Published: March 4, 2025
Chapter 31: Breakthrough
Chu Yang was quick-witted and swift, arriving before the others, slapping Stone Thousand Mountain on the chest with a powerful strike. There was a loud crack, and Stone Thousand Mountain’s sternum shattered. His body jolted, eyes bulging, and soon blood and foam gushed from his mouth and nose. He fell back, lifeless. Dead.
"Hmm?" Meng Chaoran glanced at him and immediately understood his intention, letting out a sigh.
"Master, it's better for me to do it. He has oppressed us for a long time; today is a good chance to vent." Chu Yang said flatly.
Meng Chaoran looked deeply at him, then reached out to pat his shoulder, wanting to say something but ultimately said nothing and walked out.
To personally kill a disciple he had nurtured for eight years, Meng Chaoran’s character would surely leave him haunted by the act. But since it was Chu Yang who did it, it was different. Although Stone Thousand Mountain still died before him, it wasn’t by his own hand, and that feeling would be much lighter.
How could Meng Chaoran not understand Chu Yang's intentions?
Chu Yang let out a sigh, looking at Stone Thousand Mountain’s corpse on the bed, and couldn’t help but curse, "Die so easily, it’s really a bargain for you." This was not wrong; had it not been for Meng Chaoran’s sudden arrival, with Chu Yang’s methods and the accumulated resentment from two lifetimes, he would have made Stone Thousand Mountain suffer to the point of wishing for death.
Chu Yang finally understood why Meng Chaoran named him Chu Yang. First, it was because of the character "Chu" on the jade pendant, and second, because of the character "Chu" in "Night Early Morning." Chu Yang, phonetically resembling the morning sun?
And "Early Morning," wasn’t it similar in meaning to his own name?
As for Tan Tan’s "Tan," didn’t it represent "ephemeral"? Was that Meng Chaoran lamenting the brevity of love?
Chu Yang suddenly realized how much pain his master must have felt. The most difficult thing in life is the "separation between life and death." Among these four words, "separation" comes first, indicating that "separation" is much more painful than "death."
"Death," though painful for a moment. But "separation," that pain lingers for a lifetime. As long as one lives, that suffering, that torment, will never cease!
"Night Early Morning..." Chu Yang quietly recited, focusing intently on the direction Meng Chaoran had left, and silently vowed: "Master, I have remembered this name."
Turning his head to look at Stone Thousand Mountain’s wide-eyed corpse, Chu Yang remained silent for a moment, a complicated emotion rising from his heart. He truly felt: he had genuinely altered the trajectory of some lives!
In his previous life, Stone Thousand Mountain should have lived for another four years, but within a month of his rebirth, Stone Thousand Mountain had died at his hands...
Chu Yang was silent for a while, wrapped the corpse in a quilt, and slowly walked out. Upon returning, he unexpectedly found that Tan Tan had prepared a table of dishes during this time, steaming hot.
What was even more surprising was that Meng Chaoran had not disappeared; he was quietly seated in the main position, seemingly waiting for him. Everything was just as it had always been.
Seeing Chu Yang enter, Tan Tan’s eyebrows twitched, rubbing his hands nervously, he asked, "So... Senior Brother... uh, Stone Thousand Mountain...?"
"He's dead. I killed him." Chu Yang said calmly and then sat down. Tan Tan murmured in response, lowering his head, suddenly feeling a complete loss of appetite. He had heard Stone Thousand Mountain's words earlier and felt in his heart that Stone Thousand Mountain deserved to die. Yet, for some reason, he still felt a faint sadness. After all, they had spent so many years together, and Tan Tan had not discovered Stone Thousand Mountain’s true nature before.
Meng Chaoran was silent for a moment, picked up his chopsticks, and said, "Eat." His expression was calm, as if the incident had never happened, as if Stone Thousand Mountain had never existed in the Purple Bamboo Garden.