Chapter 287 Jiangzhou Turbulence (Part )

"Tiger's Den and Dragon's Pond?" Pan Yuyin looked at Mei Zichuan and his mother in confusion, "What is that place?"

"Tiger Cave Dragon Pond is one of the three forbidden areas in the martial arts world, located deep in the Changbai Mountains." Tang Cong explained, "It is said that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is gathered there, nurturing the essence of all things, with countless natural treasures, and also lurking many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. Because it is located deep in the mountains and old forests, ordinary people can't find it at all, and even if they find it, they dare not approach it easily. Therefore, 'Tiger Cave Dragon Pond', 'Shaolin Sutra Library', and 'Peach Blossom Sword Island' are collectively called the 'three forbidden areas' by the people in the martial arts world."

Chang Wuhui echoed, "The Shaolin Sutra Library is guarded day and night by four peerless masters, so it is called a forbidden area. Peach Blossom Sword Island is located in the vast ocean, and the sea is fierce and unpredictable, so it is called a forbidden area. The Tiger Cave Dragon Pond is also called a forbidden area. In addition to the fact that it is difficult to find things in the deep mountains and there are poisonous snakes and fierce beasts, there is another reason, that is, the 'Shuangsu Exiled Immortals' live in seclusion here. They like peace and quiet and don't like outsiders to disturb them."

"What is 'Double-Suffering Immortals'?"

"The two exiled immortals are actually two martial arts masters, one is Huang Yangming and the other is Mei Zichuan." Liu Xunyi said, "They are a pair of immortal lovers who live in harmony with the world. They are usually hard to find, and their martial arts skills are extremely high and unfathomable. Although they have lived in the Changbai Mountains for a long time, they have not hidden their identities, so they are quite famous in the martial arts world. Maybe they are not as famous as Ye Tong and Hua Ying, but they are definitely not unknown."

"In that case, the old man in front of me is..."

"Judging from her martial arts skills, she must be Senior Mei Zichuan." Liu Xunyi said with emotion, "I never thought that I would meet the mistress of Tiger Cave Dragon Pond in Jiangzhou. I am so lucky to meet her today."

"Since you have guessed my identity, can you let my mother and I get on the boat and go to Jueqing Valley together?" Mei Zichuan asked.

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi and Chang Wuhui subconsciously looked at each other, and Chang Wuhui said, "To be honest, the Peach Blossom Granny you are looking for is not in Jueqing Valley now."

"What?" Mei Zichuan frowned, then his eyes turned cold and he said angrily, "You want to lie to me again?"

“I would never dare to do that!” Liu Xunyi replied, “Grandma Taohua is definitely not in Jueqing Valley now. I swear to heaven.”

"Where is she then?"

"She's at……"

"Grandma Taohua is imprisoned by Luo Tianjin in the Xianwang Mansion." Before Liu Xunyi could speak to evade the question, Chang Wuhui interrupted with a firm tone, "If Senior Mei wants to see Grandma Taohua, he should ask Luo Tianjin for talent."

Chang Wuhui said this with the intention of sowing discord between Mei Zichuan and Luo Tianjin. Liu Xunyi was not stupid, so how could he not understand what he meant?
"Really?"

"Senior Mei, listen to me." Seeing Mei Zichuan wavering, Liu Xunyi interrupted, "Although Granny Taohua is in the Xianwang Mansion, the key to whether she can regain her freedom lies in the Jueqing Valley. I know that you are a martial arts master and have no fear of the world, but if I rashly go to Luoyang City to ask for her, I'm afraid... it will not be easy. Not only will it be difficult to get what you want, but it will also cause trouble."

Chang Wuhui was stunned when he heard this, and immediately frowned. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized and said angrily: "Liu Xunyi, what do you mean? Do you want to lure her into the Jueqing Valley?"

Tang Cong sneered, "What did you mean just now? You wanted to lead her to the Xianwang Mansion? Why? You are allowed to fan the flames, but we are not allowed to fight back?"

"you……"

"Shut up!"

Mei Zichuan shouted loudly, immediately quieting down the arguing Tang Cong and Chang Wuhui.

She stared at Liu Xunyi with a sharp gaze and asked word by word, "Do you know why I'm looking for Huaying? Otherwise, why do you say that I can't get what I want?"

Liu Xunyi shook his head and said, "I don't know what the 'debt' between Senior Mei and Granny Taohua is. But I know a little about the purpose of Senior's desperate search for Granny Taohua."

"Why not tell me about it?" Mei Zichuan said with interest.

"It's just as I expected..."

While he was thinking, Liu Xunyi cast a meaningful look directly at the "child" hiding behind Mei Zichuan, and said bluntly: "Senior Mei is looking for Granny Peach Blossom because he actually wants her to treat your son's illness."

"hiss!"

When these words were spoken, everyone around was shocked.

Mei Zichuan's face froze, and he asked coldly, "In your opinion, what is my son's illness?"

"I don't know." Liu Xunyi answered truthfully, "I am not a doctor, so I don't know what disease your son has. But I can feel that your son is different from other children. Maybe... that's the cause of the disease."

Faced with several puzzled people, Mei Zichuan was silent for a moment, and finally let out a long sigh. The coldness on his face gradually faded, replaced by an indescribable melancholy and helplessness.

"That's right!" Mei Zichuan nodded reluctantly, "The reason I came to Huaying was to treat Baoer's illness."

Pan Yuyin's heart trembled, and she hesitated and said, "Senior Mei, is Bao'er...really your son?"

"Yes." Mei Zichuan slowly lowered his head, looking lovingly at the "child" who was leaning against his legs and obeying him, and said bitterly, "Don't be fooled by the fact that he only looks like four or five years old. In fact... Baoer is already thirty-six years old this year."

"what?"

Mei Zichuan's words caused a huge uproar. Liu Xunyi and the others were all shocked and horrified.

"He...he..." Chang Wuhui pointed at the innocent-eyed "child" and asked in surprise, "Thirty-six years old?"

"That's right." Mei Zichuan said, "Bao'er is our only son. We named him 'Bao'er', which means that he is the treasure in our hearts. In the first two years after his birth, Bao'er was no different from other children, lively, cute, and innocent. But when he was three years old, he suddenly fell seriously ill, and the disease almost took Bao'er's life. After surviving a near-death experience, Bao'er finally recovered, but what we never expected was that since then... Bao'er's body and mind... have never changed at all..."

"This……"

"Bao'er seems to be trapped by God at the age of three forever. Both his appearance and his mind are the same..." Mei Zichuan sighed, "In order to cure Bao'er, we have searched for doctors and medicine everywhere, almost all over the world..." "Then you and Granny Taohua..."

"Back then, there was a rumor in the martial arts world that there lived a miraculous doctor in Jueqing Valley, who could be called the reincarnation of Hua Tuo. That person was Huaying." Mei Zichuan explained, "But when we brought Bao'er to Jueqing Valley with great hope to find Huaying, she was just like the other doctors and was helpless against Bao'er's illness. Bao'er's strange disease is rare in the world, and although we were disappointed, we did not blame her. What's more, Huaying once promised us that if she could develop a method to cure Bao'er one day, she would go to Changbai Mountain in person."

"What happened next?" Pan Yuyin asked impatiently.

"More than 20 years ago, Huaying really went to Changbai Mountain," Mei Zichuan recalled, "but she didn't come alone. She brought someone else with her. A man who was terminally ill and dying."

“Senior Ye Tong!” Liu Xunyi’s mind straightened up, and he immediately understood everything. He said bluntly, “At that time, it should have been the day when Granny Taohua left Jueqing Valley and accompanied Senior Ye on his travels.”

"That's right." Mei Zichuan nodded and said, "Back then, Huaying brought Ye Tong to the Tiger's Den Dragon Pond. She asked us to borrow the Dragon Pond. She wanted Ye Tong to soak in the Dragon Pond day and night, using poison to fight poison, in order to have the last chance of survival."

Pan Yuyin asked in confusion: "What is Longtan?"

"Longtan is a black water pond with a radius of several meters. It is naturally formed. No matter how cold or hot it is, the water in the pond always remains warm." Liu Xunyi explained, "There are countless poisonous insects soaking in the pond. Over the past thousands of years, countless poisons have settled at the bottom of the pond, so the water is extremely poisonous. Legend has it that even if a dragon from the sky enters the pond, it will be buried at the bottom of the pond, so it was named 'Zanglongtan', and later changed to 'Longtan'. The word 'Longtan' in 'Tiger Cave Dragon Pond' comes from this."

"May I ask, Senior Mei, whether it was possible to lend Longtan to Granny Peach Blossom back then?" Chang Wuhui asked.

"I agree to lend you the Dragon Pond, but there is one condition."

"Treat Baoer?" Pan Yuyin asked suspiciously.

"That's right!" Mei Zichuan said, "but..."

"But in the end, all efforts were in vain. Longtan failed to save Ye Tong, and Granny Taohua failed to cure Baoer." Liu Xunyi continued.

"That's right. Huaying tried every possible means to treat Bao'er. Although she was unable to cure him, it was effective. Bao'er's body and mind have undergone some subtle changes."

"Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once it happens, it will happen again." Pan Yuyin said hurriedly, "In that case, Master must have a way to cure Baoer."

Mei Zichuan snorted, "Back then, the method of fighting poison with poison not only didn't work, but it made Ye Tong's condition worse. So Huaying insisted on accompanying Ye Tong to leave Changbai Mountain and find another way in the few days left. They had gone through so much hardship and finally lived together until old age. We felt for them, so we didn't stop them. Back then, Huaying and I agreed that after she cured Ye Tong's illness, she would return to Changbai Mountain to treat Bao'er, but I didn't expect... this wait would last more than 20 years."

"Senior Mei, you don't know that not long after Granny Taohua parted with you, Senior Ye... passed away." Liu Xunyi explained, "Granny Taohua was heartbroken and felt as if she had given up hope, so she retired from the world and never practiced medicine again..."

"At the same time, she also broke her promise to me." Mei Zichuan said coldly, "She only cared about her own sadness, but forgot that there was a poor child waiting for her to save his life in Changbai Mountain. Back then, she borrowed the Dragon Pond to treat Ye Tong, but later she ignored Baoer. What do you think, should I ask for this debt?"

After that, Mei Zichuan looked at Bao'er with a melancholy expression, and murmured to himself with a forced smile: "When we were young, my husband and I could still take care of him, feed him, dress him and cover him with quilts... But now we are old and our death is approaching. I am afraid... I am afraid that after we are gone, no one will continue to take care of our Bao'er. He will be alone and helpless. How will he survive in this world..."

Mei Zichuan's words, filled with deep affection and love for his only son, were touching and heartbreaking.

"May I ask Senior Huang..."

"The 'Qian Kun Jiu Ji Gong' that I practiced was at a critical moment of breaking through the ninth level, so I had been in seclusion since the beginning of the year. When I learned that Hua Ying had returned to the martial arts world, I left a letter at home and hurried to Jiangzhou with Bao Er." Mei Zichuan said, "No matter what, I will let Hua Ying heal Bao Er on this trip."

"Brother Liu, can we help Senior Mei?"

Pan Yuyin was so moved that her eyes were red and she choked up and said, "Master is kind-hearted. She must have had her own reasons for not returning to Changbai Mountain to treat Baoer's illness. But I believe she will not stand by and watch him die this time."

"Miss Pan is right!" Tang Cong approached Liu Xunyi and whispered, "Master, we are going to Jueqing Valley and we are unfamiliar with the place. What if the master of Jueqing Valley is a tyrant or a cold-blooded devil who likes to kill innocent people? If we keep Mei Zichuan by his side, he can at least take care of us. If a fight really breaks out... we will have more helpers."

Seeing Liu Xunyi hesitated, Tang Cong hurriedly added, "Senior Mei has done Granny Taohua a favor, and Granny Taohua is the lifesaver of Jueqing Valley Master. I think Jueqing Valley Master will not make things difficult for them and their son. I hope... he won't make things difficult for us either."

Liu Xunyi pondered for a moment, then turned to Mei Zichuan and bowed, "Senior Mei, we have a mission to accomplish. We need to go visit the Lord of Jueqing Valley and then rush back to the Xianwang Mansion. I dare to invite you. If you don't mind, can you come with us?"

"That's fine!"

After hesitating for a moment, Mei Zichuan slowly nodded and said, "Since you can lead us to find Huaying, then we will go with you. But let me be clear, if you dare to deceive us, I will make sure you die a miserable death."

In response, Liu Xunyi just smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Tang Cong hurriedly urged Chang Wuhui, "It's getting late, we should set off!" After that, he looked at Qian Long, who looked confused, and jokingly said, "Boatman, can such a small boat accommodate so many of us?"

"Excuse me, sir." Qian Long said with a wry smile, "Today, at dawn, a group of guests in a hurry to cross the river suddenly came to the ferry, so my second brother sent them across the river on a large boat. They must be back soon, otherwise... should we wait?"

"No need, let's go!"

Chang Wuhui was quite dissatisfied with Liu Xunyi's unauthorized decision-making, but because both Taohua Granny and Tang Afu were under house arrest in Prince Xian's Mansion, he had to compromise, so his face looked extremely resentful at this moment.

After getting on the boat, Qian Long and Chang Wuhui first covered the eyes of Liu Xunyi and others with black cloth. When everything was correct, Qian Long inserted the oar into the river with both hands, and then pushed hard. The boat swayed gently and moved slowly. Ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the river.

"The breeze blows gently, the water is not disturbed... Even if I am as small as a reed, I can still soar above the vast sea."

……

(End of this chapter)