Chapter 441: Old Friend from Western Hunan (I)

"Everyone stand down!"

Inside the room, Yun Zhuiyue ordered Si Wudao and the others to leave.

"Afu!" Xiao Zhirou ordered expressionlessly, "Go out and wait for me."

"But he..."

"Don't worry!" Xiao Zhirou understood Tang Afu's thoughts and said calmly, "Saint Master Yun and my teacher are old friends. He won't harm me."

Hearing this, Yun Zhuiyue's pupils suddenly shrank, as if she was very excited. She said bitterly: "For you, I can even give up my own life. It was like this back then, it is like this today, and it will be like this in the future."

Tang Afu only knew that Xiao Zhirou and Yun Zhuiyue were childhood sweethearts, but he had no idea what their relationship was. He was stunned and secretly guessed their relationship.

"Valley Master, I'm waiting outside the door!"

Tang Afu left a meaningful answer, took a deep look at Yun Zhuiyue who was completely focused on Xiao Zhirou, and quickly left the room.

After a while, Xiao Zhirou and Yun Zhuiyue were the only ones left in the room, and the atmosphere gradually became a little subtle.

At this moment, Yun Zhuiyue's usual calm and composed appearance was gone. He stood blankly in front of Xiao Zhirou. Under the gaze of her beautiful, sparkling eyes, he was like a child at a loss, not knowing whether he was excited or nervous. He rubbed his hands subconsciously, and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Rou'er, I..."

Before he could finish his words, Yun Zhuiyue's throat suddenly tightened, and he was so nervous that he couldn't speak. His cloudy eyes were filled with tears of excitement.

"You...are you really Du Xiang?"

Xiao Zhirou looked up and down at the nervous Yun Zhuiyue in disbelief, her eyes full of surprise.

"Yes."

As if awakened by Xiao Zhirou's reaction, Yun Zhuiyue was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head to examine himself, couldn't help but smile sadly, and said: "More than 20 years have passed, and you are still as graceful as a fairy, exactly the same as you were back then. Look at me in this ugly state, standing with you... No! I am no longer worthy of standing with you, I... am no longer the Du Xiang of the past."

The former Du Xiang was romantic, handsome, majestic, and handsome. He is completely different from the Yun Zhuiyue today, who wears a mask, a black robe, has cloudy eyes, and a hoarse voice.

"Why?" Xiao Zhirou asked in surprise, "Back then, I sent people to the Teng tribe to look for you, but they said you had already left Xiangxi. Over the years, I have been looking for news about you everywhere, but there has been no news. What happened back then?"

"Back then, you were trapped in love and jumped into the abyss, which made me disheartened and I drank all day to drown my sorrows." Yun Zhuiyue recalled, "At that time, there were two people I hated the most in my heart. One was Luo Tianjin, and the other was my adoptive father."

Xiao Zhirou frowned and said hesitantly, "Are you talking about... my father?"

"Yes!" Yun Zhuiyue said in a deep voice, "I hate him for being blind and trusting that beast Luo Tianjin. I blame him for using the Yaotai martial arts competition to decide your lifelong happiness. You were deceived by Luo Tianjin, and your adoptive father is to blame. Since you left, my relationship with my adoptive father has deteriorated a lot, and we are almost strangers. One day, I got drunk and had a big fight with my adoptive father. At that time, my adoptive father became very angry because of your "death", so he drove me out of Xiangxi in a rage."

When Teng Sanshi was mentioned, Xiao Zhirou couldn't help but feel heartbroken. She murmured, "You shouldn't resent my father. All the mistakes he made back then were my fault alone. It had nothing to do with him. He...was burdened by a daughter like me..."

"No!" Yun Zhuiyue said fiercely, "You only know one thing, not the other. Do you know why Luo Tianjin, who had just recovered from a serious injury in the battle of Yaotai, was able to defeat me?"

Xiao Zhirou was stunned and asked blankly: "Why?"

"Because my foster father was secretly helping him!" Yun Zhuiyue was heartbroken, and gnashed his teeth every time he mentioned this matter. "Not only did my foster father personally teach him martial arts and give him the Jiyuan Pill to help him break through the bottleneck of his internal strength, but he also secretly told him my weaknesses. If not for this, how could I lose to the guy named Luo?"

At this point, Yun Zhuiyue's eyes had turned red, and he roared, "I am his adopted son, and I have lived with him day and night for more than ten years, but in the end I am no match for an outsider? When I learned the truth, how could I not be disheartened? How could I not blame him?"

Yun Zhuiyue's words made Xiao Zhirou feel mixed emotions. Although she didn't know what happened, she understood why Teng Sanshi, who always abided by the rules, suddenly became so unfair?

There is only one reason, and that is that he loves his daughter so much.

Back then, Teng Sanshi knew that his daughter's beloved man was Luo Tianjin, and he held the "Yaotai Martial Arts Competition" only to consider Yun Zhuiyue's mood and face, but he never intended to let his precious daughter marry someone he didn't love.

For this reason, Teng Sanshi broke the rules and secretly helped Luo Tianjin. In this matter, it is better to say that Teng Sanshi favors his own daughter rather than an outsider.

More than twenty years have passed since what happened back then. Who was right or wrong no longer matters to Xiao Zhirou today. Even if she could tell right from wrong, Xiao Zhirou would not turn back into Teng Rou, and Yun Zhuiyue would not turn back into Du Xiang.

Therefore, facing Yun Zhuiyue's paranoia and anger, Xiao Zhirou did not explain, nor did she intend to explain.

"And then you joined Longxiang Mountain?"

"Yes!" Yun Zhuiyue calmed down and nodded slowly. "After you jumped off the cliff, my adoptive father refused to use the power of the Teng clan to avenge you. He only said some excuses and pretexts like 'the overall situation is more important' and 'peace is the most precious'. Since then, I hated the noble and upright sects that were full of benevolence and morality, so I joined Longxiang Mountain and vowed to fight against those noble and upright sects and hypocritical gentlemen until death. The previous Saint Master valued me very much, but unfortunately he died young. In the sixth year after I joined Longxiang Mountain, he died because of his obsession with practicing martial arts. Before he died, he insisted on passing the position of Saint Master to me despite everyone's opposition. He was very kind to me. When I ascended the throne of the Saint Master of Longxiang Mountain, I changed my name according to the rules. I changed my name to 'Yun Zhuiyue', following the surname of my ancestor Yun Hongyi."

Yun Zhuiyue suddenly raised his head, stared at Xiao Zhirou who seemed to be thinking about something, and said excitedly: "Rou'er, do you know why I changed my name to 'Zhuiyue'?"

"Why?"

"Because of you!" Yun Zhuiyue said seriously, "Your name is Teng Rou, and the character 'Teng' is half of the character 'Yue'. Chasing the moon means chasing you. I am willing to pursue you for my entire life... No! It means chasing you for all my lives. My feelings for you have never changed from the beginning to the end..." "Enough!"

Xiao Zhirou suddenly interrupted Yun Zhuiyue's confession and turned around and said, "Don't mention the past anymore!"

"Why?" Yun Zhuiyue asked unwillingly, "Could it be that in your heart... you still can't forget that unfaithful person?"

"Of course not!" Xiao Zhirou denied it fiercely, "Now, I only hate people with the surname Luo, endless hatred!"

"That……"

"Tell me about you!" Without waiting for Yun Zhuiyue to ask, Xiao Zhirou quickly changed the subject, "I couldn't recognize you just now."

Yun Zhuiyue was startled when he heard this, and subconsciously reached out to touch the mask on his face, saying bitterly: "When the founder Yun Hongyi was alive, he established an iron rule that before the successive Holy Lords of Longxiang Mountain ascended the throne, they must go through the "three changes". That is, 'changing name', 'changing body', and 'changing soul', so that they can succeed the position of Holy Lord. Among them, changing the name means abandoning the original name, taking "Yun" as the surname, and taking a new name to show that they are reborn and become a human being in the second life. Changing the soul means forgetting all the good and evil, right and wrong, and the right and wrong of the past, and only focusing on the eternal prosperity of Longxiang Mountain, and endless life, and for this, they do not hesitate to become a Buddha or a demon, both good and evil."

"Then the body change is..."

"Change body..." At this moment, Yun Zhuiyue's voice became a little trembling, as if he was very reluctant to mention this matter. "Before the new Holy Lord takes the throne, he must purify himself and soak in the pool for a night to improve his skills."

"Into the pool?"

"The blood pool at Mount Longxiang." Yun Zhuiyue said, "Once you enter the blood pool, your body and hair will all rot and burn, and your internal strength will break through its own shackles. When you come out of the bath, your power will definitely increase greatly, and your whole body will rot like rotten meat, and your appearance... will be completely unrecognizable."

"hiss!"

Yun Zhuiyue's words were so shocking that Xiao Zhirou was terrified and shocked.

"so you……"

“That’s right!” Yun Zhuiyue gnashed her teeth and said, “In order to sit on the throne of the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain, I am willing to become this ugly, half-human, half-ghost appearance today.”

After that, Yun Zhuiyue's finger lightly slid across the mask and said self-deprecatingly: "I have been the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain for many years, and I have worn this mask for many years."

As if sensing Xiao Zhirou's inner turmoil, Yun Zhuiyue pretended to be relaxed and said, "Let's not talk about the past."

Xiao Zhirou's expression darkened, and she hesitated and asked, "Then... when did you know I was still alive?"

"It started when you founded the Unfeeling Valley." Yun Zhuiyue said with a smile, "When I first heard about the 'Unfeeling Valley' and 'Xiao Zhirou', I knew that God had a vision and that you had survived the catastrophe. Xiao Zhirou was Teng Rou."

"you……"

"Don't be surprised. Nothing in the martial arts world can be hidden from the eyes and ears of Longxiang Mountain." Yun Zhuiyue said, "Even your disciple Tang Afu's position on the Longxiang Ranking was appointed by me."

"Since you know I'm not dead, why don't you come find me?"

"You survived the disaster, why don't you return to the Teng clan?"

"This……"

They looked at each other, and without saying anything, they understood each other tacitly.

"I know that after what happened back then, neither you nor I want to have anything to do with our past selves." Xiao Zhirou's words were full of meaning and quite sad. "But some things can be done as you please, while some things can never be hidden."

"What do you want to say?" Yun Zhuiyue's eyelids twitched, and he asked back, "What can't be concealed?"

"This is something you can't cover up no matter what!"

Before she finished her words, Xiao Zhirou had already slowly spread out her jade hands in front of Yun Zhuiyue.

In the palm of his hand, there was a pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants.

At this moment, the emotion on Xiao Zhirou's face disappeared completely, replaced by an unprecedented anticipation, even mixed with a hint of nervousness.

Facing Xiao Zhirou's charming eyes, Yun Zhuiyue was as infatuated and absent-minded as he was back then. When he saw the dragon and phoenix jade pendant in Xiao Zhirou's palm, a hint of bitterness flashed in his eyes.

"Rou'er, you..."

“Whether it’s Du Xiang or Yun Zhuiyue, it’s time to take back what I entrusted to you!”

……

(End of this chapter)