Chapter 29: The Gate of Penglai

The Snow Mountain lineage? Master also knows the Snow Mountain lineage?

I looked at the master in surprise. I couldn’t help but ask this question.

“You know the Snow Mountain lineage?” I didn’t expect that the master would ask me the same question.

“Of course I know. I was there at that time…” I didn’t expect such a coincidence, and I couldn’t help but talk about the past.

In fact, I only wanted to give a brief account, but I couldn’t help but tell the details to my master. Gradually, I couldn’t help but tell the details more and more in detail, but in the end, I was exhausted.

“Master… in the end I won… I… actually feel bad… I’m embarrassed to be called the first person in the younger generation… but the four major powers bully people, they…” As I talked, my consciousness became blurred, and I don’t know how I fell asleep.

But before I fell asleep, I heard my master laughing loudly and said, “My son, the successor of the Li family, the first person in the younger generation, hahaha… amazing, my great apprentice.”

The term “big disciple” is a very affectionate term, like the way old people in the north call their grandchildren, always affectionately calling them “big grandson.”

My master rarely calls me this way, unless he is very emotional.

Unfortunately, I had not slept all night, and my consciousness at this time was not just vague, but could not be supported at all. I had a slight warmth in my heart and wanted to say something to my master, but in the end I did not say anything and fell into a deep sleep.

The last thing I remember was Master’s rough hand resting on my head.

I don’t know when I woke up, but I felt the sunlight on my body was a little blinding, and I could feel its brightness even with my eyes closed. It was accompanied by a strange fragrance that made me involuntarily break free from sleep.

I was still half asleep when I woke up. The first thing I saw was the light in the room, the open window, and the bright sunlight outside, which meant it was a beautiful day. However, the sky was so blue that I couldn’t tell whether it was morning or afternoon. Anyway, I was feeling very lazy.

The room was empty, and I was alone. My master had gone somewhere, and I could smell the faint scent of grass mixed with the strange aroma from outside.

I looked down and saw that it was a thick woven straw mattress. I didn’t know when my master had moved it to the straw mattress that was used as a bed. The warmth I felt was from my master’s clothes covering me.

I wasn’t worried that my master wasn’t in the room at the moment, because I was completely awake and knew that this place was absolutely safe.

I just subconsciously went to find the source of the aroma. I hadn’t eaten for a long time, and the aroma made my stomach growl. Following the aroma, I opened the door and walked out. I walked through the wooden corridor and came to the hall with the fire pit where we had been the night before.

There was only Xiaoding in the hall. The fire in the hearth was burning fiercely, and there was a pot on the fire. The strange aroma came from the pot, and there was a plate with a lid next to him. I don’t know what it is.

I swallowed my saliva, feeling hungry and panicky. I remembered the ingredients that Xiaoding had collected in the secret passage yesterday, and I couldn’t help but feel that I was so hungry that I could swallow a whole cow.

“The rice isn’t ready yet,” Xiaoding was concentrating on making soup, and looked up at me, unable to help but explain sincerely.

I swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and my stomach made a few uncooperative “gurgling” sounds, making Xiaoding cough embarrassingly. Then he pointed to the door and said to me, “Grandpa Jiang is taking a bath, so you should go wash up too. Just walk towards the waterfall. Oh, yes…”

I was about to leave when Xiaoding hesitated and stopped me again, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“What?” I looked at Xiaoding with some confusion.

“It’s just… if you see anything over there by the waterfall, just pretend you didn’t see it. If you really can’t help it, just yell out that Xiaoding is here.”

“Xiao Ding is here?” I nodded subconsciously, thinking that if I stayed in the room any longer, I would be tortured by the intoxicating fragrance. So I didn’t ask any more and walked out the door.

Behind the house was a large tree. It was even more impressive up close than from afar, because it was only at this distance that I could appreciate its size. From the tree hung vines of unknown origin, gently swaying in the pleasant breeze.

Walking into the woods, I discovered that the trees here are not dense, but the crowns are relatively large. The sunlight is scattered through the gaps in the crowns, bringing a slight coolness to the slightly hot weather. There are many fungi on the trees. I think they were the ones that were glowing yesterday. I couldn’t help but walk in and take a look, but I didn’t touch them rashly. It turns out that these fungi, which are so brilliant at night, look plain and unremarkable during the day.

The grass in the woods was very neat for some reason, and it was very comfortable to walk in it. I walked lightly and soon reached the depths of the woods, where the sound of the waterfall became louder.

I was inexplicably excited. Memories of playing in the water when I was a child appeared in my mind, and after running and being tired for so long, I really wanted to wash up.

Thinking of this, I quickened my pace and ran to the waterfall in three steps. When I came out of the woods, I saw a not-so-big but very imposing waterfall falling from the cliff above my head. Under the waterfall was a clear pool of water. The water in the pool was so clear that I could see some fish swimming in it. I didn’t know where they came from. Where would the water in these deep pools go?

The water was really inviting, and the scenery here was somewhat similar to the deep pool at the bamboo hut. Although it was much larger, it was still very intimate. I was itching to get in, and I quickly began to undress. I also saw at a glance that on the side of the deep pool, in the shallow water, my master was soaking in it and scrubbing his body.

I took off my clothes and jumped into the deep pool. The cold water made my whole body go numb, but I couldn’t help but laugh happily and then wash my face.

“Here it comes.” The master waved to me to come over, but it was just a faint “here it comes.”

I am used to my master’s way of speaking, and I don’t find it cold. I swam over happily… I thought that according to my master’s personality, he would give me a slap or something, and then laugh with me, but I didn’t expect him to touch my head like when I was a child, and said calmly, “Kid, you’ve made it.”

“What does that mean?” I couldn’t think of a reason why my master would say that to me, and I looked at him with some confusion.

“The reputation of the first person in the younger generation.” The master smiled, his eyes full of pride.

Once upon a time, what I longed for most was the look of pride in my master’s eyes. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m still uneasy. How did my master know about this reputation? He asked me carefully, “Master, I’m not vain. Those are just the names people in the circle call me. I…”

“You told me about the Snow Mountain lineage yesterday… but you fell asleep before you finished, silly boy.” The master didn’t seem angry at all.

“Ah?” Master said this, and I suddenly remembered that I did talk to Master about the Snow Mountain lineage last night, but I forgot where I left off. Is Master going to ask me again at this time? Thinking about this, I let out a “ah,” and then said, “Master, do you want me to finish talking?”

The master looked at me, took a towel from somewhere and dipped it in water. He sat me in front of him and washed my hair, saying, “There’s no need to say so much now. One day, when we meet again, we should talk about what happened. I’ve held back for so long because the timing is not right. I always want everyone to be together, but in the bamboo forest, it’s so happy that I don’t want to think about these worldly matters. However, Chengyi, I want to hear about everything that happens to you when I’m not around.

“Mm.” I replied softly. I also want to hear what happened to my master.

“Chengyi, this time we are going to the Snow Mountain, in fact, in addition to the convergence, there are other things.” The master seemed to be careless, but the heavy meaning in his words could be heard.

“I haven’t figured out why we have to go there to meet up.” I casually played with the water around me and asked casually. I didn’t miss the heavy meaning in my master’s words, but I didn’t want the atmosphere to be so heavy.

“That is to confront Yang Sheng. I don’t have much confidence, and I need more power. Among them, the Snow Mountain School is undoubtedly the most suitable. If they are willing to come out…” The master was washing my hair for me and then said to me.

“Why must it be the Snow Mountain Sect? What about the forces of righteousness? Are they willing to let Yang Sheng turn the circle into such a mess?” I was a little resentful in my tone.

“Haha.” Master just laughed twice, but did not answer me directly. After laughing, he suddenly said, “Anyway, there are many considerations for going to the Snow Mountain Sect. In addition to what I just said, there is one more point. We must go to a secret religion in Tibet, where…”

The master hesitated and didn’t say it.

“What’s going on there?” I asked.

“Only there can we truly open the door to Penglai again.” The Master’s voice became serious.

The Gate of Penglai? I was washing my face with a cup of clear water when I heard the news. I accidentally inhaled the water and started choking.