Chapter 102: The Untrustworthy Man's Confession (Part 2)...
Qingyun County is an excellent place; I knew that the moment I stepped into it.
Located not far from Linsu City, this place is a peaceful and prosperous place where many people come and go. It is rare to see people who are going to the capital to take the imperial examinations and wanderers of the martial arts world gathering in the same inn. The martial arts people think that the scholars are too noisy with their loud reading, while the scholars think that the martial arts people are too bandit-like and that their drinking and loud conversations are full of fighting and killing, which is very impolite.
None of that matters; the background noise during meals is rather amusing.
The only noise I found was the weeping of those who came to Qingluan Medicine Valley seeking medicine. They cried when they couldn't get what they wanted, they cried when they were told there was no medicine available, they cried when someone died... They cried their hearts out on the streets, or locked themselves in inns, some even going blind from crying, and some even chose to die with someone else.
"Can you understand? There are millions of people in the world, yet most of them waste their time on this kind of thing, squandering their wealth, traveling far and wide, and even risking their lives."
Wang Yi looked into Qin Ruoliu's eyes.
"...Why can't we understand? These are their closest and dearest relatives." Qin Ruoli didn't know what expression to make.
"But the imperial family is different. They don't have the concept of close relatives and loved ones, which is why they kill each other for the position. That's why every emperor is ruthless."
Wang Yi smiled, but didn't explain anything further, seemingly convinced that Qin Ruoliu couldn't understand, and continued speaking.
I studied at the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect for three years, and escaped in the thirty-second year of Zhenping. For the next two years, I disappeared from the martial world.
The world is vast, as boundless as the sea, and as majestic as the mountains, more than enough to conceal even a grain of sand like me.
For two years, the Wuma family had already been despised and hunted down by the righteous faction. But without the mother vermin, they quickly became preoccupied with their own affairs and had no energy left to investigate. Soon after, they spread the word and went into seclusion.
The wanted poster for me from the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect had long since yellowed and was gradually forgotten. The name Wu Ma Yi was simply forgotten and discarded, becoming a piece of paper that was knocked down by rain one day and chased into the mud by passing carriages.
It's perfectly normal. After all, everyone is busy taking care of themselves in this world, so why would they care about a teenager? The anger and sadness of the moment will eventually scab over and turn into a sigh.
Only when I think of how those people are suffering and angry because of me, and how the name Wuma Yi will forever remain a thorn in their hearts, do I finally feel relieved.
Therefore, in the thirty-fourth year of Zhenping, when I stood before the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley, and the disciple in charge of recording asked me my name, I thought for a moment and answered:
"Wang Yi".
This became my second identity. At that time, I was eighteen years old, the kind of young man that people in the martial arts world talked about.
"It's really nostalgic to think about it now. I met the first person I cared about there. I was even surprised by her purity and admired her for a moment, feeling that she was worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with me."
Wang Yi suddenly looked up at the moon, as if reminiscing. But Qin Ruoli felt a chill; if she didn't comply with someone like him, she would never have a good ending.
"That person is Chen Shudong, the master of Qingluan Medicine Valley, and also my... master."
The trials at Qingluan Medicine Valley are far more rigorous than those at Shenshu Tianji Sect, taking place only once every three years, with each trial lasting three months. During this time, students learn the classics of herbs and traditional Chinese medicine, and only those who excel in the final trials are accepted into the sect. As a result, Qingluan Medicine Valley has very few disciples, most of whom wander the world as physicians, their whereabouts uncertain.
On the day the results were announced, it was like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, with countless people looking up and waiting, all hoping to knock on this longed-for mountain gate.
Wang Yi.
Some sighed that it wasn't them, some were curious about who this Wang Yi was, and some were unwilling to accept it and wanted to ask the disciples of Qingluan Medicine Valley to take in another person. But eventually, the dust settled, and the commotion dissipated after a while.
"Congratulations in advance to young hero Wang Yi."
The girl who introduced me to the place was about my age. She seemed very happy and said mysteriously.
"Guess who wants to take you in?"
"Is it Valley Master Chen?" I laughed.
"So confident?" The girl blinked in surprise.
"Indeed, it is the Valley Master herself who said she wanted to take you in. Remember to perform well in a while, and maybe she will accept you as her first disciple."
"From now on, you will be the senior sister."
I still remember the first time I met Chen Shudong.
In the bamboo forest on a sweltering summer day, shadows fell on the bluestone path. The guide stopped outside the valley master's courtyard. I was the only one walking this path. This place was perfectly suited to the residence of a refined scholar, quiet and elegant, with a faint fragrance of herbs.
At the end of that path, directly opposite a window, was a person framed within it. Her long hair was half-tied, adorned with a jade hairpin, and she wore white robes, her face bent over a desk.
I didn't conceal my footsteps, so the person quickly noticed, turned around, and waved at me.
...
"You're very clever. To have learned to this extent in just three months, you're not someone who was ignorant of medical principles before. Did you have a teacher before?"
Chen Shudong held my exam paper in her hand, seemingly quite satisfied. She was very young, actually not much older than me.
"Reporting to the Valley Master, I have no formal teacher. I have admired medicine since childhood, and in order to enter the Medicine Valley, I studied medicine in a local pharmacy for several years. Therefore, I know a little about the names of herbs and have a rudimentary understanding of traditional Chinese medicine, but it is only superficial," I said, bowing.
"Very good, you work very hard and are very talented."
Chen Shudong smiled, but quickly changed the subject.
"But... the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley doesn't actually need so-called geniuses, and even talent isn't that important. After all, diligence can make up for lack of talent, and as long as you practice medicine year after year, you will eventually achieve something."
Chen Shudong looked into my eyes and said very seriously, then she reached out and pointed to her left chest.
"The most important thing is your own heart. Do you have the benevolence to heal the sick and save lives? Can you feel your heart burning with sorrow when you hear the cries of the sick? Can you feel the pain of others as if it were your own flesh?"
"Are you... truly sincere in joining my sect? Have you sworn never to betray me?"
"certainly."
Without hesitation, I answered. I lifted my robe, knelt down, and kowtowed three times to her.
"If I, Wang Yi, am fortunate enough to be accepted as a disciple of Master Chen, I will surely make a grand vow to help the world and do my utmost to cure the chronic illness. I will never betray my master in this lifetime."
"If anyone disobeys, I am willing to be struck by five thunderbolts and be pierced by ten thousand blades!"
...
"Of course it's a lie."
Wang Yixiao caught a glimpse of Qin Ruoliu's hand gripping the wine glass, where the veins were bulging, clearly indicating she was enduring it but still didn't lash out. He understood immediately.
Indeed, there aren't that many chivalrous and righteous people in this world, not even in the martial arts world. A hint of amusement appeared in her eyes as she shook her head and continued.
"It's just that among the three sects that hold the secret of the Half-Immortal, the other two have a Half-Immortal existing in the world, but the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley does not. So I thought this place should be the best place to break through. I joined this place and became the person closest to Chen Shudong, just for this reason."
"The rest are just Chen Shudong's wishful thinking."
...
Chen Shudong is only five years older than me; she was twenty-three when I became her student. So we addressed each other as teacher and student, but in private we were more like friends.
Two more years passed. It was the thirty-sixth year of Zhenping. She was twenty-five, and I was twenty. Time flies, and our bamboo grove had already witnessed two cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
During this time, Chen Shudong imparted all his knowledge to me, teaching me the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique, including the profound medical skills of the Azure Phoenix Valley. Unfortunately, my martial arts talent was not high, and I had only just broken through to the third level at the age of twenty.
But we talked about almost everything, and our trust in each other was deep.
"My master worked himself to the bone and passed away just after I turned twenty, leaving such a large sect to me at such a young age. But I didn't really want to be the master of Qingluan Medicine Valley; I just wanted to be a wandering doctor who travels the world."
One day, Chen Shudong sighed as he looked out the window. She put down her pen, tilted her head, and leaned it on my shoulder.
It was a time of clear autumn skies and crisp air, and the bamboo leaves were turning yellow.
“Master, how about I watch over this place for you for a day? You can take a day off and go down the mountain to have some fun. It's just for one day, nothing will go wrong.”
I smiled, skillfully massaged her sore arms, and said...
"I heard there's a temple fair down the mountain today, and it's very lively."
Chen Shudong's eyes lit up; he was clearly very interested. After a few words of persuasion from me, he handed me the medical records of the patients he was seeing that day and went down the mountain.
She gained the brief freedom she had always dreamed of.
And I have a long enough and safe enough time to thoroughly explore all the secrets of this bamboo forest.
I laughed genuinely.
Actually, I've already explored this place thoroughly, but there's one thing I've never had a chance to get close to: a wooden box that Chen Shudong carefully placed in her pillow, which she used to fall asleep every night.
At this moment, the wooden box is lying quietly in my hand.
"...It's just a pity that I didn't find the secret about the demigod I was looking for there."
Wang Yi raised her hand and picked up a strand of hair from her sideburns, twirling it around in a somewhat idle manner.
"That wooden box was full of letters left by the former Valley Master. Every word was an instruction to Chen Shudong, telling him not to forget his original intentions, etc. I had no interest in them at all and just glanced at them."
"Until I saw a letter at the very bottom of the wooden box, which read:"
This made things a bit difficult. I put the wooden box and letter back in their place, as if nothing had ever happened.
Therefore, the only way to get this secret out of Chen Shudong is to pry it out of his mouth.
...
"Wang Yi!"
Before the sun had set, Chen Shudong, dressed in white and bathed in the glow of the sunset, burst through the door, a basket slung over her arm. She looked flustered, unlike her usual self.
"You're back?"
A faint cry came from the bamboo basket, intermittent and sometimes faint.
I was slightly taken aback; this was truly unexpected.
Chen Shudong's trip down the mountain this time turned out to be to find an abandoned baby.
Inside the abandoned baby's wooden basket was a bamboo plaque that read:
Border.
Author's Note: I felt somewhat sad while writing this, especially when writing about the story between Chen Shudong and Wang Yi, whose relationship was completely misaligned. (ノдヽ)
Damn it, even daily updates are impossible for a corporate slave, and missing it makes me even more upset... TT
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