Liu Shinian walked and walked, feeling that Muye and Ali's footsteps were getting faster and faster.
He gradually struggled to keep up.
He reached out, wanting to grab me, but only grasped a wisp of mist.
He stood stunned, watching Muye and Ali gradually disappear into the distance.
"Muye, Muye!"
He slowly came back to his senses, calling out and chasing after them.
However, the two figures had already vanished into the dense fog.
He turned his head back in confusion, and the person behind him had also disappeared.
In the entire open space where human figures could be seen, he was the only one.
The only one.
Liu Shinian looked around in bewilderment and asked, confused.
"What's going on? Where did they, where did they all go?"
He walked aimlessly in the mist, the dense fog gradually engulfing his figure.
In a daze, he heard a playful giggle.
He followed the sound and saw, in the distance, a palace, situated atop a mountain.
Surrounded by flowing clouds, he felt it was very familiar, as if it were a place he had been before.
He slowly walked to the front gate of the mansion and gently pushed open the door.
What greeted his eyes was a middle-aged man.
Holding a chubby child, about six months old, playing in the courtyard.
The child held a bamboo ball, playing with great joy, while the man stood beside him, smiling.
The middle-aged man slowly raised his head and looked at Liu Shinian.
Liu Shinian's eyes widened in disbelief.
The middle-aged man looked at him and slowly said.
"The wind is quite strong today."
Then, he lowered his gaze to the playing child.
Liu Shinian looked at everything before him, and the memories that had been sealed away for so long surged forth like a spring.
He slowly called out.
"Master... Master..."
It turned out that this man was Liu Shinian's master, Liu Xianshi.
Liu Shinian couldn't believe it, yet he was incredibly excited, tears welling up in his eyes.
He quickened his pace, reaching out to touch his master, but his hand passed straight through his master's body.
He turned his head back, surprised again, and cried out helplessly.
"Master, Master."
In the blink of an eye, heavy snow began to fall, each flake landing on Liu Shinian's head.
The surroundings gradually turned white, and he slowly reached out his hand to catch the falling snowflakes.
In a daze, he remembered what he had forgotten in a corner.
What he hadn't recalled, the long-sealed past.
That past was about him and his master.
Back then, he was barely a child, a toddler who only knew how to run around wildly.
His master feared that as he grew older, he would forget his martial arts.
Therefore, from a young age, he was made to learn martial arts.
He clearly remembered that his master would take out the bamboo strips he had prepared.
Carefully holding him, he would bring him into the snow and patiently impart his lifelong knowledge.
From a mere child to a young teenager, his learning over the years gradually progressed.
At that time, Liu Shinian, this inexperienced young man, had not yet had time to hear his master's praise.
He encountered the remnants of the Ten Thousand Ghost King's rebellion. For the honor of the Liu family, and for the peace of the four cities.
Liu Xianshi, like most righteous individuals.
Unhesitatingly joined the ranks of those who were to quell the remnants of the Ten Thousand Ghost King.
As his memories awakened, the scene before him transformed from a white expanse into a living hell.
The sky was ablaze with red, the surroundings filled with the roar of battle, and smoke billowed continuously.
Bodies lay scattered everywhere, and rivers of blood flowed.
Waves of righteous individuals clashed with the remnants of the Ten Thousand Ghost King, both sides surging forward, neither retreating.
Liu Shinian suddenly remembered something and rushed into the fray, frantically searching.
One, two, a row, a pile, none of them were him, none of them were the person he was looking for.
A sliver of hope remained in his heart, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.
Then, the scene shifted, and the surroundings transformed into a clearing on a cliff.
Behind the clearing lay vast expanses of dense forest.
Suddenly, he saw a pitch-black skull flying towards him from mid-air.
It flashed past his eyes, and Liu Shinian looked on in surprise.
He saw that many people had appeared beside him at some point.
The pitch-black skull transformed into a wisp of black smoke, weaving through the crowd.
The people wielded their swords to strike, but to no avail.
The black smoke lunged forward, piercing the chests of the righteous individuals.
Before the righteous individual could react, he slowly fell to the ground, dead.
Then, the black smoke moved rapidly, impacting the crowd.
After killing many, the black smoke suddenly fell off the cliff.
Reaching the bottom of the cliff, it blew upon a skeleton, attaching itself to the bones.
It leaped back up, wielding a large saber, and engaged in fierce combat with the masters.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared before his eyes.
Liu Shinian shouted excitedly.
"Master! Master!"
He rushed over, wanting to embrace him.
However, he passed straight through Liu Shinian's body.
Along with the other righteous individuals, he raised his saber and charged at the skull.
The skull swung its large saber, fighting and releasing black energy.
Then, it leaped, gathering power in its hands, and swung them simultaneously.
Instantly, a strong wave of black energy erupted, charging towards the crowd.
The crowd, unable to dodge, was sent flying backward.
Liu Xianshi also sustained internal injuries and fell to the ground.
Liu Shinian rushed over, wanting to help his master up.
But he couldn't touch him no matter how hard he tried, and he could only cry out helplessly.
"Master, Master."
Tears streamed down his face with each cry.
But how could Liu Xianshi hear? All of this was merely an illusion.
Liu Xianshi looked at the formidable skeleton before him and suddenly thought.
"This skull is merely possessed by a wisp of the Ten Thousand Ghost King's remnant soul.
Everyone, quickly gather your strength and channel it into me, so we can defeat him in one blow."
The crowd heeded his suggestion and quickly rose.
They leaped behind him, pooling their strength and channeling it into Liu Xianshi.
Liu Xianshi's spiritual power surged.
At this moment, the skeleton seized the opportunity and charged forward.
Liu Shinian unhesitatingly stepped in front of Liu Xianshi.
However, the skeleton passed straight through him and lunged towards Liu Xianshi.
Liu Shinian turned back, shouting in horror.
"No!"
In an instant, a dazzling light erupted.
Liu Xianshi exerted force with both hands, pushing forward, and a brilliant golden light shot out.
The golden light struck the skeleton, sending it several meters away.
Then, Liu Xianshi unleashed the Liu family's ultimate technique.
"Heaven and Earth Annihilation."
He raised his sword and shouted.
"Heaven and Earth Annihilation!"
He then descended from the sky, his sword splitting apart, sending countless sword strikes flying towards the skeleton.
With a series of crackling explosions, the skeleton was pinned in place.
Then Liu Xianshi thrust forward with all his might, his sword piercing the skeleton's head.
Instantly, a tremendous force surged into the skeleton's body.
With a "bang!" it exploded, the skeleton immediately shattering into pieces.
Scattering everywhere like a celestial flower bloom.
He slowly landed, and the crowd cheered and rejoiced, shouting excitedly.
"We won! We won!"
Liu Xianshi looked at the excited crowd and felt happy.
Suddenly, a surge of true qi erupted from within him.
With a "poof!", Liu Xianshi spat out blood.
The crowd exclaimed in shock.
"Master! What's wrong?"
Liu Xianshi waved his hand, forcing himself to say.
"It's nothing, nothing, perhaps my true qi leaked out."
Liu Shinian was filled with distress and quickly walked to his master's side.
He wanted to do something, but he still couldn't do anything.
Suddenly, a wisp of black qi surged from the shattered skeleton.
The black qi attached itself to a corpse, which suddenly rose and thrust a sword towards Liu Xianshi.
"Master, be careful!"
Liu Shinian shouted, rushing forward to draw his Liu saber and strike.
However, the long sword passed through Liu Shinian and directly into Liu Xianshi's body.
Liu Shinian turned back in horror, witnessing his master's death with his own eyes.
"Master!"
His voice hoarse, he reached out towards his master again and again.
The tears in his eyes flowed like an unending river, falling helplessly.
He cried out.
"Master! Master!"
"Master!"
The crowd cried out in alarm, and together they channeled their strength to strike the corpse.
The corpse split apart, a black qi emerged, flew into the air, and then rushed downward.
It collided with Liu Xianshi, knocking him back and down the cliff.
"Master!"
Liu Shinian sprinted to the edge of the cliff, but could only watch as his master plummeted to the bottom.
His heart was filled with unbearable pain; he had imagined many endings, but none like this.
He had once thought that his master was still alive, and he simply hadn't found him yet.
Now, even that small glimmer of hope was extinguished.
In an instant, Liu Shinian was once again lost in memory.
At that time, the news of his master's death reached Qiongshan.
He rode day and night to Wan Gui Mountain, searching for his master's remains.
But he was stopped by righteous individuals who drove him back.
From then on, Liu Shinian was consumed by self-blame and exiled himself.
He lived a life of debauchery for hundreds of years in this mortal world.
It wasn't until fifty years ago, when he met Xue Ji, that he truly fell into despair, spending his days with wine as his only companion.
Everyone thought it was for Xue Ji.
However, only he knew the real reason.
Meanwhile, Daolang and Feixiong had also suddenly become separated from the group.
They stood in the bewildering fog, somewhat at a loss.
Feixiong looked around in confusion; the people who had been with them were now nowhere to be seen.
He muttered to himself.
"What's going on? Where did everyone go?"
Daolang also looked around, sensing something was wrong.
"It seems we've fallen into the Wan Gui Forest's trap."
"Second Brother, what should we do now?"
"I think it's not just us who are separated from the group; everyone is likely separated."
"Then what should we do?"
Daolang, indeed sharp-witted, immediately deduced everyone's situation.
However, in this vast fog, where should they go?
Daolang said.
"Let's keep moving forward; staying put won't help."
"Mhm."
Feixiong agreed, and together they moved forward.
After walking for an unknown duration, a small tea house that seemed familiar suddenly appeared before them.
Feixiong looked closely and found it very familiar.
"This place, we seem to have been here before."
Daolang was suddenly astonished.
The secret buried deep in his heart also surged forth like a spring.
In an instant, he said.
"This is where we three brothers met."
Upon hearing this, Feixiong suddenly pulled out the memories buried in his heart.
The past he didn't want to be mentioned, the past he didn't want to recall.
At this moment, it was as if it were truly presented before him again.
"What, what is going on?"
Feixiong couldn't believe it; they were still in Wan Gui Forest, yet how had they arrived in Beishen Capital?
In his memory, this tea house stood on the left side of West Street in Beishen Capital.
Compared to other tea houses, it looked more like a restaurant.
This was because most of the people who came for tea were drunkards.
Therefore, the shop owner would thoughtfully prepare several bowls of good wine.
And this was also where the three brothers first met.
Daolang still remembered that at that time, he was alone and did not originally work as a bandit.
Instead, like all righteous individuals, he had become a chivalrous hero who saved the world.
Suddenly, the gray mist around them gradually dissipated, slowly revealing the boundless West Street.
The street was bustling with people, lively and vibrant.
Daolang and Feixiong stood on the street in front of the small tea house.
Looking up, they saw the tea house's plaque read.
"Wan Zi Tea House"
At this moment, a man with a short dagger at his waist, dressed neatly.
A somewhat youthful man, slowly walked from the left side of the street.
Feixiong looked in surprise and exclaimed.
"Second Brother, isn't that you?"
Daolang turned his head and saw himself, with a tender and somewhat delicate appearance.
Walking briskly towards this tea house.
He walked straight past them and entered the tea house.
Daolang unconsciously followed, his heart filled with anticipation.
Because it was here that he would meet the elder brother he had longed for.
Feixiong also followed closely inside.
As soon as the young Daolang entered, he loudly called out to the shop owner.
"Second floor, a pot of tea, a pot of wine."
"Coming right up."
It seemed he frequented this place.
Daolang and Feixiong followed him to the second floor.
Along with him, they sat at an empty table by the window.
Daolang said with great emotion.
"I never thought I'd be able to sit here again after so many years."
Feixiong also remarked with emotion.
"Yes, I never thought so many years would pass.
Second Brother, I never realized you were so youthful back then, I didn't get a good look."
Daolang smiled slightly and shook his head.
"I didn't get a good look at you either back then, nor did I properly look at Big Brother.
I don't know if I'll recognize him when I see him again."
At this, a sense of inexplicable melancholy welled up in their hearts, and their moods immediately became heavy.
At this moment, Daolang turned around and searched everywhere, finally spotting a familiar figure sitting in the corner.
He recognized him at a glance, and he was still the same as he remembered him from the beginning.
His eyes immediately welled up, and he murmured.
"Big Brother..."
Feixiong turned his head and also saw his Big Brother and his younger self.
Tears surged to his eyes, and he almost cried out.
Daolang and Feixiong slowly stood up and approached his Big Brother's table.
At that time, Big Brother did not look as strange as they did.
But rather, he was a handsome, normal-looking man.
Dressed in gray, with a precious sword at his waist, he was leisurely sipping tea.
And Feixiong was the brother he had recognized on the way.
At that time, Feixiong was not as tall as he is now, at least half a head shorter.
Sitting with his Big Brother, he was only slightly taller.
His round, cute face was filled with innocence.
The more Daolang looked at his Big Brother, the more his heart ached.
His eyes also began to turn slightly red.
In the blink of an eye, a tear filled with emotion rolled down.
Feixiong couldn't help but burst into tears as well.
At this moment, several people, whether drunk or arrogant.
Suddenly began to boast loudly.
"Alas, the war is becoming more urgent, and I hear that many people have already died."
"Indeed, and I say they are all useless gluttons.
It's been so long, and they still haven't wiped out the Ghost Clan."
"If you ask me, they are incompetent.
If it were me, I would have killed them seven times over and taken the head of the bandit, the Ten Thousand Ghost King."
"With my Qingfeng sword, I could also catch them off guard."
"Hahaha."
The people nearby, hearing their shameless boasting.
Could not help but burst into laughter.