The two men had arrived without ceremony and departed just as freely. With two new tokens in their possession, they left the City Lord’s Manor.
As Qian Xuelang walked beside a somewhat distracted Ren Yijue, he suddenly asked, “Your reaction when you heard Ren Cangming’s name was unusual. She has some connection to you, doesn’t she?”
Ren Yijue gazed at him for a long while before suddenly smiling. “Does the Jade Beauty remember that I once mentioned someone very close to me whom I never had the chance to know?”
“Was it Ren Cangming?” Qian Xuelang asked.
“Yes. She’s my mother.”
Ren Yijue’s reluctance to speak about the matter to others did not mean he was unwilling to tell Qian Xuelang. Still, after saying it, he grew visibly agitated.
“Ever since I was born, my mother has been afflicted by demonic qi. She fell into a deep sleep and has never awakened. Once I was old enough to look after myself, Master began spending several months of every year searching for medicines for her. That was why I went to Liuyanzhu. Demonic qi gathers there, and I thought I might find some treasure that could counter it. Better still if I could discover who injured my mother so badly.”
“Heh. No wonder we’ve found nothing after all these years. So it was the Heavenly Demon… the Heavenly Demon.”
He laughed coldly again and again.
Qian Xuelang agreed with Ren Yijue’s conjecture. Since Ren Cangming had been corrupted by demonic qi, her assailant must have been of the demon race. Given her cultivation, only the Heavenly Demon could be responsible. Even if an ordinary half-demon found an opportunity to attack, they could not possibly have possessed such power.
“Then your master must be You Pingsheng,” Qian Xuelang said. “Has he never explained what happened back then?”
Ren Yijue shook his head, his brows drawn tightly together. “The matter upsets Master terribly. Whenever I asked about it, he would sweep his sleeves and leave. I didn’t want to make him unhappy, so I stopped asking.”
Qian Xuelang considered this. “What about your father?”
“From my earliest memories, Master raised me alone.” Ren Yijue sighed softly. “I have some hazy memories from when I was very young. Master often held me in his arms beside Mother’s bed and wept. He has never said a single word about my father. When I was six, I once asked whether he himself was my father. He told me he wasn’t. When I asked further, he would say nothing.”
From this account, it seemed that Ren Cangming’s appearance at Banyuan Residence had indeed happened.
“If City Lord Cui’s account is accurate, my mother may have been attacked at Yunwaitian while heavily pregnant. She had no choice but to seek refuge at Master’s Banyuan Residence, only for the Heavenly Demon to find her there. She might have been forced to fight when she was about to give birth, and suffered her devastating injury as a result.”
A layer of frost seemed to cover Ren Yijue’s face.
“Master may refuse to tell me because he doesn’t want me to blame myself. Or perhaps… there’s more to the story.”
Ren Yijue’s words were vague, but Qian Xuelang immediately understood.
In the whole affair, the role played by Ren Yijue’s absent father had evidently become crucial.
You Pingsheng was unwilling to discuss either Ren Yijue’s father or the incident that befell Ren Cangming. It was entirely possible that the two matters were actually one and the same.
Then again, perhaps even You Pingsheng did not know the whole truth.
This probably also explained why Ren Yijue had not brought the matter up in front of Cui Xuanchan. He might have little affection for the father he had never met, but he certainly did not want his mother to become the subject of gossip and speculation.
Qian Xuelang thought as they walked, then asked, “Do you think it was revenge by the Heavenly Demon?”
“Does the Jade Beauty mean revenge against my mother, or against me?” Ren Yijue smiled faintly.
“Both.”
“Only fifteen years had passed. Immortal Lord He seriously injured the Heavenly Demon back then. Even if he could be reborn, surely he would need time to recover his strength. That couldn’t happen overnight,” Ren Yijue said slowly. “I don’t know my mother’s past, but since City Lord Cui called her the Sword Venerable, and the Jade Beauty once met her and witnessed her sword intent, she must have been formidable.”
“Formidable is an understatement,” Qian Xuelang said. “Her sword intent was vast beyond measure, the greatest I’ve ever seen.”
“Is that so?” Ren Yijue looked toward the distant sky, suddenly desolate, and smiled bitterly. “Even a recluse like the Jade Beauty was fortunate enough to meet her. I’m her own son, yet I’m farther from her than anyone.”
His voice held equal measures of self-mockery and sorrow.
Of all the affections in the world, only the love of one’s family is something a person longs for from the moment of birth.
Heaven truly delights in playing tricks on people. Qian Xuelang remembered how his parents had cherished him since childhood, yet he had turned a blind eye to their love, even treating it as a cage from which he wanted to escape. Ren Yijue, by contrast, had been deprived of both parents since childhood and had not spent so much as a moment with his mother in all these decades. Pity stirred in Qian Xuelang’s heart.
“Enough. Let’s not talk about it.” Ren Yijue quickly recovered himself and inclined his head in apology. “I let my emotions get the better of me. The Jade Beauty must find me ridiculous.”
“Not at all,” Qian Xuelang said.
They walked another short distance. Only when they were nearing the city gates did Ren Yijue speak again.
“With Mother’s strength, even if the Heavenly Demon wanted revenge, she should hardly have been his first target. However stupid he might be, surely he wouldn’t seek a deadly fight with her while still injured. That would be suicide,” Ren Yijue said. “My guess is that Mother noticed something wrong and went looking for the Heavenly Demon herself. But as for what actually happened, we may have to wait until she wakes.”
The other way around? It was not impossible.
Qian Xuelang frowned. “We have too few clues to reach a conclusion. Honglu was forged after the war and bathed in demon blood. Perhaps Wei Wenfeng has not told me everything. Let’s meet him first.”
Only then did Ren Yijue show a little renewed interest. “I’ve heard of the great forgemaster’s brilliance, but I’ve never met him in person. I have the Jade Beauty to thank for this opportunity.”
Seeing that he had finally recovered some spirit, Qian Xuelang did not take issue with his words. “Let’s go.”
After leaving Dongxun City’s territory, they traveled directly toward their destination. Ren Yijue was still injured. Under ordinary circumstances it was manageable, but he could not expend spiritual energy traveling for extended periods and had to stop now and then to rest.
Fortunately, both were cultivators and did not mind spending the night in the wilderness, which spared them a great deal of inconvenience.
Just as they were approaching Wei Wenfeng’s secluded dwelling, Ren Yijue’s old illness flared up without warning. They had no choice but to stop temporarily in a nearby small town.
Qian Xuelang vaguely remembered that the town had been reasonably prosperous the last time he visited. Yet in the blink of a few years, it had become extraordinarily desolate.
It was barely approaching dusk, but every household had already shut its doors tight. Not a single person could be seen on the road.
Leaning against Qian Xuelang’s chest, Ren Yijue covered his own chest with one hand. His face was pale. “Be careful, Jade Beauty. Something is wrong with this town.”
His injuries had yet to heal, and the relapse of his old illness had come so suddenly that all color had drained from his lips. His face looked scarcely better than a corpse’s. He had even vomited blood several times on the journey and looked as though he did not have long to live.
Even so, Ren Yijue would not allow Qian Xuelang to treat his injuries. He insisted that a quiet place to rest for a while would be enough.
“There certainly is something strange,” Qian Xuelang said.
What puzzled him was not the town’s atmosphere, however, but why the residents had not sought Wei Wenfeng’s help.
Wei Wenfeng had not originally lived in these mountains. After He Tianjun’s death, he had retired into seclusion and closed his forge to outsiders, though he continued making weapons. One day, no one knew what extraordinary weapon he had forged, but it summoned heavenly fire and thunder, blasting away half a mountain peak and forcing him to move.
Because of the nature of his work, Wei Wenfeng had always lived in remote places. This small town was the only inhabited settlement nearby.
On one of Qian Xuelang’s earlier visits, Wei Wenfeng had even received him here in the town.
Could it be that Wei Wenfeng had not come down from the mountain lately?
Qian Xuelang brought Ren Yijue to the town’s only eatery. The place also served as an inn, offering the closest thing to lodging available here.
He had never stayed there himself, but he had seen others do so.
The eatery’s doors were naturally closed as well. Qian Xuelang knocked. There was movement inside, followed by several people talking in voices edged with tears. He heard nonsensical muttering about “Why so early today?” and “Since when does it knock on the door?”
“Since the proprietor is inside, why aren’t you opening for business?” Qian Xuelang demanded coldly.
If Ren Yijue had possessed the strength, he would almost have laughed himself out of Qian Xuelang’s arms. Who spoke of seeking food and lodging as though forcing someone into a sale?
The people inside began whispering again.
“That sounds like a person. Go and have a look.”
“No, you go.”
“I don’t dare. It’s nearly time.”
“Then you go.”
…
Qian Xuelang was growing impatient and about to push open the door when Ren Yijue stopped him. Taking two silver ingots from his robes, he knocked them gently together and said weakly, “Shopkeeper, we’re merely travelers passing through your fine town. We only want a hot meal and a place to rest. If you’re willing to do business, both these ingots are yours.”
He slipped the silver through the paper-covered window. The ingots rattled and rolled across the floor inside. A flurry of hurried footsteps followed, and after a short interval the door opened a crack to admit them.
The moment the proprietor ushered them inside, his ingratiating smile vanished. He waved urgently at the assistant. “Quick! Quick! Patch that window!”
The young assistant immediately fetched paper and rice paste and hurried to seal the hole with a thick new layer.
Once inside, they discovered that only three people were present: the proprietor, the assistant, and a third person whose clothes marked him as the cook, though for some reason he too was lingering at the counter.
After admitting the visitors, the proprietor hid behind the counter again and left the cook and assistant to serve them.
“We can’t light the stove right now. We only have a few steamed buns. Please make do with these for the moment, gentlemen.”
The cook brought out a large plate of cold steamed buns from the kitchen. The assistant set a big pot of tea on the table and added, “Here’s the water. Whether you eat the buns doesn’t matter much, but be sure to drink plenty. Otherwise, by tomorrow morning, you could be merely miserable at best, or dead at worst.”
Ren Yijue grew serious. “Has someone really died? How many people?”
“Th-that… no, not yet.” The assistant was startled by the question and gave an embarrassed chuckle. “But it feels almost as bad! Heh.”
“What on earth is going on?” Ren Yijue was torn between laughter and exasperation. Realizing the assistant had simply spoken carelessly, he relaxed. Wearily, he added, “We’ve just arrived and aren’t accustomed to the local conditions. Why is your town like this?”
Whether anyone had died, and how many, would indicate vastly different degrees of disaster.
Since no lives had been lost, the trouble was probably nothing more than harassment by some ghost or spirit, hardly a matter worth worrying about.
“It wasn’t always like this.” Accustomed to chatting with customers, the assistant retreated beside the counter and cupped a hand to his mouth. “These past few days, every night when darkness falls, our town has been haunted!”
Ren Yijue smiled faintly. “Haunted?”
“It has! And by a miserable ghost at that!” The assistant clicked his tongue. “It’s been nearly a month, I reckon. We’ve never actually seen it. But when the hour comes, everybody suddenly feels awful inside. Every unhappy memory comes rushing back at once, and all you want to do is cry.”
“Not a month,” the proprietor corrected him. “Eighteen days. I’ve lost money for eighteen days.”
Judging by the proprietor’s pained expression, he was ready to cry before the miserable ghost even arrived.
“Other than wanting to cry, does anything else happen?” Ren Yijue asked.
The assistant thought, then shook his head repeatedly. “Nothing else. But when that feeling strikes, whatever you’re doing, your heart just dies. It’s… well, you know, it dies! When it first started, some people even cried so hard they fainted—”
The cook suddenly slapped him on the back, cutting him off. His own voice had begun to tremble with tears. “Quick! Drink the water!”
The proprietor, assistant, and cook each seized a bowl of water and gulped it down. In the next instant, as though they had arranged it in advance, all three burst into loud sobs.
At that same moment, Ren Yijue’s heart shook. A thousand sorrows and agonies flooded him, almost beyond his ability to control.
No! This is no ordinary spirit!
“Focus your mind,” Qian Xuelang said calmly.
Ren Yijue was naturally a man of deep feeling and was affected far more severely. He clutched Qian Xuelang’s arm and leaned into his embrace, enduring the pain. “Jade Beauty…”
Qian Xuelang frowned slightly. Seeing how badly he was suffering, he swept his long sleeve through the air. Light swirled into a small protective barrier, instantly cutting off the inexplicable sorrow.