Notes on Longevity

Chapter 237: Another Encounter with the Masked Man, Who Would Have Thought He Was Already Dead

"Be careful."

Before Wang Huai made his move, Lu Ya whispered something to him.

Embracing, pushing with palms, lowering elbows, and employing Tai Chi-like footwork, Wang Huai, as the first of the three to take the lead, used his skillful Taoist kung fu to probe the masked man step by step. Because of their miscalculation three months ago, which resulted in Wu Ke's injury and escape, they were now primarily testing him, trying their best to see just how far Wu Ke's kung fu had progressed to warrant such contempt.

However, the masked man seemed to have seen through his thoughts.

His current choice is to defend and not attack, and every move and step he takes in defense is coordinated with Wang Huai's attack methods.

Seeing that his Taoist skills could not draw out any weaknesses, Wang Huai then took something out of his sleeve and placed it on his fingertip as he turned around. However, he could only vaguely see that it was a thin, dark red, wriggling creature, like a worm.

Just as their eyes met again, Wang Huai feigned a strong attack. The instant they made contact, Wang Huai flicked his fingertips, and the worm landed on the masked man's shoulder, then burrowed into his body along the back of his neck at an extremely fast speed.

When the masked man realized what was happening, he tried to stop him, but Lu Ya and Sun Cheng seized the opportunity and acted almost simultaneously.

Lu Ya bypassed Wang Huai and kicked the masked man in the neck, but the masked man raised his hand to block it. Sun Cheng, on the other hand, used his tall stature to strike the masked man's forehead with his elbow.

The powerful impact knocked the masked man off the roof.

The dull pain in his chest and the itching and numbness from the burrowing insects in his neck made him furrow his brows, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He covered his chest with one hand, and pressed his other hand firmly against his neck with a sword-like gesture, using his internal energy to force the insects that had burrowed into his body out.

He grabbed the insect, examined it closely, and muttered to himself, "A Gu worm. The Heart-Eating Gu from Xifeng Kingdom."

His landing drew a crowd of onlookers who rushed forward, trying to catch a glimpse of his face beneath the veil, only to be terrified by his fierce gaze and retreat in fear.

He stood up, threw the Gu worm on the ground, and stomped on it to death. He raised his hand, pointed at Wang Huai, and said, "You rogue, you actually know how to use Gu worms. It seems you are also a person with an impure heart. Today, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of your ancestor."

Having said that, he struggled to his feet and returned to the rooftop. After brushing the dust off his body, his eyes widened in fury, like a deity standing in the fog, its true form obscured, inspiring utter terror.

Wang Huai's gaze was fixed on the ground, on the Gu worm that the masked man had trampled to death. After hearing the masked man's words, he took a deep breath, his eyes also fixed on him, and said, "I'll make you pay for its death with your life."

After saying this, Wang Huai stopped using Taoist kung fu and instead relied on a burst of fierce strength to clash with the masked man.

The two exchanged blows, landing more than a dozen punches on each other in a short span of time. The masked man's expression was not visible, but it was clear from his eyes that he was in pain. Wang Huai's arms, chest, and brow had all taken several solid punches, and blood was slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth as he bit his lip in pain.

Seeing how persistent Wang Huai was, the masked man stopped exchanging blows. Instead, he aimed an elbow strike straight for Wang Huai's heart, followed by a punch that landed squarely on Wang Huai's forehead.
In that life-or-death moment, watching the masked man's descending fist reminded Wang Huai of his trip to Xifeng seven years ago. In that place where it rarely snowed each winter, he had finally met a girl during a heavy snowfall—a Miao witch from the border region of Xifeng.
"Li You".

"What are you doing?"

"Are Gu worms really as terrifying as you say?"

"Of course! Even the children of Miao territory are extremely careful when cultivating Gu worms. If they get stung or bitten, it's a serious matter."

Wang Huai, dressed in a simple Taoist robe, smiled slightly as he looked at Li You, who was dressed in silver and burning firewood in the house. Outside the small house, the moonlight was nowhere to be seen, and snowflakes were falling; inside, the house was warm and the lively atmosphere never stopped.

Wang Huai came from the south. As a child, he entered a Taoist sect. Besides studying scriptures, farming was their daily routine, which explains Wang Huai's hunched back. Later, he began learning martial arts from his master, Qi Huaizi. At the beginning of the ninth year of the Wen Shang era, at the age of twenty, Wang Huai descended the mountain for the first time to travel. His first choice was the neighboring Wu Kingdom. From childhood, he had heard legends about immortals, and in those legends, Kunlun Mountain was called the head of all mountains. He yearned for Kunlun.

Unfortunately, he traveled for a whole season, from spring to summer, encountering countless difficulties and obstacles along the way. Just as he was about to step into the Wu Kingdom, war broke out between the two countries.

Faced with attacks from both sides, he had no choice but to head towards Xifeng.

Xifeng is mountainous and has long rivers. Although the two countries are at war, he is now an outsider and a carefree person. He travels around, enjoying the scenery, chasing the stars and the moon. Of course, he has also been chased by wild beasts and poisonous insects. He laughs and plays alone along the way, feeling lonely but content.

However, this period of peace was short-lived. The war between the two nations seemed to have been entangled with a demon, plunging the entire world into endless darkness. In an instant, all sorts of ferocious beasts and poisonous insects fled in terror, retreating back to the mountains. Wang Huai sensed something amiss and continued his journey in the dark.

As dawn broke, he lost track of how long he had been walking. As he watched the snowflakes falling from the sky, all he knew was that he was very hungry and very cold.

That day, he collapsed in the snow.

When he woke up, he saw a busy, eccentric, somewhat grumpy, and talkative girl in front of him.

“Back when I was learning how to raise Gu gu from my grandma, I was almost stung by a scorpion that big. I still get scared thinking about it.”

Li You spoke with her back to Wang Huai, while turning around to gesture about the size.

Looking at his actions with a gloomy expression, he laughed and said, "Where would you find a scorpion that big? It's almost as big as your head. You're not hallucinating because you were stung and poisoned, are you?"

With her hands on her hips, Li You pointed at Wang Huai, looking furious, and cursed in the local accent, "You idiot! I kindly dug you out of the snow. And you dare to say I was hallucinating? If I had known this would happen, I should have fed you to my little bugs."

Wang Huai didn't quite catch what Li You was saying, but it seemed like she was cursing quite fiercely. However, Wang Huai heard the last sentence clearly. He grinned, raised his eyebrows, and thought for a moment: "Little bug? You mean that red bug that's a little thicker than a hair and shorter than my finger?"

“You’re the bug!” Li You shouted. “That’s my Miao Gu worm, which I raised myself over half a year.”

Li You looked like a frail young girl, but her voice was anything but weak. Her sharp and piercing curses almost made Wang Huai dizzy, so he quickly apologized: "Miss Li You, this little Taoist priest was wrong. Please stop cursing."

"Hmph!" Li You clapped her hands and said, "I didn't scold you, I just raised my voice a little."

Wang Huai looked at her awkwardly and echoed, "Yes, yes, yes."

"But, can you smell anything?"

Li You frowned, her straight nose trembling with the tip of her nose.

Wang Huai looked around but found nothing. Finally, with a trembling smile, he pointed at Li You and said, "Miss, your clothes seem to be on fire."

"what?!"

"You stinking Taoist priest, it's all your fault!" Snowflakes danced in the air, and Li You's cursing continued unabated from inside the small house.
"Li You."

"Wang Huai".

When Lu Ya and Sun Cheng's shouts reached Wang Huai's ears, that brief memory was pulled back. The masked man's fist slammed into his face, instantly drawing blood.

Seeing this, Lu Ya and Sun Cheng rushed forward. Sun Cheng used his full strength to slam into the masked man, while Lu Ya, having gathered his strength in his palm, suddenly punched him hard in the arm the instant he was close. At the same time, Sun Cheng ripped off the masked man's veil.
The masked man fell off the roof again, but this time he withstood the attacks of the two men. After landing on his feet, he stared at the three men on the roof and said, "Keep fighting."

The masked man's veil was removed, and the onlookers swarmed around him again. Zhao Yunchu and his companions, having heard the news, also quickly joined the crowd, eager to see what this man, who could rival Lu Ya and his group, looked like. However, when they pushed through the crowd and saw the man with a rugged, bearded face and a touch of handsomeness, they froze in place.

"elder brother?"

Wan Dou was rather short, so it was difficult for her to follow Zhao Yun Chu to see the excitement, but fortunately Yang Cheng Han was there. He let Wan Dou hold onto his sleeve and then led her through the crowd.

After Ke Wan Dou came to Zhao Yun Chu's side, when she stared at him with great curiosity, his words "brother" drew everyone's attention to her.

When he heard Wan Dou's voice, he frowned immediately. When he subconsciously tried to cover his face, he realized that he had been exposed.

And because of Wang Huai, he forgot that Wan Dou was still alive.

He glanced at Lu Ya and his group, then at Zhao Yunchu and the others. With a final, helpless sigh, he rushed to Wan Dou as fast as he could, then hugged her tightly and whispered, "Let's go."

Before anyone could react, he had already disappeared into the crowded street with Wan Dou. Even Lu Ya was still reeling from Wan Dou's cry of "Brother!"

However, Sun Cheng seemed to remember something.

"Lu Ya, don't you think that person just now looked a lot like a wanted criminal from the imperial court?"

Sun Cheng's words brought Lu Ya back to his senses. He squinted slightly, carefully examining the face beneath the veil in his mind, and finally uttered two words: "Cheng Ye".

"No wonder he dared to act like that before."

"Didn't everyone say he was dead?"

Lu Ya frowned and shook his head, saying, "Who knows? What if he's like Senior Yang? He probably has his own reasons."

"Hey you two, can't you take care of me for once? Am I going to die of ecstasy?"

At this moment, Wang Huai, who was lying behind the two of them, spoke in a trembling voice.

Only then did the two remember Wang Huai.

After the two helped Wang Huai up, Zheng Di, who was under the roof, shouted to them, "Lu Ya, Wan Dou has been kidnapped, and Wu Ke has already caught up with her."

Upon hearing that Wu Ke had gone after someone, Lu Ya immediately handed Wang Huai over to Sun Cheng and said, "You take them back first, I'll go after Wu Ke."

"Then be careful."

After Lu Ya nodded, he followed the direction Cheng Ye had gone.

"Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Wang Huai shook his head, feeling only a little dizzy, but otherwise nothing else: "He held back, otherwise I would have been dead with that punch. Also, I feel sorry for my Gu worm."

Looking at Lu Ya, who had vanished without a trace, Sun Cheng asked with great curiosity, "How could that person be Wan Dou's brother?"

However, Wang Huai didn't care about that right now. Instead, he rubbed Sun Cheng with his hand and said, "Take care of me first. If you don't take care of me, even if he doesn't kill me with one punch, I'll soon bleed to death."

On the roof, Sun Cheng was treating Wang Huai's injuries, while below, Zhao Yunchu listened to Zheng Di say that Cheng Ye had been following them ever since they left. If it weren't for the fact that he was hiding from those martial arts practitioners and was accidentally discovered, probably no one would have found him.

Zhao Yunchu also found it no wonder, wondering why he was suddenly not here today.

Nevertheless, Zhao Yunchu was still somewhat worried. She feared that if Wan Dou's brother's identity were exposed, she would no longer be able to stay in the Zhao family and would have to leave her.

Yang Chenghan comforted her, saying, "Young Master Lu and Young Master Wu have already gone after them. We'll see how it goes when they return."

"Okay, let's go back first."

Sun Cheng pushed through the crowd while helping Wang Huai toward them. Zhao Yunchu glanced to her side upon hearing this and was startled by the crowd. She then instinctively pulled Lihua out of the crowd.

Back at the Zhao residence, the group sat in the main hall. Sun Cheng explained the day's events to Zhao Wuyong and An Zhilan. After listening, Zhao Wuyong frowned and said, "Cheng Ye is still alive?"

"Father, what's wrong with Cheng Ye?"

Zhao Yunchu looked at Zhao Wuyong and asked.

Zhao Wuyong shook his head and smiled bitterly, "This Cheng Ye can be said to be similar to Cheng Han's father; although not quite as good, he is still terrifying enough."

"Back then, Cheng Ye's beloved was murdered by a local official. He filed complaints everywhere, but no one responded. Some even used the incident to blackmail him into killing his political enemies."

"In the end, Cheng Ye, who had been manipulated, realized it was impossible to seek justice for them. In the end, he slaughtered all the officials of the state, young and old, along with their families."

"Finally, His Majesty issued an imperial edict, ordering the commander of the Imperial Guards to lead a contingent of the Imperial Guards to coordinate with the local troops to surround and kill him. I remember the proclamation from back then said that this traitor had been executed, so how did he suddenly reappear? Moreover, it was this very person who escaped from your clutches that night."

(End of this chapter)