Volume 1 Chapter 2: The Pain of Parting

  "Master, you've had a long and tiring journey, take a good rest."

  Xu smiled slyly, casually tossed the oar in his hand, covered his mouth with both hands and glared at Xiaobai fiercely, then turned around and ran towards the house, "Master, I'll make you some delicious food myself later."

  "Die, Xiao Bai, just stay there."

  Xiao Bai was furious, he looked up at the sky and let out three loud cries, then shook his body and took off after him. In just a few seconds, he had already caught up, and with one swift kick, he flipped himself over in mid-air, dodging Xiao Bai's first peck by a hair's breadth. Laughing loudly, he charged into the house, and just as he disappeared from view, Xiao Bai's second peck came crashing down onto the stone wall.

  This yard was found by Akakawa no Miko after a whole year of searching, the houses are all natural stone caves, slightly repaired and became such a yard.

  "Little White, go get two wild game, I'll sit and meditate for a bit."

  Akakamatsu turned to Xiaobai and waved his hand, quickly sat down with his knees crossed, clasped his hands together, and closed his eyes.

  The little white creature shook its head and walked out of the stone cave, spread its wings and instantly flew up into the high sky.

  A moment later, a fragrance quickly spread throughout the stone cave.

  Xu Yi busied himself in the kitchen, and after a moment, Xiao Bai walked in with a snow chicken in its beak, dropping the rabbit on the ground. It proudly raised its head, "Ga, ga, ga" called out several times, its big eyes staring fixedly at Xu Yi's buttocks, as if its mouth would peck out at any time.

  Xu's heart skipped a beat, she turned around and glared at Xiao Bai, waving the spatula in her hand, "You little rascal, hurry up and get out, or else there won't be any for you."

  Xiao Bai proudly gave him a sideways glance and then swaggered out of the kitchen.

  When Xu Yi brought up the last bowl of soft-shelled turtle soup, he found that his master had not yet gotten up from his meditation. He immediately wiped his hands and walked to his master's room, pushed open the door and took a look, only to see his master sitting cross-legged on the couch, with white mist rising from the top of his head.

  A faint mist slowly gathered three inches above his head, slowly condensing and gathering into a cluster, vaguely forming the shape of a flower.

  It's clear that this time, Shifu has suffered a great loss. This is the first time in twenty years of following Shifu that such a situation has occurred. With Shifu's abilities and his position in Jianghu, Xu Yiran really can't think of anyone else who would dare to lay hands on Shifu, or who possesses this capability.

  Xu Yi didn't dare disturb his master, and quietly exited the house, closing the door behind him. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself: This time I've come out of the mountains, I must investigate who is plotting against my master, and then I'll retaliate with thunderous force, tooth for tooth, blood for blood!

  However, Master is injured, and you still want to leave this place?

  Xu Yi's heart skipped a beat, he turned his head to take a glance at the door, and his mind was in great conflict. Before the age of 10, he would ask Master every day when he could go down the mountain, but after the age of 10, he never thought about it again. Because he knew that every time he asked, the things he had to learn would increase by a tenth, not to mention the traditional Taoist secret techniques such as divination, astrology, Feng Shui, and even medical skills, let alone all the textbooks from junior high school to high school which he had studied thoroughly on his own!

  The old man was eager to stuff all the books he could find into his brain, so every time he asked when he could go down the mountain, the answer would be that tomorrow's lessons would increase.

  So from the age of ten, Xu Yi understood a truth: don't be curious about things you shouldn't know. Curiosity not only kills cats but also many, many brain cells.

  When the four words "the fate has ended" came out of Lao Dao's mouth, Xu Yi almost didn't dare to believe his ears. He knew that with his current skills, he had only learned about 60% of what his master had taught him, and in his opinion, it was still a long way off before he could go down the mountain. How could he suddenly be allowed to go down the mountain?

  The old man happened to get injured at this time, and as his second apprentice, Xu Yi felt it was necessary for him to serve by his side. Although the old man would pretend to be displeased, he would secretly be delighted, with his beard almost standing on end.

  To leave or to stay, this is a question.

  "Caw, caw"

  The little white bear moved its massive body over and looked at the lonely figure of Xu Yiluo, its mood also becoming depressed.

  Xu Yiman returned to her room with a tangled mind, picked up a book and flipped it open, but couldn't read a single word. Her mind was still filled with the pale face of her master. She casually threw the book aside, just as the sound of "knock, knock, knock" started. At this moment, Xiaobai was knocking on the door.

  "What's wrong, Master's condition isn't quite right?"

  Xu Yi pulled open the door and rushed out in a hurry.

  Xiaobai raised his neck and looked at Xu Yi's agile figure, with a complex light flashing in his eyes, as if he was reluctant to part with him.

  "Master, Master, has your injury healed a bit?"

  Xu pushed open the door and walked in, staring blankly at the empty room, taken aback. The master who was originally sitting cross-legged on the bed meditating had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a white paper filled with words on the bed frame. Apparently, the master did not want to witness this farewell scene, so he quietly slipped away.

  Obviously, the master had left, and Xu was stunned. He rushed over, grabbed the paper, and indeed, the words were written in his master's handwriting, with a beautiful willow-style calligraphy that even Liu Gongquan would not surpass if he were alive.

  A full page of paper was filled with reminders to Xu Yi: don't use your skills to bully others in the mortal world, don't forget to practice your skills, and don't think about taking revenge for him; maybe they'll meet again someday.

  It was the last sentence that made Xu Yi cry and laugh, the old man took this sentence out as a separate paragraph, which shows how much the old man valued this sentence.

  Just eight words made Xu's eyes wide with astonishment, he was about to return to the capital after this, first call up a dozen top beauties for a big battle, damn it, young master has been stuck in this bird-less place of Changbai Mountain for 20 years, finally have the chance to see the daylight again, how can't find a group of beauties to have fun?

  But also not right, the birds in this place seem to want to pull shit too, at least that colored bird is.

  Since Master has already made the decision, Xu Yi can only obey. Besides, it's been twenty years since he saw his family members, and he really wants to go back and see them, experience the feeling of being spoiled by his elders.

  Xu Yi carefully folded up the letter paper, stood up and walked out of the room, "Colorful bird, colorful bird."

  As usual, when Xi shouted loudly, Xiaobai would suddenly appear from nowhere and a fierce battle between humans and birds would begin. However, this time, Xiaobai did not show up.

  Xu Yi searched around in a circle, but didn't find Xiao Bai. His nose couldn't help but feel slightly sour. This bird's head, don't play the sorrow of parting when Master is leaving!

  Do you think you can hide and I won't know you're heartbroken?

  Xu simply packed his luggage, put a long wooden box in the bag, and took out several books to put in the bag. These books were not Taoist kung fu secret books, but some ancient medical classics.

  Otherwise, when I go back home, if the old man asks what I've learned in these twenty years, I certainly can't perform a set of Tai Chi for him.

  Carrying his luggage, Xu Yi stood in the courtyard and took a look at this place where he had stayed for twenty years. His heart was filled with reluctance. It's strange to say that before, he always dreamed of leaving this place, but now that he is about to leave, he can't bear to part with it.

  I don't know when it started snowing, Xu Yi looked at the familiar courtyard, her knees softened and she knelt down heavily, "Master, take care of yourself, Xiao Yi will come back to see you later."

  Having said that, he knocked three loud heads on the ground and quickly got up and left in a hurry.

  Xu Yi lived on the summit of Changbai Mountain for twenty years, so he naturally knew how to get down the mountain at the fastest speed. Soon his figure disappeared into the swirling wind and snow.

  Two lonely figures stood tall in the wind, watching as a small black shadow slowly disappeared into the distance. One person and one bird stood motionless, allowing large flakes of snow to fall on their bodies.