Chapter Eighty-Two: A Chance Encounter

Chapter Eighty-Two: An Unexpected Encounter

Chapter Eleven: Hidden Contentment in the Capital’s Woods, The Seven Heroes Stir Up a Chaotic Spring and Autumn (Part Twelve)

Zhang Kedao laughed, “This matter indeed concerns Brother Ye Hua. Yesterday, he came to the capital seeking his uncle, Master Zhiguang. The capital is vast, yet he has no idea where to search. I know Uncle Qingling has diverse connections, so I’ve come especially to inquire for news!”

“Oh,” Grandmaster Qingling nodded slightly. “So that’s how it is. Alas, I do know Master Zhiguang, but it’s been decades since I last saw him. I have no idea where he is in the capital now.” With that, he shook his head.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ke looked toward Ye Hua with a bitter smile. Ye Hua, however, felt little disappointment in his heart. Searching for someone in the capital was like looking for a needle in a haystack—such luck was hardly to be expected. Rising, Ye Hua respectfully said, “Thank you, Uncle Qingling, for your trouble.”

Zhang Ke turned to the Grandmaster again, “Does Uncle know Master Xukong from Bliss Temple?”

“Master Xukong? I actually saw him recently—on the first day of last month, at the Daoist Spirit Gathering in the Northeast City’s Free Pavilion.”

Zhang Ke, Ye Hua, and the others rejoiced, exclaiming, “Truly? Thank you, Daoist Qingling!” Ye Hua quickly asked, “My uncle traveled to the capital with Master Xukong, so they must be together. May I ask if you know where Master Xukong is residing?”

Grandmaster Qingling wore an apologetic expression and gently comforted, “I only met him once and do not know his whereabouts. Yet since he appeared at the Daoist Spirit Gathering in the Northeast District, he may well reside in Northeast City. Inquire there in the future.”

Ye Hua was at first suddenly delighted, but upon hearing the latter part of Qingling’s words, his heart sank in disappointment. After a long pause, he said dejectedly, “Thank you, Uncle. In that case, I will search more diligently in the Northeast District.”

Grandmaster Qingling asked, “Where are you staying now, Nephew Ye?”

Ye Hua replied, “At Brother Zhang’s residence.”

Qingling nodded, “That’s very good. If you’re free today, stay here. Earlier, you competed with my disciple Tian Liang, and I promised to teach whoever surpassed him a secret art. Now that honor falls to you—do you wish to accept?”

Ye Hua was overjoyed. “Thank you, Uncle! I am most willing!”

Grandmaster Qingling smiled and nodded, saying nothing further. Zhang Ke, Cai Shufeng, Shi Lei, and the others looked on from below, their eyes filled with envy—such a chance to receive direct instruction from a grand cultivator was truly rare. Yet, as they thought, it was Ye’s own internal cultivation that earned him this opportunity.

The group lingered a while longer in the hall, chatting idly. Eventually, Zhang Ke rose and said, “Uncle, we still wish to pay respects to Daoist Crane Qing. We must take our leave.”

Grandmaster Qingling looked half amused, half serious. “Daoist Crane Qing? Are you all interested in the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance?”

Zhang Ke replied respectfully, “Not at all. I follow my father’s teachings and serve the nation loyally.”

Grandmaster Qingling said in surprise, “If that’s so, why do you go there? Isn’t it to participate in the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance’s march?”

Zhang Ke asked in confusion, “What march?”

Grandmaster Qingling laughed, “So you don’t know—in the First Academy, there are now several thousand young disciples gathered. I hear tomorrow they’ll press the Dali Temple, protesting the Foreign Affairs Office’s loss of power and national humiliation.”

Zhang Ke, Cai Shufeng, Ma Fei, and the others cried in alarm, “Could it be the negotiations in the Western Demon Domain failed for Realman Xia Hong and Divine Lord Zi Xian? Why have we heard nothing?”

Their hearts turned, recalling the crowded roads when they first entered the Martial Hall in the capital—they had been puzzled, but focused on finding Master Zhiguang and didn’t inquire further, assuming it was all for academic competitions, never imagining this was the cause.

Grandmaster Qingling continued, “The news arrived just yesterday from the Western Demon Domain. In a few days, the whole world will know.”

Cai Shufeng asked in a trembling voice, “What was the outcome?”

Grandmaster Qingling sighed, “Though the Divine Nation of China emerged victorious in the demon war, the country is weak and the people exhausted. The other five or six victorious nations have divided the Demon Domain’s territories in Liaodong, Zhongzhou, Ludongping, and the Two Guangfeng Districts. Naturally, the whole nation is incensed, and the youth are especially passionate and unable to quell their fury.”

Hearing this, Cai Shufeng, Zhang Ke, and the others turned pale and suddenly stood, saying, “This is grave indeed. Uncle Qingling, we must take our leave now and return another day to visit you. We apologize for today’s disturbance.”

They all rose together, bowing deeply.

Grandmaster Qingling spoke solemnly, “If that is so, you may depart. What of you, Nephew Ye Hua—what are your plans for today?”

Ye Hua replied, “Uncle, I will return another day to receive your teaching. Today, I fear I must... I beg your pardon.”

Qingling nodded, “That is well. You may seek me at any time.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” Ye Hua bowed. The group bowed once more and slowly withdrew.

Once they exited the Third Transmission Hall, the group fell into silent, wordless reflection, feeling an unspeakable anger and frustration. After four or five miles through mountain paths and around a solitary peak, they saw below a broken cliff a grand manor, radiant with light, bustling with people. On the open grounds before the manor, countless young disciples sat densely packed. A tall platform had been erected at the front, and four or five people stood upon it, speaking loudly. The group quickened their pace.

When they were forty to fifty yards away, they could go no further—the crowd was too thick. Forced to halt, they gazed at the platform. Upon it stood two men and two women, all about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. When Ye Hua saw one young man’s face, his whole body trembled, unable to suppress his joy: “It’s… it’s him, it’s him!”

The young man stood to the side, his features bright and clear, silent, eyes like lightning sweeping the crowd. When his gaze passed over Ye Hua, he did not seem to recognize him. Ye Hua’s heart raced, with only one thought: to approach and acknowledge him.

Zhang Ke noticed Ye Hua’s odd demeanor and whispered, “Brother Ye, do you know someone on the platform? An old acquaintance?”

Ye Hua calmed himself, nodded, and said quietly, “Yes, that is my cousin, Gao Lu. I haven’t seen him in years.”

He had just finished speaking when another young man on the platform shouted, “Brothers and sisters, I trust you all know—today news arrived from the Western Demon Domain: Realman Xia Hong and Divine Lord Zi Xian have disgraced the nation and lost authority! These traitors belong to the line of Duke Du Han, one of the late emperor’s eight great kings, colluding with the demon kingdom. Such villains have shamed the ancestors of the Divine Nation of China. We hate them with a passion—if only we could eat their flesh, strip their bones, tear their skin, gouge their hearts. May their souls suffer the eighty-one torments of the Abyssal Hell, imprisoned forever, never to enter the Six Realms of Reincarnation!”

With that, he ripped open his shirt. A sharp tearing sound echoed, and the youth’s shirt front dropped away. His left hand flashed with white light, and he swung it at his right, a line of blood spraying forth. The crowd gasped in shock. Looking closely, they saw he had severed half his right index finger, and with his blood, he wrote upon the cloth: “With the nation broken, family lost, and mountains in ruins, how can we stand idly by?”

Thousands of disciples below, stirred by his words and actions, responded in unison with shouts. The young man above waved his hand, and the crowd gradually fell silent. He cried out in anguish, “Tomorrow, all men of the Divine China, gather at the Ministry of External Affairs outside the Grand Imperial Temple! We will denounce Xia Hong and Zi Xian, those traitors!”