Twenty-two: Times Change, Things Change - Part Three
Ji Zhen was close by, and the blood splattered directly onto her eyes.
Pei Xuanzhen felt a sense of foreboding when he saw Lu Sui pull out a knife. He wanted to rush forward, but two younger servants, fearing his anger, held him back, preventing him from exerting any force. Then, Lu Sui committed suicide. Pei Xuanzhen felt a chill run down his spine, but he still used his remaining strength to turn around and shield Lu Sui's blood behind him.
Du Gewen and Xiang Wan were completely oblivious to Lu Sui. In their anxiety, they unexpectedly smelled the warm, metallic scent of blood and couldn't help but look over in surprise.
"Heavens above, what a calamity!" Xiang Wan, who had experienced much, had a slightly relieved expression on his face because he had found a way to cure Chen Du. However, when he turned his head and saw the bloody scene, his beard and wrinkles trembled involuntarily.
Chen Du kept staring in Lu Sui's direction. As Lu Sui fell backward, his eyes were stained with Lu Sui's blood, which mixed with the bloodstains on his face that had not yet been completely wiped clean.
Shen Du's blood was cold, but he was still alive, and with Xiang Wan's treatment, he gradually regained his strength.
Lu Sui's blood was hot, but he had bled to death and was lifeless.
"Lu Zian! Lu Sui!" Shen Du could only stretch out one hand to grab the ground, but his body was being held down by the two men.
The sound of an adult falling to the ground echoed like thunder throughout the hall.
Ji Zhen stepped forward, checked Lu Sui's breath and pulse, and shook his head at Pei Xuanzhen, who was a step behind.
"This is unheard of!"
At that moment, Pei Xuanzhen tried his best to calm down. The man was dead, and he had to quickly handle the funeral arrangements.
"This matter must not be made public."
Following Pei Xuanzhen's orders, Ji Zhen sent Ming Jin and Zhou Wei to the back room and asked Huang Jing to watch over them to prevent any trouble. Ji Zhen didn't return until late at night and told the three of them to rest.
Pei Xuanzhen felt this matter was extremely inappropriate and ordered everyone present not to spread it. He especially warned Ming Jin and Zhou Wei, as they were young and might not be able to control their tongues. Pei Xuanzhen reassured them, worried they might be frightened, and instructed them not to utter a single word. The two were already quite frightened, and no matter what Pei Xuanzhen said, they simply nodded in agreement.
Lu Sui's death was publicly stated as an injury inflicted by a malevolent spirit. However, Pei Xuanzhen was furious and did not erect a monument for him on Kongyun Mountain. Although the people on the mountain were surprised by this arrangement, they thought that Pei Xuanzhen was always fair in his actions and that there must be a reason behind it that they did not yet know, so they tacitly did not ask.
The one most affected by this incident is undoubtedly Shendu.
First, there was his injury.
Although Xiang Wan healed Chen Du's injuries, the treatment was somewhat delayed, and it was the first time she had encountered a situation that specifically attacked a cultivator's spiritual veins. The treatment wasn't entirely sufficient, and while the injuries were healed, some symptoms remained. The most obvious symptom was that whenever Chen Du began practicing spells that required high cultivation levels, he would instantly find it difficult to breathe, and over time, this could almost lead to suffocation.
It was a year after the disaster, and Shen Du had been working hard to cultivate, hoping to return to his original state. At that time, Xiang Wan was still in Kongyun Mountain. She showed Shen Du the signs many times, but found it difficult to speak. However, she still announced to Du Gewen and Shen Du: "From now on, Tian Yi will probably not be able to cultivate much more."
He was almost heartbroken by Xiang Wan's words.
"What does this mean?" Dugwen asked anxiously.
"The damage to the spiritual veins prevents Tianyi from accumulating more cultivation; at most, he can only maintain the status quo. If a way can be found to repair the injured spiritual veins in the future, things will take a turn for the better."
Shen Du grew up alongside Ming Jin and Zhou Wei, following Lu Ying from a young age. He admired Lu Ying's high level of cultivation and wanted to enter the academy to become a cultivator. However, when he was eighteen, Lu Ying, who usually had white hair and a youthful face, fell ill due to unbearable old injuries from the past decades and passed away in just one month.
At that time, he was not yet able to fully grasp the impact of the injury; he was only thinking about inheriting Lu Ying's cause and choosing to cultivate under the tutelage of the elders of the Wuzong sect.
I never imagined that I would suffer the same fate in just three years.
He was unwilling to give up completely, and Pei Xuanzhen was saddened to see him like this, so he took Chen Du with him.
However, with one less disciple and another falling ill, the burden on the mountain suddenly increased for everyone.
Perhaps heartbreak is even harder to heal.
Lu Sui was a year older than Chen Du, but the two entered the academy in the same year and lived together, almost inseparable. During those years at the academy, anyone who asked knew that the two of them spent all their time together. One said he would inherit the academy in the future, and the other said he would shoulder the responsibility of Emperor Wuzong's cause, so they worked hard together.
However, their friendship came to an abrupt end because of a bolt of lightning that struck from the sky.
Afterwards, Fu Nai, the second disciple of the Pei Clan, who was unaware of the truth, mentioned Lu Sui to Shen Du. He only knew that Shen Du's good brother had died tragically, and that Fu Nai had even gone to see him before his burial. He thought Lu Sui's death was gruesome and imagined it would be an even greater blow to Shen Du.
Even as he spoke, Shen Du managed to maintain a smile, but after a few more words, he turned and left. Ming Jin and Zhou Wei knew the inside story but couldn't reveal it, so they could only tell Fu Nai that Shen Du still harbored resentment towards Lu Suizhi and that it was best not to mention it again. Although Fu Nai and Lu Suizhi were from the same school, their relationship was lukewarm. He was very close to Shen Du, whom he had grown up with, and Pei Xuanzhen had kept Shen Du working for him, so Fu Nai had even less thought about his senior brother.
So no one mentioned it again.
The relationship between Ming Jin and Lu Sui was not very close.
Lu Sui's family was an ordinary family in Changhe Town, with a younger brother and sister. He was not yet married, so no one found it strange when they heard that Pei Xuanzhen wanted to bury his body in the family cemetery.
Changhe Town wasn't very big, but it was impossible to befriend everyone in town. Therefore, although Lu Sui was only two years older than Ming Jin, the two had absolutely no interaction before entering the academy. After entering the academy, with Huang Jing around, Ming Jin showed little interest in the other senior students and had even less time to pay attention to him.
On the day Lu Sui committed suicide, Pei Xuanzhen tried to shield her and Zhou Wei, but only covered Ming Jin's eye. Her other eye was fixed on every movement of Lu Sui's suicide.
Blood splattered everywhere, and even now, the memory remains vivid.
She never dared to talk about this with Shen Du.
She knew of Shen Du's admiration for Lu Ying and had known of Shen Du's ambitions ten years earlier than Lu Sui.
She didn't discuss this with Zhou Wei, because Zhou Wei disapproved of Lu Sui's choice. When Ji Zhen escorted him to the back to rest that day, Zhou Wei had casually expressed his opinion.
"If a person becomes a general just for the sake of becoming a general, he will only end up becoming a warmonger."
But today, with the storm approaching, Wei Jing's words made her worry about Deng Lin's safety, just as Wei Jing worried about Meng Sheng. Now, with no one else present to rely on, she could only place her hopes on Shen Du himself.
In Pinghe's memory, the lightning technique used by the man named Zhegui, also known as Ciyun Chonggui, was very similar to the lightning technique used to attack Chen Du. Mingjin had only glanced at it briefly and wasn't sure. However, Zhou Wei mentioned signs of a Chonggui approaching nearby, so she couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Zhegui might come to Pinghe's rescue.
Through her magic, she saw the scene of thunderclouds swallowing fireballs again.
Mingjin sat in the boat, bending his upper body downwards, his hands clasped behind his mouth as he pondered deeply.
She recalled Meng Sheng's words—the ghost who resembled Ping He and led a large group of malevolent spirits to attack the capital. Ping He was probably not the ghost, and Fu Xia and Lu Yuzhu were clearly even less similar to Meng Sheng's description. If so, could that ghost be Zhe Gui?
Unfortunately, even from a distance, Ming Jin smacked his head, completely forgetting what it looked like to win the laurel wreath.
Such precautions might still not be enough. She wasn't doubting the abilities of Juxia and the Huicheng cultivators, but within her visible range, she only saw Chen Du standing in the torrential rain, being washed by the rain and struck by lightning.
"Toothie."
The rain outside intensified, the sound of which almost drowned out Mingjin's voice and also the sound of Yazai flapping its wings.
Tooth was originally carved from spirit wood. It fears fire but loves water. This kind of weather makes it very happy, so it flutters its wings joyfully.
"Go quickly and find Master Mu and ask him to come over."
With a cry, Ya Zai received the command and flew away.
Back on Juxia's boat, Mingjin didn't look out again. She didn't know if going to Mu Ning was the right thing to do, since he was now deeply mired in another unbearable pain, but there was no one else she could rely on more.
She thought of Chen Du and then of Lu Ying.
After her parents passed away, Lu Ying moved from the mountain to Changhe Town to live with Ming Jin, but this only lasted for a little over three years before she passed away.
After falling ill, Lu Ying refused to stay in bed and asked Ming Jin to move his reclining chair to the yard. It was still spring then, but spring came early that year, and Xiang Wan couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she could only let him be.
"I'm about to leave, in the next few days."
Mingjin moved a small stool and sat in front of Xiang Wan, listening to his unfamiliar, aged voice murmur.
"After Zhe'er left, your uncle wanted to take you with him, but it was only because of this old man that I was able to persuade him to stay. The old man has always tried his best to keep his word, but on this matter, he only managed to do so for this short period of time."
“Good child, don’t cry. I was born before you, so I will surely die before you. Don’t be sad about this,” Lu Ying said, taking off the bracelet from her wrist and placing it in Ming Jin’s hand. “Now, I am just following the tradition of thousands of years to reach the end of my life. But you must remember that we are doing this so that innocent people have the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest, instead of dying halfway through.”
“My life has been quite bumpy, but at least I’ve made it to the end,” Lu Ying smiled at Ming Jin.
Coming to his senses, Ming Jin opened his pouch and took out a faded white bag, from which he retrieved a pure autumn-colored bracelet. The bracelet was a keepsake of the older generation of cultivators from Kongyun Mountain. After Lu Ying's death, the bracelet should have been kept on the mountain, but Pei Xuanzhen decided to leave it in Ming Jin's possession.
"Miss Ming, we've arrived."
Mingjin looked back and saw that the way they had come was through a series of arched tunnels under bridges. The boat couldn't go into the inner city and stopped three streets away from the clinic.
“Young lady, just walk along this road until you reach the Three-Arch Bridge, and you’ll see the clinic. There are still people on duty in the city at this time. If you’re not familiar with the city’s roads, just ask for directions. Here, take this lantern.”
As they disembarked, the rain was still pouring down and it was already getting dark. The boatman handed the red lantern hanging at the bow of the boat to Mingjin.
"It's dark, so you should take it."
"Don't worry about it. I'm going straight home now, and I know the city better than you do. Here you go."
The rain started to fall again, and Mingjin, carrying a lantern, walked across the street. She found the pavilion built by the riverbank to be very familiar. She hadn't been to Juxia City many times; her last memory of it was when she was invited here to attend the grand banquet.
This is where we used to gather by the water.
The rain intensified, the sound of rain filling the air from all directions, and even an umbrella couldn't keep out all the downpour. So Mingjin went to the pavilion to seek shelter from the heavy rain.
The pavilion had been drenched by rain several times, and the ground was wet. When Mingjin walked over, the ground hadn't changed color. Mingjin picked up the lantern and looked closely; water was constantly dripping from the roof of the pavilion on the side facing the water, which was why the ground was wet. The wind was blowing the rain at an angle, so it had also wet the other side.
There was nowhere to sit.
The peach blossoms nearby have faded, leaving only dark leaves drifting in the rain, barely visible now. The wind whips the willow branches through the air, but compared to the scenery, the whistling sound of the wind hitting the branches always makes one feel uneasy.
"Sister Tianguang".
Ming Jin was in a daze when Xi Xiangfeng's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Before leaving, Mingjin told Xi Xiangfeng about her plans, so she figured Mingjin would probably return by the boat that delivered goods. Seeing that the weather was getting dark and knowing that Mingjin wasn't familiar with the city, she went out with an umbrella to look for her. Luckily, she hadn't gone far when she saw a faintly moving red dot on the platform.
"Let's go back," Xi Xiangfeng advised.
“Yes, let’s go,” Mingjin knew that he was a guest after all and could not make things difficult for Xi Xiangfeng. He picked up his umbrella and prepared to go back, but suddenly remembered something. “When you came, was Master Ji still in the clinic?”
"No, Master Ji went to the class elder's place."
"I'll go take a look first, then I'll go back to the clinic," Ming Jin smiled as he saw Xi Xiangfeng hesitate. "Don't worry, I've taken the road to Elder Ban's place several times already. I just have a few words to say, and I'll probably feel suffocated if I don't tell Master Ji tonight. I'll be right back. Although, Master Ji probably won't need my words."
“In that case, sister should come back soon,” Xi Xiangfeng sensed that Mingjin had something she couldn’t tell outsiders, and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. “This afternoon, after you left, Guan’er came and brought some seasonal food. It’s raining, so the food might spoil. You should come back soon.”
Mingjin agreed and took the lantern and went ahead.
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