Dusk Returns to the Ruined Building

The night rain in the rivers and lakes brings spring back to life; the rain is a wanderer in this world, and the night is a peerless beauty.

In the night rain, under the yellow-flowered tree, beside the lonely well, someone was fishing in the well. The night was too dark to see anyone's face, and the rain was not heavy, the yellow-flowered leaves were enough to provide cover.

"It's been over twenty years since I returned to Ruomeng Residence, and this is the first time you've come to see me!"

The voice belonged to a woman, but she was nowhere to be seen, and the voice seemed to be coming from under the yellow flower tree.

"Cough cough... cough cough..."

The fishing rod is swaying, and the drizzle is floating.

"You've spent your whole life fishing, but you don't understand at all that the purpose of fishing isn't actually to catch fish. Alas, how can people know the profound meaning? This heart seeks pleasure, not fish!"

"Cough cough... cough cough..."

A gentle breeze rises, and the figure grows thinner.

"In times of chaos, Buddha does not concern himself with affairs, and the Taoist Master of Peace does not observe the mind. A thousand years have passed. Was the patriarch's decision back then truly correct? Was your perseverance truly worthwhile? How can the fate of this world be controlled by one or two divine objects?"

"Cough cough... Sigh, when you get old, you can't even fish anymore. Your heart may be still, but this damn body just can't help coughing!"

The thin figure beside the dry well must be an old man; his voice was weak and weathered.

"I sat in meditation under the yellow flower tree for more than 20 years, and finally I understand why the patriarch named it Ruomengju. Her name is Ruoshui, and she is a dream. Dreams will eventually end, but alas, she did not live to see that day!"

The spring night rain gradually subsided, the night was cool as water, the yellow flowers by the lonely well were silent and still, and the occasional cough sounded somewhat desolate and jarring.

After a long time!

"People from Guanxing Mountain have arrived, cough cough..."

After a long while, a woman's voice drifted faintly from beneath the yellow-flowered tree:

"To kill? To invite? To capture? To trap? To search?"

"Someone has received the thousand-year-old inheritance of Master Ruoshui, cough cough..."

"Observing the world from the top of the nine-story tower, my soul lingers beneath the willow, awaiting a successor. This day is finally coming!"

"Cough cough...cough cough...So you really did go see the Soul-Binding Willow back then!"

"Since the patriarch sealed the divine artifact with his own body, why did he wait for his successor under the Soul-Binding Willow? Don't you understand the deeper meaning behind this?"

"Cough cough...cough cough...You peeked at the ancestral master's last words: the successor of Guanxing Mountain must not appear in the world, and the Soul Dream Pavilion must not enter the world. Your willful departure back then changed the fate of the Soul Dream Pavilion. Silly girl, the ancestral master's last words are half revealed and half hidden. How could you know my good intentions?"

The man who had been fishing at the ancient well got up and came to the yellow flower tree, reaching out to stroke it.

"The portrait of the Nine-Story Tower Ancestor has no writing on it. Could it be that it was switched by the people of the Mysterious Heaven Pavilion's Soul-Haunted Palace?"

The woman's voice became much softer.

"Cough cough...cough cough...Back then, our ancestor founded the Soul Dream Pavilion and the Soul Lingering Pavilion. The Soul Dream Pavilion secluded itself to protect the world, while the Soul Lingering Pavilion emerged to face the calamity. For thousands of years, the only connection between the two has been the ancestor's legacy. The portraits of the Soul Lingering Pavilion have no inscriptions because the Soul Lingering Pavilion was meant to face the calamity, and facing the calamity means death. Therefore, it wasn't actually a mistake for the Soul Lingering Pavilion to join the Xuan Tian Sect back then; it was merely a way to survive. Cough cough...cough cough..."

This time, the old man under the yellow flower tree coughed for a very long time. He almost knelt down in the end, and he must have vomited something on the ground, perhaps blood!

"The Soul-Haunting Palace has nothing to do with us. I want to know where the ancestral master's instructions are?"

"Dubei Temple, cough cough... cough cough..."

"Impossible. I've been to Dubei Temple. There is indeed a portrait of the patriarch there, but it's just a portrait!"

The woman's voice was somewhat agitated!

"Cough cough...cough cough...didn't you also go to the Soul-Haunting Willow? Didn't you get nothing in return?"

"You mean that only his successors can see the portrait of the founder of Dubei Temple and read his last words?"

The woman's voice gradually faded, perhaps indicating some disappointment.

"Cough cough... cough cough... Sigh, I'm telling you this today because if I'm gone one day, Soul Dream Pavilion will be in your hands!"

"Cough cough... cough cough..."

The figure under the yellow flower tree slowly walked to the ancient well and sat down.

"Sect Master, you, you, I am a sinner of the Soul Dream Pavilion!"

"Cough cough...cough cough...I'm getting old, I'm never fishing again. You're right, I have no idea what I'm fishing for!"

The thin figure put away his fishing rod and walked towards the entrance of the courtyard.

"Sect Master..."

There was still noise but no one under the yellow-flowered tree.

"More than twenty years ago, I wronged you, and today I'm afraid I'll still wrong you, cough cough... cough cough..."

As the fisherman left the courtyard, another figure appeared under the yellow flower tree, but his face was still unclear.

"Sect Master, what... what do you mean?"

"The founder's successor is named Mu Qingxue. The Soul Dream Pavilion has been passed down for nearly a thousand years and has two responsibilities: first, to protect the divine artifacts; second, to kill the founder's successor... cough cough..."

The person under the yellow flower tree remained silent for a long time; she had collapsed to the ground.

The rain continued to pour down, and the night remained cold and desolate!

"Why, why is this happening? Why is Qingxue the successor of the patriarch? Shouldn't the successor of the patriarch come from the Soul Lingque? How could she be my daughter? No, that can't be!"

The woman's voice was somewhat disordered, fearful, and panicked!

After a long while, the woman leaned on the yellow flower tree and struggled to her feet. In her hand was a token, the symbol of the Soul Dream Pavilion Master.

"Sect Master, could Qingxue's life or death be related to Star Gazing Mountain?"

"My soul lingers in my dreams, I consult the stars; the Soul Dream Pavilion is now in your hands. Ji Qingyang and Shu Qin have appeared in Yanquan. Sigh, you'd better watch yourself... cough cough... cough cough..."

The old man fishing outside the courtyard didn't leave, but after saying those words, he really left, and he left the Soul Dream Pavilion!

The old fisherman was going to Dubei Temple to retrieve the painting, but he didn't know he was too late. The painting had been taken away by the successor of Guanxing Mountain. However, he was also going to find the successor of Guanxing Mountain. He really didn't know why the ancestral master's instructions would allow Hunmeng Pavilion to kill its own successor. He would also ask the successor of Guanxing Mountain for the answer.

The woman under the yellow flower tree is the little straw doll in Mu Qingxue's hand—Mu Qingxue's mother. When she left Soul Dream Pavilion, her real purpose was to find and kill the successor of the founder, but that was just an excuse.

Mu Qingxue's mother and Shu Qin wanted to leave the Soul Dream Pavilion. She had secretly read the ancestral instructions, but a thousand years had passed. Not only did they not understand them, but they also did not know their meaning. They did not want to be bound by a piece of paper for the rest of their lives.

The Soul Dream Pavilion has always been a recluse, never venturing into the martial world, but one's heart truly cannot be held back!

The Soul Dream Pavilion eventually found Mu Qingxue's mother and severed all traces of her from the mortal world.

The Pavilion Master's cough is not due to old age, but rather because he was seriously injured in the battle against the Ten Thousand Demons Sect years ago.

Mu Qingxue's mother had to take responsibility for her actions! Trapped under the yellow flower tree for over twenty years, her only concern was her daughter, Mu Qingxue.

Perhaps she shouldn't be called her daughter anymore, because she severed all ties with Mu Qingxue, including the soul power within her bloodline. She had always thought that Mu Qingxue had died long ago, but today she learned that Mu Qingxue was not only alive, but had also become the successor of the ancestor.

Mu Qingxue's mother truly didn't know whether to be happy or worried. No, she should be happy, for as long as one is alive, there is hope! Moreover, the successor of Guanxing Mountain has already appeared in the world, and the future of Hunyingque and Hunmengge must be decided by Guanxing Mountain, for this is the ancestral teaching!

What exactly is the relationship between Soul Dream Pavilion and Star Gazing Mountain?

Under the yellow flower tree, Mu Qingxue's mother was really confused. It was well-documented that Ancestor Ruoshui was related to Xuantian Pavilion. Otherwise, Hunying Pavilion would not have stepped forward to help Xuantian Pavilion back then. However, there was no trace of her relationship with Guanxing Mountain.

Under the yellow flower tree, Mu Qingxue's mother stood for a whole night. In the drizzle, she cried and laughed. As dawn broke, she disappeared again. The yellow flower tree was her prison.

Mu Qingxue's mother did not understand the Pavilion Master's arrangement. Although she had given the Pavilion Master's token to her, the array that imprisoned her did not disappear. All she could do was wait!

Mu Qingxue's mother's heart, which had been as still as well water, was stirred by this day, because her daughter Mu Qingxue was still alive.