Chapter 7: A New Journey to Help You Prepare for the Aftermath
Zhou Ziheng woke up to find a white-robed man with flowing hair sitting at the head of his bed. He sat up and called out softly, "Master's wife."
Xie Yun looked worried. He lifted the blanket and looked at Zhou Ziheng's knees, which were red and swollen. It seemed that the injury had not yet healed after being forced to kneel. "Don't blame your master. She was also very angry."
Zhou Ziheng nodded. "I know, I don't blame her."
Young Zhou Ziheng was not so reckless. Seeing that Xie Yun was still ill, he asked with concern, "Why did you come, Master's wife? Your health..."
But his concern was becoming more and more like painting on water, easily washed away by the ripples.
Xie Yun sighed inwardly, but didn't show it on her face. She just winked at Zhou Ziheng playfully and patted his head: "Your master is angry and doesn't care about you, but I'm your master's wife, so I can't ignore you."
Zhou Ziheng lowered his head and said nothing more.
Xie Yun's worries deepened: "Your master warned you not to choose the mortal world... How could you..."
“Hongchen is very special… as special as I am.” Zhou Ziheng looked at Hongchen placed on the bedside table. The sword was still in its sheath, and only the fiery red hilt could be seen, like a ball of intense fire.
The first time Zhou Ziheng saw it in the Sword Tomb, Hongchen was still stuck in a gray boulder. The bright red hilt looked like a flower blooming from a crack in the rock from a distance. In that instant, an unprecedentedly intense emotion struck him, and Zhou Ziheng felt an extraordinary desire for the first time.
—I want to get it.
Returning to the sacred mountain with worldly affairs, Lin Youbie was furious. His usually gentle and kind master was unusually enraged and made him kneel outside the mountain gate to reflect on his mistakes.
Upon hearing this, Xie Yun stopped trying to persuade Zhou Ziheng and smiled casually, "Do you remember Xu Yi? He also went to the Sword Tomb before, but came out a little later than you. He wanted to visit you. Go see him after you recover."
Zhou Ziheng frowned, showing childlike impatience: "Doesn't his family have the Broken Goose Blade? What is he doing at the Sword Tomb? It's disgusting. Master's wife, I don't want to see him."
Xie Yun rarely paid attention to his two young apprentices' friendships. He originally thought that Xu Yi's frequent visits to the mountain were due to his good relationship with Zhou Ziheng, but he did not expect that Zhou Ziheng disliked him very much, which gave him a headache.
Xie Yun rolled up Zhou Ziheng's sleeve, and sure enough, the osmanthus blossom had turned from pale yellow to golden yellow. He had a headache, and his already slightly sickly complexion became even worse: "The color of the osmanthus blossom has deepened again... You should make more friends."
Zhou Ziheng's expression was indifferent. Once his emotions faded, he was like a wisp of wind or a cold cloud, as if separated from the world by a pane of glass, so distant that it was frightening.
Xie Yun was very annoyed by this apprentice.
Zhou Ziheng had few family ties; he was all alone when he and Lin Youbie found him, and over the years, no parents or relatives had come up the mountain to look for him. Due to the curse of the Zhegui Order, the two of them were very worried about Zhou Ziheng's emotions, but despite trying many methods to delay the curse over the years, they still had little effect.
Xie Yun was feeling unwell and became short of breath after being out for too long, so he had to get up and leave. He then told Zhou Ziheng not to rush into practicing swordsmanship and to take care of his knees first.
Not long after he left, Lin Youbie peeked out of the room and opened the window, where he made eye contact with Zhou Ziheng for a moment.
Zhou Ziheng asked curiously, "Master, why didn't you and your wife come together?"
Lin Youbie coughed softly, and only after confirming that Xie Yun had left did he push the door open and come in: "Your master's wife is angry with me." As he spoke, he also lifted the quilt to check Zhou Ziheng's knees, and only after seeing that there was nothing seriously wrong did he sit down on the edge of his bed with peace of mind.
Zhou Ziheng was speechless when he saw that the two of them were even sitting in the exact same spot.
Lin Youbie didn't come over to reprimand Zhou Ziheng. She glanced at the golden osmanthus flower on Zhou Ziheng's forearm and pretended to be indifferent, saying, "Your junior sister brought you a gift from home. In a while, you can send them a return gift for me."
Zhou Ziheng keenly sensed Lin Youbie's intention to have him go down the mountain, but he didn't ask any further questions and nodded, saying, "Send him to Xibao?"
Lin Youbie hummed in agreement, then added after a moment's thought, "Your junior sister will be going back with you. You don't need to rush, but don't linger too long either..."
"Well... the main thing is that you've never left the Holy Mountain before. Your master hopes you can play a little longer this time you come down the mountain, but please be careful and don't make us worry too much."
As he spoke, Lin Youbie patted his head.
Lin Youbie's voice echoed in his ears, and Zhou Ziheng immediately woke up, opening his eyes alertly.
After leaving the sacred mountain, he traveled to many mountains, rivers, lakes and seas until he had a completely new understanding of the "mortal world" and the name "Sword Master of the Mortal World" resounded throughout the martial world before he went to Liyang City.
The more he understood the world, the better he could understand why Lin Youbie was so angry at the time.
Before him stood the waterside pavilion of Liyang Valley, and Zhou Ziheng realized that he was no longer on the sacred mountain.
Last night, after Li Jin's death, Fu Chenyu took on the responsibility of Liyang Valley. She did not inquire about Li Zhiheng's whereabouts, but only spread the word in the martial arts world: Li Zhiheng will always be the young master of Liyang Valley, and she will always be ready to welcome him home.
Zhou Ziheng knew that Fu Chenyu had firmly chosen to face her future.
It was getting late, so he and Huo Qin rested for the night in Liyang Valley. Now it was time to set off.
Fu Chenyu wanted to prepare luggage for them, but Zhou Ziheng refused, only holding his sword and bowing, leaving behind a lonely figure.
Facing the sunlight, Zhou Ziheng carried a sword, and Huo Qin carried a bow; their shadows were stretched long by the rising sun.
A breeze blew as the mountain road turned, lifting the blue ribbon binding Zhou Ziheng's hair and the bright red sword tassel of Hongchen.
"Where are we going later?" Huo Qin asked.
Zhou Ziheng said lazily, "I'm going to see a friend. I heard he's been living the high life lately. It's time to swindle him out of some money."
"Where's your junior sister? Why isn't she here?"
Zhou Ziheng glanced at Huo Qin, not understanding what the other party meant, and then sneered, "Don't you dare try anything with my junior sister."
Huo Qin was speechless: "I was just being polite, you're really too narcissistic."
The two voices gradually faded into the distance, and on the Feitai Waterfall, fallen leaves slowly drifted into the water.
Zhou Ziheng's thoughts drifted away. Huo Qin's reminder made him realize that Xi Bingyi had gone down the mountain with him. Where had she gone now?
...
Meanwhile, Xi Bingyi, who had just finished her trip and returned to the Holy Mountain, learned from her master that her senior brother had long since run away from home!
"What?!" Xi Bingyi exclaimed in disbelief. "He...he...he's gotten so bold? He even ran away from home?!"
Lin Youbie glared at her gently and said reproachfully, "You only dare to yell at your senior brother like that in front of me."
Xi Bingyi blushed slightly and coughed lightly, saying, "Master, do you know where my senior brother went?"
Lin Youbie squeezed the letter he had received in his hand and said, "Take a look at this letter first."
Xi Bingyi took the letter and quickly glanced at it. The letter read: "We cordially invite Lady Xi Bingyi to Liyang Valley to participate in the Liyang Assembly."
Enclosed with the letter was an expired petition for battle.
Xi Bingyi scratched her head: "Master, what is this Liyang Conference?"
Lin Youbie chuckled: "You've been away playing for so long, haven't you heard about the ups and downs in the martial arts world?"
She flicked Xi Bingyi's forehead: "Zhou Ziheng withheld your challenge letter and went to Liyang Valley alone. News just came out yesterday that he successfully defeated the Valley Master of Liyang, but declared that 'Liyang is not as good as the mortal world,' and refused to inherit the Liyang Sword."
Xi Bingyi exclaimed in surprise, "He actually stole the spotlight from me!!"
"Where is he now? I want to get to the bottom of this!"
At this moment, Zhou Ziheng frowned and sneezed uneasily.
Huo Qin followed behind Zhou Ziheng, and the two headed west to cross the Suijin Mountains and enter Zhuanglan.
Liyang and Zhuanglan are not actually adjacent; the Suijin Mountains separate them, which is why the two regions do not have close contact, and even the transmission of information is very slow. Unlike Liyang, Zhuanglan engages in maritime trade, and its culture and customs are also quite different.
Few people have ever been to Suijin Mountain. The mountain is steep and there is no decent road. If you want to go from Liyang to Zhuanglan via Suijin Mountain, you have to climb and descend the mountain properly.
Zhou Ziheng, without blushing or panting, asked Huo Qin as he climbed, "You said before that you knew how to break the curse. Now that there's no one else around, can you finally tell me?"
Huo Qin wisely stepped back before saying, "I don't know how to untie it, but my father does."
As soon as he finished speaking, a deep sword mark appeared where the sword had been, and Zhou Ziheng coldly sheathed his sword.
Huo Qin: "..."
Luckily, I ran fast.
Zhou Ziheng sneered: "So you were just trying to fool me?"
Huo Qin smiled: "Where?"
“My father was also cursed, but I can’t find him now.”
"If I can find his trail and locate him, given how many years he's lived, he should be able to give you some clues; if I can't find him, and one day rumors spread that he's already dead..."
Huo Qin still smiled: "Then I can only prepare for your funeral."
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