Chapter 61: A Life Pieced Together
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Qin Ming rubbed his temples, a slight headache coming on each time he tried to recall those broken memories. It was exhausting, both physically and mentally. He could only imagine how badly he must have been hurt in the past. Even after healing, improving his body again and again, he still hadn’t fully recovered. But he knew he was getting close. With each round of this strange rebirth process, he fixed more and more of the leftover issues in his body.
“My memories… they’re all so fragmented. It’s like my life was patched together, almost fake.” Qin Ming frowned, the confusion evident in his expression.
When he was little, life had been poor. His clothes were old, patched, and torn. But then, suddenly, when he was about thirteen or fourteen, everything changed. In the broken fragments of his memories, he could see himself racing on a beast, a mighty creature with shimmering scales, outside a massive city. The beast was not something ordinary—it was rare, fierce. And he had been riding it.
There were also flashes of a grand mansion, luxurious and splendid. Everything in that mansion spoke of wealth. Important people dressed in the finest clothes, adorned with precious jade. Even the women wore extravagant hairpieces, with golden feathers or peach blossoms that looked almost alive. In that place, he had been called Cui Chong He, and he belonged to the main branch of the family. He even remembered seeing a boy named Cui Chong Xuan, a year younger than him, eating some mystical flower and mastering four kinds of Celestial Light Force. Everyone had been amazed.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Qin Ming muttered to himself.
He’d been part of that family, and he hadn’t been badly treated. He lived in luxury, rode exotic beasts… but then, why hadn’t he taken up cultivation? Cui Chong Xuan’s success at mastering four types of Celestial Light Force had caused such a stir, and the elders had even given him the precious “Six Imperial Heart Sutra.”
“Four types of Celestial Light Force… Honestly, it’s not that impressive,” Qin Ming thought. Even here, in this remote place, he’d surpassed that on his own.
There were just too many gaps, too many missing pieces. He couldn’t make sense of it all.
“Fourteen must have been the turning point,” Qin Ming mused as he remembered other blurry images. At that age, he was back to being poor. His clothes became plain, even shabby. He lived in a small village. And then one night, a group of young men in feathered robes came, setting fire to the village. Almost everyone died. He had been badly wounded.
Qin Ming picked up his cup of tea, using the liquid to trace numbers on the table: three, thirteen, fourteen, sixteen. Each age marked a completely different phase of his life, as if someone had spliced his timeline together from different people. It felt fake.
From those broken memories, he had learned the name of the feather-robed girl he saw last night—Li Qing Yue. At thirteen or fourteen, he had often ridden alongside others, all of them on rare exotic beasts. Li Qing Yue had been there a lot. She was one of his good friends.
“We met again in this remote place, but she didn’t recognize me. Is it because I’m in such a sorry state now, far from the Cui family? Or maybe it’s something deeper, something from what happened two years ago, something I’m not aware of?”
The more Qin Ming tried to piece together the timeline, the more it felt like some parts of his life were like floating duckweed, unanchored, not really his. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside. What good would knowing more do anyway? He was far from that grand city now, stranded here. Nothing he learned could change that.
What mattered most now was building up his strength. When he reached a higher level of power, the memories would come naturally.
Refocusing his mind, Qin Ming picked up the yellowed book in front of him.
“Yellow Mud Palm… The name isn’t great, but the records say it’s a proper, powerful technique,” Qin Ming said aloud, surprised. The notes in the book showed that everyone who practiced this technique held it in high regard. It was extremely powerful, but many couldn’t reach its advanced stages due to a lack of talent. Some comments, written by seemingly elder martial artists, claimed that Yellow Mud Palm was as deadly as any of the high-level secret martial techniques.
Qin Ming was intrigued. He put aside other thoughts, focusing completely on the book in front of him.
Slowly, a mist seemed to gather in front of his eyes, and he saw an elderly man demonstrating the techniques. The man practiced on the ground, moving fluidly, blending life force transformations with Celestial Light Force, and finally turning Yellow Mud Palm into something extraordinary. The scene left Qin Ming in awe, and his thoughts drifted as he emerged from the vision.
“If you could reach that level… it would be almost like touching the Dao itself!” Qin Ming whispered. He understood now that the name “Yellow Mud Palm” was an understatement, a humble name for a powerful technique. Even at its early stages, it could pierce through the body, breaking bones and organs beneath the skin.
“It’s the magic of Soft Force,” Qin Ming nodded to himself. He knew that the Celestial Light Force in this technique wasn’t just one type—it must have involved several secret forms of force to be so strong.
“Once mastered, the Celestial Light Soft Force can shoot through fingertips, pierce armor, and tear through scales like they’re nothing.”
Qin Ming turned to the final page of the book, the scenes playing out vividly before him.
“At its highest level, Yellow Mud Palm harnesses a unique power—Celestial Light Force mingles with the essence of the earth, and its power soars.”
In the vision, the elderly man stood on the ground, his feet drawing energy from the earth, merging it with Celestial Light Force. Eventually, the energy between his hands grew so thick it became almost solid, looking like a layer of yellow mud covering his hands.
He moved his right hand, and a gigantic beast—as big as a hill—shattered at his touch, breaking apart like a mountain of meat, staining the earth red.
“Amazing,” Qin Ming whispered.
This was no ordinary combat skill; it transcended the usual techniques. The phrase “skill close to the Dao” was true—it was a method of breaking beyond limits.
“But reaching that level is so difficult,” Qin Ming sighed. He was confident in his understanding and his ability to resonate with the old man’s experience and insights, but ultimately, it all came down to gathering enough Celestial Light Force. Only when he accumulated enough of it could he draw out the earth’s essence with Celestial Light Soft Force.
Qin Ming practiced in the courtyard, starting with the mysterious Soft Force, as it was the core of everything in the book. Except for meals, he spent all his time training, progressing from Celestial Light Soft Force to Yellow Mud Palm.
He wanted to master it as soon as possible because Yellow Mud Palm had real battle records—it had killed powerful outsiders.
By midday, Qin Ming was tired, and finally stopped to rest. As he took a break, he thought about all the techniques he’d learned. Only the final move from that sword manual could compare to Yellow Mud Palm. That sword strike was meant to sever the sky, tear through the night.
Similarly, bringing out the full power of that ultimate sword move required incredibly high skill.
“I’ve got to finish what I promised,” Qin Ming said, serious. He was a man of his word. If he said he’d do something, he’d do it.
Not long after, Qin Ming set off into the mountains, carrying a net. Winter’s harshest days had passed, and in just over a month, the ice and snow would start melting. It wouldn’t be long until the Fire Spring revived and spring blossomed. Birds were already starting to get more active, and soon they’d be nesting.
Qin Ming knew the mountain well, understood the habits of its creatures. With his current skills, sneaking around and catching some small animals wasn’t difficult.
Half an hour later, he spotted his target. He quickly tossed his net into a cluster of thorns.
“Help! Bird murder! Somebody save me!” a tiny creature cried out, panicking, thrashing around in the net but unable to escape.
Qin Ming beamed and ran over. In the net was a light blue bird.
It was slightly smaller than his palm, its big eyes sparkling like gems. It spoke, “Oh mighty two-legged one, spare me! Let this little bird go. I’ll lead you to a bear—so much more meat on a bear, yeah?”
At last, Qin Ming had caught a Talking Sparrow, keeping his promise to Wen Rui. There was no way he was letting the little bird go.
As he neared the village entrance, Qin Ming heard an angry voice from behind him. “Who took my wife? Stop right there, unless you want to die!”
Qin Ming turned and recognized the bird. It was larger than most Talking Sparrows, with a shifty look in its eyes. It was known for having a sharp tongue, and had once annoyed Cao Long to no end.
“Two-legged one! Let my wife go, or I’ll get Old Bear down from the mountain to tear your village apart! Don’t you know who I am? I’m the famous bird of these mountains! I could get the Mountain Lord to wipe out your entire village!”
The mouthy Talking Sparrow flew closer, glaring and threatening. But when it got a good look at Qin Ming, it froze, quickly changing its attitude. “Oh, big brother! My apologies, this was all a misunderstanding. We’re on the same side!”
Qin Ming raised an eyebrow, looking at the bird, now all meek and polite, fluttering in the night sky.
“Master Wu told me to send you messages and scout paths in the mountains. I’ve been busy though—just got married, you know. Haven’t had time,” the bird explained hurriedly.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Qin Ming didn’t understand.
“Master Wu—the crow that hangs around the lady in the black cloak. I’m telling you, that woman’s name is Tang Jin. She’s got an amazing figure, and she’s gorgeous too. I could even draw her for you if you’d like…”
Qin Ming suspected this bird might actually be a human transformed into a strange creature.
“Big brother, please, show mercy! Let my wife go!”
…
Later, at Lu Ze’s house, the two kids were jumping up and down with excitement.
“Uncle, you’re amazing! You really caught a Talking Sparrow. I’m so happy! The squirrel will have a friend now!”
“That’s my wife! The squirrel should stick with a weasel!” yelled the Talking Sparrow from the roof, trying to correct the children.
The red squirrel stared at the bird, looking anything but friendly.
Lu Ze and his wife were amazed. All these little animals seemed almost… human!
Qin Ming spoke up, “Keep it for a few months, then let it go. I’ve made a deal with it. Whenever Brother Lu heads into the mountains, it’ll warn you of danger. Don’t worry, it won’t cause trouble. If it does, I’ll go find Master Wu.”
The next day, Yang Yong Qing showed up, sighing deeply as he pulled along his black mountain goat, ready to head for Golden Rooster Ridge with Qin Ming.
Qin Ming sighed too. He didn’t want to make this trip at all—it was a hundred miles there and back. Why hadn’t this problem resolved itself yet?
“Uncle, there’s no rush. We just need to get there before dark. Why are you so eager to go join a bandit camp?”
“Alright then,” Yang Yong Qing agreed.
Even after lunch, Qin Ming dragged his feet, refusing to leave. In the end, Yang Yong Qing couldn’t wait any longer. He was worried the bandits would cause trouble if they were late. Since he couldn’t convince Qin Ming to come, he set off on his own.
But less than half an hour later, Yang Yong Qing came rushing back, riding his goat with great excitement.
As soon as he reached the village entrance, he shouted, “Big news! Heaven has finally answered my prayers! All the bandits on Golden Rooster Ridge are gone! Hahaha…”
“What?!” Everyone rushed out to hear the news.
Yang Yong Qing had been completely stunned when he heard it earlier on the road. Yesterday, he’d been cursing, saying nothing would stop him from having to report to the bandits—unless, of course, they all just died. And today, before he even got there, the place had really become Silent Ridge!
Qin Ming sipped his rough tea, looking out the window. The matter had come to an end, and it was time for him to leave.
…
In a famous, radiant city, rows of majestic buildings stretched far and wide. Inside an enormous hall decorated with elaborate carvings, a dignified middle-aged man sat, his expression stern. He spoke, “Recently, several doses of Yin-Yang Elixir have come out of Black and White Mountain, drawing the attention of many families and outsiders. Cui Hong, you are somewhat familiar with the area—you observed it two years ago. Go see if you can find a dose of the elixir.”
Standing in the hall was a man with unusually long arms. He nodded at the command.
“You left that child near Black and White Mountain back then, didn’t you?”
“Yes, if he survived, he should still be there,” the long-armed man replied.
“See if you can find him,” the stern man added casually.
“Do you have any specific orders?” the long-armed man asked cautiously. He knew that the dignified man wouldn’t mention the child for no reason.