Night without Borders

Chapter 76: Lamenting the Past

The daylight faded away, and the hazy night enveloped Chixia City. Qin Ming sat quietly in the room, watching the broken scenes of the past coming closer and closer, constantly reorganizing and solidifying.

"So you are Li Qingxu." Qin Ming looked at the young man in feathered clothes in the picture and knew his name.

The two knew each other before, but they were not old friends, just acquaintances.

"He is a direct descendant of the Li family and has a very special talent. It is difficult for others to become disciples of outsiders, but he is very suitable for that path. He was noticed by an old senior who is famous throughout the dark world and was accepted as a closed disciple."

Qin Ming frowned. It seemed that the old senior from the foreign land was difficult to mess with. Even the thousand-year-old families had to show respect to him.

The figure of Li Qingxu appeared before his eyes again. He was wearing fairy-like feathered clothes and was ethereal and otherworldly. Even the purple bamboo stick in his hand was very particular. It was a rare bamboo from a blessed land that had once received light from the otherworldly world.

Soon, the man's figure faded, more scenes emerged, all the broken images were reorganized, and rushed towards him all at once.

Except for some minor details that were still a little hazy, all the memories of the past came back, causing Qin Ming to rub his temples constantly to relieve his fatigue.

A large number of pictures and scenes, from childhood to adolescence, those past experiences were like waves hitting him one after another.

Qin Ming absorbed and digested it quickly, feeling very complicated. All the emotions he had experienced affected him, like a sea of ​​fog that was about to drown him.

He practiced the method on the silk book to calm himself, break the cage of the entire scene, break free, and look down at the past.

He wanted to look at his past self from a different perspective. He had doubts about some things and wanted to look at his past experiences with a critical attitude.

"I am Cui Chonghe, the direct descendant of a thousand-year-old family." Qin Ming first confirmed his identity through his past memories.

All the things in the past seemed to have turned into a slightly yellowed book, which he found in a dusty old room, and now he opened it again.

Qin Ming opened the first page, as if he had crossed the mottled years and returned to more than ten years ago.

"Poor child, you've suffered outside. Remember, I'm your seventh uncle." A young man with thick eyebrows and bright eyes touched his head and said, showing a kind smile. His teeth were so white that they seemed to be glowing.

Qin Ming was very familiar with him. This was Cui Hao, one of the people closest to him. He had been very close to this seventh uncle since he was a child.

He looked ahead; this was his earliest memory as a child.

"Have you ever been lost?" Qin Ming whispered. In that scene, he was no more than three or four years old, and his clothes were tattered. He wished he could remember more, but he couldn't.

A normal person's memory only starts from the age of three or four.

He was taken to bathe, put on clean clothes, and adorned with beautiful jade, like a completely different person. Although he was a little uneasy, he was stubborn and didn't seem to want to be stage-frightened. His small figure stood straight and silently.

The scene quickly turns, and he lives in Cui's house. Someone teaches him how to read and various rules, which he memorizes carefully.

During that time, he cried secretly but didn't want others to see.

"Chonghe, remember your name, don't forget it again. Come, I will teach you how to write these words." An elder personally taught him how to write.

"Chonghe, come here, this is your younger brother Cui Chongxuan. You must protect him well in the future. He is one of your closest people." Cui's mother appeared.

She looked very young, graceful, with a delicate and beautiful face. A golden feather was inserted in her hair, which was used as a hairpin. It emitted a hazy glow that was not like an ordinary object.

The child she was holding in her right hand was very small, just over two years old, but looked very smart, with a pair of black eyes, looking at him curiously.

"He is one and a half years younger than you. You should love each other in the future. You are the older brother, so you should take care of him more." Cui's mother said.

"Okay!" Qin Ming, who was nearly four years old, nodded.

He settled down in the Cui family and completely got used to the life there.

Father Cui was very strict and had great prestige in the mansion. When young Qin Ming saw him, he always remained quiet.

Perhaps it was because of this that he had a close relationship with Cui Hao. This seventh uncle did not have the airs of an elder and would sometimes take him for a stroll on the busy streets, take him to ride exotic beasts outside the city, and also take him to board the pleasure boat on the Mo Yun River at night.

For this, Uncle Cui Hao was even scolded by Cui's father.

The dusty book of time turned over again. Qin Ming looked back at the past and met his elder brother Cui Chongxiao, who was eight years older than him. Although he was still a teenager, he was already very mature and steady, quite like Cui's father.

Only when he saw the young Qin Ming, did Cui Chongxiao's eyes sparkle, revealing some of his youthful nature. He walked over with a smile and looked at him carefully.

It is said that Cui Chongxiao became a disciple of a master, but Cui's father forbade anyone to discuss where the master was, let alone spread the news. All we know is that this elder brother only comes back once every few years.

From this we can also see that Cui's father and mother are cautious in character and do not want more people to know that their eldest son Cui Chongxiao has worshipped a great master.

Qin Ming also overheard their whispered conversation and realized that his elder brother should worship an ancient Taoist sect related to gods. It is not about revering and meditating on gods. This sect is very ambitious and wants to subdue those special "phenomena" and "realms", turn them into self-use, and make oneself a god.

Every spring, when flowers bloom, my parents would receive a special letter that required them to decipher it by comparing it with several ancient books. It was very cautious and seemed to be multiple encrypted.

At this time, even the most strict father Cui would smile, and look very gentle and bright.

Qin Ming and his younger brother Cui Chongxuan both suspected that it was the letter from their eldest brother that made them so happy.

Cui Chongxuan once tried to steal a letter and wanted to read the contents, but he didn't understand the secret code at all. He was severely beaten by Cui's father and never dared to offend anyone again.

There are many white-haired elders in the main line of the Cui family, all of whom are unfathomable in strength. Some of them have set foot in foreign lands and have not been in the family for many years. And an elder who took the path of rebirth once took a deep breath and rolled a four-colored bird from the tree to amuse the younger generation.

These elders may be kind or strict to the younger generations, and they all attach great importance to the training of the younger generations.

Whenever these old men greeted Qin Ming with a smile and asked him to call them Fifth Master or Seventh Master, he would recall a vague figure. It was a grandfather in his vague childhood memory. Qin Ming shouted to find him.

"He has traveled far away, to the imperial capital of Dayu. He almost went crazy from practicing the methods in the silk book. Now he has 'severed all ties' and wants to find his own way."

"I miss him, that grandpa." Although he had adapted to life in the Cui Mansion, Qin Ming couldn't help but have red eyes, and then he wanted to get the silk book back.

"No, the silk book is an ancient artifact and cannot be flipped around casually. It will easily get damaged. You should practice the first few pages first and then read on. However... this book is very difficult to practice."

From then on, Qin Ming paid great attention to practicing the methods in the silk book. He was determined to practice it and insisted on practicing it every day, rain or shine.

He had many cousins, and during this period, some of them left and were chosen by outsiders, and took very different paths.

Some brothers and sisters joined the esoteric religion, some joined more famous sects, and some stayed at home and took the path of physical rebirth. "The silk book has a great origin. It was once one of the famous classics?" Cui Chongxuan, who was getting older, wanted to follow his brother after knowing what he was practicing.

Father Cui rebuked: "The silk book is difficult to practice, and it is enough for one person to take this path. You can choose other secret books."

As a result, Cui Chongxuan, who was gradually growing taller, became jealous and asked why he couldn't practice, and at one point showed hostility towards his brother.

"I want to know, is silk book the most powerful new method?" Cui Chongxuan rarely contradicted his father and wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Father Cui's expression softened a lot, and he said, "Who dares to claim to be the best? There is more than one silk book in the world. There are also equally powerful inheritances, such as the "Six Imperial Heart Sutra", "Tathagata Dharma", "Tian Shu", etc. You should practice the secret book at home and lay the most solid foundation. In the future, I may be able to obtain a copy of the "Six Imperial Heart Sutra" for you. If you are good enough, it is not impossible for you to truly become the disciple of that old man."

Qin Ming said, "Father, I also want to take a look at the Six Imperial Heart Sutra and the silk book in the future. The new method in the latter book is too difficult and seems to be unworkable."

"Why, have you lost confidence in yourself?" Father Cui looked at him, his eyes seemed to be able to see straight into people's hearts.

"Yes!" Qin Ming was a little impatient and turned away. Afterwards, he asked his cousin for some secret books, wanting to see how other new methods were.

The Fifth Master of the main vein looked at him with a smile and said, "Which new method you choose to lay the foundation for will have a significant impact, and the final achievement will be quite different. If you practice those ordinary secret books, step into the new field, and then go back to practice the methods in the silk book, the effect will definitely not be better than sticking to the original path."

After hearing these words, Qin Ming went to ask Cui's father and mother and got similar answers. After reading his cousin's visualization method and Qigong, he threw them away. He was not shaken in his determination to practice the new method of the silk book.

The room in the inn was very quiet. Qin Ming was like an outsider. Looking back at his past, he turned the page again.

The entire Cui family recognized him very much. Not only at home, but also when facing outsiders, they were not stingy with their praises for him. Everyone could see that he was a core member of the direct lineage.

Very early on, all parties had known that Cui Chonghe was likely to be the flag bearer of the main lineage in the future and was being trained as a priority.

The second master of the clan accidentally revealed after getting drunk one time that Cui Chonghe had special talents and was very suitable for setting foot in the outside world. It didn't matter whether he could practice the silk book or not, as he was destined to be a near-immortal in the future.

Master Cui Er revealed that the reason Cui Chonghe has not been sent away yet is because he is waiting for an old senior who is famous throughout the Night Fog World to come out of seclusion, and he has already agreed to become his disciple.

Afterwards, Cui's father found out that he had talked nonsense after drinking and his face looked extremely ugly. The second master knew that he was in the wrong and was ashamed, so he punished himself by going into seclusion.

Although Mr. Cui leaked the secret in the clan when he was drunk, some people outside still knew about it, and Qin Ming's safety was threatened at one point. Many people wanted to harm him, but they were all seen through by the Cui family.

Qin Ming was indeed treated very well in the Cui family. When he was a little older, his mount was purchased in one go and it was quite extraordinary. It was a creature that had mutated four times.

Although four mutations was the limit for that alien, it was quite a luxury to let a person who had not yet been reborn ride on it, and it could be considered top-notch.

The Cui family protected him very well. Although people had spied on him again and again, nothing unexpected happened.

Moreover, when Qin Ming was still young, Cui's father had already made an agreement with the Wang family of Qianxing City that a legitimate daughter of the Wang family would marry Cui Chonghe, and the two families would form an alliance.

Qin Ming had even seen the girl. She was extremely beautiful and loved to laugh.

However, as he grew older, whenever the two sides met again, Cui's father and mother began to warn him to be polite and avoid suspicion, and not to have close contact.

Once when he was traveling with the eldest daughter of the Wang family in Qinghe City, Cui's father got angry and blamed him afterwards.

As Qin Ming grew up, although the Cui family still valued him and praised their own son in front of distinguished guests, they rarely let him meet those people, for fear that he would be distracted and wanted him to focus on the silk book.

After he was a teenager, he met many people, from important figures of major families, to direct members of thousand-year-old families, to disciples of outsiders.

It has to be said that the thousand-year-old family has a profound foundation. Even those ancient Taoist sects, powerful sects, and even outsiders are willing to make friends with it.

It has been rumored in those years that some big figures in the outside world will accept disciples, and several people will come out of seclusion and enter the secular world to select suitable disciples, and the location is set in Qinghe City.

The rumors were true, and all families were taking action. Li Qingxu, Li Qingyue, the eldest daughter of the Wang family and a group of people came to this huge city one after another, wanting to become disciples of those powerful figures.

It was at this time that Qin Ming felt Li Qingxu's hostility.

Eventually, some notable outsiders did show up, and a small number were chosen.

An old senior with a prominent background thought highly of Li Qingxu and gave him a purple bamboo stick nourished by natural light when they met.

Afterwards, Qin Ming was puzzled. Wasn't it said that an old senior who was famous in the Night Mist World was going to take him away? Why did he choose Li Qingxu?

"Don't worry, the senior who took a fancy to you hasn't come out yet." Father Cui said.

After that, Qin Ming encountered many assassination attempts, but he survived them all.

No one expected that the gradually rising Li family would suddenly go to war with the Cui family.

Maybe Qin Ming just didn't notice it at that time, or maybe the elders in the Cui family already knew about it and were prepared.

"An old fellow from the Li family has achieved a breakthrough and may become an immortal in the future. The ancestor of our Cui family has not appeared for two hundred years. The Li family wants to achieve a series of goals through a clash with the Cui family, to demonstrate their strength and be promoted to the ranks of true thousand-year-old families. They need such a battle."

"The scariest thing is that they have people behind them supporting them, and they may also be being pushed forward."

……

When the two major families were about to clash, some members of the Cui family were discussing this. After hearing this, Qin Ming was quite worried about the family.

"Our ancestor still hasn't appeared. The situation is very bad right now. We may not be able to stop him. We must protect our foundation and evacuate first. We must also go to the ancestor's retreat again to look for him. I believe he is still in the world, and we must make him return as soon as possible."

Late one night, the Cui family secretly sent away a group of important members, and another group of people were going to take another route. The latter would most likely have to fight against the siege of a large number of masters from the Li family.

"Chonghe, you are my child. Our main branch must take responsibility, and I still have to preside over the overall situation. We cannot take that path for the time being. Your brother is still young and not mature and stable enough. You will represent me and take the second path with those elders." Cui's father spoke.

That night, Father Cui had a complicated look on his face and patted his second son on the shoulder.

Qin Ming looked at his parents. He knew that the road he was going to take was extremely dangerous and he would probably die. This was mainly to attract the attention of the Li family's experts. The people around him were all very old people from the Cui family who would not live for many more years.

"Father, mother, and brother!" Qin Ming nodded with tears in his eyes and said goodbye to them. He boarded the bronze carriage and looked back in the dark night. He only saw the backs of his parents walking away.

In the inn, Qin Ming sighed.

(End of this chapter)