Chapter 105: The Mysterious Bead

Master’s question was reasonable, and naturally the Snow Mountain clan could not make things difficult for Master. This time, the clan leader did not answer Master, but Elder Bai said, “Your strength is not bad, and since our clan leader is here, you can just go to the exit and wait at the deepest part of the underground.”

“What? We’re taking the high road, and we’re still talking about strength?” Master’s eyebrows twitched involuntarily, and his face turned a little ugly.

If that’s the case, then I need a certain level of strength to walk the safe path outside and wait at the exit. What kind of a den of thieves is it in the cave?

“Of course, it can hold some things, but it doesn’t necessarily pay attention to their aura. Let’s go…” Elder Bai looked at me with sympathetic eyes, even a little bit of pity. He and I don’t have much personal friendship, but he’s not bad, so this sympathy and pity should be well-intentioned.

He urged the master to leave, and the head of the Snow Mountain Sect had already turned and walked towards the platform. The master, however, called out again, saying, “Such a dangerous place, my apprentice is going to break in, and I can’t even say goodbye to my apprentice?”

Upon hearing this, the head of the sect stopped again and said, “Then say your goodbyes quickly.”

The white elder did not urge him, but took two steps back and stood aside, looking at the two of us with a somewhat complicated look… to be precise, it was a look of forbearance.

Everything indicated that I, Chen Chengyi, would never be able to get out of this underground cave, but I was inexplicably not nervous. Instead, I felt a sense of unwavering resolve supporting me… My master was calm in the face of the white elder and the head of the sect, but when he turned to look at me, his eyes suddenly became sad.

He walked towards me step by step, then stopped in front of me. I hadn’t even opened my mouth to speak when he suddenly hugged me. The hug was so strong that it caused a dull pain in my chest, and I couldn’t breathe.

When I was little, my master had hugged and carried me, but most of the time he had held my hand… I had never experienced an embrace like this before.

“Chengyi, don’t blame your master for being heartless.” The master’s words came clearly to my ears.

I suddenly smiled and said, “Master, I can’t repay your kindness with my life. I have no room to blame you in this life. Even if you left me at that time, I would only blame you, but I would also miss you and I would definitely follow in your footsteps. You are the man I admire most in my life, and you also made me never forget that I am a descendant of Lao Li, and I am proud of it. I just chose the path I should choose.

The master didn’t say anything, but patted my back. At this moment, I felt that the master’s body was slightly trembling. Was it because he was too sad?

I was afraid that this was really a parting for life, so I quickly said, “Master, I really want to tell you about my experiences over the years, and I also want to hear about what you have experienced over the years. However, after all these years of worrying, I can’t bear to talk about these past events and break the dreamlike relationship. Because I still can’t believe that I will be able to see you again in this life.”

“I understand, and I don’t say it because I am on guard! The secret of heaven cannot be revealed. Once it is revealed, it is the time when bloody battles have to begin. I am also willing to spend a few more warm days with you, even if it is while running for my life. Chengyi, I will wait for you to come out.” Master’s voice was slightly trembling, and then he let go of me.

At this angle, I could only see the front of the master, but not the back of the master and the white elder. At this time, I looked at the master in surprise… because at the same time he let go of me, his right arm was bloody. If I didn’t see it wrong, this lacerated wound should have been ripped open by himself. Could the trembling just now be because of this?

I almost shouted out, I didn’t understand why the master behaved like this? Is it because he was too sad and ‘self-abused’? The master is definitely not this kind of person!

Master gave me a wink, meaning to tell me not to make a fuss. I forced myself to look calm and sad, and Master hurriedly put a black bead with his blood into my hand, then pretended to hug me again reluctantly: “Chengyi, the biggest gain from Master’s disappearance for several years is this. Even if it is a tiger’s den, Master’s confidence in letting you break in is also this. Otherwise, otherwise…”

I didn’t understand what Master was saying, but I felt a tremor in my heart.

Then I heard my master say, “Otherwise, even if the sky were to fall, I would not bear to see you suffer even the slightest harm.”

After saying this, Master suddenly let go of me and turned away… In the dim light, I saw a slight bloodstain seeping through his white robe from his right arm. He walked away without looking back, and neither did Elder Bai nor the head of the sect.

I held this black bead in my hand, which still had the warmth and blood of my master. I had never felt sad before, but now two hot tears rolled down my cheeks. If he was so unwilling to let me get hurt, then it meant that even if he chose the wrong path, he would rather die than let me take the risk.

I wiped away the warm tears on my face, regained my composure, and walked toward the dimly lit hut. What exactly was this black bead? I didn’t know. From the texture, it seemed to be a kind of wood, but I couldn’t even recognize what kind of wood it was, or even determine the general type.

And it was extremely heavy to the touch… If it was wood, I felt like it was a lump of iron. Fortunately, it wasn’t very big, about the size of half a pinky.

But even so, it must have been painful to hide such a thing in the flesh. That only shows how important this bead is! If it was to be given to me, why did he have to take it out of me in such a cruel way, enduring the pain, just now?

I can’t guess what my master was thinking, especially when he said that if the secret were revealed, it would mean that a bloody battle would have to begin.

Because of the constraints of the environment, Master could not tell me more, and he just left… So what does this bead mean? I can only wait until I enter the cave to find out, I’m afraid?

Thinking this way, I stuffed the bead into my robe… Such a robe is destined to have things only placed at the waist, and in the blink of an eye, the door to the hut was already in front of me. I took a deep breath and reached out to push open the door to the hut.

The light was still dim, and a cold iron door was in the middle of the hut… In front of the table was the same strange old man whose face I couldn’t remember, drinking and chewing peanuts, enjoying himself.

“Which elder’s disciple? It’s not time for trials. If you don’t open the door, you won’t get a life-saving talisman! Hurry up and leave! If your elder wants to intercede, tell him to come himself.” The old man didn’t turn around, pouring wine for himself, and impatiently scolding, his attitude was not much different from the last time.

At this point, I naturally don’t care about the attitude of this old man… I just calmly said to him, “I don’t want a life-saving talisman, and I’m not here to test my luck. I’m just here to break into the underground secret cave. The head of the sect told me to tell you this, and you will naturally know what to do.”

After I finished speaking, the old man’s hand, which had been steadily pouring the wine, suddenly trembled, and the clear wine suddenly flowed out of the bottle, spilling all over the table. The old man was completely unaware of what had happened, but instead turned his head and looked at me, asking me, “What did you say?”

“I’m here to break into the underground secret cave.” I had to repeat it again.

“Fuck!” the old man swore, and only then realized that the wine had already flowed from the table to his body. He quickly put the bottle down, then wiped it off a couple of times, looked at me and smiled inexplicably, looking very happy.

I could only wait patiently for him to finish laughing… He waited until he had laughed enough, and then said, “It was a young person like you who broke the prayer drum? This world is getting more and more interesting. When my old body is about to rust, it gives me such a surprise. But…”

He stopped talking, and whether I was waiting or not, he poured a large glass of wine and handed it to me, saying, “A toast. Whether it’s a toast or a farewell, it depends on whether you’re the one destined to be.”

Of course I could hear the meaning in his words. He was not confident that I could survive the underground secret cave, so he gave me this cup of courage to drink.

I didn’t want to argue, so I took the cup and drank it, then gently placed it on the table and said, “Now, can we go in?”