Chapter 3: Parting of Life and Death

  Now he uses bamboo leaves as a hidden weapon for practice. Injecting internal energy into the bamboo leaves, without letting them explode, and making their direction follow his mind, while also being able to harm people, is really too difficult for a martial artist.

  But for the current Yu Feng, it's already more than familiar. In just a blink of an eye, six bamboo leaves shot towards a tree over ten zhang away at a speed that ordinary people couldn't see, and lined up in a row. The distance between each pair of leaves was exactly the same size. After entering the state of Dà Yuán Mǎn, he had already developed a subtle feeling for the bamboo leaves' movements. As soon as he thought about it, the bamboo leaves arrived, with almost no time difference in between.

  Zhang Lao didn't teach him any fixed moves, only taught some basic movements to practice, but combining these basic movements can make him use the most suitable move against his opponent in the shortest time. Generally, he would occasionally point out what to pay attention to at certain times and what not to react to, leaving everything else up to him.

  Yu Feng stood with his eyes closed in the quiet forest, taking slow and deep breaths. Today was different from before; he could feel every movement of the wind within a radius of over 20 meters, and even clearly sense that there was an ant crawling towards him about 12 meters behind his back. His previous range of perception had been at most around 10 meters, and it had never been as clear as today.

  This feeling is great. Yu Feng thought to himself. I don't know what realm comes after the Primordial Great Round, and why Old Zhang has never mentioned it before. Maybe this realm is my own goal, I will definitely succeed. Thinking like this, Yu Feng practiced with even more dedication, his whole person already immersed in this beautiful wish.

  The following days were as usual, running to the waterfall every day to practice, and almost every two or three days, Zhang Lao would let him drink some wine. Although he couldn't drink too much like that day, Yu Feng was already very satisfied with this life.

  However, such days only lasted for more than two months before they had to stop. Because Zhang Lao fell ill, a martial artist would not normally get sick, let alone someone like Zhang Lao who was a true master, but once a martial artist falls ill, it is as difficult to cure as a serious injury.

  But Zhang Lao, his age was really too old, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't escape the cycle of life and death in this world. Although Zhang Lao didn't take it to heart, because he understood his own body better than anyone else, he had known for years that he wouldn't live much longer, everything was just a struggle to hold on.

  Yu Feng was different, he also found it strange that Grandfather had rarely accompanied him to practice martial arts in recent years, but he hadn't thought about it that way. After knowing the reason, Yu Feng regretted spending every day under the waterfall and not taking good care of Grandfather's body. Unfortunately, nothing could be done to retrieve the lost time.

  Zhang Lao can only lie in bed every day, and even eating is done by Yu Feng feeding him. Only when the weather is good will Yu Feng carry him outside to bask in the sun. He practices martial arts beside him, hoping that Grandpa can have a few more smiles.

  Yu Feng was getting more and more worried, his medical skills were not much worse than Zhang Lao's. Every time he took his pulse, he secretly left tears behind, because he knew that Zhang Lao had already reached the end of his life, beyond cure. If it weren't for Zhang Lao's extraordinary internal strength, he would have gone long ago. He didn't dare to show a hint of sadness in front of his grandfather, afraid that his grandfather would be distressed on his behalf, so he could only hide his heartache deep down.

  Yu Feng was very scared, he didn't know what to do after Zhang Lao left, except for Zhang Lao, there were no other relatives, from a young age, he had been dependent on Zhang Lao, once Zhang Lao was gone, he didn't know where the direction of his life's path was.

  Jia Chou, Zhang Lao had already avenged him a long time ago. Not long after Zhang Lao adopted him, he found out the mastermind behind the murder of Yu Feng's family and killed them all without leaving any survivors. Because Zhang Lao did not want his grandson to grow up with hatred in his heart and live a life worse than death, like a walking corpse. He had seen too many examples of that.

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

  The sunset dyed half of the sky red, and the mist on the mountain seemed to rise earlier than usual, with a hazy feeling. However, "Caw" - a crow's cry broke through this rare silence, making people feel disgusted.

  "Wind, don't cry, and don't waste your energy. Everyone has their time. I've lived for over 120 years, but I can't remember the exact number of years anymore. Cough... In my lifetime, I married the most beautiful wife, drank the strongest wine, killed the most corrupt official, and raised the smartest grandson... Cough... Cough..." Zhang Lao said with a gasp.

  "Grandpa, don't say that, wu... you'll be fine, the wind will definitely cure you. Don't talk... wu..." Yu Feng held Zhang Lao's hand with one hand and supported him with the other, his tears wetting his collar.

  "Wind, let me tell you, this life... having a grandson like you is enough for me. Who can have such a good grandson as I do? After I'm gone, don't stay here all the time, go out and take a walk, there are still many places you haven't been to. People should travel around to gain experience. Go find a good wife, have a bunch of kids... alas, unfortunately, I won't be able to see that in this lifetime. Be good, don't cry..."

  Zhang Lao's hand trembled as he raised it to touch his grandson's head one last time in his life, but just as he made contact with the child's hair, it fell back down, silent once more.

  "Grandpa, grandpa......"

  "Grandpa..."

  A flock of birds took flight from the forest, as if they could no longer bear to hear that sorrowful cry.

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

  In the early morning, the sun had just risen, and dew like pearls rolled down from the grass. The sunlight refracted through the dew created a colorful rainbow-like effect.

  It's been three months since Zhang Lao left, and it's been a while. These days, he comes to the tomb every day to take a look, and spends the rest of his time under the waterfall, where he can slightly forget the pain of losing his loved ones.

  Although these days, Qingxin's skills have made great progress, but there is not even a hint of a smile on his face. He just hates that his medical skills are not good enough to let his grandfather stay for a little while longer, and he cannot take good care of him for a period of time.

  Yu Feng buried his grandfather beside his parents' graves. The tender grass on top had grown quite a bit, swaying gently in the breeze, as if bidding farewell to travelers about to depart. The ashes of the burnt paper money were blown by the wind and scattered into the sky, then slowly floated down onto the solitary figure standing before the grave. After a long while, the thin figure finally moved, pressing down on the ashes that were being blown up again by the wind.

  "Grandfather, Father, Mother: I'm leaving. I will go to many, many places, to those places I have never been before, and also to those places Grandfather and I have already been together. I want to walk past them all."

  "I don't know how you're doing over there. I personally cut out these paper money by myself, and have been burning them for days, now only this little is left."

  "I will be on the road, healing people, doing good deeds and punishing some bad people. Don't worry, I will take care of myself, I don't know when I'll come back, but I know I will definitely come back."

  "I will travel the world, I don't know what the highest realm of martial arts is, nor do I know if it's Innate Great Perfection, but I want to try, can I break through again? I want to try, what comes after Great Perfection, I want to try, what kind of state is beyond martial arts. No matter what, I will put my heart into it. Otherwise, I don't know how to live this life, I don't know if there's any other meaning besides this."

  "Right, maybe I'll also find a good wife and have a bunch of kids, just like you said, Grandpa."

  "Grandfather, Father, Mother: I'm leaving. This jug of wine, you can drink it slowly. I'll come back to visit you again! I will definitely return." Yu Feng picked up the wine gourd and poured the wine into three bowls in front of the grave, filling them to the brim.

  After burning the last piece of paper money, he said to the two small graves: "I'm leaving." He turned his head and took a last look, then walked down the mountain.

  Returning to the place where they had lived for over ten years, sorting through Zhang Lao's remaining belongings. What Zhang Lao left behind was mostly those well-processed medicinal herbs. His clothes have already been burned, let them accompany Grandfather on his way.

  Yu Feng thought to himself, then dug up the last jar of wine from under the ground. He sat alone at the door, staring at this piece of land that was more familiar than anything else, and gulped down the strong liquor that could bring tears to one's eyes, mouthful by mouthful.

  Thinking of all the things that have happened over the past decade. I still remember the first time I cooked for Grandpa, his face full of smiles; I still remember the first time he single-handedly prescribed medicine for a patient, Grandpa's eyes narrowing and stroking his long beard with joy; I still remember the first time he was washed away by the waterfall, the unbearable pain and heartache flashing in Grandpa's eyes; I still remember Grandpa's crazy laughter when he knew that his martial arts had reached the state of Innate Great Perfection... bit by bit... Grandpa, I still remember.

  Unbeknownst to him, the whole jar of wine was finished in an instant. Yu Feng let out a sigh and began to take unsteady steps, gathering some essentials that he had to bring with him before leaving. He had to take advantage of his intoxication to leave, or else Yu Feng feared that he would never dare to leave again.

  He sorted out some of the most precious medicinal materials and put them in a package, then added a set of spare clothes and a set of silver needles for acupuncture, which he also placed inside. He tied it tightly to his back with a knot. Then he picked up the gourd that Zhang Lao used to make wine, stuffed all the copper coins into it, and locked the door.

  Hope everyone clicks "Add to bookshelf" and collects, recommends a post...