“Spring breeze fills me with joy, as I ride my horse and admire the flowers. I dare not boast of anything else, but my lightness skill is the true legacy of my master. You think you can trap me? Not so easy.” Su Baiyi had been running for almost half an hour, and when he looked back, he saw no one behind him. He thought he had shaken her off, and felt a bit smug. But before his smile could last, a gentle voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
“You’re going the wrong way.”
Su Baiyi shuddered, and quickly retreated a step. He turned around, and the wind brought by his movement gently lifted Nangong Xi’er’s long hair. They passed by each other, and stopped at the same time.
“Thank you for the reminder, senior sister!” Su Baiyi gasped, and ran forward again.
“You’re welcome. We’re all fellow disciples, and we have to travel together from now on. Why be so polite?” Nangong Xier turned around, her footwork swift as a shooting star, and in a flash, she was beside Su Baiyi.
Su Baiyi was shocked, “Senior sister, you’re also using Zouma Guanghua!”
“Yes.” Nangong Xi’er jumped onto a big tree ahead, sounding casual. “Exactly the same, right? Oh, no, I think I’m a little bit more relaxed than you, a little bit faster than you.”
Su Baiyi was already sweating profusely. He wiped the sweat on his forehead, and asked, “Senior sister, you see I can’t run faster than you, nor fight better than you. Why do you insist on taking me to investigate this case?”
“Because this case has something to do with you.” Nangong Xi’er said.
“Heaven and earth are my witnesses.” Su Baiyi raised his hand and swore. “Those people, I really didn’t kill them.”
Nangong Xi’er covered her mouth and laughed, “I believe that.”
“Senior sister.” Su Baiyi finally stopped running, panting heavily. “Give me a way out.”
Nangong Xi’er leaped down from the tree. Her purple dress fluttered in the wind. She put away her smile, and her expression suddenly became extremely serious. “Don’t pretend to be innocent anymore. Your strangeness after entering the dream, do you really think I would believe that it’s a strange disease?”
Su Baiyi wiped away his sweat, and his mouth curved slightly. “Senior sister, you know a lot, don’t you?”
“But I still feel it’s not enough, so I want to know more now.” Nangong Xi’er said softly, “For example, there are things I want to know about you.”
“Oh?” Su Baiyi retreated a step, “Senior sister, you make me think of something else.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t care about what Xie Kanhua left for you.” Nangong Xi’er saw through Su Baiyi’s thoughts, “I care about the fact that your surname is Su.”
Su Baiyi was stunned at first, then smiled bitterly, “Yeah, I also care about that.”
Nangong Xi’er frowned slightly. “So your surname follows your mother or your father?”
“From now on, you’ll be called Su Baiyi.”
“A very nice Su. There is a very beautiful and gentle woman who has this surname Su, and there is also a very great and heroic man who has this surname Su. So you’ll also be amazing in the future.”
Su Baiyi remembered what Xie Kanhua said when they first met. He scratched his head helplessly, “Senior sister, why do you always ask me things that I also want to know?”
Nangong Xi’er looked surprised, “You don’t know who your parents are?”
“No. The two people who raised me, one I called Uncle Chen, the other I called Aunt Qian, and I lived an ordinary life in a small town for seven or eight years. Until one day, some highly skilled martial artists came. They killed Uncle Chen, and Aunt Qian escaped with me. We fled for about ten days before they caught up. Aunt Qian was killed, and I was dying when my master appeared and saved me. He said my surname was Su, so I changed my name to Su Baiyi.” Su Baiyi calmly told this past story, but his fists clenched tighter and tighter.
“Aren’t you curious?” Nangong Xi’er asked, “Who killed Uncle Chen and Aunt Qian? Who are your parents?”
“Master said he would tell me everything when the time was right.” Su Baiyi’s expression suddenly became serious. “Could it be that you know?”
“I don’t know either. I’m like you, a person who is looking for answers. And what we are going to do next is to get this answer.” Nangong Xi’er turned around, “Do you know that all those dead sect masters have one thing in common?”
“What?” Su Baiyi asked.
“They all belonged to the sects that participated in the Weilong Alliance.”
“The Weilong Alliance?”
“There is a big mountain in the north, called Weilong Mountain. It has jade on its peak, gold on its sunny side, and iron on its shady side. It is very rich. Weilong means ‘becoming a dragon,’ implying a person of exceptional talent, a chosen one. The number one sect in the world, Shanglin Heavenly Palace, is built on Weilong Mountain. The so-called Weilong Alliance is an alliance formed by Shanglin Heavenly Palace as the leader, and the four major families of Jiangnan, the three major sects of Yunmeng Prefecture, and Jimo Sword City. They were established to jointly resist the rise of a big sect south of Yunmeng Prefecture, the Heavenly Gate Sacred Sect, which is also known as the Demon Sect by the jianghu people. It is said that the Demon Sect obtained a martial arts secret book, and anyone who practiced that secret book could improve their martial arts by multiples in a very short time, but the side effect was that they would become bloodthirsty and ruthless. So the Weilong Alliance was formed under the banner of upholding justice, and the Heavenly Gate Sacred Sect was no match for them. They were soon destroyed. But the martial arts secret book mysteriously disappeared.” Nangong Xi’er gave Su Baiyi a meaningful look, “The irony is that this secret book of the Demon Sect, people call it, the Book of Immortals.”
Su Baiyi shook his head, “I don’t understand.”
“The Weilong Alliance was formed because they were afraid of the chaos caused by the Book of Immortals, but in the end the Book of Immortals was not found. So don’t you think this is a bit ridiculous, or rather… not so logical?” Nangong Xi’er smiled, but her smile was full of sarcasm, “But the Book of Immortals does exist, you and I both know that. So what do you say about finding the Book of Immortals, practicing the martial arts in it, and seeing if it’s really as rumored back then? Wouldn’t this puzzle have an answer then?”
“I still don’t understand. What does this have to do with me?” Su Baiyi felt an inexplicable pressure.
“Su Han, the master of the Heavenly Palace in Shanglin, and Su Dianmo, the second master. They share the same surname as you, Su.” Nangong Xi’er’s tone suddenly turned icy.
“Su, huh.” Su Baiyi felt his back was soaked. This was the first time in so many years that he was so close to the truth he wanted to know the most.
“They are all dead.” Nangong Xi’er continued.
Su Baiyi took a deep breath and straightened up. “Then, senior sister, please allow me to be curious too. What does this have to do with you?”
Nangong Xi’er smiled, a smile that was incredibly charming and beautiful.
“The Heavenly Gate Sacred Sect, also known as the Demon Sect, had a grand master named Nangong Yunhuo, and a second master named Nangong Yuwen. They are all surnamed Nangong.”
“They are also dead.”
It’s a shame that so few people read novels like this nowadays. I have a feeling that this is a really wholesome novel, without harems and such. By the way, when I read his first novel, what was it called, Shao Nian Ge Xing? If I remember correctly, the romance there was very poorly developed, although the author obviously tried. That’s the only thing I didn’t like about that novel. We’ll see how it goes here.
The story is interesting so far.