Unsterblichkeit, Unsterblichkeit

Kapitel 3

“I’m relieved to send just those two.” An Xing sighed, his expression turning serious. “What about the others? Call them all over. I have some instructions.”

"Sister, are you going to have someone investigate that guy's amnesia?" Ningdu stood a little further away and asked in a low voice.

"That's not all. We need to know what's happening in the martial world right now." An Xing's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Don't you find it strange? Young Hero Xuan Sheng has been missing for so long, why is he only showing up now? Has something happened in Half Moon City?"

"This..." Ningdu was silent for a moment, then thought for a moment and couldn't help but feel sad: "What does all this have to do with us? That guy, hasn't he already forgotten about the sect leader and is going to marry someone else? I don't care what happens to Half Moon City!" As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and she said in a fit of agitation: "It would be best if Half Moon City were destroyed. Who cares about all that? If it's destroyed, there will be no one to make the sect leader sad."

An Xing sighed deeply, patted his sister's shoulder, and shook his head, saying, "You think it's that simple? This matter is probably impossible to calculate in a lifetime. Let's go and gather everyone together."

Ningdu…

Suddenly, a soft call came from inside the house. The two stopped, turned around, and hurried over.

"Sect Master... Sect Master, how are you feeling? Is there anything that's bothering you?" Ningdu rushed to the double-bed and asked.

"You just said... he's gone?" Shuang Jing asked anxiously, her face pale.

Ningdu was taken aback, but still nodded: "Yes, Sect Master. He said there was no time to lose, so he left before it got dark. I have already sent people to follow him."

"I see." The Seven Stones Sect Master responded indifferently, offering no further comment and remaining calmly silent. His long eyelashes drooped, and he kept his head down without uttering a word.

The two attendants exchanged glances, but dared not say anything, and could only stand by. She remained silent for a moment, then sighed, looked up and smiled: "Prepare your things, we're going down the mountain."

Upon hearing this, the two maids froze on the spot, staring at her as if she had gained an extra head. After a long while, Ningdu finally managed to squeeze out, "What?!"

"Prepare the car, we're heading to Chongchonglou," Shuangjing said in a very firm tone.

"Why?! Why?!" Ningdu almost burst into tears, hurriedly grabbing her hand and asking, "My lord, I've already sent He Feng and Bai De to protect him. That guy will definitely not disappear again. He still wants to bring that mirror back, doesn't he?"

“I know, but…” Shuangjing couldn’t help but sigh again, her tone calm and composed because it contained so much emotion: “Seeing Cheshui is not a simple matter. I didn’t expect him to set off so quickly… What if he gets injured while venturing into the Tower of Trials?”

The two attendants felt a pang of pain in their hearts and were immediately stunned into silence.

It was clearly the sect leader who asked him to retrieve that mirror, yet now he's not worried at all?

Although heartbroken, she couldn't help but worry about him: What if he got hurt? What if something happened to him? What if he really never came back? Only a woman deeply in love would speak like this. At this point, nothing could dissuade her.

"Sect Master..." An Xing gently advised, "Your body can't withstand such rapid travel. Wouldn't it be faster to send a message by carrier pigeon to Chongchonglou?"

"That's right! Sect Master, you should rest here. He'll be here soon!" Ning Du nodded eagerly and advised.

“I’ve heard enough of these kinds of words over the past five years,” Shuangjing replied calmly. “He’ll be here soon, he hasn’t forgotten you, he’ll be absolutely fine…” She shook her head. “But things are different now.”

She turned and smiled, her previously calm and indifferent eyes suddenly filled with a dazzling brightness: "I will not wait any longer." She looked out at the drizzling, misty night: "Ningdu, Anxing, do you know what the river below the mountain should look like now?"

Ningdu and Anxing were taken aback. They looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know.

"A rushing stream parted the layered peaks, its roar echoing like thunder a thousand paces from the headwaters. The small boat struggled with the poleman's strength, unable to ascend the shallow, calm waters." Shuangjing's smile gradually brightened: "Then, the rain stopped. Dewdrops glistened on the peach blossoms along the shore, sparkling like stars; someone slowly rowed a small boat, passing through reeds and grasses, drifting towards the wide lake; along the shore were houses, inns, and fishing boats. The air after the rain was refreshing. Looking up, there were mountains beyond mountains, clouds beyond clouds, mountains and water, clouds and rain, sometimes calm, sometimes raging storms… that's how it was." She said with a smile.

“I shouldn’t be here. The martial world is where I truly belong.” She looked up, her eyes resolute. “Now, I should go back.”

The two attendants were at a loss for words.

Back then, they stayed at the Seven Stones Sect to learn martial arts, and only after Shuang Jing returned injured did they get to know this young master. Before that, they had never witnessed her heroic figure.

But now, from the tone and eyes of this woman sitting calmly on the bed, one can almost glimpse the unparalleled elegance of the sect leader at that time. Even though she is still as thin and frail as a sheet of paper, she still possesses a heroic spirit that seems to defy the world, a spirit that years of medicine and care cannot conceal.

“I… will obey the master’s orders.” An Xing was the first to relent, lowering her eyes respectfully as she said, “I will go prepare the carriage and luggage now. But…” She hesitated for a moment, opening her mouth several times but unable to speak, finally steeling herself to ask, “But… what if Young Hero Xuan Sheng deliberately forgot the master…?”

"Anxing!" Ningdu interrupted her sharply, both anxious and angry: "What are you saying! How could you talk to the lord like this..."

"I don't know," Shuangjing said calmly, her smile towards Anxing showing no sign of reluctance, as if the person who had been dormant within her was gradually awakening.

She grinned, her smile radiant: "Let's take it one step at a time. That's how I left the Seven Stones Sect back then."

But you are no longer the Ye Shuangjing you once were!

Anxing almost blurted it out.

As time goes by, you probably no longer have the youthful arrogance to recklessly pursue your dreams only to be met with the same disappointment. She tried to speak several times but couldn't utter a word. In the end, she just sighed and hurriedly pulled her sister to prepare the luggage and car.

In early spring, the curtains are drawn shut by rain overnight, and coolness seeps into the window, where pillows and mats are at ease.

After the two women left, Shuangjing allowed boundless fear to suddenly overwhelm her.

Anxing's words echoed around like a spell...

— What if he deliberately forgot about you?

“But I really don’t know who they are.” Xuan Sheng answered the question from his curious follower with a cold face.

"Really? Really? But young master, they really seem to know you very well." Green Tea looked at him with shining eyes and said, "The way the Seven Stones Sect Master looked at you was just like... just like..." He quickly stopped.

He dared not utter the last few words. Everyone in Half Moon City knew that the Second Young Master was a stern and upright man, sometimes so stubborn that he was practically a pedantic scholar who knew martial arts. Therefore, he swallowed the words "like lovers" and dared not say more.

"Green Tea..." Sure enough, that nonchalant tone rang out with an air of authority and impatience: "You've been with me for so many years, when have you ever seen me leave Half Moon City even a step?" Xuan Sheng glanced coldly at the attendant beside him and asked coldly.

But I have no idea what you did before that. Green Tea stuck out her tongue and thought to herself. Seeing her master's face growing darker and darker, she chuckled and asked, "That's true, Master. But what exactly is this Chongchonglou we're going to?"

“The Tower of Multiple Entries…” Xuan Sheng frowned, his expression grave.

It's not that I haven't heard of this name before.

There are three major factions in the martial arts world: Chongchonglou, Fengdaige, and Honghubao.

A poem says: "Beyond the mountains, green hills rise; beyond the buildings, more buildings stand." But the reality is quite the opposite.

The seven-story pavilion is spacious and wide, filled with labyrinthine magic arrays that seem to stretch endlessly, hence its nickname "Boundless Pavilion".

Countless martial artists have entered, but only a handful have reached the top floor to meet the master. (In the last ten years, only three people have paid their respects to the master of the Chongchonglou: Ye Shuangjing, the master of the Seven Stones Sect; Xuan Sheng, the second young master of Half Moon City; and Hua Wuyan, the Silver-Masked Young Master. Of course, Xuan Sheng was completely unaware of this.)

It is said that the Tower of Trials has seven levels, divided into fourteen gates, twenty-one steps, twenty-eight rooms, and thirty-five corridors. However, one must defeat forty-two disciples guarding the entrance before one can begin the challenge.

"So powerful?!" Green Tea exclaimed in surprise, glancing at her master cautiously before saying, "Um... Young Master... I'm sure I can't beat him, right? So you should go alone, I'll just wait for you at the door TAT."

Xuan Sheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at the panicked attendant beside him, and smiled faintly: "That's natural."

“But…they’re so powerful…” Green Tea said with some worry. His young master had never fought anyone before. Although he was considered one of the top experts in Half Moon City, there were always people stronger than him in the martial world. If he carried his seriously injured young master back, wouldn’t he be doomed anyway? It would be better for him to die in the Tower of Triumphs, at least he could gain a reputation for bravely protecting his master.

"What's there to worry about?" Xuan Sheng smiled faintly, a flash of cold arrogance suddenly crossing his handsome face.

"It's just... a building."

He smiled dismissively and whipped his horse with a "Giddy up!" Green Tea muttered something and hurriedly chased after him.

Above them, a bright moon shone in the night sky.

The path of destiny beneath our feet has quietly begun.

Towering buildings, youthful days do not linger for the young.

Spring mountains, warm sun and gentle breeze, railings, pavilions and curtains.

It was already past midnight when the servants of Chongchonglou began to get busy.

I partied too late last night and slept until the sun was scorching my butt before slowly getting up.

The lunch left in the kitchen had gone cold, so the servants hurriedly prepared a new one. Everyone knew that the master was kind and gentle, but also had an almost obsessive pickiness about food and the details of daily life, so they dared not delay and rushed to deliver it. They were afraid that the master would go hungry and cause a ruckus.

Jin Guan, carrying her lunch and lunchbox, hurried down the corridor. Her servants, who were not skilled in martial arts, could only chase after her, sweating profusely. The woman paid no heed and charged recklessly, nearly tripping someone at a corner.

"Look at you! Look at you! What kind of behavior is this!" Before I could even stand up straight, someone started yelling at me.

He kept patting her head with one hand, seemingly unfazed. Jin Guan rolled her eyes and stood there waiting for him to finish his tirade. Eventually, she grew impatient, brushed the hand away, and frowned, saying, "Fine, fine, Lin Baiyun, I'll admit I'm afraid of you, okay? Please save your energy and wait a bit before you start yelling. Can't you see I'm holding a lunchbox?"

"You!" Bai Yun was speechless with anger as she looked at the fierce-looking woman in front of her. "You were the one who was running around in the corridor and almost bumped into someone. What are you yelling at me for..."

"Shut up! Are you going to take responsibility if the poster is hungry?! Huh?" Jin Guan interrupted him fiercely.

"You! You...you!" Baiyun was so angry that his face turned pale, but when he thought of his master's face turning black when he was hungry, he had no choice but to reluctantly step aside to make way. But after thinking about it, he still felt embarrassed, so he stepped forward, snatched the lunchbox, and pushed Jinguan aside: "Go, go, go, go do what you're supposed to do. How can you deliver food to the master like this?" He reached out and pressed Jinguan's pressure point and shouted.

"Lin Baiyun...you!" Jin Guan, unable to move, froze on the spot. Seeing the lunchbox snatched from her hand, her eyes were spitting fire with rage, but she was helpless and could only curse, "You are despicable! I'll tell the master!"

"Shh, shh, stop making noise, you're disturbing everyone's peace." Bai Yun used her foot to release her pressure points again, and gestured to her with her lips, saying, "Come on, let's do it together. I have something to report to the Lord, and you have to listen too."

"Huh?" Jin Guan immediately forgot about what had just happened and looked at him curiously: "What's going on? Is something big happening? Hmm? What is it? Tell me, tell me..." She even tugged at Bai Yun's clothes and acted coquettishly.

"Ugh, you're so annoying. You'll know if you just listen... Come on, open the door for me," Baiyun said impatiently.

In the blink of an eye, the two had arrived outside a huge door. Jin Guan struck out with his palm, and the door opened heavily and slowly.

"My lord... wait? He's already up?"

"Ah, Baiyun, Jinguan, good morning..." A man dressed in white, as white as snow, lay lazily on a stone chair and turned to smile at them.

The man had a pair of affectionate and gentle peach blossom eyes, his gaze filled with tender and affectionate feelings; his lazy and handsome face had an evil feel because of his lazy and leisurely smile, and his long hair was draped on the ground, making him even more captivating than a woman.

"Oh...My lord, good morning, good morning! It's a beautiful day!" Jin Guan's eyes immediately turned into hearts, completely losing her fierce look from before. She jumped and leaped over to him, rubbing against him like a kitten: "My lord, good morning! Did you dream about Jin Guan?"

"Ah, yes, yes. I dream about Jin Guan every day." Che Shui said with a smile, patting her head, then turned to Bai Yun: "Good morning to you too, Bai Yun."

"Master, it's already noon." Bai Yun, his face darkening, placed the lunchbox on the table and instructed the servants to set out the food. Then he turned around, pressed his temples, and asked with impatience, "What kind of act are you putting on now?"

In the hall before us, all the furnishings had been changed.

A shimmering silver crescent moon hung from the ceiling, and countless wisps of white smoke, resembling a light mist, filled the air. Soft white quilts were piled on the ground, forming clouds. A small bonsai tree was brought in, and a guard stood respectfully to the side, holding an axe.

"This, of course, is Chang'e's Moon Palace..." said Che Shui, the master of Chongchonglou, with a smile.

"Then what's going on with them?!" Baiyun pointed frantically at the maids standing in the room, and the rabbit ears they were wearing on their heads.

“Of course it’s a rabbit pounding medicine.” Che Shui picked up the headdress from the table and put it on. “Isn’t it cute?”

"Cute my foot!!" Baiyun almost cursed out loud, but decided not to lose her temper. After twitching her face for a while, she finally said, "Does Chang'e have so many white rabbits?"

"Why not? It would be so nice to have more little rabbits... I love rabbits. By the way, could you get me a few more to raise tomorrow?" the owner of Chongchonglou said, remembering something.

"Yay! Bunny! Jin Guan wants to be a bunny too!" The woman on his lap cheered, raising her hand and putting on a pair of bunny ears. "My lord, does Jin Guan look like a bunny?"

“It looks so much like it, Jin Guan! What do you think? Living among a bunch of fluffy white bunnies must be such a cute sight, right?” Che Shui said happily, as if he could already see the scene: “I’ll wear clothes similar to those of a bunny, with bunny ears, and bite a carrot. How adorable…” he said with starry eyes.

"Ugh... What do you think this place is?!" Bai Yun suppressed the urge to throw a pillow at him and said as politely as possible, "Master, it's time to eat."

"Ah... could you change it to carrots for me?" the poster said, looking at him with an expression that said, "I have a great idea."

"Let's change it to carrots! Carrots!" Jin Guan chimed in from the side.

Baiyun leaned against the wall, groaning helplessly.

Who would have thought that the leader of Chongchonglou, one of the most prestigious sects in the martial arts world, on par with Honghubao and Daifengge, would be such a pervert who likes to dress up as different characters every day... How will he save face if word gets out?! (Baiyun's inner scream.)

He remembered the day before yesterday, when he first entered, he saw the lord dressed as Yang Guifei. Turning to look at the face of the Honghu Fort envoy who had followed him in, he nearly committed suicide, blood splattering everywhere. He had let down his father, Che Shui's master. He had let down the former lord's instructions, and he had let down the reputation of all the disciples in the lord's lord! >口<

"Baiyun, what do you say? How about we just eat carrots all day?" The person on the other end was completely unaware of his inner struggle and asked, as if he was about to die.