Liu Xing spoke in a very calm voice, as if he were talking about someone completely unrelated to himself. However, from his slightly trembling hands and deeply sorrowful eyes, everyone could easily understand how deeply the events of those days had wounded him.
“After returning from Yumu Cliff, I fell gravely ill,” Liu Xing continued. “That time, I lay sick in bed for several months.”
Everyone fell silent. For a cultivator of Liu Xing’s level, illness should have been a thing of the past—his body immune to all sickness, his spirit free of the three worms of decay. How could he have fallen ill? It must have been that his heart and spirit had suffered severe damage, perhaps even reaching a point where he had lost the will to live, allowing the cold and negative forces to invade his body and cause his grave illness.
“Luckily, Mei’er stayed by my bedside every day. Seeing her bright smile gradually brought life back into my heart. From then on, I shut myself away at home, living quietly in this courtyard. Later, the elders of the family aged and passed away, and others left. Except for a few old family retainers and their descendants, the household gradually became much quieter. If it hadn’t been for that day when I suddenly felt moved to go out, met an old neighbor at a tea stall, and encountered you, Mei Qing, none of these old secrets would have surfaced again.”
Mei Qing remained silent for a moment before slowly asking, “And what about Master Bai? From your words, you never mentioned him. Could it be that you met him only later?”
Liu Xing was about to speak when suddenly a voice interrupted, “Master Liu is only trying to cover for me. Actually, what Old Bai did back then was indeed wrong.”
Everyone looked up and saw Master Bai slowly walking in from outside the hall, his eyes fixed on Liu Xing. “Old Liu, why hide me away like this? Although Old Bai might have acted improperly back then, I have no guilt in my heart. Hiding and evading—does that make me seem like a coward? Besides, everyone here are cultivators. How long do you think you can keep Old Bai’s identity hidden anyway?”
Liu Xing was momentarily stunned, then said, “Master Bai is right. I was being too deliberate.” Turning to Mei Qing, he continued, “Actually, I didn’t mean to hide anything. Old Bai was barely involved in the matter. As for how I met him, we’ve known each other for a long time—even before I met my master. Back then, we weren’t particularly close. Later, when my master came, he discovered Old Bai and gave him some guidance.”
Liu Xing hesitated slightly, and Bai continued, “Since you’re too embarrassed to say it, I’ll finish for you. I was never human. I received the guidance of the Plum Blossom Immortal, so later I played a role in the affair with the Five Blossoms. But back then, since the Five Blossoms herself agreed to marry your old man, I agreed as well.”
Mei Qing merely smiled slightly. Seeing this, Bai laughed and said, “I knew I couldn’t hide anything from you. Looks like you already guessed, kid. You’re just like your mother back then—always keeping things to yourself. I don’t know if you really don’t care or if you just know everything already.”
Sighing, he continued, “Back then, your mother and I were like siblings, nothing inappropriate like this guy here. But listening to you two talk about those old days, there’s a lot I only now understand. Still, that Master Maoyang definitely wasn’t one of the eldest, second, or fourth brothers. If it were any of them, I would certainly recognize them.”
Mei Qing and Lu Bing exchanged glances, both surprised. According to previous analysis, if the Plum Blossom Sect had orchestrated the plot, the person involved in the incident must have been one of their members. However, now that Bai was so certain, the identity of Master Maoyang became a mystery.
“So, who do you think Master Maoyang was?” Mei Qing asked in surprise. “Didn’t the Plum Blossom Immortal explain it back then?”
“How would I think so much about it?” Bai shrugged. “I simply overheard the Mei Hua Zhen Ren mention it briefly, and noticing that Five Blossoms agreed, I just waited for someone to come chase me away. I didn’t even know the name ‘Master Mao Yang’ until later, when Old Liu figured it out. Besides, they claimed it was merely a staged fight, but I felt like that guy genuinely intended to kill me. If I hadn’t run fast enough, I might have been smashed to pieces.”
“You mean he actually had murderous intent?” Mei Qing asked quickly.
“Not entirely. It felt more like he was venting his anger on me or held some resentment against me,” Bai mused. “But Master Maoyang’s cultivation is certainly extremely advanced, likely not much lower than the Plum Blossom Immortal himself.” This revelation shocked everyone present.
Regarding Bai’s identity, Mei Qing’s guess was quite accurate. Bai was indeed a snake spirit who had been cultivating in the mountains. He had resided there for a long time without causing harm to anyone. Later, the Plum Sage happened to pass by, noticed him, and imparted some cultivation techniques, assisting him in successfully transforming his form. Feeling grateful and having developed a good relationship with Five Blossoms and Liu Xing, Bai had remained in the Liu household ever since.
Although Bai had played the villain in that staged drama, deceiving Lu Bing and others, he had no ill intentions, which was why he said there was nothing he couldn’t say openly. Now, seeing him standing calmly in front of Lu Bing, it was clear he spoke the truth.
However, his statement about Master Maoyang’s high cultivation worried Mei Qing and the others. After all, Bai was a white snake spirit. Although his cultivation wasn’t the highest, as a spirit creature, his perception was naturally sharp, especially sensitive to powerful auras. If he said Master Maoyang had high cultivation, then Master Maoyang must indeed be exceptional—at least far surpassing people like Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen back then.
But according to what they knew, when had the Plum Blossom Sect gained such a powerful expert? Mei Qing’s mind stirred, and he turned to ask, “Could it be that this person is that Anu?”
Bai hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s hard to say. Back then, Mei Hua Zhen Ren and Anu were both in retreat, so it’s possible they never left. Still, Old Bai finds Anu very unpleasant—he’s full of deathly energy, cold and gloomy, like a thousand-year-old corpse. Although Master Mao Yang also had strong yin energy, his aura was quite lively. His speech and manner were nothing like Anu’s silent, mute-like behavior.”
Mei Qing didn’t comment, but a faint worry stirred in his heart. No matter what, the fact that the other side had such a powerful expert outside their calculations was definitely not a good thing.
Lu Bing then asked Liu Xing, “Earlier, you mentioned that Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen, upon returning to the sect, heard that Anu had come back and said that ‘that thing’ had been taken by him. Do you have any idea what ‘that thing’ was?”
Liu Xing shook his head. “I don’t know either. In fact, my master never had any valuable treasures. Even among us brothers, we never saw him use any magical artifacts. However—”
He hesitated slightly before continuing, “Once I heard the fourth brother mention that my master actually had a magical treasure. But the fourth brother seemed only to be testing my reaction. When I couldn’t say anything clear, he dropped the subject. Back then, my mind wasn’t on such things, so I didn’t think much about it.”
Mei Qing smiled bitterly and said, “I think I know what it was.”
Liu Xing was startled and quickly asked, “How do you know what it was?”
“If I’m not mistaken, it’s a cauldron,” Mei Qing sighed. “If the Plum Blossom Immortal was indeed killed by his own disciples out of greed for this item, then it’s truly tragic. Although this cauldron is a magical treasure, it was essentially useless to them.”
Liu Xing was filled with doubt. “A cauldron? Now that you mention it, I do recall seeing a small cauldron near Anu back then. I didn’t pay much attention at the time. But how could you know and be so sure it’s this cauldron?”
“I can’t be certain either,” Mei Qing said. “If my previous guesses are correct, the Plum Blossom Immortal should not have possessed any other magical artifacts besides this cauldron. The reason I know about this cauldron is because it was once in my possession. However—”
Mei Qing shook his head with a bitter smile. “I can’t see it anymore.”
When Mei Qing said “once with me” and “can’t see it anymore,” he was referring to something else, but no one noticed. However, hearing him speak like this, everyone felt even more worried.
“If that’s the case, no wonder Tao and Duan are so obsessed with you,” Liu Xing gasped. “This time, they definitely won’t give up easily.”
Actually, Liu Xing was a bit mistaken about Tao and Duan. In fact, they had never known Mei Qing’s true identity, so naturally, they wouldn’t have suspected that the cauldron was with him.
However, Mei Qing’s experiences in the Yongping region might have been discovered by those who paid attention. Especially after Tao and Duan learned of Mei Qing’s identity, further investigation might have led them to uncover the truth. Therefore, everyone realized that this time, unless Mei Qing was handed over to Tao and Duan, there would be no peaceful resolution.
Mei Qing was Lu Bing’s son-in-law and Five Blossoms’ son. Therefore, whether it was Lu Bing, Liu Xing, or Master Bai, none would allow Mei Qing to be captured by Tao and Duan. From here on, there was no other path but to face them in battle.
Liu Xing nodded, his eyes calm and serene as he smiled, “If that’s the case, it’s better to settle things once and for all, rather than leaving them hanging and worrying about them later. But why did the fourth brother only show himself once and then disappear? As for my second senior brother, what exactly is he planning? He hasn’t appeared yet.”
“Duanchao is narrow-minded, timid, and scheming. Previously, after being driven away by you two, he must have harbored deep resentment and certainly won’t let it go. But later, when all of us came to the mansion, he must have been watching from the shadows, too afraid to act rashly. As for Tao Zhongwen—”
Lu Bing’s face showed concern as he said, “This person has long been in the imperial court, with many followers. He has gathered many people in both the cultivation world and the mundane world. Moreover, his scheming mind is far deeper than Duanchao’s. If he doesn’t act, he won’t act at all. But once he does, it will be a thunderous strike. Compared to Duanchao, we must be even more cautious of him.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage