Good jade emits smoke; it can be seen but not placed before one’s eyes. [Note 1]

The whole Forget-Your-Sorrow Valley exudes an evil atmosphere.

The last time Cheng Qian entered Wangyou Valley, he was still a child who knew nothing. He didn't understand how he accidentally got there. This time, he walked in consciously, but it seemed like he encountered a ghost wall. He wandered around the periphery for a long time, but always returned to the starting point.

The death of his master had dealt him such a heavy blow that he had only a vague memory of the time when he and Shuikeng escaped from Wangyou Valley. He only remembered that although he ran in a rather embarrassing manner, there seemed to be only more wild beasts along the way and it was not particularly dangerous.

However, at this moment, his extremely ferocious frost blade was lying at his side like a sheep, terrified as hell.

Cheng Qian silently circulated the true energy in his body, recited the Pure and Tranquil Sutra, made a hand gesture, and gently wiped the area around his eyes. A frost flashed in his eyes. The usual evil tricks would be exposed in the eyes of such a spirit. However, when Cheng Qian looked around, his brows slowly frowned.

The valley was so peaceful, so peaceful that it seemed almost eerie.

The mountains are like jade, the jungles are beautiful - but in such a large valley, there is neither the aura of demons nor the fresh air of mountains and rivers.

Silent, like a painting.

Cheng Qian did not move rashly. He sat down silently, holding onto Yuan Yi and trying his best to calm his slightly restless mood. Then, a question came to his mind - he remembered that his master had said that the great master and his companions "fought all the way from Mount Fuyao to Wangyou Valley, two hundred miles away".

Why is it Forget-Your-Troubles Valley?

Is it that Fuyao Mountain is not big enough for those powerful people to display their talents?

When Cheng Qian was young, he had no common sense and was completely in the dark about everything in the world of cultivation. He always thought that ghosts were just things he would bump into when walking on the road at night. It was not until he cultivated his primordial spirit and encountered a heavenly tribulation that he began to vaguely feel something omnipresent - as if everything that happened in the world had a hidden metaphor and was in line with some mysterious destiny.

What is the metaphor of “Forget-Your-Sorrow Valley”?

Was it really just a coincidence that he accidentally entered the Forget-Your-Trouble Valley?

The sky gradually darkened, and the scent of warm jade smoke in the valley gradually dimmed. A rustling sound came from the wind, as if countless people were walking past him in an indifferent and orderly manner.

When the last ray of sunlight set behind the mountain, his frost blade suddenly began to buzz without warning.

Cheng Qian suddenly opened his eyes, only to see a ragged mortal child standing in front of him at some point.

The child had thin arms and legs, and looked like he had not eaten enough. Only his head looked particularly big. He looked to be seven or eight years old at most. When he grinned, you could see his baby teeth.

He squatted quietly on the side, and when he saw Cheng Qian open his eyes and look at him, he raised his chin and laughed.

Cheng Qian had been in seclusion in the icy pond in Mingming Valley for decades before he broke out. Naturally, he carried an aura of "ice is cold and no one is allowed to enter". If he did not restrain his aura, not only mortals but also ordinary cultivators would be frightened when they saw him.

But the mortal boy in front of him showed no fear at all. He curiously stretched out his dirty finger and tapped the icy blade. Perhaps he was frozen, so he withdrew his finger with a grin and asked, "Scholar, why are you sitting here sleeping alone?"

Cheng Qian paused and said, "I am not a scholar."

"Oh, then are you a scholar?" The child opened his eyes wide, "My father said that only scholars can wear long robes like yours. Country people have to work in the fields and can't afford to wear them."

It was impossible to explain to a country boy who knew nothing, so Cheng Qian didn't say much and just smiled at him.

The child bared his gapped teeth and said, "My name is Erlang. Do you want to go into the valley? My home is over there."

After saying that, he raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Wangyou Valley. Cheng Qian's heart moved slightly. When did people start to live in Wangyou Valley?

Looking at the child again, Cheng Qian felt as if something was wrong with him. He immediately stood up and followed the jumping child into the valley thoughtfully.

Strangely enough, the road that had been winding around seemed to suddenly open up, revealing a smooth path that easily let the two of them in.

Erlang walked very restlessly. Sometimes he would catch fireflies, sometimes he would squat to pick flowers, sometimes he would pick up pebbles and throw them into the ditch, and sometimes he would grab the hem of Cheng Qian's clothes with his muddy hands and chatter incessantly.

"My family didn't live here before. We suffered a disaster a while ago. My father died and my mother didn't want me anymore. So I moved here with my grandfather and many other villagers."

Cheng Qian had a vague guess in his mind, so he asked, "What disaster?"

"I don't know," Erlang said, "I don't understand. Grandpa and the others said it was a punishment from the gods or something. Oh, the gods are really bad. Mr. Juren, where do you live? Are you an official?"

Cheng Qian paused, but the child did not expect him to answer. He grabbed Cheng Qian's sword-holding hand fearlessly, raised his head and said in a mature manner: "Then you must be a good official."

Cheng Qian's hand trembled slightly.

Because of his martial arts skills, his body temperature was already much lower than that of a normal person, and he was holding an extremely cold object, the Frost Blade, in his hand. Even so, he was still chilled by the child.

Cheng Qian lowered his head, and Erlang gave him a carefree, toothless smile. He saw a few bright red spots between the collar and cuffs of the child, which could barely cover his body.

It is said that only people who have frozen to death will have such bright red spots.

In an instant, Cheng Qian suddenly realized that only in a place of eternal sleep could he forget the worries of this world.

He paused and asked in a low voice: "Are you cold?"

After hearing this, Jilang shook his head with a playful smile: "I still feel hot!" [Note 2]

His features were peaceful, but there seemed to be some pale marks on his face.

At this time, an old voice came from a distance: "Erlang, go home quickly!"

After Erlang heard this, he immediately let go of Cheng Qian's hand and jumped up and down, saying, "Here I come!"

He jumped twice lively on the spot and said to Cheng Qian, "My grandfather called me, Mr. Juren, where are you going? Ask someone yourself."

After saying that, the child hummed some country tune from somewhere and skipped away.

But there is no shadow underneath.

"Hey." Cheng Qian suddenly called him, and Erlang turned around with a pair of innocent big eyes.

Cheng Qian stood there quietly, leaning on the Frost Blade with countless dead souls. In the misty night, he looked like a handsome statue. He said softly, "When I was young, I was also called Erlang."

For a moment, he seemed to see the complicated bifurcation of fate after countless joys, sorrows, anger and happiness.

Ever since his soul moved into the Soul Gathering Jade, he has never felt so clearly the connection with the joys and sorrows of the world.

After hearing this, Erlang looked at him in surprise, scratched his messy hair, and ran away smiling.

Cheng Qian exhaled lightly, and suddenly a desire arose in his heart. If there really is a place for the dead in this world, then...

He turned into a shadow, passing through the beautiful but lifeless village like the wind, and went straight into the heart of the valley.

The roaring tigers, howling apes, and packs of wolves that he encountered last time were all gone. Cheng Qian vaguely understood that the hungry wolves and wild beasts that made him flee in panic were just a weak nightmare when he was young and had "a weapon in his heart but no claws in his hands."

This time, Cheng Qian did not get lost again, and he quickly found Tong Ru's body.

It was a new moon night, the sky was clear, no moon was visible, only thousands of stars, the bones that had been there for years seemed to have an indescribable tranquility and kindness, and did not look scary. Cheng Qian could almost feel the faint resonance between the frost blade and the skeleton in front of him.

At this moment, the scene in front of me suddenly changed, as if a curtain covering something was drawn open.

A voice gently asked him in his ear: "When was the happiest time in your life? When was the most painful time? Why did you choose this path? Have you regretted it over the years?"

This voice was extremely familiar, but Cheng Qian couldn't figure out where he had heard it before. In an instant, he saw his weasel master holding the young him and rushing into the rain, mumbling something in his mouth. The gray-faced child in the dilapidated temple raised his head ignorantly, holding a beggar's chicken that had just been knocked out of the mud...

After a long journey, they suddenly arrived at the Fuyao Mountain, a gentle place surrounded by flowers. The arrogant young man perfunctorily instructed the little girl to give a handful of pine nut candies to each child in front of them. Little Cheng Qian, who was not as tall as an adult, showed disapproval on his face. As soon as he went out, he nonchalantly handed the bag of candies to his equally annoying junior brother.

Cheng Qian walked over as if possessed by a ghost, reached out to take the bag of pine nut candies, and put one in his mouth. The intense sweetness stimulated his tongue, which had not tasted the sour, sweet, bitter and spicy flavors for a long time, and he almost felt dazed.

Cheng Qian involuntarily let the child on the stairs pass and slowly walked towards the young man who had to comb his hair eight hundred times a day. Looking at him arrogantly ordering the maids and Taoist boys around, something in his heart suddenly burst and drowned him.

Cheng Qian suddenly took a step forward, raised his hand and hugged the young man into his arms, as if he was hugging the only treasure in his life.

The eldest brother was still a young man with a thin frame. He was slightly slower than his peers and barely reached Cheng Qian's lips.

Cheng Qian raised his head slightly and rested his chin on the young man's head. For a moment, his vision became a little blurry.

This was the happiest moment of his life, but also the most painful moment.

He faced himself without any worries, hugged the person he missed most, and knew clearly where his life was going. At the same time, he also knew clearly that all this was fake and all hope was as slim as the ray of light at sunset.

When the years pass, you are already dead.

At this moment, a sigh suddenly came from his ears, and Cheng Qian's arms suddenly felt empty. He raised his head and saw that many illusions had disappeared. Master Mu Chun stood in front of him at some point. Bei Ming Jun Tongru was a little further away, his hands and feet were bound by black chains, and his body was shrouded in a ball of white light. Sharp swords appeared in the white light all the time, scraping his flesh and blood, but he sat side by side with his own bones very peacefully, without any sign of pain.

Cheng Qian: "Master? Master... Grandmaster, what is this..."

Tong Ru nodded at him from a distance and said, "This crime is unforgivable. After death, you will be tortured by mountains of swords and seas of fire, and cut into pieces by thousands of knives. Doesn't it look bloody?"

Cheng Qian: “…”

Master Mu Chun waved at him with a smile and said with emotion: "Even after growing up, you still have this expressionless face. You are not likable at all."

Cheng Qian said softly, "Does it seem likable to act like a demon and cause trouble every day like the eldest brother?"

Master Mu Chun laughed and said, "Since he is so annoying, why are you still holding on to him?"

Cheng Qian's face darkened slightly, and he closed his eyes for a long while before he whispered, "Yes, I was too presumptuous."

Master Mu Chun's smile gradually faded. He wanted to raise his hand to touch Cheng Qian's head as usual. However, when he raised his hand, he found that Cheng Qian was taller than him, and it was a bit difficult for him to reach it. For a moment, his hand stopped in mid-air in embarrassment.

Cheng Qian silently put the Frost Blade aside and knelt down.

Mu Chun Zhenren: "How did you get here?"

"Forget-your-sorrow Valley is a place of death in the human world," Tong Ru said calmly from a distance, "Most of the displaced souls in the world will wander here for a while and then disperse. There are also those who are neither alive nor dead, waiting here to decay with the grass and trees. Normally, living people cannot enter. Last time, when the Soul-Eating Lamp and I, two great evil creatures, perished together, it activated his half-finished Soul-Chasing Talisman. Because you are no longer a living person, and these two little things cannot be considered human beings, they were wrapped up together... This time he is no longer a mortal body, so of course he can come and go freely."

Cheng Qian smiled bitterly and said, "My soul is in the Three Realms, and my body is outside the threshold. From now on, I will not be able to say 'the mind is enslaved by the body' anymore."

Master Mu Chun looked at him deeply and asked, "Kid, what are you doing in Wangyou Valley?"

Cheng Qian recounted the entire incident in detail.

"Oh," Master Mu Chun had no expression on his face. After a moment, he said coldly, "I thought you were here to visit the graves, but you turned out to be here to dig graves."

Cheng Qian: “…”

Although that is indeed the case.

Master Mu Chun put his hands into his sleeves and sighed, "Alas, raising an apprentice is worse than a dog. When he grows up, he will be an ungrateful wolves."

Tong Ru laughed and said, "You are obsessed. My Fuyao sword practice does not use external objects as a medium. We all start with wooden swords, and the master is just a decoration. Of course, there is no messy guidance around us... If you are talking about guidance, it is only the Fuyao wooden sword method itself. What, have you forgotten the scene when you were led into the sect by that wooden sword when you were a child?"

Every time a young man picks up a wooden sword for the first time and immerses himself in the seemingly ridiculous opening move, he will be led by the wooden sword into the realm of sword intent. Cheng Qian's mind raced, and he immediately understood something.

Tong Ru smiled slightly, the shackles on her hands jingling, and said, "That's it, go, and don't come again. And next time you come, I'm afraid you won't be able to see us."

Those who are neither alive nor dead are waiting here to decay with the plants and trees.

Cheng Qian couldn't help but ask, "Master, have you really been to the Three Lives Secret Realm back then?"

The corners of Master Mu Chun's eyes twitched slightly, as if a sentence reminded him of something extremely painful.

"Yes, I have been there," Tong Ru said without changing his expression, like an old monk in meditation, "I went to ask Xu Yingzhi, and he told me three very bad omen, and advised me to obey fate and wait for death. I felt that it was useless to keep such a friend for the New Year, so I went back and passed the seal of the headmaster to little...your master, and I made a mistake myself."

"No regrets...what?"

"'Don't look back if you have come here, and don't regret your move', oh, everyone also calls it 'The Heart Demon Platform'," Tong Ru said, "Fuyao Mountain is an innate secret realm, I'm sure you know that, according to legend, this secret realm was moved here by an ascended great being from outside the Three Realms to guard the Heart Demon Platform and separate the human world from the demons, and my Fuyao clan is the one who was ordered to guard the gate."

Cheng Qian was stunned when he heard this: "Really?"

"Most of it is fake, similar to Hongjun's awakening of knowledge and Pangu's creation of the world, it's just a story," Tong Ru looked at him with a smile. When the leader of all demons smiled, he was not scary at all, but rather very friendly. "But the stage is real. There is a heaven-defying object on the stage..."

Cheng Qian blurted out: "What you wish for will become a stone?"

"After I entered the Three Lives Secret Realm, I became obsessed and went astray. I braved the world's condemnation and walked up the 108,000 steps of the No Regrets Terrace to take out the stone that had been sealed for thousands of years by the Fuyao Mountain. Ignoring the dissuasion of the Four Saints, I sacrificed millions of lives and made an unforgivable wish for it."

His last few words actually had a chilling meaning. Cheng Qian suddenly remembered what his master said when he sealed the North Sea Soul: "People died in vain in your hands", and his heart couldn't help but feel cold.

"The dead souls you met outside the valley, if you calculate it, are actually the result of the cause you sowed that time," Tong Ru said with a wry smile, "My sin is unforgivable, but it can be regarded as... my private wish coming true."

Cheng Qian couldn't help but ask, "Who led you into the Three Lives Secret Realm back then?"

Tong Ru showed no resentment on her face, she just said, "He who got his retribution."

Cheng Qian wanted to ask more questions, but Master Mu Chun suddenly sighed and interrupted him, saying, "Xiao Qian, it's almost dawn."

The sky was already turning light in the east, and Cheng Qian was suddenly startled.

Master Mu Chun looked at him and said with a smile, "I was hoping you could stay a little longer, but it seems like that's not possible."

It was fine before, but somehow, when Cheng Qian heard this, tears almost fell. After holding back for a long time, he finally choked and said, "I want to stay here with my master forever, but I have a 100-day appointment with someone, and I dare not break it."

Not far away, Tong Ru smiled a bitter smile, as if she was relieved, but also as if she was reminiscing about something.

He suddenly raised his hand, and the chains around his body made a "clattering" sound. The sword and knife energy on his body surged, pushing Cheng Qian out.

Master Mu Chun's face gradually became blurred, and thousands of ghosts flew past him quickly.

Cheng Qian knew nothing for a moment.

The author has something to say: Note 1 "The fine jade emits smoke... when it is placed before the eyebrow" - Sikong Tu's "Letter to Ji Pu"

Note 2: Some people who freeze to death have the illusion that they are very hot before they die.