Volume One: The Dragon Rises from the Wild Chapter 58: The Scars of Tears Remain

Yu Ye drank a jar of strong liquor and collapsed in drunkenness.

Perhaps it was the scenery that stirred his emotions, or perhaps it was the memories and melancholy brought on by the surroundings. Maybe he simply wanted to use the drunken haze to mask the restlessness within his heart.

Ever since he arrived in Beiwang Village and met the mother and daughter who released fish as an offering, as well as the kind-hearted Sister Xiuzhen and the lovable Wan’er, his heart had felt unbearably heavy. The mother and daughter's joy and warmth only deepened his unease. Just as he could not bear to see their beautiful hopes shattered, he also dared not imagine the sorrow that would follow should they ever receive bad news. He had done his best to avoid Xiuzhen's questions, yet in the end, he could not escape. And so, under the influence of the liquor, he fabricated a well-intentioned lie, finally releasing the turmoil that had been tangled in his heart for so long.

In that moment, it was as if he had returned to the great mountains of Xingyuan Valley, shedding all his masks and lowering his guard, collapsing into the fiery embrace of the strong spirit...

When Yu Ye opened his eyes, the night sky was scattered with stars.

He was still lying on the ground.

Nearby sat a delicate figure, her head bowed as if she had dozed off. Yet in her hand she gently waved a palm-leaf fan, fanning him, driving away the heat of the summer night.

“Sister-in-law—”

Yu Ye slowly sat up.

“Oh, you’re awake…”

Xiuzhen started, quickly set down the fan, and offered him a bowl of water.

“You’re not good with liquor; don’t force yourself like that!”

Her words of concern warmed his heart.

The bowls and chopsticks had already been tidied from the stone table. Wan’er was nowhere to be seen; the little girl must have gone inside to sleep. Not far away on the ground were five bags made of animal hide—the wealth he had brought, still untouched.

Yu Ye took the bowl of water and stood, but dizziness overwhelmed him and he staggered two steps.

“You’re still not sober, be careful!”

Xiuzhen stood to steady him.

Yu Ye shook his head to show he was fine, secretly circulated his energy, and instantly the drunkenness faded. He took a sip of water, and suddenly noticed tear stains at the corners of Xiuzhen’s eyes, sending a jolt through his heart.

“Sister-in-law, what time is it now?”

“Dawn is nearly here.”

He had slept on the ground the whole night, which meant Xiuzhen had kept watch over him the whole time.

Yu Ye set down the bowl with remorse. “I’ve troubled you, Sister-in-law. I have delivered Brother Feng’s message and handed over the money before your eyes, I…”

“Are you leaving, Brother Yu?”

“Yes.”

Xiuzhen, in this moment, had none of yesterday’s joy; instead, she was unusually calm. She brushed the disheveled hair from her ear and said quietly, “Brother Yu, please take the gold and silver with you. My daughter and I don’t need it.”

Yu Ye was surprised. “Sister-in-law, but this is what Brother Feng entrusted to me…”

Xiuzhen shook her head. “Old Seventh was foolish—this money will only bring trouble to us.”

Yu Ye was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Our days may be simple, but we have enough to eat and live peacefully with our neighbors. Now, if we suddenly come into a large sum, I fear it’ll only bring us calamity. As the saying goes, ‘an innocent man gets into trouble for his treasures.’ These five bags of gold and silver are nothing but a magnet for disaster.”

She was a woman with foresight. She would rather endure a life of hardship than invite misfortune through wealth.

Yu Ye thought for a moment. “You’re right, Sister-in-law. I’ll take care of it.”

He went to the woodshed, fetched a hoe, and began digging under a tree beside the vegetable plot.

“Brother Yu, what are you...?”

“To avoid calamity, I’ll bury it here. If ever you need it, you can dig it up. If you never need it, just forget about it.”

Xiuzhen could not stop him and could only give up.

Yu Ye, stronger than most, dug a pit in no time. He placed four of the money bags inside and kept the last one for his storage ring.

“Sister-in-law, don’t think me greedy. Brother Feng promised me a twenty percent reward; I’m just taking what I’m owed. There were also some scriptures and cultivation items—I took the liberty of keeping those as well.”

“To think you’re so young and yet so capable. If you need anything more, you should take it all.”

Xiuzhen was sincere.

“This is enough.”

Yu Ye took out a small box to show Xiuzhen—inside were over a dozen luminous pearls. He kept a few and placed the rest in the pit, had Xiuzhen bring him an oilcloth to cover them, then filled in the earth and stamped it down.

Xiuzhen stayed silent, quietly helping with the task.

Yu Ye put the hoe back in the woodshed, tidied up the area, slipped the remaining bag of gold and silver into his storage ring, then walked to the tree and untied his horse. In a lighthearted tone, he said, “You should go inside and rest, Sister-in-law. I’m leaving.”

Xiuzhen came over, holding another bowl of water.

“You’ve done so much for my family; I have nothing to offer but this bowl of water as a token of my gratitude.”

“You’re too kind.”

Yu Ye accepted the bowl with both hands.

Xiuzhen took a handkerchief and brushed the dust from his clothes, saying softly, “If you know where your Brother Feng is buried, please tell me. When Wan’er grows up, she can bring her father home.”

She treated him like family, her every gesture filled with care and affection.

But her gentle words struck Yu Ye like thunder.

His hands trembled, spilling some of the water.

Xiuzhen was still trying to suppress her sorrow, but tears slid down her cheeks. She turned away to wipe them, then continued straightening his clothes. “I guessed as much when I first met you, but I didn’t want to say so in front of Wan’er.”

Yu Ye drank the water in silence. The coolness burned his heart like strong liquor.

He thought he had hidden all his traces, even deliberately accepted the reward to sever their bond, so that he could leave without regret. But even the most perfect lie cannot withstand the kindness of the good-hearted.

“She’s still a child; she can’t bear such grief. But I can. You can tell me.”

Her voice broke as she took the bowl from his hands, stepped back, biting her lip with tears glistening in her smile, nodding for him to continue.

Yu Ye was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “My own parents are gone; I know the pain of loss. I couldn’t bear to see you and Wan’er suffer… sigh.” He exhaled deeply and continued, “In Su Yan River, there’s a place called Yan Family Village. Two or three miles north of it, in a hollow of the hills, I buried Brother Feng with my own hands among the scattered stones a few months ago.”

“How did Old Seventh die?”

“Sister-in-law…”

“I know it’s useless to ask. No need to say more.”

“Before he died, Brother Feng asked me to visit you and Wan’er. Now his last wish is fulfilled, I really must go. If Wan’er wakes up, I won’t know what to say.”

“You’re a capable man, Brother Yu. You came all this way to deliver this news; your kindness will not be forgotten. On behalf of Wan’er, I kneel to thank you.”

Suddenly, Xiuzhen knelt.

“Oh, Sister-in-law—”

Yu Ye rushed to help her, but slowly drew his hands back.

Xiuzhen stayed prostrate, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. When all hopes vanish and longing is left with no place to rest, when grief has been suppressed too long, even the strongest heart can bear it no longer. This gentle yet resilient woman could only express her sorrow in this way.

Yu Ye’s own heart throbbed with pain—pain that was wild, helpless, and inescapable. He turned to the stone table, took out two talisman papers, dipped a wolf-hair brush in cinnabar, and wrote: Su Yan River, Yan Family Village, Yan Shu, Yan Chi, Zhong Jian. Though his handwriting wavered, every character held his care. He drew a map marking Brother Feng’s burial site with careful detail.

By the time he finished, Xiuzhen had stood up, her hair disheveled, her face streaked with tears, lost and broken.

“When you and Wan’er move Brother Feng’s spirit one day, don’t mention his name. Just say your kin died on the road, lest you bring trouble upon yourselves. And as for my name, it’s not a good one—just remember it in your heart. Yan Shu is the head of Yan Family Village; his nephew Yan Chi is an old acquaintance of mine. Zhong Jian is a man of the martial world, and not without honor. If you ever encounter trouble, these two might be of help.”

Yu Ye pressed the talisman papers into Xiuzhen’s hands, then led his horse away along the path he had come.

He did not look back.

He thought he had tasted all the bitterness of life and understood the pain of parting and death, but he still did not comprehend the depth of Xiuzhen’s grief. He dared not face it, dared not dwell on it.

Because there was nothing he could change.

By then, the last remnants of night had faded.

In the hazy dawn, Yu Ye led his horse slowly into the distance.

Xiuzhen remained silently standing in the courtyard, the morning breeze tossing her tangled hair, tear stains still fresh on her face, watching the young man as he departed…

Beyond a stretch of fields lay the entrance to Beiwang Village.

From the village entrance, heading north and crossing a few mountain valleys, one would reach Pingshui Town.

But after returning to Pingshui Town, where should he go?

Yu Ye lowered his head, lost in thought.

With the money left behind, Xiuzhen and her child would want for nothing. In time, perhaps she would find a good family to rely on, giving hope to their days ahead. But for Yu Ye, life would only grow more difficult. He did not know what to do next, nor where the road would lead.

Bu Yi was now rallying men from the martial world to hunt him everywhere. Though the Great Marsh was vast, it seemed there was no place left for him to hide.

As Mo Can had said, there was surely a plot behind all this, one he had yet to uncover. By this reasoning, Bu Yi’s aims were not simply to kill him or seize the jiao pearl—there was something more behind it all. But what kind of scheme and trap was it?

At the village entrance stood an old tree.

In the faint morning mist, a figure stood beneath it—an old man, it seemed, leaning on a bamboo staff.

Yu Ye glanced up absentmindedly.

For a moment he felt as if he had returned to the entrance of Yu Family Village. Since childhood, he remembered that at the entrance of Yu Family Village, there was always an old man waiting, day after day, through the changing seasons.

“Uncle Qiu—”

Yu Ye called out the old man’s name without thinking.

But before he could draw near, the morning mist dispersed on the breeze. It was but a stranger—an old peasant driving a few ducks with a bamboo pole.

Yu Ye nodded to him in disappointment and hurried past the village entrance.

As he mounted his horse, he could not help but look back.

The old man from before slowly disappeared into a patch of reeds. He was not Uncle Qiu, nor did they resemble each other. How could he have mistaken him?

He remembered that Baizhi had once said Uncle Qiu was no longer in Yu Family Village. She seemed to know where the old man had gone, but had never told him the truth. Now he realized that woman was full of lies and knew nothing of Uncle Qiu’s whereabouts; she had merely sought to deceive him.

Besides, Uncle Qiu was old and frail, his bamboo staff lost, and with the mountains sealed by snow, how could he have left Xingyuan Valley?

No—though Uncle Qiu was not in Yu Family Village, he must still be somewhere in Xingyuan Valley. From his words and actions before, it was not hard to guess that he had once been a master of cultivation, most likely from overseas. If he could find the old man, the many mysteries might finally be unraveled.

Ah, all those pointless worries at first—now, only after the fact, how much unnecessary confusion and trouble had he brought upon himself!

Feeling remorseful, Yu Ye suddenly found his direction.

He would return to Yu Family Village…