Chapter 3 Adventures on Mt. Huang Part 3-2
With his good memory, he found his way back easily. He ran all the way to the Silver-Haired Mystic’s home. When he pushed open the yard door, he barely avoided colliding with Hengwu, who grabbed onto him and scolded him, “what’s the rush? What happened?” Ye muttered, “no...nothing.”
Hengwu smiled, “where did you go?” Ye shook his head, ”nowhere.” Hengwu laughed, “you really are exactly like him. Why won’t you listen to him when he tells you to practice?”
Ye felt overwhelmed and didn’t know what to say. Hengwu led him into the yard and said softly, “he wants the best for you. He really wants to teach you everything, your being this way would hurt him. Listen to me, don’t be so stubborn, alright?” Ye nodded without knowing what he agreed to.
Hengwu noticed his bewildered state and said, ”I didn’t come just to lecture you. You must be bored being here all the time. I was going to look up some exotic plants on Mt. Huang, did you want to come along?”
Ye only wanted to get away, so he nodded quickly. Hengwu thought he was eager to sightsee, so she stomped her foot, and made a lotus flower appear, which carried the two of them into the air. Hengwu held onto Ye’s hand and the flower flew into the clouds, traveling all the way west. After half a day, the two arrived inside Mt. Huang.
Mt. Huang is a legendary mountain with stunning peaks and breathtaking views. Ye has traveled a lot with his parents but not to these famous mountains. His first time here made him very curious and soon, the boy forgot to be afraid.
Hengwu and Ye flew in the lotus flower and saw all of the various sights on the mountain: exotic trees, bizzare rocks, sea of clouds, hot springs, and assorted sights and sounds. After the sky turned darker, Hengwu said, ”it’s getting late, let’s head back.”
Ye remembered the cave and shook his head. “No! Auntie, didn’t you come here to look for exotic plants? Let’s go look!”
At first, Hengwu just wanted to show Ye around; seeing he was in a better mood, she was ready to leave, but now, since the boy seemed very interested, she didn’t want to deny him, so she retracted the lotus flower and two landed in the mountain to look for plants and flowers.
Hengwu was the fairy of fragrance, so her expertise lay in plants and flowers, as soon as she saw the bounty of growth in the mountain, she was energized and busied herself with smelling this and observing that, leaving Ye alone. Ye thought the flowers were pretty, but he wasn’t obsessed with them like Hengwu was. Soon, he started walking off on his own and was separated from the woman.
As he walked, a land of white appeared before him. He rushed forward to see and realized it was a field of white flowers, which were like lotus flowers but also peonies, with a bit of orange inside the pale petals, as the wind passed through, the flowers looked as if they were dancing.
Ye watched the flowers, thinking they really resembled Hengwu, elegant and different. When he turned to find Hengwu and tell her about this find, he heard a loud sound, followed by a woman in black falling from the sky into the flowers.
The woman’s hair was messy, covering half her face. The half that was visible showed her to be a great beauty. The pale-faced woman held a girl about Ye’s age, who was also dressed in black, with a pale face, and who looked like the woman.
Ye backed away in shock. The woman stood up with great difficulty, she looked at Ye, then spit out a mouthful of blood. The girl cried, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
The girl’s words made Ye’s body shake and remember his own slain parents. He went to help the woman and asked, “are you hurt?”
The woman’s look was cold, “who are you?”
Ye answered, “I came with my aunt to collect... medicine.“ He was going to say flowers, but remembering his parents’ warning that collecting flowers had a lascivious meaning, he corrected himself.
The woman assumed he was a farmer’s son and started to ask him directions, but just then, the wind howled. Her face was grim as she looked up, and then looked at the girl in her arms. She gritted her teeth as she pushed the girl at Ye, “young man, please take her someplace safe!”
The girl cried, “Mom, I want to stay with you!”
The woman softly said, “listen to me, leave with this boy now, I’ll catch up to you.”
Laughter came from the sky, where a sinister voice said, ”Lijun, you’re never getting away from me!”
A man in black descended from the sky. He looked about 30-something, with a tense face and dark gaze; as soon as he stepped onto the flowers, most of the petals wilted.
Ye felt bad for the lost flowers, so he stared at the new arrival.
The man took a look at the boy and said coldly, “get out of here, I don’t want to kill kids!”
Ye grew angry, “who are you telling to get out?” The man’s face turned colder, “you!” Ye retorted, “I don’t know how to get out, why don’t you show me?”
The man frowned and huffed, ignoring him and saying to the woman, “Lijun, if you come back and marry me, I could spare your daughter’s life, or--”
The woman called Lijun spat at him, “you monster, killing my husband and trying to humiliate me? You’re not getting away with this!” then launched herself at him and shouted, “kid, take my daughter!”
The man smiled and waved his hand, generating a puff of black smoke from his sleeve, hitting the woman in her chest, who screamed and passed out among the flowers. Any flower which touched the black fog instantly perished.
“Mom!” The girl leapt toward her mom, while the man tried to grab her.
Ye went in front of the girl, trying to protect her, making the man hesitate and chuckle, “you think you can stop me?”
Ye wasn’t afraid, he bit back, “why did you hit her? What kind of man are you to bully a hurt woman?”
The man was impassive, “how many lives do you have to bother with other people’s business?” Ye replied, “my dad said fighting injustice is the man’s duty!”
The man actually laughed, “the man’s duty? Who do you think you are?” Ye was livid, “who do you think you are?” then walked to the man, trying to strike him with a hand.
Hearing the sound of wind in Ye’s movement, the man was surprised, he ducked aside and said, “you’re not too bad. Who’s your teacher?”
Ye shouted, “I have no teacher!” then struck again, which the man easily dodged and then said, “I have no time to waste with you. If you come at me again, I’ll kill you!”
Ye replied, “kill me if you can!” then tried slashing the man with the White Moon Knife a few more times.
The woman tried to help Ye, but she was too hurt to get up. She shouted, “Kid, I thank you for helping us. You can’t beat him though, just run!”
What she said energized Ye even more, whose hands flew back and forth, trying to hit the man at his crucial points. The man realized Ye wasn’t giving up, so he actually stood still and let the boy strike him on his abdomen.
Ye could feel a numbing pain and backed up a few steps, and he saw the man’s clothes tore where he struck him. The man laughed, “you have some power, but you’re not focused enough. You better practice another one hundred years if you want to beat me!”
Ye became stubborn; ignoring the pain in his hands, he went at the man again. The man was annoyed at Ye’s persistence and turned angry too. His face darkened as he slapped his hand down, making the woman and her daughter scream in terror.
Ye could feel the whoosh from the man’s strike, making his chest stuffy and his eyes dizzy. Before the man’s hand actually landed on him, he already started to fall backward. Just then, six streams of purple energy came from his back, turning into six sharp claws, retaliating against the man.
The man was horrified, he hurriedly backed up, drawing back his hand. The six claws waved; seeing no target, they retreated back into Ye’s body.
The man muttered, “what kind of sorcery is this?”
“Who’s making trouble here?” A loud yell came from the sky as a giant lotus flower arrived. The person in the lotus flower was none other than Hengwu. The man looked surprised, “are you from the Blue Cloud clan?”
Hengwu was preoccupied and looked for flowers, forgetting about Ye’s whereabouts when she felt a monster energy. Not seeing Ye anywhere, she panicked and chased after him. Seeing Ye on the ground, she thought the worst. Quickly waving her sleeves, she made her energy form into flower-shaped swirls, charging at the man.
The man frowned and waved his sleeves too, unleashing two streams of black fog heading toward the mom and daughter. Then he grabbed them under his arms and disappeared in a swirl of smoke.
Hengwu didn’t chase after him; still worried about Ye, she retracted the lotus flower and checked on him. Seeing Ye had only fainted, she breathed a sigh of relief. Taking out a small jade bottle, she pointed the bottle’s opening at the boy’s nostrils.
Ye could smell a light fragrance as he gradually came to. He got up from the ground and asked, “Aunt Su, where did the lady and her daughter go?”
Hengwu sighed, “he took them.”
Disappointed, he sat back down and was silent. Hengwu added, “that man’s too strong, I used all my strength but was still blocked, so--”
Ye shook his head, “I know you were worried about me, that’s why you didn’t chase him.” Gritting his teeth, he said, “it’s my fault, I’m not strong enough.”
Hengwu said nothing, just lightly stroking the boy’s head. She eventually flew and searched for the man with Ye, but found no traces of him.
The two returned to the Silver-Haired Mystic’s home, and found the man waiting under the tree. Ye was quiet as he walked into the room, ate dinner, and crawled into bed.
Hengwu sighed, “you two are really too similar. He’s just a kid, give him a break.”
Yuesong said without emotion, “the moment his parents perished, he could no longer be a kid. Where did you take him?” As Hengwu recounted their experience in the mountain, the door to the yard was kicked open and broke into many small pieces. Li Junjing marched inside and looked at the two of them, “where’ s Ye? Tell that little SOB to get out here now!”
Hengwu was worried, “Second Sister, what--” Yuesong looked serious, “Li Junjing, what are you doing?”
Junjing smiled without mirth, “you dare to call me by my name? Is there no respect anymore? It’s no wonder a lawless teacher like you would have a pathetic student like Ye. You are both worthless!”
Hengwu tried to interrupt, “what happened?”
Yuesong moved Hengwu aside and replied coldly, “Junjing, if you don’t explain yourself, you won’t leave here alive.”