While Wei Ying prepared with the disciples the burial of A-Qing, I took Wen Ning aside. I asked him to explain some events that had always intrigued me in the past, especially those on the way to Qiongqi. They had always seemed suspicious to me. Wen Ning seemed to hesitate. He told me about a second flute that he was sure he had heard and whose orders contradicted those of Chenqing. I told him not to tell anyone about it and left him.

After burying A-Qing, we returned to Yi without the disciples. We had one last thing to settle. The spirit of the sword had guided us there but had not yet delivered its message.

When we entered the morgue, we found Song Lan beside the coffin of his friend Xiao Xingchen. Wei Ying gave him the Qiankun bag that contained his friend's spiritual remains. When Song Lan's trembling hands took the purse, I could not help but think of our meeting 12 years ago. We were both looking for our soul mates!

At that time, Song Lan had a better chance of finding his than me. But fate had decided otherwise. I was lucky to find Wei Ying alive. Song Lan was not.

Unable to speak, he took out his sword and wrote "Thank you" on the ground.

Wei Ying asked him what he was going to do. He wrote.

"He wrote: "To travel the world with ShangHua and exorcise the evil with Xingchen.

I handed him the sword of his soul mate. He took it and left. I watched him leave the morgue carrying the two swords on his back.

Twelve years ago, he had told me to have hope and that if I didn't find the person I was looking for in this life, I would find him in the next.

I hoped with all my heart that they would. That they would find each other one day. Like Wei Ying and me. Our eyes turned to each other at the same time. My love had probably thought the same thing as me.

We had to focus on why we were in Yi. My scholarship Qiankun guided us to a coffin. Wei Ying opened it. It was empty but filled with talisman. I released the spirit of the sword. It immediately sank into the coffin...without coming out. This was not normal.

With a blast of spiritual energy, I pushed the tomb. A tombstone covered with inscriptions appeared! Black energy flowed out of it. Wei Ying cancelled the power of the talisman that covered the coffin. I broke the lid in two with Bichen. The energy was almost palpable and it was indeed the energy of Yin Hufu. A headless body lay there. Above him, having found his master, the spirit of the sword had returned to its true form: Baxia, the blade of Nie MingJue. We had found the body of Huaisang's brother.

We sealed the tomb again for safety and the sword spirit in the dung. Then we returned to the disciples. I sent a butterfly message to warn the head of the Nie clan as promised. Then a second one to my brother who was Nie MingJue's sworn brother.

We then decided to rest in a nearby town, Tanzhou.

We arrived there a little before nightfall. The streets were very lively. Multicolored lanterns of different shapes were hanging everywhere. We decided to go to the market.

We gave appointment to the disciples, one hour later, in front of the inn where we had settled.

We strolled through the streets. Wei Ying seemed to be in a joyful, almost childlike mood. As we passed by a stall, I saw a lantern with two rabbits on it. It took me back to the very beginning of our relationship and the oath we had taken that day: "Protect the weak and the innocent. And to live without regret! I looked up and saw you smiling.

But that smile froze. What were you looking at? I followed your gaze and it landed on a child. He couldn't have been more than 4 years old. You made a move towards him but stopped dead in your tracks as you said a name: A-Yuan. You watched him play and laugh. There was sadness and regret in your eyes. You turned to me and saw that I was watching you. We looked at each other for several seconds. It was the first time you said his name. You had not forgotten the one you had considered your child. My heart was happy. Maybe I could tell you about him.

Your gaze shifted to the side and you began to smile again as you saw the rabbits on the lantern; just like me, a moment ago you had to remember. You came to me with a mischievous look and said:

"Lan Zhan, you like rabbits, don't you... let's buy them.

It's true that I liked rabbits. I liked them because you introduced me to them. Who gave them to me.

So in memory of that lantern we had made and thrown together, we bought it.

Then we went back to the inn. The disciples were waiting for us outside! What was going on? They greeted us.

SiZhui took a quick look at the lantern I was carrying. Did he remember what I had told him when he was younger?

I asked him what the problem was. He informed me that Brother had arrived. I gave him my lantern and entered the inn. Wei Ying soon joined me. He had put on his mask.

My brother was waiting in the garden behind the inn. I introduced Wei Ying to him under the name of Mô XuanYu. He did not seem surprised to see us together and smiled slightly. His face was benevolent towards No Xuan Yu. Some of the disciples who were with us at Dafan Mountain must have told him about Young Master Mon! Not to mention the story of the "little apple" that had broken everyone's ears after we left some time earlier!

I gave him an account of what we had discovered. The Nie Clan's Tomb of Blades, the sword spirit that had guided us to Yi. Our meeting with Xue Yang and Song Lan. The death of Xiao Xingchen and finally the masked man who had stolen the amulet of Yin Hufu from Xue Yang before disappearing.

I released the spirit of the sword before him. Baxia materialized. I saw the sadness on Brother's face. He asked us if we were sure that it was the body of his "Big Brother" that we had found.

Wei Ying told him that his body was perfectly preserved and that the spirit of the blade had only returned to its true form after finding its owner.

I saw Brother close his eyes. This is what he did when the emotions he felt were too strong and he needed a moment of "retreat" into himself to control them. He opened them again.

Then he pulled back the spirit of the sword. He seemed ... elsewhere. He began to tell us that he had witnessed Nie Ming-Jue's Ki deflection and had prepared for the worst.

Wei Ying looked at me and then at Brother. He told him what I had not dared to tell him when I had reported our findings.

He told him about the masked man and his knowledge of the Lan Clan's sword skills and the Jin Clan's sword skills. When Wei Ying asked him if he had any idea who this man was, my brother turned to me. I could see from his face that he knew who I was thinking of and why I had not said anything.

He knew that I had never trusted "him". I thought he was too "perfect".

I knew better than to think that there was no such thing as perfect. Everyone saw me like that. Respectful of the rules, rigorous and thoughtful in the way I acted, direct and frank ... except that it was wrong! The rules? I had broken them more than once! Thoughtful? Rigorous? My wrists proved otherwise! Direct and straightforward? I had so many secrets hidden inside me .... And I didn't like his smile, I thought it was fake and artificial!

Wei Ying continued. The masked man hid not only his face but also his sword. Both had to be known, especially to me!

We were looking for someone who knew the sword techniques of the Lan and Jin Clans, who knew the secrets of the Nie Clan, and especially who must have had a disagreement with Nie MingJue. We all knew that there was only one person who fit this description and my brother didn't like the answer. He couldn't accept it because we were talking about his "sworn brother," Jin GuangYao!

He argued that this one was with him when the events with the masked man occurred.

I pointed out that he didn't have to do it himself, he could have had an accomplice.

Brother still didn't want to believe it even though he had heard rumors about him.

In a way, I understood him. We were brothers...and we had the same reactions to our soul mates. I, too, had not accepted that Wei Ying was a demon master and that he was betraying everything that cultivation protected: justice, honor, the struggle of good against evil.

The voices of the disciples were suddenly heard. They were arguing. I could hear the name of my beloved. As usual the two parties were Jin Ling and Jingyi. But it seemed that SiZhui also had something to do with this argument. Jin Ling's words were insulting to Wei Ying.

After glancing at her, I decided to intervene. Wei Ying tried to hold me back, but I made him understand with a look that I should go.

I entered the inn. The voices started to decrease in intensity. I waited for a moment, SiZhui was talking and apologizing. I had to ask him how this argument had started! I entered the dining room.

All the disciples were present. They lowered their heads when I entered. Since it was quiet, I went to the owner of the inn and ordered some alcohol for Wei Ying. I saw a surprised raised eyebrow from SiZhui in the corner of my eye.

All the Lan disciples knew that drinking alcohol was forbidden in our sect! I half turned to them? Jingyi elbowed SiZhui to make them all go back to the table! All the teenagers scattered like a flock of birds!

The owner of the inn handed me a tray with 2 cups and a jar of alcohol. I took it and headed for the stairs to our room. I felt SiZhui's eyes following me up the stairs. He looked surprised and bewildered!

The fact that I had ordered alcohol in front of everyone had had its little effect.

They were going to question each other all evening to understand. They would have something to talk about other than their fight for their last evening together!

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)