Everyone glanced at Mei Qing, and deep in their minds, they all vaguely thought that the timing mentioned by the old Master Mei Hua might have something to do with Mei Qing.
Liu Xing naturally thought of this as well, and thus his expression was somewhat complicated. He murmured softly, “Since the Master said so, none of us dared to ask further questions. Later, due to the incident involving the Five Flowers, everyone became rather disheartened, and the Master’s condition was not quite right either. Therefore, the Eldest and Second Brothers left the sect to travel far away, I remained here guarding our base, and the Fourth Brother and Nu’er followed the Master back into the mountains.”
“At home, I was completely unaware of what had happened at the time. Later, I thought of recruiting some help—not many, just a few capable people who could gradually help me figure out what had occurred regarding the Five Flowers. A few years passed, and since I had grown restless at home, I suddenly received a message from the Eldest Brother saying there was something urgent at the mountain, asking me to return for a while. I didn’t know what was going on, so I packed up and set off alone.”
“Normally, cultivators like us should be able to travel quite swiftly. Besides, the mountain where the Master cultivated wasn’t far from home, so I thought the journey wouldn’t take long. But who could have guessed that things would turn out this way—just as I had set off, I encountered some unexpected matters. In short, what I had assumed would be a simple and quick task ended up taking far longer than expected.”
Mei Qing raised his eyebrows slightly, and Liu Xing smiled and said, “This matter definitely had nothing to do with the sect—it was all because of Mei’er. Because of this, I gained this precious daughter. Thinking back now, it might have been Mei’er who actually saved my life.”
At this, Mei Qing and the others finally relaxed. Originally, Mei Qing had been worried that Liu Xing’s account was vague and unclear, suspecting there might be someone else’s hand behind it. But now that he heard it was purely a personal matter involving Mei’er, they didn’t press him for further details.
“After I sent Mei’er back home and arranged for someone to carefully take care of her, I hurriedly made my way back to the mountain. At the time, I thought I had only delayed a few days. If there had truly been an urgent matter at the mountain, I should have already received a message. So I didn’t feel particularly rushed. But who could have known—just as I returned to the mountain gate, I found it completely empty. The Master, Nu’er, and the Fourth Brother were all gone without a trace.”
“This shocked me greatly. I also recalled that it wasn’t the Master who had summoned me, but the Eldest Brother. The Eldest and Second Brothers hadn’t returned to the mountain with the Master—why was it the Eldest Brother who had sent the message this time?”
Lu Bing nodded and said, “At that time, Shao Yuanjie had already entered the imperial court and gained the Emperor’s favor. However, his movements were always unpredictable—he often disappeared for periods of secluded cultivation, sometimes for over a month without showing his face. Therefore, at the time, we didn’t really know what was going on with him.”
Liu Xing sneered coldly, “Back then, we thought he and the Second Brother had truly gone on a journey elsewhere. Who would have guessed that they had turned around and joined the imperial court instead? Thinking back now, those two must have had ulterior motives all along, and the Fourth Brother might have been involved in something suspicious as well.”
“At the time, I searched the mountain thoroughly for a long time, but found no trace of where they had gone. Nothing seemed to have been moved. I tried sending messages to them, but they were like stones dropped into a deep well—no reply came back.”
“On the third day, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and prepared to leave the mountain to investigate what had really happened. Just then, a sudden fluctuation came from the mountain gate—it seemed someone had returned. I was greatly startled. It turned out to be Nu’er, the Master’s ever-present companion.”
“When Nu’er saw me, he also seemed surprised. I looked around, but besides Nu’er, there was no one else. I felt shocked, but as I mentioned earlier, Nu’er had always been mysterious and possessed extremely high cultivation. Therefore, we all had a bit of fear toward him. At the time, I wanted to ask him where the Master and the others were, but strangely, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.”
“What surprised me even more was that, upon seeing me, Nu’er suddenly stepped forward and coldly asked, ‘Why are you here?'”
Liu Xing’s eyes still carried traces of shock as he spoke, his voice slightly trembling, “You all know Nu’er—he had always kept his face covered with black cloth and never spoke. We even suspected he might be mute. But that day… that day when he suddenly spoke, it truly frightened me. His voice was extremely hoarse, as if each word was painfully forced out, like something hard scraping against rusted iron. His tone was even colder—it sent chills down my spine, making my whole body tremble involuntarily.”
As he spoke, Liu Xing unconsciously clenched his hands tightly, as if even years later, the cold pressure from Nu’er still haunted him.
After a brief pause, he sighed softly and shook his head, “At the time, I don’t even remember exactly what I said. I think I mentioned that the Eldest Brother had summoned me, but I had been delayed by some worldly affairs. I was so focused on explaining myself that I completely forgot to ask about the Master and my senior and junior brothers.”
“Nu’er listened to me, his eyes fixed on me the entire time. Later, perhaps because he sensed I was telling the truth, or perhaps because he himself had urgent matters to attend to, he finally let out a cold ‘humph’ and vanished on the spot. A short while later, he suddenly reappeared, gave me a cold stare, and said, ‘If what you say is true, then you should leave quickly. Forget you were ever here, forget anything ever happened.’ Then he turned and left the mountain gate.”
“As he turned to leave, I noticed his clothes were torn and ragged, and there was a faint, violent surge of true energy around him, as if he had just come from a fierce battle. I was startled and suddenly remembered I hadn’t even asked him what had happened. I stood there, stunned, not knowing how long passed. Later, I thought that something serious must have happened to the sect, and I should quickly find the Master and the others to find out what was going on.”
“Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly sensed another fluctuation from the mountain gate. This time, it felt very familiar. I looked up and saw it was indeed the Eldest and Second Brothers. However, they both looked extremely disheveled, especially the Eldest Brother, who seemed particularly abnormal—his true energy was surging violently, like a volcano.”
Liu Xing fell into thought, “Our sect’s cultivation method has always been calm and unassuming. To an outsider, it might even appear mediocre, never like the Eldest Brother’s current state, where his energy was bursting outward. At the time, the Eldest Brother’s cultivation had already reached a very high level, probably on the verge of the Alchemical Refinement stage. Therefore, his aura was like standing at the edge of a volcano—ordinary cultivators probably couldn’t even stand near him.”
“But I had just come out from under Nu’er’s oppressive presence, so I wasn’t particularly affected by the Eldest Brother’s aura. I just felt that his state was abnormal—not like he was intentionally releasing his energy, but more like he was struggling to suppress it. I asked, ‘Eldest Brother, what’s wrong? Where is the Master? And where has the Fourth Brother gone?'”
“When the Eldest and Second Brothers saw me, their expressions were quite strange. The Second Brother glanced at the Eldest Brother, who waved him off and turned to ask me, ‘Shu Xing, why did you come so late? Didn’t I send you a message a few days ago? Just now… did you see anyone?'”
“At the time, I didn’t think much of it and explained why I was late, then added, ‘Earlier at the gate, I saw Nu’er come back, but he… he was acting very strangely.'”
“As soon as I mentioned Nu’er, their expressions visibly tensed. When I told them that Nu’er had suddenly disappeared, then reappeared briefly before leaving, the Second Brother slapped his thigh and exclaimed, ‘It must be that thing—he took it with him!'”
“I was quite surprised but didn’t know what they were talking about. The Eldest Brother quickly said, ‘Shu Xing, you probably don’t know yet—Nu’er suddenly betrayed the Master, conspiring with Zhang Tianzhi of the Celestial Master Sect. The Master was ambushed by them and has already passed away!'”
“I was utterly shocked and couldn’t believe it. The Second Brother impatiently said, ‘You still don’t believe us? If it weren’t for me and the Eldest Brother fighting together to resist them, we might have both died there as well! The Fourth Brother was also injured and we don’t know where he went. That Nu’er has always been mysterious and suspicious—obviously not a good person!'”
“The Eldest Brother also urged me, ‘Shu Xing, I know you’ve always been close to the Master. But now that the Master has passed, the future of the sect must rely on us. I now hold a small position in the imperial court. With the current peace and the flourishing of the dynasty’s energy, we can use this as a foundation to greatly expand our sect. You shouldn’t stay cooped up in the mountains anymore—come out and help me. Let’s brothers work together and accomplish something great!'”
“At the time, the Eldest Brother’s tone was very sincere, and he had always treated me well. Under normal circumstances, I might have agreed. But my heart was in chaos, filled with doubts and confusion—how could I even think of leaving the mountains and joining the imperial court? Without hesitation, I refused. I insisted on going to the place where the Master had passed to see for myself. My words were harsh, but the Eldest Brother stopped the Second Brother from arguing further and allowed me to leave. Following the direction they indicated, I hurried to a cliff by the Yangtze River called Yumu Terrace. When I arrived, I found that the entire cliff had been completely destroyed, almost turned into a huge pit. The traces of magical attacks around the area had been erased by someone, but I could still faintly sense the chaotic energy lingering in the air. I had seen this cliff before—it was impossible for such a place to be destroyed like this unless attacked by someone with extremely high cultivation. After looking around for a long time, my heart grew cold—I began to suspect that what my brothers had said might actually be true. Under such an attack, even someone as powerful as the Master might not have survived.”
“I searched and searched, from day into night, but found nothing. I had lost both my parents at a young age, and the Master had raised me, taught me literature, and guided me into the Daoist path. Although his personality changed greatly later, in the beginning, he had been extremely kind to me. Therefore, in my heart, the Master, my brothers, and my sister were the closest family I had in this world. Never did I expect that in the blink of an eye, my sister had passed away, my brothers had become strange and distant, and now the Master was gone too!”
“That day was just like today—overcast and gloomy. Rain began to fall at night. In the distance, the spring river swelled, its sound echoing with a sense of desolation. I stood there, dazed, not knowing what to do or where to go, as if I were the only person left in the world, utterly alone. I stood in the rain, my heart as cold as ice.”
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