The monsoon rain was pouring down relentlessly…
It was not just rain; a fierce wind joined in, and the small trees were flattened by the combined assault of the wind and rain.
This was deep within a large forest in the Jiangnan region. Inside this forest was a path, barely a trail, used only by hunters.
Defying the intense rain and wind, a horse and a man traveled along this trail.
The horse, with its mane standing tall, ran swiftly. The man on the horse gripped the reins tightly, his head bowed.
After a long while, the man seemed unable to hold on, swayed precariously, and was violently thrown from the horse.
With a thud, the man who fell from the horse lay motionless. He seemed to have lost consciousness, or perhaps he was dead.
The rain had stopped. The entire surroundings were now lush and beautiful under the soft rays of the sun, a pleasant sight.
On a patch of grass by the road lay the unconscious man. Next to him stood a horse.
The horse seemed intelligent. It licked its master's face and neighed, trying its best to rouse him.
After some time, the man seemed to regain consciousness. His hands twitched slowly. Then, he tried to sit up.
This man was none other than Little Monkey, who had been severely wounded by Jing Hu. The youth, disillusioned with the world, had refused Jing Hu's goodwill.
With his serious injuries, he had blindly wandered until he collapsed and fell from his horse in this forest.
What he desperately needed now was a safe place to heal. This place also needed to be secure and have an adequate food supply. He had many enemies, after all.
However, in his current state, he could not even move, let alone search for a good place to recuperate.
Little Monkey was a person who always got up when he fell. He believed that fate was in his own hands. He was not one to give up easily.
Enduring the agonizing pain, he tried to sit up from where he lay. He failed. The bone-deep pain from somewhere inside his chest made him dizzy, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The sun began to set. Darkness was enveloping the world. Only the horse and the man remained as living beings in the twilight.
After trying for many hours, Little Monkey finally managed to sit up. Along with the pain, four keywords taught by his first master, the Beggar Elder, came to his mind—the essence of the Quanzhen Internal Energy cultivation method:
Forget your thoughts temporarily, observe the circulation of blood in your body, warmth dispels cold, a calm mind gives rise to wisdom.
He began to immerse himself in the cultivation method he had consistently practiced. His complicated thoughts gradually drifted away, and his entire focus merged with the practice.
Just then...
"Haha, look! The martial world delinquent is here trying to heal his wounds! Get ready, friends! Let's capture this guy who doesn't follow the rules of the jianghu and send him to the Shaolin Temple!"
Along with the voices appeared some of the guests who had attended Jing Hu's Hand-Washing Ceremony.
Little Monkey was unlucky. As the saying goes, When it rains, it pours.
In truth, the martial artists at the reception had only refrained from attacking Little Monkey because of Jing Hu's plea.
Otherwise, Little Monkey would have been captured as soon as he was defeated. Some martial artists, unable to stomach the outcome, had followed Little Monkey.
Worse still, some of these guests deeply hated Little Monkey.
They were Axe-Chopping Saber Sui Li, the sub-chief of the Golden Saber Sect; Sea Wanderer Ding Ming, the disciplinary master of the South Sea Sect; and Heavenly Fist Tai Sun, the deputy chief of the Kongtong Sect.
About twenty men surrounded Little Monkey. The leaders were the three figures mentioned above. The twenty men formed a circle, each holding a weapon, and slowly closed in on Little Monkey.
Just then...
"Excuse me! You are White Path martial artists! If you act so unjustly toward an injured person, how are you any different from those of the Dark Path?" a voice shouted.
It was Murong Qingqing. Her arrival seemed to instantly illuminate the entire surroundings. It was as if flowers bowed down to the ground in her path.
What classic beauty! Hearing Qingqing's words, Heavenly Fist Tai Sun retorted:
"Well, if it isn't Young Mistress Murong! This matter doesn't concern you, Niece. Just stand aside and watch."
Qingqing replied,
"How can you say that, Elder? Your actions hurt the reputation of the martial world. Let him finish cultivating his internal energy. He can't run away."
"This fellow is an enemy of the martial world, Niece! You saw yourself how he challenged Elder Jing Hu without respecting the rules. So, we don't need to respect any rules either! Now, friends, let's begin!" Tai Sun said, giving the signal to attack.
The roar of the God of Death resounded loudly.
As soon as Heavenly Fist Tai Sun gave the signal, Sea Wanderer Ding Ming and Axe-Chopping Saber Sui Li suddenly leaped forward.
They charged toward Little Monkey, who was calmly cultivating his internal energy, seemingly deaf to the surrounding noise, and attacked him simultaneously.
When we say "simultaneously," they didn't both attack from the front. One attacked from the front and the other from the back.
They were truly malicious men. Two men attacking an internal energy cultivator from both the front and back was against human ethics and damaged the dignity of respectable martial artists.
Were Sea Wanderer and Axe-Chopping Saber not supposedly White Path martial artists? If this was the case, what difference was there between White and Black?
In reality, Little Monkey had been aware of Tai Sun's group since they arrived. However, he was still in the middle of his internal energy cultivation and could not move.
Then, hearing Murong Qingqing's words of warning, he felt grateful. This girl seemed proud, but in truth, was she not compassionate and kind-hearted?
This girl, complete in both looks and character, was indeed like a goddess fallen from the sky.
Sea Wanderer and Axe-Chopping Saber simultaneously struck Little Monkey with their palms from the front and back.
Their movements were so fast that Qingqing had no time to warn him or move.
They were palm techniques used with their full internal energy, intended to kill Little Monkey with a single strike.
Two powerful surges of air rushed toward Little Monkey. Hearing the sound, Little Monkey rolled aside to dodge the attack.
His movement was clumsy and undignified. But he managed to avoid the palm strikes.
As if adding fuel to the fire, the sudden, strenuous movement, while still incomplete in his internal energy cultivation, caused his blood circulation to fail, and he suffered further internal injuries.
Little Monkey coughed up blood from his mouth. Despite being severely injured, he was not giving up. He vowed to take at least half of this crowd to the grave with him.
Driven by bitter resentment and fierce anger, his eyes glowed blood-red with thirst for blood. His sharp gaze made Tai Sun and his men shiver and retreat a step.
With a loud roar, Little Monkey began his attack. His movements were as fast as lightning, and Tai Sun's group could only see a swirling wind devil fighting them.
About half of the men were thrown out of the circle with severe injuries. Little Monkey, however, was not doing well.
He was moving this much only due to his sheer willpower. His movements were gradually slowing down. Just then...
"Why don't you run? What are you doing? Are you going to die here?"
Qingqing's frustrated shout rang out. Qingqing's warning seemed to wake up the fighting-crazed Little Monkey. He couldn't die here yet. He still had things to do.
He had to run. With a roar, Little Monkey lunged toward Heavenly Fist Tai Sun. Using the Cycle and Wheel technique, he punched Tai Sun directly in the chest.
Despite his severe internal injuries, Little Monkey's punch was terrifyingly fierce. Tai Sun dared not resist the powerful force that came with the punch.
He scrambled backward, leaping away. The circular blockade around Little Monkey was slightly broken where Tai Sun had been.
Little Monkey immediately bolted, not even looking back. At the same moment, Little Monkey's horse neighed and followed him.
In an instant, Little Monkey leaped onto his horse and disappeared from their sight.
Murong Qingqing was a girl. To be precise, she was a pure, young girl who knew nothing of the world.
Little Monkey was the first person she truly encountered in the martial world. Initially, she was repulsed by Little Monkey's terrible looks. She felt nauseated by his dirty clothes.
Then, seeing his unusual mannerisms and strange disposition, a desire to explore Little Monkey and unearth the truth of his life arose. She wanted to ask him why he was so disillusioned with the world.
Finally, seeing him being attacked one against many at Jing Hu's compound, she couldn't stand it and interfered. She had followed Tai Sun's group when she noticed them gathering, sensing something suspicious.
And it happened just as she suspected. She saw that this group was plotting to kill Little Monkey. That's why she couldn't tolerate it and tried to intervene against the injustice.
The fight was too fast, and she didn't have time to interfere. She was stunned. Only when she saw Little Monkey preparing to fight to the death did she instinctively warn him.
Now, gazing at the back of Little Monkey, who had fled with serious internal injuries, Qingqing felt an unnamed heartache in her chest.
Wuchun City was a small city. Due to its poor transportation links and lack of local products, few people visited it.
In front of the city's only inn stood a golden carriage pulled by four stout Mongolian warhorses.
The lion emblem stamped on the carriage door made it clearly identifiable as the Murong Family's carriage.
What was the carriage of the famous Murong Family doing in this inconspicuous city?
Inside a room in the inn. A girl as beautiful as a goddess was restless, seemingly worried about something.
She looked at the room next door sometimes, stood up sometimes, and sighed sometimes, clearly agitated.
Seeing her anxiety, an older man, presumably her guardian, spoke to her kindly.
"Young Mistress, please relax. The Physician we brought is renowned as the best in this region. Moreover, this young man seems to have a lot of life force. He won't die until he finishes what he needs to do, Young Mistress."
"Oh, Uncle He! With such severe injuries, he might die!"
Just then, a door in the next room opened, and an old man walked out. The physician's face was calm and peaceful, and he seemed kind and compassionate.
Seeing the old man, the young mistress rushed to ask anxiously:
"Sir! How is the patient?"
The Physician shook his head once and said regretfully:
"He will not die immediately, Niece. He will regain his martial arts and internal energy back to normal. Furthermore, thanks to the power of the Jade Treasure Life-Prolonging Elixir my master gave me before he died, this young man's internal energy will likely become stronger than before. However..."
The Physician did not continue, only shaking his head repeatedly. The young mistress seemed distressed and urged him:
"However, what, Sir? Please tell me!"
"It's like this, Young Mistress. This young man's injury is a double tragedy. He was initially wounded in his three major meridians. Then, when he was cultivating his internal energy, his blood flow was disrupted, and those same three major meridians were injured again. The three major meridians are now starting to heal due to the power of the precious Elixir I administered. He will feel better soon. However, this healing is only superficial. The injury will return five years from now. At that time, the young man's three major meridians will be completely severed. In short, this young man will surely die in five years. Even the God Indra himself could not save him."
The Physician patiently explained.
"What? So he cannot be saved, Sir?" Qingqing asked again.
The Physician shook his head gently:
"I have considered various methods. Based on my lifelong experience, he cannot be saved. But this is just my opinion. There must be people in this world more skilled than me. And there are countless powerful medicines in this world that I don't know about. So, Young Niece, keep trying." he replied.
Just then,
"Five years? Sir, is it exactly five years?" a voice called out.
It was Little Monkey. He had suddenly awakened, hearing the voices of the Physician and the young mistress.
Finding that his injury was considerably better, he felt immense gratitude toward his benefactor.
Hearing that he had only five years left to live, he couldn't help but interject and ask.
Only then did he realize that the young mistress talking to the Physician was Murong Qingqing. Qingqing must have been the one who saved him.
He only remembered losing consciousness inside a ruined temple. He couldn't recall how he got to this inn or how the Physician treated him.
In any case, he was certain that thanks to Qingqing's help, he had been granted five more years of life.
Hearing Little Monkey's question, the Physician said:
"It is exactly five years, no more, no less. Precisely five years."
A look of contentment appeared on Little Monkey's face.
"Five years is enough," he muttered to himself.
Little Monkey then slowly walked toward Qingqing and suddenly knelt down to salute her.
"I salute the Young Mistress of the Murong Family. If not for you, I would certainly have become fertilizer the other day. If the Young Mistress ever has any difficulty, please contact me immediately. Even if I am at the ends of the earth, I will rush back—during these five years, that is. Please excuse me."
With that, Little Monkey did not wait for Qingqing's reply and leaped out the window.
Qingqing was left stunned and astonished. Her heart was surging with emotions. Run as far as you can, but I will find you, and I will find the cure for you! she swore silently.
Women are creatures who run when chased and chase when fled from. Their inner nature is truly astonishing.