area51novel Page 52
Page 52
His voice was calm, yet it carried a chilling power; each word struck Zhang Jingqing and Zhang Zhiwei's hearts like a heavy stone.
"I also saw a mother who, in order to prevent her child from being impaled by the bayonets of the Japanese pirates, used her own body to shield the child in her arms, and was ultimately stabbed to death... I still can't forget the child's cries."
These scenes are too real, too cruel.
The expression on Zhang Zhiwei's face gradually changed from initial confusion to solemnity.
The muscles on the old Celestial Master's usually placid face twitched slightly.
At this point, Zhang Yunyuan paused slightly, and beneath his calm tone, a barely suppressed tremor, originating from the depths of his soul, finally crept in.
“Master, do you know? When I saw that scene, I was reminded of my own parents.”
"If it weren't for your timely arrival, Master, I... I'm afraid I would have already become a skeleton."
He tore open the bloody past with the calmest tone, but the deep sorrow and hatred that ran deep in his bones made the air freeze.
Zhang Zhiwei's fist clenched unconsciously inside his sleeve.
A deep sense of pity and self-reproach flashed in the old master's eyes.
Zhang Yunyuan raised his head, his eyes were already bloodshot, and two lines of clear tears finally slid down his cheeks.
"The family feud remains unavenged, and the nation is in peril."
He suddenly kowtowed, his forehead slamming heavily against the hard ground with a dull thud.
"If you can't even protect your country, what's the use of cultivating such extraordinary skills?!"
These last words struck Zhang Jingqing's heart like a thunderbolt.
He looked at his young apprentice kneeling on the ground, his body trembling slightly with excitement, and saw in his eyes the same firmness and determination he had shown in his youth, as well as the Daoist heart that said, "Even if there are thousands of people, I will go."
He suddenly understood.
This child isn't fooling around.
He is practicing the "Tao" in his own way.
This momentum cannot be stopped.
Forcibly suppressing him will only damage his Dao heart and destroy his foundation.
Young eagles must eventually leave the nest.
The anger in the old master's eyes gradually subsided, replaced by endless complexity and helplessness.
He remained silent for a long time, so long that Zhang Yunyuan thought he wouldn't agree.
Finally, a long sigh echoed through the mountains and forests.
"Foolish child, foolish child..."
The old celestial master slowly walked forward, helped Zhang Yunyuan up from the ground, and wiped away the tears on his face with his rough hands.
His voice carried a hint of weariness, but more than that, it conveyed a sense of relief, like letting a fledgling eagle take flight.
“But you’ve got me on your mind.”
The old celestial master's gaze became extremely serious and solemn.
"You can lose anything, but you can't lose your life!"
"Come back alive, my master!"
Looking at the deep concern in his master's eyes, Zhang Yunyuan could no longer hold back his tears.
He nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Master!"
The old master held him and did not let go for a long time.
Zhang Zhiwei, who had been watching from the side, finally broke the heavy atmosphere. He lazily walked over and scratched his head.
“Master, you’re just going to let him go like that? Mianshan is no place to be trifled with. I heard that even those reckless lunatics from Quanxing got involved.”
The old celestial master glanced at him and sighed again.
“His resolve is firm; forcing him to stay will be pointless and will only become a source of inner demons for him.”
"When a fledgling eagle grows up, it has to fly in the sky on its own to know how high the sky is and how strong the wind is."
He looked at Zhang Yunyuan, a sly glint in his eyes.
"Yun Yuan, your trip to Mianshan to assist the Tang Clan was something you did without permission."
I have already ordered your senior brother Huaiyi to lead men to 'capture' you and bring you back to the mountain.
"You'd better come back the moment he catches you, understand?"
Zhang Yunyuan was taken aback, but then he understood his master's deeper meaning.
This is to give him a way out and also to leave him a way out.
He was moved, and his eyes welled up with tears again.
"Yes, disciple understands!"
Zhang Yunyuan's gaze became incredibly resolute at that moment.
He lifted his foot and took his first step.
The instant he took that step, he seemed to hear the wheels of history begin to rumble heavily and clearly, rolling forward.
Chapter 61 Traveling Alone to Mianshan
After bidding farewell to his master and senior brothers, Zhang Yunyuan did not linger for a moment.
He changed out of his Taoist robe and put on a gray cloth short shirt that was easy to move in.
From this moment on, he was no longer Zhang Yunyuan, a disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion, but a wandering cultivator.
Instead of taking the official road, he chose a more secluded and rugged mountain path, swiftly traversing the rolling mountains like a nimble monkey.
The scenery along the way was even more shocking than what I had seen when I traveled with my master before.
He passed through a village destroyed by war. Among the charred ruins, several long-rotted corpses lay uncollected, and wild dogs were greedily gnawing on them. When they saw a stranger approaching, they growled warily.
The air was filled with a nauseating stench of death and decay.
He once saw a group of routed soldiers fighting each other over half a bag of moldy rations by a mountain stream. The scene was filled with the clash of swords and the bloodshed, and they all perished together.
War exposes the ugliest aspects of human nature to the light of day.
These sights did not deter him; on the contrary, they strengthened his resolve to go to Mianshan.
In troubled times, human lives are worthless.
Without ruthless measures, how can one secure a place to live?
If one lacks a compassionate heart, how is one different from beasts?
He suppressed this heavy feeling in his heart and amplified all his senses to the extreme.
With the extraordinary perception brought by the Primordial Dao Qi, he could clearly "see" the bloody and malevolent Qi fluctuations of the Japanese patrol team several miles away.
He could always anticipate the opponent's route and silently bypass them, like a true ghost moving right under the enemy's nose.
After several days of rapid travel, the majestic and precipitous outline of the Mianshan Mountains in Shanxi finally appeared on the horizon.
The closer you get, the stronger the chilling atmosphere becomes.
He could sense that in the vast mountainous area ahead, two enormous and terrifying energy fields were confronting and colliding.
A powerful aura, a mixture of military might, bloodshed, and cunning, emanated from the Japanese army and the Hiei ninja, like a black cloud shrouding half the sky.
The other force was the Qi aura of the Tang Clan and the Quanxing masters who secretly assisted them—auras that were sometimes sharp, sometimes unpredictable, and sometimes unrestrained. Although they were outnumbered, they were like sharp blades deeply embedded in the heart of the dark clouds, resilient and razor-sharp.
A major battle is imminent.
Zhang Yunyuan did not approach rashly.
He stopped in a dense forest on the outskirts of Mianshan Mountain, and found a secluded corner in an abandoned ancient battlefield ruin to linger for a while.
The place is full of jagged rocks and complex terrain. Broken weapons and skeletons buried for countless years are scattered everywhere. It is eerie and an excellent hiding place.
He sat cross-legged and began circulating the Return to Truth Mantra, quickly restoring the physical strength and Qi that had been depleted from days of travel.
Just as he was immersed in the inner world and became one with his surroundings, the cold and familiar mechanical prompting voice arrived in his mind as expected.
[Ding! Key plot point detected: Mianshan Mountain.]
【Check-in successful! 】
[Congratulations, host, you have received the reward: Thousand Faces (Beginner Level Disguise Technique)]
[Ability Description: Can utilize one's own Qi to subtly adjust facial muscles and bones, altering body shape and voice to achieve a perfect disguise. Beginner level allows for basic disguise, but cannot imitate the Qi of specific individuals.]
A stream of profound information about muscle control, skeletal fine-tuning, and vocal cord simulation instantly flooded his mind.
Zhang Yunyuan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of understanding appearing deep in his pupils.
This ability came at just the right time!
Now that he is all alone, infiltrating this den of dragons and tigers, what he needs most is to hide his identity.
This "thousand faces and myriad forms" is simply a divine skill tailor-made for him!
With a thought, he tried to summon a wisp of Qi and circulate it on his face according to the method in his mind.
He could clearly feel the muscles in his face twitching and changing in an extremely subtle way.
The cheekbones seem a bit higher, the jawline has become more defined, and even the direction of the eyebrows has subtly changed.
He walked to a nearby puddle and saw his reflection in the murky water.
His once handsome face had become plain and unremarkable, bearing the marks of time and hardship. He had the kind of ordinary, unremarkable appearance that would be easily lost in a crowd.
He then tried to adjust the muscles in his throat, and the voice he produced became much hoarse and rougher.
"interesting."
He muttered something to himself in his new voice and nodded in satisfaction.
Although the basic "Thousand Faces" ability is not enough to transform him into a specific character, it is more than sufficient to conceal his identity.