Mount Song, part of the Funiu Mountain Range, is one of the renowned peaks of the world.
The Shaolin Temple of Mount Song is famed across the land, its ancient grandeur towering under the rhythm of morning bells and evening drums, where eminent monks and profound scriptures contemplate the cycle of life and death.
Along the many paths leading to Shaolin Temple, faint figures could be seen moving about.
Two horse-drawn carriages advanced slowly, visible even from the distant mountain peaks.
Zhang Hemo, the leader of the Mount Song Sect, had already accompanied the Central Plains Sword Association to Bodhi Valley, yet the sect's foundation remained firmly rooted on Mount Song. Tang Lici's journey to Shaolin was meant to be a secret, but after encountering multiple ambushes along the way, the entire martial world now knew he was heading to Shaolin Temple—to stir trouble. Though no one understood why this man, already condemned by all, wouldn’t simply lay low, it was hardly surprising given his notorious arrogance. His march toward Shaolin might well be a display of dominance.
Shaolin Temple had offered no response.
Since becoming abbot, Pu Zhu had lived in seclusion, never setting foot in the martial world again.
Yet the Mount Song Sect still stood upon its mountain. To allow Tang Lici to pass unhindered through their territory would be an unbearable humiliation. Evil and heresy must be eradicated by all, so even in Zhang Hemo’s absence, the sect barred the path.
Wouldn’t it be better to ambush and kill Tang Lici here?
Beyond the Mount Song Sect, the road was lined with Tang Lici’s enemies. Once a powerful young master, he now stood abandoned by all. For these foes, vengeance was a matter of life and death.
Tang Lici fought his way forward.
Shadows lurked in the Funiu Mountains, hearts restless, specters haunting the paths.
Liu Yan drove one carriage slowly up a muddy mountain trail. The old scars on his face had healed, but new wounds had taken their place, layering fresh gashes over old ones. Some areas were swollen and bruised, rendering him almost unrecognizable. Yu Tuan'er steered the other carriage, carrying A Shui and Feng Feng inside. The previous driver had suffered poisoning, and Tang Lici had rewarded him handsomely before sending him home. Selin rode in the same carriage as Tang Lici. At first, they coexisted peacefully, but in recent days, she had—unprecedentedly—lost her temper with him.
Tang Lici had always indulged her, never treating her poorly. When ambushes occurred along the road, he would step out to fight while she watched from the carriage, leaning gracefully against its frame. Fair-skinned and exquisitely dressed, she resembled a painting amidst the chaos. Outside, blades flashed and blood splattered, yet she remained like a rose blooming in the carnage, her beauty only heightened by the violence.
But this was no performance—it was a battle for survival. No matter how formidable Tang Lici’s martial skills, he could not single-handedly protect both carriages. Three days prior, a stray arrow had grazed past him, embedding itself in the carriage wall beside Selin. From then on, she no longer remained so composed in the face of flying swords and sabers. The next day, a masked assailant broke through Yu Tuan'er’s defense, attempting to snatch Feng Feng from A Shui’s arms. Tang Lici intervened, but the attacker suddenly turned and lunged at Selin. Though Tang Lici swiftly struck him down with a grievous wound, a long gash still marred Selin’s shoulder.
The masked intruder’s fingers had been laced with poison.
At last, Selin felt fear.
Her shoulder wound began to fester. Deep in the wilderness, medicine was scarce. Both Liu Yan and Yu Tuan'er assured her that since the injury hadn’t killed her outright, the poison likely wasn’t fatal. Yet even if it wouldn’t claim her life, watching her flesh rot without knowing how far it would spread was unbearable. Moreover, she had followed Tang Lici willingly, never suffering much hardship—not even in the dog-raising caverns. She had never doubted her ability to conquer anything.But the confidence of "being able to conquer all" was shattered by this sudden festering wound.
Selin suddenly realized that in this savage ancient world, the "most beautiful" woman was not as invincible as she had imagined. There were actually people whose eyes didn't even register her presence.
What was more terrifying was that this realization didn't come from her own experiences.
She discovered that in this world, not only did most people not see her in their eyes, but...
Most people didn't see Tang Lici in their eyes either.
The most magnificent and radiant treasure she believed in—along their journey, most people didn't see "him" either.
These people never truly saw the beauty and unparalleled brilliance of this treasure. All they saw was a symbol—"enemy," "demon," or "evil creature."
Most didn't even bother to look closely at what her treasure truly looked like before replacing it with a label, hating him just as naturally. They didn't need to see whether he was beautiful or wronged to fight him to the death.
Tang Lici wasn't as she had imagined—someone who could effortlessly manipulate everything and stand above all the wonders of this world. What she had adored and wished to conquer was an incomparably splendid treasure, but Tang Lici... was becoming less and less like that treasure.
He could be wounded, he could fail, his clothes could be tattered, he could be overlooked—and worst of all, he barely even spoke.
This ancient world was so dangerous, and she had suffered such terrible injuries, yet Tang Lici remained indifferent. He merely stroked her hair and said nothing more.
Liu Yan didn’t know how the two of them had started arguing. Selin, of course, wasn’t the type to scream and curse like a shrew. She simply said abruptly to Tang Lici, "I'm very disappointed in you."
She said, "You're not the same person anymore."
Hearing this, Tang Lici lifted his head and glanced at her before asking slowly, "Would 'the same person'... have been better?"
Selin was taken aback. She thought for a moment but found she couldn’t answer.
Tang Lici said, "But 'the same person'... would have been more beautiful."
Selin blinked. "What are you talking about?"
Tang Lici chuckled softly and said slowly, "The 'same person' you liked..." He murmured, "was never real to begin with." After a pause, he added, "I'm just a little tired."
Selin was silent for a while before saying, "I want to go home."
"By this time tomorrow." Tang Lici's tone remained light, yet it carried the air of something long premeditated. "Someone will take you away."
Selin suddenly raised her head and stared at him, her eyes flashing. "What do you mean? You planned to send me away? Before... ignoring me on purpose, letting me get hurt, letting me grow disappointed in you—it was all part of your scheme? What are you playing at?" Finally, anger surfaced on her face. "Tang Lici! Even if you wanted to break up with me, did you have to go as far as hurting me? Did you think that without this wound, I’d be hopelessly devoted to you and never leave? You’re so—so arrogant! So calculating! You’re really—" She enunciated each word, "You’re really disgusting!"Liu Yan was dumbfounded. He didn’t believe that Selin’s injury was something Tang Lici had “schemed meticulously” to make her give up and leave him deliberately. But… if Tang Lici had long planned for Selin to leave, that would be rather strange. He couldn’t fathom Tang Lici’s thoughts, just as he didn’t understand why Tang Lici was heading straight for Shaolin Temple in the first place. Before, no one had known he was coming to Shaolin, but now the entire world knew he was on his way—and yet he was still cutting a bloody path there. Aside from provoking Shaolin and the righteous factions of the martial world, what else could his intentions possibly be?
But when Tang Lici heard Selin’s words—“You truly disgust me”—he showed no reaction. Leaning against the shattered wooden wall of the carriage, he closed his eyes.
In the following carriage, Feng Feng stood holding onto the wall, peering curiously outside. After watching for a while, he turned to A Shui and made sounds like, “Wuu… mm… mm…” Then he stretched out his tiny hands and gestured. Afraid he might fall, A Shui gently pulled him into her arms. Feng Feng continued gesturing to her, his chubby little hands opening and closing, opening and closing, as he pointed outside.
What had Feng Feng seen?
Perhaps there was something in the mountains and forests that Feng Feng had never encountered before. A Shui knew that this journey was fraught with ambushes and dangers at every turn… but so what?
She thought—so what?
Young Master Tang… was invincible.
What Young Master Tang wanted or didn’t want, he could always have as he pleased.
We… we…
We…
We were all but grains of sand between his fingers, flowers by his temples.
We all loved him.
We were all his to command as he pleased.
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