Unsterblichkeit, Unsterblichkeit

Kapitel 16

“…The winds of change are rising and the clouds are surging.” Xuan Sheng, standing next to her, couldn’t help but continue.

Cloud Shadows - Full Moon Over Empty Mountains and Flowers in the Sky 3

"Xiao Jing..." Che Shui cried out weakly.

"Um?"

"I feel very uncomfortable..."

"Oh..." Shuangjing responded lazily, turned over and continued to sleep.

"Xuansheng..." Seeing that the other party ignored him, Cheshui could only pitifully call out to the other person.

"OP?"

"I can't sleep..."

"Hmm." Xuan Sheng also turned over in the other direction.

"..." Che Shui glanced at the two people sleeping beside her, her lips pursed, then she puffed out her cheeks angrily, struggling for a long time before finally managing to utter, "Mei..."

"Dare to call me 'old lady' and I'll kick you out!" The Plum Blossom Hall Master sat up abruptly and roared in a low voice, "Can't a person get any sleep?!"

"But I can't sleep..." Che Shui said, looking up at the sky with her fingers, feeling wronged. "I miss my pillow, my bed, my little bunny, my little dog, my little pig, my little bear, and my magnificent imperial concubine robe..."

"..." Just how much stuff is piled up on your bed? Mei Hua looked at him with a dark expression, then couldn't help but scold, "We're all sleeping soundly, why can't you sleep?"

"It would be unusual to be able to sleep under such circumstances, wouldn't it?!" Che Shui couldn't help but burst out.

Although I had expected that even if they climbed up to this place, they wouldn't sleep in a soft, comfortable bed, I never imagined they would... sleep on tree branches!!!

The owner of Chongchonglou, who was indifferent to everything but particular about sleeping and eating, looked at the tree branch on which he would fall if he turned over too much. He was speechless and aggrieved, gazing at the sky and wailing in his heart. After all, he was a legendary figure in the martial arts world and the leader of one of the three major gangs. He should at least sleep on a pile of straw, not on a tree branch.

Turning around, I looked at the woman in white sitting on the rock under the tree. She had remained motionless all night, maintaining the same posture, calmly and expressionlessly staring ahead. No matter what the people asked or said, she simply looked at them with her unwavering eyes, then looked up at the night sky gradually being covered by stars and the still-falling petals.

Finally, Che Shui shrugged and asked, "Where are we sleeping tonight?"

The woman finally turned her head slowly, and then... pointed above her head.

So, apart from Che Shui, the group of people indifferently found a tree branch and used their clothes as a mat to sleep on.

It is actually an extremely beautiful sight.

The canopy-like branches stretched gracefully before her eyes, and silvery moonlight, like raindrops, scattered on her eyelashes, nose, hair, and sleeves. Che Shui felt as if she were shrouded in a hazy veil, with soft, white petals occasionally falling like feathers gently brushing against her skin, like frost in June. The bright moon hung high in the deep forest, a gentle breeze rustled through the cicadas at midnight, and the shimmering moonlight flowed across the mountain rocks, reflecting on countless waterfalls like handfuls of pearls cascading down the cliffs. All around was tranquil and peaceful, with only the soft sounds of cicadas, birdsong, and the gentle breeze rustling the grass and trees.

"Thoughts of life and death over the moon bring tears to my eyes; the moonlight tonight seems just like years past. Where have we once gazed at the moon together? Under the cherry tree, in front of the back hall." Che Shui murmured to himself as he looked at the scene. A lump formed in his throat, and he realized he couldn't sleep under such circumstances. So he simply turned over and got up, sitting on a tree branch, staring blankly at his surroundings.

He heard a noise beside him and realized something was wrong; he had woken up Plum Blossom as well. But he saw that the leader of Tianxia Inn was also sitting up with a frown. Instead of cursing as he expected, he quietly turned his head and listened to something. After a moment, he simply stood up, walked towards the tip of the branch, and leaped up with his toes. In a few leaps, he was already standing on a thin branch near the top of the tree.

Secretly admiring her lightness of foot, Che Shui couldn't help but smile and chased after her. No wonder no one noticed when she ran into the carriage; she truly deserved to be one of the eight hall masters of the world's number one manor raider, her footsteps were even lighter than the sound of petals falling to the ground.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, standing beside the plum blossom.

Behind them, a huge silver full moon bathed the surroundings in a frosty light.

"The sound of the wind," Plum Blossom said softly, tilting her head slightly to listen to her surroundings. "The sound of the wind is strange."

"Oh?" Che Shui followed her gaze. Although his hearing was extremely sensitive, Mei Hua had undergone training to enhance her senses since childhood, so her alertness was naturally much sharper than his. He remained silent for a long time but felt that he hadn't heard anything, so he could only shrug: "Nothing."

"You're so stupid." The head of Tianxia Inn glared at him and shook his head. "Come with me. Let's go take a look." Mei Hua frowned and said, then lightly touched the ground with her toes and flew away like a bird through the sea of green trees. Che Shui looked worriedly at the white-haired woman under the tree and the two people still sleeping on the branches. Knowing that Xuan Sheng was actually a light sleeper and that he could protect Shuang Jing if anything happened, he sighed and also rushed forward.

The night was cool as water, and the moonlight was frosty as snow.

Only when you walk through the woods surrounding the pear trees do you realize how deep the green is. It's like wandering in a green ocean, surrounded by fragrant branches and flowers. When the wind blows, they make a soft rustling sound. The spacious and deep woods are like a maze, and there is nothing else around except the lush green color.

Following the moonlight, Che Shui closely followed the plum blossoms ahead and saw the woman moving up and down through the woods, sometimes pausing on a branch to listen carefully. Although she was a stingy woman with an extremely fiery temper and no sense of decorum, he had to admit that she looked extremely beautiful at this moment, flying and swirling like a snow-white dove under a dark green forest that was almost black.

"What's wrong?" Seeing her suddenly stop on the branch, Che Shui landed beside her and asked.

The plum blossoms remained silent, only pointing towards the distance.

"Huh?" Che Shui looked over, then froze.

They reached the edge of the forest, where a cliff suddenly appeared, forming a concave shape. Below, only a thin white mist swirled, and a chilling aura pressed down on them. The forest was even deeper than the cliffs outside, and the wind howled as it rushed past, creating an ethereal and bottomless atmosphere.

What stunned them wasn't the suddenly severed cliff, but the even more majestic and imposing mountain opposite them. Its peaks soared into the sky, their tops invisible, with only a crescent moon hidden behind the mountains and cold stars visible above. Birds flew high, their flight almost touching the sky. They couldn't see it at all when they looked up from the deep valley.

There is a bridge connecting the two mountains in the middle.

No one knows how it was built. It seems to extend from the deepest part of the cliff. The stone bridge is supported by arched stone pillars, most of which are covered with cracks and gaps. Vines grow and spread out from the broken walls. The bridge surface is made of seven rows of grid stones, covered with moss and dead branches. The width is just enough for two people to walk side by side.

Frosty, grayish smoke and clouds drifted over the main bridge, and wisps of cold, icy air rose from it.

The majestic mountain and solitary bridge, the night birds and frosty moon, the night air carrying the cool, damp scent of dew—the appearance of this ancient bridge in Hongshan was so sudden that even Che Shui, who had seen countless wonders of the world, would be speechless with amazement at the sight before him.

“This…” He and Mei Hua exchanged a glance: “Should we go through?” The bridge was shrouded in mist, and the end was nowhere in sight.

"Of course!" Plum Blossom rolled up her sleeves, tied her skirt, and struck a pose with great enthusiasm, her eyes shining as she looked ahead: "Who knows, there might be some treasure inside!"

"Um..." Che Shui rubbed his forehead, resting two fingers on his chin thoughtfully. "In my experience, it's best not to go." At worst, it'll be a stone wall engraved with lost martial arts techniques, or it'll be full of dangerous traps and secret chambers. Once you go in, it'll be hard to get out. I really want to see the sunlight again.

“But there might be a lot of treasures inside… Don’t you want to go and see? Oh, hey, jade, agate… What a wonderful opportunity this is!” Plum Blossom’s eyes turned into copper coins as she winked at him enticingly.

"..." One day you'll be killed by your own greed. Che Shui thought to himself, looking at her with a face full of black lines. He then pointed ahead: "And look, this bridge is very unusual. If people were to cross it, there would be no need to carve the stone path into this grid pattern, right? There must be some kind of mechanism, and..." He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening as he looked into the middle of the bridge.

"What's wrong?" Plum Blossom turned her head and was immediately startled.

Cloud Shadows: Full Moon Over Empty Mountains and Flowers in the Sky 4

"What's wrong?" Plum Blossom turned her head and was immediately startled.

As the clouds and mist gradually dissipated, a person slowly walked across the bridge. When the two looked closely, they saw that it was the white-haired woman who had been sitting under the tree, calmly looking at them without any expression.

"!?"

The two instinctively reached for their weapons at their waists, but stopped mid-air.

"!"

"I can't..."

“…I can’t move!” Mei Hua looked at Che Shui in disbelief, only to see shock and a hint of fear on his face.

"Plum blossoms..." the master of Chongchonglou murmured, "Did you... hear... footsteps just now?"

Mei Hua froze, a chill rising up her back.

No. I didn't hear anything.

She could distinguish the different sounds of the wind blowing from the pear trees so far away, so why didn't she hear the slightest sound of the woman's approaching footsteps? Not to mention the sound of her walking onto the bridge, she didn't even hear her slowly walking towards her.

Mei Hua struggled slightly, but felt her limbs were heavy, and she couldn't move even an inch of her skin. She slowly circulated her inner energy to try to break free from this predicament, but found that she felt no discomfort, only that she couldn't move. She looked up at Che Shui and saw that he was also deep in thought, as if he had noticed the same thing.

"Don't move," Che Shui said softly, his expression serious and calm. "There's no murderous intent."

"Huh?" As if only now realizing it, Mei Hua raised her head in surprise, and indeed did not feel any threatening aura.

"Deep in the forest, unknown to the world, the bright moon shines upon us. The moonlight is so beautiful; have you also come to admire the moon?"

Who would have thought of this while admiring the moon?

The two men looked at her in silence.

"Uh...yes..." Che Shui was covered in sweat from struggling to move, his whole body trembling slightly, but he still hesitated for a moment before answering. He turned his eyes towards the plum blossoms and said with difficulty, "Right?"

"Hmm." Plum Blossom paused at an extremely exaggerated dart-throwing motion, her body leaning forward, left hand on her right hip, right hand raised behind her; she still managed to force a smile: "Yes, such a beautiful night, wouldn't it be even better with some fine wine? It's truly a perfect night for moon-viewing!"

"You two have quite the refined taste," the woman said expressionlessly, her unfocused eyes seemingly gazing into nowhere. "That's wonderful, let's admire the moon." With that, she walked to the plum blossom tree, sat down gracefully and elegantly, maintaining the posture one would adopt under a pear tree, and quietly looked up at the moon.

"..."

"..."

"There's no way you can appreciate the moon like that!!" Plum Blossom and Clear Water stared wide-eyed at the woman sitting quietly.

"It's all your fault!" Plum Blossom gritted her teeth and whispered to the man beside her, "Why did you agree to go moon-viewing with her?!"

"Then what should I say!" Che Shui replied in a low voice, staring at her in disbelief. "I'm definitely more tired than you! >_<" He was fixed in a position in front of a footstool, ready to leap at any moment.

"Couldn't you just say...we came here for a walk?"

"Who would stroll to this place?!"

"Is coming here to admire the moon really that ordinary?! We can only see half a moon! How could you be so stupid?!"

"Hey! Wasn't it you who wanted to come to this place?! You violent, stingy, miserly woman!"

"You!" Plum Blossom was speechless with anger. However, it was true that she had insisted on coming to this place, so she could only snort heavily and turn her gaze to the woman: "Forget it! I can't be bothered to argue with you. We should think about how to leave this place!"

"Of course, we'll wait until she undoes this..." Che Shui said, not finding it strange, "What exactly is this? Is it acupressure or some other kind of extraordinary skill?"

“Her acupoints are ordinary, but she must have extremely fast speed… even Xuan Sheng can’t match her.” Plum Blossom said with an even more serious expression.

"Is it possible... that she is..."

"Ghosts?" The head of the Plum Blossom Hall chuckled. "What a joke! You actually believe in such absurd supernatural tales? How old are you?" She rolled her eyes at him and asked.

"Am I like you?" Che Shui raised an eyebrow, pouting, "What else do you believe in besides money? You stingy little devil!"

"..."

But this time, instead of a furious reply, Mei Hua, who was standing to the side in a comical pose, pursed her lips, as if deep in thought.

After a moment, she said very seriously, "Money is the only thing in this world that can be trusted." She turned her gaze to Che Shui, blinking as if confirming something: "Don't you know that?"

"How would I know about this stuff!" That's the kind of thinking only a miser like you would have, right? The owner of Chongchonglou looked at her helplessly.

“It’s true,” Plum Blossom said calmly, looking at the silver moon peeking out from behind the mountain peak. “Money is the only thing in this world that will never betray you. Whether it’s copper coins or silver notes, as long as you hand them over, you can get what you want. That will never change.”

She turned to look at him again, her eyes clear and bright, like the moon reflected in an autumn spring:

“Du Cheshui, I am the eighth hall master of Tianxia Inn. There is nothing in the martial world that I do not know. Therefore, I only believe in money.”

Che Shui remained silent, gazing at her silhouette enveloped in a faint silver light, and suddenly understood.

In the martial arts world, no movement can escape the eyes of Tianxia Inn.

They observed all the joys and sorrows, loves and hates, separations and reunions, personal grudges and all the storms and waves.

Like a play that has been performed for a thousand years, the actors are moved to tears before they can speak, and the audience sighs at the joys and sorrows of life.