Chapter 211: Double Ninth Festival’s Dream, Shadows of Espionage
“Fine, since Brother Botong likes Peach Blossom Island, you can stay as long as you wish, come and go as you please.” Huang Yaoshi was an exceptionally intelligent man; having fought with the Old Urchin on the island for sixteen years, how could he not understand the Old Urchin’s nature?
As he finished speaking, he turned to leave.
The Old Urchin flipped over and sat cross-legged. “Huang Old Evil, what kind of crooked idea are you up to now?”
“I no longer covet the Nine Yin Manual in Brother Botong’s hands.”
“Shameless, you’re trying to fool me.” Zhou Botong said, then immediately asked, “Why?”
Huang Yaoshi thought about how he had imprisoned the Old Urchin on Peach Blossom Island for sixteen years and had even broken his legs. He felt remorseful and intended to leave. However, the Old Urchin was being persistent. He turned back and said, “Because I already know the Nine Yin Manual.”
“Haha, Huang Old Evil’s mouth is full of lies. You know the Nine Yin Manual, yet you still kept me on Peach Blossom Island?”
“That was before, not now.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“As you wish, Brother Botong.”
“Tell me about it, let me see if you’re right.”
Huang Yaoshi smiled slightly, walked forward leisurely, and spoke clearly.
“…Tendons, the channels of the human body. They circulate blood and are the external aids to spirit and mind. The ability of the shoulders to bear, the hands to grasp, the feet to walk, and the liveliness and agility of the entire body are all due to the tautness of the tendons…”
What Huang Yaoshi was reciting were the Chinese characters from the “Yijin Forging Bone Chapter” in the upper volume of the Nine Yin Manual.
Zhou Botong’s expression changed drastically. “Huang Old Evil, what trick are you playing?” As he spoke, his body moved like lightning, and he suddenly floated out of the stone cave, grabbing towards Huang Yaoshi.
Huang Yaoshi’s figure flickered, and a phantom image was shattered by Zhou Botong’s grasp. He appeared ten feet away and smiled slightly, “Brother Botong, you lost.”
The Old Urchin stood there dumbfounded.
Huang Yaoshi thought of their sixteen years of struggle and sighed, “I don’t want the Manual from Brother Botong. You should believe me and leave Peach Blossom Island.”
The Old Urchin tugged at his beard and stomped his feet, crying loudly, “Senior Brother told me to keep the Nine Yin Manual safe and not to reveal it. Now that you know the Manual, how can I face Senior Brother?”
The Old Urchin suddenly stood up and was about to kowtow. “Huang Old Evil, did you use some demonic or evil method? Tell me quickly.”
Huang Yaoshi and Ouyang Feng had sworn a solemn oath not to reveal the secret of Chongyang’s Inscription. He kept his mouth shut. He had also taught Huang Rong that at the appropriate time, one could lie. He supported Zhou Botong and said, “Brother Chongyang told me in a dream.”
“Ah, really? What else did Senior Brother say?” The Old Urchin was naturally mischievous and playful. If people scolded or angered him, he wouldn’t get upset. As long as he could play pranks on others, he would be overjoyed. Who would have thought that Huang Yaoshi’s lies would be even more imaginative?
“He also said that Brother Botong is obsessed with martial arts and wants to cultivate the martial arts of the Nine Yin Manual, so go ahead and cultivate.”
Zhou Botong was fanatically devoted to martial arts. Possessing a scripture that martial artists worldwide considered a treasure, he truly longed to study the martial arts within. This was not for fame, revenge, or to prove his superiority; it was purely an uncontrollable desire for martial arts. However, he had Wang Chongyang’s dying wish and dared not disobey. Now, hearing Huang Yaoshi’s words, he was overjoyed. “Really?”
“Our bet was that if Brother Botong stepped one foot out of the stone cave, he would lose. If I could see the Nine Yin Manual, and now you have left the stone cave. Can I ask to see the Manual?”
“Then it’s true!” The Old Urchin shouted, did a somersault, and entered the stone cave, taking out the upper volume of the Nine Yin Manual to cultivate.
“Brother Botong, feel free to come and go. I will treat you to good wine.”
The Old Urchin was engrossed, how could he respond? Huang Yaoshi was used to this. He walked all the way to his wife’s grave. The area around the grave was lush with trees and blooming with exotic flowers, which bloomed all year round, all carefully selected by Huang Yaoshi from the world’s finest species.
He pushed the tombstone three times to the left and three times to the right. The tombstone slowly moved aside, revealing a stone-paved underground passage. After three turns and opening a mechanism, a stone door opened, leading into the tomb’s burial chamber. He lit a torch and ignited the glazed lamp. He took out the transcribed Nine Yin Manual from his embrace and burned it.
Tears streamed down his face as he chanted, “Heaven and Earth are a furnace, Creation is the craftsman; Yin and Yang are the fuel, and all things are the bronze. The ebb and flow of union and dispersal, how can there be a constant rule? A thousand changes and ten thousand transformations, never having an end; suddenly becoming human…”
“A-Heng, I have burned the Nine Yin Manual. You can finally see what those scriptures you pondered over back then truly meant. May you rest in peace now that you are in the netherworld.”
As Huang Yaoshi spoke, his expression became dazed, and he choked back tears.
Behind the stone door, large teardrops rolled down Huang Rong’s cheeks.
She had come to play with Zhou Botong, but the Old Urchin was indifferent. Huang Rong was unhappy and came to her mother’s grave, only to witness this scene.
Moments later, Huang Rong heard Huang Yaoshi muttering to himself, “I tricked the Old Urchin into cultivating the Nine Yin Manual. Who told him not to let you see the Manual back then? When he has cultivated the martial arts from the Manual, I’ll tell him the dream from Chongyang was fake. A-Heng, if I hadn’t tracked the Old Venomous on Zhongnan Mountain, I wouldn’t have obtained Chongyang’s Inscription. It was you guiding me from the beyond, wasn’t it?”
On Zhongnan Mountain, Chongyang’s Inscription. Huang Rong thought to herself. Taking advantage of Huang Yaoshi’s distraction, she wiped away her tears and silently left the tomb passage.
As Huang Rong walked away, she began to ponder how to trick Zhou Yan into going to Zhongnan Mountain.
Time flew by, and half a month passed. The Old Urchin in the stone cave let out three loud laughs.
He emerged from the stone cave with his hands behind his back. He didn’t look for Huang Yaoshi but went to the seaside and boarded a large boat. The mute servants on the island had long received instructions from Huang Yaoshi to send the Old Urchin away once he arrived.
The large boat set sail and headed towards the coast.
…
Early winter, Zhongdu.
Yang Tiexin and Mu Nianci left the Escort Bureau and headed out of the city.
Duan Huai’an and Duan Zhaoxi had already returned to Zhongdu. Yang Tiexin had not informed Mu Nianci, who had just returned, about Zhou Yan’s resignation. He mused that with the divine monk’s accident and Zhou Yan’s departure to Jiangxi, it was not appropriate to gossip in such a situation. Perhaps there might be a change if he returned.
The leaden clouds hung low, like shackles on the earth. Fine snow swirled down. The two walked hurriedly. Seeing the lights in the building in the distance, they couldn’t help but quicken their pace.
As they got closer, the sharp-eyed Mu Nianci spotted a splash of red in the wind and snow. She paused for a moment, then exclaimed with surprise, “It’s Brother Guo.”
“Nephew has returned,” Yang Tiexin said with equal surprise.
The two hurried to the courtyard, pushed open the door, and heard the commotion. Bao Xiruo and Guo Jing came out.
Bao Xiruo brushed the snowflakes off Yang Tiexin’s clothes and said, “Nephew has been here for a while and brought a lot of things. I’m already complaining why you didn’t bring your mother back from the desert.”
“Yes, dear nephew, why didn’t you bring your mother?”
Guo Jing replied, “Mother was overjoyed to hear news of Uncle Yang and you. However, the Khan gave several orders, and I had to leave in a hurry. I didn’t have time to think about these matters.”
“Is the Khan going to send troops again?” Yang Tiexin asked.
Guo Jing naturally told Yang Tiexin everything.
“The Khan wants me, Brother Tolay, Master Zhebie, and others to go to Lin’an to negotiate with the court about a joint attack on the Jin Dynasty.”
“Is that so? Come, let’s go inside and talk.”
“Alright!”
Yang Tiexin led the way, with Guo Jing and Mu Nianci following. They all entered the house.
Bao Xiruo brought out food and wine. She didn’t listen to their conversation and went upstairs alone. From the balcony, she could vaguely see the lights of half of Zhongdu. Her gaze was directed towards the Zhao Wang Manor.
“I wonder how Kang’er is doing now?” Her face was filled with worry.
The Zhao Wang Manor, beyond Bao Xiruo’s sight, had now become Huo Du’s residence. Xiaoxiangzi emerged from the grand entrance, took several turns, and arrived at Songhe Tower.
A newly hired Shop Assistant at Songhe Tower greeted him. While ordering food, Xiaoxiangzi slipped a wax pellet to the Shop Assistant. The note inside the sealed wax pellet contained intelligence that Guo Jing, Tolay (Genghis Khan’s fourth son), and others were about to depart for Lin’an to negotiate a joint attack on the Jin Dynasty with the Song Dynasty.
…
The apes’ cries on both banks are ceaseless; a thousand li to Jiangling in a single day.
A faint mist floated on the river. Zhou Yan sat in the room of a large boat, his body enveloped in a swirling white mist.
He and the Runners had left Zhongdu and traveled at breakneck speed, passing through Luoyang and crossing the Yellow River. They traveled through Nanyang and Xinye to reach Xiangyang. Zhou Yan hired a large boat, and his men sailed downstream along the Yangtze River, moving at incredible speed directly towards Poyang Lake.
Traveling by land, there was little free time. Water travel, however, was different. Apart from necessary sleep and rest, he dedicated all his time to cultivating the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter.
This cultivation technique from the Manual had the effect of improving one’s roots. As Zhou Yan practiced breathing exercises rhythmically, his Qi and Blood and Strength surged like a vast tide, ceaselessly washing over his limbs and bones, circulating endlessly. His body felt like a furnace, heat emanating from his pores and transforming into swirling mist.
Blood is born from the marrow; blood is the mother of Qi. Qi can also control blood, and blood can nourish Qi.
As Zhou Yan’s cultivation of the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter entered its fourth stage, he felt as if his bones were being remade, his blood was being reborn, and Qi was emerging from the blood.
This state lasted for a full day. As dusk approached, centered on Zhou Yan’s spine, every bone vibrated, every muscle tightened, and a powerful Strength propelled a majestic flow of blood and Qi, reaching inward to the viscera and outward to the limbs. It mingled with the Qi from his breathing exercises, producing a Strength capable of splitting rocks.
Zhou Yan suddenly exhaled a stream of white Qi from his mouth, three feet long and condensed, not dissipating. He slowly opened his eyes.
The fourth stage of the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter was successfully completed.
He felt the increase in Strength with every movement. He suddenly thought of Guo Jing cultivating on Mingxia Island, his Strength advancing by leaps and bounds, easily snapping thick ropes, and Huang Rong being able to catch up to wild sheep with a single stride—such incredible, shocking joy.
If he hadn’t known the efficacy of the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter beforehand, he would have been even more ecstatic than they were. He withdrew his consciousness and looked out the window. A setting sun lay on the water, half the river shimmering, half the river red. Unknowingly, he had cultivated for an entire day.
“Where are we?”
Zhou Yan left his room and asked the Runner standing at the bow of the boat.
“Reporting to the Head Escort, we are about twenty li ahead of Dongting Lake.”
Zhou Yan nodded. At the speed of the large boat, they would reach Poyang Lake by dawn.
The twenty li of river road passed in an instant. The sun was setting. Suddenly, Zhou Yan’s gaze fell upon a sword light in the distance, flashing like lightning, flickering erratically.
Zhou Yan’s pupils contracted. It was the Hengshan “Returning Wind and Falling Geese Sword.”
