After a long silence, Wei Li slowly spoke: "If you don't find someone who can protect you in your life, you will eventually be covered in wounds."
Ban Lan was taken aback.
She didn't want to delve into the meaning behind Wei Li's words, but simply stepped forward, tugged at Wei Li's sleeve, and said, "That's why I want to learn the ultimate skill, so please teach me quickly, you can't keep it to yourself."
Wei Li chuckled: "Hidden possessions? The only thing I've ever hidden away gets dug up by you every now and then, what else could I possibly hide?"
Ban Lan wanted to just chuckle to brush it off, but for some reason, she remained silent.
Wei Li looked down at her and said in a deep voice, "Ban Lan."
"Um."
"No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, you will always encounter someone stronger than you."
"I know."
“But,” Wei Li said, “even if one day you become the best in the world, you will still meet someone who can defeat you.”
Ban Lan couldn't help but look up.
"Because often, people are not defeated by the moves they use, but by the person who makes the move against them."
Looking into Wei Li's eyes, Ban Lan gradually realized something.
What is a unique skill?
It turns out that there is no such thing as a deadly skill in the world; what can be deadly is the human heart.
Wrongfully convicted
one,
The fastest thing in the world isn't a four-legged steed like Green Horse or Red Hare, but rather a rumor with wings.
So when the news of Cen Ji's temporary blindness reached Ban Lan's ears, it became that "the future Master Kongshan has lost both eyes and will be unable to see anything for the rest of his life."
As for how Cen Ji lost his sight, Ban Lan had heard no fewer than ten different explanations.
The most likely scenario is that Cen Ji is assassinated by his enemies and accidentally poisoned, losing his sight.
The strangest thing is that one bright morning, Cen Ji opened his eyes and went blind.
Regardless of the explanation, Ban Lan had no time to think about it.
Because she was struggling with whether or not to send medicine to Cen Ji.
Upon hearing the news of Cen Ji's blindness, Ban Lan immediately went to retrieve Wei Li's Osmanthus Brightening Pill.
Wei Li's pharmacy is usually locked and mostly idle; even Wei Li himself rarely comes here.
So when Ban Lan jumped out of the pharmacy and bumped into Wei Li, she almost thought she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Ban Lan froze on the spot, rolled her eyes, and noticed that she was holding the bottle of Osmanthus Brightening Pills in her hand, exposed nakedly to Wei Li's eyes.
Wei Li put his hands behind his back and lowered his eyes.
He didn't look at the medicine bottle in Ban Lan's hand; he simply looked down at Ban Lan's somewhat bewildered face.
Wei Li asked, "Do you still want to go?" Ban Lan nodded first, then shook her head.
Wei Li smiled and asked, "So, are you going or not?"
Ban Lan had no choice but to say, "I promised my senior sister that I would never set foot in Kongshanling again."
Wei Li said, "Oh, then put the medicine back."
Ban Lan unconsciously tightened her grip on the medicine bottle. The bottle became slightly hot from her hold.
A person's life is a constant struggle against various contradictions.
Wei Li shook her head, looked at Ban Lan's slightly furrowed brows, and slowly said, "Going or not going, it's all the same."
"Because your heart has never returned."
Ban Lan felt a tightness in her chest.
"When the mind is enslaved by the body, life is like death."
As she left, Wei Li uttered these words.
Ban Lan stood there stunned for a long time, then suddenly jumped up and rushed out.
two,
Fang Huo felt that he was the most unfortunate person.
At midday, he was still lying on his bed snoring and drooling, but before noon, he was carrying a bottle of medicine called "Osmanthus Clear Mind Pill" and riding a horse at full speed on the road to Kongshan Ridge.
When Ban Lan came to him, he thought she was joking.
He said, "Senior sister, this Osmanthus Brightening Pill isn't a magic pill. It's effective for people with poor eyesight, but giving it to a blind person is like hoping an iron tree will bloom."
Ban Lan seemed not to hear at all, and only instructed, "When we get to Kongshan Ridge, just give the medicine directly to Senior Sister Wen."
Fang Huo said, "Did you hear me?"
Ban Lan said, "Come back as soon as the medicine is delivered, don't linger."
Fang Huo began grinding his teeth: "Don't pretend you're deaf."
Ban Lan looked at the sky: "Hurry up, if we hurry, we can reach Kongshan Ridge tomorrow."
So Fang Huo set off.
This was the last time he left Yumu Valley, because he never returned.
Many years later, Ban Lan still couldn't forget Fang Huo's complaints when he left, but unfortunately, she never had the chance to hear those complaints again.
That's just how things are sometimes; you never know which parting will become permanent, even the most casual wave.
Although Fang Huo was full of resentment, he still arrived at Kongshanling earlier than Ban Lan had estimated.
This is Fang Huo's second time visiting Kongshanling.
He couldn't remember when it was the first time; it was too long ago.
The only thing he remembered was the sentence he had said to Ban Lan.
He said, "Kongshanling is very big, but I don't like it."
Ban Lan asked him cheerfully why, but he couldn't answer. But when he inadvertently caught sight of Wen Moyin in the distance, he suddenly said, "It's like, Senior Sister Wen is very beautiful, but I still think you're better than her." Ban Lan's eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Are you stupid?" Ban Lan said, then skipped off to play.
Fang Huo watched Ban Lan run off into the distance, looking just like a lively antelope. He didn't understand why something that everyone was chasing after was necessarily good.
He didn't understand then, and he still doesn't understand now. He just never said it out loud again.
"Youth is wonderful, but it's a pity we can't go back." Fang Huo sighed and walked up the mountain.
Although the appearance of Kongshanling was blurred in my memory, when I stood here again, the threads of my memory seemed to be stirred and slowly revived.
Fang Huo used his light-footed skills to run swiftly along the main road.
The gate to Kongshanling is always open. It's convenient for people to come and go.
This is the style of the most powerful sects in the martial arts world.
But Fang Huo didn't think so. From the bottom of his heart, only two words came to mind: arrogant.
"How arrogant." Fang Huo glanced at the wide-open door and muttered, "If you're not going to close the door, what's the point of having one?"
He swaggered in, and everyone he encountered ignored him, giving him only a cold glance before continuing with what they were doing.
"Hey, where's your young lady?" Fang Huo casually grabbed a servant who was carrying water and passing by.
"How could we servants possibly know the young lady's whereabouts?" The servant deftly dodged Fang Huo's outstretched hand with a slight shift in his steps, then left without even glaring at him.
Fang Huo gasped, "My goodness, even a servant's martial arts are this powerful..."
Unable to find out the answer, he could only rely on his faint memory and wander around aimlessly, turning left and right.
Fang Huo strolled along the brick-paved path, looking around leisurely.
As he walked, his hand unconsciously rested on the Qingguang sword at his waist.
He always felt that someone was watching him, but he wasn't entirely sure.
The hilt of the Qingguang sword had been worn smooth and shiny, and the simple scabbard was plain and even somewhat clumsy.
This was Fang Huo's most prized weapon, which had been with him for seven years.
He never boasted of being a first-rate swordsman, yet to this day, no opponent he has faced has been able to defeat him.
He always humbly said that his swordsmanship was nothing special, so he always took every opponent seriously.
Just then, his breathing gradually slowed down, becoming almost imperceptible. He knew that it was the growing killing intent behind him that forced him to hold his breath.
The unknown is always the most terrifying. That's why Fang Huo was also afraid.
He was afraid of dying, especially of dying in a place he disliked, or anywhere other than Fish Eye Valley.
"Snap." A dead branch lying across the road was broken by being stepped on.
Fang Huo subconsciously looked down.
In an instant, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of light from a knife.
The longsword was drawn, its blade hissing. Fang Huo suddenly turned around and swung his sword directly at the oncoming blade.