Schatzkammer von Jianghu

Kapitel 15

Nie Wuyou stared coldly at Chu Yi's face, her tone as unpredictable as snow falling in June: "Why bother saving you? Wouldn't it be better to just let you die!"

Chu Yi lowered his eyes and stared at a thorn bush sprouting in the corner of the courtyard, and gave a bitter smile: "Do you remember what I told you? I'm a superfluous person."

"That was just me being arrogant and self-deprecating in the first year of junior high."

"No, young master. My master and friends have all left me, yet Heaven has allowed me to survive alone. From the moment I became conscious, I was a pawn in the hands of the young master of Bixie, unable to break free, unable to die. I originally wanted to live numbly like this, but then I encountered that sword, that sword that is so closely connected to me."

After a pause, Chu Yi said with unwavering determination, "Changyou Sword is a sword of benevolence, but now it has been used by the young master Bixie to commit indiscriminate killing. No one can take Changyou Sword away."

16. Daigo

The pale winter sun shines far away, while misty white clouds drift aimlessly from the depths of the green mountains, adding a touch of ethereal haziness to the majestic peaks.

Dappled shadows fall on the quiet, secluded passageway of the Zen room, where flowers and trees grow in abundance. The steps and walkways are spotless, deserted, and the surroundings are peaceful and quiet.

Nie Wuyou accompanied Chu Yi slowly to the outside of the meditation room in the corner. Taking care of Chu Yi's injuries, the two sat comfortably on the ground.

How is Chu Yi's injury today?

"Thank you for your concern, young master. My injuries have improved a lot."

“Young Master’s arrow was indeed thunderous.” After a pause, Nie Wuyou seemed unwilling for Chu Yi to ignore the point he had specifically raised, so he continued, “I hope Chu Yi will not provoke Young Master Bixie.”

Chu Yi looked at the flowers and trees in front of him quietly, without saying a word.

"When I was seven, I was sent to the Wufang Island Medical Clinic to study martial arts and medicine. There I met two little boys, one tall and one thin. One of them was forced to fish out of the sea every day for a fish that was supposedly specially released into the sea, while the other stood in the sun pricking his wind-blown hair with a needle, not daring to slack off even in wind and rain. Later I learned that their names were Leng Qi and Xie Yinguang. And their master, whom they dared not disobey, was the Evil-Repelling Young Master, who was a year older than them."

The sunlight cast a faint shadow on Chu Yi's long eyelashes. He didn't blink, like a statue.

Nie Wuyou glanced at the young man in front of her and sighed.

“I don’t know much about the matter of Bixie. According to my senior brother, the young master of Bixie is very arrogant and has unparalleled swordsmanship. He can never tolerate mistakes or failures. Your rescue of Nan Jingqi, a wanted criminal by the imperial court, from his hands has obviously provoked his anger.”

"Does Bixie Manor also have connections with the imperial court?" Chu Yi suddenly interjected.

"I don't know, but the young master is accompanied by Zhao Yingcheng, the son of the Northern Chancellor. Moreover, the young master is responsible for protecting General Zhao's safety and escorting him all the way to Wuzhou."

"Is Young Master Bixie in Ruzhou right now?"

"To be honest, my senior brother has always wanted to protect your safety and entrusted me to help you in any way he can, so we hope you will not venture out alone."

Chu Yi remained silent again. After thinking for a moment, he asked somewhat slowly, "What did you want to know yesterday, young master?"

Nie Wuyou laughed heartily, "It's nothing, I'm just a little curious about Chu Yi." He was silent for a moment before raising his eyes and saying, "Is Chu Yi poisoned?"

"yes."

"No cure?"

"yes."

Why is that?

"The combination of Akakawako and the red fruit creates a synergistic effect, like a blade with two sides. Thus, the first hundred poisons do not affect the person, but there is no cure."

"This is the first time I've ever heard of such a potent poison. Since it can resist external poisons, it must have damaged Chu Yi's physique, right?"

"Yes." Chu Yi looked up at the sun, his eyes sparkling, his gaze deep. "It can increase one's internal strength by a hundred years, and the user's lifespan is thirty years."

Nie Wuyou stared at Chu Yi in utter shock.

Chu Yi smiled slightly: "It was my own choice to take it."

After a while, only the chirping of insects could be heard in the air.

"If he is immune to all poisons, why hasn't Chu Yi escaped yet?"

Chu Yi lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment: "Initially, it was because I had nowhere to go. Later, after learning that it was Miao Gu, I dared not act rashly, since blood Gu is not a poison. Finally, when I tried to escape, I was discovered by you, young master."

"Is it because of Ruan Si?" Nie Wuyou said calmly.

Chu Yi remained noncommittal, silently gazing ahead. Beside him, Nie Wuyou remained silent for a long time.

"Where do you come from in the first year of junior high school?"

"Red Maple Ferry in Yangzhou".

Who was your teacher?

"The sound of plum blossoms falling in Jiangnan".

Have you ever been to the northern desert?

"At the age of eighteen, I crossed the vast sea and traversed the northern desert."

That makes sense. Senior Brother really did see Chu Yi in the Northern Desert. Nie Wuyou thought to himself. But the Sea of Darkness and the desert are both wild and untamed places. How did this frail body survive?

Nie Wuyou stood up and leaned down slightly to look at Chu Yi's calm face. Sunlight filtered through him, casting a shadow over Chu Yi's head. He hesitated and reached out, as if to stroke Chu Yi's face.

No action was taken on the first day of the lunar month.

"Take care, first day of the new year..."

His voice was filled with suppressed bitterness. His outstretched hand reached down and finally picked up a fallen leaf from Qi Yi's head. Then he turned and strode down the mountain.

Chu Yi walked quietly through the flower-lined corridor with his hands hanging down, arriving at the main hall. He walked to a corner of the outer corridor of the hall, sat down cross-legged, placed his hands in front of his knees, and lowered his eyelids.

A solemn and long chanting sound came from inside.

"All sentient beings—whether born from eggs, wombs, moisture, or transformation; whether with form or without form; whether with thought, without thought, or neither with nor without thought—I will lead them all to Nirvana without remainder and liberate them..."

Chu Yi sat cross-legged with his eyes closed for a long time when he suddenly heard an old and deep voice: "Young benefactor, please come in."

Chu Yi stood up and walked to the front of the hall, respectfully kneeling and bowing: "Master, I am full of karmic debts and fear that I may taint the pure and spotless Buddhist temple."

"Buddhism emphasizes the cycle of cause and effect, and everything has a cause and effect. You are a person with affinity who has come here. Please come in."

Chu Yi walked in with his head lowered and eyes downcast.

In the center of the main hall, an elderly monk in a yellow robe sat with his hands clasped together on a prayer mat. He had white eyebrows and beard and a kind face.

On the first day of the lunar month, I sat cross-legged in front of the master and looked up at the solemn and majestic golden Buddha statue.

Buddha Shakyamuni, wearing a robe covering both shoulders, holds the teaching mudra and sits cross-legged on a lotus platform, forever discerning the human heart and silently gazing upon humanity for millennia.

"What are you thinking about when you sit outside listening to Zen every day?"

"Reporting to the master, I still have some questions and humbly request your guidance."

Master Kumu chanted a Buddhist prayer and said calmly, "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, and lightning; thus should they be viewed."

"May I ask, Master, why have I come here?" Chu Yi slowly uttered the question that had tormented him for so long.

"The Buddha said: If you want to know about your past life, look at what you are experiencing in this life. You are here to fulfill what was destined in your past life."

"May I ask, Master, where have I gone?"

"We come from where we came, and we go back to where we came from."

Chu Yi closed his eyes in anguish. "Master, all my relatives have left me. What's the point of me going back?"

Master Kumu suddenly reached out and stroked Chu Yi's head. He said kindly, "Once you understand the nature of karma, you will find it empty; if you don't understand, you still need to repay your past debts. Child, keep walking along the path ahead, and you will surely return to where you came from."

Chu Yi knelt deeply in prayer, and when he rose again, his eyes were brimming with tears. He forced back his grief, gazed at the face of the withered wood master, and said in a choked voice, "When I came back to life, I was the only one left in the world. I don't know why I came here, or what I'm here to do. It seems that God is punishing my mistakes, taking away other people from my side each time."

“I also know that life is like a drop in the ocean, a fleeting moment. In the face of all things in the world, each person is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the dust. It’s just that, like Ruan Si and his wife, they disappeared into the air before they could be polished into pearls.”

"Now I'm all alone again. Master, what should I do?"

Master Kumu lowered his eyes and looked at Chu Yi for a while, then stood up and said to him, "Come, follow me."

Chu Yi wiped away her tears and followed Master Kumu to the back door of the main hall.

Master Kumu led Chu Yi through many winding hills, finally arriving at the foot of a broken wall.

"What did you see, benefactor?"

"A sheer cliff".

"No, please take a closer look."

Chu Yi stared intently for a long time, then stood there speechless.

"This is the root of a pine tree that has been growing here for five hundred years."

On the first day of the lunar month, looking up, all I could see were the shadows of pine trees on the sheer cliff face, which remained motionless despite the cold wind blowing by.

“Please look, benefactor. The pine tree grows here, having drunk its fill of five hundred years of sunshine and rain, and witnessed five hundred years of human warmth and coldness. Has it ever uttered a single word?”

Chu Yi stood blankly beneath the broken wall, lost in thought, unaware that Master Kumu had left.

Master Kumu, with his sleeves fluttering, descended gracefully from the lotus blossoms in the mountains, stopping at the foot of the mountain and murmuring: "Mr. Dongge, the rest is up to this child's destiny."

Ruzhou Xingyuan Post Station.

The place is surrounded by streets on three sides, and the air is dry. The backyard of the post station is built against the city wall of the prefectural government office, and the two are connected end to end, so they are somewhat interdependent.

Young Master Yin Guang was observing the terrain in the courtyard of the prefectural government, feeling a little worried. After a while, he saw Leng Qi coldly walk past him, so he quickly caught up and followed.

The two walked through the vermilion-carved corridor and arrived at an elegant room.

Pushing open the door, one sees a young man dressed in pure white sitting at a silver-inlaid table, with three old men standing behind him with their hands behind their backs.

Leng Qi bowed respectfully: "Young Master, Nan Jingqi has indeed gathered his remaining forces and headed to Wuzhou."

"A desperate struggle." The white-robed youth was none other than Qiu Yeyijian, the young master of the Evil-Repelling Sect. He glanced at the scene before him and said coldly, "Leng Qi, this time we cannot be hasty."

Leng Qi's face turned even paler in an instant. He saw the worried look in Yin Guang's eyes as she drifted over, and couldn't help but give her a cold glance.

"It was indeed a mistake on the part of my subordinates; they launched an attack without properly assessing the strength of Li Jingtang's men..."

Qiu Yeyi suddenly raised her eyes, abruptly cutting off Leng Qi's next words.

Young Master Yin Guang suddenly stepped forward, raised his hand in a salute, and said, "Young Master, there is still one thing I do not understand."

"explain."

"Although the Dragon Pattern Sword is called an ancient weapon, it is only a slightly sharp sword. Why does the young master value it so much?"

Qiu Ye leaned back in her chair, resting her chin on her hand, and said coldly, "What does Guang think?"