Sage Shen Zheng tried to stabilize his breathing as he continuously felt a stream of qi being transferred from a pair of palms to his exposed back.
It helped ease the pain somewhat, but soon his body was wrecked with coughs. He involuntarily spat a mouthful of blood, causing the person behind him to withdraw the qi and hold his body, to avoid him faltering towards the ground.
"Shifu, how are you feeling?" The younger man gripped his arms, expression laced with worry. Sage Shen Zheng managed to force a smile to form on his bloodless lips as he slowly fixed his robe.
Still being referred to as a Sage was merely formality; Shen Zheng knew that he no longer had the qualification to be an expert of such caliber and revered by everyone.
"I am feeling fine, Ah-Wei. You should return to the Imperial City to help the others if you can." He paused,
"Though, if you could not help, running away would be good too, Ah-Wei."
Shen Wei's grip tightened, causing Sage Shen Zheng to chuckle,
"What is the point of fighting anyway? We have gone at it for more than a decade, but Zuo JinLong has turned mad. This madman is blind."
The old cultivator's eyes flashed with disgust as he recalled what he and everyone he knew had to go through for years. For him, it was adding insult to injury as he took it more personal; after all, Zuo JinLong was once a Wu Shan sect's disciple, one dubbed as an unsurpassed talent of his generation. He was considered as Shen Wei's senior as well. However, none of it seemed to matter to the current Zuo JinLong, as he unreservedly had been slaying his own fellow junior brothers and wounding hiselders.
It was a past matter for Zuo JinLong to had indirectly caused the death of Sage Shen Zheng's martial brother - who had been heartbroken after the latter's own daughter - Shuan Bing - forgo all familial ties to stay with the Emperor. Despite it being Shuan Bing's own decision, Sage Shen Zheng had always born a grudge towards the girl he used to think of as his own niece, and towards Zuo JinLong. As Shuan Bing was no longer amongst the living, he could only place his grievance towards Zuo JinLong.
It was also a past matter that Shuan Bing had died under Zuo JinLong's own care. At the very least, Zuo JinLong had always been a just ruler to the normal humans, the non-cultivators that the sects could not and were not willing to stick their noses into. After all, for those sects, nothing was more important than the path of Dao.
However, despite all that, Wu Shan sect had once been Zuo JinLong's home. Without their teachings, Zuo JinLong would not have been able to get the golden throne he had sat on for years.
And now, the mad man was willing to destroy everything on a woman's bidding - a woman that everyone thought had perished more than a decade ago at Hui Lin sect.
Shen Zheng let a trickle of blood escaped his lips, "That witch... is not Yun Ying. She is not the late Empress. We have told him so many times before, but he would hear none of it."
"Soon, malice will take over the world. Everyone has either gone mad or soon will be. Ah-Wei, if you could find a place where you can just live peacefully by yourself... . I ... cannot bear to lose you too. One Ah-Lei was more than enough." The old Sage's face was now ridden with wrinkles, his hair white and disheveled - a far cry than how he used to be in Shen Wei's younger days,
"I know I don't have much time left with my current state. I am living on borrowed time. Just knowing that you are living somewhere safe, will be enough to grant me peace on my journey to the underworld."
Shen Wei's heart jumped. His Shifu did not know about Zuo ZhouLei and Ji YuLan. He just told everyone that the both of them had perished when they left many years ago -having encountered some strong Daemons along the way. Shen Wei told them that he was the only one who managed to return.
Despite the grief or doubt the Chun Ping Gu sect's elders, and Sage Shen Zheng also expressed, none of them could afford to confirm the credibility of his claim. They had more pressing matters at hand, which had snowballed into their current predicament. Shen Wei himself had not seen the pair for a few years already, so he was also none the wiser. He had only assumed that by losing her virginity, and thus her pure Yin maiden status, Ji YuLan had also forgone her cultivation. The two of them should not be involved in the cultivation world any more.
Shen Wei sighed silently. He genuinely felt that if he had to die, then so be it. But he wanted to at least give some sort of comfort to his old teacher, knowing that Sage Shen Zheng had most likely almost reached the limit of his life. It was not just old age that had begun to corrode the Sage's physique, but also the pressure and stress of having to battle Daemons day in and out. None of them had the luxury to meditate in peace of late, let alone be able to properly regulate their qi to maintain the state of their Dantians.
"Shifu, do not talk nonsense." Shen Wei said, patting his teacher's back, "Even if I were willing to run away, where could I run away to? Soon, no corner of the world will be safe from malice and Daemons."
"If Lei should die as well, at least I hope the heavens will grant him a peaceful death before malice reaches wherever he is at the moment." He added as an afterthought.
For the past year, Shen Wei had felt Sage Shen Zheng's qi waning and the latter's strength gradually diminishing. Shen Wei had not realized exactly when, that his own cultivation had long surpassed his teacher's, tethering towards the top tier of Sageism. Having not lived for a full fifty years yet - which was considered young for a Sage of such achievement, Shen Wei was considered to be the leader of his generation.
Shen Wei was about to rebuke his teacher's pessimism more - a habit that he had grown accustomed to of late. However, he paused his speech that was hanging at the tip of his tongue when he sensed a pair of qi getting closer. He initially thought none of it due to the familiarity of him being in close proximity of those two particular qi's in the past. For the past years, he had traveled with a number of new and old friends, with the same or of lesser cultivation that he no longer thought much about who the owners of those energies were. The only thing that had mattered was whether or not any person he encountered was a Daemon.
His heart rippled slightly with disbelief and slight hope, as he looked up towards a line of trees that was obscuring his sight. The drumming of his heart became more urgent each passing moment, as he finally recalled the owners of those two strong, steady qi's.
As his lips silently mimed the name of a man - one that he had thought of as a younger brother, that he thought he would never see again, his eyes widened in disbelief. Two silhouettes walked closer, deft in their soundless approach. Soon, they came into his line of sight.
The woman, garbed in white, had not changed in her appearance since the last time Shen Wei had seen her. Despite supposedly losing her pure Yin countenance; despite Shen Wei himself having sensed her qi becoming weaker when he left. Now, he could only feel her Dantians overflowing with her familiar qi, as well as containing the other man's qi signature as well.
The same could be felt from Zuo ZhouLei, who calmly walked towards the dumbfounded Sage Shen Zheng. If years ago, even when Shen Wei had left him, his Dantians were supposed to be empty and broken, now Zuo ZhouLei emitted a perfect mixture of his own and Ji YuLan's qi.
Almost as if they were one person.
As Shen Wei was a Sage, he could also distinctly sense the two's qi to be as strong as his. Which meant that their cultivation was that of a Sage as well.
Shen Wei also clearly remembered that the man in front of him, who was giving Shen Wei a respectful salute a junior brother would give towards a senior, had clearly lost his cultivation years ago. How did he manage to reach Sageism in less than a decade?
Zuo ZhouLei bowed towards Shen Zheng as well, before proceeding to kneel behind the older man. With two palms on the latter's back, he transferred some qi over. Shen Wei gave Ji YuLan a questioning gaze mixed with worry. As YuLan nodded slightly towards him, giving him an assuring smile, his heart finally settled somewhat. If anything, he felt warmth and joy starting to seep into his heart and mind - that small beacon of hope became brighter, that hope he had not dared to dream for lately.
A few breaths passed, after some color returned to Shen Zheng's face and Zuo ZhouLei gently withdrew his qi transfer, Shen Wei finally managed to find his voice, albeit incoherently,
"S-Shidi? Lei? H-how... . Why... ." He gaped, "T-this... is not a dream, right? I... we haven't died yet, right?"
A tiny pebble hit his chest, thrown by his Shifu who was rolling his eyes. Despite being surprised himself, the old man berated his senior disciple,
"If you've died, does that mean I have died too? Are you cursing your teacher!?"
"Shifu, you should really conserve your energy and not do any big movements. I could only manage to temporarily block the fissures in your Dantians with my qi to allow your own body to recuperate. The rest is up to yourself to regulate your own qi to fuse with mine." Zuo ZhouLei reminded curtly, "Not only that, you are well over a century and a half now... . With the cracks in your Dantians, you should focus on maintaining your health instead of jumping around... ."
A pebble hit Zuo ZhouLei's chest. Shen Zheng's trembling index finger was pointed towards Shen Wei and Zuo ZhouLei,
"Good! Very good! The two of you can bully your old teacher now!" Then he glared towards Zuo ZhouLei, who had just wisely stepped further from him,
"And you! Haven't you died?"
Zuo ZhouLei's lips were curled in a light helpless smile, "Shifu... don't curse your disciple... . This disciple is still very much alive."
The older man coughed with embarrassment, "No, I did not mean that... ." Then his long white eyebrows shook as he balked once again, "Don't you dare be mischievous! After so much time disappearing on us, on your sect, do you know how I have felt when I first heard that you passed away?"
Zuo ZhouLei dropped to a kneel with his hands clasped, "But Shifu, who told you that this disciple ... died?"
Shen Zheng turned his head abruptly towards Shen Wei, which prompted Zuo ZhouLei and Ji YuLan to do the same. YuLan, despite partially being amused, asked with slight trepidation,
"Uh, Shen Wei-shiong, for my Shifu and sisters, have I been alive?"
Shen Wei scratched the back of his neck, "That... ."
Suddenly being glared at by three pair of accusing eyes, Shen Wei felt wronged. After all, he did what he had done bearing everyone's best interests in mind. Well actually, only Zuo ZhouLei's best interest, as he obviously did not care about everyone else's thought when deciding that he would leave Zuo ZhouLei and Ji YuLan alone, years ago. Nevertheless, his beloved Shidi was currently also looking at him with a 'how-could-you-have-killed-me' gaze, so Shen Wei was lost for words.
"Isn't this partially your fault?" Shen Wei fumed towards the young woman, "If you just agreed with me to drag Lei back to the sect so we could look into his condition... . What did you do? You ended up losing your cultivation by giving your virginity away to Lei, didn't you?"
Ji YuLan's cheeks reddened as she reached for Zuo ZhouLei's hands. The gesture did not escape Shen Zheng as the old man had once again shifted his attention to her and his youngest disciple, while trying to also process what Shen Wei had just said.
"But I did not lose my cultivation in the end... ." She mumbled silently.
"What do you mean? Wait, your cultivation... . It's not lost... but it's not a pure Yin either... . You... . Ah-Wei just said you gave your virginity away to Lei. Did you and Lei... ?" He pointed his finger towards towards the pair, who had shifted closer together.
As Zuo ZhouLei pulled YuLan closer into his arms, Shen Zheng's eyes dimmed as he slumped to the ground,
"Sage Zhu Hong and the whole Ping sect will have my hide for this... ."
"Shifu, YuLan was the one who actually helped me get my cultivation back. I would not be standing here in front of you without her. She is my Dao partner."
A low sigh escaped Shen Zheng's lips as he turned his back on them, refusing to face his disciples and the woman that had given him a massive headache.
"YuLan is my wife now." Zuo ZhouLei added, exchanging tender glance with the woman in his arms.
A louder sigh came from the old Sage. Zuo ZhouLei whispered towards Shen Wei,
"Shifu... is different from how I remember him to be ... . He used to be very stern... but somehow he has become more mellow now?"
Shen Wei nodded his head slightly, whispering back, "Not your imagination. During your absence, we have been through a lot. Everyone has to adapt."
"I wonder if my Shifu could become as mellow as master Shen Zheng... ." Yulan muttered in similarly hushed tune, "Now I dread appearing in front of her... ."
"Ah... , but Sage Zhu Hong is much younger than Shifu," Shen Wei pursed his lips, "So she might not be as muddled as our old Shifu here... ."
More pebbles were thrown their way, to which the three of them merely shifted their bodies slightly to avoid them. As Shen Zheng turned his body to face them once again, annoyance on his face, the three younger Sages were giving him a look of pity.
"Y-You! Making fun of your elder! I might be weaker than you all now but I could still hear what you all said!" He unsheathed his sword, only to stagger slightly in his steps. Zuo ZhouLei and Shen Wei deftly held each of his arms, steadying his figure. Shen Zheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath before flinging his sleeves to release the two's hold,
"Alright, I'm fine." Shen Zheng huffed, "The three of you should leave for the Imperial City. Just leave me, I will just be a burden. Our friends there still need you."
He turned to face Zuo ZhouLei, "I don't know how you still being alive will change anything... . But you brothers should help each other. Ao Xiang, that lad, has also sworn brother-ship with Ah-Wei. You should help him out."
"And you." Shen Zheng looked at YuLan, "I don't have any say in this. If the two of you are really married, that means Ah-Lei has married you without my consult. I will not pursue this further. However, you should still let your Shifu know. She is one of those who kept refusing to believe that you were gone. If she could, she probably would have gone to hell to ask Yama himself if you had visited his kingdom."
------------------
------------------
Runexi's notes:
I am so sorry to have missed the chapters update last week. And thank you for all new readers and everyone who's still sticking around and voting (oy silent readers, why are you not voting (ಥ﹏ಥ)
Anyway, more chapters ahead.