Chapter 2

"Master, you must have had a hard journey. Please rest well."

Xu Yi chuckled, casually threw the oar in his hand, and with both hands covering his crotch, he glared fiercely at Xiao Bai and ran into the house, "Master, I'll cook you something delicious in a bit."

"Xiao Bai, you just stay over there."

Xiao Bai was furious, howled three times to the sky, shook his body, and then chased after him. In the blink of an eye, he had covered several yards. Xu Yi stomped his foot, did a backflip in mid-air, and dodged Xiao Bai's peck, laughing as he rushed into the house. As he disappeared, Xiao Bai's second peck had already caught up, striking the stone wall with a heavy thud.

This courtyard was found by Chisongzi after a full year of searching. The houses were all natural caves, slightly renovated to form this courtyard.

"Xiao Bai, go get us some game. I need to meditate and adjust my breathing."

Chisongzi waved at Xiao Bai and quickly sat down in a cross-legged position, hands clasped, and closed his eyes.

Xiao Bai walked out of the cave, spread his wings, and instantly flew into the sky.

A moment later, a fragrant aroma quickly filled the cave.

Xu Yi busied himself in the kitchen. A short while later, Xiao Bai came in with a snow chicken, dropped it on the ground, and proudly raised his head, making a few "ga, ga, ga" sounds. His large eyes stared intently at Xu Yi's buttocks, as if ready to peck at any moment.

Xu Yi's heart skipped a beat. He turned around, glared at Xiao Bai, and waved the spatula in his hand, "Pervert bird, get out now, or you won't get any."

Xiao Bai gave him a proud look and then strutted out of the kitchen.

When Xu Yi brought the last bowl of turtle soup to the table, he found that his master had not yet finished meditating. He immediately wiped his hands, walked to the master's room, and pushed the door open, only to be stunned. His master was sitting on the bed, with wisps of white mist rising from his forehead.

The white mist slowly gathered three inches above his head, gradually condensing into a shape that vaguely resembled a flower.

Clearly, this time his master had suffered a great loss. In the twenty years Xu Yi had been with his master, this had never happened before. Given his master's strength and status in the martial world, Xu Yi could not think of anyone who would dare to harm his master or who had the ability to do so.

Xu Yi did not dare to disturb his master and quietly left the room, closing the door behind him. A fierce look flashed in his eyes. He was determined to find out who had set up this trap for his master and to take swift and decisive action to repay them in kind, with blood for blood!

However, with his master injured, should he leave?

Xu Yi's heart wavered. He looked back at the door, feeling extremely conflicted. Before the age of ten, he had asked his master every day when he could leave the mountain. After ten, he never thought about it again because he knew that each time he asked, the amount of knowledge he had to learn increased. Besides divination, astronomy, feng shui, and traditional Daoist secret techniques, he had also studied all the textbooks from junior high to high school!

The old man had crammed as many books as he could find into Xu Yi's head. So, every time he asked when he could leave the mountain, the next day's lessons would be increased.

Thus, after the age of ten, Xu Yi realized a principle: don't be curious about things you shouldn't know. Curiosity not only kills the cat but also many brain cells.

When the words "the bond has ended" came out of the old man's mouth, Xu Yi almost couldn't believe his ears. He knew that with his current skills, he had only learned about 60% of what his master knew. In his view, it was still a long way before he could leave the mountain. Why would his master suddenly tell him to leave?

Moreover, the old man was injured at this time. As his second disciple, Xu Yi felt it was his duty to stay by his side and take care of him, even though the old man would pretend to be reluctant but secretly be overjoyed.

To leave or to stay, that was the question.

"Ga, ga"

Xiao Bai moved his large body over, looking at Xu Yi's dejected back, his mood also became low.

Xu Yi returned to his room with a head full of mixed thoughts. He picked up a book and opened it but couldn't focus on a single word. His mind was filled with the image of his master's pale face. He threw the book aside, and at that moment, the sound of "tap, tap, tap" rang out. Xiao Bai was knocking on the door.

"What's wrong? Has the master's condition improved?"

Xu Yi pulled open the door and rushed out.

Xiao Bai raised his neck, watching Xu Yi's agile figure, a complex look flashed in his eyes, as if he was somewhat reluctant to let him go.

"Master, Master, are you feeling better?"

Xu Yi pushed the door open and walked in, only to be stunned by the empty room. His master, who had been sitting in meditation on the bed, was gone. A piece of white paper covered in writing lay on the bed. Clearly, his master did not want to see this parting and had slipped away quietly.

Clearly, his master had left. Xu Yi was dumbfounded, rushed over, and grabbed the paper. Indeed, the words were written by his master's hand, with a beautiful Liu style calligraphy that even Liu Gongquan would be proud of.

The entire page was filled with instructions for Xu Yi: don't forget to practice, don't think about avenging him, and they might meet again someday.

The last sentence, however, made Xu Yi laugh and cry at the same time. The old man had emphasized this sentence by putting it in a separate paragraph, showing how important it was to him: do not break your body until your divine consciousness is formed.

These eight short words left Xu Yi speechless. He had planned to return to the capital and first call a few top-tier beauties for a grand battle. Damn, he had spent twenty years in this godforsaken place in Changbai Mountain. Now that he finally had the chance to see the world, how could he not find a group of beautiful women to enjoy himself?

But, that's not right. Even birds here seem to defecate, at least that pervert bird does.

Since his master had made the decision, Xu Yi had no choice but to comply. Besides, he hadn't seen his family in twenty years and really wanted to go back and see them, to experience the feeling of being doted on by his elders.

Xu Yi carefully folded the letter, stood up, and walked out of the room, "Pervert bird, pervert bird."

Usually, when Xu Yi called, Xiao Bai would mysteriously appear from the sky, and a human-bird battle would ensue. But this time, Xiao Bai did not show up.

Xu Yi searched around but found no sign of Xiao Bai. His nose tingled slightly. This pervert bird, don't play the sad part when I'm leaving, okay?

Do you think I won't know you're sad just because you're hiding?

Xu Yi quickly packed his luggage, putting a long wooden box and a few books into his bag. These books were not Daoist secret techniques but ancient medical texts.

Otherwise, when he returned home, if the old man asked what he had learned in the past twenty years, he couldn't just perform a set of Tai Chi for him, right?

Carrying his luggage, Xu Yi stood in the courtyard, looking at the place where he had lived for twenty years, feeling a deep sense of reluctance. It was strange; he had always dreamed of leaving this place, but now that he was about to go, he didn't want to leave.

It had started snowing at some point. Xu Yi looked at the familiar courtyard, his knees buckled, and he knelt down heavily, "Master, take care of yourself. Xiao Yi will come back to see you."

After saying this, he bowed three times and quickly stood up, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Xu Yi had lived on the summit of Changbai Mountain for twenty years and knew how to get down the mountain as quickly as possible. Soon, his figure disappeared into the swirling snow.

Two lonely figures stood in the wind, watching the small black silhouette slowly disappear. The man and the bird remained motionless, allowing the snow to fall heavily on them.

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