The setting sun slanted in the west, its dim light spilling over the courtyard wall, passing through the treetops, and landing on the edge of the white stone chessboard.
A few chess pieces were covered with withered yellow leaves, slightly flipping in the breeze.
A petite and elegant woman in a white dress, with a golden bell tied to her waist, sat quietly at one end of the chessboard.
"If unrequited love cannot be contained, let the emotions run deep into the Qingyao..." (Qingyao, a type of lantern placed in rivers to carry one's longing in the Great Spirit. People write their final words of affection on the lantern cover. When the lantern drifts away, it signifies forgetting everything and starting anew.)
"When the Qingyao is out of sight, one can forget everything. But you are not suited for the path of extre emotions." A tall man in a blue robe, with billowing sleeves, stood at one end of the courtyard, having appeared unnoticed.
He slowly approached, familiarly sitting at the other end of the chessboard.
"Among the Four Extre Realms, the Extre Heart is the easiest, but also the weakest. Yet it is the safest."
He looked at the woman opposite him.
"You wish to tread the paths of Extre Law and Celestial Demon, but neither suit you."
"Yet, I've made it more than halfway... there's no turning back now." The woman raised her head, revealing a bewildered and pale face.
She was none other than the long-disappeared Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang!
"If you insist, I can indeed help you. But these paths do not suit you," the man sighed.
"I'm not afraid." Tong Zhang gently placed her hand on a chess piece, "Soone once told that in this world, only strength can endure. And Extre Law and Celestial Demon are the strongest."
She felt the coldness of the chess piece, vaguely aware that she had forgotten many things, and grown much stronger too.
But it's still not enough... not enough...
"You will suffer greatly," the man replied.
"I've been through too much pain; it doesn't matter... no one understands pain better than I do. It only makes stronger," Tong Zhang replied.
"....." The man did not reply. He only glanced sideways at the ever-lowering sunset.
"If you are truly certain, then rember your original desire first. Seeking the unattainable is the most fundantal of all."
The Celestial Maiden raised her eyes to look at the man.
"Originally... I wanted to survive, and then... then... I forgot."
"What do you still rember?" the man asked.
"I still rember...."
Tong Zhang lowered her head.
"I....."
Her mind was blank, unable to answer anything.
"You know that becoming stronger is the way to live better. You forgot everything in pursuit of strength. Your obsession is only with becoming stronger. But you also forgot why you wanted to be strong in the first place."
The man sighed.
"If you've forgotten everything, then find your forr mories. Revenge, repaynt, protection, whatever it is, as long as it is yours, is the most important thing, then go and reclaim it. Whether it's Celestial Demon or Extre Law, this is very important.
Otherwise, if you ss around like this, you'll never reach higher. You'll always be stuck at the first stage."
"I understand...." Tong Zhang closed her eyes, nodding slightly.
*
*
*
Dan Province, Yunxia Mountain.
After two days of travel, Mo Qingyu and her group finally managed to bring Zhang Rongfang to Yunxia Mountain.
As for where they originally intended to go?
That was not within Zhang Rongfang's concerns.
Yunxia Mountain is famous for being frequently bathed in clouds and mist, with reflected rays of sunset illuminating its peak.
Though the mountain is not large, its base is interwoven with dense official paths and mountain roads, a crucial point of intersection for Dan Province and neighboring provinces.
On both sides of Yunxia Mountain are large, steep, and difficult-to-navigate areas like Duan Valley and other mountain ranges.
Here, it is most suitable for travel and transportation.
"This is Yunxia Mountain,"
Mo Qingyu stood on the slope of a small hill and pointed to a mountain peak not far away.
"From here, there are three routes leading to the governnt city, Mu Yang, and Si Jiufeng."
"Generally, outsiders enter the province and head to the governnt city first to gather information. After all, the governnt city has the largest population, with information circulating widely."
Zhang Rongfang gazed at the mountain peak, then glanced around.
He was imagining what he would do if he were Ding Yu, arriving here with a map in hand. What would be the first thing to do?
"Ask around. I would find soone to inquire with first." Recently, Zhang Rongfang felt his mind had beco sharper. It seed that replenishing the flesh truly improved aptitude.
"Where to find soone to ask?"
"There are probably only three main sources: one, passersby. Two, herbalists and woodcutters. Three, local residents."
Passersby are the least reliable, too random.
As for herbalists and woodcutters, a glance around showed no signs of anyone here harvesting herbs or chopping wood.
So, local residents...
"Are there any residents nearby?" he suddenly asked.
"We don't co here often either...." Mo Qingyu hesitated.
"Then you're useless." Zhang Rongfang's expression turned cold.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Mo Qingyu shivered all over and shouted imdiately, "There are many of us, maybe we know a bit about the surroundings!!"
She quickly went to discuss with the other won present. It was just them left in the group now.
The two n who had been captured and released were already let go.
The group inquired and answered, repeatedly asking and pursuing.
Finally, Mo Qingyu sighed with relief, finding a woman familiar with the surrounding area.
She brought her over.
"I... sir! My na is Chen Daniu... I'm nineteen years old this year!"
The young woman had clear brows and bright eyes, and her figure was excellent, though her skin was sowhat dark. Her hands were rough and cracked, indicating that she was accustod to farm work from a young age.
"Daniu, hurry up and speak, don't keep the lord waiting!" Mo Qingyu urged her from the side.
"Yes." Chen Daniu briefly began to introduce the nearby situation.
From her narrative, the group learned that there are three villages around Yunxia Mountain.
In the direction of the prefecture city, there is a place called Ranxin Village.
Imdiately, Zhang Rongfang asked her to lead the way to this village.
The group moved swiftly, crossing several hills, and quickly found Ranxin Village as Daniu described.
The village was small, surrounded on three sides by hills, with only one entrance and exit.
There was a wooden watchtower at the entrance.
After Mo Qingyu's people negotiated, the group was allowed to enter the village.
Soon, after giving so benefits, Zhang Rongfang easily t the village chief - a seventy-year-old elder with the body of a young girl.
"Speak up, what do you want? I thought you were itinerant rchants from nearby, but you have no goods at all. If you're here to inquire, do it quickly, I need to get back to work." The village chief's na was Zheng Chunjuan. Despite her petite stature, her prestige in the village was significant.
Zhang Rongfang noticed that the young woman serving them tea trembled slightly before the small village chief, obviously very afraid.
"It's like this, I want to inquire about whether a young man with this appearance passed by here before?" Zhang Rongfang handed over the image he had sketched of Ding Yu using a charcoal pencil.
Zheng Chunjuan took it and looked at it.
On the paper was a delicately drawn face of a young man.
"This person..." She pursed her lips, seemingly trying hard to rember.
Actually, about twenty n passed through the village each month, and she couldn't necessarily rember them.
But Ding Yu left a deep impression on her.
This young man was squeezed for so many days, yet he still had the energy to escape without his legs giving way. Truly talented!
So she rembered him vividly.
It was surprising that soone ca looking for him so soon. She hadn't expected it.
Normally it took several months, even half a year, for anyone to inquire.
Most of the ti, nobody cared about the missing persons.
"This person... I have no impression." Acting had beco second nature to Village Chief Zheng Chunjuan; her heartbeat didn't even accelerate.
They had handled incidents of relatives looking for lost n countless tis.
By now, they could handle it with ease, without a change in expression.
"Could you think again?" Zhang Rongfang inadvertently revealed a hint of gold in his hand.
It was the color of gold leaf.
Zheng Chunjuan saw it, and greed flickered in her eyes.
But after thinking carefully again, she helplessly shook her head.
"Sorry, sir. It's not that I don't want to say, but I truly haven't seen this person."
Zhang Rongfang carefully observed her with night vision, but neither her expression, heartbeat, nor breathing showed any abnormalities.
It seed she genuinely didn't know...
He exhaled lightly and stood up.
"Since that's the case, I apologize for the disturbance. We shall take our leave now." He still left a piece of silver coin and turned to leave.
"Take care." Zheng Chunjuan smiled as she picked up the silver coin, watching them leave.
When they were completely out of sight, she casually tossed the broken silver aside.
This little money was of no interest to her.
Particularly since she had recently acquired a large sum of silver notes and gold tickets from Ding Yu.
The amount was so huge, plus that token, suggesting a background that was anything but ordinary.
If soone ca looking so quickly, divulging any information would be asking for trouble, wouldn't it?
Zheng Chunjuan chuckled to herself; she wasn't that foolish.
Outside the house, Zhang Rongfang and his group moved briskly between the buildings, preparing to leave the village.
Passing by a few small buildings, Zhang Rongfang noticed girls inside sticking yellow flowers to copper mirrors.
Sticking yellow flowers was a custom of the previous dynasty. Since the founding of the Great Spirit, many provinces haven't practiced this custom for two hundred years.
Yet here it still existed...
Watching these young won remove the flowers, leaving faint floral marks on their faces, both beautiful and elegant.
Adding to that their attire... many were wearing fine materials.
And the houses here were all two-story buildings.
"This village is quite affluent, isn't it..." he remarked.
"It should belong to Black Dragon Village, due to its proximity to the main road." Mo Qingyu responded quietly.
Zhang Rongfang thought about it and indeed, all external traffic in the Dan Province passed through here.
Given that, the affluence seed understandable.
Imdiately, he decided not to dwell on it and led his group swiftly out of the village entrance.
A female hunter on the watchtower playfully whistled at them with a teasing expression.
Upon leaving the village, Zhang Rongfang decided to head straight to the prefecture city. There he could first contact the advance team he had sent, then gather a group of locals for a large-scale search.
This would be much more efficient than searching alone.
"Wait!" Suddenly, in the forest, Zhang Rongfang stopped abruptly.
"Sir?" Mo Qingyu and the others stopped with puzzlent behind him. "What's wrong?"
"In that village, why wasn't there a single man?" Zhang Rongfang frowned and spoke.
"....." The group of won glanced at each other, without understanding.
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