Chapter 113: Master’s words

“Ru Xue, you can’t come out of here anymore? Will you stay in this forest forever?” I tried to keep my voice calm, but even a fool could tell that my voice was trembling uncontrollably.

I didn’t quite understand the message from the Grand Master, especially when it came to time and space. After all, it was too far away from my world and my understanding. Even the Grand Master’s entry into the tomb was not clear, and I didn’t know when it happened (after all, the weakness of the Dragon Tomb Array only appeared once every few hundred years). But I clearly saw one thing, and that is that even with the protection of the Grand Master, entering the tomb is dangerous, and the Dragon Tomb Array will stabilize in the days to come, and it may not appear again for hundreds of years.

Even if it does, can I wait for hundreds of years?

So, I couldn’t help but ask this question. What is the difference between such a separation and a death?

Ru Xue looked at me with a hint of sadness in her eyes. Then she closed her eyes, as if remembering something, and after a long silence, she suddenly said to me, “Chengyi, maybe I can still come out to see you, and you might still have a chance to come in and see me. It all depends on fate.”

“Are you trying to comfort me?” When she said this, my fists were clenched so tightly that my fingernails were digging into the flesh of my palms.

“No, Chengyi, you know that I will not lie to you, but I will not deceive you.” Ru Xue’s eyes were very serious.

Or, does Ru Xue know something? But I also know Ru Xue. Even if she knows something, she won’t say it if she’s not 100% sure. So she just told me to let fate take its course. Let fate take its course, then.

Life is like this. It can’t be perfect, but I can live with myself. I can’t live with her, but I can live with myself.

I took a deep breath and finished reading the two messages from my master, which were full of questions. The remaining message, which was wild and unrestrained, but had a familiar, powerful and heavy handwriting, was from my master.

I started to feel sad just by reading the first sentence.

This reminded me of the year when my master insisted on leaving for three years, and I returned to the Beijing compound and saw the past of a letter left by my master.

I still keep that letter carefully, not daring to carry it with me, because the paper has turned yellow, and after reading it many times, the creases have become very fragile. I am afraid that one day, the letter will break, and I will lose all hope.

And the first sentence of the message carved on the stone wall is exactly the same as the letter.

It even directly addressed Chengyi!

Chengyi:

It’s been two years since we last met in the deserted village. I never thought I would get a message from my master here, and I also got a message from you.

The message from the master said that after calculating, the descendants would encounter a disaster here, and that he and I should work together to save them from it. I don’t have to think that most of this disaster should be on you, so this is also considered to be a message from you, right?

I really don’t have peace of mind. You’re a boy, and I took you as my disciple.

When I read this, I laughed, as if I could see my master standing in front of me, pointing and gesturing at me, scolding me, and frowning at me. But when I was in trouble, he still went back for me without hesitation…

It’s a pity that my master has already left. Not to mention the two years that have passed in a flash, I have already spent five years in longing and confusion, so I know how sad this smile is.

And when I saw this, Brother Chengxin suddenly spoke up: “Chengyi, I think I understand a little. It turns out that this “influence” from my uncle actually came from seven years ago? At that time, he hadn’t left yet, had he?”

“Yes, at that time, he didn’t say he was going to be gone for three years. He didn’t tell me what he was going to do, and after he came back, he didn’t mention a word about it. It turns out that he came to the Dragon Tomb at that time! Relying on an opportunity left by the master, he came here before the Dragon Tomb formation was set up and opened. I said my judgment. If that’s the case, everything is connected in a normal way.

Chengxin brother pondered for a while, and instead of speaking, he said, “Keep reading.”

I nodded and continued reading.

Chengyi, although you are a little boy who is not easy to take care of, I still care about you after all. Just as I know that I will leave you and let you grow up and face everything in this world by yourself.

I think that when you find this letter, I will have already left. I dare not imagine how I will feel when I leave you, just as I have never decided how I should leave you.

But I just hope you remember that no matter what lifestyle you choose, your master will support you. I just hope you don’t follow in my footsteps and don’t come looking for me. Having too deep an attachment in your heart is not necessarily a good thing.

I believe you can read this message. Just as I knew that this calamity would befall you when I read Master’s message, there is no reason why you should not be able to see it. I don’t believe that. You are lucky that Master and I were not able to save you. The protection that Master left behind should be on you.

What should I say? I don’t feel like saying goodbye, and I don’t have much to say, because I’ll see you again in a year, so this isn’t really goodbye.

But, when I think of one thing, I feel a little uneasy. If the disaster is supposed to befall you, then why did you come here? Could it be that you have also followed in my footsteps and started to follow in the footsteps of the previous generation?

Forget it, forget it, Chengyi, I actually want you to live a quiet life, understand? Boy!

This letter is actually just to tell you that I feel like a father to you. Putting aside the idea of inheritance, I also treat you like a son. So, in my heart, it doesn’t matter whether you represent the continuation of my old Li family’s mountain lineage. What’s important is that I hope my son will live a life of hardship and wandering. I’m afraid I just hope my son will live a quiet and happy life.

I am old, you are grown up, I am not sure if you will be as obedient as you were when you were little. I will do my best and accept my fate. Everything will be arranged according to fate.

I hollowed out the futon in this quiet room. Don’t tell me you don’t know what it means, you little brat!

That’s all I have to say. By the way, Huijue said that if you can see him, please give him a message. He also thinks that cake is better than eggs, but he is a poor bald monk and doesn’t have much money to buy cake. Many times, after buying cake, he wants to rob Huijue’s.

After the words left by the master, there is a row of crooked and poorly engraved characters, which read, “I came back on the sly, and I specifically said that my original words were about the poor monk. My nephew doesn’t know how to respect the elderly and love the young. I know he can write a poor bald donkey. I’m done talking.

After all, Brother Chengxin had never lived with his master, and he looked at me with a cold sweat on his brow, somewhat unbelieving, and said, “Who wrote the words at the back? Master Hui? Master and Master Hui, this is too ridiculous, isn’t it?”

I looked at the wall with a somewhat dazed expression, and said with a smile, “You haven’t really lived with them. This is actually how they really are. This is the master I’ve always missed, as well as Master Hui and the others. Can you see that the master is helpless towards me? He was against me going to find him. As he said, he hoped I would live quietly, but he felt that he could not stop me. In order to avoid this kind of thing from happening, he chose such a ridiculous way at the moment of parting. Now, whenever I hear the song “Sister, you boldly go forward,” I want to cry. He still cares about me, afraid that there is really no way to stop it. So he should have left something for me in the hollowed-out cushion.

“You really understand your uncle,” said Chengxin, sighing.

“Don’t you know my second uncle?” I asked in return.

Chengxin’s face suddenly turned pale, and he was a bit stunned. It was only after a long time that he said, “How is that possible? That old man, if there are still a few people in the world who understand him, I am definitely one of them. I miss him very much.”

The atmosphere became a little sad. I instinctively put my hand on the note and stroked the words back and forth, saying, “Actually, I also know a lot about Master Hui. He was just being silly, but he was actually just expressing his longing for Hui Gen. Master Hui didn’t have much money, and he was very greedy for Hui Gen’s cakes, but he didn’t have the money to buy them for Hui Gen to eat, so Hui Gen had to eat them alone. What Master Hui didn’t know was that after he left, Hui Gen stopped eating cakes.”

“Chengyi, don’t you see that the answer to your question is in this note? Your uncle left in this way because he didn’t want to leave any clues for you, and he didn’t want you to follow in his footsteps. He would rather you hate him than live a life of wandering. Do you still want to find him?” Chengxin said in a low voice.

“There is no way I can stop looking for him. Even if I know the answer, I still want to say that my father is missing, his whereabouts are unknown, and his safety is unknown. What reason is there for his son not to look for him? Besides, that disc…” I didn’t say anything else, I was in a daze, and I kept thinking about the gesture my master made by the lake. It was definitely not a coincidence that I kept doing it over and over again!

“Yes, you think the same way as I do.” Chengxin also added.

At this point, the mystery was solved. I put together a timeline: before he took on any disciples, the Grandmaster had come to the Dragon Tomb, taken the dragon soul, and solved a mystery about time and space. Many years later, he revisited the place for the four evil spirits, and of course there were other reasons for coming here, but the Grandmaster was vague about it, so we could only guess that he left a message for Ruoxue, and left an opportunity and blessing for us.

Many years later, after the battle in the desolate village, my master left me for three years. During those three years, one of the stops was this Dragon Tomb. That year, the Dragon Tomb did not reveal its whereabouts because of the unstable formation. My master relied on the opportunity left by the master in his early years to enter the Dragon Tomb and saw the words “Leave”. He then sealed a spell according to the method taught by the master, and cooperated with the master to solve my crisis.

The fog has now lifted, but of course it is only the surface. There are many mysteries in the middle, such as what was the opportunity and protection left by the master? Why did he do it? It is easy to explain the protection, but what about the opportunity? Why did he let his descendants enter the Dragon Tomb again? And what opportunity did the master get? What hints did he get here?

Unfortunately, none of this can be solved by us now. We can only take one step at a time and slowly approach the truth in the years to come.

Master, forgive me, this time, I won’t listen to you. Whether it’s the fate of the Old Li lineage or the pain, I will never turn back.