Chapter 21 Lame Immortal Tears
"Why would such a useless gang ride in a carriage?" Wei Ci sneered.
Cang Ming whispered quietly, "This carriage was once the vehicle of successive masters of the Tongduo Sect. It was once magnificent and unparalleled, but now it has become a pile of scrap metal. It's true that nothing is permanent."
Just as Cang Ming finished speaking, a wheel of the carriage fell off.
Clang! The carriage fell sideways on the road, like a tortoise shell.
The puppet, pulling the skinny horse, clattered off the cart and scrambled around, chasing the wheels like a clumsy wooden skeleton. Cang Ming sneered.
A dry voice in the carriage asked, "What's going on? Why did it fall again?"
The puppet's wooden jaw moved up and down, and it replied in a clattering voice, "My master, it's broken and can't be put back together."
The dry voice coughed violently a few times and shouted angrily: "Useless thing, go find a passerby to help."
Wei Ci's fist clenched with a crackling sound.
Cang Mingqi asked, "Do you know him?"
Wei Ci snorted, "I don't know him. I only beat him once."
“…”
Seeing his unfriendly expression, Cang Ming asked cautiously, "Has he done business with you?"
Wei Ci shook his head and said that was all.
Cang Ming stood up and pointed in the direction of Xiyuan Sanfang. The two of them lightly jumped into the forest and left on the snowy road.
Wei Ci reached out and pushed aside a branch overhead, letting Cang Ming come over. He asked, "General, are you going to tell the Fairy of Music?"
Cang Ming pondered for a moment, then said, "Well, now that you're my subordinate, I should tell you about what happened back then."
“…”
Cang Ming said, "The Tongduo Sect, one of the four major sects, also tried to compete for the Pearl Crown and sent a group of useless disciples to hunt me down. You've probably heard about this as well."
Wei Ci's face was gloomy and uncertain. Cang Ming suddenly remembered that he had also gone to look for the pearl crown, and immediately said righteously: "Such a despicable person will definitely do something bad if he gets the pearl crown!"
Seeing that he still looked unhappy, Cang Ming added, "If a great collector like you got the pearl crown, it would be such an elegant and beautiful story. But if these foolish Taoists got the pearl crown, they would definitely use it to steal and rob. Do they think they can dominate the world with just this? Oh, you're dreaming..."
Wei Ci finally smiled, and Cang Ming continued, "The Tongduo Sect wasn't like this before. What a pity, alas."
As they were talking, they had already returned to the third block of Xiyuan. The dilapidated old building, covered with white snow, looked neat and elegant, almost like a quiet and isolated tower.
Wu Lu and Xi Sheng sat at opposite ends of a bench, one calculating on an abacus while the other wiped his suona and scoffed, "There aren't any new customers coming into the shop, so what's there to calculate?"
Wu Lu retorted, "There are always bad things happening in ghost towns. My business dealing with demons and ghosts is no match for your business dealing with the dead."
Just as Xisheng was about to take action, Cang Ming patted her shoulder and said to the two of them, "Guess who's here?"
Wu Lu looked at Wei Ci with a twitching face and said, "Isn't it just that your someone is here?"
Wei Ci sat lazily aside, smiling happily without even lifting his eyelids.
Wu Lu looked at Cang Ming again and said, "Sister Cang walked in all jewels and precious stones."
Cang Ming said in a sinister tone, "It's the holy immortal. He has come to Fengyan City."
Wu Lu's hand hovered over the board. His face instantly turned as pale as a ghost. Cang Ming said, "What we just saw."
Xi Sheng asked in confusion, "Isn't he the current Master of the Tongduo Sect? Why isn't he staying at Tongduo Mountain? Does your sect even have to ask its Master to come out and earn a living?"
Wu Lu lowered his arms dejectedly and said to Xun Yan and Mi Xia, "Bring the screen here."
The soundproof screen fell beside the round table where several people usually sat. Wei Ci put his hands behind his back and asked, "Do you want me to join in?"
Wu Lu said distractedly: "Whatever you want, you are Cang Ming's follower anyway."
So Wei Ci also walked over to the round table and sat down. Wu Lu tapped the table leg with his cane for a while, and finally said, "Do you think I was born crippled?"
Several people were silent.
Xisheng looked at Cangming, and Cangming shook his head in confusion.
"General." Wei Ci's voice suddenly sounded in his ears, scaring Cang Ming so much that he almost jumped up.
She looked at Wei Ci and found that the latter was sitting upright in the chair, looking well-behaved and docile.
But the voice just now was so clear and deep, as if it was echoing in her mind.
Wei Ci's voice rang out again: "General, the earrings you wear are magical instruments for hearing voices, and the lipstick you apply is a magical instrument for transmitting sound."
Cang Ming was greatly shocked and tried to reply with his mind: "Wei Ci? Then can you hear me?"
Wei Ci winked at her, and Cang Ming heard his voice in his mind say, "Of course. With this set of spiritual items, I can hear you no matter how far away you are."
Cang Ming replied curiously: "Then why don't you wear earrings or lipstick?"
"..." Wei Ci replied calmly, "Because I have powerful magic skills."
Cang Ming suddenly realized.
"General, it's so boring here." Wei Ci said in a slightly aggrieved voice, "It's more fun to drink with you on the roof."
Cang Ming glanced at Wu Lu quietly, only to see him holding his forehead with one hand, his face gloomy. Cang Ming calmly sent a message to Wei Ci: "It's a shame you've wasted your time staying here. This isn't really your business. Let's hear what Wu Lu has to say, and then I'll take you back."
"Yes." Wei Ci blinked his charming eyes, "It's settled. General, please escort me back."
Xisheng had already fallen into an unknown level of dormancy. Cang Ming pondered for a moment and then said, "Wuli, ever since I can remember, your leg has been... I never asked because I was afraid it would upset you."
Cang Ming secretly explained to Wei Ci, "Wulü is my childhood friend. We were both in our hometown outside the Great Wall when we were young. He grew up with his uncle and lived in the mansion next door. That mansion was called Xiyuan Sanfang."
Wei Ci said "oh" nonchalantly.
Wu Lu smiled bitterly and asked, "Sister Shi, how old are you when you can remember things?"
Cang Ming said with a little shame: "Eight years old."
Wu Lu said sadly, "But I still remember many things from when I was four years old. Every scene is etched in my memory. Do you know why? Because when I was four, something happened that made me never be carefree again in my life."
Xisheng opened his eyes and wrung his hands as if he had a premonition.
Wu Lu spoke slowly, word by word, "I grew up without parents and lived with my uncle, treating my cousin Zhong Wuqi like a real brother. But one day, a group of us kids went to play hide-and-seek in a valley... Zhong Wuqi told me to hide in the deepest part of the valley, and I hid there for a long time... Then I sat down, and a huge rock hit my right leg... The pain was so severe that I almost fainted and forgot even to cry."
Cang Ming and Xi Sheng both held their breath. Wu Lu said, "I looked up and saw Zhong Wuqi flash by the edge of the cliff. That year, Zhong Wuqi was twelve years old, and I was four."
Cang Ming clutched the hem of her robe tightly, feeling her heart clenched in knots. She asked, "Does your uncle know?"
Wu Lu said indifferently, "Perhaps he doesn't know. Uncle is a master, and he spends most of the year in Tongduo Mountain."
Cang Ming recalled the past and felt an indescribable sadness: "Then Sect Leader Zhong took you to the Tongduo Sect as well. You and Zhong Wuqi were together day and night for so many years?"
"Living under someone else's roof, what can I do?" Wu Lu said with a mocking expression, "I practiced hard, used my cane as a magic weapon, and became an immortal at a young age. But before my uncle died, he passed the position of the head of the sect to Zhong Wuqi."
Cang Ming suddenly said angrily, "Why is it him? That good-for-nothing who hasn't even cultivated a golden elixir, and yet he has the nerve to call himself the Holy Immortal, taking up three good words..."
Wei Ci chuckled.
Only by achieving the Golden Elixir can one enter the realm of true cultivation, freeing themselves from the cycle of reincarnation. Those like the Three Immortals of Xiyuan, who have become wandering immortals, live a carefree and carefree life, unburdened by worldly concerns. Their daily drinking and dining are merely for the pleasure of the world, not a necessity.
Xi Sheng said coldly, "Zhong Wuqi pushed the stone down, of course he had some ulterior motive."
Wu Lu said bleakly, "That's right. According to our ancestral rules, the position of leader of our sect cannot be held by a disabled person."
Xisheng snorted, "That's not Zhong Wuqi's turn. Has he ever been in the spotlight at any of the previous Heroes' Conferences? Has he ever made any significant contributions in any of the previous demon-suppression events?"
"The Tongduo Sect values blood ties over cultivation. The sacred immortal has known how to eliminate major troubles since he was young, so he naturally knows how to make the old leader happy." Wei Ci said indifferently from the side.
Cang Ming patted Wu Lu's shoulder and said, "Just kill him."
Wu Lu sighed and stopped talking.
Cang Ming said: "You think of the old master's kindness in raising you, so what? Zhong Wuqi deserves it."
Wei Ci's voice came into his ears again: "The general is still a decisive person."
Cang Ming silently replied, "Although I aspire to become a god, I actually do not possess any divinity."
"This is even more charming and admirable." If Wei Ci hadn't been using telepathy, he would probably have clapped his hands with bright eyes.
Wu Lu stood up with the help of crutches and walked up the stairs. His steps were so unsteady that he looked as if he had already aged.
"Wuli." Cang Ming asked loudly behind him, "Do you really want to revive the Tongduo Sect?"
Wu Lu turned around and said, "I want to."
Xisheng said in a resounding voice, "Then seize the position of the head."
Wu Lu said sadly: "It would be nice for me to open an inn..."
When Cang Ming sent Wei Ci back, the one-wheeled carriage was still lying on the side of the road, and the carriage was empty.
They both whistled in gleeful laughter. Cang Ming quickly covered his mouth with both hands and waved at him. They both scrambled to hide in the forest, peering at the carriage from between the tree trunks.
After looking for a long time and seeing no sign of Zhong Wuqi, Cang Ming was worried that something was wrong, so he suddenly pulled Wei Ci's arm, turned around and ran towards the antique shop.
Wei Ci followed immediately like a shadow, and Cang Ming insisted on running ahead of him. In the end, the two of them chased and played all the way back to the ancient building.
Then, Cang Ming suddenly felt a wave of sadness. Wu Lu was still suffering alone in the attic of Xi Garden, while she was already laughing and playing in the snow. It was true that the joys and sorrows of people were not connected.
As usual, Wei Ci invited Cang Ming into the building through the main gate. Dusk enveloped the building. Ice-cold waterfalls cascaded to the west, and hot springs bubbled to the east. The branches of trees were laden with red wild fruits, and the numerous pavilions were hung with translucent ice lanterns.
It was almost New Year's Eve, and the passing of the four seasons seemed like a dream. Cang Ming sat casually on the long steps, saying wistfully, "I haven't celebrated New Year's since I left home."
Wei Ci said, "That's not difficult. If the general doesn't mind, come to my place to celebrate."
Cang Ming smiled. "Thank you very much. I never thought I would end up here one day. I also never thought the four major sects would decline, and no other sect would rise. It's all incredible."
Wei Ci sat down next to her and asked seriously, "General, Zhong Wuqi, what are you going to do?"
Cang Ming unconsciously stroked his earring, revealing a faint expression: "When the old gang leader was still alive, he even sent Wu Lu to the Wang Xian Sect to serve as a drum-beating envoy to show the close relationship between the two sects."
Wei Ci laughed through his nose.
Cang Ming's face also broke into a smile. "When we were practicing dancing, he would beat the rhythm beside us. Later, I met Xi Sheng and invited her to stay at Wang Xian Yuan. The three of us once hunted ghosts together. Those two years were really fun."
Without refusing to say anything, she continued, "Later, the Weiyang Crown was lost, Zhong Wuqi had already taken the position of head, and the Tongduo Sect... became what it is today."
A waiter came quickly with a tea tray, on which was a blank scroll of paper. Wei Ci took a look and said to Cang Ming, "General, Zhong Wuqi has gone to the third square of Xiyuan now."
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