My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 76

[A night of heavy snow yields a solitary bloom; amidst fierce winds and torrential rain, the Red Sleeve Blade.]

For many of this generation, Su Mengzhen was a legend.

He was the second master of the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower, yet his tenure was the most heart-stirring and lamentable, worthy of both tears and songs.

In his infancy, Su Mengzhen was wounded by enemies while still in swaddling clothes, destined throughout his life to bear an incurable illness. Despite this, he was still able to drag his weak but not frail body to apprentice himself, master extraordinary skills, and inherit the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower.

However, fate did not treat him with gentleness.

The previous emperor possessed no outstanding virtues; he ascended the throne merely because his brothers and uncles slaughtered each other for the imperial position, and he alone survived by luck.

After ascending the throne, he immersed himself daily in paintings, music, and instruments, neglecting state affairs. Corrupt ministers wielded unchecked power in court, sycophants ran rampant, and the common people suffered unbearably.

Though cold and aloof, Su Mengzhen always considered the rise and fall of the nation as his lifelong responsibility. Although the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower was merely a force in the jianghu, it led the righteous path of the martial world, stood against evil forces, maintained order in the capital, and protected the country and the imperial court.

But good times did not last. In the “Kushui Post” battle, Su Mengzhen was poisoned severely and had to amputate one leg to save his life, destined to spend the rest of his days bedridden.

Due to his serious illness, he entrusted the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower to a brother he completely trusted and supported, but unfortunately, he placed his trust in the wrong person. This trusted brother poisoned him in an assassination attempt, intending to seize power.

Fortunately, even though he loved his brothers and greatly appreciated talented young people, he always maintained a contingency plan for himself, which gave him a slim chance of survival.

Afterward, dragging his moribund body, he schemed and plotted, eventually toppling everyone with treacherous intentions and reclaiming the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower.

Just when people lamented that this unparalleled figure was about to fall, Su Mengzhen’s body began to recover at an astounding speed as if divinely aided.

Amputated limbs could not regrow, but he could move freely with the aid of a wheelchair, with the Red Sleeve Blade at his waist still as crimson as blood.

But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Su Mengzhen did not expand his power base, but rather reined in the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower as much as possible.

When the previous emperor suddenly passed away and the court fell into chaos, Su Mengzhen single-handedly supported the Seventh Prince who had returned from the frontier without any court backing and had not yet come of age to ascend the throne, yet he accepted no rewards.

The following year, Su Mengzhen volunteered to lead the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower to the southern frontier to fight against invading foreign tribes. There, he won a great victory for the court, defeating a larger force with fewer troops, and died on the battlefield.

The once-renowned Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower of the jianghu’s righteous path also disappeared into historical records after this.

The name Su Mengzhen, from then on, not only resonated throughout the jianghu, representing the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower, but also entered the ears of every commoner throughout the Great Ming, becoming a hero, a legend.

……

A bamboo pavilion stood by a deep valley pond. The pavilion faced an emerald lake, backed by undulating, graceful snow-capped mountains, surrounded by the spreading red jade thorn vines that had guided Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha.

The man sat in a wheelchair, looking from afar in the direction of their approach.

His handsome brows and eyes carried a casual arrogance, those eyes bright, filled with the cold flame of years burned away, blazing with the most brilliant and tenacious life force.

Today was a rare clear day. Sunlight poured down, gilding the man with a golden edge, unlike the endless, bleak, and desolate rainy days of many years ago, now warm and radiant.

—Su Mengzhen.

Yan Hongyin’s footsteps halted.

She had never imagined she would meet in person this brilliant figure from the stories, and this man still appeared to be in his prime, as if finally beloved by fate, or as if forgotten by the years.

“Little Thorn still likes you very much.” Su Mengzhen looked at Yu Luocha, who was being occasionally nudged by Red Jade Thorn, his lips tinged with a smile.

Yu Luocha, who had been thoroughly enjoying playing with the Red Jade Thorn along the way, was stunned for a moment. “Has the senior met this junior before?”

Su Mengzhen pointed to the snow mountains behind the bamboo pavilion. “You fell from up there once, and Little Thorn brought you back. But before you woke from your coma, that child Agha went alone deep into the valley and took you back.”

Yu Luocha: “……”

Having been crawling around outside the pass since childhood, he had been critically injured too many times to count, and many times when he woke up, he had been picked up by Agha. Now, having this mentioned so abruptly, Yu Luocha couldn’t recall this incident.

But if that was the case—

“Was that when you took Agha as your disciple?”

Su Mengzhen shook his head. “I never took any disciples, I only taught him to read and write.”

Then he looked at Yan Hongyin and nodded slightly. “This minister Su Mengzhen pays respects to Your Highness.”

When Su Mengzhen had volunteered to go to the frontier, the court had granted him the rank of general. He still addressed Yan Hongyin using the titles of the Central Plains court, and even though he was outside the pass, he still considered himself a person of the Central Plains.

Yan Hongyin pressed her lips together and raised her hand, bending forward in a deep bow. “Qu Ya pays respects to General Su.”

This bow represented not only Yan Hongyin but also the Central Plains court and the city full of commoners who had been saved by Su Mengzhen years ago.

Su Mengzhen calmly accepted this bow, looked at Yan Hongyin, and said slowly, “Your Highness knows martial arts.”

A flash of intensity arose in Yan Hongyin’s eyes.

Su Mengzhen was the only person Yan Hongyin had ever met who could tell at first glance that Princess Qu Ya or Doctor Yan knew martial arts.

A blade suddenly appeared in Su Mengzhen’s hand.

The blade was as thin as a cicada’s wing, nearly transparent, and the blade body was of a flowing crimson color that seemed alive, enough to make anyone fall in love and become obsessed at first sight.

—The Red Sleeve Blade!

He raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed lightly a few times. This seemed to be just a habit, yet it infinitely magnified the distinctive quality in his eyes, with an aura around him that made even Yu Luocha, standing several steps away, tense up involuntarily.

Su Mengzhen asked, “May Su have the honor of requesting some guidance?”

Yan Hongyin slowly drew the soft sword at her waist. With a turn of her wrist accompanied by a ringing sound, she infused internal energy into the blade, and in an instant it became extremely hard, capable of cutting through iron like mud.

“Please instruct me, senior.”

Yu Luocha stepped back twice, found a dry rock, put his hands in his sleeves, and sat down cross-legged.

……

In just a few blinks of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of moves.

The sleeve sword in Yan Hongyin’s hand had broken into two pieces, but although her breath was uneven, her expression showed no major distress.

Su Mengzhen put away his weapon, and the bone-chilling loneliness and burning focus in his eyes gradually receded.

“Indeed, I presume Your Highness is now the Jinyiwei Commander.”

Before fighting, Yan Hongyin had not been surprised that this martially supreme and uncommonly intelligent figure would guess her identity, and when revealed, she merely cupped her hands in acknowledgment.

Su Mengzhen smiled and coughed a few times, then extended his hand to turn his wheelchair sideways, saying, “Let’s continue our conversation inside.”

……

“Senior, are you saying that it was this Red Jade Thorn that gave you its life force, allowing you to survive?” Yan Hongyin looked at the Red Jade Thorn that had retracted its thorns and was now resting on Yu Luocha’s leg, bobbing up and down. She hesitated for a moment, “Then senior, back on the battlefield…”

“I did indeed die once. When I woke up again, I was already here.”

Su Mengzhen lifted the lid of the teapot and, in front of Yan Hongyin, tossed in two small white flowers before pouring two cups of tea.

“Little Thorn’s flowers have different medicinal properties depending on their color. The white ones calm the mind, with a sweet taste and lingering fragrance. Please try some.”

The two sat facing each other by the window, pouring tea and talking.

On the other side of the room, Yu Luocha had somehow acquired a feather and was now playing with the thorn vine as if teasing a cat, waving it left and right.

The thorn vine indeed seemed to have its own consciousness, eagerly chasing the feather back and forth, and in moments of excitement, it would bloom small goose-yellow flowers. Soon, one vine was covered in blooms, shaking off a ground full of sulky pale yellow petals.

Yu Luocha laughed heartily, thinking this little thing was much more fun than cats or dogs, even more entertaining than little children.

Little Thorn coiled itself into a ball and sulked for a while, then angrily ran to the windowsill, wrapped around its flowerpot, and placed it in front of Yu Luocha with a thud. Its thorny branches extended toward Yu Luocha, urging him to play again.

—I’ve brought my brain over, let’s continue!

“Still want to play? But you can’t win against me~” Yu Luocha teasingly mocked Little Thorn, deliberately saying, “Always winning is no fun at all, I’m not playing anymore.”

Su Mengzhen, who was engaged in pleasant conversation with Yan Hongyin, felt a tug at his hem. Looking down, he saw Little Thorn pitifully pulling at his clothes, twisting and turning in distress.

Having heard Yu Luocha’s laughter and words earlier and knowing what he had done, Yan Hongyin: “……”

Yu Luocha indignantly said, “It’s so big now, how come it still tells on me?!”

Yu Luocha could also hear the conversation between Su Mengzhen and Yan Hongyin.

According to Su Mengzhen’s account, he had raised this thorn vine from a seed, and it had gradually grown to spread throughout the entire valley. How could it still be a baby?

Little Thorn bloomed a bright red small flower, pulled at Su Mengzhen’s hem, and repeatedly pointed another thorny branch at Yu Luocha, with strong tattletale implications.

Su Mengzhen raised his hand to press down the thorny branch pointing at Yu Luocha, speaking gently and patiently, “Hasn’t Little Thorn always wanted to play with people? If you don’t want to lose, you need to work hard and find ways to win on your own.”

“Also, you cannot point at people like that. Tonight, add two more pages of calligraphy.”

The Red Jade Thorn seemed to have heard some earth-shattering bad news. The entire vine dimmed, released Su Mengzhen’s hem, and wilted, shrinking until it plunged headfirst into the flowerpot beside Yu Luocha, transforming into a motionless red coral planted in the soil.

“The thorn vine… also needs to read and write?” Yu Luocha showed a pained expression.

Su Mengzhen lightly sipped his tea and said blandly, “It is also a child. Before its character is set, it naturally needs to read and write, to recognize people and understand principles.”

“Senior’s words are very true.” Yan Hongyin strongly agreed with this point. A child’s mind was extremely easy to distort, and a special existence like Little Thorn needed even more careful teaching.

Yu Luocha: “……”

After being speechless for a while, he looked down at Little Thorn in the flowerpot, which seemed to be crying, and reached in to touch the smooth surface of the Red Jade Thorn, tentatively asking, “How about… we go out to play?”

Little Thorn immediately perked up, coiled around Yu Luocha’s wrist, and pulled him outside.

“Come back on time tonight.” Su Mengzhen’s voice floated out from the bamboo pavilion.

Yu Luocha felt Little Thorn’s pulling force increase by two degrees as they fled.

……

Time passed as Yan Hongyin and Su Mengzhen conversed, and the reason Su Mengzhen had sent Yan Hongyin an invitation became clear.

Little Thorn couldn’t explain how it had brought him to the Kunlun Valley, but Su Mengzhen had tried and found that once he stepped beyond the valley entrance’s boundary, Little Thorn wouldn’t be affected, but his body would deteriorate at an extremely rapid rate, with death only a few breaths away.

Kunlun Valley was remote, and the people outside the pass avoided it as much as possible. For a long time, Su Mengzhen had almost been cut off from the outside world.

Until Little Thorn began to replenish the energy it had depleted to save Su Mengzhen, it gradually became able to extend somewhat beyond the valley. This was how it had picked up the critically injured Yu Luocha, and how it had guided Agha, who had been wandering at the valley entrance, bringing him here.

From then on, with Agha’s eyes, Su Mengzhen began to learn about the outside world bit by bit.

About the current state of the Central Plains court, about the Divine Marquis Mansion, about the Liu Shanmen, about the Jinyiwei…

The Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower had not been buried at the frontier with Su Mengzhen but had changed its appearance and faked its death, avoiding the increasingly powerful emperor who harbored deep wariness toward the jianghu.

The emperor didn’t care whether these people were truly dead; as long as the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower and the Six and a Half Hall disappeared from the capital, returning control of the capital to the emperor who should rightfully rule it, that was enough.

But decades had passed, and the old acquaintances had lost their traces—some wandering the jianghu and disappearing from sight, others returning to the soil in death. With just Agha’s identity and abilities, it was impossible to discover much about the past secrets and the many entangled old friends.

Yan Hongyin’s extraordinary qualities made the keen-sensed Su Mengzhen vaguely guess something. He had had brief contact with the current emperor and dimly remembered what kind of prince he had been.

Su Mengzhen bet that this Princess Qu Ya’s identity was not ordinary—if the emperor truly trusted someone and entrusted them with the dark forces, that person must be of royal blood, with thousands of intricate connections to the emperor.

This was why Su Mengzhen had written to request a meeting after learning Yan Hongyin was outside the pass.

—He still cared about the brothers who had once risked their lives alongside him.

And Su Mengzhen had bet correctly. The emperor had indeed investigated the traces of the remaining members of the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower and the Six and a Half Hall, and the relevant intelligence was indeed preserved in the Jinyiwei records.

Apart from the emperor who sat in the bright hall and the departed Yan Liluo, only Yan Hongyin could answer the questions Su Mengzhen wanted to know.

“I see… that’s good.” After hearing Yan Hongyin recount the stories of old acquaintances one by one, Su Mengzhen let out a long breath and put down the teacup he had been gripping tightly.

Although not everyone had a happy and peaceful life or realized their aspirations, at least they had all lived on freely and unrestrained.

Yan Hongyin paused and couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you want to ask about Hall Master Lei Chun?”

The love, hatred, power, and entanglements between Tower Master Su and Hall Master Lei Chun were well-known dramatic events at that time.

After Su Mengzhen had volunteered to go to the southern frontier, the leaders of the Six and a Half Hall, Lei Chun and Di Feijing, had also disappeared.

With the Six and a Half Hall leaderless, it was eventually divided and destroyed by the court, punished for crimes, and disappeared from the capital.

A trace of complexity flashed in Su Mengzhen’s eyes. After a long silence, he shook his head and merely said, “There’s no need.”

Footsteps and the sound of thorns sliding across the ground came from outside the bamboo pavilion.

Yu Luocha and Little Thorn had returned.

Yan Hongyin glanced at the sky and rose to take her leave. “This junior has imposed for too long today, please forgive me, senior.”

A smile appeared in Su Mengzhen’s eyes. “What imposition? I only feel that time has passed too quickly today.”

Yan Hongyin also smiled and, after a moment’s hesitation, spoke up, “This junior will stay in the Kunlun Mountains for several months. May I frequently visit senior during this time?”

Although Su Mengzhen was trapped here, he had never indulged in self-pity, madness, or decadence.

He had quickly realized that this might be the price he had to pay for returning from death, but as long as he was alive, he could do many things.

He was Su Mengzhen, and he would never allow himself to exist in a muddled state. He would make each and every day, each and every moment of his existence in this world valuable.

He had inscribed all his lifelong learning onto bamboo slips—martial arts manuals, movement techniques, blade techniques, strategies, governance principles…

When Yan Hongyin saw the bamboo slips that almost filled an entire room, she felt indescribably moved.

Su Mengzhen’s gaze warmed slightly, “Of course you may.”

…….

After walking quite a distance, Yan Hongyin asked, “How was it?”

“That thorn vine is quite interesting, like a child, without much wariness. Although it can’t speak, it can write on the ground. It seems Senior Su has taught it well,” Yu Luocha rubbed his chin, showing no embarrassment about getting information from a child, and said with interest, “I’m almost tempted to raise one myself.”

“Is that so?”

Yan Hongyin’s gaze deepened.

Just as Yan Hongyin was about to leave the room earlier, she had suddenly turned back to ask one final question, “May I ask, senior, where did you obtain such a mystical and peculiar seed?”

Su Mengzhen seemed to have anticipated this question.

He replied, “From a flower shop.”

“Where is it located? What does it look like?”

“Whenever you need it, it will be there,” Su Mengzhen recalled that cold, rainy night and lowered his eyes with a smile. “However, there is a price to pay.”

In the Luocha Sect Leader’s courtyard

Ye Gucheng, sleeping in the inner chamber, had his brows tightly furrowed and fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples. He was having an extremely restless sleep, seemingly troubled by whatever he saw in his dream.

“Father… Father!”

……

“Cheng’er, you have doubts about your mother’s death from illness, your father understands,” said the man who wore a thick cloak even in spring weather as he stood before the fifteen-year-old Ye Gucheng, looking up at the white mourning decorations throughout the city and mansion. “But are you truly ready to know everything?”

The white-clad youth’s expression was determined. “Yes, Father.”

He followed his father into the underground secret chamber that only the successive city lords of Baiyun City had the right to enter and access. With his father’s permission, he read through all the secrets he could never have accessed before.

Descendants of the previous dynasty…

Responsibility to restore the country…

Mixed bloodlines…

Calamity for the Central Plains…

Ye Gucheng sat upright behind the stone table, holding an open document in his hands.

It was cold underground. The City Lord lowered his head and coughed a few times, which seemed to trigger something, making him cough more violently and heart-rendingly.

“Father!”

The City Lord raised his hand to stop his son from supporting him, leaned on the table, raised his head to look at his only son who had reached marriageable age, and slowly said, “Ah Cheng, what did you see?”

After a long silence, Ye Gucheng said word by word, “An ant trying to shake a tree.”