Mu He should have moved up the timeline quite a bit this time.
The scenes before him blurred and stopped at Ming Kongâs goal: getting closer to Shen You. Ming Kong was currently holding a knife and intently carving at a tree branch. From a distance, Shen You stood beneath another tree while staring at something in his hands. His brow was knitted and he looked unhappy.
Xie Zhiwei peered closely and saw that Shen You had two broken bamboo pieces in his handsâperhaps the remains of a flute.
Ming Kong carved a bit longer before he glanced at Shen You. Abruptly, he gave a yelp.
Shen You looked over. âWhat is it?â
Ming Kong quickly turned away. âNothing, nothing.â
Shen Youâs brows creased before he continued to stare blankly at a patch of orchids nearby. Ming Kongâs movements quickened until a smile rose to his lips. Soon enough he called out, âSenior Brother Shen, Iâm done. Have a look.â
Shen Youâs reply was noncommittal. As he prepared to turn, another voice sounded from mid-air, âYou sure made me search for you, Lanxiu.â The tone was rough, but the speaker softened it again, making it sound rather cold and awkward.
Without exception, it was Nie Ting.
Ming Kongâs expression blanched before he stood up from the stone bench. Shen You clutched the broken flute in his hands without replying, much less looking up. Nie Ting landed and saw his state. He cleared his throat and prepared to speak when Ming Kong suddenly paid respects.
âGreetings to the sect leader.â
Realizing they werenât alone, Nie Ting immediately resumed his image and Mmâd lightly in response. âI have words to say to your Senior Brother Shen, you should go back.â
Ming Kong acknowledged the order but didnât immediately leave. He held the finished branch in his hands and stepped forward to offer it to Shen You, only to see Nie Ting clearing his throat and offering an item as well. His was a turquoise jade flute that looked brand new.
Ming Kong froze before looking at his own gift. The branch had been carefully chiselled, peeled, and carved into the shape of a flute with appropriate holes. But a branch was a branch in the end. How could it compare to jade?
Shen Youâs expression finally relaxed, but he didnât accept the flutes. He only looked up at Nie Ting. At last Xie Zhiwei could see it clearly. Between these two sect siblings, one was awkward and the other arrogant. Shen You had no one in his eyes. Nie Ting was the same, except worse. Before his senior brother, Shen You could only yield and listen obediently. For example, Shen You wouldnât dare accept the flute until Nie Ting spoke first.
âTake it,â Nie Ting said.
Only then did Shen You grasp the instrument before looking at the pieces of his old, broken flute with some reluctance.
âI shouldnât have lost my temper and broken your flute,â Nie Ting was not a gentle man and was soon in lecture mode again. âbut youâre always indulging your hobbies instead of making progress, so I couldnât just standby and watch.â
Xie Zhiwei was speechless. Is this fellow Nie Ting stupid or does he just have low EQ? This isnât how you apologize, ah. A guy can better cultivate his tastes if he plays flute and does calligraphy while heâs young. If Nie Ting ended up in his world, heâd probably die from rage after seeing all the students playing games of Glory.
After losing his beloved flute, Shen You was already feeling miserable. Besides, he didnât even agree with Nie Tingâs words. But in the end he just pursed his lips and said, âYes.â
Ming Kong secretly glared at Nie Ting before comforting Shen You. âSenior Brother Shen, donât be angry. Iââ
âWhy are you still here?â Nie Ting rebuked as his face sank. In a flash, his pressure made it difficult for Ming Kong to breathe.
He subconsciously glanced at Shen You, who returned the look and said, âYou should leave.â His gaze was as cool as ever, as if he was just looking at a stranger. But to Shen You, the current Ming Kong was only a slightly familiar face. It was unlikely heâd recognize him even in passing on the road. He and Nie Ting were at a stalemate just moments ago, but now they stood on the same side.
Ming Kong was rejected so utterly by the two indifferent men that Xie Zhiwei felt embarrassed for him. He could only imagine how much Ming Kong was seething inside as he dropped his head and quickly walked out of the garden. His hands gripped the branch so tightly that veins popped out, and a small trickle of blood flowed down the wood to drip on the ground. Xie Zhiwei was surprised until he recalled Ming Kongâs yelp. He must have cut himself carving the flute when he glanced up at Shen You. That was why he turned away and denied anything when Shen You asked what was the matter.
Ming Kongâs back was quaking as his gaze grew more sinister. âOne dayâŠthe day will comeâŠâ
He forced himself to not look back and took a deep breath with his eyes closed. When he opened them again, they were calm and rippleâfree. He hid the flute in his sleeve and straightened up to descend the mountain path. Many disciples passed him on the way, whom he greeted with waves and smiles. It seemed like he was a completely different person.
The scene changed again, this time in a chaotic swirl of colors that made one dizzy. Xie Zhiwei sighed at Ming Kongâs gold-standard acting skills even as he massaged his temples. Shen You might be a taciturn man, but it was clear he respected Nie Ting. Yet Nie Ting, that godly figure, offended others too often with his words and actions. He and Mu He didnât nitpick the man since he was already dead, while Shen You understood him well enough to avoid pointing out faults. Of course, that was assuming someone didnât sow discord between them.
Someone definitely would.
Now the images before them stopped in a snowfield. A figure in rags was clinging to Ming Kongâs leg and saying something. But Ming Kong was tongue-tied, his expression all panic as his eyes turned evasive.
The figure refused to release him, eyes red with tears as he cried, âHow could you pretend not to know me? Even if youâre dust, Iâll still recognize you. Youâre my Boss!â
Isnât this Ah-Er, the urchin that Ming Kong abandoned all those years ago? Xie Zhiwei mused. Why did he show up at Ashen Cloud Sword Sect?
Ming Kong forcibly disentangled his arms and turned to leave. âMy name is Ming Kong. Iâm not the person you say I am.â
Ah-Er persisted in chasing after him. âImpossible, even your voice is the same! BossâŠwhy wonât you acknowledge me?â
No one would be happy to have an unpleasant past and identity dug up anew. Ming Kong wanted to be rid of his nightmare and decided to escape on his sword. Unexpectedly, heâd hardly unsheathed his weapon when a faint voice asked, âYou know each other?â
Ming Kong was shaken. At some point. Shen You had ended up standing behind him. Ah-Er was bolstered by the sight and grabbed Ming Kongâs sleeve. âIt was this immortal who rescued me up the mountain before I froze to death. Right, right, I even asked the immortal about your whereabouts. If I knew you looked like this now, I wouldnât have said I was looking for a beggar.â
The words that tumbled from Ah-Erâs clueless lips cast Ming Kong down to Hell. Seeing the doubts in Shen Youâs eyes grow, he grabbed Ah-Erâs wrist and pinched his vital acupoint to shut him up.
Ah-Erâs vision went dark as he collapsed on the ground. This was an action born of desperate measures, but Ming Kong had been cultivating for years. The ordinary Ah-Er could hardly withstand his friendâs strength, so he lost all breath after his pulse was cut without a chance to struggle.
Ming Kong yanked at Ah-Er, who simply flopped over with no response. His pupils were dilated, the years of grime still stuck on his face. One could vaguely discern his child selfâs looks from his features. Well aware of his own power, Ming Kong abruptly grew dazed. âAh-ErâŠâ he blurted out.
âWhat happened to him?â Shen You asked as he stepped forward.
Ming Kongâs jaw clenched before the tears welling up in his eyes evaporated. Before Shen You could touch Ah-Er, he drew the corpse into his arms. âThis little brother seems to have fainted, probably because of physical exhaustionâŠâ He smiled guilelessly as if it was the truth.
But Shen You was smart enough to spot Ah-Erâs abnormality with a glance. âHeâs stopped breathing?â he asked coldly, âYou killed him?â
âImpossible, how could I?â Ming Kong seemed scared to death as he shook Ah-Er. âLittle brother, wake up!â
Ah-Er was like a limp noodle and didnât react. Shen You watched it all with cold eyes, his expression turning grim. Ming Kong kept up the act for awhile before he fell to his knees.
âSenior Brother Shen, I didnât mean to do it.â
âTell me the truth. Did you know him in the past?â
Ming Kong denied it without a second thought. âWhat are you saying, Senior Brother Shen? How could I know some beggar?â
âThen what did you call him?â
âIâŠâ
Xie Zhiwei looked at the speechless Ming Kong and shook his head. What a tiring life this big bro leads. Because he lied from the start, heâll even kill people to cover it up. But why bother? Shen You wouldnât care whether youâre a beggar or not. He might even admire your perseverance to get this far.
Speaking of which, Iâve been pretending in front of the hero this entire time⊠All right, letâs hope he wonât see through me in this lifetime.
Shen Youâs clear voice cut through Ming Kongâs lies one after another. âWhen I rescued him at the base of the mountain, he was still unconscious. After waking up and finding out this was Ashen Cloud Sword Sect, he asked me whether Iâd ever seen anyone called âBoss.â Judging from the name you blurted out accidentally, that person must be you.â
Such calm conclusions unnerved Ming Kong, who protested, âSenior Brother Shen, Iâm really not. You heard the wrong thing.â
Shen Youâs gaze on Ming Kong had always been serene and straightforward, the same way he looked at other disciples. But now a trace of disgust rose in his eyes. âI donât know what kind of interactions you had with him in the past. Yet he clearly said the person he was looking for had a hawk-shaped nose.â
âPlenty of people look alike, IâŠâ Ming Kong stood up to argue while setting Ah-Er aside, but suddenly paused. Something had slipped out of Ah-Erâs hands to fall on the snow.
They were a few stray pieces of silver that couldnât amount to more than two taels at most. Although their luster had faded with time, they were still very clean. It didnât look like something that a beggar could own.
Xie Zhiwei thought for a long time before he remembered: years ago, before Ming Kong ran away, he had left the rest of the silver next to Ah-Erâs sleeping self.
Both of them had treated the money as something very important. Ming Kong didnât hesitate to spend it and finally found the person he was looking for. If not for this accident, he might have grown even closer to Shen You.
Ah-Er was rather more unlucky. He couldnât bear to spend the money or throw it away. Instead, he kept it safe until the present. Yet the person he wanted to find pretended not to know him and even killed him before he could show him the silver.
Xie Zhiwei silently came to a conclusion: Ming Kong isnât human. Heâs too inhumane.
But in the end Ming Kong was still humanâat least, the Ming Kong in the memories still had some humanity. When he saw the dull, almost blackened pieces of silver in the snow, his mouth opened slightly in shock. Even a blockhead would piece together the story after witnessing this, to say nothing of the intelligent Shen You.
He slowly took off the sword at his waist and said, âYouâve utterly disappointed me.â
â
Translatorâs Note: Can you imagine though, being Ah-Er and waking up with nothing but silver next to you the next day? You wonder if your Boss went somewhere and left the money with you for safekeeping, so you sit and wait for him to show up. You donât even spend it because itâs Bossâs money, not yours, except you end up so hungry you have to go out and beg for scraps to survive.
And this goes on for one day, two days, a week, maybe a monthâŠeventually you realize Boss isnât coming back, and finally figure out heâs probably run off to that sword sect, and go off to find him yourself. Because youâre not as smart, or strong, or sly, it takes you years of begging to get there, but you never spend the silver you already have. Boss says heâd keep important things close to himself and even starve rather than use it, so you do the same with his gift to you. You donât realize, or maybe ignore, the fact that he threw you away a long time ago. And yet when you finally reuniteâŠ