Chapter Seven: The Old Friend Visits

  Old friend comes to visit

  The night wind was blowing gently, and the autumn leaves were rustling. Yun Xiang Tian lay in bed for a long time, unable to fall asleep. He didn't know what kind of relationship there was between Gui Zhai and Anmin Village. What he couldn't understand even more was that under the guard of three or four strong men, Wang Shan Gen's body had disappeared into thin air. He knew that there were three or four strong men in plain sight, but there should also be hidden eyes and ears as mentioned by Hong Shangou. Under such strict surveillance, how could Wang Shan Gen's body go missing? Was what Hong Shangou said true? Did the guards and the hidden eyes and ears all fall under the spell of the mysterious incense? Then who was this mysterious Ye Zi Chun? What did he come to Anmin Village for? And what kind of relationship did he have with Hong Shangou? No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure it out.

  A knock at the door broke into Yun Xiang Tian's meditation, he asked: "Who is it?" A low voice came from outside the door: "It's me, Ye Zi Chun."

  Yun Xiang Tian hastily opened the door, he had long wanted to meet Ye Zi Chun, because he was eager to get something from Ye Zi Chun's mouth. Ye Zi Chun saw the door open and quickly slipped in, then stuck his head out of the house and looked around nervously, confirming it was safe before hastily closing the door. He turned back to Yun Xiang Tian with a sly smile and said: "Young Master Yun, do you still recognize me?" Yun Xiang Tian was confused by Ye Zi Chun's mysterious actions and eerie expression, he didn't know what play Ye Zi Chun was acting out. He racked his brains trying to search for any memories of him, but apart from the few times they met in Qing Shui Bay Town, there were no other impressions. He woodenly shook his head and said: "I don't recognize you, aren't you Ye Zi Chun?"

  Ye Zi Chun looked at Yun Xiang Tian with a puzzled expression, stepped forward and grabbed his hand, excitedly whispering: "It's me, I'm Chunzi. Think back, think back. When you were five years old, you came to my house with your dad. At that time, I was nine years old, you snatched my wooden doll toy and I didn't give it to you, which made my dad scold me, but you just laughed on the side, later you also got a beating from your dad. Do you remember?"

  He was reminded by him, and Yunxiang Tian remembered that it was the first time he had been beaten by his father when he was a child. He still remembered hating the child named Chunzi at that time, vowing to beat him hard in the future. But later, they never met again, and unexpectedly met under such circumstances, he was excited, he went forward and grabbed Yezi Spring's arm and said: "Are you Brother Chunzi? Great! I should have thought of it earlier, Yezi Spring, Chunzi. How could I not think of it?" He patted his own head, looking at Yezi Spring who was equally excited, saying: "Brother Chunzi, how did you end up here? They said you went crazy after sneaking into the ghost village at night, what's going on? Tell me quickly."

  Ye Zi Chun put his index finger to his lips and whispered, "Be quiet." Then he leaned against the door crack and looked outside, whispering, "I came to see you secretly tonight. If someone finds out, it won't be good." He walked over to a chair and said, "May I sit down? I want to have a good chat with you."

  Yun Tianxiang patted his forehead, smiled a little embarrassingly and said: "Please sit down, please sit down, I'm really sorry for the delay! I was too excited for a moment... Ah" He waited for Ye Zichun to sit down, then sat down in another chair and said: "Brother Chun, how are your parents doing? Why aren't you with them? Is what's being said about you here true?" Yun Tianxiang had an innocent look on his face, curiously gazing at Ye Zichun. But in his heart, he was full of doubts. From Ye Zichun's mysterious visit, strange behavior, to his drifting eyes and overly pretentious expression. Yun Tianxiang felt that something fishy was going on, but he didn't want to expose it, he wanted to play along.

  Ye Zi Chun looked at Yun Xiang Tian's excited and agitated face, and lowered his voice to say mysteriously: "Young Master Yun, don't laugh at me, but my life for the past few years has been quite legendary. As for my parents... hmm, how should I put it?" He paused for a moment, looked at Yun Xiang Tian with a bitter smile; "They don't want me anymore. They said I've brought shame to them."

  Yun Xiangtian noticed that when Yezi Chun mentioned his parents, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. He clearly knew that there must be some hidden story behind this. But he pretended not to notice and chuckled, saying: "You're so crazy that even your parents don't want you anymore, impressive! But I believe whatever you're doing is something big, it can't go wrong."

  Ye Zi Chun was taken aback, he didn't expect Yun Xiang Tian to say that about him, and he even suspected if Yun Xiang Tian was an idiot. If he was an idiot, he wouldn't... ... Could it be that he was just too excited to have met his childhood friend again? He hid the doubts in his heart and still wore a smile of reunion as he said: "Never mind, they're all just annoying things. Tell me, where have you guys been these past few years? How did you end up back here? Is there something important?"

  The fox's tail is finally going to come out, Yun Xiang Tian thought to himself. But on his face, he wore a bright smile; "Me? A vagabond, after my parents passed away I had nowhere to go, so I came back to my hometown. What's there to say?" He looked at Ye Zi Chun with an expectant tone and said; "Chunzi brother, let's talk about your legendary stories instead! I love listening to legendary stories. People who have legendary stories are all great heroes. Just like Yue Fei, Qin Qiong. I believe you must be just like them, a great hero standing tall, unparalleled in the world. Capable of achieving great things, dominating one side, and even becoming the champion of the world."

  Ye Zi's eyebrows furrowed, thinking to himself: Is he really that foolish? Or is he still a naive and curious young man living in his dreams. He's just returned home, no mission, no secrets. Perhaps after roaming the jianghu for so long, he's only learned how to be smooth-tongued and skilled in martial arts. He thought to himself: This kid's flattery skills are quite good, it sounds pleasant to my ears. He relaxed his eyebrows and smiled, saying: "As for me, I've been to many places these past few years, done many earth-shaking things, even three days and nights wouldn't be enough to tell you about them. When I have time, I'll tell you all about it. What I want to know now is how have you been these past few years? Do you know how much I've missed you? Don't you want to complete the mission your father left unfulfilled?"

  Yun Xiang's heart hummed a sound, but his face showed an exceptionally surprised expression; "Mission? What mission? Springzi brother my father had what mission not completed? What mission?" He slowly stood up, his eyes tightly staring at Ye Zichun; "My father was killed by the enemy plane when he didn't say anything. Springzi brother, do you know what my father's mission is?" His eyes flashed with tears, eagerly looking at Ye Zichun.

  Here is the translation:

  Ye Zi Chun stared at Yun Xiang Tian, this was the same person who had secretly investigated the Ghost Village, bravely charged into Fei Long Ridge, and caused a big commotion in Yan Luo Temple. Why did he now seem so naive and childish, so inexperienced in the ways of the world? He didn't seem like someone who had been through many battles, but rather like a young and foolish country boy. He claimed to have met countless people, to be able to read their minds and take things from them without being detected, never failing. But today he was confused. He couldn't see through his opponent, and even felt like he was being led by the nose. He lightly coughed and forced out a smile, saying: "Oh, oh, it's like this, your father was originally the police chief, doing great things to eliminate evil and bring peace. I think you should be like your father, working hard to protect one region and bring peace. Isn't this your father's mission?" Ye Zi Chun felt like he wanted to slap himself after saying this. This reason was too far-fetched, too ridiculous. Anyone would not believe it. But he saw Yun Xiang Tian's expression become extremely serious and solemn. He only heard him say: "That's right, my father before he passed away was catching criminals, doing heroic deeds to eliminate evil and bring peace. Later because of the betrayal of a small person, he wandered the world, making the four seas his home. Today I also want to be like my father, to do heroic deeds for the people, to eliminate harm." His words were loud and clear, with conviction. Ye Zi Chun shook his head and sighed in amazement. He thought Yun Xiang Tian was just a seasoned adventurer, a greenwood hero who valued loyalty and righteousness but had no cunning. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he suddenly heard Yun Xiang Tian say: "Brother Chun, you have many connections and friends, can you also get me a gun? Look at me still using this broken knife! Many of my friends on the rivers and lakes now have revolvers in their waists, how cool is that!" Ye Zi Chun was truly confused, he didn't know what to do. He thought for a moment and slowly said: "Yun Gongzi, Yun Lao Di, from now on don't mix with the rivers and lakes anymore. The rivers and lakes are full of disputes, until old age it's just a mess. It would be a shame to your father's reputation. Besides, now the country is in danger, the people are suffering, why not join the revolution and fight against the Japanese devils?"

  Yun Xiang shook his head and pouted, saying: "I'm not going, I'm just a small ordinary person, how can I handle that? Fighting the Japanese is a soldier's job, what does it have to do with me? I only want to do business well, earn more money, get married, have children, and continue my family's legacy. Practice good martial arts and wield swords in the Jianghu world. Isn't that great?! Chunzi brother, let's venture into the Jianghu world together! Why bother fighting the Japanese? It's life-threatening."

  Ye Zi sprang up in anger and said loudly, "You are just a petty person! The Chairman has said that 'the land does not distinguish between north and south, people do not distinguish between old and young, all have the responsibility to defend their homeland.' You, as a tall and strong Chinese man, how can you allow the Japanese bandits to roam freely, occupy our rivers and mountains, slaughter our brothers and sisters? How can you just stand by and watch?"

  Yun Xiang Tian was stunned, his eyes blinking at Ye Zi Chun, thinking to himself: So you're a Jiang, but he said: "What are you talking about, Spring Brother? You're also pretending to be crazy and hiding on Fengling Mountain, how dare you talk about me?"

  Ye Zi Chun said angrily, "I'm hiding in Fengling Mountain? Don't be ridiculous. I'm here to complete a task, searching for...". He suddenly stopped, his heart churning with emotions. Looking at Yun Xiang Tian who was staring at him with wide eyes, he continued, "Never mind, why are you like this? You're so...so..." Ye Zi Chun regretted what he had just said, not knowing how he could have spoken such words. He usually kept a tight lip, but today he seemed to have lost control. Luckily, Yun Xiang Tian didn't seem to notice anything unusual.

  Yun Xiang Tian understood, he wasn't here to reminisce with me, tonight was just a probe into himself, wanting to understand more through me, but he still disguised himself as an ignorant young man who didn't know the ways of the world, and said timidly: "Chunzi brother, why are you so angry? It's not like I'm the only one who doesn't resist Japan. Besides, I don't have three heads and six arms, what can I use to fight against the Japanese devils' planes and cannons? What can Cheng do? If you're capable, go fight one and see. All you do is brag."

  His face pale with rage, he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and sneered, "Fine, very fine. One day I'll show you the real Yezi Chun. Goodbye." With that, he slammed the door shut.

  Looking at the distant leaves of spring, Yun Xiangtian smiled lightly. He slowly walked to the table, poured a full cup of boiling water into the cup, opened the window and splashed it out, only to hear a "Ah" sound from under the window. A figure rushed away. Yun Xiangtian pretended to be surprised and shouted: "Who? What are you doing?" Seeing that person run far away, Yun Xiangtian coldly smiled and closed the window. In fact, as soon as Yezi Chun entered the house, he had discovered someone hiding outside the window, eavesdropping on their conversation. He just didn't want Yezi Chun to be on guard against him, so he pretended not to know. He lay back in bed, but his heart was churning. He clearly knew that the secret of Fengling Mountain was no longer a secret! It was no longer like what his father said, only a few people knew. Besides the original ones who knew, it seemed that Yezi Chun was representing the Nationalist Party, and the person eavesdropping under the window was not one of Yezi Chun's people. Then who was he? Was he sent by Hongshan to monitor himself? Or perhaps it was a spy from another mountain stronghold? He felt that a huge conspiracy was being implemented. He also felt that his situation was precarious.