What is his ultimate goal?
The young Yu Chi Feng sat under a tree, pondering this question. As he thought, he wiped the sword in his hand. But even when the sword was polished so brightly that it could reflect his own face, he still hadn't come to a conclusion.
In his belief, he should eliminate those who commit evil in the martial arts world and endanger the common people. None of them should be allowed to survive. Isn't this the so-called "goal"?
Yu Chi Feng sheathed his long sword and stared blankly at the fiery red sunset in the distance. Wisps of smoke rose not far away, indicating that it was dinnertime, but he had missed it. It wasn't until his master came to look for him.
"Still haven't figured it out?" His master had now calmed down and smiled at him. Lifting the hem of his robe, he casually sat down next to him.
Yu Chi Feng shook his head and said, "I learned my martial arts from you, Master. Didn't you teach me martial arts so that I could eliminate those villains?"
The master smiled and did not immediately answer his question. Instead, he reached out and gently ruffled the young man's soft hair, then said slowly:
"Do you still remember what I told you about your parents?"
Yu Chi Feng nodded and replied, "Yes, I remember. My parents escaped from the war. My mother died during childbirth, and my father was seriously ill, so he entrusted me to you, Master."
When Yu Chi Feng said this, his tone did not change much. He had almost no memory of his parents. Ever since he could remember, it was his master who had been taking care of him.
"Then do you think why your father entrusted you to me?"
"Well... To keep me alive?" Yu Chi Feng scratched his head.
"Then do you know why your parents were fleeing in the war?" The master asked again.
Yu Chi Feng shook his head. He had never heard his master mention this before.
"Your parents are not from the Central Plains but from the Lingbei tribe. The Lingbei tribe wanted to invade the Central Plains. It was the eldest prince who led the army to resist and defend the territory of the Central Plains. Although your parents were not Lingbei soldiers, these ordinary people also suffered in the war. War only brings suffering to the world..." The master looked up at the sunset in the distance and sighed faintly, "For military pay, the Lingbei soldiers burned, killed, looted, and even attacked their own people. It was at this time that your parents fled with you in your mother's womb."
Yu Chi Feng's eyes widened. He had never thought that he did not originally belong to this land, and that his parents had such a past.
"Then I... am also a child of an alien race..."
"Silly child." The master patted his back, "Can you guess how your parents managed to escape to the Central Plains?"
"They must have avoided their own people and the prince's army, enduring the wind and dew, and hiding their tracks."
"No, you're wrong. They didn't avoid the prince's army. They were caught by the prince's men as soon as they escaped."
Yu Chi Feng was even more puzzled: "But I'm still alive, which means they managed to escape successfully!"
"Because the prince let them go." The master narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Yu Chi Feng was even more confused. In his perception, war is an extremely cruel thing. Either one side dies or the other. How could there be a reason to catch the enemy and then let them go?
The master saw through Yu Chi Feng's confusion, which was not unexpected. Although he had always been teaching this child, without the care of his parents, Yu Chi Feng's understanding of many things was not complete. This was also the reason why he came back to find Yu Chi Feng after getting angry.
"Because the prince did not want to go to war. The prince led the army to stop the aliens, not to invade them. The prince led the troops to end the war, not to burn, kill, loot, and plunder. Your parents were ordinary people. Why would the prince make things difficult for them?" As the master spoke, he suddenly sighed again, "The prince is truly a kind and benevolent prince. It's just a pity... Alas..."
"So, not everyone needs to be killed..." Yu Chi Feng was stunned and suddenly came to a conclusion.
"Pfft, silly child, what kind of conclusion is this. Do you think what your parents and the prince did was for?"
Yu Chi Feng's brain was almost smoking, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out the connection.
Seeing that he couldn't figure it out even after racking his brains, the master sighed helplessly and said, "It is for guardianship."
"Guardianship?" Yu Chi Feng repeated the word, not understanding its meaning.
"Your father entrusted you to me to protect you in another way. The prince led the army and let the alien civilians go to protect the common people of this world. They did these things for their own families or the 'families' of the world."
Yu Chi Feng stared at his master blankly, and the fog in his heart seemed to disperse at this moment.
"So, Master joining the Exorcism Society and eliminating evil is also for guardianship?"
"Yes." The master smiled and tapped his forehead, "To protect you, to protect the compatriots of the Beilong Hall of the Exorcism Society, to protect Beiji City, and even to protect the entire martial arts world."
Yu Chi Feng touched his chest and felt that it had become warm, perhaps it was because it was heated by the sunset.
"Then I... will also be like Master, protecting this martial arts world!"
"Ha ha! Good, good! It doesn't matter. You're still young, and you can learn these things slowly." The master vigorously rubbed his head, "When you meet someone you like, you will also have to protect that person!"
The sword in Yu Chi Feng's hand suddenly felt even heavier.
His master's words gave his sword a more profound meaning.
It is not about killing, but rather the opposite, protecting everything.
Five years later, the master died in battle outside Beiji City, killed by an unknown person.
Yu Chi Feng picked up the blood-stained token, stroked the three words "Beilong Hall" on it, and silently pinned it to his own waist, becoming the new leader of the Beilong Hall.
He wanted to protect this city and this martial arts world for his master.
...
Yu Chi Feng woke up with a start from his dream. He sat up abruptly and looked at his own hands in the hazy morning light.
They were a pair of hands that had been trained with the sword, now clean and free of any bloodstains.
But the touch of the token seemed to still linger in his palm, refusing to fade away.
This memory came suddenly, and it took Yu Chi Feng a long time to match the "Yu Chi Feng" in the dream with himself, confirming that this was his own memory. He covered his forehead with one hand. Even though he didn't feel a headache, he still felt a bit dizzy and confused.
He had recovered some memories, those about his master - the previous leader of the Beilong Hall and the person who had raised him.
His master's teachings still lingered in his ears. Yu Chi Feng couldn't help but turn his head and look at Feng Tingliu, who was sleeping peacefully beside him, and thought of that word again.
"Guardianship..." Yu Chi Feng muttered, quietly moving closer to Feng Tingliu and grasping a lock of his hair.
In the past, he didn't understand what guardianship meant, nor the meaning of killing. Perhaps even the oath of "Protecting Beiji City and the entire martial arts world" was to learn from his master and inherit his will.
But now, when he had lost his memory, he only wanted to protect the people around him.
"Although I said that, it seems I haven't really done much..." Yu Chi Feng said to himself somewhat distressedly, leaning down to kiss that strand of hair.
"Um..." Feng Tingliu, however, let out a murmur at this moment. He slowly turned over, narrowed his sleepy eyes and looked at Yu Chi Feng.
Yu Chi Feng was stunned. At this moment, Feng Tingliu had no reservations towards him, exposing himself completely without the slightest vigilance.
If Feng Tingliu knew his identity, why would he trust him so much...
"Did I wake you up?" Yu Chi Feng gathered the thin blanket to cover Feng Tingliu's chest.
"Why are you awake?" Feng Tingliu's voice was gentle and somewhat indistinct, like a cat that had been awakened and was stretching.
"I had a dream and woke up." Yu Chi Feng quickly lay back down, pulled Feng Tingliu into his arms, and gently patted his back to lull him back to sleep, "Young Master, go back to sleep."
"Go to sleep..."
Feng Tingliu, who was already drowsy, naturally did not refuse. He leaned against Yu Chi Feng's chest and closed his eyes, even actively hugging his waist. Following the gentle patting, he fell asleep again.
-
Inside the Baiyao Pharmacy.
Yu Ji was suddenly awakened by a rustling sound in his sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to find the source of the strange noise.
In a corner of the room, among a pile of medicinal herbs and bottles and jars, there was a smallest and most exquisite jar that was constantly trembling, making noises as it collided with the jars next to it.
Yu Ji immediately woke up. He rolled out of bed, rushed over in one step, picked up the jar, lifted the wooden stopper, and looked inside by the moonlight.
"This is..."
Yu Ji's eyes widened as he saw a tiny gu worm in the jar, twisting frantically as if it were on the verge of death. Yu Ji quickly rummaged through a pile of clothes to find a bone flute, but before he could put the flute to his lips, the gu worm suddenly stiffened and then completely lost its breath.
Yu Ji had no choice but to put down the bone flute, hold the jar and sigh.
Even if he had blown the bone flute just now, he wouldn't have been able to save the life of this mother gu.
Yu Ji stared at the jar for a while, but couldn't figure out why. Eventually, he poured out the dead gu worm, put the empty jar in a drawer, sat at the table by the window, casually got some ink, and wrote a note.
There were only a few scribbled words on the note, which he solemnly rolled into a small scroll and stuffed into a pocket-sized message cylinder.
He took the message cylinder downstairs, gave it to the little pharmacist on duty, gave some instructions, and then went back to sleep.
-
Perhaps it was because he was woken up by Yu Chi Feng at night, Feng Tingliu was even more reluctant to get up in the morning.
Yu Chi Feng was busy, helping him replace the melted ice. When Feng Tingliu finally woke up completely, he used a handkerchief to wipe his face and hands.
Under the effect of the ice and water, Feng Tingliu felt much more comfortable. He leaned against the head of the bed, lazily bent his legs, and tilted his head to watch Yu Chi Feng bustling about.
"What does Young Master want to eat?" Seeing that he was in a good mood, Yu Chi Feng quickly asked.
"Anything." Feng Tingliu's tone was indifferent, but he kept staring at him, "Just something light."
Yu Chi Feng felt a bit hot under his gaze and hurriedly walked out, afraid that Feng Tingliu would suddenly change his mind and say he didn't want to eat.
Yu Chi Feng went to the kitchen to give some instructions, then brought some pastries back to the room.
When Yu Chi Feng pushed the door and entered, he saw Feng Tingliu standing barefoot next to the candle lamp, holding a tobacco pipe. He was turning the pipe upside down and gently tapping the edge of the candle lamp to remove the ashes. The spot where he was standing happened to be without a carpet, but he seemed to enjoy the coolness and showed no intention of moving.
Yu Chi Feng frowned, put the pastries aside, and quickly walked forward. With one hand around Feng Tingliu's shoulder and the other hooked under his knee, he lifted him up horizontally.
"Hey...!" Feng Tingliu was startled by his actions and grabbed his ponytail.
"Young Master, even if it's hot, you can't stand barefoot on the ground." Yu Chi Feng held him steadily and walked towards the bed, then gently placed him back on the bed.
Feng Tingliu subconsciously looked towards the oil lamp, then turned and glared at Yu Chi Feng.
"It's still morning. Does Young Master want to light the lamp?" Yu Chi Feng looked at the candle lamp somewhat puzzled.
"I just wanted to dump the ashes into it." Feng Tingliu raised the tobacco pipe and gently tapped it on Yu Chi Feng's hand.
Yu Chi Feng immediately understood and ran to get the tobacco and the flint to reheat the pipe.
Feng Tingliu took a puff of the pipe, narrowed his eyes, grabbed Yu Chi Feng's collar with one hand and pulled him in front of him, then slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke, all directed at Yu Chi Feng's face.
The aroma of the herbal tobacco was not choking, but it made Yu Chi Feng's ears turn red and his body tense.
Feng Tingliu curved his lips and raised an eyebrow: "Mind your own business."
"How can Young Master's affairs be considered minding my own business?" Yu Chi Feng smiled, staring at those thin lips that were exhaling smoke, suppressing the urge to kiss them. Yu Chi Feng held the hand that was grasping his collar, brought it to his mouth, and planted a kiss on the knuckles.
"Tsk, talkative."
Feng Tingliu scolded lightly, but there was a slight smile on the corner of his mouth. However, in those red pupils that were closelyStare Yu Chi Feng, waves suddenly rose... (There seems to be a word missing or a wrong character in the original text. It says "The red eyes that were staring at Yuchi Feng were suddenly filled with emotion..." but the verb after "Stare" is not clear. I assumed it might be "Stare(dīng zháo)" which means "to keep a close watch on". If there's a different intended meaning, please let me know and I can adjust the translation accordingly.)