Hanshan Village.
With Yunze and the other's current physiques, even traveling overnight would be no problem. By the next morning, the two had returned to the outskirts of this desolate mountain village.
Noon, the scorching sun hung high.
As soon as they stepped into the village, the two felt a deathly silence.
What should have been a village with wisps of cooking smoke and filled with laughter and joy was now only swept by the cold wind, appearing exceptionally lonely.
"Alas..."
Yunze couldn't help but sigh, not knowing what else to say. He could only carry the large wooden chest and walk towards his own doorstep.
Bubu also remained silent, following closely behind him.
They passed Zhang's private school, skirted the blacksmith's shop, and slowly arrived before the towering tree, looking at the hundreds of gravestones erected earlier.
Yunze took a deep breath, his fists clenched, and finally couldn't help but shout forward, "Villagers, I... I'm back!"
His voice echoed, but no one responded.
Yunze said no more. With a casual palm strike, he shattered the wooden chest, then laid out the eighteen heads and a pool of blood and flesh!
The eighteen heads belonged to the yamen runners, and the pool of blood and flesh was He Laichao's.
After the battle back then, let alone heads, He Laichao didn't even have a complete bone left, so this pool of blood and flesh had to suffice.
Yunze knelt on one knee, gazing at the gravestones before him, "I promised back then that I would bring the heads of these nineteen beasts to commemorate you all!
Unfortunately, there are only eighteen now.
But rest assured, the other one, He Laichao, is also dead. His death was so brutal that no head remained!
If there is an underworld, since you have gone ahead, please take it upon yourselves to kill him one last time!
This is all this young one can do!"
As Yunze spoke, he turned to look at Bubu, "Bubu, come here."
This was the first time he had spoken to Bubu in such a commanding tone. Bubu frowned slightly, then took a step forward to his side, mimicking his action and kneeling on one knee.
"Bubu is still alive."
Yunze looked at the two gravestones near the blacksmith's shop, "Uncle Li, Aunt Li, rest assured, I will take good care of Bubu, treat her as my own sister, and not let her suffer any grievances!
Bubu, you should also bid farewell to your parents."
Bubu was momentarily speechless, even rolling her eyes slightly, but she still said, "...Travel safely."
Seeing this, Yunze said no more. He placed the eighteen heads in their spot, picked up the other frozen pool of blood and flesh, and walked towards the house.
With his parents' deaths now a foregone conclusion, and no flesh or bones for them to return to their roots, a cenotaph still needed to be erected.
He found two sets of clothes his parents often wore in the house, then dug two deep pits by the large tree, buried them, and erected a very simple cenotaph.
Then, he bent his knees and knelt before the grave, placing the pool of blood and flesh in a porcelain bowl.
"Father, Mother, your son is unfilial!"
Yunze had not intended to cry, but as these six words left his mouth, his nose involuntarily felt a pang of sorrow, and his eyes naturally welled up with tears.
"Your son thought he had avenged his enemies, but only killed an accomplice. He did not find the mastermind, nor could he even find your remains, so he could only erect a simple cenotaph to express his longing!
If you two have spirits in heaven, please bless your son to find the immortal who killed you two as soon as possible, bring back his head, and avenge you both!
If... if..."
As Yunze thought of this, the words caught in his throat, and he dared not speak them.
He wondered if his parents were truly dead.
If, as Elder Xiao had said, they were both turned into magical artifacts by a dark art, but their souls still remained.
Then, if he found that magical artifact, could he find his parents' souls?
If he could find their souls, with the profound methods of immortals, could they be revived...
Just as Yunze was speechless with grief, Bubu placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, a grown man like you, can you stop crying?"
"Who's crying!"
Yunze turned to look at Bubu, wiped away the tears in his eyes, and turned back to Bubu, "I just forgot what I was going to say for a moment!"
"Alright, no crying, no crying."
Bubu didn't say much more. She turned and walked to the large tree and sat down, "What are you planning to do next? Even if you go to the Ascension Assembly, there are still three months left."
"Travel ten thousand miles."
Yunze said, also getting up, and after glancing at the graves in front of him, he walked to Bubu's side and sat down, "I want to follow the path my parents took on their escorts, and see what the Tangshan Dynasty is truly like.
Is it like what the storyteller says, or like the stories my parents told."
This was a dream he had had since he was a child.
At that time, he had only three channels for external information.
One was his parents who returned from long escorts, one was the storyteller at the village entrance, and the other was the occasional passing wanderer.
But these three channels told him different things about the world.
From his parents, he knew the world was dangerous, and outside Hanshan Village, even within Weishan Prefecture, there were many wolves and tigers.
From the storyteller, he knew how powerful immortals were, and it was from there he heard the legends of those who could cleave the sun and moon with a single sword.
From those wanderers, he knew that the martial world was full of chivalry, and as long as one left their hometown, all under heaven were brothers!
These three accounts differed, and if he had the opportunity, he would definitely see it for himself.
Since he was going to the capital, this was naturally the best opportunity.
"There are still three months until the Ascension Assembly, there is definitely enough time."
Yunze rested his hands behind his head, trying not to think about those bothersome matters, "Let's stay home for one night before we leave. I want to rest for a day.
Then we'll go to Weishan Prefecture again, see if He Zhixuan has returned, and then decide which direction to go."
"Okay."
Bubu didn't say much, readily agreeing.
In any case, there was still plenty of time.
Afternoon.
As the sun gradually set, although Yunze didn't feel hungry, he still got up from under the tree, lit the stove, and made a bowl of noodles for himself and Bubu.
As the saying goes, dumplings for departure and noodles for return, since they had returned home, they had to eat a bowl of noodles.
Just two bowls of clear broth noodles, both Bubu and Yunze ate with great relish.
After they finished eating, they tidied up briefly and went back to their respective homes to sleep.
Neither in the afternoon nor at night did Yunze cultivate. Instead, he slept and woke according to a normal person's schedule.
After the third crow of the rooster, Yunze got up, collected ingredients, made some dumplings, and put them in the pot to boil.
Bubu, just waking up, smelled the aroma of dumplings.
She got up from the blacksmith's shop not far away, and after a few steps, she arrived at the Yun family's door, just in time to see Yunze adding firewood to the stove.
The two looked at each other, smiled, and then remained silent.
If only it could always be like this.
But both Yunze and Bubu knew in their hearts that this was clearly impossible.
In fact, when they returned to Weishan Prefecture, something happened that they could not have predicted, let alone imagined!