“Miss,” Yun’er came up, “Uncle Qi has returned with a message.”
"He's back? Bring him in." Yin Wuxiao snapped out of his reverie.
Uncle Qi is the most senior manager on the Yin family's freight line. Ten days ago, Yin Wuxiao sent him to a place to find someone.
"Has the person been found?"
Uncle Qi lowered his head: "I found it, but... but I didn't see it. I only asked a few questions from outside the house through the door."
Yin Wuxiao's back stiffened: "What...did she say?"
"She refused. She said she wouldn't see anyone now."
"Didn't you tell her that I sent you?"
“Miss, this woman is completely heartbroken. She wants nothing and fears nothing, and I, this old man, am truly at my wit’s end.”
Yin Wuxiao remained silent for a long time.
"Then I'll have to go there myself."
"Miss!" Uncle Qi exclaimed in surprise, "You haven't fully recovered from your trip down from Tianshan last time."
Yin Wuxiao turned around, tears welling up in his eyes: "Uncle Qi, I can't worry about all that anymore. I'm just afraid... I'm just afraid it will be too late."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Qi could only sigh.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Chasing the Spring Breeze a Hundred Times Again (Part Two)
Three days later, the Yin family's carriage arrived at a remote valley at the border between the Central Plains and the northern desert.
Yin Wuxiao and Uncle Qi got off the carriage and followed the path into the valley, where they found a thatched hut at the deepest part.
"This is it."
Uncle Qi stepped forward and knocked on the door. As soon as he knocked, the door opened with a whoosh.
Wu Guo stepped out from behind the door with a blank expression: "What, it's you again?"
Uncle Qi politely cupped his hands in greeting.
"My wife is nowhere to be seen; I already mentioned that last time."
"Not even me?" Yin Wuxiao asked from behind.
Wu Guo was taken aback. He had seen Yin Wuxiao at Baiwen Manor before, and it was thanks to her that he was able to save his life, so he naturally held her in high regard.
“Miss Yin.” He bowed. “Don’t blame Wu Guo for trying to stop me. Madam has decided to retire from the world and will never concern herself with worldly affairs again. Last time, Qiao Fenglang knelt at the door for a whole day but still couldn’t see Madam’s face.”
Yin Wuxiao took a few steps forward: "Young Master Wuguo, I don't need to see Madam. I just need you to deliver a few things to her for me, is that alright?"
She took out a brocade box and presented it to Wuguo.
Wu Guo frowned: "Madam is now heartless and devoid of all emotions. Let alone gold and silver, even if you offered the whole world, she would not be tempted."
Yin Wuxiao smiled and said, "How could someone like Master Mu be so heartless and ruthless?"
“Miss Yin, I respect you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate you arbitrarily humiliating Madam.”
“No fault, I am not trying to humiliate your wife. I understand that she still has unresolved issues in her heart.” Yin Wuxiao earnestly held the brocade box and opened the lid. “This box contains neither gold nor silver, nor jewels.”
He glanced into the box and his expression immediately changed drastically.
There was a book on each side of the box. The one on the left was "Soul-Destroying Kill" and the one on the right was "Sacred Poison Scripture". On each of the two books was a blood jade pendant.
Wu Guo looked at Yin Wuxiao in shock: "The three treasures of my Qiong Sect are now in your hands."
Yin Wuxiao nodded: "Please take these items to Master Mu."
Wu Guo took the brocade box, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. Before entering the house, he turned to Yin Wuxiao and said, "Miss Yin, I admire your willingness to go to such lengths for the young master in green, but I also feel sorry for you."
"What do you mean?" Yin Wuxiao raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you know the saying, 'A devoted woman is betrayed by a heartless man'?"
Yin Wuxiao smiled faintly: "Please take this brocade box inside."
A moment later, a loud crash came from the hut, as if something had fallen to the ground and cracked.
Uncle Qi looked at Yin Wuxiao with some concern, but received a reassuring look in return.
After a long while, Wu Guo came out of the door carrying the brocade box, his face pale.
He handed the brocade box back to Yin Wuxiao: "Miss Yin, please go back. My lady said that these things cannot move her heart."
Yin Wuxiao silently accepted the brocade box and slowly said, "Who said I was going to use these things to win your wife's heart?"
Wu Guo was taken aback.
Yin Wuxiao stood in front of the door, holding the brocade box, and raised his voice: "Sect Leader Mu, I know you can hear me. You may not really care about these three treasures of your sect now. But don't you want to know the story behind these treasures? There is no one in this world who knows the truth better than me."
Silence reigned inside the door.
Wu Guo and Uncle Qi both held their breath.
Yin Wuxiao continued, "What exactly happened three months ago? Why did Brother Ali die? Why did Brother Fenglang's personality change so drastically? And why did Aunt Yun meticulously set up such a deception? Don't you want to hear about these things?"
There was a moment of silence inside the door, then a trembling voice finally rang out: "I...I don't want to hear it."
Yin Wuxiao sighed: "Of course you don't have to listen, but the knot in your heart will never be untied. Do you know that Brother Ali's grave is on the other side of this valley? Do you know that Brother Fenglang built a thatched hut next to his tombstone and lives a secluded life?"
"Master Mu, I only recently learned about many of the things that have happened in the past thirty years. These past thirty years haven't been easy for you. We are both women, and we are both prone to living in our own fantasies. Don't you want to know what has been real and what has been illusory in your life over these thirty years?"
Mu Wanfeng still did not answer.
Yin Wuxiao was at a loss for words. At this moment, all she could do was wait quietly. Mu Wanfeng was her only hope.
Finally, Mu Wanfeng, who was inside the room, spoke up: "Yin girl, you are very smart."
Yin Wuxiao smiled with satisfaction: "Thank you for your praise, Master Mu."
"With your intelligence, don't you think it's demeaning to humble yourself like this for a man?"
Yin Wuxiao was taken aback.
A long sigh came from inside the room: "Come in."
The door opened again, and what Yin Wuxiao saw was still a gray-haired figure with hair hanging down to his shoulders.
"Now you can tell me how you obtained these three items."
Yin Wuxiao placed the brocade box on the table behind her and reached out to take out the items one by one.
"The first item is this *Sacred Poison Scripture*. Thirty years ago, it was stolen from the Qiong Sect by the skilled poison master Yu Nan'er. Later, Yu Nan'er fell in love with the Divine Physician Baiwen, and the *Sacred Poison Scripture* ended up in his hands. Later, when the Qiong Sect's leader Jiang Li entered the Central Plains, Yu Nan'er, in order to escape, used the 'Unfulfilled Desire' poison on herself. Although she saved her life, it left her with a contagious poison that would also harm her offspring. Later, to protect the child in her womb, Yu Nan'er left the Divine Physician Baiwen. The Divine Physician Baiwen hated the 'Unfulfilled Desire' poison in the *Sacred Poison Scripture* for harming his wife and daughter, and he burned it with his own hands. The copy of the *Sacred Poison Scripture* that I have here was later rewritten by Yu Nan'er from her memory, and it has been hidden in the Yin Mansion ever since."
"Good, good." Mu Wanfeng chuckled. "Xuan He didn't lie to me. He actually burned the Sacred Poison Scripture."
Yin Wuxiao then took out the second item.
"The second thing is this 'Soul-Destroying Killing Technique'. Thirty years ago, it was you, Master Mu, who personally stole it and brought it to the Central Plains. Later, you and Qiao Baiyue, the leader of the Qiao Gang, fell in love at first sight. When Qiao Baiyue learned that you had such a martial arts manual, he took it from you along with Fenglang after Fenglang was born."
“That’s right,” Mu Wanfeng said with a wry smile. “After I returned to the sect, everyone in the sect only knew that I had lost the ‘Soul-Destroying Kill’, but they didn’t know that the book was forcibly taken away by that bastard Qiao Baiyue along with my son!”
Yin Wuxiao calmed down: "You still hate him."
“Yes, I still hate him.” Mu Wanfeng’s shoulders trembled slightly. “It is this hatred that has sustained me and allowed me to live to this day.”
"You think you hate it because you didn't get it. But you don't know that the person who got it is suffering even more than you."
"You mean Madam Yun?"
Yin Wuxiao thought of Madam Yun, her eyes dimmed slightly, and she clenched the "Soul-Destroying Kill" in her hand.
"Seven years after marrying Qiao Baiyue, Aunt Yun discovered that Feng Lang's birth mother was a woman named Mu Wanfeng, and that Qiao Baiyue's heart always belonged to only one woman named Mu Wanfeng. Aunt Yun discovered the hiding place of the book 'Soul-Destroying Kill,' and out of jealousy and hatred, she began to secretly learn the martial arts in the book. Her martial arts skills gradually improved, and she eventually established an assassination organization called 'Traceless' in the martial arts world."
"A few years later, Brother Ali came to the Central Plains and was imprisoned by Qiao Baiyue in Quyun Mountain. Aunt Yun accidentally learned of this and was filled with hatred. So she secretly sowed discord between Brother Fenglang and Brother Ali, and eventually instigated Brother Ali to commit fratricide. On the same day that Brother Ali disappeared from Quyun Mountain, Aunt Yun stole the 'Soul-Destroying Killing Technique' from Qiao Baiyue's study. Qiao Baiyue mistakenly believed that Brother Ali had stolen the 'Soul-Destroying Killing Technique,' but dared not make a fuss. Before his death, he wrote a letter to the previous generation of the Baili family's Golden Cicada Prince, entrusting him to investigate the matter."
“Your aunt is a wicked woman,” Mu Wanfeng said softly.
Yin Wuxiao sighed softly, then took out the remaining pair of blood jade pendants: "This pair of blood jade pendants was originally kept by Sect Leader Jiang Li. After Sect Leader Jiang Li entered the Central Plains, he gave them to my mother."
“Your mother was indeed an extraordinary person. When I met her, she was about your age now.” Mu Wanfeng’s voice seemed to pierce through the thick fog of time, returning to the martial arts world thirty years ago. “She didn’t even put Baili Chan in her eyes, as if no man in this world was worth her raising an eyebrow.” There was a hint of self-pity in her voice. “Yin girl, your mother is indeed the person I admire most in my life.”
"Back then, my mother probably just hadn't met someone who moved her heart. Once she did, she was willing to leave the martial arts world for him and bear his children."
Mu Wanfeng remained silent for a long while: "Is Ruan Wuyou's daughter really such a sentimental woman?"
"Master Mu, you too have experienced love and romance. Even if the ending wasn't happy, those feelings were genuine."
Mu Wanfeng was stunned, and her eyes instantly filled with tears.
“Yin girl, you’re saying these things not because you’re naive, but because you want to move me with them.”
Yin Wuxiao smiled faintly, not responding to her words, but continuing, "Before I was born, my mother gave one of these Blood Jade Pendants to Brother Fenglang as a token of our engagement. I've worn the other one since I was a child. When Brother Fenglang was murdered, the Blood Jade Pendant was still on him. Later, when he lost his memory, he pawned the Blood Jade Pendant in Luoyang. Aunt Yun ordered Yuwen Cuiyu to take the Blood Jade Pendant from me, but she failed. Brother Fenglang's Blood Jade Pendant also disappeared with his disappearance. Later, Aunt Yun found Brother Fenglang again, helped him regain his memory, and finally learned the location of his Blood Jade Pendant. So she sent someone to Luoyang, killed the pawnshop owner, and retrieved the jade."
"Unexpectedly, Fang Yan Zui, who obtained the Blood Jade, was captured by Baili Qingyi, while Yin Bitong broke into Baili's mansion at night to obtain the Blood Jade and then placed it on me. After leaving Baili's mansion, I encountered Baili Qingyi and eventually handed the Blood Jade over to him."
Mu Wanfeng said, "Later, the young master in green used this blood jade to ask me for the solution to the problem of 'not being able to get what one wants'."
"Later, Brother Fenglang ordered Cui Shenghan to disguise herself and hide by your side, and steal the blood jade again. My piece was stolen by Bai Can and given to Cui Shenghan, and it ended up in Brother Fenglang's hands again. Three months ago, Brother Fenglang survived the explosion and returned this pair of exquisite blood jade pendants to me, and dissolved our engagement."
Mu Wanfeng sneered: "These three treasures of my Qiong Sect will plunge your Central Plains martial arts world into chaos."
"It will also cause your husband and children to be separated, and only one of your two sons will survive."
Mu Wanfeng's back trembled, but she ultimately remained silent.
After a long pause, her cold voice rang out: "Do you think that just because you told me these stories, I would use half of my internal energy to save Baili Qingyi?"
Yin Wuxiao's lips moved slightly, and he pulled out a roll of paper from his sleeve, handing it to Mu Wanfeng.
Mu Wanfeng hesitated for a moment, then finally took it and slowly unfolded it. She only glanced at it before she was stunned.
The painting depicts a woman with an extremely gentle expression. Although the brushwork is rough, it is overflowing with anticipation.
Yin Wuxiao's voice trembled: "Master Mu, this is a portrait of you that Brother Fenglang drew when he was fourteen years old, based on Brother Ali's description."
The paper trembled. Above the portrait was no poem, no seal, only a single character written neatly in light ink:
mother.
Tears finally soaked the paper.
Yin Wuxiao knelt down in despair: "Master Mu, I'm not saying all this to exchange for anything from you. I just want you to know that in this world, whether it's kinship or love, even though it's incredibly fragile, even though it often can't withstand greed and hatred, it still exists. Love, after all, exists! If you don't test it with life and death and greed, it will remain beautiful for a long, long time. Love is always better than hate, and life is always better than death, isn't it?"