Chapter 125: Xuan Zhe and Master Shang Heng
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The towering peaks of Mount Taihua pierced the clouds. Lush forests spread across the slopes, while birdsong and floral fragrance filled the air. Winged beasts darted wildly through the sky, and auspicious cranes circled amid drifting clouds and mist, creating a vision worthy of a celestial realm.
Halfway up Mount Taihua, before the entrance of a mountain cavern and beneath several dozen towering pine trees, Adept Xuan Zhe slowly descended with his feet upon the Heaven-Slaying Evil-Exterminating Sword.
Two young Daoist disciples stood before the cave entrance. When they saw Adept Xuan Zhe descending upon his sword, they immediately stepped forward, clasped their hands, and bowed.
“Senior Brother Xuan Zhe, you have arrived! It has been so long! Allow me to go inside and inform our master. Please wait a moment!”
Adept Xuan Zhe returned the salute and said, “Were the two of you only recently assigned here? Why do I not recognize either of you, while you both recognize me?”
The two disciples immediately replied, “We have been here for more than three years. You have not returned for many years, Senior Brother, so naturally you do not recognize us. We know you because our master showed us your image, along with those of the other senior brothers, in his Profound Moon Treasure Mirror. Please wait a moment. I shall go in and report your arrival. I will return shortly.”
The disciple had just turned around when a deep, vigorous voice rang out from within the cave:
“Black Pine, Black Cypress, let Xuan Zhe come straight in. I knew long ago that he would return today, so I have been waiting for him.”
Upon hearing this, Black Pine and Black Cypress immediately stepped aside. They bowed and gestured for Adept Xuan Zhe to enter.
Adept Xuan Zhe returned their salute and walked into the cave.
The cavern entrance was about the size of a small room. After advancing twenty or thirty meters, however, the passage suddenly opened into a vast chamber as spacious as a hundred or two hundred houses.
At the center of the cavern lay an irregularly shaped lake, nearly the size of eighty or ninety houses. Above it, the cavern roof opened naturally into a colossal aperture. From the highest point hung a waterfall tens of meters wide, cascading into the lake and striking a rugged boulder in its midst, sending clouds of water vapor into the air.
Lotuses grew everywhere in the lake, while many evergreen trees, including willows, lined its banks.
The water was so clear that the bottom could be seen. Beneath the lotus leaves, hundreds or even thousands of red fish with long whiskers swam and played, creating a captivating sight.
Dozens of longevity cranes, with slender necks and long legs, flew in and out through the opening in the cavern roof. From time to time, they landed upon the water to search carefully for food, or perched upon the rocks in the lake, beating their wings and crying out in long, clear calls.
Along both banks, the young Daoist disciples worked at refining elixirs, while other junior brothers sat upon stones, breathing in and drawing out their vital energy as they practiced various arts.
A thin haze of water vapor mingled with the faintly fragrant mist rising from the elixir furnaces, filling the entire cavern with the enchanting appearance of an immortal paradise.
As he made his way forward around the lake, Adept Xuan Zhe nodded and greeted the young disciples and his fellow senior and junior brothers along the banks.
Before long, he reached the opposite side of the lake and continued another hundred meters inward. There, he saw his master, Adept Shang Heng, seated upon a stone chair nearly three meters high.
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“Your disciple pays respects to Master!”
Adept Xuan Zhe knelt before Adept Shang Heng.
With a smile upon his face, Adept Shang Heng said, “Xuan Zhe, rise quickly and sit down.”
After Xuan Zhe had taken his seat, Shang Heng said, “Xuan Zhe, your expression seems rather grave. Could something heavy be weighing upon your heart?”
“Your insight is as sharp as ever, Master. Thank you for your concern. I have been unable to visit you for so long, and I am deeply ashamed.”
“There is no need for shame, my disciple. You and I have been master and disciple for nearly a thousand years. Do you think I do not understand what kind of person you are? So long as you are laboring for the welfare of the people of the Wildlands Continent, I would feel at peace even if you never came to visit me for the rest of your life. Now, what has happened? Has something gone wrong in the Kingdom of Qingfeng?”
“This visit has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Qingfeng, Master. Do you still remember the matter of my disciple Wei Xiaofan, your grand-disciple, who disappeared more than ten years ago?”
At this, astonishment appeared in Adept Shang Heng’s eyes.
“Wei Xiaofan? Do you mean the younger brother of the twin brothers, Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofan? How could I ever have forgotten?”
“That is correct, Master. They are precisely that pair of twins—the most unusual of all my disciples.”
“Yes, I remember those two grand-disciples. Apart from looking extraordinarily alike, each of them also received a divine artifact from some unknown immortal.” Shang Heng stroked his beard, which fell to his chest, his voice tinged with remembrance. “When your grand-disciple Wei Xiaofan suddenly disappeared ten years ago, I was deeply grieved. I have often thought of him throughout these years. As one of the most senior practitioners of the immortal arts on the Wildlands Continent, I have been unable to recover my own grand-disciple after he was abducted. I cannot help but feel ashamed. Worse still, I do not even know who took him. I am ashamed before your grand-disciple, ashamed before you, and in the presence of my peers, I feel as though I have been reduced to an inferior position.”
His voice carried a note of sorrow.
Seeing this, Adept Xuan Zhe hurriedly knelt before him.
“No, Master. The disappearance of Xiaofan had nothing to do with you. It was my fault. I have been an unfilial disciple and caused you needless worry.”
Shang Heng ordered Xuan Zhe to rise and sit again, then continued, “You have not mentioned this matter for many years. You bring it up suddenly today—does this mean that you have discovered some clue regarding your grand-disciple Xiaofan’s disappearance?”
“Recently, the Kingdom of Shihui sent troops to attack the Kingdom of Qingfeng. The two armies clashed beneath Twin Peaks, and Wei Xiaoping led our forces into battle. At noon today, he was wounded and carried back by his mount, Big Yellow. When I examined his injuries, I found that an enemy divine artifact had pierced him from behind, passed through his heart, and burst out through his chest. His wounds were extremely serious.”
Upon hearing that Xiaoping had been injured, Shang Heng’s expression showed faint surprise.
“An enemy weapon pierced him from behind and through the heart? Xiaoping went into battle without armor? Even if he was unarmored, with Xiaoping’s skill, how could the enemy have struck him so precisely? Did he simply sit there and let them take aim before driving the weapon into him?”
“At first, I thought the same. From what I know of my disciple Wei Xiaoping, even if he could not defeat the enemy, neither his skill nor his intelligence would have allowed him to neglect his own safety. Later, Junior Brother Xuan Wu arrived with the Kirin Divine Beast. Xuan Wu told me that the beast had also been injured. When I examined its wounds, I discovered that they had been caused by a divine bow wielded from behind by Xiaofan. After questioning the Kirin Divine Beast and Big Yellow, I learned that Xiaoping’s opponent was none other than his twin younger brother, Wei Xiaofan.”
Shang Heng was stunned.
“Continue. Do not stop!”
He urged Xuan Zhe on impatiently.
Adept Xuan Zhe then recounted in detail how he had hurried to the foot of Twin Peaks and fought Wei Xiaofan.
Shang Heng rose from his stone chair and paced slowly across the floor, deep in thought.
“From what you have told me, there can be no doubt that the person who fought Wei Xiaoping was your grand-disciple Wei Xiaofan. Precisely because his opponent was his own younger brother, Xiaoping was desperate to reach him. And when he saw that his brother had led enemy troops to attack the kingdom that had raised them, Xiaoping must have been heartsick. Hoping to make Xiaofan leave the enemy kingdom and return to him as quickly as possible, Xiaoping allowed him to strike three times without defending himself. That is why Wei Xiaofan was able to take careful aim and pierce him through the heart. Alas! That child Xiaoping is simply too kind, and too devoted to righteousness!”
Adept Xuan Zhe also rose.
“Yes. Xiaoping and Xiaofan are twin brothers. Since childhood, they have possessed the strange ability to sense one another’s thoughts. Xiaoping must have sensed that Xiaofan’s mind had been controlled by someone using soul-seizing sorcery. The Xiaofan before him was no longer the kind and righteous boy he had been more than ten years ago. Xiaoping knew perfectly well that, if he allowed Xiaofan to attack him three times without dodging or defending himself, Xiaofan—whose will was under the control of the sorcerer—might at any moment follow that sorcerer’s instructions and unleash a killing blow. Yet Xiaoping gambled with his own life in the hope of helping his younger brother leave the Kingdom of Shihui. He was truly foolish!”
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Shang Heng nodded.
“Yes. That child Xiaoping is indeed supremely righteous. But as a general, he was also far too careless.”
Hearing Shang Heng use the same word in two different senses—one meaning careless, the other meaning righteous—Adept Xuan Zhe immediately understood what his master intended.
“You are right, Master. From the perspective of the greater situation, Xiaoping’s actions could be considered somewhat selfish. If our army loses this battle because he was so severely wounded, the losses will be immense. When that happens, who knows what punishment he will receive?”
“Does anyone in the military camp know the true cause of Xiaoping’s serious injuries? Does anyone know that the enemy commander, Wei Xiaofan, is Xiaoping’s twin brother?”
“As far as I know, only Huang Xianlin is aware of it. The other three generals merely saw that Yang Shengtian—that is, Wei Xiaofan—resembled Wei Xiaoping. They do not know that the two are twin brothers.”
“That is for the best. If the others learned of it and word reached the royal palace, it would certainly arouse suspicion and provoke endless gossip.”
“Exactly. That is why I sent Junior Brother Xuan Wu to warn his disciple Huang Xianlin and instructed Huang to keep the matter secret.”
“To my knowledge, five or six hundred years ago there were already rumors that this soul-seizing demon art was so vicious and cruel in its practice that it was condemned by everyone. No one dared cultivate it afterward, and even the method of practice was lost for several centuries. How, then, has it suddenly appeared again today? And on a battlefield, no less! This proves that someone began cultivating the soul-seizing art long ago. We simply knew nothing about it.”
“That is the reason I returned today, Master. I remember that you once told us about soul-seizing sorcery. Which sect first created it? The old tale that this sinister demon art was condemned and lost may have been false. Otherwise, why would it have appeared again today?”
“You intend to uncover the origins of the sect that created the soul-seizing art, then begin your investigation there and determine who is now holding Xiaofan captive?”
“That is my intention. At present, apart from knowing that Xiaofan is working in the Kingdom of Shihui, we have no other clues. What is more, the sorcerer who has taken Xiaofan knows that we have discovered his connection to the Kingdom of Shihui. To prevent us from going there to search for Wei Xiaofan, he may refuse to return Xiaofan to Shihui.”
“Hmm. Your reasoning is sound. When you fought him, did you notice anything about his figure or appearance?”
“I never fought the sorcerer directly. Today, while I was fighting Wei Xiaofan, the soul-seizing sorcerer began tormenting him from within his body, attempting to control his will. Xiaofan could no longer endure it and began cursing the sorcerer repeatedly. I realized that the sorcerer was causing him unbearable pain, so I struck Xiaofan unconscious and placed him on the ground. Then I stood behind him and channeled my internal power into his body, using it to drive the sorcerer out.
“I never expected the sorcerer to suddenly manifest in an invisible form and strike me with a palm. Afterward, he picked up Xiaofan and flew away at great speed. The speed at which he carried Xiaofan through the air far exceeded anything I could have imagined. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished without a trace.
“Only one sentence remained behind in the air:
‘Old Daoist Xuan Zhe, I never imagined that after several centuries apart, your mastery of sorcery would have reached such heights. Congratulations, congratulations! As for your beloved disciple Wei Xiaofan, forgive me for borrowing him for the time being. Once I have achieved greatness, I shall return him to you personally.’”
Shang Heng frowned.
“Why would this sorcerer leave you such a message? Could it be that you knew each other before? Have you fought one another?”
“That is one of the matters that troubles me most. Logically speaking, the fact that he addressed me in that way proves that he knew me before, and may even have fought me. Yet I cannot recall him at all. I have no impression of his voice, either.”
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