Chapter 153: The Warmth and Coldness of the World

While the disciples of the Shoushan Sect recognized the situation and were scrambling to earn Merit, Senior Brother Zhou Huai left the Shoushan Sect.

Before this, although he was crippled, the Shoushan Sect hadn’t kicked him out. They even gave him enough Spirit Pills and healing medicines to recover. There also weren’t any cliché melodramas like someone bullying him with influence and driving him out of the sect heir’s cave dwelling. Still, he simply couldn’t bring himself to stay any longer.

He despised how junior brothers and sisters who once obeyed his every word were now pushing hard to build achievements and gain virtue down the mountain. He hated how every disciple in the entire sect fawned over that Fang family’s Second Son just to seek a Treasure Body cultivation method!

“A bunch of ungrateful wretches!” Zhou Huai cursed in his heart. He packed a small bundle and slung it over his shoulder. He then cut down a slender pear tree near his cave dwelling entrance and made himself a walking stick. Now without any cultivation base, forget floating on clouds or soaring through mists; even walking was slower than others. But he had to leave. He refused to stay another day in this place. So, leaning on his cane, he was determined to walk down the mountain, step by step…

He would not beg for mercy from that Fang Second Son, because he had done nothing wrong.

The world is vast! Surely, there is somewhere Zhou Huai can stand!

So, step by step, he descended the mountain. It took him three full days to finally reach Qingjiang Prefecture City. Seeing the high dome of the County Mansion towering far ahead, seemingly radiating boundless spiritual essence outwards, he felt a surge of hope. His legs, numb from the long walk, somehow found extra strength, and he quickened his pace.

He didn’t dare go straight to the County Mansion. Instead, he went towards Little Bridge Alley in the east of Qingjiang Prefecture. He came before a large courtyard with white walls and dark window shutters. Suppressing his excitement, he stepped forward and knocked on the brass door knockers, his face full of expectation as he waited for someone to answer.

The gate opened, revealing an old servant wearing a long robe, who looked Zhou Huai up and down: “Who are you looking for?”

Zhou Huai hurriedly replied: “A disciple of the Shoushan Sect… My name is Zhou Huai. I’m looking for Chief Warden Peng!”

When he saw Chief Warden Peng, Zhou Huai nearly burst into tears; he wanted to pour out all his grievances. But Chief Warden Peng spoke first: “About that matter with the minor seal official position, I suppose I owe you an explanation. It’s not that your brothers took your silver and then failed to do what they promised. It’s just that Yuan Xiaoyin offered far more generously. Who knew he’d find so many ingenious treasures? You only came to one person… but he bribed everyone, top to bottom. How could we give that minor seal position to you?”

Hearing this, Zhou Huai gritted his teeth inwardly, but he suppressed his anger and said solemnly, “I don’t blame you, Chief Warden Peng. I just beg your mercy. Please help me find a job within the County Mansion. It doesn’t have to be a seal official post; even a common menial job is fine. A runner position in the Demon Capture Bureau is fine. A… a servant by your side… is also fine! I… I just want to find a place to stay first. I just want to find an entry point. I want… I want to cultivate again. I must cultivate to become stronger than before! And then… then I will go and find that person…”

“Find that person…” Chief Warden Peng gave Zhou Huai another look from head to toe, then smiled faintly. “I heard about what happened to Young Master Zhou. That Second Young Master really hits hard. Does the Shoushan Sect have no rules left? Young Master Zhou used to be the Grand Disciple there, after all! But he just crippled you and cast you out as he pleased. Who exactly is the Sect Leader of the Shoushan Sect? Is it Xu Wenxin? Or is he?”

“Yes! That’s the scoundrel! That’s the one! I definitely will…” Zhou Huai felt Chief Warden Peng’s words spoke right to his heart. He wanted to scream, his hatred ready to explode.

“In that case, why don’t you go back, Young Master Zhou?” Chief Warden Peng seemed pleased by Zhou Huai’s fury. He smiled at him and lowered his voice. “Return first. Pretend you’ve realized your mistake. Then ask them to heal you. A true man bides his time for revenge. After you’ve healed your wounds, just lay low carefully… wait for your opportunity. Wouldn’t that be…”

“Go back?” Zhou Huai froze, his face struck with shock. After a long moment, he slowly shook his head, his expression wretched. “I’ve already left the mountain. There’s no way back. Besides, my meridians are shattered… how could healing be so easy? And that person acted too ruthlessly, leaving no room at all. Staying on the mountain without earning Merit… I would be driven out eventually anyway. So… so, Chief Warden Peng, I only beg you…”

“All meridians damaged?” Chief Warden Peng showed slight surprise. A wisp of his spirit sense touched Zhou Huai. After a long moment, he sighed softly. “So tragic!”

Teardrops welled in Zhou Huai’s eyes, touched.

Then he heard Chief Warden Peng sigh again: “Pity. I can’t help you.”

Zhou Huai instantly froze, staring at Chief Warden Peng in disbelief.

Chief Warden Peng chuckled lightly, looking him up and down once more. “Young Master Zhou is no Qi Refiner anymore. Twenty-five meridians completely shattered. Tsk tsk. I’ve seen crippled people, but never one crippled so thoroughly. Your request is indeed simple enough: menial work would do, a runner position would do, you’d even be willing to be my servant. But the problem is… whether it’s menial tasks or runners at the County Mansion… useless cripples won’t be hired…”

“I… I…” Zhou Huai was completely stunned, looking at this Chief Warden brother as if seeing him for the first time.

“I can’t help you. Try somewhere else. Official duties call… I have assignments to attend to…” Still smiling, Chief Warden Peng turned to go back inside his residence.

Zhou Huai suddenly reacted, staggering forward with trembling legs, crying and begging: “Chief Warden, please, rest assured! I’m not completely ruined! I can still recover! I asked an alchemist! He said only twenty-five of my meridians are destroyed, my former cultivation is gone, but the other meridians… other meridians can still be cultivated! I… I can still cultivate! I only need an opportunity…”

“You can cultivate…” Chief Warden Peng glanced at him, then laughed. “But do you know how much silver that will cost?”

Zhou Huai gasped: “I… I gave you silver before, Chief Warden brother… Please, give it back to me now… Wait, no, lend it to me for now…”

Chief Warden Peng’s face hardened completely. With a cold flick of his sleeve, he hissed: “Get lost!”

Zhou Huai was thrown out into the street by a couple of servants. His once neatly arranged clothes were instantly covered in dust. The kicks and mud stains on his body were nothing much, but his mind was a mess, filled with surging blood that kept rushing to his head, making it feel numb. He couldn’t grasp it; he couldn’t believe it. How could Chief Warden Peng turn on him this badly in just a few days?

“I only wanted a chance to cultivate again…” he almost wailed. “Why won’t you even give me that small chance?”

But no one listened. Chief Warden Peng’s servants were already walking away, swearing and grumbling.

……

“Fine! Fine! You play it so harshly! I’ll go to the County Mansion! I’ll go beg Old Master Fan! He will surely…” Gritting his teeth, Zhou Huai desperately made his way to the front of the County Mansion and knelt down stiffly. A man’s knees are worth gold, but he didn’t care now. He wanted to appeal to Old Master Fan. He had decided: if he didn’t see him in one day, he would kneel for three; if he didn’t see him in three days, he would kneel until death. He only begged to see Old Master Fan. And once he saw him… he wouldn’t mention the matter with Chief Warden Peng, to avoid offending him further. He would only accuse that Fang Second Son and plead for Old Master Fan to take him in, to grant him a new chance to cultivate. And then…

“Get out of the way, beggar! How dare you kneel before the County Mansion?”

Zhou Huai hadn’t expected that he’d barely touched his forehead to the ground before a guard from the County Mansion entrance rushed over to him.

Zhou Huai hastily prepared to kowtow further, wanting to explain he wasn’t here for alms but for justice. But before he could finish speaking, the guard lashed out with a kick. Zhou Huai was violently flung back four or five zhang (15-20 meters), crashing down so hard he felt every bone threaten to shatter.

But he refused to give up. Filled with rage, he roared and rushed forward again, determined to kneel before the County Mansion gate.

“I am Zhou Huai, Grand Disciple of the Shoushan Sect! I demand to see–!”

Before the words left his mouth, he was kicked flying again. The words were choked deep inside him, unheard. As Zhou Huai gritted his teeth to charge once more, the guard swiftly drew his saber with a sharp ring. The cold blade now pointed directly at Zhou Huai’s face.

“The Prefect must leave on official business in half an hour! You fool! Don’t you know how many matters our Old Scholar, advanced in years, handles daily? Yet here you come daily, disturbing him without understanding the gravity! Dare you cause more trouble? Should I charge you with disrupting a Saint and end you with this blade?”

Zhou Huai looked at the chilling glint of the saber blade. He dared not utter another word.

But he remembered the words: Old Master Fan would leave in half an hour.

So he retreated to crouch at the street corner among beggars. He waited patiently. Finally, he saw a solemn black sedan chair emerge from the County Mansion. Clenching his teeth, he seized a momentary lapse in the guards’ attention and sprang forward out of hiding.

He opened his mouth to loudly shout out his grievances. Unfortunately, he hadn’t run more than a few steps before a crushing pressure swept over him. He felt an immense, invisible force hit him. It flung him back impossibly fast. His entire body slammed against a wall. The impact left him dazed and seeing stars; not a single word escaped his lips before he crashed…

In that moment, Zhou Huai felt utterly stunned. He thought Old Master Fan should have heard his commotion, yet the sedan chair didn’t stop.

Instead, the guards who had previously chased him away now charged towards him, their eyes murderous as they gripped their sabers.

Fear shot through Zhou Huai’s soul. He scrambled up, threw down his walking stick, and fled blindly. Even he didn’t know how he, a cripple, managed to escape from the hands of guards who clearly possessed Qi Refiner techniques. He only knew he didn’t stop running until he was out of the city outskirts and into wild, abandoned mountains. Gasping for breath, he looked back, wide-eyed.

Finally… no one was following.

Lost, he scanned the desolate landscape. Where should he even go?

Zhou Huai felt utterly adrift. The thought of returning to Qingjiang Prefecture terrified him. Perhaps he had assumed everything was too simple? Was his thirst for revenge too desperate?

Yes. He needed to stabilize himself. He needed to slow down… to think things through… then take step by step again…

……

Holding this thought, he slowly got back up. Like a man who’d lost his soul, he walked forward without direction. Time blurred; nights passed and days rose. After several days of wandering, he saw a large courtyard wall topped by high, soaring eaves. Suddenly, it dawned on him: he had actually returned to the home he had vowed never to set foot in again after being cast out…

He had sworn not to return. But since he was already here… Zhou Huai pondered for a long time, then slowly approached the main gate. He was still several zhang (meters) away when the gate suddenly opened. An old servant was seeing off guests. Zhou Huai’s feet instantly locked on the spot at the sight.

The old servant just turned his head and caught sight of him. After a careful moment of recognition, his face instantly showed great surprise: “Young Master? Young Master, how… why have you come back?”

That shout attracted countless gazes towards Zhou Huai.

Zhou Huai couldn’t bear those stares. He turned and fled. He thought the old servant would surely chase after him. Inside that house, the man he never wanted to call ‘Father’ again would hear the news and surely come out after him. And then…

So, instinctively, he slowed his run. But after covering several streets, his back was still empty. There was nothing but the bewildered eyes around him.

The old servant hadn’t followed.

Zhou Huai slowly crouched down, feeling a vast emptiness inside. He waited there.

He waited and waited. No one came looking for him.

He waited until night fell. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he himself walked back to the front of the Zhou Mansion.

The front of the Zhou Family mansion stood empty and quiet, with no signs of anyone coming out to search for him. It was as if they had forgotten he ever came back…

Laughter floated out from within the courtyard, warm and harmonious.

That warmth pierced Zhou Huai deeply at this moment.

“This home,” it thought, “it isn’t mine anymore…”

“When I slapped that stepmother and left in anger back then, I swore I would never come back…”

“So, I absolutely won’t go in now!”

So, gritting his teeth, Zhou Huai forced himself to turn around once more, forcing himself once again to leave this home. A new surge of motivation stirred within him. He would go find Uncle Liang, that old servant who had always been loyal to him. After his mother died, it was Uncle Liang who had cared for him, paid his expenses to join the Shoushan Sect to cultivate, and even spent a lot of money to smooth his connections at the County Mansion!

As long as he found Uncle Liang, as long as he reached him…

He would, at least, have a full meal. At least, there would be one person he could speak his heart to.

Zhou Huai didn’t know if it was the belief in revenge, or the belief in that one hot meal, that somehow pushed him onward. He walked, oblivious to day and night, walking on with dull steps until exhausted, then collapsing to sleep by the roadside…

Finally, he reached Fuyuan Trading House and saw the white-haired elder behind the counter.

“Uncle Liang…”

Zhou Huai gazed at him, giving a weak, strained smile, almost collapsing right there.

If I just pass out now, he thought, and wake up in a warm bed with a full meal… wouldn’t that be wonderful?

But he did not faint!

Because he saw that the moment Uncle Liang spotted him, his face immediately contorted with unspeakable fury and hatred!

He saw Uncle Liang grab an abacus and rush out after him. “What have you done? Just how big a mess did you make? Old man… old man’s entire life savings were poured into you! I was just pinning my hopes on you, hoping you’d make something of yourself! Hoping my few descendants could rely on the protection of one Qi Refiner! But you… what did you do?”

“You blew through all my money! You ruined my business! And you became a cripple…!”

“You… you actually dare to come back…?”

Zhou Huai stared at the old man who, in his memory, had always been kind-faced, the only person who ever made him feel close. Now, the man looked like he wanted nothing more than to strangle him. It felt like something inside Zhou Huai shattered. He didn’t know how many hits landed on his head. He only knew to turn and run. He kept running, not sure if it was to avoid the blows, or to escape Uncle Liang’s hateful curses…

When he fled outside the city walls again, despair finally consumed him utterly. He wanted to roar, but had no strength. He wanted to weep bitterly, but had no tears. All he wanted to ask was: “Why? Why does everyone treat me this way? Why is there no one kind to me? Why, when I offered sincerity and sought to earn it, did I only get snarling faces in return?”

“Why have I fallen to this state?”

“Is there really, truly, not a single decent person left in this world?”

He had lost all strength. He could only lie there, gazing up at the starlight above. It felt so close, so bright.

Zhou Huai could feel his life force fading within him.

If I had just stayed at Shoushan Mountain, he thought. At least I’d have a bed now. At least I’d have food. Thinking of food made him even hungrier. Yearning desperately, he thought: If only someone could give me just a little something to eat, show the smallest scrap of mercy…

Several dark figures appeared nearby. “Is this one dead?” they asked.

Beggars.

Zhou Huai could feel them moving closer to check his breath. He strained to breathe, wanting them to know he wasn’t dead yet. He hoped these beggars might give him some food, or even just a sip of water.

“Not dead yet, almost there!”

“Well then, let’s treat him as dead!”

He heard their voices, then felt them crowd around him, hands pawing at his body.

They grabbed and snatched, pulling off his robe and boots, taking even the coin purse they knew was empty.

Then, laughing and joking, they walked away.

There truly is no mercy in this world!

Zhou Huai thought in despair, tears slowly trickling from the corners of his eyes…

…

“Don’t cry now! Quite the mature look you’ve got there, huh!”

Right then, Zhou Huai suddenly heard a voice.

It startled him deeply, especially the two words “Young Master” ringing in his ears. A strange, desperate strength surged within him. With a final burst of energy, he flipped over and pushed himself up to look. He saw a man who smiled warmly and kindly. The man leaned down and said calmly, “My surname is Lin. I’ve been following you. I know everything that’s happened to you these past days.”

“I’ve come here because the Young Master sent me to ask you a question: Do you know what you did wrong now?”

“I…”

Zhou Huai instantly knew who he meant by “Young Master.” Innumerable images stormed into his mind.

There was Chief Peng’s smile. The guards before the County Mansion gate. The home echoing with laughter. Uncle Liang’s furious face…

But finally, they settled on one person’s smile: “Since you despise those hypocrites who act friendly…”

“…then, as a cripple, go experience the true flavor of the real world!”

…

He understood the meaning behind those words in a flash. A peculiar sensation flooded his chest. So, everything he was experiencing now… had it all been foreseen by that person? Had every sneer, every mocking laugh, every dashed hope, every bit of bitterness he’d felt along the way simply been entertainment for him, like watching a joke?

Just because he insulted his brother, was he forced to endure all this?

Malice and regret, indescribable, filled him inside. Tears surged uncontrollably from Zhou Huai’s eyes.

In that instant, regret and hatred engulfed him completely.

He wanted to scream every vile curse at the whole world, to vent his hate.

But when his lips moved, what came out was: “I… I know. I know I was wrong…”

The first words ripped out, and speaking the rest felt suddenly weightless.

Weeping bitterly, he yelled with all his failing strength: “I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have said those things…”

“The Immortal Master is good! He’s truly good! Really! Really, it was my fault…”

“I beg you, tell the Young Master… Zhou Huai knows he was wrong…”

…

He used every ounce of strength left in his body, shouting it all out, desperate to purge his heart.

He used every bit of his remaining will, trying to sway the man before him, to beg for a chance to live. Just to live…

As long as he lived, anything was possible.

Something surged within Zhou Huai then. It sprouted, making him feel clearer-headed than ever before. Like he had been reborn. Suddenly, too many things were clear: “Yes. Yes. A man seeking revenge bides his time… Ten years are not too long!”

“They… they just want me to yield, don’t they?”

“I can yield. I can lower myself into the dust! No matter how he humiliates me, I’ll endure it. I’ll wait for my chance! Wait until I master my powers! Wait until I gain enough strength!”

Just wait…

Chief Peng… the guards at the County Mansion gates… that home echoing with laughter, which held nothing for him now… that ungrateful old slave surnamed Liang… even… even those beggars… even… even the second young master of the Fang Family…

You will all regret treating me this way…

…

Infinite thoughts blazed in his heart, yet Zhou Huai’s face wore only an expression of profound, enlightened understanding.

To any observer, he merely seemed filled with regret, weeping bitterly, bowing low at the feet of the man called Lin, pouring out his remorse.

“Stop crying! Young man, taking a wrong turn now and then is inevitable!”

The man called Lin noted his pleas conscientiously, then spoke softly, trying to soothe him: “The eldest Young Master will forgive you!”

As he spoke, he gently reached out his hand… as if to help Zhou Huai up.

Wild joy surged through Zhou Huai. He stretched his hand out… only to see that helpful hand pass completely over his own… and press firmly against his head.

…

Zhou Huai froze, stunned, looking dazedly up at the man called Lin.

And he saw that smiling face looking down… but in the man’s eyes, he saw unmistakable disdain and mockery, like an adult watching a child play a cheap trick: “Oh, he who would forgive you? The eldest Young Master? But he’s already dead. What you’ll face now… is the second Young Master!”

“The Young Master said he knew all along you’d admit your mistake… but he isn’t planning on forgiving you!”