Mei Qing asked, “What’s wrong? Could there be something unusual?”
Uncle Zhong nodded and said, “Exactly. When we retraced our steps to search for that cliff, we found that no matter what we tried, we couldn’t locate the entrance to Mei Valley anymore!”
Mei Qing pondered and asked, “Didn’t Master Six say earlier that there was a magical formation outside the cliff and mechanisms inside that needed to be activated to enter? Could it be that someone sealed the formation or reset the mechanisms?”
“I’m not sure either,” Uncle Zhong shook his head. “At the time, I also suspected that perhaps the Mistress was inside and didn’t wish to be disturbed by outsiders, so she might have sealed this place. With no other options, I had to send someone with a secret letter to the capital, reporting everything to the Emperor. Ah, when I think back to those days, it was truly…”
As he spoke, Uncle Zhong sighed repeatedly, his expression full of self-reproach.
Master Six interjected, “Later I returned there myself and invited other experts skilled in formations and mechanisms to examine it. Strangely, all of them agreed that there was absolutely no magical formation or mechanism at the cliff—just an ordinary rock face.”
Mei Qing was stunned into silence. He knew Master Six’s cultivation level well and could imagine the expertise of the experts Master Six had consulted. If even they said so, then the entrance was certainly gone.
“But how did you all enter back then? Could the entire Mei Valley be an illusion?” Mei Qing asked hesitantly.
“This is something we’ve puzzled over endlessly. We stayed in Mei Valley for quite a long time. Even if there were an illusionary formation, maintaining such a large-scale illusion without detection by so many people would be almost unimaginable. What puzzles me even more is, even if someone set up this scheme, what would be their purpose? What could they possibly gain from it?” Master Six said, clearly troubled.
Mei Qing was deeply shaken. For a moment, he felt almost breathless. After a pause, he suddenly turned to Uncle Zhong and asked, “Since my mother disappeared without a trace, then how did I end up back with you? There must have been other developments afterward, right?”
Uncle Zhong nodded. “Indeed. At that time, when there was no news from the Mistress, I was so ashamed that I nearly died of grief and even fell seriously ill. Later, when I gradually recovered, the Emperor sent a secret letter and surprisingly did not punish me. Instead, he ordered me to stay where I was and continue searching for news of the Mistress.”
“From then on, I never dared to slack off. I worked tirelessly every day. Slowly, I gathered a group of underworld figures to help search for information in the surrounding areas. I had someone draw a portrait of the Mistress and instructed my men to investigate carefully. One day, a friend suddenly sent word that one of his subordinates had seen a woman in the Wuchang area who looked very much like the Mistress—and she was pregnant.”
“In fact, I had received many such messages before. But every time, I went with hope and returned disappointed. Still, I couldn’t afford to ignore any clue, always hoping that this time it might be true.”
“This time was no different. I took a few men and hurried to Wuchang, covered in dust from the journey. Actually, the place he mentioned was a small town dozens of miles south of Wuchang. I met with my friend and questioned the young man who claimed to have seen the Mistress. After my questioning, I felt this time might actually be different. This young man was a street ruffian. Upon seeing the Mistress, he was so awestruck that he actually followed her for a while, only to be mysteriously beaten up later.”
“The way he was punished was quite interesting. In fact, he himself didn’t even realize it. He said that after he followed the woman, one day he suddenly began to trip and fall while walking—even on flat ground he walked on regularly. He fell repeatedly for several days, his entire body aching from head to toe. Although he didn’t think much of it, I immediately suspected that he must have been discovered by the Mistress or someone connected to her, who then quietly taught him a lesson. This kind of technique isn’t something ordinary people possess.”
“However, although this person had tried several times to follow the woman he described, he never succeeded in figuring out where she actually lived. I had no choice but to ask him to list all the places in the area where someone might hide, so we could speculate where the Mistress might be staying.”
“When he mentioned a small temple on the hillside east of the town called Plum Blossom Nunnery, my heart suddenly sank. I don’t know why, but I was extremely sensitive to the words ‘plum blossom’ at that time. Without hesitation, I decided to check out this place first.”
“That very night, a few of us prepared some tools and headed toward the temple. Actually, the temple wasn’t small in size, but since the nuns rarely interacted with outsiders, the townspeople didn’t know much about it. We sneaked in through the back garden, and then… sigh…”
At this point, Uncle Zhong suddenly let out a long sigh and stopped speaking.
“What happened next?” Mei Qing asked anxiously. “What did you see?”
Uncle Zhong shook his head despondently, his voice hoarse. “I don’t know. I only remember sneaking into the back garden, and then… everything went blank…”
“Blank? You mean…?” Mei Qing exclaimed in surprise.
“Completely blank. I forgot everything,” Uncle Zhong said in a daze. “I only remember climbing into the courtyard from the back, and then what happened, I can’t recall at all. The next thing I knew, I woke up tied to a tree outside the temple, unable to move. The temple was ablaze, the entire building glowing red.”
“I was in a daze, not knowing what had happened. When I tried to recall my experience, everything from entering the temple was a complete blank. At that moment, villagers noticed I had woken up and took me down the mountain, saying that when they came to put out the fire, they found me lying at the temple gate, covered in blood, so they tied me up.”
“At the time, I didn’t even think of defending myself. Soon, local officials arrived and took me into custody. That’s when I learned that the nuns in the temple, along with my friend and his men, had all been killed and their bodies thrown into the fire.”
“Naturally, I became the prime suspect. Worse still, I couldn’t explain what had happened. The local officials concluded that I must have broken into the nunnery at night for robbery or worse. In the end, there must have been a fight over the loot, and they tried to burn the bodies to cover their tracks. I couldn’t defend myself at all. If it weren’t for a magical artifact Master Six had given me, which allowed me to send him a message and get him to rescue me, I might have died unjustly in prison.”
Mei Qing was deeply shocked as he listened. He had never heard of such a magical technique in the cultivation world that could completely erase a person’s memory. This had happened more than twenty years ago, and now Uncle Zhong clearly hadn’t regained that part of his memory.
Master Six also shook his head. “Don’t look at me. Even back then, and even now, I don’t know of any school of cultivation that could perform such a feat. The mystery of this incident is truly inexplicable.”
Mei Qing was speechless. The situation was indeed strange. If someone truly wanted to prevent Uncle Zhong from investigating, why go to such lengths to erase his memory instead of killing him? If they didn’t want to kill him, why leave him in a situation where he was suspected of murder, nearly costing him his life in prison? And since Uncle Zhong had gone there with his friend and his men, why did the other side spare only Uncle Zhong and kill everyone else? What exactly were they trying to hide?
“What happened after that?” Mei Qing asked quietly. “What about my background afterward?”
“When I returned, I spent a long time recovering, and by the time I had regained my health, another year had passed. By then, the Emperor had already ascended the throne and changed the era name to Jiajing, meaning it was the spring of the first year of Jiajing. Based on my calculations, the Mistress’s due date was approaching, so I intensified my efforts, monitoring midwives closely to see if I could find any clues.”
“But as the days passed, my hope dwindled. When the due date had passed by over a month and there was still no trace of the Mistress, I finally gave up. That night, I drank heavily, feeling numb and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, I suddenly felt someone pushing me.”
“I woke up groggily and saw the Mistress standing right in front of me!”
As he spoke, Uncle Zhong pressed both hands to his head, speaking like someone in a dream. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. Was I dreaming? The Mistress handed me a bundle from her arms and said, ‘Zhong Ge, this is the last piece of our family’s bloodline. I can’t raise him myself, so I entrust him to you. Please raise him to adulthood. I will never forget your kindness.’”
Uncle Zhong’s voice grew hoarse as he continued. “The Mistress had always been polite, no matter who she addressed. She called me ‘Zhong Ge,’ which I had always found too respectful. But that night, as she entrusted me with this responsibility, I found myself unable to speak. Finally, I managed to say, ‘Mistress, where have you been? I’ve searched everywhere for you. Now that you’ve returned, you should raise the young master yourself. Why entrust him to me?’”
“The Mistress wept bitterly and said, ‘Zhong Ge, I have no choice. If I stay, they will surely take the child away. Take our child and secretly send him to the capital. But there are a few things I must ask of you.’”
“At the time, I might have been too drunk to fully understand, but seeing her in such sorrow, I quickly promised to follow her instructions. She said, ‘When the child grows up, do not let him enter the cultivation path. His constitution is special. If he cultivates, it will bring disaster, not fortune. At the moment of Foundation Building, his soul may scatter. Please, Zhong Ge, remember this.’”
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