Joy of Life

He knew that Thirteenth w.a.n.g was speaking truthfully because Haitang and his pale face and unusually complicate gaze revealed everything. There were truly very few things in the world that could make those two quail in such fear.

Fan Xian coughed violently but still could not make a sound. He felt his scalp become numb as each strand of hair felt like needles sticking into his head. A wave of unstoppable pain and fear washed over him.

He was not worried that after the Temple was smashed the elder formed of light spots would use a large-scale killing weapon to kill him. It was nothing more than a ruined temple with a tour guide. So what if it was smashed? What did he have to fear? He was worried about the person in front of him. He was worried that after Wu Zhu heard the Temple had been destroyed, he would remember his responsibility as guard of the Temple.

In an instant, Fan Xian"s mind changed. When the Temple was being destroyed, Uncle Wu Zhu must have heard the clamor inside but didn"t do anything earlier. So, he wouldn"t do anything now, right? He held onto extravagant hope because his body and mind were very weak. He could no longer take any ruthless actions. He had spent an entire day and night, and his life, to touch the icy heart beneath the black cloth and persuade Wu Zhu to go with him. If something happened now, he would probably even contemplate dying.

Fan Xian did not blame Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g. He knew his two friends saw that he was about to die and could not bear to see it. Thus, they had taken such an unusually daring action. Furthermore, the destruction of the Temple took away a lock on Uncle Wu Zhu"s soul, allowing him to turn from a statue into a living person.

Thinking of this, he felt grat.i.tude toward Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g. He knew they were not like him, who had knowledge and experience of his previous life. In their hearts, particularly for Haitang who had spent her whole life in service to the Temple, the Temple was a sacred thing. Yet, they had destroyed it for him.

A number of thoughts swept like flowing light through Fan Xian"s mind. He nervously observed Uncle Wu Zhu"s slender but steady shoulder in front of him.

Wu Zhu did not move.

…

…

When Fan Xian began to cough in his attempt to wake Wu Zhu, Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g had slipped into the Temple through the door that was slightly ajar. At that time, Fan Xian"s entire heart was focused on Wu Zhu in front of him. He did not notice at all while Wu Zhu seemed to pay no attention because of some kind of rising emotion.

Thus, Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g went in to wreak destruction. After they finished smashing everything, they came out, very much like gangsters who razed homes and families. However, their bodies were still trembling. Their pale faces took no turn for the better. They had never thought that in their lives not only would they be able to come to worship the Temple, but that they also would smash things in the temple into smithereens.

In the eyes of the people, the Temple occupied a very lofty and illusory position. A few days ago, they had personally seen the being floating in midair. They were not like Fan Xian who dared to show such great disrespect to an existence that completely surpa.s.sed human imagination. They had not dared to hope they would be able to defeat an immortal.

When they entered the Temple, they had not expected to live. They only wanted to disturb the thoughts of the being in the Temple to give Fan Xian a chance to be able to rescue that blind master. Who knew they would be able to so easily destroy the Temple?

The being formed in the air, but Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g pretended to be blind and did not even look. They didn"t dare to look. The being"s voice rang by their ears, but they pretended to be deaf and unable to hear it. They didn"t dare to listen. Trembling like this, sure that they would die, they went in and wreaked havoc. In the end, the being just disappeared.

There was nothing more miraculous and unbelievable than this. As Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g stood trembling outside the door of the temple, they still could not believe what they experienced in the temple.

Uncle Wu Zhu did not move, so Fan Xian relaxed slightly and looked stupidly at his two dazed friends. He thought, The way of the world was truly inexplicable. After a moment, he used some saliva to soothe his throat. When he felt he could speak, he said in a raspy voice, "You two are incredible."

…

…

Icy snow floated down on the desolate snowy plains. The sky was gray and hazy. It was impossible to tell if it was day or night. There was only the endless swirling wind and snow sweeping between the icy plains and snowy mounds, hiding much of the light. Amidst the deathly silence, there were occasionally dull barks that rang out and startled awake the millennia of silence in this snowy plain in the extreme north.

A few sleighs were braving the wind and snow, making their difficult way south. On the sleigh at the front stood a young man holding a wooden stick. Facing the wind and snow, he narrowed his eyes as he watched their direction of travel. The second sleigh was sealed particularly tightly. In front, there was a wind and snow blocking snow tent. On the sleigh, a pale-faced young man was half lying in the arms of a girl. The girl was covered in a fur coat, so it was impossible to judge her figure.

Behind the sleighs, a young man wearing cloth clothing with a strip of black cloth tied over his eyes followed them at a comfortable distance. Pulled by the snow hounds, the sleighs did not move slowly. Yet, this young blind man"s steady paces did not seem fast. In reality, he was not left behind at all.

Fan Xian gently turned his neck to glance at Uncle Wu Zhu walking step by step through the ice and snow behind the group. A faint sorrow and disappointment appeared in his eyes, but he didn"t say anything. He closed his eyes again and began to use the abundant yuanqi in the air to tend to his injuries.

Of the dozens of snow hounds that came with them on this difficult journey, most had already died. There were only 11 left. The snow hounds had probably not been so far north or to such a cold a place in their lives. Their animal instincts made them fearful and uneasy. Thus, they still couldn"t help but howl a few times at the gray sky despite Thirteenth w.a.n.g"s suppression. Fortunately, it was already their second time along this way. Otherwise, who knew if these snow hounds would be too scared to move by this snow that never melted and the environment that didn"t contain a breath of life?

After coming down from the snowy mountain, Wu Zhu still remained cold and silent. He just followed behind Fan Xian"s group at a distance without saying a single word. He still didn"t remember anything. More accurately, he didn"t know anything. He was just an icy sh.e.l.l. But, because of the single spot of light in his soul, he had come down the mountain, left the Temple, and began to follow the sleighs southward. That is, if, at this time, Wu Zhu had a soul.

That was why Fan Xian was sorrowful and disappointed. He didn"t know how long this situation would continue. He didn"t know if Uncle Wu Zhu would awaken. If he really couldn"t awaken, then Wu Zhu was still not Wu Zhu.

A snowflake was blowing in the air. It followed a strange path to the sleigh and landed on Fan Xian"s eyes. Haitang was just about to use her finger to brush this snowflake away. Unexpectedly, Fan Xian opened his eyes and looked at her with a small smile.

There was something indescribable in his warm smile. Haitang turned her gaze away and looked at Thirteenth w.a.n.g standing in the snow in front, but her face grew faintly red. From the time the two of them first met, it had been many years. She rarely revealed such feminine emotions in front of Fan Xian. However, after this journey deep into the snowy plains of the extreme north, the visit to the Temple, and the experiences that most people would not have in several lifetimes, Haitang Duoduo"s heart had long become different.

Fan Xian saw her avoid his gaze, but his smile did not fade. On the contrary, his heart felt warm. Strangely, the destruction of the Temple had the biggest effect on his mood. He knew that Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g had gone in certain of their death. Most importantly, these two people had to suppress their innate respect and fear of the Temple. Such friendship was rare to see in the world.

He narrowed his eyes. His gaze pierced through the wind and snow to land on the great snowy mountain far behind him. Logically speaking, the snowy mountain should have vanished from view long ago. But, he always felt that it was right there, that the Temple was right there.

In the snowy mountain a few days ago, Fan Xian had entered the Temple one last time and saw the mess inside. He felt complicated emotions, including a faint sense of sorrow and pity. After all, this was the last remnants of his world. If this was truly just destroyed like this by his hands…

Fortunately, as Fan Xian expected, the spots of light converged again and the warm sounding but actually emotionless elder of the Temple once again appeared. Perhaps the Temple had already deduced that the Temple"s first emissary, as well as last emissary, had already left its control, so it did not say any nonsense about clearing targets.

Fan Xian did not find out where the central control was for the Temple, or, more accurately, the military museum, was. Haitang and Thirteenth w.a.n.g had probably just destroyed some subsidiary facilities.

In the Temple, Fan Xian and the elder had a last conversation. As for the contents of the conversation, only Fan Xian himself knew. After this conversation, Fan Xian resolutely left the Temple, leaving the old man alone in the snowy mountain.

I"ll leave you here for a lifetime until the Temple develops its own consciousness. I"ll kill you with loneliness!

This was Fan Xian revenge on the Temple. He believed that in such an icy and snowy place, with no material support, the Temple could not do anything. If it really had this ability, it would not have watched as the emissaries of the temple died one by one and not be able to do anything.

Besides, there was still Wu Zhu in the world.

Fan Xian smiled tartly. Looking at his blind uncle walking through the snow behind them, his emotions were unusually complicated. Uncle Wu Zhu had been rescued. But, once he, himself, returned south, what would he face? At this time, he no longer had any fear, but there was some emotional melancholy.