Your son has failed you

To A Fei's own surprise, perhaps because fleeing for an entire day and night had exhausted him, he slept soundly that night, without any of his old nightmares.

Yi Shuyuan, lying right beside him, was not so fortunate. Not only did he dream, he had a nightmare, once again reliving the moment he fell into the river.

But in the dream, Yi Shuyuan stood at the bow of a boat, looking into the water, where he saw streaks of light!

The next moment, both he and the boat were sucked straight into the water.

Before his eyes was no longer flowing water, but a jumble of images. Every thought in his mind seemed to project outward and merge into them. Yi Shuyuan was not merely "thinking"-he was "seeing"!

Before his palm were clusters of shining points, streak after streak of light, and many emerging images. Once again, Yi Shuyuan instinctively wanted to seize it!

Yet an inexplicable panic stirred in his heart. Without realizing it, his thoughts and feelings had slipped back into that moment, into the almost suffocating water. That utter helplessness and desperate longing made life feel worse than death.

Dead~

At that moment, the radiance in the water burst apart, sending streaks of light scattering.

"Hah, hah..."

Yi Shuyuan jolted awake from his trance, drenched in cold sweat. His heart thudded so hard it seemed about to burst out of his chest.

A Fei, who had been sleeping peacefully beside him, immediately sprang up and scanned their surroundings, then hurried to Yi Shuyuan's side, his face full of anxiety.

"Senior, what's wrong? Is an old injury acting up? Senior, how can I help you?"

Yi Shuyuan gradually steadied his breathing, wiped the sweat from his face, and shook his head.

"It's nothing, just a nightmare. Go back to sleep!"

Ignoring A Fei's reaction, Yi Shuyuan pulled the fur coat covering him tighter and lay down on his side.

It was those streaks of light that brought me here, wasn't it? What were they? As Yi Shuyuan pondered this, his panic inexplicably intensified. He hurriedly banished the thought and forced himself to sleep.

Watching him, A Fei hesitated to speak. Then he slapped his own head hard and sat beside the campfire, adding wood and tending it. He felt full of energy that night; he had already rested enough.

From that day on, A Fei and Yi Shuyuan traveled during daylight. At night, Yi Shuyuan slept while A Fei practiced the Clear Heart Art. At first, he needed Yi Shuyuan's voice to guide him into stillness every time; later, he could practice on his own.

Yi Shuyuan rather admired A Fei. The fellow truly worked hard-he could sit all night without so much as shifting his backside. Yi Shuyuan had wondered whether he could do the same, but whenever he remained still for too long, stray thoughts arose. Hardest to avoid was the memory of falling into the river, which always jolted him awake in a panic.

That night, beside a cliff face, A Fei lit another campfire. An unlucky rabbit they had caught during the day roasted over it. Yi Shuyuan nearly drooled at the sight. He had gone days without any fatty food. How blissful those midnight snacks of junk food in front of his computer had been.

A Fei, however, had his mind on the Clear Heart Art.

"Senior, I'd like to practice the Clear Heart Art first."

Yi Shuyuan turned to look at him.

"You're not eating the rabbit?"

A Fei smiled and scratched his head.

"I'd still rather practice first."

"All right, all right."

Yi Shuyuan waved the back of his hand at him, signaling him to go off to one side.

With his senior's permission, A Fei immediately sat a little farther from the fire. Soon after crossing his legs, his breathing became long and even.

The change was not merely in his state of mind. Although he had not practiced his boxing lately, A Fei knew that when he did, it would be different from before. There was no need to test it; the state of his internal energy alone was proof enough.

Turning the rabbit and sprinkling it with salt, Yi Shuyuan glanced over at A Fei. Could this fellow actually be a diamond in the rough, and his family simply failed to recognize his worth?

A Fei's transformation was almost visible to the naked eye. He had grown livelier around Yi Shuyuan, more confident, and had even begun telling tales of chivalry. It could almost be called a metamorphosis.

Naturally, Yi Shuyuan was delighted to see this change in A Fei and sincerely hoped it would stay with him forever. Witnessing something beautiful unfold was itself a kind of beauty.

The branches in the campfire occasionally crackled. Fat sizzled on the roasted rabbit's salt-speckled skin. Yi Shuyuan put his thoughts aside and gazed at the mountains. He had no idea how vast they were; all he knew was that they seemed endless.

A Fei said he knew the way out. Yi Shuyuan did not know how much truth that claim held, but at this point, he could only trust him.

When A Fei woke early the next morning, roughly half the roasted rabbit lay before him, already frozen solid. Yi Shuyuan was rubbing his hands and stamping his feet to warm himself.

"You're awake? You'd better carry me again today. I'm too slow on my own. Let's get out of these mountains as soon as we can."

Over the past few days, Yi Shuyuan had walked much of the way himself, letting A Fei carry him with his lightness skill only across particularly difficult terrain. Now he no longer wanted to stand on ceremony. However much he yearned for nature, he had had enough of this world of ice and snow.

"Oh."

A Fei sounded slightly disappointed. Ever since discovering the day before yesterday that he could practice the Clear Heart Art on his own, he had suspected his senior would soon stop walking slowly. Now his prediction had come true.

As that thought crossed his mind, A Fei suddenly raised a hand and slapped himself with a sharp smack. Mai Lingfei, oh, Mai Lingfei! A greedy heart is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. How much longer will you keep wanting more?

The loud slap startled Yi Shuyuan, who was placing heated stones into a bamboo container to heat melted snow. He looked over in astonishment.

"Why are you hitting yourself for no reason?"

"Uh, it's nothing, Senior. My face was itchy!"

A Fei rubbed his face a few times and felt much better. The Clear Heart Art really was remarkable.

Your face was itchy, so you slapped it? Yi Shuyuan's mouth twitched, but he did not expose A Fei's excuse.

Once the water boiled, Yi Shuyuan drank a little, then passed it to A Fei, letting him wash down a few bites of frozen rabbit meat before they set off.

With A Fei carrying him that day, Yi Shuyuan had a much easier time. He had also more or less grown accustomed to the plunging sensation. It no longer felt as thrilling as a roller coaster, leaving him free to admire the scenery.

He had to admit that great men knew how to write. The sight of a thousand miles sealed in ice and ten thousand miles of drifting snow truly was beautiful. Unfortunately, Yi Shuyuan was in no mood to appreciate it.

"Senior, we're in the Azure Mountain Range. At my current pace, I reckon we'll be able to see Broad South Mountain to the southeast tomorrow. Once we reach it, Yuanjiang County won't be far away."

At A Fei's sudden announcement, Yi Shuyuan perked up.

"You're sure we won't take a wrong turn?"

"Absolutely!"

Yi Shuyuan felt somewhat reassured, while A Fei quickened his pace. Now, so long as he maintained the right rhythm, his internal energy replenished itself without end, allowing him to travel considerably faster than before.

In fact, the place where A Fei had entered the mountains with that band of villains was not Yuanjiang County, but the Northern Cang Region, a great distance away. That was why Yi Shuyuan worried about taking the wrong route. After all, the Azure Mountain Range was supposedly immense, and getting lost in such mountains was perfectly normal.

Two days later, however, reality proved Yi Shuyuan's worries unfounded.

When A Fei said they had entered Broad South Mountain, Yi Shuyuan could only respond with an "Oh." But a few hours later, A Fei gradually slowed. Looking ahead, Yi Shuyuan saw a stone marker standing on a ridge, carved with large characters filled with red paint.

"Moon Province boundary. Yuanjiang County territory."

Yi Shuyuan silently read the inscription, whose characters resembled seal script. Somehow, they did not feel unfamiliar, and a little excitement stirred in his heart.

We're almost there!

The two of them had spent so long traveling through these icebound, snow-covered mountains. Previously, Yi Shuyuan had not thought much of it, but after seeing the boundary marker, he desperately longed to return to human society. He even felt an inexplicable homesickness mingled with the trepidation of nearing home.

Much of the snow in the surrounding mountain woods had clearly melted, exposing earth in many places and even the occasional patch of green.

At A Fei's speed, they found a path down the mountain in less than half a day. But as they approached another stretch of hills, Yi Shuyuan suddenly felt something stir in his heart.

"Stop a moment. Put me down!"

"What's wrong, Senior?"

A Fei stopped, and Yi Shuyuan climbed off his back. Following a narrow mountain path, he walked up a gentle slope. A Fei followed, puzzled. They gradually ascended a gently rounded hill, surrounded by bamboo and thickets, but what drew Yi Shuyuan's attention most was the ground before the bamboo grove.

As though ordained by some unseen will, two graves stood in the distance amid overgrown weeds, in the profound stillness of the winter woods.

Yi Shuyuan frowned and slowed his steps. He was almost afraid to go on, yet forced himself forward until he stood a few feet from the gravestones and could read their inscriptions.

Grave of our late father, Yi Sheng. Grave of our late mother, Chen Yulan. Erected by their filial son, Yi Baokang.

Reading the words on the two gravestones, Yi Shuyuan trembled. He drew closer step by step, his thoughts blurring.

Thread by thread, drop by drop, then gathering into a raging torrent! Feelings too powerful to suppress surged from his mind, from every corner of his body, even from the depths of his soul.

By the time he reached the elderly couple's graves, tears were streaming from Yi Shuyuan's eyes like flowing water, wetting his cheeks, running down his neck, and dripping from his chin onto the ground. Through his sobs came two soft calls.

"Father... Mother..."

Countless memories flooded his mind; countless emotions exploded in his heart. A single instant seemed as long as half a lifetime, as though Yi Shuyuan had once again lived through his birth and all the years of growing up.

His awareness reached outward from within once more, and his blurred vision refocused on what lay before him. With his emotions running so deep, Yi Shuyuan no longer wished to restrain himself. He dropped to his knees before the graves and repeatedly knocked his forehead to the ground.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Father! Mother! Your son has failed you! Your son has failed you! I came home too late! Your son has failed you!"

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His forehead split and bled, yet he kept kowtowing!

A Fei stood behind Yi Shuyuan in a daze, unsure what to do. All he could do was kneel beside him.