Lao Diaoyan and Lao Guishou both left that place, going to work out their bet with Huan Jiaozheng. The two of them didn't pay attention to the two men sitting on the cart, nor did they seem to recognize Jinshui who was still sitting there. Jinshui sighed in relief. He didn't want to be recognized by his two followers while he was in his current situation. He tried not to attract attention.
Ma Yaolun groaned for a while when Ma Yongtao woke him up and fed him the antidote, his hands reaching out tremblingly. Jinshui knocked his acupuncture points to keep him from going berserk and endangering others. The poison from Huan Jiaozheng's arrows can be cured with the antidote, but the internal injuries resulting from years of wrong practice had disrupted this Ma Yaolun's neuron system, causing the inner energy in his body to be chaotic and needed to be sorted.
Shen Xiru stepped closer to Jinshui. "Hua Shaoxia," she called.
"Shen Guniang recognize me," said Jinshui.
"What happened to Hua Shaoxia?" Shen Xiru asked. "Also, how are you coming together with Ma Gongzi?" she addressed Ma Gongzi somewhat hesitantly, realizing that the identity of the young man who was with Jinshui was somehow special.
"It's a long story," Jinshui didn't want to explain any details. "Did Shen Guniang happen to see any of the other Yumen descendants around? Last time I knew they were still in Wansui Gu. I accidentally separated from them."
"Xiaomei has been leaving Qingxiang Zhuang for a few days," Shen Xiru repeated the words she told Huan Jiaozheng earlier. "A girl came to our inn a few days ago, and said that she was the remaining daughter of the owner of Huofeng Lou, now on her way to find Hua Shaoxia and his friends."
"Qiao-er?" Jinshui asked.
"A fake one," replied Shen Xiru. "She left a white steel fan in our inn, and since that day many people from various origins came to ask for the fan. I and some sisters left so that those who wanted the fan would not trouble our master. We went to Wansui Gu to find Yumen descendants and hand over the fan to them, but a guard in there reported that Hua Shaoxia and friends had all left Wansui Gu. Now we are on our way to Wuling City to catch up with Huang Gongzi."
"Huang Yu?" asked Jinshui.
"Huang Gongzi was said to be on his way to Wuling City, taking Lin Guniang, the daughter of Banye Xiake Lin Tongtian," said Shen Xiru. "He planned to return Lin Guniang to her parents."
Ma Yongtao threw the white fan in his hand at Jinshui, and Jinshui received it and unfolded the fan. The body of the white fan contained no writing nor picture, and it was indeed very similar to the fan he once received from Xu Qiao, but it was definitely not the same fan because the original Zhang Zheliang's fan was still hidden under his clothes.
"The fan is already in Hua Shaoxia's hand, then it can be said that our task is done," Shen Xiru said again. "Hua Shaoxia, our zhuren hopes that you can ask Jiaozhu Furen Gu Chenhui not to make things difficult for Qingxiang Zhuang regarding the matter with the tomb of the beloved, and we still hope that Hua Shaoxia can help our master. At this time, if Hua Shaoxia still has any requests, please just tell us, and we will try our best."
She realized that Jinshui had been just sitting on the cart, clearly injured. But Jinshui also had his own pride. He still treated Shen Xiru and her sisters as strangers and didn't want his almost completely paralyzed legs to be known by those ladies.
"I'm fine," said Jinshui, "Shen Guniang should return to Qingxiang Zhuang. Regarding Zhang Zheliang's white fan, Hua Jinshui will take it from here."
"Hua Shaoxia already has this kind of intention, we can't just leave without doing something," Shen Xiru said. "It will rain soon, we are willing to accompany Hua Shaoxia and Ma Gongzi to a resting place. Not far from this place is the residence of an old friend, Hua Shaoxia and Ma Gongzi can recuperate there."
Jinshui threw the fake fan in his hand back at Ma Yongtao. He looked up at the sky and realized that the dark clouds had gathered and that it was going to rain soon, and that they all really needed a place to take shelter. Forcefully he nodded once to Shen Xiru.
Ma Yongtao tucked the fan that Jinshui had given him on his waist, then carried the cart following Shen Xiru and Jiaping. It was then that a light rain started to fall, and Jinshui noticed a figure following them all from a distance, her steps weak and somewhat unable to catch up.
The figure continued to follow until they arrived in front of the fence of a bamboo house on the outskirts of the forest. Ma Yongtao stopped the cart, noticed the figure following from quite a distance away, and he observed for a while, recognized the figure, then also tried to find out if anyone else had come along.
"Hey, your girl is still alive and she's here looking for you," Ma Yongtao said to Jinshui. "She's alone, and seems a little tired from the long walk. You want to see her, don't you?"
Jinshui didn't move, nor did he respond. His current condition was nothing more than a cripple. The person he missed the most was Xu Qiao, but the one he didn't want to see the most was also Xu Qiao.
"Hey, she really is your girl, not some fake Miss Xu," Ma Yongtao said to Jinshui. "If you don't want to meet her, I can make you never meet again forever, don't you regret it."
Jinshui glared sharply at him.
"Alright, I won't say another word," Ma Yongtao pretended to be frightened.
Shen Xiru and Jiaping had met the owner of the bamboo house, a young man in his thirties named Jianxi, and he called jiejie to Shen Xiru, immediately inviting them all into the bamboo house.
The bamboo house was quite spacious, but there was no separate room inside. It was just a simple house. Inside the house, there were many desks and shelves, all filled with manuscripts, papers, and even books which were all very messy. Two boys around the age of twelve were busy writing in the middle of the room.
"Quickly tidy up this place," Jianxi immediately ordered the two boys.
"We'll just be staying on the terrace," Shen Xiru replied, "no need to bother your students' taking notes."
Jianxi nodded once, apparently not really caring that it was going to rain quite heavily soon and the terrace of the house wouldn't be enough to protect those who were there. He then entered the house and closed the door, not even serving tea or asking if his guests needed anything.
"What is this place?" Ma Yongtao asked, somewhat displeased with the host's indifferent attitude.
"It's just a part of a bigger institution," Shen Xiru answered. "Jianxi is simply using this place as a temporary layover, making notes of it before it is brought along and better storing it."
"What notes?" Ma Yongtao asked again.
The sound of thunder was quite loud, making Ma Yongtao forget his question. The light rain soon turned into a downpour. Ma Yongtao took his father Ma Yaolun down from the cart and carried him to the front of the bamboo house to cover him from the rain. Jinshui tried to get down and used his walking cane, resisting when Shen Xiru tried to support him.
"Jie, that girl is gone," Jiaping told Shen Xiru that the figure who looked like Xu Qiao that had been following them had disappeared completely.
Jinshui looked down the street for a while, trying to find the figure that had followed them, but that figure was nowhere to be seen, either just taking shelter or had already left. He didn't want to show any concern in front of anyone else.
He sat cross-legged and tried to regulate his pure energy again and channeled it to his legs, accelerating the healing process. Just now when using the walking cane, he still felt the pain from his broken bones, and he really didn't want to become a disabled forever.
Ma Yaolun suddenly opened his eyes. His acupuncture points were still knocked down, and he was unable to get up. He could only make low moaning sounds as if he was about to say something. Ma Yongtao heard him, he quickly put his ear close. His father's eyes were fixed on him.
"Father, I'm here. Don't worry, we will take care of you."
"Ah.. ah..." The old man had his tongue cut a long time ago, and he had lost his ability to speak clearly. Ma Yongtao could only understand one or two words.
"Father, regarding the revenge, you should not worry about it now," Ma Yongtao said. "We cannot free your acupuncture points just yet. You have been training in the wrong ways, but all will be well. Right now we are just sheltering from the rain. I promise I'll take you to a place away from the crowds, you can live life quietly until old age, what do you think?"
Ma Yaolun was crying like a child. His memory had started to recover, he was aware of everything that happened during these few years. He killed many people, committed atrocities everywhere, and allowed himself to become a terrible evil monster. When Ma Yongtao left him, he even let himself become a blood-sucking demon. The memory of the cave at the bottom of the valley became a deep pain for him now.
His cries gradually became soundless. Ma Yongtao hugged him. His father became a terrible madman, he had also become a demon head who was not much different. Their enemy was gone, only the innocent Zhu Guniang remained, Ma Yongtao was unable to avenge his father until now. Because he wanted to hate Zhu Baique when he did.
But Ma Yongtao had not been able to feel hatred or enmity for a long time. His heart was warm, he himself also did not understand the cause, all this time he had been trying to find the meaning of hatred. He became a ruthless demon king, torturing victims more than his father in order to earn the hatred of each of his victims, yet it was a complete waste. It was only until this time that he realized, being Liangshan Mojun meant nothing.
"Father... you should not practice those heretical arts anymore," Ma Yongtao said again. "I don't want to make anyone hate me again. Our enemies are gone, we should live a better life, don't you think?"
"Aah...." Ma Yaolun said a few incoherent words. He wanted to convey that he would no longer practice his heretic skills, no longer wanted to become a madman, and no longer wanted to live as a terrifying demon. He wanted to live a normal life.
"Jinshui, let go of my father." Ma Yongtao said to Jinshui. "He already remembers everything, can control himself, won't hurt anyone."
Jinshui's mind was half empty since he saw the figure following the cart earlier. He then released Ma Yaolun's acupuncture points to free him. The old man knelt down to him, apologizing and thanking him as he kowtowed several times. Jinshui looked at him blankly. At this point, he didn't know how to respond.
Everyone was shocked at what happened next after. Ma Yaolun suddenly jumped up, his body shot up like an arrow, smashing his own head against a boulder not far away. His movement was so fast. Ma Yongtao chased him but didn't have time to reach him. Jinshui also subconsciously shot up from his spot, using both hands to move his body. But his legs were still paralyzed, he fell in front of the hut, while Ma Yongtao caught his father's body when it was too late.
"Father!"
At the same time, a girl appeared again in the pouring rain, seeing this incident. She gasped in surprise. One moment her gaze fell on Ma Yaolun and his son who she recognized as Liangshan Mojun Ma Yongtao, a moment later she recognized one other person as Jinshui.
"Jinshui Gege...."
"Father...." Ma Yongtao hugged his father. The old man wasn't dead yet, but the wound on his head was already bleeding. He tried to move his hand, writing two letters on the ground. Revenge.
The two letters were soon washed away by the heavy rain, but there was still a second of time for Ma Yongtao to see them. He didn't think much at that time, just worrying about his father, hoping that his father could still be saved. But Ma Yaolun's hands were already drooping limply, his breath had already been cut off. His body was still warm, but quickly turning cold.
"Jinshui Gege!"
The figure that had been following them all along and was now present in the pouring rain was indeed Xu Qiao. Her gaze was completely fixed on Jinshui, she quickly ran over before Jinshui could avoid her. She knelt in front of Jinshui, trying to reach him.
"Jinshui Gege, you really are here," Xu Qiao spoke to him, "you left us in Wansui Gu without a goodbye, we worried about you."
Jinshui pushed her hand away, trying to avoid her. Both of his legs were still paralyzed, he could only crawl on the ground. Xu Qiao didn't notice what was going on, trying to chase after him.
"Jinshui Gege...."
"Leave me!" Jinshui hit her hard, sending her crashing down onto the muddy ground, not hurting but enough to startle her and everyone who witnessed the scene. "You go, I don't want to see you."
These words meant a lot to Xu Qiao. She recognized Jinshui, there was nothing wrong, but Jinshui couldn't possibly act like this. Xu Qiao felt a pain in her chest. The hit was real. The pain in her heart was even more overwhelming.
"Jinshui Gege...." Xu Qiao tried to call again.
"Go away," said Jinshui.
"Jinshui Gege... you don't want Qiao-er anymore?"
"I don't want you anymore. Don't want to see you anymore. You go, don't follow me anymore. Don't look for me anymore."
Jinshui looked at her sharply, his jaw tightening. At the same time, Xu Qiao felt tightness in her chest, her head was heavy and her breathing was very difficult. At that time she told herself, not to faint in front of Jinshui.
She forgot about xuanlong sword who was still wrapped in the cloth on her back, and forgot about her intention to return the sword to Jinshui. She tried to stand up, then ran away from that place.
Ma Yongtao knew what had happened, but his attention was still on his father, desperately still trying to use his internal energy to restore his life. Shen Xiru saw Xu Qiao running away, she knew Jinshui would regret it soon, so without waiting for anything she immediately ran after her, heading into the forest.
Jinshui tried to get up, but of course, he couldn't use his qinggong skills, no ability to chase his girl. He could only slam his hands on the ground, regretting his temperamental attitude.
--
Xu Qiao ran into the woods for almost an hour, hid when she noticed someone was chasing her, then fell under a tree as the rain stopped. She tried to move her arms and legs, but her strength seemed to run out. Her vision was blurred as she could see a pair of legs approaching, but she could not recognize whether it was an enemy or a friend.
"That river fisherman will surely catch up here soon, we'd better go to a safe place first."
Xu Qiao heard someone's voice, still quite recognizable as Huang Zhe's voice, the least expected person would appear here to find her in her current condition.
Xu Qiao didn't know that her weak condition was the result of leiying hua poison that entered her body when she helped Jinshui collect the poison after the rebellion in Wansui Gu. Yanzi gave her pills and instructed her to eat one every day. But she didn't know the purpose of those pills.
When Jinshui was gone, she was really anxious. She was worried, and she could only think of him. She didn't even realize her weak condition and forced herself to find him, separated from Huang Yu and the others, and walked alone without a clear destination.
Xu Qiao tried to get up, her consciousness was still there but she was really helpless. She could only stay silent when she felt Huang Zhe take the cloth package hanging on her back. She tried to reach out, but her hands were stepped to the ground.
The package contained Jinshui's precious sword. Xu Qiao felt tears in her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have carried that sword with her, alone without the protection of the other Yumen descendants. Now she instead let the precious weapon fall into the hands of a man who least deserve to touch it. She didn't know how to explain this to Jinshui later.
"Who is that girl?" another man who came with Huang Zhe asked a question.
Xu Qiao didn't recognize the owner of that croaking voice. The man was definitely not Xie Tianhu.
"She's my sister," Shen Xiru's voice was the one to answer the croaking man's question. "She's not feeling well."
Shen Xiru immediately snatched Xu Qiao from Huang Zhe. Xu Qiao faintly found that Huang Zhe was surrounded by several other men of various attires, most of them carrying weapons that were also dissimilar. Then she also recognized Shen Xiru, and immediately held her arm, asking her to take her away.
"She's not your sister," Huang Zhe tried to snatch the girl back, "this girl had four sisters, and they all died years ago."
"I know," replied Shen Xiru, "but she's not a relative of yours anyway, you have no right to take her away."
Shen Xiru quickly helped Xu Qiao leave them, ignoring the sword pack that had fallen into Huang Zhe's hands. Huang Zhe still wanted to hold on to her, but the people who were with him would ask questions if they saw him trying to snatch a girl who looked helpless. He could not just accuse Shen Xiru of being a criminal, so he had no choice but to let the girls go.
Shen Xiru took Xu Qiao to hide behind a big tree for a while to make sure no one followed them. She checked Xu Qiao's pulse and found out that she was too weak. Shen Xiru tried to channel pure energy for a while, maintaining Xu Qiao's consciousness.
"Pill," Xu Qiao whispered weakly, trying to take something from her pocket. Shen Xiru reached into it and found a green porcelain bottle. Inside were dozens of dark green pills. Xu Qiao took one and quickly swallowed it.
"Xu Guniang did he hurt you?" Shen Xiru asked.
"I'm fine," Xu Qiao said, "I've been like this for a while, but this pill will help me."
"Hua Shaoxia didn't really want to hurt you," Shen Xiru said, "by now he must also have regretted it and wants you to return there safely."
"I know," said Xu Qiao. "Jinshui Gege didn't mean it."
"Why are you here alone?" Shen Xiru asked again. "How did you get separated from Huang Gongzi and the other descendants?"
"They told me that Jinshui Gege will head to Baiyu Shan anyway, and convince me that we will meet him there," said Xu Qiao. "But I was very worried, so I separated myself from the others, trying to return to Wansui Gu and find Jinshui Gege there."
"I will take you to him," Shen Xiru said. "Don't worry, he won't ask you to leave again."
They returned to the bamboo hut after confirming that Huang Zhe and the others were far away and would not follow them.
The door of the bamboo hut had been opened wide, the manuscripts and notes that had been all messy inside had been tidied up and placed in dozens of wooden crates, presumably about to be taken away.
Ma Yongtao dug a hole some distance from the hut to bury his father. Xu Qiao saw him but didn't immediately recognize him. Her attention first caught Jinshui who was standing in front of the bamboo hut, and she went over and hugged him. Jinshui greeted stiffly, not saying a word.
Xu Qiao only let go of the hug a few moments later, her attention was drawn to the two walking sticks Jinshui used. She was about to reach out, but Jinshui took one step away from her.
"Jinshui Gege, what happened to your leg?" she asked.
"Nothing," Jinshui replied shortly. He didn't say a word about what had happened since leaving her in Wansui Gu.
"I was looking for you, only taking the xuanlong sword with me," Xu Qiao confessed, "however that sword was already taken by Huang Zhe. But it's okay, you're here, you can take it back. He's not far."
Jinshui stared intently at her for a while, hearing that his sword weapon had fallen into Huang Zhe's hands was certainly a shock to him. But a moment later he looked away as if he didn't want to stare at Xu Qiao for too long, wanting to quickly leave that place.
"No big deal," he said briefly, "it's meaningless anyway now."
"Jinshui Gege," Xu Qiao felt that his words had different meanings. Something had happened and brought a big change to Jinshui. She turned her head, and looked at Ma Yongtao who was paying his last respects to Ma Yaolun, recognizing that figure as the person who had contributed to the chaos in Wansui Gu. "He…."
"Shen Guniang, I guess I have to leave now," Jinshui ignored her, then spoke to Shen Xiru. "You've helped me, Hua Jinshui owe you a debt of gratitude."
"Hua Shaoxia, you don't have to mention it," Shen Xiru said, "are you planning to go to Baiyu Shan?"
Jinshui only nodded faintly. Just like Xu Qiao, Shen Xiru also felt that Jinshui's attitude was weird. But she didn't ask much and left with Jiaping.
Jinshui waited until Ma Yongtao finished paying his respects to Ma Yaolun, standing not far from him stiffly. Xu Qiao watched from the front of the bamboo hut. There were many questions she wanted to ask Jinshui, but she didn't know if she could get all the answers.
Ma Yongtao stood up a few moments later, noticed that Xu Qiao was there, then also noticed Jinshui's expression.
"Xu Guniang is here, is she going to pick you up?" he asked Jinshui. "In that case, it seems that I, Liangshan Mojun, can no longer accompany you too."
"I'll take Qiao-er with me, perhaps you won't see me again either," Jinshui spoke in a cold tone, "but if I hear that you or other members of Liangshan Liu Mo are harming the Yumen descendants as you did at Wansui Gu the other day, then I will have my revenge on you."
"What are you saying?" Ma Yongtao asked in confusion. Jinshui's tone was not what it used to be, his demeanor had also turned strange.
"Qiao-er, we leave now," Jinshui said to Xu Qiao, then took the lead with his walking cane, using the inner energy Moying gave him to help him walk.
Xu Qiao followed him, keeping her distance and giving Jinshui a chance to calm his mind on the way. They found a river not far away, followed its banks unhurriedly, and spoke not to one another.
They found a boat moored on the bank of a river, apparently abandoned by its owner long enough. The condition of the boat was still good and it had a roof. Jinshui then got on the boat. He had exerted his inner energy long enough to enable his legs to stand up and walk, he knew he couldn't hold on any longer.
Xu Qiao followed him onto the boat and helped him untie the mooring ropes. The boat moved slowly with the flow of the river and they didn't have to paddle. Jinshui sat in the boat, closed his eyes, and tried to recover his energy. Xu Qiao sat some distance away, waiting quietly.
It took a while before the pain in Jinshui's legs subsided, the deep wounds from Ma Yaolun's punch no longer bothered him. He opened his eyes slowly, receiving when Xu Qiao handed him some food.
"Jinshui Gege, I lost your sword, you really aren't mad at me?" Xu Qiao asked him after.
"Why should I be mad at you?" Jinshui asked coldly.
"Because I let Huang Zhe take that sword," replied Xu Qiao. "He once impersonated you and killed people using the name Yumen Mowang. Now the xuanlong sword fell into his hands, I really don't know what he's going to do."
"If he likes to be Yumen Mowang, just let him," Jinshui answered strangely.
"Jinshui Gege, what is going on with you?" asked Xu Qiao.
"Nothing," Jinshui said, "haven't you always wanted to be like this, to be with me, but I no longer need to become a Yumen descendant."
"What?" asked Xu Qiao. "But Huang Erge and the others, they are all looking for you."
"Qiao-er, please just don't mention them, can you?" begged Jinshui.
Xu Qiao didn't want to argue. She could already guess what was going on, but she didn't know for sure. Jinshui apparently didn't want to continue his role as Yumen descendant as the result of Qingyi's enchantment at Wansui Gu a while ago.
That day while still at Wansui Gu, Xu Qiao accompanied Jinshui all night when he had his doubts, trying to convince him to stay with the other descendants, but Jinshui then disappeared.
Now she found Jinshui injured and had both of his legs broken, and with him was the demon head Ma Yongtao. Xu Qiao really didn't know what had happened, but she knew she had to release Jinshui from Qingyi's enchantment and return him to Huang Yu and the others.