Song of Falling Pear Blossoms

Seeing this, Su Yao fought back the sting in his eyes. Without another word to the two, he turned and headed down the mountain.

After he had gone no more than a few dozen steps, Jueming's voice came from behind him:

"The Daozheng may seem cold, but he has a kind heart and thinks only of what is best for you, Daozi. Please don't dwell on it."

Su Yao did not look back. He merely paused, nodded, and continued down the mountain.

After he had taken another few dozen steps, Nannuo spoke:

"When will you return to the mountain, Daozi?"

At those words, tears burst from Su Yao's eyes.

But he feared he would be unable to stop himself from giving up this chance to leave the mountain. Rather than turn around, he looked at the white pear blossoms blooming all over the mountain, gleaming now in the light of a stone lantern beside them. With his back to the two boys, he waved and said:

"When pear blossoms fill the sky above the Thirty-Six Peaks of Qixia once more, that will be the day I return."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the pear blossoms covering the Thirty-Six Peaks of Qixia began to fall, like a great snowfall in spring.

Seeing this, he understood. The Daozheng had long known that he would be leaving the mountain now, and had used this method to see him off.

But he did not stop. Instead, he quickened his pace down the mountain.

Behind him, the two boys' faces were already streaming with tears, and they sobbed too hard to speak.

Just as the saying went:

You ask when I'll return, yet no date can I say; when pear blossoms bloom again, that shall be the day.

Two hours after bidding the two boys farewell, the sky had begun to brighten, and the bluestone steps beneath his feet had finally come to an end.

A Daoist stood at the foot of the steps, his beard and hair white. It was Daoist Zheng.

Daoist Zheng looked at Su Yao and bowed.

"Greetings, Daozi."

Su Yao hurried forward to help him up.

"Please, Daoist, there's no need for such courtesy. Though I am unworthy, I hold the position of Daozi, but you watched me grow up. Over the years, you have taken the Daozheng's punishment for me many times. In private, I would never dare accept such a formal bow from you."

But Daoist Zheng changed the subject.

"After escorting you into the Patriarchs' Hall, I returned to my cave abode, but I couldn't put my mind at ease. Knowing your nature, I thought that if you said you were going down the mountain, you surely would. So I came to wait at the foot of Mysterious Rosy Cloud Peak. I never expected you really would come."

He paused and gripped Su Yao's wrist tightly.

"Though I don't know how long you'll be away, judging by the circumstances, I don't suppose it will be short. I'm four hundred and fifty now, and Foundation Establishment grants a lifespan of five hundred years. Our Qixia lineage is skilled at preserving health, and I've suffered no hidden injuries from fighting in my life. I don't suppose living to five hundred and ten or twenty will be a problem..."

His lips moved slightly, but it was a long time before he spoke.

"I wonder whether, in this lifetime, I'll get to see you master a Divine Ability and attain the Purple Mansion, so that I may see the day Qixia Mountain's gates open again?"

Su Yao was silent for a long time.

He wanted to say something, to say, "Don't worry, Daoist Zheng," to say, "It won't be long."

But when the words reached his lips, he could not bring himself to say anything.

He simply gave the old man's withered hand a firm squeeze and said solemnly:

"Wait for me to come back."

Daoist Zheng understood, but he still could not help holding on to him and lowering his voice.

"Daozi, do you know that when True Person Guangli went down the mountain all those years ago, he too was full of high spirits, just like you? But what happened? He trusted outsiders too easily, and now... Daozi, you mustn't follow in his footsteps."

After a pause, he added:

"The mortal world stretches ten thousand fathoms deep, and desires spring up everywhere. You mustn't be careless, Daozi. Women below the mountain are especially cunning. Besides, the future of our Qixia Daoist lineage rests with you, and your status is noble. How could any ordinary woman be worthy of you? Please take care."

Su Yao was startled at first, then shook his head with a wry laugh.

But before his laughter had faded, tears were already rolling down his cheeks.

Daoist Zheng had always indulged his whims. How could he speak like this? The Daozheng must have entrusted himself to Daoist Zheng and spoken through him.

The Daozheng truly was cold in appearance but kind at heart.

So he said no more. He simply bowed deeply to Daoist Zheng, then turned and walked straight away.

After he had descended Mysterious Rosy Cloud Peak, a faint song came from Qixia Mountain behind him, reaching his ears:

"Deep in Qixia Mountain, clouds are robes and rosy clouds the steeds. I beg you, stay awhile: the mortal world is bitter, and the road is hard. The wind in the pines leads on, the stream's song sounds afar. Come back, come back, to the old green mountain."

Su Yao stopped in his tracks.

The song from Qixia Mountain still lingered behind him. He stood in silence for a long time before finally turning around. Bowing deeply toward the cloud-wreathed peaks, he sang back in a clear voice:

"Clouds for a robe, rosy clouds for a gown, on Qixia Mountain the days and months pass long.

My master's kindness weighs so deep, I dare not forget; my mortal ties remain unsevered, so alone I must go.

The wind in the pines sees me off, the stream's song is cool; I beg my master not to grieve for me.

When pear blossoms cover the mountain in white, I'll return to serve as before in Pine Hall."

When the song was done, he lingered no longer. He turned and strode away.

The sky was bright now, and strands of rosy light were spreading across it.

Su Yao gazed at the rosy light spreading across the sky, a plan already taking shape in his mind.

First, he would go to Qinghe Commandery City to find out why this body's parents had abandoned him years ago, then turn toward Yongzhou to settle his mortal ties.

When he had gone down the mountain once at twenty-five, he had learned that they had moved to Yongzhou, the capital of Nanyue. Because of other matters, he had been unable to make the journey to Yongzhou and settle his mortal ties that time.

And on this journey of ten thousand li, with so many spirits and monsters in the mountains, he could see whether he might encounter a suitable variant to merge with his third talisman.

On the surface, he was leaving the mountain for the sake of his mortal ties, but in truth, it was also to seek a fortuitous opportunity.

His plan settled, he stirred a thought.

A crimson figure and an orange one sped toward him from Qixia Mountain, arriving overhead moments later. They were the Morning Rosy Cloud Duck, whose plumage was tinged with crimson light, and the Azure Empyrean Sparrow, with its bright orange feathers.

These two birds were the monsters he had merged with his first two talismans.

After being sacrificed all those years ago, they had manifested once more from the prism. The matter was so secret that even the Daozheng had noticed nothing amiss, believing only that Su Yao had tamed them.

In truth, the two birds were already his attendants and could survive only by depending on him.

Earlier, he had summoned the two birds to smash open a gap in the doors of Guizhen Hall.

But he suddenly froze. The sparrow held a small slip of paper in its beak.

The two birds depended on him, and even when they were not at his side, he could sense what happened to them.

Yet until he saw the slip of paper, he had sensed nothing at all.

He could not help marveling to himself: the Daozheng's cultivation had risen again.

He took the slip of paper. It bore only a few lines:

"Now that you have left the mountain, you must not return for twenty years.

I shall go to Jade Void to attend a lecture. From this day forth, Qixia Mountain's gates shall be sealed.

Choose where you go for yourself. The mortal world is perilous; take care of yourself.

I cast a divination just now. Your parents still have twenty years of life remaining, so you may perhaps see them on this journey.

One of my strikes is sealed within this paper. Anyone below the level of a True Lord will die upon contact.

Use it with care.

Do not concern yourself with me."

As he read the letter, his eyes, which had only just returned to normal, reddened once more.

Then he turned and bowed deeply once again in the direction of Qixia Mountain.

He put the slip of paper into his Storage Bag and headed south.

Seeing this, the two birds quickly followed.

After the man and two birds had traveled a dozen or so li, Su Yao suddenly sensed a surge of Blood Qi rising ahead.

His heart jolted. Though Qixia Mountain had been sealed for more than three thousand years, the Daozheng stood upon it, and nothing within ten thousand li escaped his notice.

How could such dense Blood Qi have appeared at the foot of Qixia Mountain?

Su Yao could tell at a glance that the Blood Qi came from a Blood Qi Devil Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment realm at the very least.

He immediately ordered the two birds to conceal themselves high in the sky. Then he formed a hand seal, and the normally invisible Great Yin Dharma Robe appeared in an instant. A flash of Great Yin light followed, and he vanished completely from sight.

At the same time, he used the sixth-grade Mist Cloud Law Technique, Mysterious Floating Body, and floated toward the sky above the Blood Qi ahead.