Chapter Twenty-Five

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At the hour of Chen, when the sun had risen above the mountain ridge, the new day truly began. The first sunlight of spring was neither as gentle as winter’s, nor as passionate as summer’s, nor as nostalgic as autumn’s. Yet whenever one noticed it, it could awaken a different feeling—passion, tenderness, or remembrance. The hardworking farmers had already taken their families into the fields. Even the fresh grass that had just emerged from the earth was devoured by the plow oxen; only after eating their fill would the beasts have the strength to till the land. The farmers firmly believed that as long as they worked with all their might, they could build a better life.

At the summit of White Cloud Peak stood a tower known as Bell Tower Peak. It had been given that name because a great bell hung within its spire. Legend held that this was where Wu Qianjun and Chen Shimin had settled their century-old rivalry. By now, it had become the secret meeting place of the Eighteen Han Generals, as well as a forbidden ground for the disciples of White Cloud Peak.

Beneath the tower, an old man with flowing white hair sat cross-legged. He took the wind for water and the sun for food. It was said that he had remained seated there for years without drinking or eating.

A chill wind swept past, and two figures flew in beneath the tower.

The old man slowly opened his eyes. “Bell Tower Peak is forbidden ground on White Cloud Peak. You have brought someone here without permission. Do you truly hold no regard for me, Guo Tianhua?”

Deng Yangfeng let out a long breath. “Tianhua, anyone in this world may fear White Cloud Peak—but I alone do not.”

Guo Tianhua slowly rose. “Do not think that because you and Tao Zhiming once aided White Cloud Peak, you may come and go as you please.”

Deng Yangfeng said solemnly, “The Three-Coat Saber may soon obtain that manual. If we act now, you and I may still have time to stop him.”

Guo Tianhua’s expression shifted slightly. During the night, he had indeed sensed a powerful surge of inner force rising from below the mountain, but he had never imagined it belonged to the Three-Coat Saber.

“The tomb and its surroundings are saturated with deadly poison,” said Guo Tianhua. “And with the Poisonous Old Woman inside, the Three-Coat Saber would never set his sights on that manual again.”

Deng Yangfeng sighed deeply. “But things are different now. A few days ago, I calculated the omen surrounding He Yuyun. It was only while searching for her son that I learned the truth from the people of Three Purities Peak.”

Guo Tianhua looked at him. “Does he possess the body of the Nine Heavens of Desire-Sound?”

“From what I know of my female disciple, he must.”

Guo Tianhua’s gaze immediately turned toward the rear mountain. Without the slightest hesitation, he shot down the slope with a whoosh. His movement was so agile and his speed so swift that the other two followed close behind.

Late in the hour of Mao.

Lin He and Mu Xiangming emerged from the tomb. The Three-Coat Saber had been waiting outside for some time. When he saw the thick book in Lin He’s hand, his eyes lit up. He instinctively wanted to rush forward, but restrained himself. The area ahead was shrouded in deadly poison, and he could not afford to take that risk.

Seeing the Three-Coat Saber anxiously waiting before him, Lin He immediately understood what was happening. He did not hurry forward. Instead, he walked to a certain distance, caught hold of Mu Xiangming, and signaled for her to stop.

The Three-Coat Saber was already impatient beyond endurance. When the two of them stopped, his desperation grew even more intense. Lin He called out, “Senior Qiu, where is the antidote you promised us?”

The Three-Coat Saber flew into a rage. When had anyone ever dared bargain with him? And now it was some inexperienced young boy who had done so.

Lin He knew that the Three-Coat Saber feared the poison here. He must be waiting for Lin He to bring the manual to him. Thus, Lin He decided to use this opportunity to see whether the old man had truly obtained the medicine needed to save his teacher.

The Three-Coat Saber did not waste words with him. Instead, he frantically searched through his clothes. As the saying went, once a person became anxious, even an object placed directly before his eyes could not be found. On the Three-Coat Saber, that saying was displayed to perfection. The more desperately he searched, the more flustered he became, until he even tore his own clothes.

At last, he pulled out a pill and hurled it toward Lin He.

“The Spirit-Yang Dragon-Phoenix Pill! Take a good look!”

Lin He caught the pill and examined it in his hand.

“Is this the medicine, Senior San?”

The Three-Coat Saber’s face flushed crimson. The treasure he had sought for half his life was now right before him, yet a young man was toying with him. He raised his right hand threateningly.

“If you do not bring it over at once, I will smash you to death with a single palm!”

Lin He tucked the Spirit-Yang Dragon-Phoenix Pill into his clothes. It did not matter. The Three-Coat Saber was, after all, one of the Five Great Figures of the martial world. Surely he would not deceive someone who had trusted him. Only then did Lin He take the book and walk toward him.

As Lin He approached step by step, the Three-Coat Saber did not dare blink. His eyes remained fixed upon the book in Lin He’s hands. When only a few steps separated them, the Three-Coat Saber suddenly released his inner force with his left hand. Lin He had no time to react. The book was pulled through the air and flew straight into the old man’s grasp.

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Lin He was struck with astonishment.

The instant the Three-Coat Saber seized the manual, the wrinkles on his face gathered tightly together. A tremendous surge of inner force burst from him, and he threw back his head and laughed.

“The manual! The manual! In the end, it has still fallen into my hands! Hahahaha! Guo Tianhua, you have never been able to surpass me! Hahahahaha!”

His voice rolled like storm-tossed waves, swallowing the entire rear mountain.

The two of them desperately covered their ears. Lin He was suddenly seized by an inexplicable unease.

When the laughter finally ceased and Lin He raised his head, the Three-Coat Saber had already vanished. He was heading down the mountain.

“Senior San!”

Lin He shouted and was about to pursue him, but when he looked at the position of the sun, he realized that the old man was not heading toward Fushou Mountain Stronghold. Watching the retreating figure grow ever more distant, Lin He could only abandon the thought of giving chase.

“Lin He... do you truly think of me only as your younger sister?”

The faint voice from behind instantly stilled Lin He’s heart. His mind, which had been full of thoughts a moment before, went completely blank.

A tear traced a line down Mu Xiangming’s cheek. As they left the tomb, she had finally understood. Once a thought or doubt had taken root, even if one did not know the answer, the relationship could never return to what it had been. She did not want the two of them to continue in a relationship without a name. They were not truly brother and sister, yet neither were they lovers. Then what, exactly, were they? She feared she would only hold Lin He back.

Lin He slowly turned around.

How difficult that question was to answer. He had vaguely sensed it inside the tomb. Yet even when he had suspected that he himself had been poisoned, he had never doubted the sincerity of the bond between them.

“Xiangming... you have been keeping those words hidden all this time.”

An indescribable sorrow filled her eyes. The wind stirred their long hair, seeming to draw the distance between them even wider. She fought back a sob.

“Between men and women in this world... feelings are always like this... My aunt often told me that I had been promised in marriage, that I would become your wife one day... So I believed her. I never once questioned your feelings... So I... My aunt was joking with me from the very beginning...”

Tears streamed continuously down her delicate cheeks, making her appearance unbearably heartbreaking. Lin He desperately wanted to wipe them away, but for some reason, he could not raise his hand. At last, he understood how complicated the feelings between Mu Xiangming and himself truly were. He wanted to speak, yet did not know what to say.

Sunlight spilled across her fair skin, making her face seem especially radiant. Her pink dress appeared painfully out of place amid the rotting surroundings, as though nothing about her belonged there. Mu Xiangming was like a brilliant rose blooming in the wilderness, visited by no bees and admired by no one.

Before Lin He could speak again, Mu Xiangming turned away. Fighting back her sobs, she said, “Let us go... Teacher is still waiting for the antidote...”

At that very moment—

“Thief! Prepare to die!”

An old man’s furious roar suddenly came from the rear right. His voice contained surging inner force and a murderous intent so heavy that it seemed to freeze the air.

Lin He instantly turned toward the sound.

An old man in white was flying toward them. Before Lin He had even had time to think, the old man raised both hands, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.

Lin He was horrified. This old man was a complete stranger, yet upon meeting them, he had immediately sought to take their lives. Mu Xiangming reacted as well, but Lin He immediately gathered his strength and shoved her away. The inner force contained in the old man’s voice was no weaker than that of Senior San. If he struck them directly, neither of them would have the slightest chance of surviving.

After pushing Mu Xiangming to safety, Lin He immediately drew the sword from his back and charged toward the old man. But it was already too late. Seeing this, Mu Xiangming could not hold back her tears and cried out, “Get out of the way!”

With the roar of a dragon, a colossal dragon surged violently toward Lin He. Though he already held his sword in his hand, he found himself utterly without the courage to resist that raging, sweeping dragon. As he watched Mu Xiangming collapse in despair, he seemed to comprehend a trace of sword intent in that moment of helplessness.

Just as the dragon was about to strike Lin He, a palm-shaped force burst from the right and collided with it.

The two torrents of inner force were evenly matched.

A thunderous explosion rang out. The two forces dispersed, releasing a powerful shock wave that swept in every direction. Lin He was hurled several yards away, and Mu Xiangming immediately scrambled to her feet and ran toward him.

Guo Tianhua landed heavily. “Deng Yangfeng, what do you mean by this?”

At the sound of Deng Yangfeng’s name, Lin He instantly turned toward him.

An elderly man in plain clothes, with a broad and heavyset figure, slowly descended beside them. Accompanying him was a girl about Lin He’s age. She wore a fitted white robe that emphasized her slender waist, and her long hair streamed in the wind. She was graceful, though not particularly striking.

Deng Yangfeng said, “Things have not unfolded as you wished. Why pursue a younger generation so relentlessly?”

Guo Tianhua replied, “Anyone who brings out that manual is a criminal against my sect. Even if you intervene today, I will still take his life.”

Deng Yangfeng sighed and shook his head. Turning to Wei Xiaoyu, he said, “Xiao’er, go protect those two. It seems your master will have to stretch his limbs today.”

“Master, should we help you deal with him together?”

“Still making jokes? Once this old man loses his temper, I may not even be able to protect you.”

“Then good luck, Master!”

With that, she flew toward Lin He and Mu Xiangming.

Guo Tianhua shouted, “Deng Yangfeng! Are you deliberately determined to oppose me?”

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“I wish I were not,” Deng Yangfeng replied. “But he is He Yuyun’s son, and his parents were heroes.”

“Even if his parents were heroes, do you truly think the Three-Coat Saber will spare you once he masters that manual?”

“Killing that child now will change nothing. Why ruin your own reputation for it?”

Guo Tianhua prepared to circulate his inner force and said sternly, “Why do you speak as though this concerns only my reputation?”

Deng Yangfeng also began to lose his temper. “Old Guo, all these years I have had no idea how much your martial arts have advanced. But if you believe you can defeat all four of us who practice the Nine Heavens of Desire-Sound, then by all means, come and try.”

Guo Tianhua stopped.

He knew very well that the other three practiced the Nine Heavens of Desire-Sound. If Deng Yangfeng truly joined the fight, then with the three of them beside him, Guo Tianhua might not be able to kill that young man. And if he lost to the Nine Heavens of Desire-Sound, bringing disgrace upon his sect, he would become a sinner remembered throughout its history.

At that thought, much of the killing intent faded from his face. He turned away.

“Deng Yangfeng, once I leave, I will reveal this man’s identity to the entire martial world. When that happens, do not accuse me, Guo Tianhua, of acting like a villain.”

With that, he flew toward the mountaintop.

Lin He sheathed his sword and immediately hurried over to Senior Deng. He dropped to both knees and clasped his hands.

“This junior, Lin He, pays his respects to Senior Deng! I have troubled you by painstakingly searching for your whereabouts and forced you to clean up this mess.”

Deng Yangfeng helped him to his feet.

“You are He Yuyun’s son?”

Lin He nodded. “I am. My mother and father have both been taken prisoner by the imperial court. That is why I had no choice but to seek you out, Senior, and ask for your help in rescuing them.”

Deng Yangfeng studied Lin He. As expected of her child, even his manner of speaking resembled hers in several ways.

He continued, “You were the one who brought out that manual?”

Lin He did not answer immediately, worried that Mu Xiangming might be implicated. He gave a slight nod.

“This junior did it alone...”

Deng Yangfeng was somewhat astonished. The Five Great Figures of the martial world had all failed in their attempts back then, yet this young man had entered the tomb alone and retrieved the manual.

“Do you know what consequences will follow if that manual enters the world?”

Lin He’s gaze hardened, and his heart sank as he looked toward the mouth of the tomb. For the sake of saving his teacher, he now realized what a grave mistake he had made. He should have understood from the beginning what a catastrophe would follow if the manual fell into the hands of the Three-Coat Saber.

He himself might even become a sinner condemned by history.

Lin He slowly spoke.

“At the time, this junior did not think that far ahead. My teacher was unfortunately poisoned because of me, and all I wanted was to save him. Once my teacher is settled, I will personally reclaim that manual. Even if it costs me my life, I will never allow it to enter the martial world.”

As he spoke, Lin He stared resolutely at the mouth of the tomb, his hand clenched tightly around the hilt of the sword at his waist.

“Good!”

Deng Yangfeng was delighted by Lin He’s words. He saw in the young man the most precious qualities of his mother, along with a talent she herself had never possessed. If he could nurture him properly, Lin He might one day fulfill great hopes.

“Who is your teacher? I must go and meet him.”

At the mention of his teacher, Lin He’s eyes dimmed.

“Lin He’s teacher is an old friend of yours, Senior... Mr. Tao.”

A look of astonishment crossed Deng Yangfeng’s face. The teacher Lin He spoke of was actually his longtime confidant, whom he had not seen for many years. Deng Yangfeng immediately sensed that something about the matter was far from simple.

He looked toward the sun and calculated something with his fingers. His expression soon became troubled.

As expected of He Yuyun, the female disciple he had always been most proud of. She had long intended to entrust Lin He to him, so that he could complete the task she had failed to accomplish all those years ago.

It seemed she truly had already...

With that thought, Deng Yangfeng asked, “Where is Tao Zhiming now?”

“Beneath Nine Ridges Peak, at Fushou Mountain Stronghold.”

“Come with me to Fushou Mountain Stronghold.”