Xin Yuesong's body shook a little when he heard the familiar sound, and he opened the eyes to find Ye, who was much taller and mature than the image in his memory. He was surprised, and asked, "Are you Ye?"
Ye nodded heavily and choked with sobs. "Forgive me, Master, I haven't saved you in making you suffer so much."
Xin Yuesong was trembling to hear the answer he had waited on for a long time. "Finally, you accept me as your master? Ye, I have thought that you were murdered by them. I never imagined that you . . . Anyway, Heaven is so merciful that we can meet after so many years. The Blood Gone Cave will come to its end soon. Did they torture you these years? How is your life?"
"No, Master, they didn't treat me as they did you." Ye was so angry and sad that the master still thought of him after he had suffered much more. However, he knew this was not the correct time to cry. He gritted his teeth and said, "Master, I will try every way I know to save you." He formed his hands into knife hand, and used the White Cloud Knife to try cutting the huge stone column.
"Stop wasting your power," Xin Yuesong said and shook his head. "If you want to save me, then listen to me."
Ye stopped and listened. Xin Yuesong took a deep breath before he could give a long narrative. "Do you remember the Moon Glow Mirror? The mirror that can bring back lives? The Cave wants to use its power to help a primordial monster revive, so Guju continuously used the Spirit Inspecting Skill on me. Fortunately, I used the strength of my spell to plant the mirror into my body, thus I have the power to resist the strength of his Spirit Inspecting Skill. The Blood Gone Cave is an evil clan, has been for the nearly a thousand years; we Blue Cloud Clan did not cease from fighting with them. Ye, you called me master, so you are one of the clan. Remember to vanquish this evil Cave. My essence was sealed by Guju, thus I cannot use any spell now. But you can do that for me. Listen, now I will teach you the Spell of the Bad-News Bluebird. Remember the details."
Ye didn't understand why Xin Yuesong wanted to teach him a specific spell in such a situation, but he followed him to memorize the principles. He enjoyed a good basic knowledge of drawing those patterns, so this one was easily remembered, but he would need more time to digest it thoroughly.
When he finished the teaching, Xin Yuesong advised more: "This spell has only one use, and that is to send the information of bad things. Though it can't fight or defend, the message sending ability also consumes great power. You are not powerful enough to use it right now. So get back to practice to cultivate your inner power, until one day you have the strength to throw it. On the day, send it to the leader of our clan. Ye, make this issue your very first priority; don't make any mistakes. If Heaven protects us, allowing the spell to reach the leader, this Cave will be destroyed quickly. Go now, and don't make them suspect anything. And never come to me again."
Ye took a final look at his weak and slim body and tried his best to hold back from crying out; then he kowtowed to the Master three times, and ran to the exit. Seeing the student disappear, Xin Yuesong had tears falling down his face, and he murmured to himself, "Child, be patient. The day this message is sent out, you will become a hero. Maybe this achievement can bring you to the throne of the next leader."
Ye had a good memory, so he quickly ran in the correct direction to the surface. Just when the stone gate closed behind him, a cold voice nearby suddenly sounded, surprising him.
"You are so bold!"
In the moon shining softly, Guju and Black Finger stood in front of him. Ye felt his heart fall into hell.
"You used the ceremony to remove the guards, right? Don't regard me as such a fool," Black Finger said.
Ye thought about it and quickly returned a good answer. "Black Finger, where did you hide my master?"
The two both relaxed when they heard this question. Black Finger laughed and refused him. "I can't tell you this. But I have another piece of good news for you. Do you want to listen?" As he said this, he shook his hand at the guards standing behind them, and they came closer. They pushed Ye to the ground to kneel.
"Lotus has grown into a young beauty. I made an engagement with her during the hairpin ritual. After three years, when she is eighteen, I will marry her. Then the old leader and new leader of the Cave will become a family. Don't you think this is good news?"
Ye never expected this result before, and in a minute, his brain went completely blank. After a while, he seemed to wake up again and yelled wildly at Black Finger, "You son of a bitch! You can't do this to her!"
"Shut up!" Guju snapped ferociously at him. "You won't have a chance to see her anymore. Guards, put him into the prison."
"No!" he yelled desperately. He tried his best to free himself from the guards. Swinging his arms heavily, a sudden thunder leased out toward the guards, and several of them were shocked as they were flung back into the air.
Black Finger frowned and threw a black fog toward Ye. Immediately, Ye felt all his organs burning and he spouted blood. Falling to the ground, he had no power to resist his enemies anymore. The guards grabbed his body to throw him into a prison.
"No worry." Guju laughed at him through the iron window. "Before the wedding ceremony for our leaders, we won't kill you. He'll save your life to force Lotus to accept the marriage. But after the wedding, you will became useless—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Ye used his knife hand to at stab him through the bar crack. Guju was surprised and jumped backward to avoid this attack.
He cursed and left.
Ye had used up his final strength and fell to the ground inside the prison cell.
"Canyi, won't you help Lotus?" he asked. "Why don't you save her?"
Canyi sighed, and said, "If you had told me about your plans earlier, all these things would not have happened. If it were not for the ceremony, during which Black Finger had drank too much, he would not have figured out the idea of marrying Lotus. Do you know her sacrifice? She agreed to save your life. It is all your fault!"
"Bastards, all of you!" Ye yelled with his tears in eyes. "Remember, I will destroy you all one day!"
Canyi shook his head slightly, leaving with the words, "I have nothing more for you."
Ye felt the pain in his heart when the idea galvanized in him that Lotus would be married to Black Finger. He guessed at the vague feeling in him toward Lotus. He bit his lips to vent the hatred and fury in his heart, until his lips were red from bleeding.