Death… and me

There was a poem written on the mountain wall at the entrance of the cave. It was written in bold and cursive calligraphy. The calligraphy seemed smooth and beautiful. Moreover, the writing on the wall seemed extremely tranquil and carefree. It was Meng Chao Ran's handwriting…

"Chu Chen quickly disappeared like morning dew,

It is difficult for the heaven to meet the earth now;

I will erase the Ye Clan from the Nine Heavens,

Embracing life or death in my arms!"

Meng Chao Ran had left a message for Chu Yang under the poem, "Chu Yang, you are a very steady person. You can think about everything thoroughly. Your master feels very relieved to leave Tan Tan in your care.

"Take care of your junior martial brother. You must keep him alive in any situation whatsoever!

"It has been so many years that your teacher has been taking care of you two. But, you two have finally grown up. So, your teacher also wants to go on sightseeing. I also wish to be relaxed for once. You two are no ordinary persons. You are destined to lead extraordinary lives. Moreover, you shouldn't stay in the shelter of your master any longer. A young eagle that wishes to conquer the sky must fall from the top of the cliff first. A rock that wishes to transform into a fine jade must go through immeasurable pressure!

"Your master will wait for you to shine… for the news of your name shaking the Nine Heavens!

"And, your master would be drunk when that time comes. I would be smiling no matter wherever I would be!

"A man will inevitably come across many affairs in his life that he must deal with. There will come many responsibilities that he must undertake. After all, no one's free from the cycle of birth and death. Moreover, he has to confront everything by himself. And, he mustn't regret even if he sees dead-end in front of him.

"Your master has left. Don't try to look for me!"

This message of Meng Chao Ran's was just like himself – indifferent and carefree. He hadn't been punctilious about the minutiae of his wordings. He had written everything directly and straightforwardly. Even Tan Tan could understand it by looking at it…

Chu Yang was taken aback when he looked at that stone-wall. And, a strong feeling of listlessness suddenly welled up in his heart.

[Master has left?]

Master had genuinely left this time. Tan Tan had kept him bound in the past. Therefore, Meng Chao Ran hadn't been able to leave. But, he was very reassured for both of his disciples this time.

The fact that Tan Tan now had Chu Yang to look after him had made Meng Chao Ran feel even more at ease.

Therefore, he had left. He was going to do what he had always wanted to do, but hadn't been able to. He was going to accomplish the things that he hadn't been able to do so far…

"Master… you can't, ah!" Chu Yang rushed out. He was extremely anxious, "Tan Tan… I can't raise him!" However, the empty mountain remained silent. No sound echoed in reply…

Chu Yang naturally knew what Meng Chao Ran wanted to do. He had certainly gone to look for Ye Chu Chen. He had gone to look for the dream of his heart! Meng Chao Ran was now an Emperor Level Expert, but he was still weak and insignificant as compared to the Ye Clan!

[How would he be able to get her?]

[Wouldn't going there be equal to throwing away his life?]

Chu Yang yelled out the countless reasons that he came up with for the master to come back. But… Meng Chao Ran didn't reply to any of them. Or, it could be said that he had already left this place, and had gone far away…

A long while passed. Chu Yang became disappointed, and sat down in the snow. He muttered, "Master, you must take care of yourself!" He resolutely punched on the ground. And, a big section of the snowy ground evenly shook out as a result. He gnashed his teeth, "I will raze the Ye Clan to the ground if any harm befalls you. I won't even spare the fowls and dogs!"

Meng Chao Ran's message seemed to be ordinary, but there was a strong determination in it. Moreover, he had made clear that he wanted to confront his troubles on his own, and that he wouldn't allow anyone else to get involved in his affairs. Chu Yang honoured his master. So, he wouldn't interfere. However, he couldn't help but become worried…

Tan Tan was woken by his yelling cry. He rushed out of the cave, and saw the message that Meng Chao Ran had left behind. He stared blankly, and kept standing there for a long while. Then, he suddenly burst into tears…

~~At a distant place… in the dense snow~~

Meng Chao Ran's whole body had dyed in white because of the dense snow. He gave a very deep and meaningful glance as he stood calmly on the summit.

He was listening to Chu Yang's shouts and Tan Tan's loud cries as they were faintly coming through the wind and snow. Meng Chao Ran slightly smiled. He also had a faint glitter of tears at the outer corner of his eyes.

"My disciples, you must take care of yourselves. You must live strong!" Meng Chao Ran silently said in his heart, "Just like I have mentioned in my message — a real man gets many responsibilities to carry on his shoulders throughout his life! There are many things that he must do in his life!"

The expression in his eyes became abstruse. They filled with feeling of longing. Then, he slowly raised his head, and looked at the horizon into distance… of the direction in which the entrance to the Upper Three Heavens was located!

"Chu Chu, I am coming for you," Meng Chao Ran said in a low and deep voice. He felt a slight shiver in his heart. He muttered, "… are you okay?"

He gave a final and heartfelt look towards the direction of that cave. Then, he murmured, "You two… I didn't inquire about it, but you two are my disciples after all. How could I not understand? The things that have happened lately have made me realize that Chu Yang is the Nine Tribulations Sword's Master of this generation. And, Tan Tan is a man from the Divine Clan. Both of you will have your own struggles. I will be a burden on you both if I still stay with you as your master. Moreover, I will also slow you down."

"I – Meng Chao Ran – have only received three disciples in my life. I had never imagined that the eldest one would turn out to be a rebel, the second one would be the Master of the Nine Tribulations Sword, and the third one would be a person of Divine Clan… None of them are to be trifled with. I am indeed very lucky."

Meng Chao Ran smiled in self-ridicule.

"I have got two such incredible disciples in my life. What else can this old man ask for?!"

Meng Chao Ran turned around without hesitation. He took large strides and walked ahead. His sleeves rose upwards. His silhouette floated as he care-freely moved forwards alone. He quietly drifted away, and slowly disappeared in the wind and snow. And, his footprints got slowly covered in the heavy snow. He didn't turn back his head again…

This master had never said anything. But, he had seen everything clearly, and had understood everything thoroughly. He had spent half of his life in fostering his two disciples. But, he had chosen to leave them when they both grew up and became adults.

It seemed that he no longer bore their responsibility. However, leaving them was exactly like bearing the most heartfelt responsibility!

[I will walk on my road!]

[You two have your own journeys!]

[And, I have my own!]

Meng Chao Ran left…

….

"Master is gone…" Tan Tan was upset and frustrated. It seemed as if he had suddenly lost his dependence. It seemed as if his parents had abandoned him. He had a kind of pain as if he had been separated from a blood-relative.

"I am still at your side. Tan Tan, cheer up already. You mustn't disappoint Master!" Chu Yang said while comforting him.

"Yes… you're still here…" Tan Tan exposed an expression of confusion in his eyes as he turned back and looked at Chu Yang's face. He then suddenly burst into loud laughter, and took a somersault. "Yes, Master never let me look into the mirror. He never let me be 'shocked'. He never let me boast about myself. He never let me compare with others… Sometimes, he wouldn't even allow me to speak… But, everything will be fine now! Chu Yang, you tell me… am I handsome or not?"

"Very handsome! As handsome as a dog's poo!" Chu Yang became sullen. He felt that consoling such a brainless guy was his biggest mistake!

"You're talking rubbish!" Tan Tan became angry and annoyed. Then, he thought for a while and suddenly said with a 'shocked' expression on his face, "Now? What about now…? Do I look handsome now?"

Chu Yang looked at Tan Tan's expression. It seemed that he had made this expression with full enthusiasms. So, he weakly sighed in his heart, "Yes! You look very handsome now!"

"Wa-ha-ha…" Tan Tan proudly took a somersault. He again happily changed his expression, "Do I look handsome now?" he was extremely busy in fishing out a small mirror while he had said this. He looked at his image from the left, and then from the right as he threw flirty winks at the mirror.

Chu Yang wanted to cry. He profoundly lowered his head and said in a dull voice, "You look even more handsome now!"

"Wa ha ha ha… and what about now?" He again changed his expression.

Chu Yang collapsed…

Meng Chao Ran would've held Chu Yang's hand if he were here. He would then have said while gleaming with tears, "Chu Yang, you finally understand my pain now…"

….

Chu Yang and Tan Tan kept roaming around in the east and west for the next several days. They frantically looked for spirit beasts to fight with, and hunted them for their inner cores. They looked for people of big aristocratic clans, and robbed them. They crazily consolidated their current cultivation.

The Great Northern Wilderness was soon filled with reign of terror.

It wasn't because of these two alone. There were four more individuals who were crazily attacking. So, there were six lunatic attackers in the Great Northern Wilderness all together. Moreover, these were six crazy robbers!

Everybody wore masks that looked almost same, and only had minor differences!

Heavenly Armament Pavilion!

The situation had become such that everyone would panic at the slightest of sound even in a widely expanded place like this Northern Wilderness. There were many people who had thought of retreating in advance. They had made preparation to return. Also, there were people who would run away if they saw anyone with mask on.

There were two particular individuals who were totally insane. One of them would inconsiderately and insanely shout 'Ahwooh Ahwooh'… lest others wouldn't know that it was Wolf Sword King Luo Ke Di. One of them would speak some foreign language, and would never stop shouting 'Dog Aunt'… lest others wouldn't know that it was the Second Young Master of the Ji Clan – Ji Mo.

These two didn't know what madness they had succumbed to. They had forgotten why they had joined the Heavenly Armament Pavilion. After all, they had worn those masks to hide their identity. However, they would rush over like mad dogs whenever they'd see some people. And they would then commit all kind of crimes in order to loot those people!

Moreover, they would attack fiercely without being afraid of death!

They were extremely valiant!

This made the people who had heard of them whisper in their hearts, [It… isn't much like that. I have heard that those two are very slick and crafty fellows. How can they be so bold, powerful, and valiant?]

Furthermore, there were two Sword Kings and a Saber King in the Heavenly Armament Pavilion!

And, these three people were the fiercest ones. Especially those two Sword kings… They'd sometimes mount sneak attacks out of nowhere.

But, the Saber King was better in some respects. After all, he would attack people with self-respect!

It was because this Lord Saber King didn't have any worries. He would deal with his targets in a group of three or five. Sometimes, he would even deal with a team of dozens of people. However, he would majestically stand in front of them with a large saber on his back!

Then, he would defeat them with his strength, and would make a clean sweep!

This was at least better than being attacked sneakily. After all, the victims would have a reason to comfort themselves after their defeat…

However, the one who made people the most dumbfounded was the last lunatic!

This madman's behaviour couldn't be measured using common sense. He wouldn't only loot people, but he would also become rich by illegal means! He would chase after people until they had hunt down a spirit beast. And then, he would loot those people again…

He also had another way — he would spray some scent on people's body. Then, he would leave you for a while if he'd see that he couldn't make any ill-gotten profit from you. However, he would come back to loot you later. Moreover, he would scold you in case you still hadn't gained anything. In fact, his scolding would be so ruthlessly that even your ancestors might jump out of their coffins…

Everyone who had been looted by this madman three or more times had left this Northern Wilderness in tears…

[Just kill me… at least that wouldn't be as mortifying as this!]

This madman had another trait – Let's say that he encountered an expert, and the gap between both sides wasn't too wide… That expert would have a bad luck if something like that were to happen!

He was a King Level Expert, and was at ninth grade. He could deal with higher level experts, but only of first grade and second grade Emperor Level at the most… And, this guy would escape faster than a rabbit in case he encountered someone stronger than that!

However, he would fight with anyone who was only slightly stronger than him. Moreover, he would shamelessly stick to them afterwards. This guy was very sturdy to make matters worse. He would act as if nothing had happened even if a first grade Emperor Level Expert were to hit him. The fact that he had the cultivation of a King Level Expert didn't seem to make a difference. In fact, he would even let out a loud fart… as if to show that nothing happened to him.

…