Jinshui remembered the farewell at the ruins of the Jianyin Bang base in Wuzhang City at that time. Zhang Zheliang said that his job was done and it was time for a long rest.
Shuiyao was dead, Zhang Zheliang didn't want to trouble Xianjing Wang by returning to his confinement in the wangfu. However, this old man was already seriously injured thirteen years ago, he depended on huanming yao pills, even though this medicine did not help much.
Every time Zhang Zheliang fell asleep when he woke up, his memory could not be confirmed. He might turn into anyone the worst could become a cruel demon. If anyone were to see him in this condition, then it was certain that his decades-long reputation would be ruined. For this reason, he was later looking for the quietest place where he will not meet other humans and will spend the rest of his life in seclusion.
This time Jinshui met Zhang Zheliang again, apparently in this old man's memory he was now a child. It was better than being possessed or being a ruthless killer. Although Jinshui's ability cannot be underestimated, of course, he will not be able to match the experienced Liangtian Jian Shen.
"Thank you Laoqianbei," Jinshui replied. He received the grilled fish that was not yet cooked properly, then he ate it while thinking. Today Zhang Zheliang was a child, surely he will not harm anyone. But after he fell asleep, when he woke up again, he might be someone else entirely.
Then he also remembered, Shuiyao had left three huanming yao pills for Zhang Zheliang, and that medicine possibly was still with him, only that he just didn't have enough consciousness to eat it himself. Jinshui knew he had to find the pill and gave it to Zhang Zheliang to wake him up, although it might also be only temporarily.
The chains on Zhang Zheliang's's hands and feet told Jinshui, this old man must have chained himself so that he wouldn't harm anyone, also so that he couldn't go too far and settle down in this place where there were no other humans. When Zhang Zheliang left that time, he had already thought things through carefully. He stayed awake as long as possible, looking for a place that was secluded and quiet, only after making sure he was safe he could have a long rest.
This mountain range around Baiyu Shan was indeed the perfect place for seclusion. Cliffs and ravines that were difficult for humans to traverse made it difficult for people from outside to enter here, while those who were already inside will be trapped. Jinshui exerted all his qinggong skills and followed the river stream before he was able to reach this place. Zhang Zheliang, who had chained his own hands and feet, without full awareness, of course, will not be able to go out and meet other people again.
But imagining a former great sword god ending up in this place with a group of monkeys, even though that former great sword god was also the one who had caused his father's death, Jinshui couldn't bring himself to. What's more, he admired Zhang Zheliang. Of course, he couldn't let this former great martial figure spend his old life as a madman in a remote place.
I have to take him to a decent human residence, Jinshui thought, finding a much more suitable place for him to spend his old age. If he was left here then when he died there will be no one to take care of him.
The old man already had a full belly. He laid down on the bank of the river and slept. Jinshui cleaned up the leftovers and added some wood to the fireplace. The air began to chill again and night began to fall. Jinshui approached the old man, then knocked his blood path to keep him stay asleep. A moment later, he heard the old man's voice snoring loudly.
"Laoqianbei, I'm sorry I had to be impertinent."
Jinshui checked his pocket, trying to find the medicine bottle containing huanming yao. It wasn't difficult to find the drug, a moment later it was in Jinshui's hands. There were still contents, but only two pills. It's been reduced by one. It seems that since they parted ways at that time, Zhang Zheliang once had the thought of eating it by himself. No wonder he was still able to go this far.
But Jinshui had not had time to give a pill to the old man, Zhang Zheliang suddenly jumped up. Jinshui was shocked, realizing that his knock on the old man's blood point had no effect at all. He quickly dodged to his side, put one pill back into the bottle, and tucked it under his shirt, while one more pill was prepared in hand.
"Who dares to knock my acupuncture point?" Zhang Zheliang shouted. His voice was no longer the same as the one who just witnessed Jinshui catching fish in the river. His tone was full of hatred, and his face looked angry.
"Laoqianbei, wanbei Hua Jinshui, I had to knock your acupuncture point for your own good. Wanbei....."
"Who is Hua Jinshui?" Zhang Zheliang had already attacked before Jinshui finished his words. His movements were irregular, like someone who had never learned any martial arts moves, but his energy was very strong and his movements were very fast. Jinshui stepped aside behind a tree, not wanting to fight with the old man.
"Laoqianbei...."
Zhang Zheliang slammed his hand against the tree trunk, causing the tree trunk to sway violently under his strike. Luckily this old man's ability was not as full as it used to be, the tree did not break in half. Realizing that his strength had decreased a lot, Zhang Zheliang chased after Jinshui, forcing him to exert the wuqing xue energy and clashing palms with him.
"Wuqing xue!" Zhang Zheliang recognized the character of his opponent's inner energy. "Who are you?"
It was clear that Jinshui had mentioned his name and Zhang Zheliang had heard it, but somehow he asked again. Jinshui knew his name might not be well remembered by this old man. In a state of compulsion, he responded fast.
"Qianbei, wanbei Wu Youwei, the leader of Yumen Jiao," Jinshui mentioned his father's name. Of course, he wasn't sure if he had used the correct term to address Zhang Zheliang or not. He soon realized, his father and Zhang Zheliang were not the same age, there was probably a half-to-one-generation difference. Even though the two of them were friends, it was likely that Wu Youwei still viewed Zhang Zheliang as a senior, so it was impossible to call by names, but calling qianbei was probably too much either.
"Nonsense, I am Wu Youwei, how do you demon claim to be me?" Zhang Zheliang replied, while simultaneously adding strength to his palm and nearly numbing Jinshui's arm.
"Father, it's me!" under forced circumstances, Jinshui confessed as himself. Calling someone else father was not eloquent for him, but in the next second, Zhang Zheliang had already released him. The old man stared at Jinshui with a strange look. Jinshui just realized, his real father never knew of his existence, how could this fake father acknowledge him as a son?
"Gu Chenhui never gave birth, where did I suddenly have a son?" Zhang Zheliang murmured in confusion.
"I... I'm Wu Youwei's son with servant Xiaosha. Don't you remember..." Jinshui couldn't continue. In that second his memory returned to Xu Qiao, breaking his charade a bit.
"I remember. Moying told me that."
Jinshui fell silent at his words. If only the one in front of him was really his father, then the words just now had answered all the questions that had been in his head. That his father already knew of his existence, also acknowledged him, and had already given Moying a direct order to look after him.
"Why are you here?" Zhang Zheliang asked Jinshui. "Shouldn't you be in Baiyu Shan? I already had Moying to take you there, why don't you go with him?"
"I...." Jinshui remembered the pill in his hand. He had to find a way to get Zhang Zheliang to take that pill. "Father, Master Moying said that you were here, so I came over here. I... want to drink wine with you. Celebrating our meeting."
"Wine?" Zhang Zheliang asked him while laughing happily. "Why don't you just say it? I do like to have some wine with you."
Jinshui realized his mistake. There was no wine in a place like this or anywhere nearby. Getting Zhang Zheliang out of this place, without returning his memory first was not easy. And he didn't carry a jar of wine to celebrate anything. Jinshui's mind was still confused because of Xu Qiao, and he was unable to concentrate properly.
Zhang Zheliang laughed, then suddenly he pulled Jinshui to his feet and was about to tread the ground and shot away from the depths of this deserted valley. But there were chains on his legs, and those chains were blocking his movement.
"Hey, if you don't help your old man, how can we father and son go have a drink together and celebrate the meeting?" he scolded Jinshui.
"I... what can I do to help you?" Jinshui asked, still half dazed.
"Your father's feet are not free to move, of course, you have to help me get out of here. You can use your qinggong skills. I'm sure bringing one old man out of here is easy for you."
"Ah. Alright," Jinshui was still confused, but he certainly didn't forget his abilities. A moment later he grabbed Zhang Zheliang's arm, carrying him flying away from that place. With his inner energy and qinggong skills, of course, carrying an old man was not that big of a problem.
He didn't really realize what he was doing, just following Zhang Zheliang's orders. Zhang Zheliang acted like the real Wu Youwei. Jinshui had never seen his father in his life, but somehow, he felt very close. Really hoped this was real and the person in front of him was really his father, not someone who thought of himself as someone else and in a moment will change again. Jinshui always hoped that his father could accept his existence like this.
"Why are you so slow?" Zhang Zheliang suddenly grumbled at him, but then slowly channeled his inner energy into Jinshui, giving him a boost of strength. With the help of energy, the new Jinshui was able to move faster, darting between valleys and cliffs.
They ran for hours. When Jinshui started to feel pain in his legs, they had already arrived on top of one of the cliffs in Baiyu Shan. Jinshui's steps stopped. It seemed that he had unknowingly brought Zhang Zheliang here, according to his original intention of taking this old man to a more appropriate place to spend his old age. But it seemed that he would not be able to take him any further. Even though Moying's inner energy in him was extremely powerful, human abilities still had limits.
"What place is this?" asked Zhang Zheliang, "looks familiar."
"This...." Jinshui was quite aware, if he told the current Zhang Zheliang that they were in Baiyu Shan maybe the old man would realize quickly, and he couldn't predict his reaction. "Finding a place that sells good wine is a long way from here," he continued, "but...."
"But what?"
"Father, your son was injured a few days ago, so his legs couldn't be carried far," Jinshui said. "I'm afraid that we won't be able to celebrate our meeting today."
Zhang Zheliang stomped his foot. The chains on his hands and feet clattered again. He realized that the chains were troublesome, then tried to muster internal energy and pulled them. But Zhang Zheliang had chosen some strong chains for himself, and clearly knew that with his ability, he would not be able to break those chains. Jinshui pretended to come closer and helped him. Of course, the goal wasn't actually to help break the chains.
"Don't you have a sword weapon, knife, or anything?" Zhang Zheliang asked impatiently.
"No," replied Jinshui. "But I have this," he showed the huanming yao pill in his hand.
"What is this?" Zhang Zheliang apparently didn't remember his own medicine. Of course, because his memory was indeed disturbed and now he still thought of himself as Jinshui's father.
"This is an energy booster," Jinshui replied. "If I eat it, it can double my energy in no time, maybe I will be able to break the chains on your hands and feet, then we can go find a wine shop together freely."
"You only have one?" asked Zhang Zheliang.
"I only have one in my hand now," replied Jinshui. He prepared to swallow the pill in his hand.
"Give it to me," Zhang Zheliang snatched the pill. Jinshui dodged, simultaneously also pretend to drop the pill. As he expected, Zhang Zheliang snatched it up before it fell to the ground and swallowed it without a second thought. Jinshui feigned surprise.
"Father...."
"Drugs of this kind usually damage the body. Let your father break this chain himself, your job is only to take me. Today too we must celebrate the gathering by drinking till dawn."
Zhang Zheliang had already swallowed the pill. He sat on the ground for a while, letting the pill take effect in his body. Jinshui just kept an eye on him. In a moment this old man's memory would return and he would not need to explain anything. There was a little regret in his heart though. He had just felt that he had a father, now he had to return to the fact that everything was just fake.
The pain in his heart ached as he recalled Xu Qiao, his chest felt like it had been hit by a hard object, almost making him vomit blood. He was forced to sit up too, controlling his pure energy and suppressing the pain. It was very difficult to concentrate the mind in his current condition. Xu Qiao's image kept bothering him. He had liked Xu Qiao for more than three years and loved her with all his heart. When Xu Qiao said she wanted to leave him, his heart was crushed to nothing.
"You can't go," Jinshui suddenly said to himself. Blood trickled down the corners of his lips, indicating that he was deeply injured. "I can't just let you leave. I...."
"Who's going?" another voice answered him. Jinshui just remembered he was not alone here. There was still Zhang Zheliang, the sword god who had lost his memory. That old man appeared in front of him a moment later, standing straight.
"Laoqianbei...." Jinshui raised his head. His vision blurred, and he struggled to keep himself from collapsing.
"Hua Jinshui, you hurt?"
Zhang Zheliang's memory had returned. He quickly sat behind Jinshui, channeling his inner energy into him. When he touched Jinshui's back, he realized that the body of the young man he liked was hot as if on fire. Apparently, after several days of soaking in the water at the bottom of the valley with a broken heart, Jinshui had made himself sick. During that time he had continuously used internal energy to warm himself up, then also exerted excessively to bring Zhang Zheliang here, the result was self-injury.
"Laoqianbei, wanbei is fine," Jinshui responded weakly. "Only caught a little cold...."
"What happened to you?" Zhang Zheliang asked. "Did I hurt you? Were you the one who gave me the huanming yao pill just now? How did you find me? How long since I had that huanming yao pill the last time? What had I done?"
Jinshui couldn't answer anymore, his body slumped weakly on the ground, falling unconscious.
--
When he regained consciousness, Jinshui found himself in a room he recognized as his own. Shuqin was by his side, providing him with a cup of water. When he turned his head, he also found Gu Chenhui in that room, looking very worried.
"You've been unconscious for two days," Shuqin told him. "You had a fever, and you kept rejecting us from giving you some internal energy. Laofuren was very worried, and thus asked me to continue to look after you."
"Making Wu Furen worry, Jinshui is at fault..." Jinshui tried to get up, but at that moment he felt his head hurt unbelievably.
He remembered he had a dream just now, saw Xu Qiao wearing a red wedding dress, wearing a crown and already dressed very beautifully. She wasn't wearing a veil covering his face so Jinshui could still see her face as she got off the bridal palanquin. And someone greeted her. Jinshui did not recognize who it was.
Xu Qiao had already decided to leave him, what if Jinshui heard about Xu Qiao's marriage to someone else? Jinshui thought of Zhong Shaoyan's disciple, Han Budian, whom he knew had a crush on Xu Qiao. What if after Xu Qiao left, she ran into Han Budian? What if Xu Qiao then liked that man? What if it was Han Budian who greeted Xu Qiao off the bridal palanquin in his dream?
Jinshui quickly hit himself on the head, trying to shake off the thought.
"Why do you still call me Wu Furen now?" Gu Chenhui's voice woke him from his dream and brought him back to reality. "Jinshui, you are already here and my mother had also accepted you and the other descendants. I think it's time to change how you call me."
"Jinshui don't dare," replied Jinshui. He sat up on the bed, Shuqin holding his weak body.
"Do you really really love that girl?" Gu Chenhui suddenly asked him.
Jinshui didn't answer. Why would he admit that he once loved Xu Qiao so deeply? That girl had decided to leave anyway. Remembering this name made him feel the pain again.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked Gu Chenhui again. "If you want me to bring her here, I will ask the Hanleng Shuang Yin girls to take her to you."
"Wu Furen doesn't have to do that," said Jinshui. He didn't realize that Gu Chenhui only said that she would take Xu Qiao to him, and didn't say she would find her first.
"You are just like your father," sighed Gu Chenhui, "it's useless to you if you can only get her body but not her heart."
Jinshui tried to remember what happened before he was here. He remembered parting ways with Xu Qiao at the lake. Of course, this farewell remained in his memory. Then he went down to the valley to escape the pain. He remembered keeping his head in the water and letting himself get cold. His whole body ached, and he couldn't remember what happened after.
"Daxiaojie, Ma Yongtao, Ma Gongzi, and his brothers have returned," a servant came in and reported to Gu Chenhui, "they want to see Hua Shaoye."
"I'll go," said Gu Chenhui, "those Liangshan Liu Mo bandits went to chase a murderer a few days ago, I hope they come back with some good news."
Ma Yongtao. Jinshui remembered Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun and Fuchang Long went to chase Huang Zhe who had run away after throwing needles into Xie Tianhu's eyes. However, Huang Zhe still had time to come back to suck up his master's inner energy, and Jinshui then asked Ma Yongtao to go after the three.
"I want to see them too," said Jinshui.
The three of them went to the main hall to meet Ma Yongtao and the others. The four members of Liangshan Liu Mo turned were not in good condition. Only Ma Yongtao was still standing straight, looking a little tired and his face was not as calm as usual. Meanwhile Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun and Fuchang Long were all lying on the floor, apparently even coming in here with the help of some of Yaoyao's men. They got up with great difficulty and barely could sit down.
"Do you find that murderer?" Gu Chenhui immediately asked questions to Ma Yongtao. "What happened to those three?"
"My good Master Dajie Laoda, this is all thanks to your generosity, do you still need to ask?" Ma Yongtao asked back. His tone was still relatively smooth and respectful, but he looked very annoyed. "The yinchong dan poison."
"I already gave Fuchang Long the antidote, it should be enough for the three of them before coming back here again," Gu Chenhui said.
"Dajie Laoda, you gave us only one and a half pills of the antidote for yinchong dan poison, meaning one person only gets half pill," replied Li Bai Xun, "you said it's still a long time before the worms need another meal, and we still have time to catch the killer and come back here safely. But three days ago, the poison reacted, while we are far away from you. Just relying on half an antidote is simply not enough for us."
"Lucky for us we didn't run into the killer and can still return here in one piece," Zu Ye Niang added. Today he dressed as a man again. "If only we met Huang Zhe and we don't catch him, you will definitely blame us too. Not dying at the hands of the enemy instead dying at your hands, I Zu Ye, even though I died willingly, but I couldn't complete the last task, so I died unwillingly too."
"We were just having fun chasing the killer, we were this close to find some traces, suddenly the poison had reacted. The worms in our heads don't seem willing to be too far from you," continued Fuchang Long, "it's still good that Laoer managed to find us and immediately decided to bring us back here. Dajie Laoda, the three of us can hardly see you anymore."
Jinshui remembered that Gu Chenhui had controlled the three Liangshan Liu Mo members with some kind of poison since they were in Wansui Gu so the three of them followed her everywhere out of obedience and fears. Unfortunately, the poison only recurred when the three received the order to chase a fugitive.
"Along the way they were in pain, lucky for us we met Yaoyao Guniang's men, and they helped bring them back here," said Ma Yongtao again. "Master, we Liangshan Liu Mo have decided to join Yumen, I hope you'll be kind enough to provide an antidote."
"I can give you the antidote," Gu Chenhui approached the three members of Liangshan Liu Mo who were still sitting on the floor. She checked them one by one. "They've been in pain for three days, the next one will take some time," she said emotionlessly. "There is no need for an antidote in the next few days."
"Wu Furen," Jinshui stepped closer to Gu Chenhui, "I don't think we need to use poison to control them anymore," he said. "I can guarantee, Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun, and Fuchang Long will wholeheartedly join our Yumen Jiao from now on, and will not commit any more crimes."
"These three have an unpardonable crime," said Gu Chenhui, "giving them poison not only to control them but also to give them punishment."
"When it comes to crimes, I am the worst. Everyone knows that Liangshan Mojun likes to torture people until they are disfigured and insane to the point that their ability to commit suicide no longer exists. The one who deserves punishment is me, not my father or anyone else," said Ma Yongtao. "Master can punish Ma Yongtao alone."
Gu Chenhui stared at him. All this time she also knew, Liangshan Liu Mo was free to do evil everywhere because there was the original Mengpo and this Liangshan Mojun who mastered high-skilled martial abilities. The original Mengpo had died at her hands, leaving this young mojun. "If you want that yinchong dan, I will gladly provide one for you," she took out a pill from her pocket.
"Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun, and Fuchang Long have been in pain for three days already, that's more than enough," Jinshui spoke again, "Ma Xiongdi saved my life once, let's just say there is no debt or revenge. Wu Furen, please give the antidote to them, Jinshui will be very grateful."
"You want to beg for them?" Gu Chenhui looked at him. Her emotions subsided when she saw Jinshui's expression. Jinshui was similar to his father. Although Jinshui was not her biological son, Jinshui was born because of her. Gu Chenhui had wanted to acknowledge him as a son for a long time, only waiting for one word from him.
"Daniang," Jinshui called her at last. "Please present the yinchong dan antidote to Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun, and Fuchang Long."
Gu Chenhui's expression immediately changed. She had been waiting for this call for a long time. Without hesitation, she took out a medicine box and handed it to Ma Yongtao.
"Eat one pill every three days. One month later, the poison has completely disappeared and there is no need to worry anymore," she said. "Today my son just came back, I don't have time to take care of you little demons. As long as you don't make trouble anymore, you can live in peace."
"Thank you, Master," Ma Yongtao replied half-heartedly.
"Thank you Dajie Laoda, Hua Shaoxia," Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun and Fuchang Long cried. The three crawled toward Jinshui, kowtowing several times to him.
"You all should just go and rest," Shuqin said to them, "later you will still have tasks to do. The crimes for dozens of years must be atoned for."
"Hua Shaoxia saves our lives, we will definitely repay you," said Zu Ye Niang.
"We swear to obey you forever," continued Fuchang Long.
"We are willing to die for you." Li Bai Xun also said.
The three then left with the help of Yaoyao's men. Gu Chenhui also left the room. Ma Yongtao was still there. He stepped closer Jinshui.
"Jinshui, the fake Yumen Mowang had killed several other victims who had just left Baiyu Shan, deliberately leaving their bodies for our men to find," Ma Yongtao reported, "however, outside Chen-an City, there are no more bodies. Huang Yu said he had just obtained Liangtian Jian Shen's original manual, and in a few months or a few years, he should be busy training it. Do you think we should send more men after him or not?"
"Just let Huang Yu deal with his brother," Jinshui said flatly. "Your Liangshan Liu Mo friends need to recuperate too."
Jinshui didn't want to think too much. Just now Ma Yongtao mentioned Liangtian Jian Shen. He just remembered the meeting with Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang in the deserted valley. Zhang Zheliang should have been brought back here as well.