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墨書 Inktalez
I used to think I had a great memory, but at this rate, I'm going to forget everything. How can that be? Brother Ming, I absolutely do not want to forget you.
I was just thinking, Brother Ming, when is your birthday? But I can't remember it at all, which is unacceptable. So now I have to write it down here.
You were born on the sixth day of the fifth month in the third year of the Great Yea.
Well, now I will never forget it.
However, you can forget me. Although it would make me very sad, there's nothing I can do about it, so I allow it. Brother Ming, please forget me and be happy.
We've been living under the same roof for almost five years now, which is a stroke of luck I never dared to imagine. You have no idea how hard I've worked to learn skills and practice martial arts, all in hopes of one day growing up and leaving the mountain. You live at the foot of Snowfall Villa. So, I must go to Snowfall Villa to find you.
I must find you. At that time, I still held onto beautiful dreams. When Father married Second Mother, I saw Second Mother in her bright red wedding dress. Even that fierce woman looked gentle wearing a phoenix crown; my heart was filled with mixed emotions. Brother Ming, every girl has such a dream in her heart.
Writing this makes me blush. But anyway, you won't see it, hehe!
So, five years ago, when you appeared on Wanzi Mountain as if you had descended from the heavens, do you know how happy I was?
That feeling was like... well, there’s no way to describe it; nothing else could make me this happy.
When you saw me, you smiled at me. We were both just kids when we met, yet I recognized you immediately. Was your smile meant to tell me that you recognized me too? Otherwise, why would you smile?
You were clearly so badly injured!
So my happiness lasted only a fleeting moment—so short that it vanished in an instant.
You were carried in by someone, your limbs feeling soft and weak, as if you had no strength at all. You lay on the back of that young man, barely able to wrap your arms around his neck. Your complexion was extremely pale, your lips devoid of color, making you look like a block of ice on a snowy plain. Yet even in such a state, when you saw me, you managed to force a smile.
In truth, if I were to be honest, the young man carrying you up the mountain was far more handsome. When he appeared on the mountain, all eyes were drawn to him. But in my eyes, there was only you. You had arrived, along with Han Cousin, and memories from deep within my soul came rushing back to life.
Father didn’t know you at all, yet he took you in without hesitation. He was very polite to you both and kept conversing with the boy who had carried you in. I suspected that the boy must have done something; otherwise, Father would never have taken in strangers so easily, even if you were both young.
You were recuperating on the mountain, and Father sent someone down to fetch the best doctor available. However, after examining you, the doctor could only shake his head. The young man stayed by your side without leaving for a moment, tirelessly caring for you along with Han Cousin. I wanted to care for you too, but I was held back by Second Mother.
“You're already a young lady; you need to understand the differences between men and women,” Second Mother instructed me. So I could only lean against the window, watching you while wiping away my tears. I was so worried; we had finally met again, but your condition was dire—what if something happened?
You looked slightly pained but always turned your gaze toward the window as if you could keenly see me through the panes.
I was anxious in my heart, yet there was nothing I could do to help. I felt grateful to that young man; I knew he had saved your life. So when Father decided to take him as an adopted son, I called him “Brother” without hesitation and performed a bow that wasn’t necessary. I knelt down and bowed three times before him.
I resolved to treat this young man named Nie Qiuyuan as my own brother; for his commands, I would risk my life without hesitation. Because he had stayed by your side during your injury, fiercely protecting you—everything I quietly observed.
I had also trained in martial arts since childhood and understood that within you lay a tremendous power that seemed beyond your capacity to bear. Each time it threatened to burst forth, everything around would turn colder than an iceberg. In those moments, Nie Qiuyuan would hold you tightly in his arms, desperately using his fiery strength to suppress yours.
It felt incredible because the power within you surely wasn’t your own. But what about him? For his age, his strength seemed excessive as well. He was indeed a mysterious fellow.
I eavesdropped on your conversations and learned some of your secrets.
He asked, “Sikong, why did you take on such a name?”
Yes, after coming up the mountain, the name you reported wasn’t your real name Sikong Ming but rather Luo Dachun—a name that sounded somewhat ridiculous. Why was that? I was curious too.
Your smile still reveals the way you looked years ago—gentle, cheerful, with a hint of unruliness. You said, "No matter what happens, I am still a person from Snowfall Villa, so my surname is Luo. Since you are Qiu, I shall be Chun!"
Qiu also smiled, and his smile was truly captivating. I felt grateful to the heavens that you had him by your side; it was such a fortunate thing. I didn't know what had transpired between you two, but I sensed that your existence to each other was certainly extraordinary.
Yet your conversation filled me with fear.
Qiu said, "You know well that with our strength alone, it's impossible to eliminate it. If this continues, we may lose control of it before we know it. At that point, you will be in great danger."
But your smile remained calm and untroubled: "I understand in my heart that it will come—sooner or later. Therefore, in the time remaining, being able to quietly do what I love is the best outcome."
Qiu fell silent for a long while before asking you, "Do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"
You replied, "As long as I am here, that's enough."
What does this mean? Is it that the affliction within you cannot be cured? And that it might take your life soon?
How can this be? Such a thing cannot happen!
I observed for a long time and concluded that within you lies an exceptionally powerful external icy energy. From your conversation, it was clear that this was not all; there seemed to be another unknown force at play. The two powers were constantly clashing within you, and sooner or later they would destroy you as the Container.
Though this situation was alarming, I firmly believed there must be a solution. I would not allow anyone or anything to threaten your life—absolutely not.
You don't know that I have had my own fortuitous encounter. Two years before you ascended the mountain, I met my current master. He was injured at the time and did not wish for anyone to know of his existence, so he secluded himself in a remote cave at the mountain's peak. I would bring him food regularly. Later, I discovered that he was an unfathomable master of the world.
Master and I were destined to meet. He needed several years to heal and gain enlightenment, which meant we would share several years as master and disciple. After those years passed and our bond faded away, we would part ways like strangers in the world. So even now, after training with him for two years, I still do not know his name.
If it were the Master, perhaps he would know how to heal you.
I knelt outside the cave where the Master lived for three nights, and finally, he agreed to come and take a look at you with me. We quietly observed your condition from a distance, Master. You are beyond saving, unless...
What I wanted was this "unless."
Master, in order to heal you, there must be someone who is proficient in an Inner Strength Technique, capable of absorbing another's internal energy into their own body, thus becoming this "Container" for you. However, your constitution is very special; in fact, you are not even dead yet. That alone is a tremendous Miracle. But for anyone else, it would be impossible. Whoever tries to take your place as this "Container" will only meet one fate: their meridians will shatter on the spot and they will die.
In other words, the meaning of this "unless" is that someone must be willing to die in your stead.
"Master, how does one practice this Inner Strength Technique?" I did not expect that when I asked this question, I would have no hesitation at all.
The Master handed me a coverless booklet and a Jade Medicine Bottle. "The Mind Method is all here. This bottle of medicine can help dissipate the absorbed internal energy during practice and prevent you from going astray. Go find someone willing to learn this technique."
I couldn't shake the feeling that when the Master handed me that booklet, there was a glimmer of arrogance and malice in his eyes. But then again, the Master was never kind; aside from martial arts, he taught me nothing else.
A few months after handing me the booklet, one morning, the Master suddenly left without a word. I thought this was what he meant by letting us forget each other in the rivers and lakes.
Little did the Master know that I had been secretly practicing the Inner Strength Technique from the moment I obtained the Mind Method.
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