Chapter 20 The Journey Begins in April (End of Volume One...)
When Lin Chengye returned from Yunling, the sun was already setting. He bought two jars of famous wine from Lai State along the way, put the bill on Jiang Jin Medical Hall, and then headed to Bianyi's courtyard.
Bian Yi heard someone coming from afar and came out of the house early to greet her. When she saw Lin Chengye carrying wine, her eyes lit up.
"Is it the Three Thousand Wells?"
"right."
The moon tonight is as white as snow, making people's hair turn silvery white. Lin Chengye narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"You like tofu soup?"
"How did you know? Oh right, that's the name of my courtyard... I'm really not very educated, please don't mind."
Bian Yi hugged the wine jar and touched the tip of his nose sheepishly.
"No, it's quite interesting."
Lin Chengye chuckled and clapped his hands.
"Come on, have a drink with me."
...
Bian Yi chose the rooftop as the place for them to drink together, prepared two bowls, and nothing else.
Here, the moon is extremely close, almost within reach. The sky is dotted with stars, and the night breeze brushes against your neck without feeling cold. It's a rare and beautiful day.
This is the perfect time to say something insightful.
Lin Chengye filled both of their bowls to the brim, and the rims of the bowls clinked together, producing a long, crisp sound that lingered for a long time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bian Yi gulp down a bowl of wine, looking preoccupied. He coughed from the spiciness, and a faint blush rose to the tips of his ears and cheeks.
As expected, he couldn't hold his liquor. Lin Chengye was in a good mood today, a faint smile on his lips, patiently waiting for Bian Yi to speak first.
"I……"
Bian Yi drank another bowl by himself, his eyes becoming hazy before he spoke.
"As far as I know, there are two kinds of things in the world that can restore meridians. One is owned by the Northern Yan royal family and is called the Golden Double-Headed Poisonous Grass. The other is in the hands of the current number one martial arts sect, the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect, and is called the Bone-Growing Double-Headed Serpent."
I've already sent two letters without permission. One to the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect, and the other to my old friend Guan Yuenan. But Sect Master Guan's attitude is unclear; he hasn't replied. However, Guan Yuenan replied quickly, saying that this matter is actually worth a try.
"Could this Vietnamese official be... the young master of the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect?"
Lin Chengye suddenly realized.
"You're half right. It's true that he's the only son of Guan Xiaoxian, the sect leader of the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect, but he's not the young sect leader. Although his swordsmanship is excellent, he has absolutely no talent when it comes to the core secret treasures and various mechanisms and formations of the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect."
In recent years, Guan Xiaoxian has been recruiting disciples extensively to ensure the continuation of the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect, but none have yet satisfied her.
Bian Yi paused, then, emboldened by the alcohol, looked directly into Lin Chengye's eyes. She was a little nervous, but still moved closer to Lin Chengye and whispered.
"...However, the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect is far away in Jiuchen, the capital of Southern Qi. We will be there for a long time this time."
"us?"
Lin Chengye paused, holding the wine glass, and sighed.
“But Bian Yi, I have come to say goodbye today.”
Bian Yi's wrist stiffened, and the empty wine bowl slipped from his hand and rolled off the roof.
“Bian Yi, I don’t hate enough. If my mother could appear in my dreams, she would also advise me not to oppose His Majesty. She was loyal her whole life and taught me the same thing.”
Lin Chengye seemed oblivious to the man's forlorn expression under the moonlight and continued speaking.
"The Huang Qindong incident has made me think a lot these days. I want the truth, an explanation."
But that's not enough. My hatred is unbearable.
Just as Huang Qindong said, it's nothing more than a guilty conscience. While I'm unwilling to remain in this corner of the world, I think of the loyal bones of the Lin family buried in the northern frontier and the tens of thousands of wronged souls in Litao Prefecture. Revenge is torment, and so is this. Therefore…”
A surge of intense emotion suddenly welled up in Lin Chengye's eyes, and all his previous confusion and hesitation vanished.
She spoke slowly and deliberately, through gritted teeth.
"If the emperor is to die, and if there is someone else behind it all, that person will also die."
"Are you really going to investigate? But that's the emperor, the Son of Heaven."
Bian Yi felt a lump in her throat and suddenly reached out to place her hand on Lin Chengye's forearm, but dared not look into the boy's eyes. Her voice had been stuck in her throat for a long time, and when she finally spoke, it was extremely hoarse.
"Chengye, there are many, many things I haven't told you. But it's definitely not intentional; it's just that the hatred has been going on for too long, it's become so old and complicated that I don't even know where to begin."
Cheng Ye, are you familiar with the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley?
“Master Shichen examined my pulse and said that I have internal energy, which is like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain. This internal energy is the unique technique of the Qingluan Medicine Valley, a sect that was wiped out twenty-one years ago.”
Lin Chengye no longer concealed it.
“That’s where I was born. I have no blood relatives. I was an abandoned baby picked up by my master and taken to the mountain gate. So I regard my master as my mother, and all the people in the sect are my elder sisters and elder brothers.”
Bian Yi suddenly tasted blood in her mouth, realizing she had bitten her lip open without realizing it.
"My hatred... has not diminished in the slightest in twenty-one years. This is also why I do not associate Bian Yi with the leader of the Jiang Jin Alliance. I know that one day I will still seek revenge, and I cannot involve the Jiang Jin Alliance."
But Chengye, I never imagined that your enemy might also be my enemy. I always felt that my enemy and your enemy were somehow connected. If you're willing to let me investigate this matter together, it would be my good fortune, and I should be the one taking advantage of you.
This journey is arduous; you absolutely cannot go alone. Let me accompany you.
I'm really slow-witted, please don't blame me.
How could I possibly blame you?
Twenty-one years have passed. How have you managed all alone? Lin Chengye clenched his fist under his sleeve.
"If you don't believe me, Chengye, you can test me in many ways. I won't mind!"
Bian Yi picked up the wine jar and gulped it down his throat. The glistening liquid trickled down his chin and into his collar, which he then wiped haphazardly with his sleeve, staring longingly at Lin Chengye. He was already quite drunk, his cheeks flushed, and he looked rather pitiful.
"So... could you let me investigate these things with you under the identity of Bian Yi? I really can't rest easy letting you do it all by yourself."
So don't refuse.
“But I was just checking on you, Bian Yi.”
Lin Chengye reached out and touched the wine jar that Bian Yi was holding, splashing wine onto the back of her hand. She looked at Bian Yi's clear eyes under the moonlight and smiled bitterly.
"Huh? Oh... So, you didn't really come to say goodbye? Did you guess what I just said... so you came to ask me for a straight answer?"
Bian Yi tilted her head, trying to use her remaining clarity to understand Lin Chengye's meaning.
Are you angry?
Lin Chengye asked.
"No, on the contrary, I really... really hope that you can use me as a sword like this, that would be great."
Bian Yi shook his head, laughed heartily, and then said very seriously.
"If I really die on this road, it will be my greatest fortune. I have been suffering from this torment for 21 years. It is truly painful."
"That won't do."
Lin Chengye reached out and covered Bian Yi's mouth, raising an eyebrow.
"I hope we can be even luckier, and that after everything is over, we can retire from the martial world, travel together, and become chivalrous knights."
"Hmm..."
Sensing Bian Yi's hesitation, Lin Chengye knew that this person couldn't say what he wanted to hear, so he simply started to act spoiled.
"If you don't agree, I won't go with you, and I won't let you come with me."
"Hmm!"
Bian Yi opened her eyes wide and quickly nodded.
...
The two left on a very ordinary day; the sun was shining brightly, making Lin Chengye feel warm all over.
He tilted his head and saw Bian Yi pulling the carriage, his eyes half-closed, looking quite content.
Lin Chengye was still dressed in black with gold patterns, but with her wide-sleeved robe, her hair half-up and half-down, and a jade hairpin inserted at an angle, she was dressed like a young lady from a noble family.
Bian Yi didn't tie her hair up high; instead, she braided it into a plait and let it hang down her back, with a moon-white silk ribbon wrapped around the ends. She wore a wide bamboo hat, and although her clothes were still white, they were now narrow-sleeved and fitted, clearly the attire of a martial arts practitioner.
There was no sorrowful farewell, no tearful farewells, and Bian Yi told no one except Chai Hu Nan about her departure.
"Alliance Leader, Young Alliance Leader, please forgive me for not seeing you off further."
Chai Hu Nan remained as decisive and efficient as ever, except that beneath his black robe, the fingers of his right hand gripping the Alliance Leader's token had turned white.
When Bian Yi handed this item to her last night, he didn't say a word. Chai Hu Nan and she stood on the cliff behind Tianluan Mountain for a long time before he knelt down on one knee and accepted it with both hands.
"Anan is only temporarily keeping this item safe, waiting for the Alliance Leader and the Young Alliance Leader to return home."
"Um."
At that moment, Bian Yi helped her up and gently rubbed Chai Hu Nan's head through his black robe, feeling reluctant to part with her.
She wasn't a good leader; for so many years she was basically just a figurehead. All she left behind were some medical books and the ability to identify herbs. It was only because of these four that the Jiangjin Alliance and even the entire Jiangjin Realm were so prosperous.
After this parting, I don't know when we'll meet again.
"Hmm... there's this too."
Chai Hu Nan took out a piece of green jade token from his pocket, but the token was empty and had no markings.
"This is from Dongzi to the young leader. She came back from the temple yesterday and suddenly said that you will leave sooner or later, and if that day comes, she will give this to you, saying that she does not like parting."
"This is?"
Lin Chengye and Bian Yi exchanged glances; the latter also looked bewildered, apparently having never seen it before. She took the token and placed it in her palm.
"There is only one of its kind in the world. It looks very similar to Huang Qindong's own token, except that it doesn't have her name on it. Dongzi said that she can use this to withdraw money freely from the medical clinic under Jiang Jinmeng's name without any questions asked."
Chai Hu Nan took a step back, cupped his hands in a fist salute, bowed deeply to the two men, then raised his head and slowly spoke.
"Bon Voyage."
They say the road ahead is long and dark, but it's also April, when the mountains and plains are green.
(Volume 1: The Hesitant Path, End)
A note from the author:
I've finally finished writing Volume One. I wonder how everyone's experience was. If you liked it, please leave comments and let's discuss! I really enjoy commenting on people.
Actually, everything is just beginning, it's definitely a slow start (sigh).
The second volume will probably be released in two or three days.
The second volume is titled "Long Night," and it should be a rather lengthy journey through the Southern Qi Dynasty.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
