Chapter 6 — The Abyssal King Returns

The road up the mountain east of Vân Khê Trấn is more dangerous than Bách Uyên imagined, steep cliffs mixed with dense forests obscure the sunlight, making the atmosphere gloomy even in the middle of the day. Thục Di led the way ahead, holding a knife to defend herself, occasionally stopping to cut down thorn bushes blocking the path so that Bách Uyên behind could easily keep up.

"Are you okay?" She turned back to ask when she saw him somewhat out of breath after a long uphill.

"I'm fine," Bách Uyên replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Even though he was more accustomed to manual labor than before, a mortal's physical strength was still far from the endurance he once had when he was the Venerable Lord, when a journey of thousands of miles was just a blink of an eye for him.

They stopped by a small stream in the middle of the road, sharing the dry food they brought with them. While resting, Thục Di couldn't hold back her curiosity and quietly asked about his past, even though she promised not to force him to tell everything.

"How did you live before you became what you are now?" She asked, her voice gentle, not inquisitive but simply concerned.

Bách Uyên looked at the clear stream in front of him and was silent for a long time. "I once had everything a person could dream of — power, fame, a happy family. But I also learned that there are some things, no matter how strong, that cannot protect the person you love from all dangers. My wife died the night my daughter was born. From then on, she was all I had."

"I'm sorry for asking," Thục Di spoke softly, realizing she had just touched a deep wound.

"No problem." Bách Uyên shook his head, a sad smile flashed across his face. "It's been a long time since I told anyone these things. Perhaps, sharing with a trustworthy person like you is also a kind of relief."

Thục Di didn't say anything more, just quietly sat next to him, picked up a dry branch and drew aimless zigzag lines on the wet soil along the stream, letting that silence naturally pass like a wordless way of sharing. Bách Uyên glanced at those shapeless lines, then looked at her face trying to appear calm, and realized that sometimes, not all understanding needs words to be complete.

They continued their journey, until late in the evening they found a simple thatched house hidden behind a grove of old pine trees, kitchen smoke rising from the small chimney signaling that someone was living there. An old man with white hair, wearing a rough cloth shirt, was sitting on the porch grinding medicine. He raised his head and looked at the two strangers with unusually calm eyes.

"What are you two doing here?" The old man asked, his voice low and slow.

"I heard that my predecessor is skilled in medicine, especially in strange diseases. I took the liberty to come here to ask for advice." Bách Uyên clasped his hands and bowed respectfully.

The old man looked at him intently for a long time, his eyes gradually becoming unusually sharp, no longer like the appearance of a normal old hermit. "You... the aura in your body is very strange. Once it contained an extraordinarily profound magic power, but now it's completely empty, like a jar that once contained the ocean and has now dried up. Who are you?"

Bách Uyên and Thục Di were both stunned by that terrifyingly accurate comment. Bách Uyên hesitated for a moment, then decided not to completely hide it from someone with such profound eyesight.

"Senior really has an eye for extraordinary people. This senior once had a significant position in a far away place, but for his daughter, he gave up everything. The girl is currently carrying a dark contract within her, which occurs in cycles of a celestial phenomenon called the Black Moon Eclipse. This junior is here to hope that the senior can show her how to resolve it."

The old man pondered for a long time, put down the medicine grinder, his eyes looked far away as if he were searching for a long-dormant memory. "I once read an ancient book about that type of contract, when I was serving in the palace many years ago. They called it a blood-destroying evil spell. Once embedded in the soul, no ordinary elixir or magic can remove it."

"So is there any way to resolve it, senior?" Thục Di asked impatiently on behalf of Bách Uyên, who was now clenching his fists until they turned white.

"Ancient books mention an ancient bloodline, called the purification bloodline, capable of neutralizing all dark magic at its root." The old man replied, his voice slow. "But that bloodline is said to have been extinct many generations ago. I'm afraid it will be difficult to find it again. In addition, I also vaguely remember that in this mountainous area there is an ancient temple that has been forgotten for a long time. It is said to worship a god from another realm. Perhaps there are even more ancient clues that I don't know about."

Bách Uyên felt a faint glimmer of hope. "Senior, please show me the way to that temple."

"The road to get there is not easy. It is located deep in the forbidden forest in the north. Few people in the area dare to go there because it is rumored that there is a demon guarding it." The old man said. "But if you really want to find it, I will redraw the map according to my memory."

The old man spent that evening sketching the path leading to the ancient temple, recounting what he could remember from the ancient books he had read in his youth. Bách Uyên and Thục Di listened to every word, remembering every smallest detail, knowing that this could be the only chance to find a way to save Tiểu Yên.

Before leaving the next morning, the old man looked at Thục Di for a long time, a look of confusion flashed through his eyes, as if he had just sensed something strange but had not yet been able to clearly identify it.

"Miss, the blood in your body is somewhat special, much purer than ordinary people." The old man said, his voice thoughtful. "But I'm old, my eyes are not as sharp as before, I don't dare confirm anything. Just a reminder, you should be careful to take care of your health." Thục Di did not fully understand the meaning of that sentence, just nodded in thanks and then set out with Bách Uyên to return to Vân Khê Town. But the old man's words still echoed in Bách Uyên's head the whole way home, planting a vague premonition in his heart that perhaps, right next to him, something more important than he thought was hidden.

The way back to Vân Khê Trấn was longer than the way there, because both were tired after a long day of climbing. They stopped to rest for the night in the middle of the forest, lighting a small fire to dispel the cold that crept in as night fell. Bách Uyên sat watching the fire, looking at Thục Di leaning against a tree, eyes half-closed due to fatigue but still trying to stay awake to be alert to wild animals.

"You rest, let me keep an eye on you," he said softly.

"No need, I'm used to sleeping in the forest, I just need to take a nap and I'll be awake," Thục Di replied, but still couldn't hold back her sleepiness, her head nodded and leaned on his shoulder without even realizing it.

Bách Uyên was startled slightly, but didn't have the heart to wake her up. He just sat still, letting her lean on his shoulder, his eyes looking out into the quiet night. In that rare moment of peace, he suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he had felt lonely in these long nights anymore.

He remembered what the old hermit said about Thục Di's special blood, a vague question arose in his heart but he did not dare to think further. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, or just a casual comment from an old man who had lived in seclusion for too long and was no longer as sharp as before. But nonetheless, that reminder still made him pay more attention to the girl sleeping soundly on his shoulder.

That night, nothing happened, only the chirping sound of insects and the flickering firelight illuminating two silhouettes leaning against each other in the deep, quiet forest. The next morning, when the first sunlight filtered through the leaves, the two continued on their way, carrying both the burden of anxiety and a new ray of hope that had just been rekindled from the old hermit's instructions.

When she arrived at Vân Khê Trấn late in the afternoon, Tiểu Yên was completely healthy, ran out to hug her father, and chatted about what she had learned from the disciples in the martial arts hall over the past two days. Bách Uyên hugged his child in his arms, looked over her shoulder at Thục Di standing there smiling, silently grateful that fate had brought her to this right place, at this right time, to meet people who were willing to extend their helping hands without any other reason other than kindness.

That night, Bách Uyên told Chung Diệu Nga about the ancient temple that the old hermit mentioned, about the long-extinct purifying bloodline, and about all the clues they had collected. The old woman listened thoughtfully, then decided to prepare enough food and medicine so they could set out to find that temple as soon as possible, before another Black Moon Eclipse could strike.

None of them knew that the night of the recent Black Moon Eclipse had left a trace of magic power that was thin but enough for those skilled in the art of detecting from the Underworld to be able to track, and those people, at this very moment, had begun their journey to the human world to find the whereabouts of the Venerable Master who had been missing for the past seven years.