Chapter 40 Uncle Mei's Fate
Zhou Ziheng woke up early in the morning. It was rare for him to wake up so early these past few days. Looking at the hazy sky outside the window, he even felt particularly energetic today.
He had breakfast with Xi Bingyi and Huo Qin. As if it were a daily routine, Xi Bingyi went to the courtyard again to beg Madam Mei to soften her heart.
Zhou Ziheng idly drew out the Red Dust sword and put it back, sometimes polishing the blade until it gleamed, sometimes gazing at its reflection and sighing.
Huo Qin was speechless: "What is he doing? Does he know he doesn't have long to live, and his mental state is deteriorating?"
Zhou Ziheng shook his head: "Don't you feel heartbroken at the thought of the martial arts world losing a genius?"
Huo Qin: "..."
He noticed that Zhou Ziheng's eyes were bright and clear, unlike the dull look of the past few days, and casually asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Zhou Ziheng wondered why he would ask such a question: "Naturally, I had a good night's sleep."
Seeing that Zhou Ziheng hadn't noticed anything unusual, Huo Qin frowned.
He knew Zhou Ziheng's skills. So much blood was drawn last night, and the smell of blood was strong. Even if ventilation was done quickly, how could the other party not notice?
But soon, he comforted himself, thinking it was better not to know, because if he knew, there would always be a lot of trouble.
Even at a very young age, the precocious Zhou Ziheng knew that this day would come.
The curse of the laurel-picking tormented him, as if it had opened a hole in his soul, sucking away his emotions and coveting his flesh and blood.
Even Lin Youbie couldn't say for sure whether it was better to make Zhou Ziheng a heartless puppet or to let him experience the world and become a real person.
While the former can certainly counteract the curse of winning the laurel wreath, who can say that living like this, on the verge of death, counts as living?
While the latter allowed Zhou Ziheng to ignite his life so brilliantly and wildly, wasn't it also fueling the curse?
There is no right or wrong in a dilemma.
Zhou Ziheng chose the second path, just as he resolutely chose the mortal world, and never thought of turning back.
Even now, as his five senses gradually fade, he has no regrets.
Therefore, Zhou Ziheng smiled calmly at Huo Qin:
"What are you worried about? A while ago, you told me that the most important thing was your own story in the martial arts world."
Huo Qin choked up.
He did say that, but who can stand by and watch their friend grow weaker and weaker?
Moreover, it's such a serious matter as vision loss!
Who could have known? Just the day before, I was advising Zhou Ziheng to think more positively, and now it's his turn to advise me.
Huo Qin was so angry at this troublesome person that he lost his temper and stormed off, intending to talk to Xi Bingyi about it.
Zhou Ziheng was calm, but by comparison, Xi Bingyi seemed much more impatient.
Every day without fail, she would go to Madam Mei to fawn over her, and after being repeatedly rejected, she would search for Mei Zhiying's handwritten letters and notes, wandering around Plum Blossom Manor all day long, making it difficult to find her.
...
Holy Mountain.
The weather has been getting colder lately, and Xie Yun has fallen ill as expected. He is currently leaning weakly against the bed, looking at Lin Youbie with a worried gaze.
"Don't frown, it's just a minor cold." Xie Yun found it a bit funny and reached out to touch Lin Youbie's forehead when he saw her looking at him as if he were facing a major crisis.
"You can still laugh?" Lin Youbie turned his head and listed Xie Yun's "crimes":
"Back then, you suddenly fell ill and were in a coma for several weeks. Three lotus seeds couldn't cure your illness. Later, you would get chills and shivering every summer and catch a cold and fever every winter. Your health just kept getting worse, and I couldn't even smile!"
Xie Yun smiled bitterly: "There's nothing I can do. It's already a blessing from heaven that I've been able to live to this day despite my illness."
Lin Youbie's eyes blurred with tears, and he choked up a little: "You, Xiao Zhou, you are truly my retribution."
As they were talking, a carrier pigeon fluttered its wings and landed on Lin Youbie's shoulder.
"Whose letter is this?" Lin Youbie asked, taking the letter tied to the carrier pigeon's leg and slowly unfolding it.
After reading it, her eyebrows furrowed even more deeply.
Xie Yun coughed, bringing Lin Youbie back to her senses.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Youbie snapped out of his daze: "Bingyi's letter. The letter mentioned the cause of Mei Zhiying's death and also asked about the Zhegui curse."
When Mei Zhiying was mentioned, both of them fell silent.
They still remembered the story of how Meshiho and his two companions ventured deep into the far north and brought back three life-saving lotus seeds, and of course, they hadn't forgotten that deep, rainy night.
Xi Bingyi's letter also mentioned the curse of winning the laurel wreath, which both of them found strange.
"Is there a problem with the small boat?" Xie Yun asked, somewhat puzzled. "Otherwise, Bingyi wouldn't have chosen to ask us for help."
Lin Youbie remained silent, guessing that his apprentice was probably unwilling to tell him the truth.
...
Huo Qin went to considerable lengths to find Xi Bingyi.
Plum Blossom Manor was a complex place, and he was unfamiliar with the area. In the end, he saw a carrier pigeon from the sacred mountain flying across the sky and followed its trail to find the busy Xi Bingyi.
When I saw her, Xi Bingyi was unfolding the note on the pigeon's leg.
Huo Qin leaned closer and saw the paper covered with strong, vigorous handwriting:
"The curse of your senior brother's laurel wreath is complicated, but since you have such doubts, the situation must be quite serious..."
"I really don't know why he was cursed. He was already carrying the marks of fate when he found the child."
"If the curse is to take effect, it will surely make him wish he were dead, until it devours his five senses, drains his life force, and eventually turns him into a piece of dead wood."
Although she had suspected it for a while, it wasn't until this moment that Xi Bingyi felt the heavy weight of "I knew it was true."
She asked Hochin, trying to find some comfort: "Your father has a curse, but he's still alive, right?"
Huo Qin remained silent for a moment. Although he knew in his heart that Huo Yunfeng's life or death was still unknown, he still nodded, giving Xi Bingyi a sliver of hope.
"Yes, and I suspect that your parents must have found a way to suppress the curse."
Xi Bingyi's eyes lit up, and she murmured to herself, "That's right, how come I didn't think of that?"
“They are sworn brothers, as close as siblings, and they would never let their good brother die like this…”
There must be another way!
As she spoke, she didn't have time to greet Huo Qin before rushing off again, busy trying to glean glimpses of the past from the old objects.
Mei Zhiying loves to record important events, but Xi Bingyi has difficulty finding these fragmented notes.
On the one hand, Mei Zhiying is quite casual. Even if she records the events, she puts them everywhere. If you asked Mei Zhiying to find them herself, she probably wouldn't be able to.
On the other hand, Xi Bingyi rarely came to her mother's room. She spent most of her time cultivating on the Holy Mountain, and when she occasionally returned home, it was to stay in Xibao. She was not very familiar with Plum Blossom Manor.
Following her vague memories, Xi Bingyi found Mei Zhiying's former bedroom, pushed open the door, and looked around.
Mei Zhiying's room was very simple, and its layout was even somewhat similar to Xi Ling's study—in the middle was a heavy, antique desk with a plain vase on it containing a bunch of withered flowers.
Behind the desk was a huge bookshelf. Unlike Xi Bao's extensive collection of books, Mei Zhiying's room was not filled with books.
Xi Bingyi was incredibly grateful at that moment; if there had been more books on the bookshelf, she really wouldn't have known where to begin.
While Xi Bingyi was engrossed in searching for clues, Zhou Ziheng received a letter from the Holy Mountain carrier pigeon.
He was a little surprised, thinking the carrier pigeon was going to find Xi Bingyi, since Lin Youbie rarely communicated with him. But the pigeon flew straight towards him and landed on his shoulder.
Zhou Ziheng opened the letter and saw that Lin Youbie had written: "Good disciple, what color has the curse turned now? If you are in unbearable pain, go back to the Holy Mountain. Your master and mistress will send you... and take care of you."
Zhou Ziheng: "..."
He could easily guess that Lin Youbie's original words were "Your master and mistress will see you off in your final days!"
So it turns out I'm the one who's the little cabbage in the field.
Zhou Ziheng had no choice but to reply: "I am in good health, Master, please don't worry. Please also take care of your health, Master and Mistress."
No sooner had the carrier pigeons been released than Plum Blossom Manor received an unexpected visitor, who happened to be the person Zhou Ziheng was waiting for.
Just then, a loud, clear voice came from outside the door: "Mother, I'm back!"
The visitor pushed open the door and came face to face with Zhou Ziheng.
Zhou Ziheng examined the man for a while. He was dressed casually, with several strings of copper coins hanging from his waist, and a single earring clipped to his right ear, which was also shaped like a copper coin.
Young and flamboyant—that was Zhou Ziheng's first impression of Uncle Mei.
When Uncle Mei saw the unfamiliar Zhou Ziheng in the lobby, he couldn't help but take a few steps back to double-check if it was Plum Blossom Manor. Only after confirming that he hadn't gone the wrong way did he return.
Just then, Zhou Ziheng spoke up: "Third Uncle, stop looking, this is our home."
Uncle Mei repeated: "Our family?"
Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, he exclaimed, "You're Bingyi's future husband?"
Zhou Ziheng was shocked and quickly waved his hand, "No, no, Third Uncle, I was just being polite! It would be presumptuous of me to say such a thing!"
Uncle Mei chuckled: "Haha, I know you're Bingyi's senior brother, I was just teasing you."
Zhou Ziheng hadn't expected Uncle Mei to be so disrespectful to his elders. After a brief chat, Uncle Mei said goodbye and headed to the courtyard.
Today is not the thirteenth, but Uncle Mei has arrived at Plum Blossom Manor early.
Zhou Ziheng squinted as he watched Uncle Mei's figure gradually disappear.
Behind Plum Blossom Manor, a huge forging furnace stood like a mountain, casting a dark shadow.
Zhou Ziheng drew his sword, the Red Dust Sword, and used its blade to block Uncle Mei's back, but he couldn't block the dark, gloomy forging furnace.
Beneath the colossal shadow, the mortal world appears as insignificant as a thin line of blood.
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