An Oath on a Snowy Night, the Beginning of Turmoil

The Oath on a Windy Snowy Night, the Beginning of Turmoil

In truth, Yu Chen could no longer remember much.

He remembered what his parents looked like.

There was only a vague impression in his mind.

His father should have been tall and sturdy, with a prickly beard. He always wore a stern face outside, but whenever he saw Yu Chen and his mother, he would break into a cheerful smile.

He often bought Yu Chen little trinkets—a double-sided rattle drum, a sugar figurine, a small wooden sword—and played with him too.

His mother was not particularly beautiful, and her temper did not seem particularly good either. Whenever father and son rolled about in the courtyard, she would always stand with her hands on her hips and scold them. But after scolding them, she would make a table full of steaming dishes and urge the pair to wash their hands before eating.

The family was not wealthy, but they got by well enough.

There was not much worth mentioning, yet it seemed there was no end to what could be said.

And all of it had been forever frozen on that night.

The night his parents were shackled and taken out through the front gate.

They never returned.

Late at night, at Qingfeng Mausoleum, wind and snow swept in once more.

Yu Chen sat before his parents' graves.

Beside the youth, a hunched ghost knelt with its head buried low, endlessly crying out its confession and knocking its head against the ground in repentance.

Yu Chen's hoarse voice echoed through the wind and snow.

"I originally thought you truly had committed some unforgivable crime. So whether I was made part of a criminal household or forced to watch graves, I accepted it."

"But only today did I learn that you were framed."

Yu Chen lit the spirit money. The wind and snow blew it out, and he lit it again; the wind blew it out again. Over and over, he was like a stubborn bull, repeating the attempt more than a dozen times. Only when the wind and snow could no longer extinguish the flame did he stop.

"I still don't know who framed you."

"Nor do I know how the two of you offended them."

"But it doesn't matter. It is no longer important."

"You can rest in peace first."

"I will find them."

Whoosh!

A fierce gust sent the fluttering yellow paper spinning, its firelight illuminating the youth's face as he said,

"—Not one will be spared."

Thus, on that snowy night, unbeknownst to anyone, a blaze that would sweep across Weishui was lit.

The next day, the heavy snow lessened and thinned.

Yu Chen climbed out of bed as though nothing had happened.

Last night, when Yu Chen had burned spirit money, the ghost of Dead Man's Mouth had knelt before his parents' graves, kowtowing in apology. At last, one of its wishes had been fulfilled.

Its ghost crossed the muddy waters of the Yellow Springs River and went somewhere unknown.

On the Scripture of Deliverance, Dead Man's Mouth's final wish had been completed, and another "Strengthening Foundation and Nourishing Origin" pill had been bestowed. After Yu Chen swallowed it in one gulp, his body was tempered once more, and the Internal Force flowing through his meridians became somewhat more abundant.

The Wang Household's Tiger Head Grand Feast lasted two days, but yesterday, after watching Dead Man's Mouth's life lantern, Yu Chen had sat blankly at Qingfeng Mausoleum for an entire day and missed it.

After getting up, Yu Chen lit the stove, cooked, and cleaned the mausoleum grounds as usual.

In his mind, he recalled Dead Man's Mouth's life lantern.

—It had to be said that the people who had harmed his parents were exceedingly cautious.

In Dead Man's Mouth's memories, they had covered their faces every time they appeared, making their identities impossible to discern.

So even when he saw Yu Chen choke to death at the Tiger Head Feast, Dead Man's Mouth still had no idea who had forced him to alter the autopsy record.

The trail ended there.

But Yu Chen was not in a hurry.

After slowly finishing breakfast, he went down the mountain.

Weishui, south of the city, the rear courtyard behind an old pavilion.

A burly figure, bare from the waist up, practiced martial arts beneath the drifting light snow.

That body, covered in scars and sinew, brimmed with savage, rugged beauty. His feet were bows, his fists arrows, tearing through the air with tigerish force!

Unceasing explosive cracks rang through the empty courtyard!

Today, Xie Qing was in an excellent mood.

A few days ago, the Wang Household had held the Tiger Head Grand Feast. Taking that opportunity, Xie Qing had discussed matters thoroughly with Old Master Wang and finalized the discount.

With that, the Zhengqing Gang's spending on medicinal plasters was cut directly in half. As the gang leader, how could he not be pleased?

Taking advantage of this morning's light snow, he had finally practiced a set of punches in the snow again after a long time, leaving him refreshed and invigorated!

After finishing, Xie Qing was preparing to dress and return indoors.

Then he suddenly heard a familiar voice. "Is your injury any better?"

Xie Qing froze. The muscles throughout his body instinctively tightened as he followed the voice with his gaze.

There, amid the expanse of pure white snow, stood a black-clad figure wearing a ghostly mask. No one knew when it had arrived. Quiet and eerie.

"Senior!"

Amid his alarm, Xie Qing immediately cupped his hands in salute. "Thanks to your blessing, Senior, I have basically recovered."

—The injury they spoke of was naturally the one Xie Qing had suffered from the great tiger during the campaign against it.

At that time, although Yu Chen had acted and saved Xie Qing's life, Xie Qing had fought the great tiger through several fierce bouts beforehand and had even been sent flying by one slap. His muscles and bones had naturally been damaged, his internal organs shaken.

These past days, he had taken all manner of medicine and soaked in medicinal baths every night. Only then had he basically recovered.

"That is good." Yu Chen nodded and got straight to the point. "I have a small matter that requires your help."

Xie Qing froze, then his eyes immediately lit up. "Please, speak!"

What was the hardest thing in the world to repay?

A debt of gratitude!

This senior had saved his and the others' lives back then. That was a favor as vast as the heavens.

Though Xie Qing had later given the other party an additional hundred taels of silver, were their lives worth only a hundred taels?

Therefore, Xie Qing and the entire Zhengqing Gang still owed Yu Chen an enormous debt of gratitude.

Combined with the other party's terrifying and formidable martial prowess, Xie Qing naturally wished to deepen their acquaintance. Unfortunately, this senior was like a divine dragon whose head could be seen but never its tail; Xie Qing had no opportunity at all.

Until today, when this senior appeared of his own accord.

How could Xie Qing possibly refuse?

He repeatedly agreed at once, afraid the other party might change his mind.

From the look of him, it was less as if Yu Chen were asking him for help and more as if he had received some tremendous benefit!

Yu Chen did not beat around the bush. He took out a rolled sheet of paper.

Xie Qing accepted it and looked. It was filled with names and identities, all utterly unfamiliar.

"These people were all in Weishui fifteen years ago." Looking at the paper, Yu Chen said, "I want to know where they are now and what they are doing."

These names naturally belonged to the people in Dead Man's Mouth's life-lantern memories.

Back then, aside from Dead Man's Mouth being forced to alter the autopsy record, there had also been many witness statements in court proving that Yu Chen's parents had participated in that household-extermination massacre.

It was precisely this "evidence" that had sentenced Yu Chen's parents to be beheaded.

Yu Chen guessed that these people had likely given false testimony as well.

Since Dead Man's Mouth had not known who had threatened him into altering the autopsy record, then might these people who had provided the "evidence" know more?

"Fifteen years ago?" Xie Qing's brows furrowed slightly. Fifteen years ago, he had not yet been in Weishui. Investigating these people's whereabouts now would likely not be easy.

"Difficult?" Yu Chen asked.

"No! Not difficult!" Xie Qing hurriedly shook his head like a rattled drum. "I will send people to investigate at once. Please wait a while, Senior. Once there are results, I will inform you immediately!"

"Good. I will come find you again in a few days." Yu Chen nodded.

At the end, he added, "Also investigate that household-extermination case from fifteen years ago, the one in which twelve people died. Find out what exactly happened."

"Yes!" Xie Qing patted his chest in assurance!

Yu Chen nodded, stepped onto the snow, vaulted over the wall, and vanished.

That same day, under Xie Qing's orders, the entire Zhengqing Gang began to turn like a massive machine.

In some remote alleyway, Yu Chen concealed the Infernal Ghost Mask and black robe. Stepping out of the wind and snow, he was once more a frail grave-watching youth.

He went to the Hanging Bridge market, bought several jin of meat and some rice, then purchased several pieces of tofu from Sun's tofu shop before carrying everything up the mountain.

The moment he entered the mausoleum grounds, he saw that the Corpse Mover had arrived and was digging a pit.

On the flatbed cart beside him lay a stiff corpse.

"You're back?"

Hearing the sound, the Corpse Mover greeted him without raising his head.

Yu Chen gave a grunt and went into the house to put down his things before coming back out.

He looked toward the cart. Above the frozen corpse, a ghost stood up.

Just then, the Corpse Mover finished digging the pit. He lifted the corpse into it, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and was about to say something when he saw Yu Chen.

He froze at once.

At that moment, the Corpse Mover only felt that something had changed about the youth before him.

That change had nothing to do with aura or physique. It flashed like an ephemeral flower, seeming real yet unreal.

But it was incomparably profound.

—Like a ferocious beast hidden in the wind and snow opening its eyes.

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(End of Chapter)