Chapter Eighteen: Return to Kunlun

  The atmosphere in the ice cave suddenly stagnated, and all that could be heard was the sound of dripping water. Qingyang and Chongguang stood in the middle of the icy pool, their boots and clothes splashed with water, but they didn't have time to pay attention to this. The young man's empty and confused words seemed to be a question to himself, yet also seemed to be asking them. But how could they answer him?

  After a while, Qingyang coughed lightly and said slowly: "Young brother, can you... remember where your home is?"

  The boy shook his head dully.

  "What brought you here then?"

  The boy looked at him blankly and shook his head stupidly.

  Chong Guang stomped his foot and said urgently, "One question, three unknowns! Qingyang Shixiong, why don't we just search him directly? Maybe we can find some clues." As he spoke, he rushed forward and reached into the young man's chest.

  "Chóng guāng!" Qīng yáng wú nài de qīng jiào dào, "nǐ jí shén me. Wǒ fāng cái qiē guò tā mài bó, zhè wèi xiǎo xiōng dì chú le jǐng shàng yǒu shāng, dào yě wú xīn dà hài……zhǐ kǒng pà tā shì shòu le nà nǚ yāo de yī shí jīng xià, zàn mà shī qù jì yì, shuō bù dìng guò jǐ rì biàn huì xiǎng qǐ lái de."

  "That's for the best!" Chong Guang stopped his hand, "That female demon has been dealt with, but the Water Spirit Pearl hasn't been found yet. We have pressing matters to attend to and can't afford to entangle ourselves with this child!"

  Qingyang furrowed his brow, just about to say a few words to him, when he heard the young man beside him say in a soft voice: "What you said... is this pearl round and shiny like this one?"

  Chong Guang turned back impatiently, and in an instant, he forgot what to say. He just stared blankly at the young man with a look of shock and disbelief on his face. Qing Yang saw the expression on his junior brother's face and followed his gaze. He saw that the young man was leaning against the stone wall, sitting on the ground with one hand weakly raised in mid-air. The dark red sleeve, soaked by water, slid down to his elbow, revealing a pale palm that held a round, crystal-clear light blue pearl.

  That blue bead was the size of a palm, as smooth as beautiful jade, and as bright as a clear moon, emitting a faint glow. Although that blue light wasn't brighter than the sword's light, it seemed to surpass all things in the world, making Qingyang and Chong Guang gaze at it with unblinking eyes, gradually revealing an expression of joy on their faces.

  When he came to himself, Chong Guang hastily grabbed the young man and asked in a string of questions: "How did this water spirit pearl end up in your hand? Where did you find it, was it in this cave? It's true that the cave used to be icy, which is why there's no dripping water now. Did you find it in the ice?"

  The young man looked at him, a hint of unease flashing in his eyes. He felt that Chong Guang's tone was very strange and rude, and he was shaking his clothes without stopping, so he pursed his lips and didn't say a word. Seeing Chong Guang getting more and more impatient, he even turned his gaze away.

  Qingyang sighed softly and pushed Rong Guang's hand away, saying: "If you want to ask questions, then ask them properly. What's the point of dragging others into this? I think this young brother probably doesn't remember anything, even if we ask him, we won't get any results." After a pause, he thought for a moment and said: "I wonder if this Water Spirit Pearl was found by this young brother and happened to be seen by the female demon. Then the female demon took it from him... If that's the case, then this Water Spirit Pearl belongs to this young brother, and we can't..."

  "What's the point of this!" Chong Guang stamped his foot again, and said urgently, "He's just an ordinary person, even if he got the Water Spirit Pearl, it wouldn't be of any use to him. It would be better to ask him for it and bring it back to the Qinghua Sect quickly. The longer we delay, the greater the risk!"

  Qingyang shook his head, wanting to speak but stopping himself. The young man beside him saw this and noticed that the two of them seemed to be very concerned about the round bead in their hands. He said, "Anyway, I don't remember what use this bead has for me. If you want it, I'll just give it to you." As he spoke, he handed over the pale blue round bead, but since he was slightly dissatisfied with Chong Guang, his hand made a detour, deliberately ignoring Chong Guang who was closer and instead facing Qingyang who was more gentle.

  Qingyang was deeply grateful and thanked him repeatedly. The young man just shook his head, leaned back against the stone wall, and cast his gaze far into the cave at the giant beast's body.

  Qingyang put the Water Spirit Pearl into his sleeve, and he and Chong Guang were overjoyed. Chong Guang said: "Brother Qingyang, since we've found the Water Spirit Pearl, let's head back to Kunlun Mountain? We've been traveling for days, always staying in desolate mountains and wild ridges. Huangshan is beautiful, but compared to Kunlun Mountain, it's nothing special. I'm tired of this already."

  Qingyang smiled and said, "I know what you're thinking. You're afraid that if you go back late, it will delay your cultivation. Next month, the Master will hold an assessment, and you'll end up being last again, right?"

  Chong Guang snorted, "You're so much stronger than me, of course you wouldn't be afraid. Taiching Shixiong has been training for many more years than us, I don't dare to hope to surpass him. But what about Zong Lian? He's only just joined our master's sect, if he were to become stronger than me, it would be too embarrassing for me as his senior!"

  Qingyang shook his head and smiled, "It's not too early to go back, but this little brother must be properly taken care of. Can't just leave him on the mountain like that?"

  "How long will it take?" Chongguang asked hastily, not waiting for Qingyang to answer. "Let's not mention how big Huangshan is, and how many villages are at the foot of the mountain. Just going from door to door to ask, that would delay us for a long time... By the time we return to Kunlun Mountain, I'm afraid our master will have finished testing us, and we won't need to cultivate anymore. We can just roll up our bedding and go to Sifang Valley!"

  "What can I do?" Qingyang said helplessly.

  Chong Guang thought for a moment, then said: "Why don't we do this instead? Let's take the child back to Kunlun Mountain first. Didn't you say, Brother Qingyang, that he was scared by the female demon and forgot everything? Then let the masters of the Longya Dao Dan room in our sect treat him well, and when he recovers his memory and remembers past events, we can send him home again. After all, with the sword in hand, it's possible to travel a thousand miles in one day, which is much better than carrying the Water Spirit Pearl around and showing off everywhere."

  Qingyang and Chong Guang were discussing how to settle the young man, but he was staring blankly at the giant beast. The monster had no impression in his mind, and it looked very strange to him, but as he stared at its dull eyes that refused to close, he felt a faint sadness well up from his chest like water flowing silently.

  When Qingyang turned back, he saw him staring at the corpse of the demon with wide eyes, not blinking. He thought that the huge beast shape had frightened him and comforted him in a gentle voice: "Don't be afraid, this demon is already dead."

  Little did he know that the young man, upon hearing this, felt an even greater pang in his heart and involuntarily turned his eyes away, fearing that if he looked again, tears would fall.

  "Little brother, I and this Heavy Light Brother are both disciples of the Qionghua Sect of the Northwest Kunlun Mountains. Now that we've finished our business down the mountain, we're going to return to the sect and report back. Since you've already forgotten all about your past, why don't you come with us for now?"

  The young man had nowhere to go anyway, and upon hearing him say that, he went along with it and said: "Alright then, thank you all."

  On the other side, Chong Guang had already grown impatient and stood at the entrance of the tunnel, shouting loudly: "Brother Shi, let's cremate this female demon corpse quickly and return to the Menpai Gate. Whatever you have to say can be said on the way!" With that, he took large strides and walked out first.

  Qingyang smiled and shook his head, helping the young man to stand up, then turned and walked towards the giant beast's corpse. He slightly bent down, his robe sleeves suddenly puffed up high, as if filled with wind, and then a soft shout was heard, the huge head of the demon beast was lifted up by his two hands without making any sound.

  That young man was extremely surprised, but Qingyang seemed to be nonchalant, as if the thing he was holding in his hand was just a piece of grass, and he walked away with ease, his long sleeves fluttering behind him as he followed Shi Di Chong Guang's footsteps. The dozen or so small swords that had been suspended above their heads seemed to have sensed something and flew out together.

  The light in the cave gradually dimmed, and the young man was about to follow Qingyang, but a glance at him was dazzled by a purple light. He looked again, and that place was exactly where the giant beast had just lain, and there was indeed a small ball of light. The purple light shone faintly, like a starlight, and also like a firefly, and in the twinkling interval, it seemed to be subtly synchronized with his breathing.

  The young man's mind stirred, and he walked over to pick it up with two fingers. It had edges and corners, was smooth and transparent, like a piece of crystal, with a faint purple glow flowing inside. He vaguely sensed that this crystal stone might have fallen from the giant beast's body. The purple crystal stone looked exquisite, but not more precious than the round bead he had given up, yet for some reason, a strong sense of possession suddenly rose in his heart.

  Just then, footsteps sounded from behind, and Zheng Guang said: "What are you still dawdling here for? There are many forks in the road here. The master is afraid that you will get lost, so he asked me to take you out. Hurry up!"

  As he emerged from the cave, the bright sunlight shone on his face, and the young man felt as if he had been reborn. The light that had just come out instantly transformed into a blue light and disappeared in an instant, so he could only walk slowly by himself. Outside the cave was originally a large area of shrubs and weeds, but now they were twisted and bent, with most of them broken at the waist, the cut ends very neat, obviously cut off by a sharp blade. He thought of the small swords that Qingyang and Chongguang had brought, and suddenly realized.

  After passing through a small forest, the sound of water appeared in front. A torrent rushed past behind the trees, and several large stones on top still had wet footprints. The young man stepped on the stones to pass by, raised his eyes and saw three old trees with intertwined roots in front of him, Qingyang and Chongguang were standing in front of the thickest giant tree.

  Just as he was slowly approaching, Qingyang and Chongguang had already set up many dry branches under the giant beast's body and piled up some leaves. Chongguang bowed his head and muttered something, stretched out his hand to point at the giant beast, and then a fire burst forth from his fingertips and suddenly ignited those dry branches and withered leaves.

  In the midst of crackling flames and rolling smoke, a youth slowly approached, his eyes locking onto those dull, lifeless beastly pupils once more. He couldn't shake off the feeling that as he moved, the beast's gaze followed him, filled with an unending sorrow. Though he had no recollection of ever seeing this strange creature before, a deep sense of sadness welled up within him, as if it wasn't some bizarre wild animal that was perishing in the flames, but someone extremely important to him.

  The young man stood stupidly nearby, watching, and unknowingly took a few steps forward. Qingyang saw him and hastily pulled him back, saying: "Zhongguang's cursed fire will only spread more if it touches even the slightest bit, be careful not to touch it."

  A moment later, only a ball of char remained on the empty ground in front of the tree. Qingyang let out a breath and smiled: "Let's go back." The sound of swords ringing lightly, two long swords flew out from the sword sheaths behind Qingyang and Chongguang's backs. Qingyang pulled the young man's wrist, and in an instant, they stood one after the other on a sword.

  But then two green lights rose from the top of the peak and disappeared into the clouds in an instant. On the empty ground, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept by, blowing up the pile of black ash that had been scattered all over the place.

  On the peak of Qing Luan, the green pines still remain. The brook's waters are gurgling and churning. Everything that happened over the past few days seems to have vanished like a pile of flying ash, without leaving behind even half a trace.

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