Yang Guo: I defied death and reached the heavens in The Return of the Condor Heroes

Qiu Chuji slowly raised his eyelids, a complex look flashing in his eyes, and gave the order in a deep voice:

"Zhichang".

"Disciple is here."

"Immediately dispatch thirty disciples to search the mountain separately, including the dense forests behind the mountain and all the caves and grottoes. No place should be overlooked."

"Furthermore, we sent men to various crossroads and towns at the foot of the mountain to question people one by one with Yang Guo's portrait, to see if any witnesses had seen him."

"We must see him alive or dead, no matter what!"

"Yes! This disciple obeys."

Li Zhichang bowed in response to the order, turned and hurriedly left, secretly praying that he could find Yang Guo as soon as possible and that nothing unexpected had happened to him.

Qiu Chuji stood there, watching Li Zhichang's hurried departure, his fingertips tapping lightly on his palm, remaining silent for a long time.

Ma Yu looked up and gazed into the distance. The sunlight was mostly obscured by large patches of dark clouds, and the heavy shadows seemed to want to swallow up the Zhongnan Mountains completely.

He sighed softly:

"Dark clouds loom over the mountain, misfortunes come one after another. We hope that the Ancestral Master will protect Yang Guo and keep him safe, otherwise how will we explain this to Jing'er in the future..."

Upon hearing this, Sun Bu'er's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she spoke in a low voice:

"My two senior brothers, in my humble opinion, this matter is probably not as simple as it seems on the surface."

Qiu Chuji turned to look at her, his gaze questioning, and asked:

"What are your thoughts on this, junior sister?"

"I wouldn't call it insightful. I didn't have much contact with that boy. I only heard Zhichang mention him a few times. He said that he usually abides by the rules, studies diligently, is always well-behaved, and has a calm and steady temperament that is not like that of an ordinary fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy."

"How could such a well-behaved child suddenly disappear in the middle of the night? And why did it have to happen last night..."

Although Sun Bu'er did not say everything, her words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, revealing all the doubts that Qiu Chuji and Ma Yu had hidden in their hearts.

Ma Yu pursed his lips tightly. Although he had such a speculation in his heart, he was unwilling to believe that Yang Guo's disappearance was related to the murder case last night.

He composed himself and spoke slowly:

"Right now, let's focus on finding them. Those four thugs from last night are still at large. There are many other things to sort out, and we need to take care of them one by one."

Qiu Chuji, standing to the side, nodded in agreement and looked at Sun Bu'er, saying:

"Brother Xuanbao is absolutely right. You've spent the whole morning guarding Zhiping, so you should go back and rest. We can handle the search and investigation here."

Upon hearing this, Sun Bu'er naturally understood the meaning of his two senior brothers, and thus bowed slightly and said:

"Then I shall take my leave for now. If you need anything later, my two senior brothers can send someone to summon me at any time."

After saying that, she turned and left, her blue Taoist robe swaying gently in the wind, and soon disappeared around the corner of the courtyard gate.

Qiu Chuji and Ma Yu looked at each other in silence, then walked slowly side by side toward the main hall.

The dark clouds that had been looming overhead had long since drifted away, and sunlight was once again shining on the bluestone pavement of Chongyang Palace.

Although it brought a slight warmth to their bodies, it did not dispel the doubts and worries that lingered in Qiu and Ma's hearts.

......

The scene shifts to dusk, with the setting sun casting a golden glow over the rolling mountains, bathing the peaks and palaces in a shimmering red and gold hue.

As the afterglow sank westward along the mountain ridge, the rosy glow faded inch by inch, and the distant mountains were instantly plunged into the vast twilight, a sudden division of warmth and coldness between heaven and earth.

Deep within the ancient tomb, a chilling, tangible aura slowly permeated and circulated within the stone chamber.

Yang Guo was sitting in front of the stone table, holding a bowl of white rice in his hands, and picked up a piece of steamed fish and put it into his mouth.

The fish was cooked to perfection, with tender and smooth flesh, and only a little ginger was sprinkled on top to remove any fishy smell and enhance the flavor.

He took a small sip, and a faint, sweet fragrance filled his mouth.

Then, he picked up a piece of pickled radish from the side with his chopsticks. With a gentle bite, it made a crisp "crunch" sound. It was salty, sour, and refreshing, and helped to cut through the greasiness and stimulate the appetite.

He ate with his head down, focused on his food, taking a bite of rice and a bite of vegetables, his eating manner unhurried.

Although there were only two simple dishes on the table, the taste was far better than the unchanging coarse rice from the big pot at Chongyang Palace.

Although the meals at Chongyang Palace were plentiful, they were hastily prepared and crudely made, with oil, salt, and seasonings used haphazardly, far inferior to Granny Sun's exquisite culinary skills.

He was eating when he suddenly heard a slow, heavy footstep.

He recognized the sound—slow footsteps interspersed with the rhythmic tapping of a wooden cane on the ground; it was Granny Sun.

She had left after putting down her dinner earlier, so why has she come back now?

Before Yang Guo could ponder this further, the heavy stone door was pushed open, and Granny Sun stepped into the room, leaning on her wooden cane.

Yang Guo looked up and saw that she was holding something folded neatly in her hand—a gray coarse cotton robe.

Although the fabric looked old, it was washed clean and folded neatly without a single wrinkle.

Granny Sun walked to the stone table, gently placed the gray robe on it, and spoke in a calm tone, as if casually mentioning a trivial matter:

"Your clothes were soaked through last night and are covered in mud. They're filthy and make a mess of yourself. I feel bad for you looking at them. Just make do with this coarse cloth for now; it's better than what you're wearing."

Before Yang Guo could even respond, she turned and sat down on a stone chair to the side.

She leaned her cane against the side of the chair, placed her hands on her knees, and glanced away, as if she had really just picked up a piece of clothing on the way.

Yang Guo lowered his eyes and looked at the gray robe on the table, momentarily stunned.

He reached out and gently stroked the fabric; it felt rough and coarse, clearly an old garment that had been washed many times and worn for many years.

However, every stitch on the robe was fine and neat, and there were no loose threads or tears at the hem or cuffs, showing that it had been carefully cleaned and properly stored over a long period of time.

Yang Guo looked up at Granny Sun, intending to thank her, but his throat tightened inexplicably, and all the words he wanted to say were stuck in his chest.

He never expected that this old woman, who should have been wary and suspicious of him, would notice that he was covered in wet, cold, and muddy clothes, and would even bring him a clean set of clothes.

"Thank you, Grandma."

Finally, he said only one sentence in a low voice, but every word was filled with sincere gratitude.

Granny Sun did not respond immediately. She sat there quietly observing Yang Guo, as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated several times and did not speak.

Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed slowly against her knees, a habit she had when something was on her mind.

Yang Guo, observing this, put down his chopsticks and took the initiative to ask:

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask me, Mother-in-law?"

Grandma Sun was taken aback when he spoke first, paused for a moment, then coughed lightly and said slowly:

"I'm fine, I'm just a little curious. Don't you find it hard to stay in this ice room?"

Yang Guo gazed intently at her and said sincerely:

"Well, I won't hide it from you, Mother-in-law. I really do have my own unavoidable difficulties."

"When I was still in my hometown in my early years, an old man with a white beard came to the village. When he first saw me, he pointed out that I had a rare body with extremely yang energy. If I did not regulate my body, I would probably not live past the age of twenty and would die from excessive yang energy."

"My mother begged him desperately to save me, and the old man eventually taught me a breathing technique, saying it could temporarily relieve the symptoms. However, he also admitted that this method was only a temporary fix and could only help me live a few more years."

"Only when we were about to part did the old man tell me that if I wanted to completely eliminate the hidden danger in my body, I had to rely on the extremely cold yin energy to harmonize my own yang energy. Only in this way could I have any hope of living."

"He also specifically told me that there is a cold jade bed with the coldest energy in the world in the Tomb of the Living Dead in Zhongnan Mountain. Apart from that, there is no other place in the world that can cure this disease. I have come here from afar, simply because I want to survive..."

He didn't continue speaking, but simply shook his head slightly and took another bite of rice.