Chapter 81

In recent days, although Linghu Chong had been treated by Yue Buqun, his condition had stabilized, and although he could somewhat calm the conflict between the Purple Mist True Qi and the Six Paths True Qi that Yue Buqun had infused into his body, each time the condition flared up, it caused him great pain, and it became more severe each time.

Seeing that his master had no solution, Linghu Chong also realized that he was likely incurable, and he could not help but feel deeply saddened: I learned the Nine Swords of Dugu from Uncle Feng, thinking that I could now enjoy a carefree life with my junior sister in the江湖 (jianghu), but who would have thought I would end up like this.

Thinking of Yue Lingshan, Linghu Chong felt even more pain, often thinking: My junior sister has deep feelings for me, and I only wish for her to be happy all her life. But with my current condition, I don't know if I will ever recover, how can I still be worthy of her? If I am truly incurable, I will leave on my own, so as not to worry my master, mistress, and junior brothers.

With this thought, he deliberately avoided contact with Yue Lingshan. Even when Yue Lingshan came to see him, he refused her, citing the separation of men and women. Yue Lingshan noticed Linghu Chong's distance, though she did not understand why, and felt somewhat unhappy, thinking: If you don't let me take care of you, do you think I, a girl, will beg you? Feeling angry, she gradually reduced her interactions with Linghu Chong and did not realize what he was thinking.

Although Linghu Chong thought this way, every time he saw Yue Lingshan, his heart ached, and he only wished to look at her a little longer.

One day, feeling depressed, Linghu Chong left Lu Dàyǒu behind and went out alone to drink his sorrows away. Lu Dàyǒu, after being observed by everyone for several days, showed no abnormalities and kept asking to take care of his senior brother. Seeing this, Yue Buqun, recalling that he had always respected his teacher and rarely interacted with outsiders, agreed and let him take care of Linghu Chong.

Luoyang, the capital of several dynasties, was grand in scale, but its markets were not very prosperous. Linghu Chong, with limited knowledge of ancient history, saw various historical sites in Luoyang but did not understand their origins and found them uninteresting. He wandered down a few small streets, and his nose twitched: there was good wine!

Following the scent of the wine, Linghu Chong arrived at a narrow alley. At the end of the alley, there was a large patch of green bamboo, swaying in the wind, elegant and natural, creating a cool and peaceful atmosphere, a world apart from the bustling city outside.

As soon as Linghu Chong stepped into the alley, he heard the sound of a zither. Listening to the music, he couldn't help but think of his junior sister and tears welled up in his eyes.

At that moment, with a sharp sound, a zither string suddenly broke, and the music stopped. An elderly voice said, "Honored guest, what brings you to my humble abode?"

In his pain, the conflicting true qi in Linghu Chong's body flared up, and he looked extremely distressed. He immediately sat cross-legged and regulated his internal energy.

The person in the house seemed to sense this, and the zither music started again, but the melody was extremely gentle, like a soft sigh, or like morning dew gently moistening the petals, and a light breeze brushing the willow branches.

Linghu Chong, listening to the music, felt it was very helpful in calming his true qi, but his eyelids became increasingly heavy. He thought, "I mustn't sleep. It would be extremely disrespectful to fall asleep while listening to someone play the zither." Despite his efforts to stay focused, he could not resist the sleep, and soon his eyelids closed, and he fell asleep. In his dream, he vaguely heard the gentle zither music, as if a gentle hand was stroking his hair, like he was back in his childhood, in the arms of his mistress, feeling her affection and care.

After a long time, the zither music stopped, and Linghu Chong woke up, quickly getting up and feeling very ashamed. He said, "Disciple is at fault. I was not focused on listening to the noble performance and fell asleep. I am truly very ashamed."

The person in the house said, "You don't need to blame yourself. The music I played just now had a hypnotic effect, hoping to help regulate your internal true qi. Try to regulate your internal energy and see if the discomfort has decreased."

Linghu Chong immediately sat cross-legged and focused on his internal energy. He felt that although the true qi in his body was still conflicting, the intense feeling of blood rushing to his chest and the urge to vomit had greatly diminished. He was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, senior."

At this moment, an old man came out, and Linghu Chong thought he was the one who played the zither. However, he saw a piece of paper that read: "I humbly request to learn this melody, which will benefit me for life."

Linghu Chong immediately understood and said, "Disciple boldly requests to learn this melody from the senior so that I can regulate my true qi on my own." The old man's face showed joy, and he nodded repeatedly.

The person in the house did not answer immediately. After a moment, he said, "How is your zither skill? Can you play a melody?"

Linghu Chong's face turned red, and he said, "Disciple has never learned and is completely ignorant. It would be presumptuous to learn such a profound zither skill from the senior. Please forgive my audacity." He then bowed deeply to the old man and said, "Disciple will take my leave."

The person in the house said, "Please stay. Your injuries are so severe, it is also a concern. Bamboo Nephew, teach Linghu Shaojun the method of playing the zither tomorrow. If he has patience and can stay in Luoyang for a long time, then... then I will teach him this melody, 'Qingxin Pusanchou,' which is also acceptable." The last two sentences were spoken in a very low voice, almost inaudible.

Linghu Chong was overjoyed and from then on came to the bamboo house in the small alley early in the morning to learn the zither, returning in the evening. He also had lunch at the Green Bamboo Elder's place, where the food was simple, but each meal included good wine, all of high quality. Linghu Chong learned that the old man was called the Green Bamboo Elder and was also a wine connoisseur. Although he drank little, he knew a lot about wine, and could identify the origin and age of any fine wine with just one taste. Linghu Chong, who had never heard of such things, not only learned the zither from him but also learned about wine, finding that the knowledge of wine was as profound as swordsmanship and zither theory.

Over the next few days, the two became very familiar, like old friends. Whenever Lu Dàyǒu wanted to accompany him, Linghu Chong would divert him with other matters, fearing that it would disturb the tranquility of the place. Lu Dàyǒu, seeing that he was in good spirits, was happy and did not ask further.

A few days later, Yue Buqun's strength was fully restored, and he bid farewell to Wang Yuanba and his sons, boarding a boat to travel north along the Luo River. Wang Yuanba had already prepared several large boats to send the Huashan Sect members on board, providing them with ample travel expenses and food, enough for them to travel to Fujian and back.

Amidst the bustle, an old man in tattered clothes suddenly walked onto the boat and called out, "Linghu Shaojun!" Linghu Chong, seeing it was the Green Bamboo Elder, was startled and hurriedly greeted him with a bow. The Green Bamboo Elder said, "My aunt asked me to give this small gift to Linghu Shaojun." He then presented a long package wrapped in blue coarse cloth with white flowers.

Linghu Chong bowed and received it, saying, "Disciple gratefully accepts the generous gift from the senior." He bowed repeatedly, and the two parted with deep respect.

Yue Buqun was puzzled: How did Chong'er make a good friend on his first visit to Luoyang? After bidding farewell to Wang Yuanba, Yue Buqun asked, "Chong'er, who is he? Why did he give you something?"

Linghu Chong said, "Disciple has been learning the zither in the Green Bamboo Alley in the eastern city these past few days, and he is the owner of the place, the Green Bamboo Elder." He opened the package, revealing a short zither. The zither was old, clearly an antique, with the characters "Yan Yu" carved at the end. There was also a booklet with the title "Qingxin Pusanchou" on the cover. Linghu Chong felt a surge of emotion and exclaimed, "Ah!"

Yue Fangxing, who was nearby, guessed that the old man was the Green Bamboo Elder. Hearing Linghu Chong's words, he was even more certain and said in a low voice, "Let's talk in the cabin."

Linghu Chong did not understand, but Yue Buqun knew his son must have some information, so the two followed him into the cabin.

Yue Fangxing said to Linghu Chong, "Do you remember when Senior Qu entrusted me to take Qu Xiaomei to Luoyang?"

Linghu Chong, of course, remembered this, but he did not understand why Yue Fangxing was bringing it up. After a moment, he was startled and said, "Do you mean..."

Yue Fangxing said, "Exactly! This Green Bamboo Elder is the person Qu Yang entrusted." In fact, Qu Feiyang had never mentioned this, but he was using this to reveal the identity of the Green Bamboo Elder.

Linghu Chong, hearing this, trembled and said, "Is the Green Bamboo Elder also..."

Yue Fangxing said, "Of course, he is a member of the Devil Sect, and it is said that the Holy Maiden of the Devil Sect often comes here, which is why he lives in Luoyang!"

Yue Buqun, who was still puzzled, was suddenly alarmed when he heard about the Devil Sect and sternly said, "Chong'er, tell me everything that happened these past few days!"

Linghu Chong, feeling terrified, had never expected the Green Bamboo Elder to be a member of the Devil Sect. Hearing Yue Fangxing mention the "Holy Maiden" of the Devil Sect, he wondered if it was the senior in the house. Hearing his master's stern voice, he recounted everything that had happened.

Yue Buqun, hearing Linghu Chong's account, was even more furious: "Chong'er, you are my senior disciple of the Huashan Sect. How could you be so careless in the jianghu? The actions of these two people are clearly the Devil Sect's tactics to win favor and deceive people. You are not a fool, how could you not see through it? What happened to Liu Zhengfeng, have you forgotten so quickly?" He was extremely angry, as he had intended to pass the Purple Mist Divine Skill to Linghu Chong, hoping he would eventually lead the Huashan Sect. Now, everyone was working hard for the Huashan Sect and worrying about his injuries, but he had behaved so carelessly, associating with members of the Devil Sect, which made him even more angry.

Linghu Chong, hearing his master's scolding, quickly knelt down and said, "Master, disciple truly... did not know." His expression turned painful again, as the conflicting true qi in his body flared up due to the emotional turmoil.

Yue Buqun sighed, helping him regulate his internal energy, and stopped scolding him. However, he was deeply disappointed in his senior disciple, thinking how could someone so easily deceived be trusted, let alone lead the Huashan Sect?

Linghu Chong, with his true qi regulated, remained silent, unable to believe that the Green Bamboo Elder and the "aunt" who had been so kind to him these past few days were members of the Devil Sect. He could not understand why they had befriended him.

Yue Buqun, seeing him still holding the short zither and the zither score, angrily said, "Why don't you throw them away? What use are they?"

Yue Fangxing advised, "Let it be. The zither and the score are just objects, and they have been helpful to Senior Brother. Keeping them won't cause any harm."

Yue Buqun, still very angry, fiercely threw his sleeves and walked out of the cabin, arranging for the disciples to set off as soon as possible. He decided not to tell the Wang family about this to avoid causing them trouble.

On the journey, Yue Buqun repeatedly instructed the disciples to be vigilant day and night. However, after entering the river near Gong County and traveling eastward, nothing unexpected happened. The further they were from Luoyang, the more relaxed everyone became, and their vigilance gradually waned.

Yue Fangxing still felt helpless about Linghu Chong's association with the Green Bamboo Elder and Ren Yingying, but he thought that since Linghu Chong had only stayed for a few days, it was unlikely that Ren Yingying had developed feelings for him, let alone that it would spread throughout the jianghu. However, he remained cautious.

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