Chapter 719: Talk About It!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This was, without a doubt, Supreme Wood's will.
Yun Yang had only read the opening of Supreme Wood's letter, but he had already felt the difference in its content compared to the others.
"Ninth Brother, you have come. If my guess is correct, it should be three years after what happened to us, when you lay eyes on this letter."
"Somehow, I knew that the person who comes would definitely be you. Isn't it strange?"
Yun Yang straightened up when he read this. His hands, which were still earlier, began trembling.
Three years after what happened to us? What did that mean?
Did his third brother actually know that there would be an accident and had even forecasted the time of the calamity?
"I wanted to write my will like the rest of them as well, but I thought… you would probably break down soon from the torment of having to go on until now. I am the only person who might know a little bit of the inside story. I can't bear to let you carry on with so much pain, so I'm leaving you a little bit of information here."
"When you have seen this letter, when you have read up until this point, some form of realization should have taken place within your mind – I'll take it that you've understood half of it. Don't' ask me why it's half. I actually don't know the reason for the other half."
"You've done well, Ol'Ninth."
Yun Yang's lurching heart was finally appeased when he reached this part of the letter. He was thoroughly relieved and was almost singing tearfully with extreme joy. He felt a solid pinch on his nose, the bubbling emotions long contained within him a challenge to suppress.
Yun Yang really wanted to sing right now. He wanted to dance, wanted to scream and shout, to jump in joy, to cheerfully express how much happiness he was experiencing.
'My brothers did not die!'
'They lied to me? What does that matter?'
'Torment? So what if I was tormented?'
'Everything doesn't matter!'
'Nothing is an issue!'
'As long as they could be alive, as long as they're still alive!'
'That would be the best thing ever!'
'All the happiness in this world is nothing but this!'
Yun Yang pressed the letter to his chest and took a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, his expression was jubilant. After some time, he forced his elation down to continue reading.
"The formation of the Nine Supremes was the purposeful doing of the creator. It is destiny. Only the candidates of the Nine Supremes were manipulated. There were coincidences, there were those who were destined, there were also those who cut the line. I was one of those who cut the line."
Yun Yang frowned upon reading the line, confusion slowly rippling within him.
The three words, cut the line, were easy to understand, but the previous line – the formation of the Nine Supremes was the purposeful act of the creator? Since it was the doing of the creator – whether it was purposeful or not, it should be an unflinching destiny. How, then, could there be the statement 'to cut the line'?
Who could cut the line?
"Actually, I truly can't recall much, only some fragments of the past. My physique is likely to be more unusual, different. I know that I have to go back after this incident, back to where I came from. However, I don't know where I came from nor do I know what will happen to the others, what situations they will encounter…"
Yun Yang bit his lips, the confusion within him growing heavier.
"The buried memory fragments in the bottom of my heart tells me that my family name is Tan. Very strange and rare, is it not? I thought it was strange as well, but what is weirder is my name – it's actually called Tan Yixia1. It was said that back then when my father was giving me my name, his group of brothers had gathered together to contribute ideas. They proposed to name me Tan Yixia, meaning that anyone could look for me to talk about any uncertainties they may have… Don't ask me why I've suddenly mentioned this, because this is the clearest fragment I have of my memories. Other than this, I don't even know who my father was…"
Looking at the ellipses in the letter, a chuckle almost slipped from Yun Yang. He could totally imagine his third brother's extremely speechless grudge and his complaints about his name.
Tan Yixia!
This name… was amazingly strange.
Find Tan Yixia (talk about it) to talk if one were to have any form of uncertainty… What a good idea!
The person who gave the idea was a genius while the person who decided to use the name was even more of a genius!
"I cultivated a wood-relevant cultivation method. It's a completely supporting attribute. This matches my personality very well. I like to help people. When I had to choose back then, I naturally picked wood… Unfortunately, this seemed to go against my father's initial wish. I remember being beaten up many times, but my eldest uncle quite admired me… He protected my every time."
"Very well, this is the end of me recalling my memory fragments. There doesn't seem to be more anyway. These past few years were the happiest time in my life, having so many brothers to fight together… Too bad it was such a short time. Now that I have to leave, I am filled with reluctance."
"Right, I keep having a sense of familiarity when I face Ol'Fifth and Ol'Eighth, but they were never in my memory… This situation is very odd. Still, it should be a good thing. I think Ol'Fifth and Ol'Eighth were also the ones who cut the line. So, Ol'Ninth, if one day, when we brothers are met with a mishap, me, Ol'Fifth and Ol'Eighth should be the three people you should be the least worried about."
Reading up until this part, Yun Yang's heart clenched once again.
What did he mean by only Ol'Third, Ol'Fifth and Ol'Eighth?
What about the others?
Could there be danger for the others then?
As he thought about this, Yun Yang recalled the past immediately. His fifth and eighth sisters-in-law Yun Zuiyue and Yue Rulan's mysterious disappearance and his third brother's unusual letter had all supported the probability that they had not met with an ill fate, but it also meant that…
Like his seventh brother, Old Dugu's only son, he was definitely not a queue-cutter; as well as his eldest brother and fourth sister, they too…
"I can't be sure of the other brothers' fate, but the eldest is definitely not one. The eldest in my memory is not this eldest right now."
"The Nine Supremes are a unique presence that does not exist between heaven and earth. Therefore, it's also destiny that there can only be one Supreme left from the so-called Nine Supremes."
Supreme Wood's words were all over the place like he was trying hard to jog his memory like he was doing his best to hint something further to Yun Yang. Yet, he could not remember a thing.
"So… life and death are bound to happen, it's necessary. Don't be absentmindedly optimistic about the parting of life and death."
Yun Yang felt his heart aching immensely when he read this.
It could not be avoided… it was not to be avoided… It meant that there must be someone who had died among the brothers?
"In spite of this, everyone's fate is somehow tied to you." Supreme Wood, Tan Yixia's message continued, "One day in the future if you can achieve the tier of dictating the universe, you can use your skills to reverse time itself and resurrect the dead. For one who reaches that level, anything is possible – there's nothing else that he can't do if he has the intention."
"I shall spare you the chatter. My cultivation method, the so-called Sacred Wood Spell, isn't even the least bit useful. I have no regrets giving it up. Just cultivate what I've always been cultivating, the Craft of Life! Remember to cultivate it well. Ol'Second's Gold Rune is at the bottom. You can open his room with it."
"Speaking of which, Ol'Second is one tough cookie I haven't seen through as well. This was mainly because I thought the Gold Rune wasn't exactly useful. This is a valid reason, is it not?"
"Alright, I shall stop here. We brothers will see each other again. By then, we'll drink until we're drunk."
Supreme Wood' message stopped then, leaving behind a dumbstruck Yun Yang.
Translator Note:
1Tan Yixia (谈一下tán yī xià): the author uses Tan (谈) as family name and Yixia (一下) as first name; the literal meaning of the three Chinese characters also means to talk about it for a moment, i.e. to talk about it.