Chapter 286 Exchanging Children to Eat: He should have been you, you should have been him. ...
Wei Changzai knelt so rigidly that only a corner of the wooden plaque was visible, making it difficult for Lin Feiran to see clearly, but Ru Xian recognized it.
During the three months that Lin Feiran faked his death, he encountered Wei Chang many times. Most of the time, he saw him fighting with the secret sect, his sword intent cold and detached. On several occasions, he had already wiped out the crowd and was finishing off the enemy with his sword.
After finishing up, he would take out the wooden plaque, sit amidst the crimson light, and light three sticks of crimson smoke in front of it. Only when the smoke dissipated would he slowly leave.
He could only see the three large characters "Lin Feiran" carved on the wooden sign from afar; he didn't know what the other smaller characters said, but he figured it was just a few sentences.
He didn't go forward to take a closer look at the situation. Firstly, he didn't have the energy for it; his mind was entirely focused on bringing Lin Feiran back to life, and he had no time to care about what others were doing.
Secondly, if I were to see it, I would definitely crush the sign myself.
Why is he all alone here?
Lin Feiran's attention had long since shifted away from the wooden sign. She had already surveyed the surroundings and was on guard against Zhang Chunhe. After all, this man was always elusive. With Wei Changzai being punished here, how could he possibly be far away?
Ru Xian then turned to look. Although the two were hiding here, their location was excellent, with a wide view, and they could see most of Daohe Palace.
He said, “It is indeed too quiet. The surrounding peaks, valleys and palaces, which should be the residences of your elders, are mostly dark now. It seems that quite a few people have left.”
Lin Feiran was not surprised, but gave the opposite conclusion: "Of these elders, those who stayed may not be willing to be associated with the Tantric sect, but those who left must have gone to join the Tantric sect."
Ru Xian raised her eyebrows: "That makes sense."
The blood sample should be taken as soon as possible. After observing the situation, Lin Feiran planned to rush into the Hall of Heroes, but as soon as he stood up, Ru Xian grabbed his wrist.
He turned his head to look at a certain spot in the void and said, "Someone is coming."
The two concealed themselves again and looked at a certain spot. Suddenly, a point of light appeared in the night sky, like a drop of water falling into a lake, rippling outwards. From within this strange pattern, a figure darted out, moving extremely fast, as if fleeing.
Lin Feiran looked closely and was surprised to find that the person was Zhang Chunhe!
He held a silver bow, and there were several rips at the hem of his robe. A few strands of hair fell from his usually meticulously styled topknot, but his expression remained unchanged. He showed no sign of being chased, only a slight frown and some confusion.
He leaped down, and footsteps immediately echoed through the wooden corridor, gradually increasing in speed and becoming lighter as he approached the gate of the Hall of Heroes.
After he entered, he seemed to be talking to Wei Changzai about something, his brows furrowing more and more tightly. It was unclear whether the other person answered. But at a certain moment, Zhang Chunhe stopped speaking, and his expression gradually softened. He took out a jade token with a special shape and said something in a low voice.
Lin Feiran and the other person were quite far apart, and she could only hear their footsteps, not their conversation. However, she quickly recognized the jade token.
The white jade with blood-red patterns is engraved with "Haoran" on the front and "All under heaven are in harmony, all in one palace, the heart is without emotion, and there is education for all" on the back.
This is a jade token left by the Grandmaster, and it is also the symbol of the head of Daohe Palace. Whoever obtains it will be the person in charge of Daohe Palace.
He handed the jade token to Wei Changzai, the meaning of which was self-evident.
But Wei Changzai remained with his head bowed, his bound hands behind his back. He neither looked up nor raised his hands. He knelt there like a puppet, even more silent than the jade statues in the hall.
Ru Xian noticed something amiss and asked, "Why pass on the throne at this time?"
Lin Feiran was equally puzzled. Although Zhang Chunhe's expression didn't show it, he was indeed in a sorry state. Handing over the token at this moment seemed to carry an air of dying instructions.
Who is chasing him?
She had just uttered her question when she suddenly sensed an even stronger surge of spiritual energy, which even spread toward this place. The two immediately formed hand seals and hid even deeper.
How many people in this world possess such cultivation?
The arrow, which should have been a fatal blow, was about to strike the two when several jade tablets in the Hall of Heroes lit up simultaneously, converging into a brilliant light that directly blocked the arrow.
With a deafening roar, a cracking buzzing sound burst forth in the air, accompanied by howling winds.
The disciples who were originally cultivating in the dojo were startled and all looked in this direction. Some of the timid ones stayed where they were, while most of them chose to move and gradually approach the area below the Hall of Heroes.
From the surrounding peaks, several elders flew out and headed towards the Hall of Heroes.
However, before everyone else could set off, Zhang Chunhe turned around first, a few strands of messy hair falling in front of his eyes, but his expression remained calm.
Above the Hall of Heroes, Bi Sheng had already caught up, also holding a longbow, its sharp glint sending chills down one's spine.
She didn't disturb many people this time. There were no followers around. The only ones who came with her were Qi Chen and the Mountain Moving Taoist who remained silent throughout.
They both looked down. Zhang Chunhe remained silent, while Wei Changzai kept his head down and did not turn around.
Just as they were about to approach the Hall of Heroes, the Mountain-Moving Taoist swung his giant sword, and a fierce sword wind pierced through it. His sword intent echoed the Hall of Heroes, and the light on the jade tablet gradually faded. At a certain moment, he broke through the light and created a narrow path!
Qi Chen spun around and threw one of his two swords, which passed right through the narrow passage and went straight for the two people in the hall!
Zhang Chunhe held his bow but made no move. Meanwhile, the man who had been kneeling in front of the wooden sign stood up. In an instant, he kicked up the Kunwu sword. With a clang, the sword was drawn, and the hall was covered in frost. The Kunwu sword flew straight forward, blocking Qi Chen's attack!
The sound of the sword hummed, making one's ears itch. The Kunwu sword, which was struck back, happened to cut the long rope on his wrist, and he grabbed the hilt just before it hit the ground.
Everything proceeded so smoothly. He sheathed his sword, not looking at the crowd, but bending down to pick up the jade token that had been knocked off. His long hair, which had fallen loose, slid down his shoulders, spun and spread out, and then quickly gathered back in front of his chest.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he handed the jade token back to Zhang Chunhe.
He didn't speak, perhaps because his voice hadn't recovered yet, or perhaps because he was unwilling, but his actions had already made his stance clear.
Several elders who were still at Daohe Palace rushed over. Upon seeing Bi Sheng and the others, they couldn't help but ask, "Chief, what exactly is going on? This is the Hall of Heroes, how can we allow them to cause such a ruckus here!"
The group was initially furious, but after seeing Zhang Chunhe's description, they suddenly fell silent, their eyes filled with disbelief.
They had known Zhang Chunhe for hundreds of years, and even when he was just a junior disciple, they had never seen him in such a disheveled state.
"Senior Brother Zhang, you..."
The group hesitated to speak, but Zhang Chunhe only glanced at them, completely ignoring Bi Sheng and the others who were approaching, before focusing all his attention on Wei Changzai.
"What's the meaning?"
Wei Changzai still did not answer, but turned around and put the wooden sign back into the mustard seed bag. Although the action was simple, it looked completely different from the previous heaviness and coldness.
Outside the Hall of Heroes, Bi Sheng raised her hand, signaling Qi Chen and the other to stop for the time being. She squinted and looked over at the unexpected situation, saying meaningfully, "He's leaving."
If Wei Changzai is going to leave, then...
She pondered this in her heart, and instead of making any further moves, she waited outside the hall, observing her next move.
Inside the hall, Wei Changzai remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the tense situation. Zhang Chunhe didn't reach out to take it, so Wei Changzai offered it to him again. The other elders, upon seeing the jade token, looked at Zhang Chunhe with even more complicated expressions.
Zhang Chunhe glanced at the jade token, her clear eyes fixed on him, and repeated, "What do you mean? Speak. Don't think I don't know that after seeing her, your half-muteness has improved considerably."
Wei Changzai raised her eyes, her gaze as clear as black lacquer, her bearing as graceful as a pine tree and as elegant as a plum blossom, just as when they first met.
“Master, after I kneel and pay my respects to all the ancestors, I will be going down the mountain. I will not keep this jade token; you can take it back.”
All that is left here is the past, and all that remains is some past kindness and affection between us. If you need anything after I descend the mountain, I will still do it.
My senior brother Chang Ying is very popular and fair, and my junior brother Chang Qing is also upright and exceptionally talented. Either of them would be more suitable than me to be the next head.”
Zhang Chunhe's calm and peaceful expression finally changed. He looked over and saw a few strands of his pale hair hanging down in disarray, floating in front of his eyes. He had lost some of his otherworldly air and gained more of the dejection and stubbornness of an ordinary old man.
“You can’t leave. On the day I saved you, you swore to me that you could never leave Daohe Palace.”
Wei Changzai remained expressionless, simply placing the jade token in his hand and raising his hand to sling the two long swords behind his back: "It's just a vow of the heart. It's fine if it's broken. It's nothing more than a drop in cultivation level and a risk to one's life."
Even so, I will go to her side.
Wei Changzai lowered his eyes: "Of course I know. In my entire life, I have never been as clear as I am now."
I want to go down the mountain; I want to be by her side.
Zhang Chunhe's gaze shifted repeatedly, but even at this moment, he did not reveal a furious expression. Although his expression fluctuated and his breathing became somewhat disordered, his gaze remained restrained and thoughtful.
He said, “Foolish! How much suffering have you endured and how many people have passed away in your cultivation to this day?”
Having no father, no mother, no elder brother, no relatives, no friends, and with all six karmic connections nearly severed, one can only reach this state of carefree detachment. How could an ordinary person cultivate such a state?
What are you going down the mountain for? To find her? Changzai, what good will it do you to go find her? There's such a rift between you two, do you think she'll accept you again?
You still want to be alone?
"Of all the vastness of heaven and earth, only the Dao and the Palace can accommodate you."
Wei Changzai paused for a moment, his voice still hoarse from the recent recovery: "...I want to go to her side."
Zhang Chunhe looked at him, his eyes flashing: "If you insist on going down the mountain today, then you will have no choice but to kill me."
Wei Changzai looked up again, his two deep, silvery eyes reflecting the face of the person before him: "Senior brother's cultivation is also quite remarkable, and he is not bad as the head of the Daohe Palace, so why must it be me?"
Zhang Chunhe looked at him and said so seriously for the first time: "...Because I know that none of them can do it, and Daohe Palace will not stand again under their rule. Only you can."
The elders on the side were speechless, staring blankly at the scene, unsure of what to say.
Just then, Bi Sheng's gaze swept between the two of them. After pondering for a while, she suddenly spoke up: "If you want to win back your old love, why bother going down the mountain to chase after him? If young friend Wei is willing to join forces with the Dao Master, there is still room for everything to be salvaged."
Wei Changzai paused, turned around, and saw Zhang Chunhe also turn around, his expression growing cold.
Bi Sheng's smile remained unchanged, completely disregarding the coldness in Wei Changzai's eyes. The way to use people is not about genuine loyalty, but about getting what each person needs.
His achievements are enough to make the Dao Lord grant you any wish.
Wei Changzai remained silent, but Zhang Chunhe spoke up: "The collusion with the Secret Sect is entirely my fault, and has nothing to do with Daohe Palace. What is the Holy Maiden's intention in this gentle seduction?"
Bi Sheng glanced at everyone and suddenly laughed: "Chief Zhang speaks very righteously, as if he cares a lot about his disciple, but I wonder if your disciple knows what his background really is?"
The expressions of everyone present changed. Wei Chang glanced at Zhang Chunhe, while Lin Feiran and Zhang Chunhe, who were not far away, exchanged a glance. They then took advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention and crept forward to get closer.
Bi Sheng's gaze was fixed on Wei Changzai. She seemed to have a different purpose today and was clearly preparing to go after him.
"I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise today. Since everyone who should be here is here, Chief Zhang, why don't you tell me what you did? Our esoteric sect never kills innocent people indiscriminately."
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the elders sneered, "I think this strange celestial phenomenon was caused by you. How many innocent people have died at your hands!"
Bi Sheng glanced at him but didn't take it too seriously. She quickly turned all her attention to Wei Changzai: "I heard you've also been to Dongpingcang. Coincidentally, we went there recently after investigating some things and happened to meet another Wei Changzai."
Suddenly, some people fell silent. Not only did the elders pause, but even Qi Chen, who had no interest in chatting, turned to look.
Lin Feiran knew the reason behind it all. She looked at Zhang Chunhe, who showed no fear of being exposed. He simply lowered his eyelashes slightly. She then looked at Wei Changzai, who was looking at Zhang Chunhe.
"Master, could you tell me about this before you go down the mountain?"
Zhang Chunhe retorted, "You still have a sense of curiosity?"
"Perhaps." He thought for a moment, then turned around and bowed to the jade tablets in front of him. "If you don't want to talk about it, then let me go down the mountain. The kindness we owe you still exists, and I don't want to go through this life-or-death situation."
Bi Sheng walked forward, stopped in front of the Hall of Heroes, and said, "Consort Wei, don't you want to know who taught you to bring... from the evergreen Dongping Granary..."
Zhang Chunhe said, "To this day, if you want to ask or know, I can tell you everything. Rather than having someone else say it, I'd rather tell it myself."
After all, you no longer feel pain.
Wei Chang stood still, as if, just as he had said, there was no ripple in his heart. He simply looked around, his eyes filled with desolation.
After a moment, he asked, "What is my relationship with that Wei Changzai from Dongpingcang?"
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was watching and listening intently, and even though they didn't know what had happened in the past, they held their breath and waited for this shocking secret to surface.
Zhang Chunhe turned around and looked at the jade tablets in front of him. After reading the names of the sages one by one, he spoke.
"He should have been you, and you should have been him."
Wei Changzai seemed to have realized something. A breeze suddenly blew through the desolate wasteland in his heart, light yet stinging. His fingertips twitched slightly, and his gaze fell on the somewhat disheveled figure.
Beside the deep stream in Youfang Town, in the gloomy bamboo forest, under the cold rain, he, as a child, had seen such a figure.
With an ethereal air, he stood alone in the forest, his hair neatly tied in a topknot, holding a whisk, like a celestial being newly arrived in the world. He was meditating in the bamboo forest when he heard the sound and opened his eyes to look at the dirty and thin child.
With a familiar, faint smile, he asked gently, "Whose child are you? How did you get so badly injured? Are you out cutting bamboo and digging for bamboo shoots in this heavy rain?"
That day, for the first time ever, he did nothing but sit with his knees drawn up to his chest, listening to the rain in the bamboo forest with the old man for an entire afternoon. With the large oil-paper umbrella over his head, he didn't feel as cold as before.
Even though he got a beating when he got home for doing nothing and didn't get to eat, he still kept thinking about the scene on his cold bed.
The old man said that he had exceptional talent and intelligence, so he wanted to be his teacher.
He wanted to take him away from here.
The figure in the bamboo forest gradually overlapped with the person in front of her, but the memories of the past were cracked by those words.
Although he already had a guess in his mind, he still managed to utter the question in a hoarse voice: "...What do you mean?"
In the silence, Bi Sheng took another step forward and entered the Hall of Heroes. His slowly approaching footsteps entered his ears, thumping in sync with his heartbeat.
"Don't you understand?"
You should have been born into a wealthy family in Dongpingcang, where you were pampered by your parents from a young age and developed a pure heart. Instead, Wei Changzai, who replaced you, should have been born in Youfang Town and lived under the whip of that couple.
It was he who switched your births, and from that moment on, your lives were very different.
You became that child abandoned under the whip.
Upon hearing this story, everyone present gasped. Lin Feiran had already suspected something, but she couldn't be sure. Now that she had actually heard the truth, she still felt like she had been hit over the head.
If she's like this, then Wei Changzai must be even more so.
He frowned slightly, his hands hanging by his sides tightening and loosening repeatedly. It seemed as if a thousand emotions wanted to burst forth from his heart, but his inner world was frozen. He could only feel a sense of powerlessness and bewilderment that he could not express, which tormented him repeatedly.
After a long pause, he finally released his grip: "...Why?"
That was all he could ask.
It was precisely because of this discovery that she was filled with rage and wished she could kill him as soon as possible!
Upon hearing her name, Lin Feiran frowned slightly, not understanding why she would mention her at this moment.
Some of those present were puzzled, some were angry, and some were dejected, but none of this seemed to affect the man's mood. When the crowd asked questions, he lit three incense sticks, bowed three times to the sage, and then offered the incense.
"Daohe Palace will not perish. With him around, it will surely prosper for hundreds of years. All of you have worked hard, but I am foolish and can only do this much in my life."
After offering incense, he turned around and looked at his fellow disciples, whose expressions varied. His gaze then fell on Bi Sheng, whose eyes were filled with gloom, before finally landing on Wei Changzai, giving him an answer that was both expected and unexpected.
"For the sake of Daohe Palace."
"To sever ties."
He walked forward, each step and each word like a heavy hammer blow, striking into Wei Chang's heart, which was filled with turmoil and desolation.
Author's note: Alas, fate...
P.S.: Thank you to all the readers who have followed this story and given me encouraging comments! [pity][pity][kiss]
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