Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Legend

Baizheng Liu: "There's something I've always wanted to ask, but never found the chance."

Mei Yinghan: "Go ahead, Baixiong."

Baizheng Liu smiled: "I know that the founder of the Tianshan Sect was Senior Changyangzi. Beyond that, under Senior Changyangzi came Ling Xiaozi, Ling Bozi… and then Ling Yunzi. These seniors all share the ‘Ling’ generation name."

Mei Yinghan nodded: "Exactly."

Baizheng Liu glanced at him: "Then how come our Mei brother has the ‘Mei’ generation? Also, the ones I’m familiar with, Yuhan and Hanshu, they each have their own surnames, not following the generational rules at all."

Mei Yinghan: "…"

The swordsman and the knife expert chatted and laughed as they returned to the "cabin."

The power of the Twenty-Eight Generals couldn’t be maintained forever. At this moment, what appeared before their eyes was once again that old, worn cabin.

That was for the better. Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan each secretly let out a breath of relief, thinking: "If after we returned, it was still just snow, I wouldn’t know how this would have played out."

Their thoughts wandered as they continued speaking.

Mei Yinghan: "Baixiong, you really stumped me with that question."

Baizheng Liu smiled and shrugged.

Mei Yinghan pondered for a moment: "Perhaps it’s because the seniors’ names were all given by the Sect Founder. Our names, however, were given by different masters. Different people, different styles. My master liked to name a child based on objects or surroundings when he found them. I was found in a plum grove, so my surname is 'Mei.' Yuhan had a jade pendant in her swaddling clothes, so her surname is 'Yu.'"

"Hanshu, on the other hand, was brought into the sect by Senior Ling Xiaozi. Senior Ling liked to name people based on the place where they were found. Hanshu’s place, if I remember correctly, was called ‘Han Family Village.’"

Baizheng Liu: "That’s really simple."

Mei Yinghan smiled: "Some names come from the second character of the master’s name. There was a Senior Ling Jingzi; all of his disciples have the character ‘Jing’ in their names. And there are also those who take the ‘Tianshan’ generation—either the surname ‘Tian’ or ‘Shan.’"

Baizheng Liu: "The Tianshan Sect really does have many people."

Mei Yinghan: "Yes… I should probably be modest, but the fact remains true."

As they spoke, the two sat down in front of the disguised Yuhan and Hanshu.

At this moment, the two wandering spirits whose true appearances had already been seen still smiled. One asked: "Seeing Baidage and Shixiong so happy, have you found the lost things?"

The other said: "You two brothers have been outside for so long, you must be cold. Quickly drink some hot soup to warm yourselves."Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan listened to these words, secretly sneering in their hearts: “Warm up? More likely, the cold evil will penetrate the body, and we won’t last half the night.”

But they couldn’t say that out loud.

If it were just the two of them, it might be fine—but the priority right now was bringing Zhou Liu’er along.

They couldn’t tear their faces with the wandering spirits; they still had to play along.

Baizheng Liu shook his head. "I haven’t found it. But with Mei brother to comfort me, I’ve come to understand."

Mei Yinghan shook his head and sighed: "How did I comfort you? It’s still Baixiong who figured it out himself."

Baizheng Liu blinked: "It’s precisely because Mei brother accompanied me in the search that I realized what’s truly important isn’t the object, but the people by your side."

Mei Yinghan: "…"

He should respond.

But he genuinely didn’t know what to say.

A gentle, tingling warmth spread from his heart. He stared blankly at the youth in front of him. He had felt something like this before, but those emotions always passed quickly. This time, his heart raced violently, hard to control or endure.

Mei Yinghan’s Adam’s apple moved. At that moment, the two wandering spirits again mentioned “hot soup.”

It seemed they didn’t care whether Baizheng Liu had found anything; the point was merely to make them consume this deadly snow.

Faced with the spirits’ repeated urging, Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan exchanged glances and finally lifted the bowls.

The same reasoning applied: for Zhou Liu’er’s sake.

Refusing to touch it at all would be too fake. Although it was dangerous, it was, after all, just clean snow…

The two calmly poured all the “soup” into their sleeves.

Even though they had already seen through the truth, noticing that their sleeves were completely dry, still unsoaked, they couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

It seemed the spirits’ illusion had its blind spots. Thinking this way, Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan felt much more at ease and continued the act: "Alright. Tomorrow we’ll keep thinking of a way to get out. For now, get some rest. Yuhan, Hanshu, as usual, you two sleep first; we’ll keep watch the first half of the night."

The two wandering spirits: "Shixiong, you worked so hard yesterday, today why not—"

Mei Yinghan: "Say no more. Go to sleep."He drew on the authority of “Shixiong,” and the two wandering spirits found it hard to argue. Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan watched this, relaxing their guard further. Silently, they estimated in their minds that the strength of these spirits was probably on the same level as the bandits from the Tan family.

This was both good news and bad news.

The good part: since their strength wasn’t high, they themselves were not in immediate danger. The bad part: given that level of power, these spirits were certainly not the ones controlling the entire peril of the snow mountain, leaving the two of them still clueless about the current situation.

Thinking this, Baizheng Liu’s mind stirred.

Coincidentally, the two wandering spirits still seemed hesitant to speak. Seeing this, Baizheng Liu decided to “advise” Mei Yinghan: “Mei brother, right now, Shidi and Shimei’s minds must still be in chaos. Forcing them to close their eyes would only make them restless. It’s better we follow what I suggested earlier: think about whether Tianshan has ever had cases of missing or lost people, or perhaps even such legends.”

Mei Yinghan’s eyes flickered; in an instant, he understood Baizheng Liu’s meaning.

He pretended to step back: “Baixiong… sigh. I’m just worried they’ll overthink things.”

Baizheng Liu smiled: “I know, Mei brother, you’re the best Shixiong.”

Mei Yinghan looked helpless.

The two of them bantered back and forth, leaving the wandering spirits no chance to interject.

When they finally stopped, the spirits spoke: “Yes, that’s what we were talking about earlier. It’s just that Baidage suddenly noticed he’d lost something, and that interrupted us.”

Baizheng Liu said: “That’s partly my fault…”

“Yuhan”: “Ah, Baidage, don’t say that.”

Baizheng Liu smiled, saying nothing further.

“Hanshu” remained calm and steady: “Baidage, seeing our performance on the mountain, you should know that we Tianshan disciples have plenty of experience with finding people.”

Baizheng Liu nodded: “Yes, I can see that.”

“Hanshu”: “Picking lotuses is a life-risking profession. Every year, a few people go missing in the mountains. They’re not just from the towns below; some know that snow lotuses grow in October and November, so they come specially to earn money.”

“Yuhan” worried: “But all for the sake of caring for their families, risking their lives like this.”

“Hanshu”: “Alas… among these people, some we managed to bring down the mountain alive. Some, we found already lifeless, but at least we located them, brought them back, and gave them proper burial, fulfilling the family’s wishes. Others, however, vanished without a trace.”

“Yuhan”: “When that happens, the lotus pickers say they’re serving the ‘Mountain God.’ For hundreds of years, some villages hold annual Mountain God rituals. Either boys and girls, or beautiful young women, are sent straight to the mountains to freeze to death. Only the Shifu—”

“Hanshu”: “When the Shizu came, hearing of these incidents, he stopped them one by one, and the situation improved.”

“Yuhan”: “Exactly. Those who could be reasoned with, the rituals were canceled. For those who couldn’t, Shizu brought them back to Tianshan. Many Shishu and Shibo came this way.”Baizheng Liu listened, feeling puzzled: “Although they are wandering spirits, they seem genuinely familiar with matters of the Tianshan Sect.”

Mei Yinghan said: “So there are such past events.”

Baizheng Liu’s confusion deepened: “Mei brother says this—hmm, he didn’t even know these things? Then how did these two spirits learn about them?”

A fog of uncertainty rose in his mind. At this moment, “Yuhan” and “Hanshu” were still deep in thought.

“This is one layer. Also, some say that people who have gone missing on Tianshan never reconciled with their lonely fate, so they disguise themselves as they were in life, go down the mountain to their homes, and ask their families if they wish to live together. If the family sees through them, the dead immediately turn into a pile of snow. If not, by the next day, anyone who comes to look will find them frozen cold and rigid.

“Also! Some say dead lotus pickers appear on the mountain to tell other pickers where an exceptional snow lotus can be found…

“Mm, and then…”

At first, Baizheng Liu really was listening carefully.

But he soon realized that “Yuhan” talking a lot did not mean she was actually giving clues. On the contrary, much of what she said conflicted with itself.

One moment she said the dead lotus pickers harmed others; the next, she said they helped lost descendants out of the mountains.

One moment she said the missing would return home to kill; the next, she said they handed snow lotuses to younger disciples entering the mountains…

One event after another, and in the end, a single truth emerged:

None of it was credible.

Baizheng Liu closed his eyes. When he opened them, he smiled: “Alright, after so much talk, Yuhan, Hanshu, are you feeling tired now?”

The two spirits froze and looked at him.

Baizheng Liu became the second ghost-lulling Shixiong: “Rest quickly. There’s still a long journey tomorrow. If you sleep now, Mei brother and I will have a chance to rest later. Otherwise, all four of us would have to endure together—how could that work?”

The two spirits hesitated, then nodded.

They lay down beside the “fire.”

The “flames” were bright, warm, and real. If Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan had not seen the truth with their own eyes, not a single flaw could have been detected.

Thinking this, Mei Yinghan felt a faint sigh in his heart. He sensed that Shishu Lingyunzi was somehow protecting them, turning danger into safety.

The night deepened. When “Yuhan” and “Hanshu” were breathing steadily, Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan touched each other’s arms and looked at Zhou Liuer not far away.Zhou Liuer’s breathing was still very weak, but he was alive.

Mei Yinghan fed him a little more sugar water, while Baizheng Liu idly touched his beloved blade, then ran his fingers along the edge and rubbed his eyelids again—

After that, he turned to look in the direction of the two spirits.

He saw that “Yuhan” and “Hanshu,” who had originally been sleeping with their backs to the two of them, had changed again, becoming those two pale, bluish-faced strangers, their hair and clothes coated with frost and snow.

They still had their backs to Baizheng Liu, but their heads twisted at an unnatural angle, eyes locked firmly on Baizheng Liu and Mei Yinghan.

Author’s note:

←_←

Speaking of which, the subway has clearly gotten more crowded recently.

Jiang Jiang, losing her seat.