A sound of chiming bells awakened the beautiful scenery of Crescent Moon spring from its five year long slumber. A Miao woman, who anyone would praise as a peerless beauty  stepped inside. However, compared with the average woman, she seemed to be taller. But a single glance at her face, and anyone would agree that her stature could easily justify her fierce momentum. The woman’s eyebrows were sharp, but they did not look out of place in her visage.  

[T/N: Author uses female words to describe LH]

The beautiful eyebrows were slightly raised.

Hmm, it’s pretty clean. Does that man come every year?

Five years ago, shortly after Duan Feiqing had left. Lu Heng’s beloved mother was killed in an accident while she was cultivating the Gu. Lu Heng, who suddenly faced the death of his close relative, chose to enter the ten thousand Gu Cave to practice Gu techniques in order to improve faster and take over the burden of commanding the five immortals cult, and subsequently, all Miao people.

Before leaving, he had left a letter in Crescent Moon Spring, explaining his whereabouts. He mentioned that until he didn’t succeed in completing his Gu technique, he would not come out of the ten thousand Gu cave. Later, he set up an array to seal the Crescent Moon spring. No one could enter except him and Duan Feiqing, whose body contained the poison neutralizing Gu personally refined by him.

In the cave, there were many rare things from the Central Plains that Duan Feiqing used to tell him about. On the stone table, there was a Guqin. Duan Feiqing had once claimed that he was good at playing the Guqin. This man was really treating this place as his home. Next to the Guqin was a stack of letters. Lu Heng went to pick it up. On the top of the envelope, it said “To be personally opened by my dear* Heng.”.

T/N: “ah” – An endearing term, not necessarily romantic.

Duan Feiqing, as promised, returns to the Crescent Moon spring every year. Even if Lu Heng had left a letter saying that he would not leave Miao village for several years, he would still come to wait for Lu Heng every year.

Lu Heng sat down on the rattan chair beside him and found that there were several silk cushions placed on the rattan chair. He raised his hand and unfolded the letter.

“My dear Heng: It has been a while, I am missing you so much. Last night, you appeared in my dream. We were sitting in each other’s embrace. Ever since we separated, I have never felt so happy.”

“My dear Heng: I hope you are well. I will be coming back during New Years Festival. I have prepared the Guqin in case you want to hear me play.  As soon as the spring festival is over, I will bring it to Miao territory. ”

“My dear Heng: I heard that you are going for seclusion into the Ten Thousand Gu cave. I am very worried. I hope you can come back safely…”

In addition to these greetings and his feelings of longing for him, Duan Feiqing also penned down everything he had experienced in recent years.

When he came back to the Central Plains, he found that the hypocrite had used the excuse of closed door secluded cultivation for his [Feiqing’s] three years in captivity. After that, Feiqing, a famous youth whose name was well known throughout the world, was said to have died soon after he joined the Taichu sect following the great changes in his family*. This was also the reason why Feng Weifang didn’t chase after him. Anyway, with Duan Feiqing’s injury, he wouldn’t live long. Even if Duan Feiqing revealed the truth before he died, compared to the highly respected Feng Weifang, there was no other evidence, and no one would believe the words of a young man.

T/N: The implication is that DF had an accident in his martial arts seclusion from sorrow and died

Duan Feiqing returned to the Taichu school and met Feng Weifang. When the other person’s mind was in turmoil, he took control of the man with the soul devouring article from his cultivation technique. This soul devouring article was the most feared one in the <<mind Sutra of demons>>. It was extremely powerful and could control people’s mind and spirit.

Later, Duan Feiqing intended to find out the mysterious organization hiding behind the scenes  through Feng Weifang. The more he learned, the more he was scared. The organization seemed to be huge, and the victims were not only Duan family. A few decades ago, several massacres seemed to be inextricably linked to this mysterious organization.

After reading the letter on the desk, Lu Heng turned the snake shaped silver bracelet on his hand and wondered if he would leave for the Central Plains one of these days. Of course, it was not to see Duan feiqing, Lu Heng silently muttered this in his heart. When Lu Heng’s Mother had died, she told him a story about the stupid things she did when she was young, and about Lu Heng’s past.

The young lady who had just left the Miao area for the first time was pure and passionate, and was attracted to the son of an aristocrat who had been recuperating in biezhuang. After that, they promised to be with each other for life. The son of the aristocratic family was born with a heart disease. After an attack, his life fell in great danger. How could Nadolo see her sweetheart’s death? Thinking that this man was her life partner she had always imagined about, she pulled him back from death’s doorstep with the most precious treasure of the cult, the golden silkworm Gu.

After her sweetheart recovered, Nadolo thought that she could return to Miao territory and settle down with her sweetheart, and live a life full of love. Unexpectly she found out that her beloved had a main* wife.

T/N: In ancient china, polygamy was considered normal. The main wife had legal spouse status and went into family records and tombstone.

At the time she confronted him, the son of the aristocratic family was not even the tiniest bit apologetic and instead promised to treat Nadolo as his equal* wife. But he didn’t know that the Miao people believed that love was meant to be between two people and there was no place for a third person to step in. It was not common for a young Miao woman to do something like rob another person of their husband.

T/N: Equal wife had legal  spouse status, was recorded in family record and tombstone unlike concubines, and inherited first wife status if the previous first wife died.

After exhausting her body and mind, Nadolo angrily returned to Miao, but when she left, she was unable to retrieve the golden silkworm gu from the man. After returning to the Miao village, she found that she was pregnant. Nadolo only told the people that the father of the child was a Miao person who she had met during her travels and lived in seclusion in other places.

A few years after Lu Heng was born, Nadolo went back to the Central Plains to try to find the man. Golden silkworm Gu was the sacred Gu of the five immortals cult. How could it stay on a Han person all the time. But Nadolo didn’t think about taking that person’s life. She has always been free and easygoing. It’s just that in the past when she was young, she couldn’t distinguish people clearly. At that time, Nadolo had refined the life Gu, which could be used to replace the golden silkworm Gu. Although it couldn’t make someone be as strong and healthy as the golden silkworm Gu did, there was no problem to live until the end of one’s life as long as one took good care of their health.

“It’s just that I didn’t expect that the name the man told me turned out to be false.” Nadolo cut the skin on her wrist, and a golden bug the size of a grain of rice crawled out.

“This golden silkworm gu tracker gu is still on me. In the past ten years, I have sensed the man use the golden silkworm gu several times. How can the sacred gu of the five immortals cult be used by the Han people?” Nadolo put tracker Gu in the palm of Lu Heng, “I intended to use this tracker Gu to recall the golden silkworm Gu to Miao, but I had no idea how that man had suddenly learnt the technique of controlling Gu. Instead, it backfired on me.”

“Heng-dear, you are more talented than Mom with your techniques. I hope you can go to the Central Plains to find a way to retrieve the golden silkworm gu after you have become the leader of the cult and mastered your techniques. ”

“The man’s life?” Although that person was Lu Heng’s own father, but his Mom was dying because of him, Lu Heng didn’t have a fraction of goodwill towards his father.

“When I learned that he had lied to me, all my feelings for him evaporated. Heng dear, your own safety is the most important thing. I suffered a loss simply because my distance from ths golden silkworm gu was too vast. As long as you can find that person, have tracker Gu on you, and if you are able to master the most orthodox Gu technique, The golden silkworm Gu will surely prioritize listening to your control.” Nadolo took a breath. “As for the man’s life, do what you want. Don’t shackle yourself with Mom’s wishes or the so-called ties of blood.”

A heavy rain interrupted Lu Heng’s memory.

The month of May indicated rainy season in the Miao territory . A while ago, it was a normal sunny day. In a flash, it became gloomy. The big raindrops mercilessly pattered against the leaves outside the cave . The noise of rain filled the whole cave. Lu Heng was a little upset and played the Guqin on the table at will.

The melodious sound of guqin drowned the rustling sound of rain. Lu Heng, who was no music expert, also realized that this was a good quality guqin. He wondered how how wonderful a music would the instrument create under Duan Feiqing’s skilled fingertips.

Lu Heng suddenly longed to see the man. New Year’s festival was right around the corner. It’s better to wait for the man to return to Crescent Moon Spring. Then together they will depart to the Central Plains. A person  who is familiar with the Central Plains will make it more convenient to find the son of that aristocratic family. It’s more reliable than randomly searching around.

However, there are always many variables in the world.

If you are not reading this at isotls.com, this is stolen.

After the rain stopped, Lu Heng went back to Miao village and saw a group of people standing in front of the village. Seeing Lu Heng coming, the Miao men saluted one after another.

“Cult Leader.”

“What are you doing here?” Lu Heng frowned.

A strong muscular man clad in a cardigan came up to him: “Cult leader, our Niu from Nadulao’s family from who knows where picked up a Han woman, and had to take her home to recuperate. The rules in the village state that Han people aren’t allowed to enter. ”

Lu Heng looked towards the direction indicated by the Miao man, and was stunned at the spot. It wasn’t because of how beautiful the woman was, but because of the voice in his mind.

{A key figure has appeared, the mission scenario has started, and your system, little assistant is online.}

A large number of memories rushed into Lu Heng’s brain in a flash, like an opened flood gate. Looking back on the past 20 years, Lu Heng had an impulse to cover his face. Who is this proud and charming lady?

{Hello, little assistant, I don’t remember that the original owner was such a character. Am I not an OOC? }

{This is a special commission.  Since you were put into the growing environment of the original owner with your  memory sealed, so the requirements to fit the character are not as strict as ordinary commissions. This experience has apparently brought out a hidden side of you.} The little assistant who had been watching the entire process seemed to have enjoyed it very much.

{You’d better not let me find a screenshot or video in the forums.}

{……} Little assistant pretended to be dead.

This must be the fault of these women’s clothes. Lu Heng doesn’t want to admit that he has such a proud and charming hidden side in his heart. But now that it has become such a setup, he can only continue like this.

Lu Heng started sorting out what happened in the past 20 years. Thinking of the feeling of getting along with Duan Feiqing, Lu Heng wondered if he was Shi Kong, but in this wuxia* world, it was impossible to determine through spiritual power. In short, it’s better to wait until he meets Duan feiqing.

T/N: He uses that exact word

“Master?” The person Niu, who had picked up the Han woman, cried out timidly. At the moment when he saw the Cult leader, his head, which was fascinated by the beauty of the Han woman, finally calmed down. Seeing the master’s inexplicably gazing towards the Han woman for a long time, he wondered whether he was going to be thrown into the snake cave to roll around.

Lu Heng pointed to a stilted building outside the village, where the Han merchants from outside stays: “put her there, and when I’m sure that the Han person has no other intention, we can bring her to recuperate.”

_______