Minglong

Chapter 274 Youth Never Returns

Not long after, the Demon-Suppressing Tomb.

The rustling cold wind swirled up the withered grass and fallen leaves outside the hill. The footprints of those who had visited several times before had long since disappeared, leaving only a hill standing alone under the winter sun.

Xie Jinhuan stood at the former site of the tomb raiders' camp, looking around at the mountains. To this day, he still doesn't understand how he got here on that rainy night when the dream began.

Not far away, Linghu Qingmo stood there, sword in hand, staring blankly at the enormous wild boar that had fallen asleep.
Why did you hit it?

"It nudges me whenever it sees me, shouldn't I hit it?"

"Have it?"

"Have."

Xie Jinhuan had been coaxed several times before, but this time he was afraid of scaring Momo, so he took the initiative first.

He didn't waste any more time on the wild boar king. He went to the mound and tried to open the tomb with the Five Elements Incantation.

After cultivators reach the Super Grade, they can gradually master the power of heaven and earth. However, due to the limitations of their respective cultivation schools, their control varies greatly. For example, a crude martial artist with balanced energy will find it difficult to control and guide the power of the five elements. To move mountains, fill seas, burn cities, or sever rivers, they need a systematic cultivation method.

Xie Jinhuan, relying on the transformation ability of "pouring candles upside down", can skip the steps of cultivation and Qi training. Recently, he has been studying the Five Elements technique, but focusing on the "thunder and fire" methods. He has also figured out a deadly trump card, "instant cremation of the Dragon Mother", but he has not yet explored earth magic.

He tried to gather his energy for a moment, but the mound didn't react, so he took out the Yellow Qilin Seal to try again.

The Yellow Qilin Seal contains a soil-based magic spell that softens the mineral layer for easier excavation and refining. When activated within a controlled area, parts of the mound in front of it crumbled and collapsed, revealing the tomb door that had already been repaired behind it.

Wow…

Linghu Qingmo had never been here before, and upon seeing this, he asked in confusion:
"What is this place?"

"It's where Master Qixia went into seclusion, but there's no movement inside, so he must have already left."

"Yeah……"

Out of reverence for his ancestor, Linghu Qingmo quickly bowed to the tomb entrance.

Xie Jinhuan entered the tomb chamber where eight tomb guardian beasts were placed and found that the demon-suppressing coffin had been turned into an open sliding lid. The white-haired fairy must not have returned. He was about to leave.

But upon closer inspection, he was surprised to find embers of a campfire next to a tomb guardian beast, along with a tattered sack!

?

Xie Jinhuan looked slightly puzzled and went over to check. He could see that the campfire had been there for some time. As for the sack, it was big enough to fit a person, but it was empty inside.

Linghu Qingmo frowned upon seeing that such a solemnly decorated cave dwelling had been littered with trash.

"Who threw this?"

"Um……"

Xie Jinhuan picked up the sack and examined it carefully. He suspected that it must have been dropped by the White-haired Fairy, and that there was most likely a person inside.

As for who he's impersonating, that's pretty easy to figure out.

Xie Jinhuan looked at the embers of the campfire, trying to determine if they were fragments of Lü Yan.

However, the campfire was just dry firewood picked up randomly outside, and there were no relics such as ashes or relics. So they went to the demon-suppressing coffin, which was empty inside, but there were some carvings on the back of the coffin.

Xie Jinhuan lifted the coffin lid to examine the handwriting, and Linghu Qingmo also leaned closer and read aloud:

"The day I emerge from seclusion will be the day Xie Xiao'er pays with his life... What immense resentment! Could this be something left behind by my master?"

Just by looking at the handwriting, Xie Jinhuan knew that it was indeed Lu Laomo who had been detained.

The Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum was used to suppress the Sixth Realm Old Demon. Even without the Zhenglun Sword as a lock, with Lü Yan's cultivation level, he would not be able to escape from the Demon-Suppressing Coffin.

At this time, Lü Yan disappeared without a trace. Either the White-Haired Fairy sacrificed Lü Yan after investigating the collusion between the Divination Sect and the evil cult, or she found out that Lü Yan had not betrayed the cult and had been released without charge.

He had been traveling in the Western Rong these past few days and was still unaware of the situation in Northern Zhou. However, whether Old Demon Lü was dead or alive was of no concern to him, so he casually closed the coffin lid.

"It must be one of the prisoners we kept before. This Demon-Suppressing Tomb can still be used in the future. I'll pack up and head back as soon as possible."

"Oh."

……
-
The conflict in the snow-capped mountains occurred in a remote, uninhabited area far from the outside world. As long as the survivors did not reveal it to the outside world, it would be difficult for them to know about it.

When Xie Jinhuan left Xirong, to prevent his sudden return to the capital from arousing suspicion, he made a special stop at Fengshan. Under the pretext of asking Duan Yuechou for help in investigating Xueyulou, he released the news that he had been assassinated by the monk Xuyin and Shen Jinyu.

Shen Jinyu is an underground figure in the underworld who has not personally taken action for many years. However, he suddenly went to assassinate the most famous righteous newcomer in the Southern Dynasty. Before he even fought, he had already caused a huge uproar in the martial arts world.

The involvement of high-ranking monks from the Chan (Zen) school further amplified the news, turning it into a bombshell that spread rapidly across the country.

Xie Jinhuan's speed in his raid far exceeded the speed of news transmission. When he arrived in Danyang, the locals had not yet heard about the changes in the Western Rong. However, by the afternoon, the Imperial Observatory had received an urgent report from Fengzhou, which then reached the ears of the current emperor.

The Imperial Study in Luoyang, the capital city.

Zhao Xiao, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, was furious and slammed the memorial on the table.

"This is utterly lawless! Even Huang Songjia of Northern Zhou wouldn't dare to openly assassinate Xie Jinhuan. How dare a mere outlaw and a Buddhist monk touch my people? Where do they get the audacity?"

Crown Prince Zhao De stood beside him, calmly offering words of comfort:
"Father, please calm your anger. As the saying goes, matters of the martial world should be settled within the martial world itself..."

Snapped--

Upon hearing this common saying in the martial arts world—"disregarding the law and defying authority"—Zhao Xiao, as the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, immediately drew his dragon robe and belt.

"You little brat, if everyone settles their own affairs in the martial world, what's the point of having laws?"

Zhao De quickly dodged, "Eh! Father, you misunderstand. What I meant was that Brother Xie's abilities are obvious to all. He could have resolved this matter himself without even needing to anger you. If you had ordered an investigation according to the law, Brother Xie wouldn't have been able to abuse his power, and you wouldn't have been able to vent your anger so easily..." "..."

Zhao Xiao lifted the dragon-patterned belt and suddenly realized that what this little bastard had said made some sense. Therefore, he didn't strike.
"So what do you mean?"

Zhao De didn't mean anything by it; he was just improvising after saying the wrong thing.

However, when his father asked, Zhao De still feigned deep thought:
"In my opinion, this matter should wait until Brother Xie returns, and then we should appoint him as the imperial envoy to confiscate his property and investigate. That way, we can openly settle personal scores. After such a big incident, Brother Xie can't just pack up and go to Northern Zhou. I reckon he should be back in the next couple of days... Ah~!"

Zhao Xiao grabbed his belt and whipped the little bastard:

"What do you mean by 'using public office to settle private scores'? Daring to assassinate a high-ranking official is tantamount to treason. Even if Xie Jinhuan had the entire Jing'an Temple family executed, it would still be in accordance with the law..."

"Isn't this just settling a personal score? Hey! Father is wise! It's just upholding the law..."

Zhao De covered his head with his hands and ran around frantically!
Enraged, Zhao Xiao whipped Zhao De into a spinning top, only stopping when a eunuch intervened. He then coldly ordered:

"Buddha'er, go and give the order to have the three deputy supervisors and Mr. Xu wait at Linde Hall. If the three sect leaders can't control these Jianghu outlaws even when they work together, what use are they to the imperial court?"

"Yes!"

Cao Fo'er, who was waiting, immediately accepted the order...

……

Meanwhile, in Qingmiao Lane near the Imperial College.

The century-old tavern had no other customers today. The old owner warmed his hands by the fireplace, glancing curiously at a customer at the window:
"Why are you drinking alone today, sir? Where are your two friends?"

"At my age, I don't have many true friends anymore; everyone has their own things to do."

"Sir, you don't seem that old, yet you speak with such an air of maturity. But it's true, once a person becomes entangled in fame and fortune, it's hard to find a true friend over drinks..."

"Ah……"

Dressed in black martial arts attire, Wei Wuyi sat by the window with his sword, the Ink Blood Qilin, beside him. He didn't exchange many pleasantries with the shopkeeper, but simply gazed out at the old alley, reminiscing about his childhood.

As an abandoned child in the war, Wei Wuyi initially did not know where he was born. He only remembered that when he was just beginning to understand things, he lived in a small bamboo house and the person who took care of him was a strange man who was always immersed in books.

Although the man was taciturn and spent his days dealing with birds and beasts, he didn't treat him like his own son, but at least he provided him with food and clothing, and made him fearless of jackals and the cold and heat.

Instinctively, he thought it was his father, but unfortunately he was too young to remember many details of his life. He only knew that one day, the person disappeared.

Then a group of adults surrounded him, fiddling with him as if he were an animal. He sensed danger, burst into tears, but was powerless to break free.

Fortunately, a scholar with a sword came along, said something, and was taken to this alley, where he lived with a group of children his age and was given a name—Wei Wuyi.

During that time, things were very chaotic outside. It was said that there were battles and deaths everywhere, but he did not feel the impact of the war. He just grew up gradually while reading and learning to read. Although he had no parents or relatives, the teacher at the academy did not despise him. His playmates, such as Wuxin, Wuyuan, and Wuzhen, made him feel that his life was very fulfilling. He slowly learned martial arts and virtue, and gradually developed his ambitions.

He once aspired to be like Ye Sheng, shouldering the burden of righteousness alone and bringing peace to the world. To this end, he worked very hard after leaving the academy, slaying demons and monsters everywhere, and quickly made a name for himself. However, he was not as prominent as Xie Jinhuan is now.

In his youth, he befriended countless chivalrous heroes and unexpectedly found his hometown in Xirong. However, he felt that those days were long gone, and his parents had not gained any benefits in Xirong. After paying respects to his mother, he forgot about this experience and continued on his way to his goal.

But he gradually discovered that acting righteously seemed to rely not on strength and a pure heart, but on one's background.

Lu Wuzhen was just a bookworm with no outstanding talents. He only became the acting supervisor at a young age because his ancestor was Master Ziyang and he was favored by Master Qixia.

The monk Wuxin was the same; he was obsessed with trivial matters all day long, and his mind was always on his own mind, which was impractical. But his master was the Bodhisattva Yu Nian, and he became the leader of the Chan Meditation School in his early twenties.

Even Sikong Tianyuan, whose character was generally mediocre, was able to become the leader of the Gu Poison Sect thanks to his father's belated efforts to rectify the chaos caused by the Witchcraft Cult.

He had no parents and was not Ye Sheng's disciple, so he had nothing. Even if he risked his life to fight, he would only be a wandering knight.

To achieve his long-cherished wish, he began to build his own power, establish his own sect, marry and form alliances, and gradually became the leader who controlled the entire Daizhou, and was also revered as the leader of the Jianghu Alliance.

He thought that with this identity, he would be qualified to compete with his classmates from prestigious families for the position of leader of the righteous path.

Later, he realized he had been overthinking things. These people could no longer question his abilities, but they still didn't give him any chance or even a reason.

He never betrayed the righteous path, but Lu Wuzhen was wary of him. The reason was simple: Lu Wuzhen did not know that he was born a half-demon, but he knew that the place where he lived in his childhood was called Chilong Cave; and the person who raised him for two or three years was the one whose name had become a taboo of the righteous path and had been completely erased!

If he were grateful, he would surely become a great scourge to the righteous path; if he were ungrateful, he would be an ungrateful scoundrel of the righteous path. In any case, in Lu Wuzhen's eyes, he was nothing but a worthless person.

Wei Wuyi spent nearly a hundred years proving that he had no ulterior motives and only wanted to do something for the righteous path. However, because of this concern, the righteous path never gave him a chance. Only in the end did he realize that there were only three people in the world who treated him as a human being.

One was his mother who risked her life to send him out of the mountains, another was the witch doctor who transformed him from a demon into a human, and the third was Ye Sheng who gave him his name.

These three people are like the old father in the snow-capped mountains. Even though his son is ugly and a freak, he still has no prejudice against him and gives him the right to be a human being.

Wei Wuyi didn't want to disappoint Ye Sheng, but he had no choice!

People like Lu Wuzhen regarded him as an oddball and never gave him any chance, yet he had to bow and scrape to these people unconditionally for the rest of his life.

But the witch doctor who had given him a second chance at life, whom he had saved, was someone he avoided like the plague for the rest of his life, and even wanted to despise along with him!
If life just passes by like this, then what is he anyway?
So when his last attempt to persuade them failed, he compromised when Sikong Tianyuan came to visit.

Since loyalty and righteousness have always been difficult to reconcile, if loyalty doesn't offer that opportunity, then he can only choose righteousness; he can't be caught in the middle...

……

Wei Wuyi gazed at the familiar alley outside the window. After a long silence, he drank the wine in his bowl in one gulp, took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table, then picked up his knife, got up, and walked out of the tavern.

Before leaving, Wei Wuyi looked back at the alleyway one last time, as if looking back at the rascal who used to secretly borrow money to care for wayward people.

That kid back then was full of energy and always getting into trouble. He was lecherous, playful, and loved to show off, but he never lost his integrity and ambition, and he understood the bottom line of being a decent person.

Unfortunately, that young man had long since died on the long road of life, and even he himself couldn't remember when or where he was buried...

(End of this chapter)