Chapter 74: Fire Dragon Walks on Water
Chen Ping'an returned to the blacksmith shop. After working, during the meal break, Chen Ping'an held his bowl and found Master Ruan crouching under the eaves with Miss Ruan. Chen Ping'an said he needed to borrow money, probably fifteen or sixteen taels of silver. Ruan Qiong didn't even ask why Chen Ping'an needed to borrow money. He stopped his chopsticks, glanced sidelong at the straw-sandaled youth, and spat out two words, "Get lost."
Chen Ping'an immediately scurried away obediently.
Ruan Xiu frowned and said, "Dad, can't you speak nicely?"
Ruan Qiong snorted coldly, "Not beating him up is already speaking very nicely."
Ruan Xiu spoke up for justice, "He's been working so hard as your apprentice, not taking a single penny of wages. During the dark hours, everyone else is either sleeping soundly indoors or chatting idly. Only Chen Ping'an is still hauling dirt from the well, back and forth, busy with this and that, never idle. In these times, who works the most diligently, Dad? Don't you have a clue? Put your hand on your heart and tell me, is it really excessive for him to ask you for fifteen or sixteen taels of silver?"
Ruan Qiong's face darkened, and he didn't speak. In his heart, he thought, Dad knows exactly what's going on, that's why he wants to chop that little bastard who's trying to poach his daughter.
If this youth had the cultivation level of the Moving Mountain Ape from Zhengyang Mountain, Dad would have long since learned from Qi Jingchun and beaten him half to death. But thinking of this, Ruan Qiong felt a bit disheartened. Although even setting aside his position as the sage of this realm, he was still certain to defeat the Moving Mountain Ape, it was obviously impossible for him to settle the match with a single kick like Qi Jingchun.
Ruan Qiong could only comfort himself by saying that although he was nominally a sword cultivator of the military lineage, his true pursuit was not the strength or weakness of battlefield combat, but to become a top-tier sword forger in this world, to forge a living sword with the hope of nurturing its own spiritual nature, adding to the world a true living being that could live and die, cultivate, reincarnate, and even pursue the Great Way.
Ruan Qiong put down his bowl and chopsticks, looked up at the sky, and inexplicably cursed, "Do you really think that just because Qi Jingchun is dead, you can run wild without restraint? I've made my rules clear to you. Now, since you don't follow them, show me the ability to break the rules. If you don't have it, then go die."
Seeing no one around, Ruan Qiong, who had been crouching, shot up from the ground like a streak of white rainbow exploding from the earth, shooting straight into the sea of clouds in the sky.
Above the sea of clouds, several palace-dressed women, matrons, and men in brocade robes and jade belts were flying together through the air, chatting and laughing, all like carefree immortals. Occasionally, they would look down at the entire landscape of the former Lizhu Cave Heaven, truly savoring the pleasures of refined conversation.
With a loud bang.
The head of a dignified, noble lady with a golden hairpin burst open. Then the head of a beautiful girl beside her also exploded. One by one, men and women, no one was spared.
Ruan Qiong's form hovered atop the resplendent golden sea of clouds, his gaze fierce as he looked around and sneered, "What's this? Sending such small fry to test my bottom line, Ruan Qiong? Isn't that a bit too insulting? Although I, Ruan Qiong, am just a blacksmith, far inferior to Qi Jingchun, is it difficult to kill a few blind tenth-tier cultivators here? From now on, there's another rule here. Listen carefully, all of you. Even if you lurk outside the border coveting the Lizhu Blessed Land, as long as I, Ruan Qiong, am in a bad mood one day, I'll grab you and bring you into the blessed land, then smash your head. Believe it or not."
As soon as Ruan Qiong finished speaking, he flashed toward the border. The next moment, he was seen pressing an old man's head with one hand, dragging him back within the boundary. With a press of his five fingers, the old man, who had an immortal air, begged for mercy, "Master Ruan! Master Ruan! Let's talk nicely! I am from the nearby Purple Smoke River..."
Before the old man could finish, Ruan Qiong crushed his head, casually threw the corpse out of his own blessed land's territory, but only cast a cold glance at the green rainbow light that darted out from the corpse, without kicking the dog when it's down. That green rainbow, no more than three feet long, frantically flew for nearly a thousand miles, diving headfirst into a big river shrouded in faint purple smoke. The river's vastness and grandeur far surpassed the great rivers within the Great Li territory.
Ruan Qiong, whose fingers were still stained with blood, announced loudly, "Within sixty years, all will be treated the same."
In the distant sea of clouds, a female cultivator, using the clouds to hide her form, said indignantly, "Such bloody and cruel methods, hardly the conduct of a sage who should be solemnly guarding a region's fortune."
Ruan Qiong laughed angrily, "Oh? Learned to be smart, have you? Hiding so far away and muttering, thinking I can't do anything to you, huh? Damn it, I'm not like Qi Jingchun, that book-addled fool. You're talking about morality and etiquette with me, a military lineage sword cultivator. Are you out of your mind?"
Ruan Qiong tilted one arm downward, pressed two fingers together, and silently chanted, "Heavenly Gang Swaying Wind, Earthly Evil Thunderbolt Fire, urgent as the law commands!"
In an instant, two auras surged violently from heaven and earth, like two newly emerged springs.
Another warm, deep voice urgently warned, "Not good, it's Ruan Qiong's natal wind and thunder twin swords! Lanting, retreat quickly! Ruan Qiong's natal items are different from ordinary people; they are not nurtured in his acupoints but exist in the three-thousand-mile heaven and earth around him, wandering with his two military lineage Yin spirits..."
Above the sea of clouds, a streak of colorful green firefly desperately fled for its life. Outside the firefly, branches of translucent peach blossoms swirled and circled, protecting its master.
This faint green light flew about eight hundred miles in one breath before a green thread descended from the sky, piercing through its head.
The man who had spoken up for her, seeing the situation had turned unfavorable, used his unique escape technique to disappear early.
Heaven was silent, and no one dared to make a sound anymore.
Ruan Qiong sneered, no longer bothering with these malicious creatures. His body landed by the stream near the blacksmith shop. The blacksmith, reeking of murderous aura and blood, reached into the stream to wash off the bloodstains.
Ruan Qiong sighed, feeling sorrowful, and said, "Qi Jingchun, if you had half of my unreasonableness, why would you have left so aggrieved?"
---
On the bank, Chen Ping'an was doing an hour of walking stance training. On his way back, after finishing practice, he was stretching and relaxing his muscles. Chen Ping'an suddenly saw Master Ruan walking up from the stream. He hesitated, slowed his pace, and decided not to court trouble. Somehow, Chen Ping'an always felt that Master Ruan didn't have a good impression of him. The way he looked at him was a bit like Old Man Yao, with a hint of disgust.
Ruan Qiong didn't pay the youth any attention and strode back to the blacksmith shop on his own.
Chen Ping'an suddenly turned his head and looked at the stream.
It was calm as usual, without any abnormalities.
But Chen Ping'an had an abrupt tightening in his heart, like a prickling sensation on his back, as if there were a wronged water ghost in the stream staring at him. A very absurd feeling.
Yet in his sight, the stream babbled cheerfully and gently.
Chen Ping'an didn't give up. He picked up a few stones of appropriate weight, turned around, and walked downstream along the stream, carefully observing the activity in the water, trying to find some clues.
The more Chen Ping'an looked, the more he felt something was off. Under the bright sun, the stream gave off an eerie, gloomy vibe. Even when Chen Ping'an had dived many times into the deep pit beneath Azure Ox's Back, he had never felt such clear disgust. Chen Ping'an could now be certain that there were bizarre goblins, monsters, and lonely ghosts in the world. Back then, Mr. Qi was in the town, so all evil was kept at bay. Now that Mr. Qi was gone, perhaps this was a time when ghosts and monsters would run rampant. He had to be very careful. Even though Master Ruan was the next so-called "sage," Chen Ping'an dared not let his guard down. In the end, Chen Ping'an trusted Mr. Qi more. He had a sense of reverence for the stern Master Ruan, but not a shred of closeness.
The reason Chen Ping'an dared to follow his instincts and actively investigate the strangeness in the water was that Master Ruan had just left. Chen Ping'an didn't think that if there really were a water ghost, it would dare to emerge from the water and kill him right under the nose of a sage. Moreover, Chen Ping'an had the pair of landscape seals Mr. Qi had given him hidden in his sleeve. One of them was the "Water" character seal, so the youth was especially bold.
After throwing two handfuls of stones one after another, Chen Ping'an was about to bend down to pick up more when someone nearby asked, "What are you doing?"
It was a girl with a black ponytail and green clothes. It turned out to be Ruan Xiu.
Chen Ping'an had been concentrating on dealing with the water and hadn't noticed Miss Ruan's approach. He didn't hide anything, not afraid of her laughing at him. He pointed at the water surface and honestly replied, "I think there's something dirty in the water, so I was trying to see if I could hit it out with stones."
Ruan Xiu looked at the stream, focused her gaze, and her face darkened.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Is there really a problem?"
Ruan Xiu shook her head, "I can't tell."
Chen Ping'an smiled, "I'm probably just being paranoid."
Ruan Xiu said quietly, "You go back first. I need to eat something here before returning to the shop. If my dad asks, just say you didn't see me."
Chen Ping'an nodded, "No problem."
He remembered something, found a sharp-edged stone from the ground, and asked, "Miss Ruan, can I ask you the meaning of some words and how to pronounce them?"
Ruan Xiu was instantly on guard.
Reading? Books? Those things were the most terrifying enemies in the world. Opening any page, each character seemed like a great cultivator in battle formation, flaunting its power at Ruan Xiu. Ruan Xiu always got a headache just looking at them. Originally, when she followed her father Ruan Qiong into the town, she was supposed to go to the school to study, completely without needing to help with forging and sword-making. But she'd rather die than go. Today her stomach hurt, tomorrow her head was hot, the day after tomorrow it might rain, the day after that she twisted her ankle... Ruan Qiong finally got tired of hearing those clumsy excuses and let Ruan Xiu off the hook.
But today, Ruan Xiu didn't want to show weakness in front of the youth. She forced herself to stay calm, put on a strained smile, and said, "Write them down for me to see first."
When Chen Ping'an carved two characters into the ground with a stone, Ruan Xiu transformed, beaming with confidence and pride. She smiled, "These two characters? Too simple. I've known them since I was very young. One is the character 'Spirit,' and the other is 'Court.' Together, they form the name of an acupoint on the human body: 'Spirit Court.' The so-called acupoints are why we humans are the most spiritual of all living beings. Many goblins and monsters that have cultivated the Great Path have to transform into humans eventually. It's because the human body is most suitable for cultivation. The three hundred and sixty-five major and minor acupoints are like mountains of gold and silver, treasures. As the ancients said, acupoints are 'places where spirit energy travels and enters or exits.' Our human three souls and seven spirits are like children eating from a hundred families. They eat a bowl of rice in this house, drink a cup of water in that house, and are continuously nurtured and strengthened to grow."
Ruan Xiu explained leisurely, then she extended a finger and pressed it against her head, smiling. "As for this 'Spirit Court,' it's right here. If you push up from your hairline about half an inch, this acupoint isn't particularly important for military lineage sword cultivators like me and my dad. Hmm, in our jargon, it's not a 'place military strategists must contend for.' It's optional. But for those beings that rely on incense offerings, this acupoint is crucial. However, my dad said that those ghosts and spirits have no great future. No matter how great their divine powers, how broad their ghostly paths, they are just pitiful parasites. Not worth mentioning."
Chen Ping'an didn't understand any of it; he could only memorize it by rote. Afterward, he asked about "Juque" and "Taiyuan."
Ruan Xiu answered them one by one. Although the girl didn't like studying, she only disliked the classic books of Confucian sages. For military lineage cultivation, sword practice, and forging, the girl liked them very much. She had been familiar with these acupoint names since childhood.
Before Chen Ping'an could ask for her help, the girl laughed heartily and said, "When I have time later, I'll tell you all the names, locations, and uses of the three hundred and sixty-five acupoints."
Chen Ping'an smiled, "I'll be troubling you, Miss Ruan."
Ruan Xiu asked, "You've helped me buy pastries so many times. Have you found it troublesome?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. A small favor, of course not.
Ruan Xiu smiled happily, "That's settled then."
She suddenly felt a bit regretful, "Knowing about acupoints isn't really that meaningful. There are so many heretical and deviant paths in cultivation because each one has a different method of nourishing qi and refining qi. The slightest difference can lead to a vast disparity. My family naturally has its own inherited mental methods for dispersing and nourishing qi, but they can't be passed on to outsiders. It's not a matter of whether my dad agrees or not. Chen Ping'an, I'm sorry."
Chen Ping'an wasn't the type to push his luck. He quickly explained with a smile, "It's fine, it's fine. I just wanted to learn more characters. I didn't think that far. Besides, I have a fist manual to practice. The stance training in that manual is already almost too much for me to handle. I couldn't possibly get distracted."
Ruan Xiu smiled with relief and lightly patted her chest, "That's good."
It wobbled and swayed. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful.
Chen Ping'an quickly averted his unintentional gaze, stood up seriously, and said, "Miss Ruan, whenever you're free, I can go back to Mud Vial Alley a bit late."
Ruan Xiu got up and nodded with a smile, "Alright."
Chen Ping'an trotted back to the blacksmith shop.
Ruan Xiu walked down the bank to the streamside. She first took out a handkerchief, popped a piece of pastry into her mouth, slowly chewing and savoring.
By the time Chen Ping'an had probably arrived in town, she reached out and rolled up her sleeve, revealing the scarlet bracelet. She looked at the clear stream water and said solemnly, "Fire dragon walks on water."
The bracelet instantly liquefied. A living creature awakened, writhing and twisting continuously, eventually transforming into a small fire dragon wreathed in flames. Its head and tail connected, just encircling the girl's wrist.
At the green-clad girl's command.
This crimson dragon, originally less than a foot long, leaped into the stream.
One zhang, three zhang, ten zhang.
A fire dragon can also walk on water!
Ruan Xiu commanded, "That's enough."
The fire dragon, now ten zhang long, stopped growing. But the nearby stream water had all evaporated. Moreover, the upstream water, like a defeated army scared out of its wits, refused to charge forward again, crowding and compressing together, causing the water level to rise continuously. Meanwhile, the downstream water continued to rush away.
Ruan Xiu squinted and looked.
She waited for the water to recede and the riverbed to reveal itself.
She walked along the dry riverbed of the stream, following the ten-zhang fire dragon forward.
Now that the cave heaven had shattered, the restrictions carefully arranged by the four sages had also disappeared, so spells and magical powers were no longer forbidden.
This was also the root reason why Ruan Qiong had to establish rules and strike with thunderbolt force from the start. Even though this place was once the smallest of the thirty-six small cave heavens and the least known for rare treasures, it was still a blessed land from a cave heaven. Its various benefits greatly aided cultivation. Now that the great formation was gone, if left unconstrained, external cultivators would swarm in, a mix of good and bad, with impure intentions. In the end, the more than six thousand people in the town, except for those old turtles and king turtles who managed to survive by luck, the rest of the mortals would probably die within a day.
The military lineage also emphasized rules, but they emphasized adaptation even more. They were far more flexible and adaptable than the Confucians, able to act according to circumstances.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the fire dragon, which had been pouncing left and right in the riverbed, seemed to finally catch the slippery target. It pressed down with a claw, slowly lowering its head.
Ruan Xiu walked near the fire dragon's head and looked down. Under the dragon's claw was a curled-up woman. The claw had grabbed her by the waist. She had waist-length jet-black hair that tightly shielded her entire body.
Ruan Xiu asked curiously, "A mere river god, daring to act unruly at my doorstep? Haven't you heard that my dad once beheaded six river gods?"
The river matron, who had transformed from a withered old crone into a young woman, begged, "Great immortal, great immortal, this servant was just passing through. I have absolutely no intention to harm anyone. Moreover, I dared to leak my Yin spirit aura because I hoped to help increase the water weight of Sage Ruan's stream, wishing to contribute a little bit of effort. Please don't be angry, great immortal. If you think this servant is ugly and displeasing to the eye, this servant will only dare to move about at night from now on..."
Ruan Xiu asked directly, "Do you know Chen Ping'an?"
The river matron, pinned by the fire dragon, rapidly aged, but only dared to whimper pitifully, nodding like a chick pecking rice, "I know him, I know him. This servant was originally from Apricot Blossom Alley. Chen Ping'an is an orphan from Mud Vial Alley. We've occasionally crossed paths, but there's no enmity. This servant just hasn't seen many townspeople by the stream recently. Today, seeing the youth practice his fists, I was curious and took a few extra glances. How could I have known it would bring such a huge disaster? Great immortal, please have mercy on this servant who doesn't know the rules, and spare me..."
Ruan Xiu waved her hand, and the fire dragon transformed back into a crimson bracelet with an ancient pattern, worn on the girl's wrist.
Ruan Xiu still stood where she was, with the rushing stream water surging behind her.
But the scene that made the river matron's heart tremble was that the stream water, as if encountering a supreme natural enemy, surrendered without a fight, automatically detouring around her and flowing downstream.
Even more terrifyingly, the river matron could sense that this green-clad girl hadn't used any magical powers at all.
Ruan Xiu smiled cheerfully, "Don't just stand there in a daze. Tell me about Apricot Blossom Alley and Mud Vial Alley. Everything. Tell me whatever you know."
The river matron, now free, began to slowly regain her youthful appearance. But the next moment, she was suddenly so terrified that she couldn't help but scream. Her waterfall of crow-black hair was shortening. She wailed heartbreakingly, "Why is my cultivation fading away!"
The green-clad girl, eating her pastry, mumbled indistinctly, "Ah? I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you, I was born with a fire god physique. I'm the natural enemy of water."
The river matron forced herself to calm down and silently wept, begging, "Please, great immortal, have mercy and forgive this servant's unintentional offense this time."
Ruan Xiu thought it over seriously, "I'll call you over to tell me stories from now on. Don't worry, I'll hide my natal aura when I do."
The river matron looked crestfallen, not daring to refuse, and had to agree.
Ruan Xiu walked toward the bank and turned back, "Don't let it happen again."
The river matron repeatedly said, "I wouldn't dare."
After the girl went ashore, she shook her ponytail and walked toward the blacksmith shop.
The river matron's body submerged into the stream water. Her face was full of twisted resentment. But after suffering several losses, she began to learn to suppress this malevolence with all her might.
A string of thoughts from elsewhere echoed heavily in her heart.
"Fool, stop your ignorance. Do you know what this girl's future path to enlightenment is? It is to slaughter all the river and water gods of a continent. You, a mere river matron, still dare to harbor murderous intent toward her? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at? Even if she stretches out her neck for you to kill, in the end, you would be the one to die! Do you know how sharp her perception of any Yin object in water is? So your current thoughts are not wrong. The first river god she will kill in the future is you! So think carefully about how to remedy this. This originally disastrous calamity is also the seed of a great opportunity for you."
"This is the last time I remind you. If you make any move that oversteps the rules again, without waiting for others to act, I will make your life worse than death."
After the voice disappeared, the river matron floated dazedly in the water. Her body swayed gracefully but was devoid of life.
The Great Way was vague and uncertain, making one feel disheartened.
---
Ruan Qiong, in the sword-forging room, saw his daughter bouncing in and said irritably, "Is bullying a minor river matron really that enjoyable?"
The girl smiled brightly, "Then I'll wait until she becomes a river god, then bully her."
Ruan Qiong frowned, "Xiuxiu, don't ever underestimate river and water gods. They are the orthodox water gods listed in the registers of the continent's mountains, rivers, and lakes. Although they can't compare to the five sacred mountains of the various countries, killing them in water is not easy."
The girl said "Oh" casually, "Then I'll just make them have no water to dwell in."
Ruan Qiong's heart trembled, but he quickly suppressed the smile about to form at the corner of his mouth.