Yun Yang looked startled as he glanced upon the white couplet attached to the teahouse that had yet to fade. Battered by the wind and rain, only half of it was left fluttering in the wind.
Yun Yang"s mind was spinning; he felt the pangs of a bitter ache engulf his heart. After a moment, he spoke softly, "That"s right. They are both heroes, Yutang"s loyal men. San Huzi, you have to be a hero too when you grow up!"
"Yes!" The boy replied proudly, "I will never embarra.s.s my brothers and father. Our family members are all heroes of Yutang!"
Yun Yang smiled reluctantly. A gleaming wisp of purple Qi emerged from the hand laid on the boy"s head as incredibly refined purple Qi slipped into the boy.
Silently and unknowingly, Yun Yang"s purple Qi activated four chakras in the boy"s body which initially had three awakened chakras, all in one swift moment. The remaining purple Qi quietly hid within the other few chakras in the boy which he could break through in an orderly fas.h.i.+on once he began cultivating.
At the same time, a cultivation method had pa.s.sed into the boy"s mind.
The boy felt a wave of vertigo, trembling before he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
"San Huzi!" A voice came from the teahouse; a coa.r.s.ely-dressed woman rushed out the door with anxiousness etched on her expression.
"It"s alright." Yun Yang said softly, "San Huzi will be fine after some sleep. He will be very outstanding hereafter, even more remarkable than his father and brothers."
The woman stared at Yun Yang in a rage, and said, "Who are you? What have you done to San Huzi?"
Yun Yang smiled, "San Huzi is a good child, I will not harm him."
The woman whose entire being was filled with fury felt Yun Yang"s smile was just too warm; her resentment vanished. Moreover, the more she fixed her gaze at the handsome face before her eyes, the more she felt a sense of familiarity. Even so, she could not recall where she had met him before and was thereby filled with doubts. "Who are you? Why do I seem to have seen you somewhere before? Are you a relative of my family?"
Yun Yang smiled and turned to leave. "Take good care of the lad. Your family"s efforts will eventually be repaid. Yutang will not forget your contribution."
Before his words could linger in the air, Yun Yang and Ji Lingxi had disappeared without a trace at the end of the street.
As the woman carried her child in her arm, she was deep in thought, "Who is this young man? Why can"t I remember him? I have a very good memory, I have definitely seen him before... but why can"t I remember?"
Suddenly, she felt something in her hands. Lowering her head to see, she noted there were two banknotes in her grasp, each worth one thousand taels.
The sight of the two large banknotes made her heart pound rapidly!
Did the young man leave these behind?
"Why did he give me this money? Is he a relative of mine who bears a hint of sympathy for orphans and a widow like me? Is my memory not as good as I thought that I have forgotten about having such an exceptional relative?"
She returned to the teahouse absently and unintentionally saw the portrait of Lord Supreme Cloud on the wall which she had spent a silver tael to acquire. She leveraged upon her ident.i.ty as the family of military and perished warriors to attain it with a silver tael at the time when many were fighting for it.
It was a handsome young master clad in purple in the portrait, his smile accompanied by an elegant manner, and his eyes were warm.
The woman was astounded as she finally remembered who this person was, and cried out, "It"s… It"s the arrival of Lord Supreme Cloud!"
The instant she was out of her trance, she charged out of the teahouse like she had gone berserk. She wept as she kept her eyes on the end of the street. Then, she knelt on the ground, bowing ceaselessly to show respect and sobbed.
It was an indescribable excitement, pride, and joy that came from the bottom of her heart.
The next door neighbor who did not know what had happened came around. "Third aunt, what are you doing?"
The woman raised her tearful face, crying and smiling all at once. "Lord Supreme Cloud was here just now. He had also held San Huzi and spoke to him for a while, and he even gave me banknotes… It was the arrival of Lord Supreme Cloud!"
The crowd, without exception, was shocked upon hearing the news. Some of them immediately cried out in frustration. "Say, I saw two people from afar just like the deities had descended, speaking to San Huzi. I thought they were pa.s.sing merchants…Alas, it was the arrival of Lord Supreme Cloud! Oh, I"m as blind as a bat, I actually missed the incredible destiny of paying homage."
Everyone was filled with only envy and excitement, but none had any doubts as to what had happened.
n.o.body would dare to impersonate Lord Supreme Cloud in Yutang!
"It is not a bad thing San Huzi has fainted. Lord Supreme Cloud must have given San Huzi a gem; otherwise, he would not have pa.s.sed out. This is an otherworldly encounter. This child is blessed and has earned Lord Supreme Cloud"s favor. Third aunt, you will live a comfortable life soon…"
…
"Your casual actions just now might have just built a general for Yutang." Ji Lingxi stared at Yun Yang the way she had watched as Yun Yang had done the same many times all the way.
"After all, it depends on the child"s future opportunity." Yun Yang said, "However, this path can be smoother than an average person. His brothers and father had died fighting in the war for Yutang. For such a child, I have never let it pa.s.s when I come across one. Since I have met him, I"m obliged to give him a future."
"The future of this child has already been decided. News of all these matters is bound to spread. Many people will know that Lord Supreme Cloud has personally given advice to these children, so everyone in the entire Empire of Yutang will somewhat have to look up to them. Hence, the fate of these children is already sealed the moment you intervened, right?"
Ji Lingxi"s eyes were trained on Yun Yang; her gaze sparkled brightly. Even though she had appeared to be asking a question, but it was actually in a firm tone.
Ji Lingxi"s feeling had always been very consistent for Yun Yang.
Since the night the two had gone against each other unexpectedly, Ji Lingxi had sought out Yun Yang for help, and had stayed in Yun Yang"s home. Ji Lingxi had yet to figure out why she had never been wary of this man before.
With more and more contact, she was further certain about this man, especially after experiencing separation and had been rescued by Yun Yang. Ji Lingxi utterly understood her own sentiment.
Hand in hand, till the day we die - but this was just a common sentiment between men and women, nothing more.
In other words, the ignorant love between young men and women who had reached the proper age was merely hoping to get married and grow old together; they had yet to develop an understanding for other deeper aspects. After all, those required a long time to develop and affirm.
However, as she made further contact with him, Yun Yang"s intelligence, Yun Yang"s plan, Yun Yang"s battle, Yun Yang"s guts, and Yun Yang"s… Until the end, she discovered that Yun Yang was one of the well-known Nine Supremes, the sole remaining Supreme Cloud, the brains of the Nine Supremes…
For Ji Lingxi, the feeling was as though she was refres.h.i.+ng her perception for her love over and over again. It was as if seeing a different Yun Yang every day; becoming perfect day by day. To put it more conventionally - there is never the best, only better.
Until now, today, Ji Lingxi once again realized a sentiment in Yun Yang. It was the n.o.bility for the nation and people regardless of anything. It was the demeanor and mannerism of an almost saint-like warrior who had nothing but compa.s.sion for the world. Perhaps, he should not be described as a warrior; it was more apt to call him the greatest warrior, a warrior among warriors, warrior of the saints!
In addition to this acknowledgment, Ji Lingxi could not help but become increasingly sure that Yun Yang was rare, and felt happy with her discerning eyes that could tell greatness from mediocrity. "I already liked him when he was decked out like a popinjay with a vagabond"s temperament. How visionary I am… I am basically picking out a precious jade, a flawless piece of jade from a pile of rubbish. Such good intuition..."