Chapter 45: This Departure Will Surely Turn the Nine Heavens Upside Down

In the following three days, Meng Chaoran gave Chu Yang a comprehensive training. Even during these three days, the master and apprentice lived in the same room, and he made Chu Yang practice all the skills. Meng Chaoran tirelessly imparted his experience in the world and the matters to be cautious about into Chu Yang's mind.

Although Chu Yang was well aware of these things, he enjoyed the feeling of being cared for by his master. So, when Meng Chaoran spoke, he listened very attentively, savoring every moment of warmth.

This kind of warmth, which he had missed in his previous life, he did not want to miss in this one. He knew that if he did not listen, Meng Chaoran would not say anything, but he would feel very upset inside.

Chu Yang did not want his master to feel upset.

The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Chu Yang stepped out of the room, looking at the morning mist swirling around, and took a deep breath. His gaze was somewhat lingering. Today, he was leaving this place.

This departure, he did not know when he would return, or if he could return.

A heavy rain had fallen last night, and the entire Purple Bamboo Garden was washed clean.

Meng Chaoran said early in the morning that he was going to gather herbs on the mountain and disappeared without a trace. Chu Yang knew that this was because his master could not bear the parting, so he simply avoided it.

A scream came from the outhouse. Then, Tan Tan rushed out, bringing with him a strong stench. He was covered in filth from head to toe.

Chu Yang was taken aback. Why was he still holding that Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish?

Tan Tan, with a face full of embarrassment and frustration, rushed past him and charged into the room, slamming the fish into the fish tank.

Then, he stripped naked and ran out, grabbed a wooden bucket, and splashed water over himself from the pool. After several buckets, the stench finally diminished.

Chu Yang was originally feeling sentimental, but he was now completely confused. This kid seemed to have gone crazy. What was he doing? Did he fall into a cesspool early in the morning?

Finally, Tan Tan cleaned himself up, darted into the room, and quickly put on a piece of clothing. Then, he balled up the dirty clothes and threw them out.

He then walked out with a bitter smile, his face twisted like a bitter gourd. Before he could speak, he sighed deeply.

"What's wrong?" Chu Yang squinted his eyes.

"Ah, don't even mention it," Tan Tan said, on the verge of tears.

It turned out that after getting the Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish, Tan Tan had treated it like a treasure, keeping it in the fish tank and feeding it food and water plants from time to time. But after one day, the fish had turned belly-up in the tank.

No matter how Tan Tan tried to provoke it, there was no response. It floated in the tank, lifeless.

Today, when Tan Tan fished it out, he found that the fish's body had stiffened. He sighed sadly, held the fish in his hands, and, coincidentally, was heading to the outhouse, so he took it with him, thinking that since it was dead, he might as well throw it into the outhouse.

But after he threw the fish into the cesspool, the most unexpected thing happened: the fish started to swim around vigorously in the sewage, incredibly lively...

Tan Tan was completely at a loss and had to jump in to catch it again. The most tragic part was... it had just rained heavily last night, and Tan Tan had practically swum in the outhouse... cough, cough.

"Ha ha ha ha..." After hearing this, Chu Yang clutched his stomach, gasping for breath, and laughed until he was in tears.

He never imagined that this guy would create such a farce.

Tan Tan sighed and looked tragic, cursing, "How was I supposed to know what was wrong with this dead fish? It just lay there in the fish tank, looking like a corpse. But when I threw it into the outhouse, it became lively. Does this dead fish only move in stinky places?"

Chu Yang, rubbing his stomach, tears streaming down his face, said, "You idiot, the Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, and it needs to digest it. If it absorbs enough, it stops moving and quietly digests. This is the best time for a martial artist to use its absorbed essence to cultivate! But you... you threw it into the outhouse!"

"Ah?" Tan Tan's mouth opened wide in shock. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You idiot," Chu Yang said, frustrated. "The Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish can survive even when buried deep underground. How could it die in a fish tank? Use your brain and think! Besides... it lives on the essence of heaven and earth. Feeding it anything else is useless! Throwing it into the outhouse... you really did it. If others knew you had a Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish and threw it into the outhouse, every martial artist in the world would come to kill you!"

Tan Tan sighed, saying, "I had a hard time. My clothes are ruined, look at my hands..." He extended his hands, even sniffing them, and his face showed a look of wanting to vomit. "I have to eat with these hands... how can I eat?"

"You deserve it!" Chu Yang thought for a moment but couldn't help laughing.

When he entered the room, he saw the poor Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish darting back and forth in the fish tank, vomiting and defecating, looking extremely distressed...

"Quick, change the water!" Chu Yang shouted. Tan Tan hurriedly complied.

After changing the water seven or eight times, the Spirit Absorbing Holy Fish finally calmed down, lying at the bottom of the tank, its belly heaving, looking almost resentful...

It seemed that it needed a good rest.

Chu Yang did not expect that he would leave with tears of laughter. It wasn't until he had walked far away that he heard Tan Tan's hoarse voice shouting, "Chu Yang, take care! I'll find you! I'll help you!"

By the end, his voice was choked with emotion.

Chu Yang paused for a moment but did not turn back. He just waved his hand, turned a corner, and disappeared from Tan Tan's sight.

"Don't you dare die!" Tan Tan suddenly screamed, tears streaming down his face, and he squatted on the ground, sobbing.

He did not know what Chu Yang was going to do, but he knew that this mission was extremely dangerous! Otherwise, his master would not have reacted that way.

Tan Tan was very worried and very sad.

Chu Yang felt a bit bitter but forced himself to keep going, not looking back. He walked step by step, leaving.

On a distant mountaintop, Meng Chaoran bathed in the rising sun, his eyes fixed on his disciple as he walked away. His hands, without him realizing, had clenched into fists.

In his right hand, there was a piece of paper. On it were the words Chu Yang had written: "Surprised Cloud Snow Step; need to lie down, reverse the internal energy, start from the last step, reverse the step method, and it can be accomplished."

Chu Yang walked along the mountain path, a small backpack on his back.

Leaving the Heavenly Tower alone, he set out on a lonely journey, facing a fate that had become uncertain. A faint sense of melancholy suddenly rose in Chu Yang's heart.

He suddenly remembered a few lines: "This departure, no looking back at the mountain of knives and sea of fire; this departure, a life of nine deaths and one survival on the martial path; this departure, the beginning of a proud laugh at the world; this departure, no turning back as you ascend to the nine heavens."

These lines were from a very popular song in his previous life, "Jianghu Xing" (The Martial Path), which Mo Qingwu had once played and sung. Chu Yang remembered it well.

Thinking about it, Chu Yang couldn't help but smile and murmured, "This departure, to make the heavens reverse; this departure, to let fate cycle again! This departure, to accompany you in a light dance and laugh at the world; this departure, to surely turn the nine heavens upside down!"

He hummed these added lyrics softly, walking out of the Heavenly Tower, the range of the Nine Peaks and One Garden.

He did not even look back.

The young man's hair fell loosely, covering half of his face. Through the fluttering strands, his eyes calmly observed the world, sharp like a blade, as if trying to cut through the world.

The rising sun shone on him, casting a long shadow. The mist in the mountains added a layer of blood-red to his back, as if foretelling something...

It seemed to be a sign of something...