Chapter 28: Returning to the Heart-Clearing Cave

Li Chongyuan set off running down the mountain. The path was steep and treacherous; despite his exceptional martial skill, he traveled day and night for two full days before finally reaching the foot of the mountain. Then he made his way to the base of Tianshan. Having spent several years on this mountain, he was intimately familiar with the patrol routes of the disciples. Avoiding them, he slipped unnoticed toward the Cave of Clear Mind. This time, he had come to retrieve the manual he had hidden in the corner of his room years ago—a manual gifted to him by Qu Beiyuan, containing all the martial arts of the Northern Sect. If anyone were to discover it, he would be branded as a heretic and hunted by all the martial artists of the world.

By the time he arrived at the Cave of Clear Mind, it was already midnight. He gazed at the main hall, the residence of his master Zi Wuzhuo, and quietly knocked his forehead to the ground three times before returning to the room where he once lived. To his surprise, a pink curtain now hung over the doorway; he had always assumed the room had been empty since his departure, but evidently someone had moved in. After pondering for a moment, he silently leaped onto the windowsill, gently pushed open the window, and slipped inside.

The room was warm and faintly scented with sweetness. Someone was fast asleep atop the bedding. Stealthily, he made his way to the corner, removed a brick, and reached inside—only to find the cavity empty. Had someone discovered the manual? Why had none of the Elders investigated this matter?

As he stood in confusion, a palm strike swept toward his back. Li Chongyuan dodged, and without turning, struck at the attacker's chest, feeling only softness beneath his hand. The person cried out in a shrill voice. Instantly, he withdrew his force, cursing himself inwardly. Could it be that Senior Sister Zi Lan had moved in?

But the person was indeed a young woman, though not Zi Lan. She wore pink sleepwear and was barefoot—the very one who had been sleeping moments before. Li Chongyuan berated himself for his carelessness, so focused on searching for the manual that he had failed to notice her awakening.

Rubbing her chest, she hissed in a low, angry tone, "Shameless!" Li Chongyuan was mortified and explained, "I only came to retrieve something of mine—I had no idea a young lady was here. Forgive my intrusion."

The young woman drew a small booklet from beneath the bedding and smiled, "Li Chongyuan, is it? Are you searching for this?" She held in her hand the martial arts manual of Qu Beiyuan.

Li Chongyuan was alarmed and hissed, "Yes, that is exactly what I came for. Give it back to me at once."

She sneered, "This is a masterless item. Whoever finds it owns it. Why should I return it to you?"

Li Chongyuan stepped forward, voice low and threatening, "Are you going to give it back or not?"

She pushed open the window and replied in a whisper, "If you try to take it by force, I'll shout for help. No matter how skilled you are, you may find it impossible to escape the mountain." In truth, apart from perhaps two or three Elders, none at Tianshan could best him; even Miao Wushuang was no match. Yet he had never intended to fight his fellow disciples, so he found himself at a loss. Seeing his hesitation, the young woman laughed, "Getting the manual back is not difficult—you need only agree to three things for me."

Li Chongyuan sighed in resignation, "Tell me what you want."

She said, "Firstly, you must teach me the martial arts recorded in this manual."

He retorted angrily, "You've had the manual long enough to have learned it already—why do you need me to teach you?"

She sighed, "I've memorized the techniques and principles by heart, but for some reason, I simply can't master them. Not only have I failed to learn the Asura Skills, but I've lost my proficiency in the Hunyuan Techniques I just acquired. It's infuriating!"

Li Chongyuan thought to himself, "The Asura Skills and Hunyuan Techniques are practiced in opposing ways—how could she know? I only realized it myself by accident." He said, "Why must you learn the Asura Skills? Why not simply cultivate the Hunyuan Techniques?"

---

She sighed again, "The Hunyuan Techniques are good, but they take far too long to show results. Reaching the eighth level would take at least twenty years, and breaking through to the ninth would require decades more. I can't wait that long. The Asura Skills are much faster—seven or eight years to reach mastery. Even a year sooner would be a blessing."

Li Chongyuan replied, "You're barely more than a teenager. Even if you practice for twenty years, you'd only be thirty. Oh, I see—you simply dislike hard work and can't bear the effort. Without diligence, no skill can be mastered. You think the Asura Skills are easy? They're just as grueling!"

She snapped, "What do you know! Do you take me for someone afraid of hardship? If I feared toil, why would I join Tianshan? I could just stay home, embroider, and find a husband. Why come here?"

Li Chongyuan was curious, "Then why?"

She answered, "Because I have a formidable enemy, and I need peerless martial arts to kill him."

"What grievance compels you to seek his life?"

"He is my father's murderer. How could I not avenge such a crime? But he's too powerful. I can't possibly defeat him."

"If you can't defeat him, just keep training. When you reach a level like Master, you'll be able to beat him."

She protested, "That won't do! He's not young. By the time I reach that level, he'll be old or dead. What's the point in revenge then? I must master my skills quickly and kill him as soon as possible."

"How do you know I've mastered the skills in the manual?"

She laughed, "That's easy. I heard you once struck Kunlun's Iron Scale and made him spit blood right there. That proved you'd learned the Asura Skills. If you had only practiced Hunyuan Techniques, you could barely last ten moves against Iron Scale, let alone defeat him. Besides, if you had beaten him with Hunyuan, the Headmaster would have been delighted and wouldn't have banished you to Ascension Peak to await death."

Li Chongyuan sighed inwardly, "This girl is sharp indeed, though she never guessed that when I faced Iron Scale, it was a narrow escape and pure luck that I won."

Seeing his silence, she beamed, "So you'll teach me, then! Good. The second thing is, you must take me away from Tianshan."

Li Chongyuan asked, "Why leave? Isn't it good here?"

She replied, "You're hopeless. The Elders treat the Asura Skills like a plague. If I practice them here, I'll be found out in days. What then? You want me sent to Ascension Peak to guard tombs? I might as well die. So I must go down the mountain with you."

"And how do you know I'm leaving? What if I stay?"

---

"Don't try to fool me. Without the Headmaster's orders, anyone who leaves Ascension Peak is executed without mercy! If you don't want to die, you have to leave Tianshan. You can't trick me."

"And... what if I'm not Li Chongyuan?"

"Haha, you're at it again. Your little tricks won't fool me. When you entered the room, I thought you might be someone else, up to no good... oh well, whatever mischief. But you went straight to the corner, searching the wall cavity. That told me you were Li Chongyuan. A month ago, when I came to Tianshan to learn, I was assigned this room. The senior brothers told me it used to be yours and that you studied forbidden arts, defeated Iron Scale at the grand tournament, and were punished by the Headmaster to Ascension Peak. Hmph, the room was filthy as a kennel. When I cleaned, I found the brick loose in the corner, took it out, and found this manual. The techniques were truly exquisite. I guessed you'd learned the Asura Skills from it, and that it was yours. Seeing you come for the manual, who else could you be?"

"Are you not afraid I'm a villain?"

"Heh, not at all. Your master and brothers all say you're good-natured, just... well, just hopelessly dense. Don't worry, I'll go down the mountain with you. With me around, you won't suffer any losses. I'll look out for you."

Li Chongyuan felt his head ache. This clever, mischievous girl would be difficult to deal with.

He sighed, "What's the third thing you want?"

She smiled, "The third thing..." Her eyes sparkled. "I don't have anything in mind yet. When I think of something, I'll let you know. No time to waste—we should get down the mountain quickly." With that, she tucked the manual into her bosom, rushed to the bedding, and put on her coat.

Li Chongyuan suddenly remembered something and asked, "How are Master and the others?"

The girl sighed, "It's no wonder you don't know. Master and several senior brothers aren't on the mountain. Senior Sister Zi Lan had an accident. They've all gone down to rescue her. Right now, only the Headmaster and Uncle Miao Wushuang are here. In the Cave of Clear Mind, it's just me and a few brothers with little skill."

"Ah!" Li Chongyuan was shocked. "What happened to Senior Sister Zi Lan?"

The girl briefly explained how Li Zhongjun had come up the mountain seeking urgent help a few days ago, though she didn't know the details.

Li Chongyuan, who had planned to leave the mountain to seek his family's murderer and rescue Qu Beiyuan with the Xuanming Sword, now realized he would have to change his plans and first save Senior Sister Zi Lan. His anxiety grew, and he urged her to hurry.

As they were about to leave, the girl said, "Wait, I want to leave a letter." She took brush and ink from the desk and wrote a line on the wall in a lively hand: "Knowing my own dull nature, unable to master martial arts or avenge my father, I happened upon a celestial spirit by night and have gone to cultivate immortality in the heavens. Lin Qingli."