Immortalis

Hero's Tomb Part 1

Zhou Huai had an extremely restless sleep.

Since childhood, almost every time his Evil Sickness flared up, it would end with him losing consciousness. But rarely had there been an episode like this one—Zhou Huai tossed and turned on his bed, dreaming of people he had never seen before cursing and wailing in agony.

They were like beasts trapped in cages, staring at him venomously through small openings.

Zhou Huai couldn't clearly see their faces, but he knew these people should already be dead—that was why their faces were so pale and their eyeballs so large.

But why were they staring at him so intently?

Why, when he had never even met these people!

Why were they haunting him!

Suddenly, Zhou Huai's eyes snapped open, his body drenched in cold sweat. He pushed himself up and realized he was lying in the White Rainbow Tower. Although the servants in the tower were replaced every three months, his room had never changed—even the furnishings remained exactly as they were during his last visit home.

What happened?

Did he have another episode?

Zhou Huai only had fragmented memories from during his illness. He remembered the White-faced Guest suddenly appearing, remembered being pulled by a tremendous force, but after that...

Zhou Huai struggled to recall, his eyes gradually widening in realization.

He remembered thrusting the White Rainbow Sword into Shen Qingshi's shoulder.

In an instant, Zhou Huai leaped off the bed and rushed out of the room. The two girls guarding the door were startled, momentarily uncertain whether he was still in the throes of his illness, so they didn't dare approach to attend to him.

"Young master, are you feeling alright now?"

All unfamiliar faces. Zhou Huai didn't bother explaining and directly asked, "Where are my two friends? The one in red, and the other... the young man who looks quite feminine."

One of the girls replied, "They're both downstairs. The master said since they're your friends, he arranged for them to stay in the Heavenly Mystery Tower."

Zhou Huai couldn't remember what happened after he stabbed Shen Qingshi. Someone must have knocked him out. But how could he not know how sharp the White Rainbow Sword was? He had personally driven the sword so deep—without proper medicine, Shen Qingshi would likely be left with a scar.

Zhou Huai hurried downstairs and, without bothering to knock, pushed the door open. He saw Shen Qingshi still unconscious on the bed, while Yang Wujian was cleaning blood-stained cloth strips from the table. Spotting Zhou Huai, Yang Wujian gave a bitter smile: "Awake? Did I knock you stupid, young master?"

"How is he?"

Zhou Huai couldn't remember the details of his episode, but instinctively felt that he had probably attacked Shen Qingshi out of jealousy over his closeness with Yang Wujian, just like the previous two times.

Seeing the young master's terrified expression, Yang Wujian lost all desire to tease him and sighed helplessly: "This time it wasn't your initiative. You had an episode at the Seven Killings Tower. The other sects didn't dare act against you, and no one in your family could match you. There was no other choice—Young Master Shen stepped in to stop you. If someone had to bleed, we couldn't very well let him cut you in front of your father, could we?"

Zhou Huai froze, instinctively glancing at Shen Qingshi's deathly pale face on the bed. He truly never imagined that one day, Shen Qingshi would risk himself to help bring him back to his senses.

"So his injury...""Fortunately, it's just a flesh wound. Your father was quite generous—while preparing medicine for you, he also had the Medicine King Mountain people provide some of their mountain-made wound ointment, so it shouldn't leave a scar. It's just that Young Master Shen's constitution isn't as robust as you imagine. He's been asleep longer than you were after waking."

Yang Wujian thought to himself that in order to deceive the Medicine King Mountain crowd and prevent them from taking Shen Qingshi's pulse or treating his wounds, he had to pretend to be extremely intimate with Shen Qingshi and handle everything himself.

Luckily, the young master was still asleep at the time, otherwise he'd probably be overthinking things again.

"Young master, let's step outside to talk. Your father instructed us not to wander around, and I don't dare to, fearing there might be hidden mechanisms in this tower. Now that you're awake, surely you'll allow me to get some fresh air?"

Shen Qingshi was currently wearing only a thin undergarment. Even though she displayed no feminine characteristics, Yang Wujian didn't dare let Zhou Huai keep standing nearby. He pushed him out the door and specifically instructed the maid at the entrance not to enter, lest she disturb Shen Qingshi's rest.

"Young Master Shen has sustained consecutive injuries and his body is weakened. Additionally, the Four Seas Alliance hasn't yet reached a decision about our membership application. Therefore, I'm afraid we'll have to impose on your hospitality here for several more days."

Looking back now, Yang Wujian knew perfectly well that Shen Qingshi had deliberately taken that sword strike.

For some unknown reason, she wanted to stay at White Rainbow Tower—and coincidentally, Yang Wujian shared the same intention.

The reason was simple: not long ago, when Zhou Huai demonstrated that Floating Clouds Embracing Moon technique, Yang Wujian realized he knew it too.

Not the Floating Clouds Embracing Moon from the Wuliang Sword Manual, but the genuine, lethal technique passed down from Gui Sanyan. Yang Wujian had practiced it as a child in Longevity Palace, but later Gu Yun confiscated the sword manual, saying the move was too conspicuous and could reveal their identities, instructing him not to use it outside.

Yang Wujian walked with Zhou Huai up to the tower's rooftop. Unexpectedly, the top of this Heavenly Mystery Tower was entirely made of glass. Through the glass, they could see the cloudless night sky filled with countless stars.

Yang Wujian marveled: "I never expected such a hidden wonder up here. Speaking of which, your father is quite extravagant—I've never seen such large panes of glass before."

Zhou Huai smiled bitterly: "This isn't ordinary glass. You couldn't break it even with an axe from the outside. My father designed the Heavenly Mystery Tower's roof this way just to give me a place to get some fresh air. Otherwise, it would be like all the other towers in our home—pitch black with no view outside."

Yang Wujian was taken aback. Though their origins were different, he hadn't expected their childhood complaints to be so similar.

As a child, he often felt Longevity Palace was too dark. Yang Wujian had even trained himself to develop Night Eyes because of this. Only when he grew older did he understand that as long as the Longevity Heart Sutra existed, Longevity Palace could never be built in a place casually exposed to light.

Long before Guanri started using humans for alchemy, they could no longer practice the Longevity Heart Sutra outdoors.

Simply because it was something coveted by everyone in the martial world... though nobody would ever admit it aloud.

Yang Wujian sneered inwardly, then asked: "Speaking of which, young master, your recent episode came on quite suddenly. Were you frightened by that demon?"

The question made Zhou Huai feel perplexed too. He slumped down and started eating the pastries Zhou Jinglei had prepared for him, which somewhat eased the anxiety brought by his earlier nightmare.

"I..."Zhou Huai couldn't quite explain it himself, but it seemed this feeling had grown intensely strong ever since he encountered that demonic figure.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "I think I might have seen that person before."

"Who?"

"The White-faced Guest."

Just mentioning this name made Zhou Huai feel the palpitations from earlier. Even though his memory contained no recollection, that terrifying sensation felt strangely familiar, as if... someone had forcibly carved out a piece of his flesh. He couldn't remember what had been there originally, yet he could still feel the pain.

"Impossible..."

Yang Wujian couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. What exactly had Guanri been doing all these years? That he and Shen Qingshi had such horrifying connections with Guanri was one thing, but how could even a pampered young master like Zhou Huai have possibly encountered him? Could it be that he had once entered the White Rainbow Tower before?

Zhou Huai asked in confusion, "If he wasn't Elder Song Lan from the very beginning, did he approach us just to infiltrate the Four Seas Alliance? He was also present during the Four Seas Alliance martial examination earlier, and even specifically warned us about the Stone Cicada."

This was also the question Yang Wujian couldn't unravel. Guanri's clear favoritism toward Shen Qingshi proved he had known from the start that Shen Qingshi was the Flesh Conduit he had released, not to mention he must have recognized Yang Wujian himself long ago.

What meaning did all this hold for him? Or was he merely toying with everyone?

No.

Yang Wujian quickly dismissed this thought. Guanri had already gone mad seeking immortality fifteen years ago, and to this day he still searched for new Flesh Conduits. Over these past six years, his activities on Medicine King Mountain mirrored Yang Wujian's own—nothing more than seeking better medicinal ingredients to create less harmful Blood Replenishing Pills.

He was even searching for Cicada Molts.

Yang Wujian shuddered involuntarily. Shen Qingshi was right before his eyes, yet he hadn't made a move against her. Was it because he had realized Shen Qingshi wasn't the Cicada Molt he desired? Had his previous pulse readings been to confirm this?

And Shen Qingshi had probably figured it out too? That was precisely why she refused to let anyone else treat her injuries—being discovered as a woman was minor, but the brand on her back was the unique mark of a Flesh Conduit.

Yang Wujian's head throbbed with unbearable pain from his thoughts. Noticing his pale complexion, Zhou Huai asked worriedly, "Miss Yang, if he truly is that demon who refines pills using living people, then isn't he the enemy you've been searching for all along?"

Enemy?

Yang Wujian smiled bitterly inwardly. He didn't know how to define Guanri. In the past at Longevity Palace, Guanri had taught him many martial techniques, and Yang Wujian had even once regarded him as an elder brother and father figure. Yet Guanri's current actions were pushing Longevity Palace toward a path of no return.

Though he had been expelled from Longevity Palace, he had chosen to direct the entire martial world's hatred toward that place which had hidden from the world for fifteen years. Was this also his revenge against Mingshan and Gu Yun for expelling him?

Yang Wujian sighed. "I never imagined his martial arts would be so terrifying. Miss Chu was truly pitiful—your father has already arranged for her proper burial."Remembering how Chu Qiqi had spent these six years running around to clear Yin Quer's name, suffering to protect White Dog's innocence, only to meet such an end.".. both fell into silent contemplation.After a long while, Zhou Huai said softly, "I want to investigate thoroughly what connection the White-faced Guest truly has with me. I've always felt that I fall ill whenever I see him because those people within me also recognize him. Over the years, I've been wondering—were those who took their own lives in the Hero's Tomb really suicides?"

At these words, a flash of insight struck Yang Wujian, and he abruptly lifted his gaze.

Zhou Huai had also practiced the martial arts techniques Guanri brought back. Did this mean that the skills of those deceased heroes might have been the very link that connected Guanri and Zhou Huai?

It wasn't strange for someone about to end their life to leave behind their most prized unique techniques before death. What was strange was how Guanri obtained these secret manuals, and how Zhou Huai learned them.

Hero's Tomb, White Rainbow Tower, Guanri, Zhou Huai, Evil Sickness...

Amid this tangled mess, Yang Wujian seemed to grasp a thread and asked, "Young master, when your Evil Sickness flares up, what other unique techniques from which schools have you displayed? Were there any prior records of this?"