Chapter 135: Seclusion and Cultivation in Zhongnan Mountain, Part 1

The standoff dragged on, with neither side willing to disembark. The train continued its journey toward Xi'an, passing through Huaian, Suqian, Xuzhou, Shangqiu, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and Sanmenxia. Throughout these stops, the parties remained on board. Originally, He Zhixing and her companions had not purchased tickets for Xi'an, but they had paid for an extension and bought four additional tickets once on the train.

As they neared Xi'an, He Zhixing, weary of the relentless pestering, pulled a bag containing a top-grade blood coral—the largest of the remaining six—from under her seat. She opened the bag, which held at least twenty-five pounds of the rare treasure. The sight left the others stunned, their eyes wide with awe at the exquisite specimen.

Jiang Ni grabbed He Zhixing’s arm and whispered, "Zhixing, what are you doing? Are you planning to sell it to them? You can't! We barely have any left."

"Don't worry," He Zhixing replied, "I know what I'm doing."

As the others stared at the coral resting on the travel table between the seats, He Zhixing spoke up: "In Moon Bay, Yancheng, I sold two small pieces weighing about ten pounds to a female manager for one hundred thousand yuan. My principle is that I do not give gifts; if you want these twenty-five pounds, pay me two hundred and fifty thousand and take them."

The master of the one-armed man, along with Liu Tian and his son, conferred briefly before agreeing. "Very well. We don't have that much cash on us right now, but once we get off the train, we will go straight to the bank to settle the transaction."

It was not that they hadn't considered seizing the items by force, but they sensed that He Zhixing and her group had undergone some miraculous transformation, their cultivation levels having increased significantly. Previously, even with five or six of them, they hadn't been able to subdue He Zhixing alone; now that she was accompanied by three skilled martial artists, they dared not act rashly.

Upon arriving in Xi'an, they withdrew the money from a nearby bank and completed the deal. He Zhixing and her three companions departed immediately, boarding a bus to Zhongnan Mountain. Liu Tian, his son, and the Korean monk, believing there might still be an opportunity, boarded a separate bus headed to the same destination.

Shortly after the bus departed, a pleasant female voice broadcasted over the speakers: "Hello, everyone! You are listening to the Liufang Live broadcast, brought to you by the Northwest Girl. Join me for this special travel feature—a journey to Zhongnan Mountain."

"First, let's listen to a song—'Blue Lotus'." Suddenly, the mellow, bright, and magnetic male voice of the renowned mainland singer Xu Wei filled the air, gently unfolding with the rhythm: *Nothing can block my yearning for freedom...*

The melody was ethereal and bright, as if one were standing beside a field of blue lotuses, playing and chasing in unrestrained freedom.

As the song faded into the rhythmic "di-di-di-da-da-da," the broadcaster's voice drifted back in: "That’s right, today the Northwest Girl brings you a light and melodic journey. For now, let us forget our worries and troubles, and follow the rhythm into this journey of hope, this journey to Zhongnan Mountain."

"The next song is 'Let the Whole World Forget Me' by You Hongming. Let us listen quietly, forget our sorrows, our unhappiness, all the pain of the mortal world, and even ourselves, as we drift into an ocean of music."

As the prelude began, the lyrics emerged: *Near the place where the sun sets, the cooling sun no longer leaves any warmth. Thinking of your thin shoulders standing in the wind is heartbreaking...*

As the final chorus—*Please forget me, please forget me, let the whole world forget me, I only wish to live in a corner of your heart...*—played, the broadcaster’s sweet voice wove through, refreshing as a mountain spring: "Yes, let the whole world forget me. I was merely an inconspicuous bubble; let me drift with the wind. As long as the heart is open, tears no longer matter. Let it all turn to smoke."

The song ended, and the broadcaster's interjections were perfectly timed. Immediately, the prelude to "Empty Valley Orchid" began, evoking the feeling of standing in a serene, wild, and empty valley, one’s spirit light and free.

Following that came a series of tracks: *There, Hometown, Gift, Shangri-La, That Year, The You of the Past, As Free as the Wind, Time, Travel, Perfect Life, Sunny, Home, Stroll, This Moment, Traveling in the Wind, Starry Sky, Rainbow, Journey of Redemption, Carefree, Warmth, Youth, Watching the Clouds Rise, Mundane*, and finally concluding with *Summer Wind*.

By then, the bus had reached the foot of Zhongnan Mountain. He Zhixing and her friends awoke from their reverie. He Zhixing asked the driver, "Driver, is the 'Northwest Girl' broadcast you played just now from a disc? Do you happen to have any copies? I’d like to buy one."

The driver replied, "I do. It was recorded by my daughter. I have five or six left. If you want one, I can sell it to you for fifty yuan."

He Zhixing paid for a copy, and the other passengers on the bus, hearing this, rushed to the driver, clamoring to buy them. In less than a minute, all six discs were sold out.