Chapter 120
Chapter 120
Under the earnest gazes of the two young people, Ren Xuan began recounting a story from the past.
That late autumn fifteen years ago was the first time he had gone to Mount Yunhe.
To show his sincerity, he had traveled alone, without bringing a single guard or servant.
The place was very far from the capital. By land, even with the finest horse and no stops for rest, it would still take five days and five nights to reach the foot of the mountain.
The mountain path after that was extremely steep. It took another half day to climb to the summit.
When he arrived, all he saw were maple leaves covering the mountainside.
He found Ren Yao beneath a tree, playing with seven or eight little Taoist boys.
The oldest among them looked to be only two or three years older than his own son.
The rest of the little ones, however, appeared to be just two or three years old.
When Ren Yao saw his elder brother arrive, he said to the older child, “Xiaochu, take your junior brothers and go play.”
The older child answered and led the group of children away.
Ren Xuan could not help asking, “Why are there so many children on Mount Yunhe?”
Ren Yao smiled. “Most of them are abandoned infants I picked up while traveling over the years.”
“…”
Only then did Ren Xuan understand.
All these years, his younger brother had been wandering outside, yet he often borrowed money from him for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes he had even used Ren Xuan’s name to withdraw money from banks.
And yet Ren Yao himself was always “dressed in rags,” without even one decent piece of clothing to his name.
So this was where all the money had gone.
For a moment, Ren Xuan did not know what to say.
Ren Yao, however, sidled over and slung an arm around his elder brother’s neck, as improper as he had been when they were children.
“Elder Brother, you came all this way. Surely it wasn’t just to hold me accountable, was it?”
“That sum I ‘put on credit’ at Huitong Bank last time was meant to make winter clothes for these children.”
Ren Xuan had wanted to demand whether that could really be called “putting it on credit.”
Hadn’t Ren Yao plainly dragged out the name of Renxuan Marquis Manor to intimidate them?
But when he thought of the older child just now, whose old padded jacket was covered in countless patches and would likely be unwearable once the weather grew any colder, he could only give a muffled snort. “Since you were doing something proper, I’ll let you off this time.”
Ren Yao’s smile faded, and he asked, “How has Donglang been lately?”
At the mention of his son, Ren Xuan’s expression immediately darkened.
“Those methods you gave me do help somewhat, but in the end, they only address the symptoms, not the root. I’m afraid… that child…”
Ren Yao immediately cut him off. “My master should be coming out of seclusion in the next couple of days. Once he does, we’ll go plead with him together.”
Ren Xuan stayed on the mountain for two days.
At dusk on the third day, Ren Yao’s master, Lingxu Zhenren, finally emerged from seclusion. When he learned that someone had come seeking an audience, however, he refused to meet him and only summoned Ren Yao to his room.
Ren Xuan waited anxiously outside.
Nearly two hours passed before his younger brother came out.
“Ah Yao, what did the Zhenren say? Is he willing to see me?”
Ren Yao smiled calmly and told him, “Master has already told me the method to save Donglang. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go down the mountain with you.”
Only then did Ren Xuan’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settle.
He wanted to ask his brother exactly what method it was.
But Ren Yao only looked mysterious. “This is a secret art of Mount Yunhe. It cannot be divulged.”
Early the next morning, when Ren Xuan woke, he heard the sound of children crying.
Upon learning that their Little Martial Uncle was leaving, the young Taoist boys had joined forces to block Ren Yao’s way.
The older child was crying the hardest. “Little Martial Uncle, once you leave, no one will bring me tasty food or make fun toys for me anymore.”
Ren Yao patted his face and called him by his full name. “Yan Zhengchu, none of your junior brothers are crying as hard as you are. And you call yourself their senior brother?”
The older child buried his snot-and-tear-covered face straight into Ren Yao’s arms. “Little Martial Uncle, I don’t want you to go. You said you would teach me how to catch ghosts.”
“After Martial Uncle goes down the mountain, your master will teach you.”
“I want Martial Uncle to teach me. Master is always so fierce.”
Ren Yao wiped the boy’s face with his sleeve, not minding the mess in the slightest. “There, there. Follow your master and learn your Daoist arts properly. In the future, the revival of Mount Yunhe will depend on you.”
Amid the children’s sobs and wails, Ren Yao still followed Ren Xuan down the mountain.
That day, the maple leaves seemed as if they meant to dye half the sky red.
After they had walked a long way, Ren Xuan looked back and could still see that blaze of crimson.
At the same time, he could also see his own younger brother’s reddened eyes.
It was obvious Ren Yao could not bear to leave those children either.
Ren Xuan teased him with a smile. “Back then, when I told you to find a good match and get married, you insisted on running up this mountain to learn spells and catch ghosts.”
“Well, look at you now. Have you become a father to a whole pack of little Daoists?”
Ren Yao smiled, but there was a trace of bitterness in that smile.
“In recent decades, Mount Yunhe has had fewer and fewer disciples. Now we cannot even compare to that little Daoist temple at the foot of the mountain.”
“For these children, simply having enough to eat and warm clothes to wear is already extremely difficult.”
“I only hope that in the future, Brother can offer them more support.”
Ren Xuan gave a cold snort. “We’ll talk after Donglang is cured.”
They rode all the way back to the capital.
They had only just arrived at the gates of the Marquis Mansion when a servant rushed up in a panic. “Marquis, Marquis… the young master, he… something terrible has happened.”
Ren Xuan hurriedly dismounted. In his haste, he nearly stumbled on the steps.
Ren Yao, behind him, caught him in time.
“Brother, there is no need to worry too much. I am here.”
That day, the Renxuan Marquis Manor was overflowing with Baleful Qi. For some unknown reason, nearly every wandering ghost in the capital surged toward it.
Ren Yao immediately brought out the Jade Sword and set it in the air above the courtyard of the South Garden, finally stopping those Yin Soul entities from invading.
But the child inside had been invaded by a strange Yin-Sha Qi, and his life was in danger at any moment.
His pale little face carried an eerie bluish tint. He clutched his Little Uncle’s hand tightly. “Little Uncle, a ghost wants to kill me. I feel awful! Save me!”
The Marquise, Lady Rong, was crying so hard she could barely stand. She wanted to go forward, but Ren Yao stopped her.
“Brother, take Sister-in-law outside. Leave this to me.”
Ren Xuan was frantic as well, but he could only choose to trust his younger brother. He pulled his wife out of the room. “Ah Yao, be careful.”
Outside, gusts of yin wind blew, rattling the window lattice without pause, as if countless ghostly hands were knocking at the door.
He heard Ren Yao shout from inside the room, “As long as I, Ren Yao, am here, you evil creature can forget about harming my nephew!”
Then the entire Marquis Mansion was plunged into darkness.
Ren Xuan held his wife tightly and stared up at the ink-black sky, not daring to breathe.
He did not know how much time had passed before Ren Yao’s white Jade Sword, suspended in the air, let out a clear jade chime. A beam of luminous white light pierced through the black clouds above the Marquis Mansion.
At that moment, the yin wind stopped, the black clouds dispersed, and the sky brightened once more.
Then the Jade Sword, as if summoned, flew back into the room.
Ren Xuan hurried to the door and asked, “Ah Yao, how is it inside?”
Only after a while did Ren Yao’s voice come through, sounding incomparably weak.
“Brother, listen to me first…”
The moment Ren Xuan heard him, he knew something was wrong. He hurriedly pushed at the door, only to find that no matter what he did, it would not open.
“Ah Yao, what happened?”
Inside, Ren Yao let out a soft sigh before speaking again. “Brother, I think… I need to rest for a while.”
“When you come in later, place me in the secret chamber inside the artificial hill in the rear garden of your study.”
“After Donglang wakes, try not to mention me again in the Marquis Mansion…”
“When he grows up, if one day you can no longer hide it from him, then tell him about this as you see fit…”
“And… those little Daoists on Mount Yunhe, I leave them to you, Brother… Please look after them well.”