Chapter 191: The Art of Seeking the Truth (4)

The next day, early morning.

Qingye woke up drowsily, feeling much worse than before going to bed, with the contents of the nightmare still clearly lingering in his mind.

In her dream, Dongsha's terrifying expression grew larger and larger, becoming a ghostly face that chased her closely. She ran away, but could not escape it. The other children in the family laughed and clapped, saying that this was a brand new training that a genius had come up with.

She slapped her cheeks hard to drive the unpleasant memories out of her mind. Only then did Qingye remember that she was outside the settlement. She turned her head quickly, terrified, ready to face the grimace in reality.

There were no ghosts in the real world, nor were there any spirits from the past. Only Long Yu was sitting there blankly on the wooden stake. Qing Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Mr. Longyu."

"I didn't do anything." Long Yu said.

It must have been Mr. Long Yu who dispelled the nightmare, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to rest peacefully. Qing Ye rubbed her wrinkled fingertips, feeling sad at the aftereffects of her training. There would be a way later, she consoled herself, pushing herself up against the ground—her legs and feet were weak from the effects of aging.

“Uoooooh! Aaaah!!”

Qingye missed her step and fell, rolling for half a minute before crashing into a fruit tree. Fruit as big as a watermelon fell and hit her head, causing Qingye to see stars.

“What’s going on… Why am I so unlucky as soon as I wake up…” Qing Ye said with a sad face.

The large fruit was smashed open, and golden juice flowed to her lips, tasting like lemonade with honey. Qingye licked it unconsciously, her eyes shining.

"Mr. Long Yu, this is the Honey Cage Fruit, it can prolong your life! You can't even buy it at the Wormheart Sect. Come and eat it!"

"I don't need it."

"Really? Then I'll eat it first. Ugh, the juice is spilling onto the ground. Not a single drop of this can be wasted!"

Miss Qingye threw herself onto the soil without a trace of psychological burden. Long Yu couldn't bear to watch, so she looked away. For the first time in a long time, she felt the urge to hold her forehead.

"Actually, Mr. Long Yu, the soil stained with juice is not as bad as you think..." Qing Ye stared at his fingers that had returned to their original shape with shining eyes.

"Stop talking."

"OK."

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Qing Ye stepped on a living vine. The strange plant's predatory trap sent her flying, crashing into three large trees and plummeting into a strange bird's nest. Inside the nest were three eggs the size of footballs.

"This bird egg is surprisingly full of vitality..." Qingye said while holding the eggshell.

"Stop talking."

Qingye took the eggshell and made up his mind: "To be on the safe side, I'd better eat the eggshell too!"

Long Yu silently held her forehead.

·

At night, the long and short swords collided and separated, and Qingye's sword was taken away again. Long Yu slapped the sword with one hand.

"You must infuse your self into the way of the sword." Long Yu's palm slid down along the blade, "Just like sharpening a knife. Oiling the blade. Slash with your will."

Qingye sat upright, listening attentively: "Do you need to shout?"

"Some people do that." Long Yu gave an ambiguous answer. "As long as it achieves the goal, anything is fine. Try again."

“Drink!”

They fought again. He lasted until the fifth round, but his sword was taken away.

"I feel better."

"It's an illusion. Just as bad as before."

"Ah...Okay..."

Qingye walked into the fog, intending to continue his painful training. Longyu shook his head.

"If you rely on magic, you won't make any progress."

"If you don't use the technique, you'll die." Qing Ye said unconvinced. This time, Long Yu didn't say anything.

This time, Qingye's training lasted about four hours. She returned, her tattered body tumbling to the ground. Her expression was one of accomplishment, yet, to others, abject misery.

"It's better to practice sword." Long Yu commented.

"What's needed on the battlefield is quick-learning skills..." Qing Ye said as he lay down. "Practicing swordsmanship for two nights is only a psychological effect. But if you think about it for two nights, you can develop a new technique. If this new technique can be used in future battles, then it's the right choice."

"Even after two nights of study, you can comprehend new sword techniques."

"Yes, yes, I know such an amazing person. He can come up with a new trick in half an hour." Qing Ye waved his hands weakly, "But he is a martial cultivator. I am a disabled heart, and disabled hearts must use their own methods to solve problems."

The corner of Long Yu's mouth twitched. Qing Ye realized that he was smiling.

"My brother used to say similar things. He always talked about using clever methods to solve problems... and I always beat him. Back then, he would say that it was just a martial arts performance that caused his failure, and that his methods would succeed if used at the critical moment."

"He's so stubborn."

"That's true... He would be scolded by Chongming afterwards, but he didn't care much, so he didn't get angry." Long Yu shook her head, "That's unlike you."

"My mouth is still relatively soft..." Qingye said weakly.

"Is this a good thing?"

It was another ambiguous, ambivalent question. Long Yu didn't seem to expect an answer, always asking with a nonchalant attitude. So Qing Ye didn't answer. The silence lasted for a while, and she noticed Long Yu was looking at her knife.

This man was always preoccupied with his sword, either staring blankly at his own or observing the swords of others. A martial arts fanatic to this degree might have no entertainment left.

"This knife..." Qing Ye tried to start a conversation.

Long Yu's response was faster than she expected: "It shouldn't be yours."

"Actually, I stole it from home." Qing Ye chuckled, "It was originally a sword worn by an ancestor of my family. It was the object of my admiration."

"worship?"

"Yes. Its original owner was a powerful and brave general. In an unexpected encounter, his troops encountered an invincible foe. The enemy was too powerful, and nearly half of the troops were killed. Further fighting would surely result in the annihilation of all. The general, judging the direction of the battle, decided to remain alone to duel with the heretic, thus buying his comrades an opportunity to retreat.

If he lost the duel, he would likely be corrupted by the outsider and no longer be himself. The general knew this clearly, but even so, he resolutely decided to stay alone.

Qing Yezheng sat up and said seriously, "He didn't hesitate to sacrifice his dignity to save the lives of many companions. He is an amazing Canxin. I have always longed to be like him!"

Deep disappointment shone through Long Yu's cloudy eyes. It was the first time Qing Ye had seen such clear likes and dislikes in someone. She didn't know what she had said wrong and was momentarily at a loss.

"Mr. Long Yu...?"

"You are stupid," Long Yu said. "You completely fail to understand the meaning of the stories your elders told you."

“How could it be…”

“If that man is a good leader, he should be able to lead his troops to defeat the enemy and achieve victory.

If that person is a true heartless person, he should perish together with the heretic, even at the cost of his own life.

Yet he achieved neither, failing miserably as a leader and a warrior."

Long Yu closed her eyes. "This is a negative example, but you don't understand. You chose the wrong person to admire, and thus established the wrong dream. That is naturally a stupid thing to do."

"That's not the case..." Qing Ye whispered, "What Shura Island needs now is people who are willing to sacrifice themselves. Only people like this can lead the disabled people off the island..."

"Let's talk about it tomorrow." Long Yu interrupted her, "You will understand tomorrow."

They stopped talking. The disappointment in Long Yu's eyes remained, lingering.

·

On the third day, they finally walked out of the forest and came to the dark and muddy Ying River. When this day came, Long Yu brought out a bouquet of white flowers from the forest.

Qingye's face was covered in black and yellow, like camouflage. She had been attacked by food again due to various unfortunate accidents. She looked around nervously, terrified.

"There will definitely be more bad luck." Qingye said confidently, "Then we'll be able to find food. I'm afraid this is the rule of the Lost Forest."

Long Yu shook her head silently and led her across the bridge to the river. The river was filled with countless faces, all with their eyes closed, as if in deep sleep. They walked with their backs to the arena, and after half a day's journey, they arrived at a dark basin.

Qingye shuddered, sensing a deep, sinister aura. The thick air of death here even infected the mist, turning it the same black as the earth. Lost in thought, she stumbled. A pitch-black handbone lay buried in the soil, seemingly reaching for her ankle.

Qingye's pupils shrank in shock. She swept away the dust and unearthed the skeleton. Not just the arm, but the remains of the skull, ribs, and everything else were a pitch-black black. It was a color so familiar to her, the hallmark "sin bones" of the Canxin.

She looked at the dark basin, fear in her weak voice.

"Mr. Long Yu, this is..."

"It's the bones of sin." Long Yu said, "This place is stained black by the corpses."

How many had died here? What horrific means had been employed to bury so many heartless souls simultaneously? Qingye refused to dwell on it; she couldn't allow herself to be trapped in imagined fears. In silence, they reached the center of the black basin, where an unmarked tomb stood. Longyu placed a bouquet of flowers before the tombstone, clasping his hands in silence. Qingye joined him in clasping his hands, mourning the souls who had perished in battle so long ago.

"The allied forces assembled at the frontline base of Halvira were mostly composed of Discipline Knights and the Remnant Heart," Long Yu's words sounded like a dream. "The Ancient Dragon and Divine Tree city-states had their own marching routes. We hadn't made any progress at that time, and were more like a detachment supported by the Discipline Knights.

In that era, we were a group that was met with widespread skepticism. Many considered us a new heretic, and many factions opposed our arrival. Each time, Chongming would personally confront them and slay them. But we all felt we couldn't do that; we needed to prove something..."

"Status, reputation, goodwill. All of these must be earned by ourselves... proven by ourselves... Then we will respond to the call and gather here to launch the first major battle against the outsiders. We are a group of brave but foolhardy warriors."

"Then the Nightmare King descended in ecstasy, placing trials before every warrior, hoping we could demonstrate our true courage."

Long Yu turned around and looked her in the eye. His eyes were as cloudy as mud.

"Everyone regrets it," he said.

"……What's the meaning?"

"I regret it. Deeply. I went crazy, betrayed them, begged for mercy. I knelt on the ground and begged for mercy from the gods. I shouldn't have thought of resisting. I shouldn't have looked for trouble. If I had just stayed in my own territory, I wouldn't have ended up in this hell." Long Yu said, "No one passed Vansalar's test. They cried bitterly, behaved in a disgraceful manner, and died without achieving any achievements. They died in the most cowardly manner."

"This is the future you desire." Long Yu's voice pierced the girl's heart like a needle. "Leaving Shura Island and fighting a decisive battle with the outsiders. Behind this statement is not meaning or belief, but fear and meaningless death."

"I'll ask you again."

Long Yu's expression became as terrifying as Chong Ming's.

"Why did you leave Shura Island?"

Qing Ye did not lower her head, she pursed her bloodless lips.

"I can't stand the internal strife on Shura Island. I want to find the Canxin Master and unite the forces on the island... Let us once again stand on the front lines against the outsiders!"

"It seems that words are meaningless to you."

Long Yu covered her face with her hands, and the emotionless silver mask covered her pale face.

The cloudy gaze was gone, and the man's eyes were as stern and murderous as a shadow. He quietly drew his dagger.

"From now on, the trial of the Remnant Heart Guang Shi Qing Ye will begin." Long Yu, no, the Fear Messenger Ye Xing said, "Victory, or death."

(End of this chapter)