The Man of Destiny, Part Two (Newly Revised)
"I lied."
Xiang Yu immediately understood what his junior brother was talking about.
The sun disappeared behind the mountains at that moment, and the sky suddenly darkened. Night seemed to have fallen in an instant.
Xiangyu suddenly turned his head to look at the entrance of the temple. The master and disciple in front of the gate had long since disappeared, as if they had never been there at all.
The confusion in Xiang Wutong's eyes gradually turned into urgency. He looked up at Xiang Yu—his senior brother who was about the same age as him.
An eager gaze swept rapidly across Xiang Yu's eyes, as if trying to grasp something.
As if sensing his junior brother's anxiety, Xiang Yu stroked his smooth head and then led him to kneel down on the prayer mat.
Looking at Xiang Wu, Xiang Yu said gently, "Let's chant sutras to the Buddha together."
Xiangyu looked up at the Buddha statue. As always, the meticulously sculpted face revealed neither joy nor sorrow. But today, with the sky overcast, Xiangyu felt inexplicably that the Buddha was much more dignified than usual.
*
After the clouds left Xieyue Mountain with the wind, the full moon appeared in the night sky, making the temple much brighter.
In front of the Buddha statue, two brothers, one tall and one short, one thin and one fat, were bathed in moonlight, their voices reciting scriptures in a continuous stream.
The moonlight grew brighter, while the candlelight grew dimmer.
A candle gradually burned out, leaving only half a wick, its last flame fading into the wax.
Gradually, the voice reciting scriptures was no longer as loud.
Xiang Yu pursed her dry, cracked lips. Xiang Wu curled up beside her, his brows furrowed, muttering incantations—scriptures pieced together from his memory.
Xiang Yu stood up, his shoulders just above the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach. Looking down at his junior brother, who was curled up completely bathed in moonlight, Xiang Yu bent down and scooped him up from the moonlight, holding him in his arms.
The chanting that had continued through the long night came to an abrupt end at this moment.
*
A withered hand passed through the light and shadow and landed on Xiangyu's shoulder.
This slap dispelled Xiang Yu's drowsiness. He jolted awake and took a step closer to the Buddha statue, nearly pulling his hand away and dropping Xiang Wu to the ground.
"Why are you kneeling here in front of the hall at the middle of the night instead of resting?"
"Master?" Xiangyu stared at the old man, who was backlit by the moonlight and slightly hunched over, trying hard to make out his figure.
"I've never seen you all so diligent on ordinary days," the old man said in a slightly hoarse voice, but his words were full of energy as he joked.
"Master!" Xiangyu was overjoyed.
"Asleep?" The old man reached out and gently stroked Xiang Wu's cheek with his finger.
Xiang Yu nodded.
"Why are you here repenting to Buddha?"
"Xiang Wu said you would be back yesterday, so I waited for you here with him."
"It should have arrived yesterday," the old man said, rubbing his forehead.
"How is things going with Senior Brother at Xinyuan Temple?" Xiangyu hurriedly asked.
The old man paused for a second, then looked up as if to look at Xiang Yu's face in the shadows.
Xiangyu couldn't see his expression clearly, but he heard the old man say, "If there is no agreement, let's discuss it with the elders at Xinyuan Temple later."
Xiangyu nodded in the darkness, then suddenly realized that his master might not be able to see him, so he added, "Okay."
"I'll take my junior brother back to his room to rest first," Xiang Yu said with a slight bow.
The old man still had his head up, and Xiangyu suddenly realized that he wasn't looking at her. Passing the old man, Xiangyu walked into the moonlight.
Before they had gone far, Xiangyu swallowed hard and tentatively said, "Two pilgrims came this afternoon."
The old man's shoulder twitched slightly.
"They said they were looking for a three-star cave in these mountains."
The old man turned around and saw that Xiang Yu had her back to him and was holding Xiang Wu, looking up at the full moon hanging in the sky.
After looking at the solemn-looking Buddha statue, the old man said, "Perfect timing, I also have some things to tell you. Come with me."
*
Xiangyu took a tinderbox and lit the candles in the room one by one.
The dimly lit cubicle gradually brightened. Apart from the candlesticks in the four corners and the two futons in the center of the room, there was nothing else in this enclosed room.
“This is the first time I’ve ever known there’s a room like this in a house,” Xiangyu said as she lit the last candle and stood up from the floor.
Wu Nian looked at Xiang Wu, who was curled up on a futon, with a loving expression, and looked up at Xiang Yu, saying, "On this trip, I met Bai Jie, the leader of the Northern Sword Sect."
"Bai Jie from the North?" Xiang Yu sat down on the ground next to Xiang Wu, rhythmically patting Xiang Wu's back, and said, "It is said that he killed many old ministers and knights of the previous dynasty, including many eminent monks from Xinyuan Temple."
"I first met your senior brother in winter." Without responding to the rumors Xiang Yu mentioned, Wu Nian began to recall the past. This was the first time Wu Nian had talked about the backgrounds of Xiang Yu and the others.
Wu Nian revealed a nostalgic expression and said, "You are still young, and I guess you have already lost your memories."
"The ground is white, the wind is cold, and the snowflakes are as big as hands." Wu Nian waved his hand and looked up.
Xiangyu followed his gaze and looked as if snowflakes were falling in large flakes.
"The snow covering the mountains and fields was so bright that I couldn't open my eyes. I found him by following the sound of your senior brother crying."
With his arms slightly bent, Wu Nian made a gesture as if he were holding a baby: "He had nothing on him, not even a swaddle. He lay naked in the middle of the snow, crying."
A brief silence.
"He wasn't born in a temple."
“Bai Jie is about your age. The new emperor bestowed upon him a plaque,” Wu Nian said, his face regaining its composure. He then returned to Bai Jie, pointing four times in the air with his finger and saying, “It reads, ‘Northern Plains Polar Star.’”
"You will be like this in the future, just like Xiang Wuyu."
Xiang Yu blushed and said, "Apart from age, I am probably far inferior to Bai Jie."
“Everyone has their own destiny.” Wu Nian opened his palm, and two similarly sized orbs of light, one black and one white, swirled around his hand.
“Yin and Yang are interdependent, and one waxes as the other wanes,” Xiang Yu looked at the ball of light that Wu Nian had gathered in his palm and asked in surprise, “Master, how come your Yin and Yang energies are so strong and similar?”
“I certainly had my share of extraordinary experiences when I was young,” Wu Nian replied. “What do you think is the secret to the enduring prosperity of prestigious families?”
"A more favorable environment, and a better cultivation method?" Xiang Yu hesitated.
Wu Nian shook his head: "It relies on the inheritance of generations."
The white orb of light leaped up and darted into Xiangyu's brow.
Xiang Yu felt himself enveloped in a wave of heat in an instant. The warmth eroded the last bit of his spirit, and he fell heavily backward, unconscious.
"Now that your master has bestowed this extraordinary opportunity upon you two brothers," Wu Nian said with a sharper tone, "I hope that in the chaotic world to come, you two will rely on each other and live well."
*
Wang Boyu looked at the incense sticks on the ground that were almost burned out, touched his now empty belt, and looked down to confirm that the last stick of incense that Pei Jiangxi had left for him had also been used up.
He dusted off his pants before leisurely picking up the scroll. He pushed aside the vines hanging from the cave entrance and stepped outside. Just then, the last embers of incense had fallen to the ground, and the last sparks flickered and died down.
“This blue and white sword tassel,” Wu Nian emerged from the woods, “must be Wang Boyu, the disciple of the Sword Bone Heroine.”
Wang Boyu carefully examined the thin old monk before him and respectfully said, "Senior, you must be Master Wunian."
“You’ve investigated us very thoroughly,” Wu Nian said. “You went to the temple during the day, didn’t you?”
"Yes, our original intention was to visit you, Master, but we didn't expect you to be back yet," Wang Boyu replied. "The young monks at the temple even treated us to a vegetarian meal."
"Now that you've appeared here, can I assume that Yi Jian Shan has officially sided with Liuli Palace?"
“No,” Wang Boyu said with a smile, “this is just my personal behavior.”
“The founding master of Yijian Mountain, the great hero Han Han, established himself with benevolence and righteousness,” Wu Nian said with a sigh, “Young hero, you are so deeply mired in this, what place does this place place for Yijian Mountain today?”
Wang Boyu let out a long breath and said resolutely, "If I am found to be guilty, I will go even if there are thousands of people against me."
“It seems you’ve made up your mind, young hero.” Wu Nian stepped forward. “However, you cannot take this scroll of the late emperor’s edict with you.”
"Please enlighten me, senior." Wang Boyu clasped his hands in greeting.
A gust of wind arose, and Wang Boyu dashed into the depths of the forest like lightning.
Wu Nian's figure also disappeared in the blink of an eye.
*
The night wind swept through in gusts, rustling the leaves. Two graceful figures stood on the treetops, swaying slightly from side to side with the mountain breeze.
Moonlight scattered across Han Yizhi's white robes and fair face.
Whether it was the wind or not, Han Yizhi's eyelashes trembled slightly in the moonlight.
“Yi Zhi,” Pei Jiangxi exclaimed, “the moonlight is truly beautiful.”
“I don’t remember being that close to you.”
“Don’t say such discouraging things,” Pei Jiangxi said. “Back in Xiamen, the two of you were the ones I felt most sorry for.”
Han Yizhi opened her eyes and stared at Pei Jiangxi for two seconds in a daze.
Pei Jiangxi gazed intently at the sky, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Xiamen?"
Pei Jiangxi regained her senses and said calmly, "It's nothing, just a branch altar of the Liuli Palace."
"I have something I want to ask you." Han Yizhi stared intently at Pei Jiangxi.
“Go ahead,” Pei Jiangxi said with a smile, “I will answer you with anything I know today.”
"Has Boyu been poisoned?"
“I was indeed poisoned, but it wasn’t my poison,” Pei Jiangxi said.
"Then it wasn't you who coerced Boyu?"
"Yes and no. Only I can cure this poison, but only if you and your apprentice are on my side. Otherwise, I'm too far away to help you in your time of need."
“I can help you,” Han Yizhi said, “but only on my own, not on the entire Yijian Mountain.”
“No problem,” Pei Jiangxi readily agreed, “After tonight, you can use the Liuli Palace to announce that you have officially severed all ties with Yijian Mountain.”
Just as Han Yizhi was about to speak, she heard a sharp gust of wind approaching.
Pei Jiangxi stared intently at the direction of the wind and said, "They're here."
*
Wu Nian followed closely behind Wang Boyu's aura, and just as they were about to close the distance to within the range of his palm strike, the two of them slowed down.
Not far ahead, Pei Jiangxi and Han Yizhi stood on either side, looking down at the two of them.
From Wu Nian's perspective, the full moon was positioned between the two. One was black, the other white, like the Black and White Impermanence, the legendary figures of death.
“This aura,” Wu Nian looked up and couldn’t help but sigh, “is truly something that is better seen than heard about. The new generation surpasses the old, and new people replace the old.”
Wang Boyu tossed the scroll to Pei Jiangxi and quickly disappeared into the woods behind them.
"I've long admired your name, senior," Pei Jiangxi said loudly.
"I have no reputation in the martial arts world." Wu Nian turned to Han Yizhi and said, "This young lady must be the Sword Bone of Yijian Mountain."
"This humble woman greets you, senior."
"What a pity, he was so young and promising but fell into evil ways and became someone's lackey."
"Miss Han is not one of my henchmen, General."
A fierce glint flashed in Wu Nian's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "I didn't expect you to have investigated this far. You're truly remarkable."
"Young Master Bai Jie entrusted us to retrieve the late emperor's edict."
"So, Longting Town was also your doing," Wu Nian said. "Since the Bai family wants the late emperor's edict, then let Bai Jie come to me himself."
"Young Master Bai is probably unable to make it."
"Then this imperial decree cannot allow you to leave like this."
*
The creaking of the old wooden door startled Xiangyu from his dream. His master and junior brother beside him had vanished without a trace.
Everything in his vision was swaying; his master had vanished without a trace. Xiang Yu forced himself to sit up, only to find Xiang Wuzheng staring at him from the end of the long corridor.
"The image is nonexistent."
Xiangyu didn't even know if she had actually shouted it out.
Holding onto the wall, Xiang Yu swayed and staggered toward Xiang Wu.
As Xiang Yu slowly approached, Xiang Wu turned and left.
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