Chapter 36 Plum Blossom Manor is mostly no different from Kan and Li.
While Xi Bingyi was reading the Sword Forging Collection inside the room, Zhou Ziheng pushed open the door and went out first.
Not long after, Huo Qin followed him out.
Zhou Ziheng deliberately provoked him: "You were following me?"
Huo Qin: "..."
He ignored it and took out the "Report to Your Majesty" to ask, "I saw you pondering over this sword for a long time earlier. Was there something wrong with it?"
Zhou Ziheng shook his head: "There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that I feel sorry for myself."
Huo Qin asked, "You mean, the curse of winning the laurel wreath?"
"My father's fate and whereabouts are unknown, so do you think you will end up like him, leaving behind only a sword, and disappearing from the martial world forever?"
Zhou Ziheng raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you afraid?"
"I finally achieved fame at a young age, making the name of the Three Heroes resound throughout the martial arts world, but I know that such youthful pride and success is just a flash in the pan."
"When the curse takes effect, my best fate will be nothing more than a handful of yellow earth."
"The world of martial arts will never see another 'Zhou Ziheng,' aren't you afraid?"
Huo Qin smiled and said, "But 'Zhou Ziheng' is also a pseudonym, isn't it?"
So what's so scary about it?
He stepped forward and reached out to catch the fallen leaves that drifted down behind Zhou Ziheng. “Name, achievements, and titles are ultimately just judgments from others. Your pain, joy, love, and hate in the martial world are your own story.”
Zhou Ziheng was unusually silent, only covering his left arm tightly with the spot where he had won the laurel wreath.
Huo Qin wanted to say something more, but Xi Bingyi's voice broke the silence.
What are you doing?
Xi Bingyi pushed open the door and came out. From her perspective, it looked as if Huo Qin was hugging Zhou Ziheng.
“I’m teaching him swordsmanship,” Zhou Ziheng said seriously.
Xi Bingyi was suspicious. Seeing Zhou Ziheng and Huo Qin's serious and solemn expressions, she shook her head, trying to reassure herself. Although they were almost hugging, some contact during sword practice was normal, right?
Her eyes swept between the two men, but she finally understood everything from Huo Qin's angry curses through gritted teeth.
"Zhou Ziheng!!" she and Huo Qin roared together.
The two of them gave Zhou Ziheng a severe scolding, and then Xi Bingyi brought up the matter of the Sword Forging Collection.
"The three of them became sworn brothers and ventured into the martial world together, but I rarely heard the name 'Huo Yunfeng' from my father."
Zhou Ziheng pondered: "From what you've said, Mei Zhiying's hidden injury must have been caused by Huo Yunfeng losing control. Perhaps your father still harbors resentment towards Huo Yunfeng, which is why he rarely mentions it."
"However, according to the Sword Forging Manual, Mei Zhiying traveled three times in total. After the third time, Huo Yunfeng had an accident. Then your parents got married, and two years later, Huo Yunfeng married Ning Hanshuang. After that, Huo Yunfeng lost control and stabbed Mei Zhiying..."
After reviewing the timeline, Huo Qin fell silent for a moment.
There were too many questions surrounding this. Huo Qin frowned, feeling a little uneasy, and instinctively felt that he was getting deeper and deeper into the mystery.
Frosty...
Huo Qin suddenly remembered that chaotic dream.
Amidst the crimson light, the man drank the blood from the woman's wrist, a tear falling from his eye.
It was as if a bolt of lightning had cleaved through the fog of his memories, pulling him out of the mist and revealing the bloody truth.
He broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly recalling his father's last words from a sparrow.
Killing someone to extract their bones—
Who is being killed, and whose bones are being taken?
...
As dusk approached, the information from Shuiyuntai was too little and too brief to piece together the whole picture. After a moment's thought, Xi Bingyi decided to return to Plum Blossom Manor the next day to ask her grandmother if she knew the truth about what happened back then.
After Mei Zhiying died, Shuiyuntai became an isolated island with no beds for people to rest on, so Zhou Ziheng and the other two could only sleep together.
The next morning, Xi Bingyi couldn't sleep well because she had something on her mind. She rubbed her sore neck, still a little groggy, and looked at Zhou Ziheng and Huo Qin, who were snuggled together, and asked in a low voice, "Why did you wake up so early?"
Zhou Ziheng was still in a light sleep; she was asking Huo Qin.
Huo Qin looked somewhat haggard. He shook his head, not answering Xi Bingyi's question, but looking at the gray sky, he said in a low voice, "The weather isn't very good today."
The weather was indeed not very good. Xi Bingyi looked at the sky, feeling very depressed.
Fear, heaviness, grief... all those emotions that had been deliberately forgotten surged up on the day the trip to Plum Blossom Manor was decided.
She thought of the day her mother died... That day was originally a gloomy day, but soon it started pouring rain...
In the pouring rain, Xi Bingyi could only let her mother's cold hand slide down her cheek.
...
After Zhou Ziheng woke up, the three of them tidied their clothes and headed to Plum Blossom Manor, each with their own feelings.
Plum Blossom Villa is not far from Shuiyuntai. At the pace of the three of them, it only took them a little over fifteen minutes to get there.
Like Shuiyuntai, Meihua Villa is nestled deep within a plum grove.
Passing through a flurry of plum blossoms, a quaint and grand mansion comes into view.
Unlike the Zhang family's grand and luxurious mansion, Plum Blossom Manor is more rustic, a quiet detached residence.
“Although it’s called a mountain villa, there aren’t many people living there,” Xi Bingyi explained. “The layout of the house is also very simple, but the sword furnace in the distance is a testament to our efforts.”
She was right. Even from a great distance, Zhou Ziheng could still see a glimpse of the splendor of the sword furnace in the distance. Even after many years of silence, the glory of those years was still evident.
Xi Bingyi pushed open the heavy door as if opening an old treasure chest. She took a deep breath, looked at the dimly lit hall, and said in a trembling voice, "Grandmother, I'm back."
Perhaps it was the fear of returning home, or perhaps it was the fear of the unbearable truth, but she stood frozen in place for a long time. Only when she did not hear her grandmother's voice did she remember that since Mei Zhiying passed away and Plum Blossom Manor chose to live in seclusion, her grandmother had moved to a small courtyard next to the sword furnace. Other relatives had also gone into seclusion, and the manor had become a completely empty shell except for the servants who swept and cleaned.
Xi Bingyi composed herself and gave Zhou Ziheng and Huo Qin a weak smile: "I'll go offer incense to my mother first. You guys wait here for me for a while."
Zhou Ziheng looked dejected. He nodded, squinted his eyes as if he were sleepy, and said softly, "I was in a hurry today and didn't bring a gift. We'll visit again next time and offer incense to your mother."
Looking at the desolate and dimly lit Plum Blossom Manor, Xi Bingyi arrived at the ancestral hall with mixed feelings, respectfully lit three incense sticks, and stood in front of Mei Zhiying's memorial tablet.
...
Madam Mei was quite old, and when Xi Bingyi met her grandmother, she was taking a nap in a rocking chair.
Upon seeing Xi Bingyi return home, he merely smiled, waved, and gestured for his granddaughter to come over.
Upon seeing Zhou Ziheng and his companion behind Xi Bingyi, he smiled and said, "Bingyi has made quite a few friends."
Zhou Ziheng and Xi Bingyi greeted each other. Xi Bingyi grasped her grandmother's wrinkled hand and asked impatiently, her tone somewhat heavy, "Grandmother, I saw Aunt Yu a while ago. Is she no longer at the manor?"
Madam Mei paused for a moment, then sighed, "Your Aunt Yu was saved by Zhiying, and she stayed to repay the debt of saving her life. Now that your mother is gone, she naturally has no reason to stay."
"When I saw Aunt Yu, she was doing something very bad... Did Grandmother know where Aunt Yu went afterward and who she served?"
Madam Mei shook her head, then reached out and stroked Xi Bingyi's hair, saying affectionately, "Why did our Bingyi suddenly think of asking these questions?"
Xi Bingyi's voice was mournful: "Grandmother, I never knew. There are so many things I never knew... My mother's death, the problems in my parents' relationship, their past, including why Aunt Yu left. I knew nothing about any of these things."
As she spoke, Xi Bingyi's voice choked with emotion, overwhelmed by self-blame, regret, and pain. She threw herself into Madam Mei's arms, tears streaming down her face once more, as if she could not bear the immense grief.
Madam Mei cupped Xi Bingyi's face in her hands, gently wiping away her tears, and said softly, "It's not your fault. This is what your mother instructed me to do; she didn't want you to know everything. Bingyi, don't be sad."
Xi Bingyi bit her lip: "But I need to know. I don't want to be a carefree but ignorant child anymore."
"Grandmother, do you know Huo Yunfeng?"
Madam Mei stopped stroking Xi Bingyi's hand, and Huo Qin couldn't help but raise his head upon hearing this.
He clenched his fist, and after a long silence, Madam Mei slowly said:
“Huo Yunfeng, that’s your mother’s friend. He also stayed at Plum Blossom Manor for a while. I do know him.”
"So what kind of person is he?"
"...He was a man with a tragic fate."
After saying that, Madam Mei refused to say anything more. She closed her eyes and said, "You know Huo Yunfeng, so you must have been to Shuiyuntai. The journey is long, so go and rest first."
"Grandmother!" Xi Bingyi was a little anxious. How far was it from Shuiyuntai to Plum Blossom Manor? It was clearly Grandmother making excuses to stop talking about it!
Madam Mei, not one to mince words, released her hand, feigning exhaustion, and instructed the servants sweeping nearby to take Xi Bingyi back to her room to rest.
Seeing that Madam Mei was determined not to speak anymore, Xi Bingyi had no choice but to turn back every few steps, pitifully hoping that Madam Mei would be moved.
Madam Mei stopped looking at her and instead narrowed her eyes to examine Huo Qin.
Only after the three people had disappeared from sight did she slowly close her eyes and let out a soft sigh.
Xi Bingyi had her own room at Plum Blossom Manor, so she went back to her room to rest first. The servant led Zhou Ziheng to the guest room, and Zhou Ziheng yawned, waved to Huo Qin, and then closed the door.
Huo Qin originally thought he would also be arranged to rest in a guest room, but the servants led him around Plum Blossom Manor and eventually ended up back in the courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, Madam Mei was setting up two tea sets while a servant brewed tea for her. When she saw Huo Qin arrive, she smiled and invited him to sit down.
Madam Mei poured Huo Qin a cup of tea, observed him closely for a while, and then slowly spoke:
“When we were far apart, we only felt that you were familiar, but now that we are closer, we realize that you really do look like your father.”
Huo Qin was not surprised to be recognized, but he did not expect it to happen so quickly, and for a moment he did not know what to say.
Fortunately, Madam Mei didn't intend to make things difficult for him, and continued, "Back then, your father stayed in this little courtyard. Later, when Zhiying had her accident, your father felt very guilty. He wanted to leave with your mother, but Zhiying persuaded him to stay. Unexpectedly..."
"Let's not talk about the painful things for now. In the end, your father still chose to leave. Before he left, he left a few words, which he originally intended to give to Zhiying, but they were left in this courtyard and no one knew about them. I only found out about them after I moved here."
"What...did Father say?"
Mrs. Mei gave him a deep look, then went back into the house and handed Huo Qin a small box. "Take a look for yourself."
Huo Qin took the light box, opened it numbly, and found a yellowed piece of paper inside.
He carefully peeled it open and saw that it read: "Drinking to control blood pressure is not a solution. I don't want to live like this anymore. Xi Ling is right, I am no longer human."
"What does this mean?" Huo Qin looked at the few words and felt shocked.
"Do you know your father? Do you know Huo Yunfeng's story? Perhaps you think that it was because your father stabbed Zhiying that Xi Bingyi's family was torn apart?"
Madam Mei countered, unsurprised by Huo Qin's silence. She sighed, "I was right when I said your father was a man with a tragic fate."
"In the ninth year of Yongjue, your father visited Plum Blossom Manor, full of vigor and ambition, and was willing to spend a fortune just to find a suitable sword. Coincidentally, Zhiying had a little idea about forging a sword at that time, so Huo Yunfeng, Xi Ling and Zhiying went out to travel together."
...
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