Chapter 11 Seeds Devour Emotions and Souls: How to Comprehend the Worldly Matters? ...

As dawn broke, a thin veil of mist rose from the lake. Zhou Ziheng stood in the center of the waterside pavilion, his figure flowing with the movement of his sword.

The sword's edge pierced through the misty haze, like a crimson ribbon.

Huo Qin leaned silently against the waterside pavilion, unable to help but admire his superb swordsmanship.

However, Zhou Ziheng shattered Huo Qin's illusions as soon as he opened his mouth: "So, how about it? Has my newly mastered move, 'Return to Where You Belong,' amazed you?"

"I feel that in this vast martial arts world, if I claim to be second in swordsmanship, I doubt anyone would dare to claim to be first."

Huo Qin was already used to Zhou Ziheng's unreliability. Without saying a word, he turned and left. Sure enough, with no one to support him, Zhou Ziheng also stopped practicing his sword and left the Zhuiying Sanyun Pavilion with him.

The two returned to their respective rooms. Zhou Ziheng was about to fetch water to wash up when he smelled a strange fragrance under the window.

It smelled like flowers, or perhaps rouge; very faint, yet it lingered around his nose like an invisible hook.

He touched the ground under the windowsill and found a bit of grayish-white incense ash.

Zhou Ziheng frowned, intending to ignore it, but the fragrance grew stronger and stronger, as if it were alive, enveloping his breath.

He eventually bent down and dug out two seeds from the soil.

Seeds? Zhou Ziheng wondered, holding them in his palms to examine them carefully.

The seeds are red, with cracked skin as if burned, revealing the brown kernel.

He touched them and found that the surface of the two seeds was very hot, as if they were burning.

A strange fragrance emanated from the seed, faint yet captivating. Zhou Ziheng was momentarily dazed, then unconsciously moved closer, taking a deep breath of the wonderful aroma.

It smelled like the fragrance of some kind of flower. Zhou Ziheng took another sniff, but couldn't remember what kind of flower it was for a moment.

Why would this thing be in the Zhang family's possession...?

The two red seeds grew even hotter, but Zhou Ziheng was so engrossed in the aroma that he didn't notice. Holding the two red seeds, he absentmindedly took them back with him.

Lost in the wonderful fragrance, Zhou Ziheng even forgot that his original intention was to wash up and find Zhang Yuanhan to go out to sea with him.

Now all he can think about are these lovely seeds.

He gently picked up two red seeds, and the faint fragrance grew stronger, like a mesmerizing dream, so beautiful that one wanted to swallow them whole.

Zhou Ziheng opened his mouth.

-

After having breakfast, Huo Qin arrived at the port, where Zhang Yuanhan was busy preparing for the voyage. This was Zhuanglan's largest port, completely controlled by the Zhang family. The surrounding area was inhabited entirely by members of the Zhang family. In previous years, the imperial court had tried to intervene, but the situation remained tightly under control.

As they approached the sea, the salty, damp air grew stronger, and a cold sea breeze blew. Huo Qin marveled at the port's immense prosperity and at the cargo ship docked in front of him.

Unlike the pleasure boats and painted barges he had seen before, this cargo ship, built for maritime trade, was exceptionally exquisite. The hull was a full three zhang (approximately 10 meters) long, forged from refined iron, making it appear remarkably sturdy and resistant to the winds and waves of the sea. A gleaming character "Zhang" was carved on the bow, indicating that this was a cargo ship belonging to the Zhang family.

While directing the storage of goods, Zhang Yuanhan said to Huo Qin, "This time we only have two helmsmen, five freight workers, and us, making a total of eleven people."

Huo Qin asked in surprise, "Are you going too?"

Zhang Yuanhan snorted: "Of course, I believe that with the protection of the three of you, this will definitely be the safest trade ever. Since that's the case, I'm definitely going to have some fun. Besides, you'll still need me to solve your language problems in Xiqinhe."

Eleven people could be considered to be traveling light. Zhang Yuanhan explained that this time they were only going to sell some odds and ends, and the main purpose was to see what was happening to Zhang Yuanqian's fleet.

The departure time was set for the afternoon. After making the arrangements, Zhang Yuanhan returned to the Zhang family with Huo Qin. Before they even entered the Zhang family's gate, they saw Zhou Ziheng standing at the entrance with a solemn expression.

"What happened?" Zhang Zihan asked, puzzled.

"..." Zhou Ziheng wanted to speak, but instantly forgot what he wanted to say. It was as if something was gnawing away at his memory at a certain moment, leaving him momentarily confused.

"What's wrong?" Huo Qin asked, puzzled.

Zhou Ziheng snapped out of his reverie, pulled his thoughts out of the void in his memory, and showed the two red seeds to Huo Qin and Zhang Yuanhan, asking in a low voice, "Do you know what these are?"

Huo Qin looked down at the strange red seed, then crushed it hard. The seed did not break at all, and even emitted a scorching heat.

He frowned and fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.

Zhang Yuanhan was also seeing this for the first time, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with these two seeds?"

Zhou Ziheng's face was grave, and he had a headache: "I don't know. I found it under my window. I don't know if anyone else has it under their windows."

A bizarre, unbelievable object, even precisely positioned under his window, made Zhou Ziheng wonder if he had offended someone with his loose tongue.

Zhang Zihan and Huo Qin's expressions both turned grim. They exchanged a glance and realized the seriousness of the situation.

"I'll go check on Mei Le." Zhou Ziheng clenched the two seeds tightly. The hot seeds throbbed in his palm, his pulse resonating with his heart, and even the cursed osmanthus mark seemed to heat up.

Xi Bingyi was fast asleep in her room when Zhou Ziheng knocked on the door. After a long while, her lazy voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

The door opened, and Xi Bingyi appeared with messy hair, but at least her clothes were neatly dressed. Zhou Ziheng didn't care about that; his expression was somewhat serious. "Get yourself ready and come out right away."

This was the first time Xi Bingyi had seen her senior brother with such a worried and wary look in his eyes. She shuddered and immediately came to her senses, quickly saying, "Oh, okay, just a moment."

She quickly tidied herself up, tied her hair in a high ponytail, and went outside. She saw Zhou Ziheng digging at the ground under the window. Curious, she walked over, squatted down, and the two of them put their heads together.

"What's wrong?" Xi Bingyi asked.

Zhou Ziheng didn't say anything. He didn't dig very deep before he touched something round. When he dug it out, it turned out to be a bright red seed.

He placed the three seeds together and handed them to Xi Bingyi. "Do you know what this is?"

Xi Bingyi gently touched it with her hand, scratched her head, and thought for a moment: "It looks a bit familiar."

"You recognize this?"

Xi Bingyi stood up, frowning, and said, "It seems like I've seen it somewhere before... My father loves collecting strange and unusual seeds and plants, and he even made a plant encyclopedia. Logically, I should have seen it before..."

She rubbed her head in frustration: "I can't remember right now."

She has a fiery personality and spends most of her time practicing martial arts on the sacred mountain. Even when she goes down the mountain, she travels around and rarely returns home. Although she could vaguely recall seeing this seed in her father's encyclopedia of plants, she couldn't remember what it was for the moment.

Just then, Zhang Yuanhan returned and shook his head: "There's nothing like that under my window."

Huo Qin also shook his head, indicating that there wasn't one under his windowsill either.

Is it only under the window of Zhou Ziheng and Xi Bingyi's room? Zhou Ziheng frowned, unable to understand the current situation.

"Actually, this thing doesn't seem to have any side effects," Xi Bingyi pondered.

"Are you sure?" Zhou Ziheng asked with some doubt.

"Ah, I think so." Xi Bingyi touched her chin, trying hard to recall, "It seems, it seems to be able to improve martial arts, but only temporarily."

"Improve martial arts skills?" Zhou Ziheng was surprised. Martial arts practitioners hone their skills through real, day-and-night practice and life-and-death battles. How could a seed "improve martial arts skills"?

Xi Bingyi tried hard to recall: "It should be that eating it can catalyze and broaden the meridians, achieving the effect of instantly strengthening the body."

Zhou Ziheng did not let go of his worries.

If there's really no harm in it, why bury it in the ground so secretly?

What's more, they don't even know who did it.

Zhou Ziheng sighed, put away the strange seeds, and decided to take it one step at a time, praying that they were not related to his curse.

The group ate lunch with heavy hearts. Even the usually lively and playful Xi and Zhang were quiet, and Huo Qin, who was standing to the side, became increasingly silent.

However, as afternoon approached, Xi Bingyi's anticipation of setting sail cheered her up again. She packed some valuables and hummed a song along the way, eager to try out Zhang's large ship.

Influenced by Xi Bingyi, the atmosphere among the four eased a bit, and Zhang Yuanhan began to boast about how amazing the ship was and what kind of adventures it had had.

Zhou Ziheng relaxed a little. Seeing that Huo Qin was still deep in thought, he couldn't help but tease him: "Huo Qin, how old are you?"

Huo Qin came to his senses, completely bewildered by Zhou Ziheng's intentions.

"You're twenty, why are you asking this?"

Zhou Ziheng chuckled sarcastically, "I thought you were eighty years old this year, you look so bitter and resentful."

Huo Qin: "...I was just thinking about things."

Zhou Ziheng was somewhat puzzled: "When we first met, you were so shameless as to let me treat you to drinks and food, but how come you've become more and more serious as we've spent more time together?"

Huo Qin sneered: "When we first met, I had no idea you had this curse on you."

"I'm always afraid you'll die, so I have to be serious, right?"

Zhou Ziheng immediately put on a deeply moved expression: "I am truly flattered that you care about me so much."

Huo Qin, who always ended up speechless after talking to Zhou Ziheng: "..."

He wondered, "The curse of plucking laurels absorbs the host's love, hate, anger, and infatuation, and will gradually erode emotions and soul. Under such circumstances, how can you comprehend the true meaning of the mortal world?"

The true meaning of life...

Zhou Ziheng was somewhat dazed.

He stroked the mortal world, recalling the day he retrieved it from the Sword Tomb.

Five years ago, when spring was in full bloom, the curse of breaking the laurel branch was not nearly as painful as it is now. The Holy Mountain was preparing to open the Sword Tomb, and heroes from all over gathered, all vying for fame and dominance.

“You’ve been particularly concerned about the Sword Tomb lately,” Lin Youbie said softly. “You shouldn’t force it.”

Zhou Ziheng pursed his lips and said stubbornly, "If I don't have the best sword in the world, how can I be considered the eldest disciple of the Holy Mountain, and how can I set an example for my junior sister?"

Lin Youbie chuckled, gently patted Zhou Ziheng's head, and said tenderly, "Even without that sword, you are still my eldest disciple and my junior sister's good senior brother. What is the number one sword in the world? Is it Baojunyi? Is it Chengjiang? Is it Hongchen? The swords in the Sword Tomb all have stories, and there are many stories on this land that we don't know. Don't be narrow-minded."

Plum Blossom Manor has forged so many divine weapons and swords, yet they still can't say which is the best in the world. How could this small sword tomb possibly claim to be the best? Don't be so fixated on that, good child.

Zhou Ziheng remained silent, his expression indifferent, as if he hadn't heard a word.

The master sighed: "No matter what, don't choose the mortal world."

However, Zhou Ziheng still took the mortal world with him.

When he returned with his sword, the sword's light reflected off his black robes, his ponytail tied high, revealing his sharp face, making the title "Sword Master of the Mortal World" resound throughout the martial world.

Now he drew his sword and departed, the sudden gust of wind making his robes flutter, Zhou Ziheng stepping into his own mortal world.

-

The group boarded the cargo ship. Huo Qin stood on the deck, gazing into the distance towards the Zhang family compound, which was magnificent and grand, like a meticulously decorated giant beast, quietly lying down and watching them leave.

The sea breeze carried the gardenia sachet from his waist, enveloping Huo Qin in its rich fragrance, and he gradually relaxed.

Not far away, Zhou Ziheng was walking towards him. Huo Qin saw his calm and indifferent eyes, and his sharp bone structure, just like that mortal world, sharp and cold.

Zhou Ziheng also saw the other person, but he saw more: Huo Qin, Xi Bingyi behind him, and the vast sky.

Suddenly, Zhou Ziheng remembered what the seeds smelled like.

A faint, almost imperceptible... fragrance of osmanthus.