[Old Cold Wood] Her path is never a dead end
A few rays of sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting a faint, mottled light on Zhou Suyao's eyelids. Her consciousness slowly returned, and the delayed, sharp pain in her left shoulder was the first to awaken her, instantly shattering her chaotic consciousness.
The pain made her open her eyes suddenly. The bloody scenes that kept flashing back in her dream made her breathless for a moment. It was not until she saw clearly the furnishings of the quaint cottage in front of her that she suddenly exhaled.
Yes...she has already returned.
This is her path to immortality, her little house, her... human world.
Inside the bamboo house, air carrying the aroma of years of fireworks and the bitter taste of herbs rushed into her nostrils. She rubbed her still heavy head and tried several times before finally opening her eyes.
“Squeak—”
The bamboo door was gently pushed open, letting in a damp breeze mingled with the morning mist. Zhou Suyao looked in the direction of the sound and saw Master Zhou Xuqing, hunched over and quietly slinking over, carrying a rough medicine bowl. His hair was a mess, more like a bird's nest than usual, and the dark circles under his eyes were frighteningly dark. Only when his tired eyes met Zhou Suyao's did they manage to find a flicker of energy.
"Hey, you're awake? That's good. We didn't let those rats succeed."
He placed the medicine bowl on the bedside, then turned around and helped her open the window, muttering to herself, "Remember to drink the medicine while it's hot. Don't waste the hard work your master has put into the stove all night."
It was the same familiar, off-key tone, but it strangely soothed Zhou Suyao's cruel dream. She propped up her uninjured right arm and slowly sat up.
The medicine bowl was boiling hot, and the steam hit my face with a pungent bitter taste.
"Master," Zhou Suyao didn't drink the medicine immediately. Her gaze fell on her master's tired eyes. Unable to bear it, she asked softly, "You...didn't you sleep all night?"
The master was stared at by her, and suddenly heard this intimate conversation. He felt inexplicably embarrassed for a moment, turned his face away, and waved his hand impatiently: "Mind your own business and drink your medicine quickly! After drinking it, get up and stretch your bones, otherwise you will be like a dried-up salted fish by then!"
After saying this, he turned his back, slowly walked to the window, looked at the rolling sea of clouds in the distance, and said no more.
The bamboo house was silent for a moment, with only the smell of medicine silently spreading. Zhou Suyao picked up the bowl and took a sip, but her eyes were still fixed on the old man in front of her.
"Master." She slowly put down the empty bowl and whispered, "What exactly did you and Senior Ning Qinggui go through back then?"
The figure by the window suddenly froze.
Time seemed to have stopped in an instant. In the bamboo house, it was so quiet that one could almost hear the rustling of bamboo leaves outside the window and Zhou Xuqing's suddenly heavy breathing.
He still had his back to her, like a silent stone statue.
After a long time, so long that Zhou Suyao thought she wouldn't answer, a hoarse and dry voice finally rang out: "How much... do you know?"
"I saw an illusion..." She opened her mouth, her throat dry and itchy, "I saw... you pulling her... and she told you, Zhou Xuqing... to let go."
The window frame made a slight friction sound, the sound of the master's nails scratching on the rotten wood. He still did not turn around, but his back was more tense, as if he was enduring overwhelming pain.
"Dao Moxing... He said that as long as Ning Qinggui helps him succeed and ascends to the spiritual path, he will use the power of the sect to open a passage for the demon race... to connect to the spiritual path."
The demonic resentment within Zhou Suyao instantly burned like a rage when she heard her utter the words "Dao Mo Xing." However, Zhou Suyao was surprised to discover that this rage was limited to her spiritual power and no longer affected her consciousness, causing her to suffer a splitting headache.
She was stunned for a moment before she came back to her senses from the energy. She wanted to continue answering her master's question, but was interrupted by her master's words.
"aisle……"
The master's voice was hoarse and low, as if he was recalling something.
But his voice was trembling, as if recalling this incident would make him feel extremely painful.
"Heh... passage..."
He turned around suddenly.
The old face, filled with fatigue, was now distorted by intense emotion. He practically roared, "Go to the damn passage!"
"Dao Moxing! He never thought about fulfilling his promise... He... just wanted to use this incident to wish him well when he ascends to the spiritual path."
His body was trembling, and in his eyes was a sorrow that Zhou Suyao had never seen before...
"At first, I believed it," he whispered. "When Senior Sister Qinggui told me this, I sincerely wished her the best. I understand she's sacrificed so much to prove that demons can also cultivate the spiritual path... She may not be the most talented in the sect, but she's definitely the most hardworking and diligent."
"Suyao." He smiled faintly, "Do you want to hear about your teacher's past?"
Zhou Suyao nodded.
"Dao Moxing once accepted four disciples. The eldest brother, Bai Jiazi, was exceptionally gifted, and his spiritual power was even as high as Dao Moxing's. I didn't see him often, and he rarely appeared in the sect. Senior Sister Qinggui once said that if there were truly gods in the world, they would probably look like the eldest brother."
Before she finished speaking, Zhou Suyao's eyes suddenly widened. She suddenly recalled the pair of golden eyes she saw in that illusion when she turned her head slightly.
According to the master, Dao Moxing had three disciples - Xuan Yangming, Ning Qinggui, and him.
Then this person named Bai Jiazi is it.
Zhou Shanyuan.
Zhou Suyao coughed twice calmly to hide her guilty conscience. By the window, her master continued to talk.
"Big Brother...it's strange, I seem to have forgotten his favorite dishes, his preferences, and even what he looked like." Master's voice was dry. "I only remember...he was...a silent person. I always felt that his identity seemed more complicated than it seemed. However, although he seemed indifferent, he was the first person to discover Dao Moxing's conspiracy."
"He tried his best to stop Dao Moxing, even going so far as to start a battle with him... That scene was unprecedented: master and disciple turned against each other, fighting for three days and three nights, and wherever they passed, people suffered."
"What happened in the end?" Zhou Suyao couldn't help but ask.
"In the end..." Master smiled. "How could there be a happy ending? Senior Brother Bai Jiazi was pierced through the heart by Dao Moxing, and Dao Moxing also suffered the backlash from his spiritual power, severely damaging his cultivation. This fierce battle ended in a loss for both sides."
"As for Ning Qinggui? She died decades before this great war. She was forced to practice dual cultivation with Dao Moxing, and even when her body was being refined into elixirs, I broke into Qinghui Palace and saw her for the last time."
There seemed to be a very faint arc at the corner of Zhou Xuqing's mouth, but he didn't seem to be laughing, but crying.
"She believed the old man Dao Moxing's lies, thinking that by wishing him success, she could gain access to the demon race and the spiritual path. By then, her flesh had been burned to ashes, leaving only her still-recognizable face. She said she wanted to find a way for the demon race to survive, a way to coexist with the spiritual path and the human path, rather than being forever excluded and hunted."
"I have tried to persuade her before, and even... risked my life to stop her."
"But she...but she said that she was the only hope for her tribe. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, she would still give it a try."
Zhou Suyao felt bitter in her heart. She suddenly recalled the words she had heard in the illusion:
"I know what I'm doing, Zhou Xuqing, let go."
"And you?"
Zhou Suyao looked at her master, at his aged face and those weathered eyes: "What will you do next..."
"Me?" The master chuckled. "Me... I couldn't defeat Dao Moxing and his bunch of brainwashed puppets, couldn't save the people I wanted to save, and watched Bai Jiazi's soul being pierced through his heart. Naturally, my Dao heart was shattered, and I felt that nothing was worth doing anymore."
He spread his hands and said nonchalantly, "What great way? What ascension? What good and evil? Later, the Spiritual Daoists surrounded Dao Moxing, and Xuan Yangming said that he was Dao Moxing's puppet, and his body was damaged, so he was taken in by the Xincong Sect. As for me, I started traveling and enjoying the mountains and rivers since I came down the mountain, until I came across the mountains and rivers here, and I felt comfortable, so I built this path to become immortal. As for ascension, I'm better off walking the dog and playing with my disciples."
He said it easily, but Zhou Suyao still felt the never-extinguished grief from his tone.
"What about Ning Qinggui..." Zhou Suyao couldn't help but ask, "Does she regret it?"
Zhou Xuqing, standing beside him, stiffened slightly. He slowly shook his head, his voice so soft it sounded like a sigh: "I don't know. Maybe yes, maybe not. But in the end, she was burned beyond recognition. It was probably too late for her to have any emotions."
As the words fell, the bamboo house fell into silence. The heavy past weighed on their hearts like a rock.
After a long while, Zhou Suyao finally spoke slowly: "I... I was once in a fantasy world and was given the power of the demon race."
"I know." The master whispered, "I knew it when you came back to recuperate."
"So, a few days ago, I always felt that I was easily impulsive. Is it also because of the resentment of this demon clan?"
"Maybe."
After that, the room became quiet again.
"But I've been back these past few days... probably since the day I came back from the Imperial City, I've felt that the demonic energy in my body isn't as agitated anymore."
Zhou Suyao whispered.
The master who had been standing by the window finally moved after hearing this. He slowly walked to Zhou Suyao's bed and gently stroked her head.
"Isn't this easy to understand?" he said. "In the past, the demonic resentment within you used your body to seek revenge on Xuan Yangming and Dao Moxing. But since the battle in the Imperial City, where Xuan Yangming died, they no longer need revenge. The medicine I gave you will force out the cold poison within you, and naturally, it will also force out their resentment from you."
"Alright." The master stretched and resumed his lazy demeanor. "So many trivial matters, what's the point of you knowing so much?"
He walked to the door, then paused, looking back at Zhou Suyao. "You, take good care of your injuries. You haven't had a good rest since the underworld assessment, and your body is depleted. As for the demon spiritual power in your body, since you've avenged their blood feud, you should accept that power. The past is not your debt, and naturally it should not become a shackle that shackles you."
After saying this, he waved his hand, dragged his worn straw sandals, and walked out, one foot deep and one foot shallow. His figure quickly disappeared in the colorful light and shadow outside the bamboo house.
Zhou Suyao was the only one left in the bamboo house.
She stared at the beams above her head, her mind seemed to be wandering.
Is Xuan Yangming really dead? How could a man with such deep obsessions and ambitious schemes be so utterly shattered by his master destroying a bone?
Mingluo is determined to rebuild Xincong Sect, and the road ahead will be extremely difficult.
Also, she has been back for so long, but there is still no news from the Qi brothers.
And Big Brother...
Thinking of Zhou Shanyuan, her mind became even more tangled and confused. She recalled those golden eyes, yet she couldn't be sure how much of the protection from the senior brother was genuine, and how much came from his unknown motives.
The questions were like a tangled mess, and she couldn't find the source of them at all. Only her severely injured body protested against her. She could only slowly close her eyes and suppress all the complicated questions.
The master was right. The most important thing for her now was to recover from her injuries.
We have to take one step at a time.
If this path doesn't work, turn back and take another one.
Zhou Suyao's path will never be a dead end.
She gathered the quilt and laid herself down in a comfortable position. Outside the window, the rustling of bamboo leaves sounded like forest music, or like instructions from a hundred years ago, gently echoing in her ears.
As for other questions, think about them after you wake up.
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