Even though his legs are crippled, he can still walk on his hands. Moreover, Wu Yazi used to walk upside down when he was practicing martial arts. It's just that his balance is not very good after his legs were broken, so he needs to practice more.
Of course, that's a story for another time. The most pressing issue now is how to get out of this dangerous place.
To be fair, Wu Yazi's location was quite awkward, situated on the steps in the middle of a cliff, neither up nor down, truly a place with no way to go to heaven or earth.
But for someone with an extremely strong will to survive and a determination to take revenge, this is nothing.
After some consideration, Wu Yazi decided to go down. Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu probably wouldn't be interested in taking such a long detour to find the corpse. If they really fell to their deaths, the corpse should have been eaten by wild animals very quickly.
However, Wu Yazi overestimated his arm strength and physical condition. There weren't always suitable places to grab on the cliff face, and many times Wu Yazi had to use his hands to carve a hole in the rock.
It is easy to imagine how difficult it is to climb a rock with only two hands; a slight misstep could result in being smashed to pieces.
As a result, Wu Yazi accidentally grabbed onto the wrong spot and fell down along with a large patch of weathered and eroded rocks, plunging into that terrifying abyss...
A year has passed. After arguing with Wu Yazi, Wu Xingyun realized that he had been too eager for quick success and had neglected Wu Yazi's feelings and pride.
But who could have imagined that Wu Yazi would never return after leaving the Xiaoyao Sect, and would actually disappear!
Wu Xingyun sent Su Xinghe to Langhuan Paradise to find Wuyazi, but Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu said that they had never seen Wuyazi since they left the Xiaoyao Sect.
Wu Xingyun found the matter increasingly suspicious. Even if Wu Yazi refused to admit that Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu had an affair for the sake of his reputation, as a man, he should at least do something about it, right?
At the very least, they should clean house; it's impossible to let Ding Chunqiu continue living.
So, Wu Xingyun secretly went to Langhuan Paradise to investigate, but he didn't find any clues about Wu Yazi. Instead, he discovered that Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu were very much in love, and Ding Chunqiu had even become Xiao Qingluo's godfather!
"What a shameless pair of dogs! Ding Chunqiu, how dare you do such a shameful thing with your master's wife! Today I will clean house for my junior brother, the sect leader!" Wu Xingyun appeared in a fit of rage, cursing and threatening to attack at the same time.
"Hmph! How noble is a little girl who peeks at a couple's intimate moments? Wu Xingyun, you dare to touch him and see what happens." Li Qiushui stood proudly, draped in a thin veil, shielding Ding Chunqiu behind her.
"Oh, let's give it a try! Junior brother isn't here, let's see who can save you this time!" After saying that, Wu Xingyun launched a Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand attack, and Li Qiushui met it with her palm without any fear.
Although Wu Xingyun is the senior disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect, Li Qiushui has been studying martial arts with Wu Yazi for many years. She has mastered the Xiaowuxiang Gong to a high degree and her skill is in no way inferior to Wu Xingyun's. The two fought back and forth and neither could defeat the other.
Throughout this process, Ding Chunqiu did not intervene. Instead, he kept pleading with the two, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! I know where Wuyazi is!"
Chapter 424 Breakup
The two women, who were fighting fiercely, immediately stopped when they heard the name 'Wu Yazi'.
"Hmph! You don't even call me Master anymore?" Wu Xingyun said angrily.
Ding Chunqiu sighed, "To be honest, I have been expelled from the sect. Master came before and asked us to keep his whereabouts a secret. Therefore, we lied to Xinghe before, but if my senior uncle wants to know, then I will tell you what really happened."
"Hmph! What right do you have to call me Master? Senior Uncle? Call me Senior! Stop talking nonsense and tell me where my junior brother went!" Wu Xingyun glared fiercely at Ding Chunqiu.
Ding Chunqiu shuddered, "Uh, yes, Senior Wuya came to Langhuan Paradise that day and almost killed us, but in the end he still took our old friendship into consideration and didn't kill us."
Later, moved by our true feelings, he expelled me from the sect and divorced Qiu Shui, thus granting our wish. Then, he followed Senior Xiaoyaozi and Senior Li Canghai and embarked on the path of cultivation.
However, before that, Senior Wuyazi said he was going to Shaolin to challenge someone, but I don't know who it was. Oh, right, he also instructed me to keep this a secret, especially not to let the Xiaoyao Sect know.
"You're talking nonsense! How could my junior brother be moved by your illicit affair? And why would he hide it from the people of the Free and Unfettered Sect? Why would he challenge Shaolin? Your lies won't fool me!" Wu Xingyun angrily pointed at Ding Chunqiu and said.
Li Qiushui glanced at Ding Chunqiu and said, "Ding Chunqiu, you may leave. I will handle this matter."
"Yes." Ding Chunqiu took two steps back, quite obediently.
"He spared us because he was moved, that's what Wu Yazi said. As for whether it was the truth, who knows? But I do know the real reason he gave up killing us, which is that he couldn't bring himself to kill me, and I risked my life to protect Ding Chunqiu."
After all, Wu Yazi has not fulfilled his duties as a husband over the years, and he has always been thinking about other women. I have been trying my best to maintain this marriage, but he has become more and more indifferent to me.
He was in the wrong from the start, and I hit his weak point. His martial arts skills are also on par with mine. It won't be so easy for him to kill us. We might as well take it easy, retire from the martial world, and follow our master and junior sister on the path of cultivation.
"As for why he went to Shaolin and kept it a secret from the Xiaoyao Sect, I have a rough idea. The person he mainly wanted to keep it from was you. He knows you have an impulsive personality and is afraid that you will cause trouble at Shaolin after his disappearance and bring about your death." Li Qiushui said calmly.
"Haven't you already stolen Shaolin's seventy-two unique skills? Who else in Shaolin is worthy of your challenge, junior brother?" Wu Xingyun frowned.
"This involves another secret. Actually, we obtained the Seventy-Two Arts entirely by luck. Otherwise, we would have died at the hands of the reclusive monks of Shaolin Temple long ago. That monk was a madman, and his martial arts were unparalleled..."
Seeing that Wu Xingyun was wavering, Li Qiushui simply recounted how she challenged Shaolin several years ago, was almost killed by the mad monk, and was saved by her junior sister.
Wu Xingyun never expected such a thing to have happened back then. "Junior brother must have been afraid that I would provoke that mad monk, so he kept it from me. But why didn't he take me with him to cultivate immortality? Li Qiushui, you said that junior brother has been thinking about another woman all these years. Who is it?"
"You still have the nerve to ask me?" Li Qiushui sneered. "I've told you everything I should and shouldn't have told you. Believe it or not, it's up to you. If you still want to fight, I'll fight you to the bitter end!"
"Li Qiushui, I'm warning you, even if you want to be with Ding Chunqiu, you must never go outside the blessed land and embarrass yourself. After all, it's not good for your master's wife and disciple to do such a thing. It will bring shame to Wu Yazi and the Xiaoyao Sect!" Wu Xingyun said angrily.
"Hmph! Do you think I'd be stupid enough to publicize something like this? Ding Chunqiu and I originally decided to live in seclusion here. If it weren't for your constant disturbances, we would be living quite comfortably."
However, so much time has passed. Didn't you ask someone to give you the Seven Treasures Ring, the symbol of the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect? Without the Seven Treasures Ring, I will not acknowledge you as the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect.
"If you lose the Seven Treasures Ring, then you are a sinner of the Free and Unfettered Sect and are not qualified to inherit the sect. The position of sect leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect should rightfully be taken over by me!" Li Qiushui said coldly.
"Don't even think about it! How could the position of sect leader be given to someone like you who has done such a shameful thing with your disciple! But I didn't receive the Seven Treasures Ring at all, and my junior brother wouldn't go off to cultivate immortality without properly handling sect affairs. Could it be..." Wu Xingyun suddenly thought of a possibility: something had happened when Wu Yazi challenged that mad monk!
Thinking of this, Wu Xingyun decisively left Langhuan Paradise and headed to Shaolin Temple. She wanted to get to the bottom of things!
As Ding Chunqiu watched Wu Xingyun disappear from sight, his tense mood immediately eased. "Shui'er has such a silver tongue."
"Hmph, isn't it all because you have so many bad ideas? If Wu Xingyun had caused a ruckus at Shaolin and had been killed by that mad monk, that would have been perfect." Li Qiushui smiled slightly.
“That’s right. Xiaoyaozi and Li Canghai have disappeared, and Wuyazi and Wuxingyun are both dead. So, only Shui’er is left to be the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect. Ding Chunqiu greets the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect!” Ding Chunqiu bowed with his hands clasped.
Li Qiushui covered her mouth and laughed, "Senior Sister isn't dead yet, you're speaking too soon."
"Alas, it's a pity we didn't think of the Seven Treasures Ring back then. Otherwise, with the Seven Treasures Ring in hand, Shui'er would be the rightful leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect now," Ding Chunqiu sighed.
"Hehe, do you think I really care that much about the position of leader of the Xiaoyao Sect? What does the Xiaoyao Sect have left now besides a palace? However, that Seven Treasures Ring is indeed a treasure. Why don't you go look for it at the bottom of the cliff? What if you find it?" Li Qiushui laughed.
Ding Chunqiu looked embarrassed. "Uh, Shui'er, don't joke like that. So much time has passed. Wu Yazi's body must have been eaten by wild beasts long ago. Where would we find such a small ring?"
"Hehe, you're afraid that Wuyazi isn't dead, aren't you?" Li Qiushui sneered.
“How could Wu Yazi not be dead? If he wasn’t dead, how could the Xiaoyao Sect have no news of him at all? If he wasn’t dead, Wu Xingyun should have come with Wu Yazi to take revenge this time.”
Ding Chunqiu felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. If Wu Yazi and Wu Xingyun had come together to seek revenge, he and Li Qiushui would definitely have been no match for them.
"It was just a joke, why are you taking it so seriously? Wu Xingyun interrupted my good time just now, I haven't had my fill yet, come here." Li Qiushui beckoned with her finger.
"Again?" Ding Chunqiu swallowed hard, but his mind was still on the question from earlier: Was Wuyazi really dead?
If he didn't die, where is he?
In fact, when Wu Yazi encountered danger that day, he was not very high from the bottom of the cliff. Moreover, Wu Yazi was a martial arts master after all. He grabbed many vines and branches to slow down, so his injuries were not particularly serious.
Wu Yazi finally reached the bottom of the cliff after going through countless hardships, but after thinking it over and over, he still didn't know where he should go.
The simplest way to seek revenge on Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu is to return to the Xiaoyao Sect and ask Wu Xingyun for help. Anyone who dares to plot against the sect leader should be punished by everyone in the Xiaoyao Sect.
However, Wu Yazi did not want to make this matter known to everyone. He had already had a big fight with Wu Xingyun to cover it up when he was in the Xiaoyao Sect. Now that he had ended up like this, where would he put his face if he went back to Wu Xingyun?
Moreover, as the dignified leader of the Xiaoyao Sect and a master who once swept across the martial arts world, how he would travel thousands of miles back to the Xiaoyao Sect with his two crippled legs is also a problem.
He might run into someone who recognizes him on the road. If the sects whose secret manuals were stolen see him in this state, they would probably be happy to kick him while he's down.
More importantly, if the news that he was still alive reached Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu's ears, things would be very bad.
Even if I really want to return to the Free and Unfettered Sect, I have to wait until I have enough power to protect myself.
Thinking of this, Wu Yazi made up his mind to stay in the valley and cultivate in seclusion until he regained his former strength or even made further progress before seeking revenge on Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu.
Through day after day of arduous practice, Wu Yazi finally mastered walking on his hands, but his martial arts skills were far inferior to those before he lost his leg. He didn't know when he would be able to surpass his former self.
But how could Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu's martial arts skills stagnate?
Wu Yazi made up his mind that he would never show himself to take revenge unless he was absolutely certain that everything would go smoothly, even if it meant waiting for decades!
Just as Wuyazi was working hard to recover his strength, another young man far away in Tibet began his legend.
After leaving Langhuan Paradise, Kumārajīva returned to Tibet and diligently practiced the Lesser Formless Skill.
Li Qiushui did not teach him the complete version of the Lesser Formless Skill. In the end, Kumārajīva was just a plaything of hers. No matter how well he served as a male concubine, it was not enough for Li Qiushui to sincerely teach him her secret skills.
However, Li Qiushui underestimated Kumārajīva. With his photographic memory and extraordinary talent, Kumārajīva fused the part taught by Li Qiushui with the part he had secretly learned and the part he had figured out on his own, and actually mastered the Lesser Formless Skill.
Then Kumārajīva defeated countless competitors and successfully became a disciple of a Tibetan Nyingma master, learning the Tibetan secret technique, the Flaming Blade!
On the other hand, Wu Xingyun went to Shaolin to investigate Wu Yazi's disappearance, but unfortunately, Chengcheng, the only one who knew about the mad monk, chose to avoid meeting him.
Wu Xingyun found the abbot of Lingmen, but when he asked about the mad monk, the abbot said that the man had died long ago. Even if he had faked his death, so many years had passed and he must have died long ago. Few Shaolin monks live past one hundred years old.
If the mad monk were still alive, he would probably be around 110 years old. If Shaolin Temple had such an old monk, it's impossible that no one would know about him.
Lingmen accompanied Wu Xingyun to search the entire Shaolin Temple, and the final conclusion was that no such person could be found, and Wu Yazi had indeed never been to Shaolin.
Having no other choice, Wu Xingyun took his leave, saying to Lingmen as he departed, "Thank you, you were very good."
Six years have passed in the blink of an eye. This is the thirtieth year since Xiang Yu came to the Tianlong Babu region, and also the seventh year since Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu got married.
Perhaps it's because of the seven-year itch, perhaps it's because Xiao Qingluo is growing up, or perhaps it's because Wu Xingyun is already suspecting that they lied back then and might come knocking on their door again at any time.
In short, 56-year-old Li Qiushui and 33-year-old Ding Chunqiu decided to break up peacefully, and Ding Chunqiu remained Li Qingluo's godfather. The last thing they did together was to send Li Qingluo to the Wang family in Suzhou.
As for why Li Qiushui sent her daughter to the Wang family to be adopted, Ding Chunqiu didn't know and dared not ask. On the contrary, he felt it was only natural, since Li Qiushui had no idea how to educate her children.
Moreover, Li Qingluo became increasingly curious about her biological father, leaving Li Qiushui at a loss for words. She could only say that the heartless man had abandoned her and her daughter and was now living a carefree life somewhere.
Li Qiushui didn't even dare to tell Li Qingluo that her biological father was dead, because she was afraid that Wu Xingyun would find out. Although her martial arts skills were no less than Wu Xingyun's, it was better to avoid trouble.
However, Li Qiushui had already made up her mind that in two years, when Li Qingluo was a little older, she would tell her daughter about Wu Yazi's identity and death.
Of course, Li Qiushui could not say exactly how he died. She could only say that she had been searching for Wuyazi all these years, but had not been able to find him, so she believed that Wuyazi was dead.
Li Qiushui's decision to place her daughter in the Wang family of Gusu was made after careful consideration. Although the Wang family of Gusu was not a powerful martial arts family, it was a wealthy and influential clan with relatives serving as officials in the imperial court.
Moreover, the Wang family and the Murong family have been linked by marriage for generations, and few people in the martial arts world dare to mess with the Wang family of Gusu. The Murong family has produced a genius in this generation, who has a good chance of growing into a top master in the martial arts world.
And most importantly, all the men in the Wang family are handsome, especially the young master of the Wang family, who is about the same age as Li Qingluo and is also a handsome young man. It would be good for Qingluo to marry him in the future.
In short, Li Qingluo, as the adopted daughter of the Wang family, would at least not suffer, and might even receive some fatherly love from the Wang family.
Actually, the Wang family didn't want to accept it, but after being intimidated by Li Qiushui's methods, they obediently complied.
Moreover, Li Qiushui revealed her identity. Who would dare to disrespect the invincible couple who swept through the martial arts world back then?
The Wang family wasn't stupid. As long as a member of the Wang family could marry Li Qingluo in the future, the martial arts manuals of various sects would be readily available. Based on this alone, Li Qingluo's life in the Wang family would definitely be very comfortable, and she would be pampered by everyone from top to bottom.
After helping Li Qiushui settle Li Qingluo, Ding Chunqiu parted ways with Li Qiushui.
Li Qiushui returned to Langhuan Paradise and intended to smash the jade statue carved by Wuyazi, but then she suddenly thought of something, took out white silk and ink, and used the unique realistic brushwork of the Xiaoyao School to paint a picture.
The painting depicts only a reclining beauty, whose appearance is identical to that of the jade statue, but who is completely naked, with a curvaceous figure that would make any man's blood boil.