Master into Lover

Chapter 3 Rescue and escape

"Tell me, who's imprisoned in the stable?"

"..."

"You can't speak, right? Then lead me inside and save my parents, or I'll kill you!"

"Shu!"

The mute old woman suddenly spoke, startling Xu Shu.

"The cells are guarded by warrior monks. You're no match for them. The monks sold your father to northern recruiters, and your mother has committed suicide. They want to sacrifice you to the sacred egg on your birthday. You have no chance of survival . Run!"

Xu Shu's head was buzzing. He thought to himself, "Fang Zhihai seems to be talking nonsense, but I didn't expect him to be right. The monks really did harm my parents , and yet I foolishly thought these monks were my benefactors?"

Seeing Xu Shu still hesitant, the mute woman suddenly pulled something from her pocket and handed it to Xu Shu: "This is what your mother left behind after your father was taken away, before she committed suicide. She begged me to tell you to escape, but I couldn't make up my mind. I'm sorry!"

When Xu Shu unfolded it, he saw the embroidered handkerchief— his mother's wedding gift from her grandmother.. Once delicate, its white clouds and green fields were now splashed with crimson。

That's mother had written a single word: RUN!

"A blood letter!"

"This is my mother's final letter before she died... Mother..."

Xu Shu muttered to himself, wanting to cry but unable to. After crossing over, the two souls in his body had merged into one, so his mother's death felt like a needle piercing his heart, excruciating pain.

"So, where is my mother's body now?"

"Alas, the monk threw her into the river. In times of war, aren't all the dead thrown into the river?"

"Shu, run! It's dark now. Don't tell anyone it was my mute woman who told you. Remember that!"

"Yes!"

Xu Shu nodded tearfully to the mute woman, then turned and ran.

He ran back to the rockery, only to be stunned again.

The abbot had a sword in his hand. He had already decided to kill Fang Zhihai, and every strike was deadly!

Fang Zhihai had already suffered multiple sword wounds. He dodged repeatedly, but his increasingly weak body put him in danger and he was on the verge of collapse.

"Only by saving Fang Zhihai can I avenge my parents!" Xu Shu fiercely thought.

He returned to the Buddhist temple, scattered the oil from the lamp, and then set the temple on fire. As the fire grew larger, burning the roof, the monks began to cry out in panic:

"Oh no! The temple is on fire!"

"Hurry, hurry, put out the fire!"

"..."

Since the abbot was completely dominant in the fight, the monks saw no need to stand by and watch. They all rushed to the temple to rescue the others.

When only the abbot and Fang Zhihai were left in the snow, Xu Shu randomly selected a horse at the temple entrance, skillfully leaped onto its back, and rushed towards Fang Zhihai.

Living in modern times, he had never ridden a horse before. Fortunately, in ancient times, he knew how to ride a horse, and he was quite skilled at it, a skill he had learned during his military reserve training.

'Get on!'

Xushu shouted.

'Ride with me! '

Fang Zhihai had been in utter despair, believing he would surely die that day, but Xu Shu's sudden appearance on horseback lifted his spirits—his blade flashing as it thundered toward the abbot's eyes like a silver arrow.

As the abbot raised his guard, Fang Zhihai vaulted onto Xu Shu's horse.

The two men and their horses galloped down the mountain path, disappearing into the near-blackness in just a few seconds.

Behind them, the abbot was calling out, summoning the horses.

The cold wind sliced across his face like an icy knife, but Xu Shu's back felt warm. Fang Zhihai was hugging him tightly from behind, a bond of trust between men that needed no words.

Xu Shu didn't know ,how long they had been running.

The snow finally stopped, and a half moon shone through the thin clouds. Xu Shu could finally make out the nearby roads and scenery. Nearby lay a vast field, and at the foot of a distant mountain stood a village, with lights on in one or two houses.

"Kid, we can't keep running this way. Will be caught up." Fang Zhihai finally spoke, the vibrations in his chest even transmitting to Xu Shu's back.

“Where to go?”

"There is a big tree ahead. You stop your horse under the tree … have a hidden path."

“Okey-dokey”

Fang Zhihai heard Xu Shu's happy tone and muttered darkly."Why are you so happy? I'm obviously injured."

Xu Shu didn't know why he felt so happy. Was it the thrill of stealing five silver bags—enough to live on for months? Or was it the excitement of finally having a master to teach him real martial arts? Back in his previous life, he had been 27, a man who kept his emotions tightly controlled, not some giddy child.

"So, why am I so happy today?" Xu Shu pondered silently as he rode his horse.

‌Arriving under the tree, Xu Shu pulled back sharply on the reins.‌ The pale moonlight revealed it—a path ‌so well-hidden‌ in the bushes behind the tree that ‌even the earth beneath it was undisturbed‌.

‌After running several more miles along the path, Fang Zhihai finally called Xu Shu to stop, they remained seated on the horse‌ while Xu Shu tended to his wounds.

Fang Zhihai abdomen bore a sword wound that he had already bound himself. On his left arm were two more wounds, which Xu Shu tied tightly with strips of torn cloth.

"Kid, you know how to bandage wounds? Who taught you that?"

Xu Shu was a little depressed: "Guess how old I am?"

"Seventeen, a few days until eighteen. You haven't even grown yet. In front of me, your uncle, you're nothing but a child?" Fang Zhihai said, chuckling.

"Brother, I'm already 27. I've seen the world you haven't seen, and I've slept with every girl you haven't. Don't act like a big shot in front of me."

Xu Shu said, turned around, and continued riding.

He heard Fang Zhihai let out a scoff behind him, then the man's arms wrapped around him once more—this time, warm and tight.

After a while, sleet fell again.

Xu Shu shivered as icy raindrops seeped into his collar, trickling down his bare neck.

Fortunately, a small, deserted temple suddenly appeared on the roadside. Inside, a charcoal fire was still burning, evidently indicating that a traveler had recently rested there.

Fang Zhihai looked back, but seeing no sign of the abbot chasing him, he made his decision:

"Kid,let's stay here tonight."

Though Xu Shu wasn't pleased to be called a kid, he no longer had the energy to protest. Trembling, he dismounted and headed straight for the fire in the small temple.

Warming his hands, Xu Shu suddenly noticed that the injured Fang Zhihai was tying his own horse to feed it—kind-hearted passers-by had left two bundles of hay in the small temple, which happened to be exactly suitable for feeding the horses.

Feeling a little guilty, Xu Shu walked forward.

"Well, I should be the one feeding the horses. Let me do it,"

"It's okay. I can still move one arm."

Despite Fang Zhihai's words, Xu Shu snatched the haystack from him and deftly spread it in front of the horse.

There was a piece of earth next to the fire that served as a stool. The two sat side by side and continued chatting.

"You called me Xu Shu."

"Oh, Xu Shu, why would you risk saving me?"

"To become your disciple. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get my revenge."

"Revenge? Could it be..."

"That's right. My parents really were harmed by the White Horse Temple. They actually lied to me and said they went to town to buy medicine. D*mn it!"

After saying this, Shu Shu recounted his experiences eavesdropping behind the rockery and his previous encounter with the mute woman. Of course, he also told Fang zhihai everything about his mother's suicide and his father being sold off to the north as a soldier.

“I guessed right! That White Horse Temple is pure evil. How crazy is it to sacrifice a 'holy egg' in a Buddhist temple? That’s just ridiculous!”

"What exactly is a sacred egg?" Xu Shu finally found his interest."They sing and dance around it every night. At first, I thought they were a cult."

"It is a cult!" Fang Zhihai answered decisively.

"These people ostensibly believe in Buddhism, but they are all heretics. They actually believe in Xian-Jing Cult."

"Xian-Jing Cult?" Xu Shu froze for a long moment. His mind immediately connected it to Zoroastrianism (Chinese: Xianjiao) — how could there be a sect with an extra character in its name? Xianjing-jiao versus Xian-jiao,was this a mistake or is this a new sect?.

At this thought, Xu Shu's mind flashed back to scenes from TV documentaries showing ancient Persians worshipping fire altars."So, what's the connection between this and Zoroastrianism?"

Fang Zhihai was also stunned for a moment by Xu Shu's question.

His father had been a local county magistrate, and he had read extensively in the government archives. Many years ago, when he came across the unfamiliar term "Zoroastrianism," he asked his father what it was.

"Dad said it was a Persian sect. What kind of place is Persia, anyway?" Thinking of this, Fang Zhihai grew increasingly confused, unsure how to answer Xu Shu's question.

Seeing Fang Zhihai didn't respond, Xu Shu waved his hand:

"Forget it. I won't ask anymore. Go to sleep."

Unexpectedly, Fang Zhihai launched into another conversation:

"Zoroastrianism is a Western Persian religion, Xian-Jing Cult is a Daze religion.

Xian-Jing Cult worship the Fire Peng god, so they always carry a Fire Peng egg when practicing.The Fire Peng dance they performed during the sacrifice was indeed very strange.

What was even stranger was that. Even stranger, this egg requires the life and blood of an 18-year-old boy of the Fire element to hatch into a powerful Fire Peng... Hey, kid, you're lucky you met me, or you'd be dead."