Section 56: Choosing Forgiveness, What is the Truth?
Author: Gu Zhenren
Date: 2013-02-09
Yan Que clenched his fist and shouted, “Master, we can start all over again!”
Master Yu Ya shook his head and sighed, “At the moment of enlightenment, I wanted to try hard to condense my anger and hatred towards Zhong Qi, but I couldn’t. That’s when I understood my inner feelings. Zhong Qi might indeed be a despicable scoundrel, but in my eyes, he will always be the one who drank with me, shouted to comfort me when I was down and dejected, yet inexplicably said nonsensical things.”
“He said with great aspirations that he wanted to become the world’s top Weapon Forging Master. He once rushed about for me, searching for hope to heal my injuries. Perhaps he was always acting, perhaps he was always deceiving, perhaps he was always mocking me. But he truly became my light, giving my soul strength during the most disheartening period of my life.”
His facial expression shifted from confusion to ease, and as Master Yu Ya spoke, his eyes grew brighter. He suddenly seemed to have shed a heavy burden, saying with a relaxed expression, “To be honest, I truly hated his betrayal from the moment things happened. But there was still a glimmer of hope in my heart, perhaps he had a hidden reason. I always refused to believe he was that kind of person.”
“Perhaps,” he pointed to the Gem Secret Passage, “I passed through this door and can see the real him. The him who consumed the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill and became incredibly powerful. But he is not the Zhong Qi in my heart. The Zhong Qi in my memory is my brother! The man who always supported me, who drank wine with me in the dim blacksmith shop.”
By the end, he said with a wry smile to Chu Yun and the other two, “Is this hard for you to accept? Call me cowardly, call me afraid. I don’t want to continue.”
“Master Yu Ya…” Yan Que’s eyes turned red.
“Everyone has a sun in their heart. It is the harbor of the soul, the source of strength,” Jin Bihan also sighed. “Enlightenment requires genuine emotion from the heart. The faint light beam proves that Master, your inner resentment is scarce, and there is more confusion? I can understand you, Master. This challenge has lost its reason to continue, regardless of victory or defeat.”
“Master, you are the true Master. Your magnanimity earns my junior’s respect,” Yan Que solemnly bowed to Master Yu Ya.
“Choosing forgiveness, you have protected the beauty in your heart. In contrast, Zhong Qi, despite gaining power, has lost the sun in his heart. Master, you have won this challenge,” Jin Bihan exclaimed with deep emotion.
“Victory or defeat is not important,” Master Yu Ya shook his head and looked at Chu Yun. “As you, Chu Yun, said, life is like a tide, with its own ups and downs. I have been glorious, and I have been in decline. The true meaning of life is not about winning or losing, but about preserving the beauty in one’s heart. When at the crest of the wave, this beauty will prevent me from becoming complacent. In the trough, this beauty will prevent me from losing hope. Can this matter be settled now? Although this request is presumptuous, I still ask you, Chu Yun, to forgive a timid old man.”
“No,” Chu Yun lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, finally raising his head to speak. “It is not time to end yet.”
“Young Master…” Yan Que let out a soft cry, his eyes filled with anticipation. He knew that seeing Zhong Qi at this moment was not the main point. Since Master Yu Ya had chosen forgiveness, seeing Zhong Qi’s true face would likely shatter his heart, truly breaking the old man.
“Brother Chu, the task rewards are substantial, but there’s no need to force it,” Jin Bihan also said. In Master Yu Ya, she had experienced a beauty that was absent in the royal struggles and deceptions.
In her opinion: Forgiving someone who has hurt you is not cowardice, but open-mindedness. It requires more than just courage.
“Don’t you find it strange, Uncle Yu Ya?” Chu Yun’s next words stunned the person involved. “Logically speaking, the effects of the Berserk Pill should have worn off long ago. Do you feel weaker now? Is your strength still at its peak?”
“Huh?! What is this?” Upon being reminded, Master Yu Ya’s face instantly showed shock and joy. “My, my strength has recovered?!”
Chu Yun smiled and spoke his second sentence, shocking everyone present. “If I’m not mistaken, the pill in this cauldron should be the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill.”
“Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill?!”
“Isn’t that the Berserk Pill?”
“It looks like it, but it’s actually a different kind of pill,” Chu Yun said, holding the pill in his hand, a divine light flashing in his eyes.
He spoke at length. “Don’t you find it strange? Everything about this situation is peculiar.”
“If I were Zhong Qi, and truly betrayed you, stealing the precious Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill prescription, I would go all the way and kill Master Yu Ya. That way, no one in the world would know about the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill.”
“Furthermore, since I took the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill, I should have challenged you openly and crushed Master Yu Ya. Why would Zhong Qi go to such lengths as to have someone send a signal arrow?”
“When I first arrived at the entrance of the blacksmith’s workshop, the door was tightly shut. You, Uncle Yu Ya, also doubted if Zhong Qi had truly returned. I blasted the door open. Given the arrogant tone shown in the letter, how could Zhong Qi have endured it?”
“Deep inside the blacksmith’s workshop, selecting materials, forging, quenching, and enlightening. Step by step, Zhong Qi abandoned the Demonic Beasts and instead strengthened Master Yu Ya’s power. Was this truly about letting go of the past?”
“The most peculiar thing is this cauldron. A pill bottle would suffice for the Berserk Pill. Why are there identical cauldrons in every hall, and why do they only serve to hold one Berserk Pill?”
“Yes, I’ve also felt that something was off. There was no life in the blacksmith’s workshop, it was dead silent.” Yan Que slapped his forehead. After being enlightened, he suddenly noticed many strange details.
“This is the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill. Could it be…” Jin Bihan thought of something, and a look of shock appeared on her face.
“Chu Yun, what exactly are you trying to say?” Master Yu Ya suddenly felt his heart pounding, almost jumping out of his chest.
Chu Yun sighed and changed the subject, speaking slowly. “When I received this mission, I collected information in the Scripture Repository of the Academy. There are many rumors about the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill. The most famous and credible ones are only two.”
“One is King Jiangyue. His beloved consort refined the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill for him, indirectly saving the Jianghan Kingdom. The other is the Nine Ghosts King. His mother refined the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill for him, establishing Nine Nether City. People’s attention is mostly drawn to the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill. At the time, I found it strange. The two great contributors who refined the pills should have been favored and respected, but information about them abruptly stopped. I couldn’t find any information, and even King Jiangyue himself once mobilized a large number of people to search for his consort.”
“This doubt has been bothering me. Until just now, a bold guess suddenly popped into my mind—does refining the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill require the life of the Alchemist!”
Thunderclap!
Everyone’s hearts trembled, and for a moment, they all stared blankly at Chu Yun, unable to speak.
“Although I am not skilled in Weapon Forging, I have some insights into Pill Refining,” Chu Yun continued. “Pill Refining is about seizing the creations of Heaven and Earth and applying them to oneself. Generally, the more precious the Medicinal Ingredients, the better the properties of the Pill. However, the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill violates this principle.”
“King Jiangyue was already defeated and left in the wilderness. Young King Nine Ghosts came from a very poor family. Where would they have found precious Medicinal Ingredients to refine the legendary Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill? Yet, the Heaven Spirit True Heart Pill has the effect of greatly enhancing the body, soul, and spirit of a Monster Tamer. The only explanation is refining a person into a pill! Concentrating the essence of a Monster Tamer into the pill, which another Monster Tamer then consumes, absorbing the essence and gaining enhancement.”
“Refining a person into a pill?” Yan Que was dumbfounded.
“How is that possible…” Jin Bihan murmured, looking at Chu Yun in astonishment.
“Could it be, could it be…” Master Yu Ya was distraught, imagining something and trembling uncontrollably.
“Human Forging Weapons, you must have heard of it. The legendary Gan Jiang and Mo Ye were a pair of Weapon Forging Masters who threw themselves into the forging furnace, sacrificing their lives to create Supreme grade Demon Soldiers. Why wouldn’t human refining pills be possible?” Chu Yun shook his head. “The cauldron is evidence, and the pill in the cauldron is the best proof. The Gem Secret Passage behind it is further proof. I am almost certain that Zhong Qi is no longer alive. Behind the secret passage should be the Star-Fixing Bow he stole.”
The others remained silent, deeply shaken by Chu Yun’s daring hypothesis.
“You don’t believe me? Let me open the Gem Secret Passage, and the truth will be revealed.” Chu Yun’s eyes emitted sharp light as he walked directly to the Gem Secret Passage, placing his hands on the door and concentrating, activating the spiritual energy within him.
This was a small trick, which had been popular in Chu Yun’s memory. It mainly involved generating spiritual energy within the body to deceive the Gem Secret Passage.
The Gem Secret Passage, at its core, was also a Demon Soldier. The reason it could identify conditions was its possession of a certain amount of spiritual energy and understanding of specific Cultivation Methods, allowing for simple discernment.
After a moment, a red light vortex formed in front of the secret passage.
“Shall we all take a look together?” Chu Yun stood at the door and invited.
Master Yu Ya was the first to step into the vortex. Yan Que and Jin Bihan looked on in admiration. Chu Yun’s small trick had exceeded their imaginations as expected. However, their hearts were already captivated by a greater mystery, and they both passed through the secret passage.
Chu Yun entered last.
This was a secret chamber.
The final location, with no other Gem Secret Passages.
On a table at the end of the secret chamber, the Star-Fixing Bow was placed, along with three unclaimed Immortal Pouches. There was also a letter, which was now clutched in Master Yu Ya’s hands. The letter trembled perceptibly.
Indeed, Zhong Qi’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
