Daishan Turns The Wind Chapter 2

The Painter’s Case (2)

Shan Wuzhou’s heart finally settled. “Grandmaster, you’re still alive.”

Feng Yuluo drew upon his eight hundred and seventy years of cultivation, pretending to be completely oblivious. He frowned, patted Shan Wuzhou’s back, said “Thank you,” and immediately returned to arguing with the others.

Shan Wuzhou: “…”

Feng Yuluo raged, “There is no river in that bamboo grove! I’d like to see how the Infant Immortal kills me! I’m waiting for it!”

Shan Wuzhou was genuinely afraid he had mistaken the person. When he first saw this scene on the street, blood rushed to his head, and he nearly went mad!

After calming down, he thought he was dreaming, fearing that when he woke up, he would face the cruelty of utter annihilation again. It wasn’t until he heard the familiar bickering that his eyes gradually cleared.

So argumentative—this was his garrulous Grandmaster. He was truly fine!

The people wanted to argue a bit more, but seeing the cold look in the eyes of the person standing behind Feng Yuluo, they immediately trembled. They exchanged glances and quickly scattered.

The onlookers, seeing the excitement was over, picked up the money and left after handing it to him.

Old Li gave him a thumbs-up. “You are truly formidable.”

Feng Yuluo smiled bitterly in his heart. He was practically vibrating with anxiety. The two gazes behind him were almost scorching two holes into his back. He was relying purely on his unyielding spirit to maintain the act!

Shan Wuzhou watched the entire exchange in a daze. When Feng Yuluo started to leave, he finally remembered to move his feet, abruptly blocking the man’s path.

Feng Yuluo grinned widely, playing the fool. “Thank you, brave hero. How about I treat you to a sesame flatbread?”

In his heart, he prayed that this person just looked similar. There are so many similar-looking people under heaven!

Shan Wuzhou had recovered from his heartache. He assumed his Grandmaster had simply been struck by the heavenly lightning and transported elsewhere. He grabbed Feng Yuluo’s wrist to check his pulse, only relaxing when he confirmed there were no internal injuries. However, without the surrounding spiritual light, it seemed the tribulation had not been successful.

Feng Yuluo pulled his hand back, laughing loudly. “Young man, what’s wrong with you? I need to go chop firewood.”

He silently chanted a spell: Hurry up, hurry up!

“…” Shan Wuzhou choked slightly. “Grandmaster, don’t you recognize me?”

A look of appropriate confusion appeared in Feng Yuluo’s eyes. He shook his head.

Old Li understood now. They knew each other, but Feng Yuluo didn’t remember the other person.

Shan Wuzhou couldn’t comprehend this and was astonished. “You, you have amnesia? I am Wuzhou.” He reached out to check again. Could the lightning tribulation have been too severe and damaged his head? “Then do you still remember your own name?”

Feng Yuluo replied openly, “Dachun.”

Old Li kindly reminded him, “Feng Yuluo.”

Shan Wuzhou: “…”

Feng Yuluo: “…”

Had his century of being thoughtless, morally deficient, and uncouth finally started to bring retribution?

Feng Yuluo said generously, “Hey, I’m a farmer. If I use that grand name, people will mock me when I sell firewood. So I just go by Dachun. Besides, Feng Yuluo, Feng Yuluo (Wind and Rain Falling)—experiencing wind and rain every day—it sounds like a miserable fate.”

The fact that Feng Yuluo could maintain a straight face now could only be attributed to his soul having left his body. His physical form was already stiff, successfully preventing him from giving away the secret.

Shan Wuzhou leaned in to look closely.

Feng Yuluo couldn’t retreat. He kept his eyes open and let him look.

Those eyes were utterly clean. Few people possessed such clear eyes.

Naturally, when looking at Shan Wuzhou, there was no sadness, avoidance, or helplessness in those eyes.

He completely, utterly did not remember him.

Shan Wuzhou felt an indescribable sense of loss, mixed with a sudden wave of relief.

Perhaps this way, all the unspeakable difficulties between them could disappear, and they could start anew.

The word “anew” sparked endless imagination in him. His gaze toward Feng Yuluo was filled with burning intensity.

It nearly scalded Feng Yuluo to death.

Feng Yuluo felt incredibly weary inside. What kind of mess was this? He forced himself to speak. “Well, we should get going. We still need to sell the fruit.”

Shan Wuzhou rubbed his eyes and smiled. “I’ll go with you.”

“…” Why did he have to come along? His Grandmaster had only cultivated for eight hundred years. Couldn’t he stop testing him like this?

Although deceiving disciples was a common occurrence, back then his conscience was clear, and he did it for fun. Now, what kind of bizarre situation was this? He had to deceive them by pretending to have amnesia. Such nonsense would be exposed sooner or later.

Feng Yuluo was worried and contemplating his next move. Since he couldn’t shake off the clingy person, he had to let him follow. Along the way, he listened absentmindedly as Shan Wuzhou recounted past events. As he listened, he realized something was wrong.

Shan Wuzhou had completely omitted that awkward period of time!

Feng Yuluo nodded in response, then secretly glanced over. Shan Wuzhou’s eyes were still red. He was very happy, but his voice was steady. Was he finally letting go because Feng Yuluo had died once?

He was still so young, yet he had endured such pain and personally witnessed Feng Yuluo being struck dead by the lightning tribulation, only to speak now with such a calm tone.

Feng Yuluo felt both relieved and heartbroken.

How lost must this child, who had been wandering on the edge of a cliff, have felt at the time? If he hadn’t experienced soul-wrenching pain, how could he be so calm now?

After they sold the fruit, he would treat him to roast duck. No matter how poor the Grandmaster was, he couldn’t let the child suffer.

If he could help the child move past this, he would willingly be struck by lightning three more times. This journey, though difficult, was too worthwhile.

Thinking this, Feng Yuluo felt the resurgence of his old heroic spirit. He and Old Li placed the baskets on the ground and started shouting their sales pitch at the top of their lungs.

Shan Wuzhou watched for a while, a faint smile on his face.

Soon, with the handsome and refined Shan Wuzhou as a living advertisement, the fruits were snatched up quickly. Those who missed out asked if they would be here tomorrow, their eyes constantly glancing at the “advertisement.”

Feng Yuluo sighed inwardly. If Shan Wuzhou hadn’t gone astray, what a wonderful future he would have had, given his popularity.

After selling the fruit, they went to an inn and ordered two roast ducks and a pot of wine.

Feng Yuluo tore off a duck leg, dipped it in some fruit sauce, and placed it on Shan Wuzhou’s plate, feeding him like a child. “Eat quickly.”

The teapot handle was a bit slippery. Shan Wuzhou gripped it twice. After pouring tea for Feng Yuluo, he looked up at him and quietly said, “Thank you, Grandmaster.”

Feng Yuluo also felt as if they had returned to the time when there were no grudges between them, and he was overjoyed.

In time, Shan Wuzhou, his most talented disciple, would surely become the most powerful deity.

Feng Yuluo ate mouthfuls of meat, stripping the bones clean, and drank two cups of wine.

Old Li watched for a long time before speaking. “Now that your family has found you, Old Feng, are you going to go back?”

Shan Wuzhou’s smile faded, and his eyes dimmed.

Feng Yuluo also felt a sudden panic.

Go back? The pretense of amnesia would definitely fail. With so many people on the mountain, he would eventually be exposed.

But if he didn’t go back, how long would his disciples grieve? Those people still thought he had been annihilated.

And how was he supposed to face Shan Wuzhou? Their relationship was fine while he was pretending to have amnesia and act foolish, but once he claimed to recover his memory, things would certainly become awkward. This matter wasn’t so easy.

Feng Yuluo unconsciously chewed and swallowed a bone fragment.

Shan Wuzhou coughed. The corners of his eyes, which had just returned to normal, seemed to be turning red again.

The Grandmaster couldn’t bear to see his eight-foot-tall disciple’s grandson feeling wronged in front of him. Perhaps he should just let his two disciples suffer a little longer.

Feng Yuluo slowly said, “Since I don’t remember anything, going back feels a bit… strange. Let’s wait. Wait until I remember.”

A few more months. Once Shan Wuzhou was completely relieved and had adapted to their changed yet restored relationship, then he would go back.

Otherwise, the lightning tribulation would have been endured for nothing.

Feng Yuluo made up his mind. This was the plan.

Shan Wuzhou smiled, as expected, and said, “Then I will stay and accompany Grandmaster. Once you recover your memory, I will take you back to the mountain.”

Feng Yuluo only heard the first part. He nearly choked on a bone shard, his face turning crimson. He thought, what kind of tribulation is this? It’s much harder than the lightning tribulation.

Just as he was feeling agitated, he remembered the Infant Immortal case. Since Shan Wuzhou was here, he explained the situation and asked him to help catch the demon.

Shan Wuzhou naturally agreed.

Feng Yuluo belatedly asked him why he had come down the mountain.

Shan Wuzhou seemed to just remember as well. He said that when Feng Yuluo underwent his tribulation, he had brought an incense burner containing a mass of evil energy. It seemed unharmed and had escaped. His master, seeing him dispirited, had sent him down the mountain to capture the evil energy.

So, he had also come to chase the little demon, Yuanbao.

The little demon was a mass of black energy, condensed from numerous miscellaneous thoughts. It could parasitize human hearts at any time and wreak havoc. Its origin was complex, and they still hadn’t figured out why it became a demon. However, its magical power was immense. At the time, they tried many methods but found it difficult to purify. Since Feng Yuluo was about to undergo his tribulation, they decided to borrow the heavenly lightning.

The result was that Feng Yuluo was struck into fragments, ragged and miserable, while the evil energy in the incense burner didn’t even get a speck of ash on it. The heavenly lightning actually couldn’t harm it.

It was truly miraculous.

A few days ago, just as Feng Yuluo was worrying about how to purify it, the demon Yuanbao suddenly announced that the heavenly lightning had split off several portions of its black energy, which had flowed into the mortal world and were causing trouble.

This terrified Feng Yuluo. He temporarily abandoned the idea of purification and focused on retrieving all the black energy.

The main body wasn’t worried about being purified anymore. It lounged in the incense burner, sleeping all day. It had a terrible temper when woken up. If it was happy, it would reveal a tiny clue; if it wasn’t, it would curse and hit people.

Feng Yuluo had followed the split entities to Hongmao City. When passing through a field of flowers, Yuanbao even plucked a sunflower, spitting out sunflower seed shells aggressively.

Considering it was a dark, amorphous blob, it at least knew to discard its waste outside. It had standards.

.

That night, Feng Yuluo and Shan Wuzhou secretly went to the Wang Estate. With Shan Wuzhou present, there was no need to climb walls. He easily flew Feng Yuluo inside. After landing, Feng Yuluo suddenly felt a strong sense of unease, as if something was about to happen.

Could the Infant Immortal be here?

He looked up and saw a woman in white with a pale face sitting on the top of the wall, which startled him into stumbling. Shan Wuzhou instinctively caught him, his entire body stiffening.

Feng Yuluo looked closely. Wasn’t that Zhao Zisheng?

She was sitting there, worrying about how to get down.

Feng Yuluo quickly asked Shan Wuzhou for help. He used a spell to bring her down.

Zhao Zisheng was surprised. “Magic? Are you really a Daoist? And who are you…”

Feng Yuluo introduced the two of them and asked Zhao Zisheng what she was doing there and if she wasn’t afraid. If caught, it was trespassing.

Zhao Zisheng stubbornly replied, “I came to investigate the case. My friend Yan Xin is definitely not some Infant Immortal claiming lives. Besides, you two trespassed too.”

Feng Yuluo thought she had a point. He said, “Fine, you can join us. You might be helpful.”

The three rushed to the mourning hall. Shan Wuzhou knocked out the guards. He walked up to the coffin and said, “Pardon the intrusion.”

He pushed the coffin lid open.

Zhao Zisheng couldn’t bear to look closely.

Shan Wuzhou took out a talisman and placed it on Yan Xin’s right shoulder. There was no reaction. He looked up at Feng Yuluo. “No demonic energy.”

Feng Yuluo had somewhat guessed this and wasn’t too surprised. He called Zhao Zisheng over. “Are you afraid? Lift up the clothes on her right shoulder a little and feel the handprint. Don’t worry, if there really is an Infant Immortal, we will protect you.”

Zhao Zisheng wasn’t afraid, but she couldn’t bear to look at her friend’s face. With red eyes, she reached out to examine it, saying there was a slight grainy texture. When she withdrew her hand, it was clean.

Shan Wuzhou cast a spell, using a purification technique, and washed the handprint residue onto his palm. The black grit gradually turned red.

Zhao Zisheng’s expression changed. She took a pinch, rubbed it, and then smelled it. She said, “This is Sicao Red.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a relatively rare herb. Its fruit is red. When dried and ground into powder, it can be used as a pigment. It’s more vibrant than ordinary red, but it’s poisonous, so almost no one knows about it. Even painters rarely use it.”

The two men looked at her.

Zhao Zisheng explained, “I am a painter, so I’ve researched it. How it turned black, I don’t know.”

As she spoke, her finger began to hurt and turned red. She anxiously looked at Yan Xin’s shoulder. The area where the black handprint had been was now completely red.

Feng Yuluo also wanted to take some to examine, but Shan Wuzhou refused. He had to look at it in Shan Wuzhou’s palm, poking at it and smelling it. He said, “They also added cinnabar and mercury.”

The Infant Immortal—the pale little body, the black handprint, pushing people into the water—it was all a trick to deceive people.

Shan Wuzhou frowned. “This is murder committed by a person.”