Never Parted Through All Their Lives

In the blink of an eye, another year passed and New Year's Eve arrived again. This year, the three of them once more raised their cups together in Yu Zhi's courtyard house. Zhang Qiling spent the most peaceful and happiest New Year of his life, with a lover and a brother at his side.

The year reached July 1977, and the gears of fate truly began to turn.

"A Li, lately I've felt like I'm about to lose control of myself."

Every day, Zhang Qiling grew a little more agitated than the last. The voice deep in his heart was desperately urging him to go guard the door.

"I'll go with you."

Yu Zhi watched Zhang Qiling grow more and more tormented. He would always run from the room into the courtyard in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, and during the day, he either sat in a daze or couldn't sit still.

"I'll go alone. I'll be fine. Wait for me to come out. We definitely can't handle what's in there right now. I'll go in and come out alive, for sure."

"All right, I'll keep watch for you outside the door."

Yu Zhi was lying to him. Once they got there, he wouldn't let Zhang Qiling leave his side for a single second.

"Mute, Xiao Yu and I will go with you. Whatever happens, the Blind Man will help you shoulder it."

Hei Xiazi couldn't bear to see what Zhang Qiling had become. The Mute of before would have gone to guard the door too, but he had been all alone, with no ties or worries, so he simply went. Things were different now. Hei Xiazi could see that Zhang Qiling was fighting his own instincts and was about to lose control.

"A Li, you can't go."

Zhang Qiling seemed to have a premonition: Yu Zhi couldn't go. If he did, Zhang Qiling would surely lose him!

"I have to go. Have you forgotten that we live and die together? What exactly are you afraid of? Why won't you let me go? You know that even if I die, I'll follow you through every lifetime. Whatever happens, we'll face it together."

This was the first time they had argued. Yu Zhi couldn't stand by and watch Zhang Qiling suffer even the slightest bit.

"Yu Zhi, I'm afraid of losing you. Please don't go, all right? Be good, A Li."

His voice was infinitely gentle, full of temptation, but Yu Zhi remained unmoved.

"You've forgotten that I have a space. Nothing will happen to me. Let me go with you."

Zhang Qiling slowly closed his eyes. Two streams of clear tears ran down from their corners, and then he slowly nodded his agreement. He knew that even if he refused, he couldn't stop Yu Zhi.

It was the first time Yu Zhi had seen Zhang Qiling cry. There was no sound, no other expression; he simply wept in silence, his eyes full of pain. Each tear seemed to strike Yu Zhi's heart like an icicle, piercing it until it nearly shattered.

But Yu Zhi had to go. Didn't he have a feeling of his own that once Zhang Qiling went in this time, he might very well never come out again? Yu Zhi couldn't bear even the slightest possibility of that.

He was willing to wait ten years, twenty years, a hundred years, or a thousand years. But he couldn't bear to lose this man forever. He had to go.

"Blind Man, get the car. We're leaving for Changbai Mountain right now."

Yu Zhi made the decision on the spot. Zhang Qiling had been like this for more than ten days, and they couldn't wait any longer. He thought the day to enter the door should be in August. They couldn't wait any longer.

The Blind Man drove the black off-road vehicle, while Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling sat in the back seat.

This time, the three of them took only one day to reach the foot of Changbai Mountain.

As they drew closer and closer to Changbai Mountain, Zhang Qiling grew quieter and quieter.

Yu Zhi and Zhang Qiling had both reached Qi Refining Great Perfection. They needed only the right opportunity to shed their mortal limits and enter the Foundation Establishment Stage. Hei Xiazi was a little behind, having reached the ninth layer. He often went out to take jobs, and although he still couldn't get the final payments, he had at least advanced his cultivation.

To conceal his ability, Hei Xiazi still wore sunglasses all day long. They had already become his trademark.

Yu Zhi had also warned him not to maliciously take people's lives, or he would suffer heaven's punishment and his future path of cultivation would be cut off.

The three of them didn't take the winding route into the mountains, heading straight for the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace instead.

The Cloudtop Heavenly Palace was said to be a product of the Shang dynasty, and the Bronze Door had already existed back then. Later, the Jurchen discovered and renovated it, making it King Wannu's mausoleum.

Judging from the old ghost's memories and the information Zhang Qiling had obtained from the Qilin Ring, the construction of the Bronze Door, the Ultimate, and the guarding of the door must have come later. How, then, did they become entangled with the extraterrestrial meteorite? There was no telling what the later generations of the Zhang Family had cooked up.

And what connection did it have to that false Queen Mother of the West? Mysteries were everywhere.

Yu Zhi couldn't untangle it all in his head, so he gave up thinking about it. He simply took Zhang Qiling's hand, laced their fingers together, and walked on.

Zhang Qiling tightened his fingers around Yu Zhi's hand, raised it, and gently kissed it. His gaze grew resolute.

Even in July, the wind howled and snow fell thickly on Changbai Mountain. As far as the eye could see were snowy mountains that never thawed.

The three pressed on without stopping, making their way through the wind and snow that filled the sky. The swirling flakes gradually blurred their figures as they advanced, until they could no longer be seen.

"Mute, are we going in through there again?" Hei Xiazi asked.

"Yes. That's the only route. There are no shortcuts into the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace."

"Blind Man, you've been here too? What route is it?" Yu Zhi asked curiously.

"Sure have. I had to come around every so often to pick up the Mute, so you could say I'm a regular. But I only stayed on the outskirts; I never went inside," Hei Xiazi explained.

"What route is it, then? The one from the book?"

"Xiao Yu's pretty smart. Yes, that's the one."

"That route was the only way to stay alive that the Zhang Family left for guarding the door. But to keep out those with designs on it and 'it,' they added every necessary measure," Zhang Qiling explained.

"If you ask me, your Zhang Family really is ruthless. You're ruthless to your own people, and even more ruthless to everyone else," Hei Xiazi remarked.

Yu Zhi thought about the description and asked in puzzlement, "Then why bother carving murals and the like? Wasn't that unnecessary?"

"Because aside from the Bronze Door being here, this really is an imperial mausoleum of the Jurchen," Zhang Qiling said.

Yu Zhi was completely taken aback. When he read the book, he had always thought King Wannu was a divine beast guarding the door. He hadn't expected this to be the king's own happy home, with this bunch failing to appreciate what was good for them.

Yu Zhi followed the two men, who knew the route well, to the hot spring without incident and dove in.

They followed the murals forward and saw the enormous sealing stone. In a moment of distraction, Yu Zhi missed what Zhang Qiling did, but a small gap appeared in the wall beside it. It was so narrow that they had to squeeze hard to get through.

The three filed in and hurried onward without delay. Zhang Qiling seemed to know by instinct that he needed to reach the Bronze Door as quickly as possible and wait for the right time to enter.

Yu Zhi followed in Zhang Qiling's footsteps all the way, without encountering a single mechanism or trap. It really was no different from going home.

Along the way, they passed several side chambers containing coffins and entered several places filled with treasures. All three hurried through without looking away from their path.

Only when they saw the legendary Kunlun Fetus did Zhang Qiling stop.

"You can't go any farther."

"It's still a long way ahead. Let the Blind Man wait here; I'll go in with you."

"No. You and the Blind Man both wait here. You can't go any farther," Zhang Qiling refused in a cold, firm voice.

"You know what I can do. If you don't take me with you now, I can get there on my own. You know I'm capable of it." Yu Zhi wouldn't give an inch.

"Sigh."

Hei Xiazi watched the two argue quietly from the side and sighed without a sound.

In the end, Zhang Qiling compromised. He said to Hei Xiazi, "Blind Man, wait here for us for a month. If no one comes out, go back."

"The Blind Man will go partway with you. I've been down some of the route ahead too."

Hei Xiazi didn't accept the suggestion.

"Mm, let's go."

Zhang Qiling replied softly, then drew Yu Zhi closer into his arms. The two reluctantly moved a little apart.

Boom! Boom! Two deafening explosions came from behind them, followed by a jumble of footsteps rushing their way amid shouts.

Just like that, the two groups came face-to-face without warning.

At the front of the group opposite them were old acquaintances: Wu Sansheng, Xie Lianhuan, Chen Wenjin, Qi Yu, and Huo Ling.

The five were also taken aback when they saw the three of them. As before, Xie Lianhuan stepped forward to speak. "What a coincidence, Master Hei, Master Zhang." Then he seemed startled to see Zhang Qiling holding someone in his arms, and a man at that. After taking a closer look, he exclaimed, "Is that Mr. Yu? I didn't expect you to know each other."

Yu Zhi and his companions nodded to them by way of greeting.

Yu Zhi no longer wanted to hide anything. They had been caught red-handed, so there was no point in concealing it. Just as he'd said, they had to be careful when they went out. Things really were this melodramatic, this much of a coincidence.

"What brings you here, Master Hei, Master Zhang?" Xie Lianhuan asked.

"Isn't it obvious? The Blind Man and the Mute were paid." Hei Xiazi gave them his trademark strange grin, brushing them off, then asked, "What made you folks decide to come here?"

Xie Lianhuan didn't believe him in the least. Someone the famous Zhang Qiling held in his arms had paid them? He didn't believe a single word. But he didn't hide anything either. Apart from the youthful-looking Yu Zhi, everyone knew one another, so there was nothing to conceal. He said in a low voice, "Fo Ye is at death's door. We came here to look for a solution."

"Heh."

Hearing that, Yu Zhi was so angry he laughed. They knew they couldn't set their sights on Zhang Qiling, so now they had their eyes on the Bronze Door.

The five opposite them all heard the mocking laugh, but none said anything. They all knew what Yu Zhi was laughing at.

"Let's go, Zhang Qiling. I still have things to do. Don't waste time."

Yu Zhi put on that proud yet innocent manner of his, along with his face that looked so guileless and easy to fool.

"All right."

Zhang Qiling answered gently, without shying away from the others. Apart from Hei Xiazi, the rest were just breathing bodies; he didn't care about them, nor did he want to.

The five opposite them were shocked again. They had never imagined such a gentle, doting tone could come from Zhang Qiling's mouth. Then they all looked at the right hand wrapped around Yu Zhi's waist. The index and middle fingers were extraordinarily long. It really was the Faqiu Finger, all right.

"There are a lot of you, so don't go touching things at random. If you set off a trap and die, don't expect us to do anything about it."

Hei Xiazi warned them. He was afraid the group would hold them back. The Mute probably didn't have much time left, and they had to reach the Bronze Door as quickly as possible. They couldn't afford any delays.

"Thank you for the warning, Master Hei," Wu Sansheng said.

Hei Xiazi waved a hand indifferently. In any case, once they were past the Kunlun Fetus, he wouldn't go any farther. He planned to find a place at random to hide; he was going to wait here for a month.

Zhang Qiling and Yu Zhi walked at the very front. Spiritual power surged beneath their feet as they sped forward like lightning. They couldn't let the group behind them see the secrets of the mechanisms, and they had already made arrangements with Hei Xiazi, so they didn't need to worry about him.

"They're gone. Did any of you notice?" Xie Lianhuan asked.

"No." "No." "No." One after another, they said they hadn't seen them.

"It's all right. Let's be more careful," Chen Wenjin said.

Wu Sansheng looked at the two identical paths, one to the left and one to the right. "There are two forks ahead. Qi Yu, take a look and see which one we should take."

"The one on the left, but we can't walk on the ground. We have to use the wall." Qi Yu still held the compass in his hand.

"You all heard that, right? Be careful in a moment," Wu Sansheng said to the men behind him.

"We heard you, Third Master," they answered.

"Third Master, let me go first." The speaker was Pangzi.

"All right, be careful," Wu Sansheng cautioned Pangzi as he came over.

Pangzi carefully stepped along the wall and quickly reached the other side without triggering a mechanism. Wu Sansheng, Xie Lianhuan, Qi Yu, Chen Wenjin, Huo Ling, and the others followed him across. But when only three people remained behind, someone stumbled-it wasn't clear who-and half a foot landed on the floor. Countless arrows shot from both walls, pinning all three to the walls and leaving their bodies bristling with arrows. They died on the spot.

"Sigh."

Wu Sansheng let out a deep sigh. They had brought fifty people with them, and by the time they reached this point, only half remained.

"Let's go. Everyone, be careful," Xie Lianhuan said.