time a dog or cat or two would pass between their legs. The young women pounding their clothes by the river occasionally stole a glance at the two of them. Everything was very peaceful, very tranquil.
Qiu Yutong suddenly saw something; his whole body shook slightly, and his footsteps immediately stopped.
There was a bamboo pole not far ahead, with a green sign hanging on it. The sign was very old, with the words ‘Chen Ji Noodle Shop’ written on the dirty green sign in a skewed script.
“Chen Ji Noodle Shop…” Qiu Yutong stared blankly at the old rice stall, finding it hard to breathe.
Back in the day, when he and Lu Xiao came back from investigating a case, it was often already late, so they would casually eat a bowl of beef noodles here… Only, unfortunately, nowadays, things had changed.
Xiao Wu gave him a look, “Does Peak Master Qiu want to have his evening meal? This place is too shabby, let’s change it.”
Qiu Yutong looked back and shook his head, “Let’s eat here.”
“That’s fine,” Xiao Wu didn’t say anything else and the two walked into the noodle shop together.
The shop was small, dimly lit, and apart from the dark stove, there were only two greasy tables, rickety stools, and a yellowing painting of a fat doll hanging on the wall.
“Is anyone there?” Xiao Wu raised his voice.
After a while, a fat woman, about fifty or sixty years old, lifted the dirty curtain and came out. She glanced at the two of them and said in an unpleasant voice, “What are you shouting for? What do you want to eat? I don’t have anything but noodles here.”
Qiu Yutong felt a lump in his throat and couldn’t answer, everything in front of him was almost exactly the same as it had been ten years ago. The dark noodle shop, the greasy table and the bad-tempered boss… were all the same, except that the boss, who had dark hair back then, now had grey hair.
The boss said impatiently, “I’m asking you, what do you want to eat?”
“Two bowls of… no, three bowls of beef noodles,” Qiu Yutong whispered.
“With chilli? Should Minced meat?” The owner asked as she gathered her apron and pulled the noodles nimbly.
“One bowl with extra chilli, more minced meat. The other two as per normal,” Qiu Yutong said softly.
Xiao Wu turned his head slightly to the side, looking down at him with dark eyes. It was unknown what he was thinking about.
After ordering the noodles, the two of them sat down and waited. In no time, three steaming bowls of beef noodles were brought up.
This noodle shop was shabby and small, and the boss was very bad-tempered, but the noodles were really well made. At this moment, the three bowls of beef noodles served up were snow-white and strong, the noodle soup thick and red, floating in a thick layer of fragrant oil, a few dashes of minced meat stewed softly on top, and two green leaves of vegetables, a real treat to the palate.
One of the bowls, with extra spices, and a few extra dashes of minced meat looked even more delicious.
Qiu Yutong pushed a bowl to Xiao Wu and took another bowl for himself, setting aside the bowl of beef noodles with extra spices and minced meat.
Xiao Wu asked softly, “Who is this bowl for?”
Qiu Yutong was silent for a long time before saying, “This bowl is for an old friend. At that time, he was very young so he had a good appetite. He liked extra chilli, he liked minced meat and he could never get enough.”
“And where is he?”
Qiu Yutong’s heart twisted in pain, and he didn’t answer.
Xiao Wu looked at his pale face and suddenly said, “This old friend, is that devil disciple of yours, right? Everyone says that Peak Master Qiu was so righteous in the Blood Prison Secret Realm that he put his own disciple to death… This old friend who loved beef noodles, I guess that must be him?”
Qiu Yutong’s voice shook a little, almost unconsciously, shaking his head, “Don’t say it, don’t say it.”
“That’s him, then.” Xiao Wu’s lips rose at the corners, “Peak Master Qiu righteously defeated the devil with his hands. It should have been a painful thing to do, and it’s long past time to let go, why do you still remember it?”
“Didn’t…” Qiu Yutong paused and couldn’t go on.
What could he say? That he had not been righteous? Didn’t feel the delight?
“You don’t think about it? But all this time, I always heard you saying sorry in your sleep,” Xiao Wu stared at him gloomily.
“I can’t help it, I want, know…” Qiu Yutong said in a trembling voice.
Xiao Wu nodded gently, “I understand too. Peak Master Qiu is a kind-hearted person so naturally, he didn’t want to do such things, but that disciple of yours, after all, was a devil… not to mention the Great Dao is merciless, obtaining the Devil core, understanding the Dao, is the most important thing, isn’t it? “
Qiu Yutong’s lips twitched slightly, unable to say anything.
In fact, he knew that in a way, Xiao Wu’s words were right and that he, himself, had done so back then.
But, he didn’t know why, he wanted to defend his little disciple who was a devil and say that he had done nothing bad and had even ruled the Chen dynasty well, and he didn’t want to “exterminate his own family” and he didn’t want to have to understand the Dao in this way either…
Qiu Yutong felt a dull ache in his chest and could not help but close his eyes.
He didn’t think he would do such a thing, but, but so many people had seen it, even his Senior brothers had seen it… he had dug up his little disciple’s devil core with his own hands, pushed him into the cold pool, and now everyone in cultivation world was praising him for his righteousness. So what could he say?
It seemed that whatever he said, it was wrong.
Whatever was said, was in vain.
Whatever was said, was hypocritical.
“Peak Master Qiu, what is it?” Xiao Wu’s low voice pulled Qiu Yutong’s thoughts back.
“Let’s not talk about that, the noodles are getting cold,” Qiu Yutong was silent for a moment, and didn’t know how to reply, but silently lowered his head and ate the noodles.
Xiao Wu stared at him with dark eyes for a long time before slowly picking up a chopstick of noodles and eating it unhurriedly.
After eating the noodles, it was already late and Qiu Yutong was not in the mood to continue shopping, so the two of them walked slowly back along the riverside path.
After walking a short distance, they saw a large group of children gathered under a fence in front of them, chattering and clamouring about something, “Old Grandpa, go on, what happened afterwards? What about the decree of the Leader of the Immortal Alliance, who actually got it?”
“Yes, yes, what happened to Xie Wanting’s legs after Gui Wuya had destroyed them? Old Grandpa, tell us!”
An old man laughed and said, “Little doll, buy another bowl of bean curd and I’ll tell you.”
“Ok, then I’ll have another bowl!” A little boy said crisply.
“Do you want it sweet or salty?”
Qiu Yutong looked at the old man, and couldn’t help but stare slightly, “… the old man who sold beancurd, why had he come to Yongzhou City?”
