White Clothes

"Oh no!"

Yang Xiao's scalp went numb, and he pretended he had not heard.

This faceless woman in white was eerie and powerful. Did Yang Xiao dare stop?

"This palace knows you can hear me. See me."

"If you do not stop, do not blame this palace for showing no mercy!"

In the woman in white's icy voice, a few hints of sharpness had faintly appeared.

A wisp of faint black energy spread through the woman in white's palm.

Within the black energy, sinister winds blew in gusts.

Faintly, there came the sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling, all kinds of terrifying, unknown, mournful beast roars spreading through the black energy.

"Looks like I can't get away!"

Yang Xiao forced himself to calm down, his mind spinning rapidly.

This was the Scripture Pavilion deep beneath Vermilion Bird Tower. The woman in white had hidden here, yet had never been discovered.

What did that prove?

It proved that the woman in white would not take the initiative to harm people!

And that greedy old pavilion keeper was unfathomably powerful, yet still could not hear the sound of the zither.

That proved that the woman in white's strength was so great that even the old pavilion keeper was definitely no match for her!

"I definitely can't beat her, and I can't escape either."

"In that case..."

After swiftly sorting everything out in his mind, Yang Xiao suddenly turned around and strode toward the ancient pavilion.

Hm?

Inside the ancient pavilion, the woman in white stared in astonishment at Yang Xiao, whose eyes held sorrow and not the slightest fear, and was stunned on the spot.

In truth, the woman in white could not be certain whether Yang Xiao could really see her.

But just now, when Yang Xiao had repeatedly activated the Spirit Cicada Transformation and come within a hundred paces of the ancient pavilion, the woman in white had felt the strange sensation of being spied on.

Out of curiosity, the woman in white had used words to bluff him, wanting to see whether Yang Xiao could truly see her.

But now Yang Xiao's reaction was truly baffling.

"What exactly is he trying to do?"

The woman in white faintly sensed that something was wrong.

One step, two steps...

Yang Xiao pretended he did not see the woman in white and soon walked near the ancient pavilion.

"Mother, is that you?"

"Mother, I... I heard your voice. Are you playing the zither?"

"Mother! It's me, Xiaoqiang!"

Bang!

Under the woman in white's dumbfounded gaze, Yang Xiao grew emotional, and tears of grief actually welled in his eyes.

"Mother, all these years, your child has searched for you so bitterly..."

As if stirred by the scene before him, Yang Xiao wiped his tears while beginning to recount his "tragic past."

It was a sorrowful story.

When a poor scholar was studying, he met a wealthy young lady disguised as a man. They came to know each other, understood each other, and gradually came together.

Then misfortune appeared!

Prefect Ma's son, Ma Youcai, forcibly married the wealthy young lady, cruelly beat the poor scholar to death, and threw his corpse away to feed the dogs!

On the day of the wedding, the wealthy young lady rode in the bridal sedan. Sensing something in her heart, at the place where the poor scholar had died miserably, she leaped down and ended her own beautiful life.

Not long after, an old Daoist traveling the four corners of the world accidentally discovered that from within the wealthy young lady's remains, there actually came the sound of a baby crying.

The old Daoist saved the baby and buried the wealthy young lady and the poor scholar together. Two butterflies emerged from the grave mound and bowed to the old Daoist, as if entrusting him with something.

"Child, though you are small, you can still tenaciously cling to life. Then this poor Daoist shall call you—Xiaoqiang. How about it?"

The old Daoist gently stroked the baby and smiled softly.

The story came to a pause here...

The woman in white stared blankly at the youth who had walked out of the ancient pavilion and to the bank of the underground river. Her eyes could not help reddening slightly.

Too tragic!

Even in her dreams, the woman in white would never have imagined that in this mortal world, there was actually such a pitiful child.

Yet the story was not over!

Yang Xiao gazed out at the vast river, crying as he recounted his own heartbreak:

"Mother, Master said you were actually a fairy descended from the heavens, that you loved wearing white most of all, and loved playing the zither most of all."

"Master also said that if one day I could hear zither music that no one else could hear, then it would be you calling to your child."

"Mother...!!!"

Yang Xiao performed with full voice and feeling, dredging up every sad and painful thing from his previous life.

It had to be said, the tale of the Butterfly Lovers was a classic, and coupled with Yang Xiao's tear-jerking performance, it successfully moved the woman in white.

And next, Yang Xiao served up a whole chaotic stew of "lone star of heavenly balefulness," "causing Master's death," "being betrayed by his beloved," "falling off a cliff and being gravely injured with no miraculous encounter, making it even more tragic," and all sorts of other odds and ends.

The woman in white's gaze gradually softened, and the black aura around her vanished without a trace.

When she looked at Yang Xiao, a few more traces of gentleness could not help but enter her eyes.

"Mother, I think I heard zither music just now. Mother, are you nearby? Mother!!!"

Yang Xiao spoke excitedly, continuing forward as though he could not see that he was about to fall into the river.

One step, two steps...

Yang Xiao was about to tumble into the river below.

Whoosh~

A gust of wild wind swept past. Before Yang Xiao could even realize what had happened, he had already returned to the old pavilion.

A woman in white, pure as snow, appeared clearly before Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao could be certain that the woman in white had truly "manifested," and was not simply making herself invisible to others.

"You are... Mother?"

Yang Xiao asked tentatively.

"..."

The woman in white lowered her head, and for a moment, she actually did not know how to answer.

Tell this pitiful young man that she was not his mother, and make him even more miserable?

But to say she was his mother... that was not very good either, was it?

The woman in white sank into a dilemma.

"Mother, yes, you must be Mother!"

"Mother... why won't you raise your head and look at your child? Your child... misses you so much, Mother..."

Yang Xiao grew more and more agitated, rushed over, and hugged the woman in white.

Whoosh—

A wild wind flashed around them, and the old pavilion was left utterly empty. Where was there any human figure?

"Mother, you... you don't want your child anymore?"

"Mother!!!!!!"

Yang Xiao suddenly dropped to his knees and wailed loudly.

The crying was heartbroken; those who heard it would be moved, those who listened would shed tears.

Though the crying could not travel far, it still clearly reached the top-floor platform of the Scripture Pavilion, and entered the eyes of that peerless beauty in white.

"No wonder he could faintly sense this palace's existence. So it turns out... he is a greatly filial son, a great good man, pure and filial to the utmost, moving Heaven and Earth."

The woman in white sighed softly. When she looked at Yang Xiao, the pity in her gaze could not help but deepen.

The woman in white even felt an impulse to acknowledge Yang Xiao as her son.

But once she thought of her own identity, the woman in white still sighed faintly, withdrew her gaze, and once again began to pluck the ancient zither.

String by string, yearning for vanished years.

The zither music actually turned into waves of red light, spreading outward one after another, piercing through the thousands upon thousands of great red lanterns in the void before finally sinking into Yang Xiao's body.

An extremely warm feeling abruptly spread through Yang Xiao's entire body.

"Huh? Why is there a layer of red threads covering the skin on the surface of my body?"

Yang Xiao was instantly stunned.

Those red threads bloomed with a faint red glow, then rapidly dimmed, finally vanishing without a trace.

But Yang Xiao could keenly sense that the red threads had not disappeared. Instead, they had gone dormant within the inner layer of his skin, subtly and imperceptibly transforming and strengthening the skin all over his body.

And that was not the key point!

The red threads actually penetrated all the way into Yang Xiao's four limbs and hundred bones, constantly lengthening, until they finally hid within all of Yang Xiao's meridians.

The old man who guarded the pavilion had once said that Yang Xiao's aptitude and bone structure were both inferior, and that his tendons, bones, and skin had hardened like iron plates. This could make Yang Xiao invincible among those of the same rank, but it would also make his life short.

Yet these sudden, mysterious red threads caused Yang Xiao's tendons and bones, amid that firmness, to faintly gain a few traces of flexibility.

Hardness and softness in harmony, yin and yang complementing each other!

From this moment on, the Scripture Pavilion old man's so-called "not long for this world" no longer held true!

The hidden danger Qingyunzi had solved only by relying on a thousand-year clan's piled-up resources and a blood exchange—Yang Xiao had resolved it in an instant!

"Crying poor and playing pitiful, then casually acknowledging a bargain mother, actually brought me such benefits?"

Yang Xiao was instantly overjoyed, yet his face remained full of grief as he kept kowtowing toward the Scripture Pavilion.

"Mother, I can feel that you must be right here."

"Your child's aptitude and bones are of the lowest grade, and Senior also believes your child is not long for this world."

"But as long as your child still has a single breath left, I will practice martial arts bitterly and strive for the day when I can truly meet you!"

"Mother, in the future, your child will often come to see you. Your child—will take his leave first."

After kowtowing a few more times with utmost respect, Yang Xiao finally left the Scripture Pavilion "reluctantly."

"How could this palace's child have poor bones and sinews? Those are..."

On the high platform at the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion, the woman in white was speaking when she suddenly froze.

This palace actually... truly thought of him as my child?

Wait!

This palace seems to have... once... had a child?

But why is this palace's memory a blur? Why can I not remember these things?

What on earth is going on!

In an instant, the woman in white frowned, her autumn-water eyes filled with flickering uncertainty.

"Whew!"

Only after leaving the Vermilion Bird Tower did Yang Xiao's suspended heart finally settle completely.

Often go to the Scripture Pavilion to see his mother?

How was that possible!

That woman in white, whose mind seemed somewhat abnormal, was faceless and ghostly with yin energy. She was not human at all!

Heaven knew what she was!

Although Yang Xiao also knew that acknowledging a powerhouse of unfathomable strength as his mother would absolutely let him fleece benefits from her, with gains beyond measure.

But Yang Xiao did not want to take the risk.

"I can use Qi-Observing Stealing Technique, and now the talent of maxed-out comprehension has officially taken effect. I don't need to rely on external forces."

"As long as I keep hiding and quietly develop, relying on the Myriad Phenomena Heaven-Swallowing Art, sooner or later I can become a martial arts grandmaster. One day, I can also be unrivaled beneath the heavens. Why would I need to gamble with my little life?"

A struggle flashed through Yang Xiao's eyes, but in the end, he still decided to give up the temptation and honestly keep lying low.

Wait!

Yang Xiao walked a few more steps, then suddenly realized there was not a single person on the street. His heart immediately skipped a beat, and he could not help raising his head to look at the sky.

The sky, which had still been faintly bright a moment ago, had turned completely pitch-black in an instant.

The black clouds that filled the heavens had actually gathered in the void above Great Yan Royal City, ultimately transforming into a—massive beast shadow!