Chapter 187: The Old Men in the New Year
This flying sword was no longer in the vulgar shape of a silver ingot. Besides being extremely tiny, it was identical to an ordinary sword, except that it hovered between illusion and reality, crystalline and clear, brimming with immortal aura.
Bathed in the glow of the morning clouds, the small, exquisite flying sword shimmered with layers of radiance, dazzling to the eye.
Chen Ping'an stared blankly for a long while before finally speaking, "Hey, it's New Year's. Are you trying to come out and get some air? What, do you flying swords also observe holidays and festivals?"
Its tip moved slightly, rotating slowly.
Chen Ping'an's nerves were taut, ready to flee at any moment.
After spinning once, the tip tilted up slightly, and the hilt drooped, as if it were recognizing this somewhat unfamiliar world.
From inside the house came the sound of the little boy in green getting up and yawning. The flying sword whooshed, darting toward Chen Ping'an's glabella with such speed that a residual image remained where it had been, trailing a slender, rope-like streak of light in the air. It far exceeded Chen Ping'an's imagination—there was simply no way to dodge it. The next moment, Chen Ping'an only felt a chill on his brow. He reached up to touch it, but there was no hole pierced by the flying sword, not even a trace left behind.
It had darted into his body and returned to his acupoint, effortlessly.
Like a land-bound Sword Immortal cleaving a path through a battlefield, as if entering an unguarded territory.
Chen Ping'an decided to ask Miss Ruan later whether all flying swords in the world were this miraculous.
At the doorway, the eager little boy in green, clutching a large bundle of bamboo tubes he had prepared long ago, stepped over the threshold together with the drowsy little girl in a pink dress. He gave her a light kick, and she quickly patted herself—after all, this was the new clothes the master had bought her—then glared at him angrily. "What are you doing?"
Standing in the courtyard, the little boy in green sighed. "Are you stupid or what? You're a fire python, innately skilled in the divine art of fire. So why don't you just light the firecrackers already?"
The little girl in pink blinked her eyes. So the divine art of fire could be used like this?
All along the way, whenever they cooked meals or made soup, the master had always lit the fire himself, even on rainy or snowy nights, so she had never thought of this.
Chen Ping'an had never mentioned it, and she had simply never thought of it. The little boy in green probably couldn't be bothered to say anything.
With the two little ones working together, they lit the firecrackers, and the sound of explosions bid farewell to the old year.
Soon, firecrackers began to sound from other places near Mud Vase Alley, echoing in response.
The little boy in green played tirelessly. When the last bamboo tube had burned out, the little girl in pink was about to go into the house to get a broom to sweep the ground. Chen Ping'an smiled, took the broom, and leaned it upside down against the wall. According to the customs of Dragon Spring Town, on the first day of the first month, every household would stand their brooms upside down, signifying that no work would be done that day—just rest.
Standing by the wall, Chen Ping'an looked at the desolate courtyard next door, his mood complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he went to fetch a spare Spring Festival couplet and two "fortune" characters from his own home and went next door to paste them up.
The little boy in green asked with a smile, "Is the master a very good friend of theirs?"
Chen Ping'an said softly, "I just hope they're not enemies."
Returning to his own courtyard, Chen Ping'an stood in the alley at the entrance and looked up at the two painted door gods on his door. One civil, one martial—the civil one holding a jade tablet, the martial one holding an iron mace. Chen Ping'an thought it looked strange no matter how he looked at it. In the past, the town sold various paper door gods during the New Year, including civil and martial ones, as well as the God of Wealth and many other "immortals." But this year, all the door gods in the town followed this same pattern. He had heard from the shop owner that it was a rule set by the government office. Moreover, the civil and martial temples being built in the town would enshrine the golden-bodied lords depicted on these papers.
Chen Ping'an recalled that old man Yang's words and felt their meaning deepen.
Shaking off the gloom in his heart, Chen Ping'an sat in the courtyard to bask in the sun, letting his mind go blank.
The little girl in pink continued to sit on her small stool, cracking sunflower seeds. The little boy in green clasped his hands behind his back and paced around the courtyard, full of ambition, shouting that this year he would cultivate diligently and make the master and the silly girl look up to him. Then by the end of the year, he could swagger through the town and no longer fear any damn eighth- or ninth-tier sword cultivators.
Finally, the little boy in green put on a flattering smile and said, "Master, if you just give me a few more good-quality snake gallstones, not to mention the end of the year, I could beat everyone in town by tomorrow. Then, Master, you could take me out on the streets to bully men and abduct women, acting like a lawless local tyrant. When we see a pretty girl, we just drag her back to Mud Vase Alley. Wahahaha! Master, isn't that something to look forward to?!"
Chen Ping'an grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the little girl in pink and nodded. "Whatever makes you happy."
The little boy's hopeful smile instantly collapsed. He let out a long sigh and sat down beside Chen Ping'an, flanking the little girl in pink on the left and right, like two small door gods. But he felt that the first day of the new year hadn't started off well—somewhat unlucky. So he took out an ordinary snake gallstone and crunched it between his teeth, trying to give himself a bit of good luck.
Just then, Chen Ping'an suddenly took out two small, exquisite pouches from his sleeve. They were among the New Year goods sold at his Lucky Dragon Lane shop. He handed them to the two little ones and teased, "Here. This is your New Year's money from your master."
The little boy in green didn't expect much surprise, but when he opened it, his eyes nearly popped out. It was a snake gallstone of excellent quality, its colors as brilliant as a sunset glow.
The snake gallstone in the little girl's hand was equally fine.
The little boy in green had seen clearly that aside from eighty or ninety ordinary stones, after returning to this ancestral home, Chen Ping'an had only eleven priceless snake gallstones left in his bundle. Then he had given them one each right away—that was two gone. Now he had taken out two more? So half of them were gone in an instant?
Chen Ping'an, do you really think you're some kind of charitable money-dispensing boy?
Although he clutched the snake gallstone tightly, the little boy in green couldn't help but remind him, "Master, if you give things away like this, you'll never build up a decent fortune. What about when you get married?"
The little girl in pink held the "New Year's money" in both hands, head bowed in silence. Tears dripped down her fair, tender cheeks.
The little boy fidgeted, unable to hold back, and asked, "Master, aren't you afraid that after I eat these three snake gallstones, my cultivation will skyrocket, and you'll never catch up to me in this lifetime?"
Chen Ping'an countered, "If you had a friend who was doing well, would you be happy?"
The little boy nodded. "Of course, I'd be happy. The friends and brothers I make in life, I don't just talk about them."
Chen Ping'an asked again, "Then what if your friend was doing much better than you? Would you still be happy?"
The little boy hesitated.
Cracking sunflower seeds, Chen Ping'an smiled. "I'd be even happier."
At that moment, the little boy felt a bit dazed. He suddenly felt that the martial world he had drifted through for centuries was a completely different one from Chen Ping'an's. Was his own world too deep? Or was Chen Ping'an's world too shallow?
After saying this, Chen Ping'an didn't think much more about it. It was just a casual conversation.
But the little boy remained dejected for a long time, and the little girl in pink, having received the stone, was also somewhat silent.
Chen Ping'an felt a bit of regret. Had he given the New Year's money at the wrong time? Or should he have waited?
What a worry.
In this Mud Vase Alley, Song Jixin and Zhigui, as well as Gu Can and his mother, had left. But another new family had moved in. Before the New Year, they had voluntarily produced an old deed and taken it to the Dragon Spring County Office. The office had wanted to inspect it carefully, because the town's land was now extremely valuable. Countless outsiders wanted to squeeze in, and even if they couldn't buy houses, they were willing to rent. So the county office's household registry department wanted to be cautious, to prevent any cunning swindlers from taking advantage.
But soon, Wu Yuan, who had been promoted from the first county magistrate of Dragon Spring to the first prefectural governor of Dragon Spring Prefecture, personally came to the county office and took over the matter entirely.
Soon, Mud Vase Alley had a new resident: a young man named Cao Jun, whose ancestors had moved away from here and who had now returned to make a living.
Cao Jun kept to himself, rarely appearing in public. The neighbors were quite curious about him. Because of the mountain-opening and mansion-building project, many local townsfolk had participated. And with the various official notices from the county and prefecture governments, the people of Dragon Spring had been forced to believe in the existence of immortals. At first, they had wondered if the strikingly handsome Cao Jun, who seemed unlike ordinary people, might be one of those immortals. But then they thought, an immortal living in Mud Vase Alley? That seemed a bit too cheap.
Today, two strangers came to Mud Vase Alley.
One was an elderly man dressed like a wealthy merchant, with a green silk cord wrapped around his hand. The other was a young man with a long sword laid horizontally behind his back. They walked together into the alley, starting from the direction of Gu Can's house, which meant they passed by Song Jixin's and Chen Ping'an's courtyards. The walls were low, and the old man glanced at the little boy in green and the little girl in pink, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
The little girl in pink was naive and didn't think much of it. The little boy in green pretended to be casual but silently prayed, *Please don't let this be another old immortal or great monster.*
The young swordsman smiled and greeted, "Chen Ping'an, we meet again."
Chen Ping'an stood up and opened the gate, asking with a smile, "Are you here to pay New Year's visits to someone?"
The young swordsman shook his head. "There's something I need to take care of, but I can pay a New Year's visit on the side."
The elderly man spoke with a grin, "I heard it was you, kid, who caused my ancestral home's roof to be trampled by a mountain-moving ape, and then you helped pay for the repairs?"
A family elder of the swordsman Cao Jun?
Chen Ping'an's heart tightened. He apologized, "Elder, I'm sorry. This matter really is my fault."
The old man waved his hand. "I know the situation. That rundown house would have collapsed on its own even without the repairs. What's there to apologize for? We should be thanking you. Before, Cao Jun tried to take something from you, right? Don't worry, I'm going to go teach him a lesson... Ha, I forgot to say, Happy New Year, Happy New Year."
As he finished, the kindly old man actually raised his hands in a fist-and-palm salute and shook them slightly, as a New Year's greeting.
Chen Ping'an quickly returned the gesture.
The young swordsman frowned slightly. Without making a show of it, he stepped forward, positioning himself between the old man and Chen Ping'an. He put his arm around the latter's shoulder and smiled as he walked toward the gate, saying to the old man, "Master Cao, you go home first. I'll visit you later."
The old man narrowed his eyes and nodded, unconcerned. He slowly walked away alone. After who knew how many centuries, he was finally revisiting this old haunt.
The two painted door gods on the gate—after Chen Ping'an and the young swordsman crossed the threshold—had their faint spiritual light, invisible to mortal eyes, dissipate into nothing.
After entering, the young swordsman said quietly, "In the future, when you travel the martial world and perform a fist-and-palm salute, remember that a man should cover his right hand with his left. That's a 'lucky salute.' The reverse is taboo and can easily bring bad luck to the other person."
Chen Ping'an looked sharply at the young swordsman, who said casually, "Just keep these details in mind."
There were only three small stools in the house. The little girl in pink quickly gave up hers. The young swordsman didn't sit down immediately. He said, "It's the first day of the New Year, and I didn't bring a gift—that wouldn't be proper. So let me give you two little trinkets."
He held out his hand, palm up, on which rested two uninscribed jade tablets. But at the four corners of the tablets were engraved cloud-script patterns unique to the Song clan of Great Li. "These are called Peace and Safety Tablets. You can hang them at your waists normally; they'll be somewhat useful for you two settling here. If you travel far, they'll make moving around within Great Li's territory more convenient."
The little boy in green was a bit envious, knowing how precious these things were.
The little girl in pink, not understanding their value, simply looked at Chen Ping'an—whether to accept them depended on the master's decision.
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Take them."
After receiving the tablets, the little girl and the little boy both bowed to the young swordsman to thank him.
Having given the gifts, the young swordsman immediately took his leave.
Chen Ping'an didn't know how to persuade him to stay, so he simply saw him to the gate.
At the old Cao residence, the wealthy merchant stood by a pool inside the house. On the opening of the skylight in the roof sat a red fox. Cao Jun was lounging in a chair, legs crossed, looking sideways at his own ancestor without even bothering to greet him.
When the young swordsman entered, the old man asked with a smile, "You're pretty close to that kid?"
The young swordsman smiled back. "With Master Cao's cultivation and status, would you actually strike at a boy from a humble alley?"
Cao Xi laughed heartily. "Just a minor punishment—at most a year's bad luck clinging to his home. It's nothing. Even an ordinary man with a bit of ancestral blessing and strong yang energy could withstand it. Besides, you meddled and helped the boy dispel that little calamity, didn't you?"
The young swordsman shook his head and said nothing.
How absurd the world was. Among the great figures who had emerged from the Lizhu Cave Heaven, Xie Shi was known for his integrity and generosity, his reputation spreading across several continents. He was widely recognized as a master, someone who could stand out in Julu Continent, where swordsmen were everywhere and Daoism was in decline, to become a Tianjun of considerable weight. Even Xie Shi's enemies admired him. In contrast, Cao Xi was eccentric and had a poor reputation. They said he was harsh and ungrateful, but he had simply been too lucky, rising unstoppably.
Yet it was the unorthodox swordsman Cao Xi who now chose to stand with Great Li, while Xie Shi was about to do something dishonorable.
Cao Jun stood up and said with a smile, "I know you. You're Mo Jia's Xu Ruo. You've traveled the Middle Earth Divine Continent for many years and have a great reputation—they call you the 'Dragon of the Mortal World.' I think Wei Jin of Bottle Gourd Continent spent so many years roaming the martial world and preferred not to stay in the mountains—maybe he was imitating your younger days."
Thinking of the spirited young swordsman from Snow Wind Temple, the swordsman shook his head with a smile. "He wasn't imitating me."
Cao Xi suddenly remembered something. He jumped into the dry pool and flipped over a slab of bluestone. Hidden beneath it was an ordinary copper coin, covered in rust. This land-bound Sword Immortal, renowned across a continent, laughed cheerfully and tucked the coin into his sleeve. "Good omen, good omen."
Cao Xi looked up at the young swordsman. "As I see it, the shattering of that natal porcelain back then was a mistake by your Great Li and Dragon Spring. It led to a problem. But at the time, Great Li made compensation, and the other party accepted it. Logically, that matter should have been settled and closed out. But now that buyer has pushed deeper and deeper, eventually bringing out Xie Shi, that big Buddha, to scare people. That's underhanded and very improper. Actually, it's easy to solve—just kill Xie Shi in one go. With me here, with you, and with the sage Ruan Qiong, the three of us together—not only would Xie Shi lose, he wouldn't even be able to escape. He's asking for it; he can't blame anyone else."
The young swordsman asked, "Even if we kill Xie Shi, what about this broken, falling Lizhu Cave Heaven? If it's completely destroyed, what do we do, Great Li?"
Cao Xi, speaking without concern for the consequences, said, "Killing Xie Shi would have an excellent effect of 'striking the mountain to frighten the tiger.' It wouldn't be inferior to building a White Jade Capital."
The young swordsman didn't respond.
Cao Xi continued to tempt, "Isn't Great Li about to move south? After killing Xie Shi, how many of those tenth-tier and upper-fifth-tier old turtles in Great Sui territory do you think would remain? I'd bet they wouldn't exceed five. If I, Cao Xi, am wrong, I'll handle all the extra old turtles myself. How about it?"
The young swordsman asked doubtfully, "Do you have a deep-seated hatred for Xie Shi?"
Cao Xi shook his head. "No. We're just fellow townsmen, not even from the same generation. I've never met him, and there's no conflict between our ancestors. I just can't stand Xie Shi using his cultivation to bully Great Li. He's forgotten his roots. He was born in Great Li, but instead of remembering the kindness of his upbringing, he's working against Great Li. I don't like that kind of person."
"Bullshit!" The red fox on the roof saw through the truth and sneered, "The Chen family of Southern Bodhisattva Continent—the refined Confucians—is one of the branches from the Middle Earth Divine Continent. The true main family of Chen has always been at odds with Daoism. Killing Xie Shi would be the greatest betrothal gift in the world. Not only could you marry off a legitimate daughter of the refined Confucian Chen family to Cao Jun, but the Middle Earth main family could even marry another woman to Cao Xi himself!"
"You gossipy shrew!" Cao Xi cursed, laughing, and raised his hand to flick his sleeve.
The red fox exploded with a bang, turning to dust.
It took much longer to restore its original form than when Cao Jun had cut it apart with his flying sword before.
It lifted a roof tile and hurled it at Cao Xi with the speed of thunder, then turned and fled.
Cao Xi caught the tile lightly and tossed it back to its original spot.
But the tile was already shattered.
Xu Ruo, the heroic traveler of Mo Jia, rejected Cao Xi's suggestion. "This kind of matter is not something I can decide on my own."
Cao Xi rolled his eyes. "Then who in Great Li can decide?"
Xu Ruo smiled. "The Emperor, the Prince Song Changjing, and the National Teacher Cui Chan—just those three."
Cao Xi said indignantly, "Then send one of them! What's the point of you, Xu Ruo, coming here just to watch the show without doing anything? Since Xie Shi dares to come alone this time, he must have some backing. If by some chance the three of us together let him escape, he'll accomplish his goal and run back to Julu Continent. Then we three wretches, plus your Great Li Song clan, will all be finished!"
Xu Ruo nodded. "They will come."
Cao Xi fell silent instantly.
Because he had always been the type to judge others by his own low standards, he was very afraid that after Great Li dealt with Xie Shi, they would deal with him next.
Besides, the Song clan of Great Li was no paragon of virtue.
A certain true gentleman—someone far more formidable than both him and Xie Shi combined—had already died, beyond any possibility of resurrection.
He had died right here.
Of course, this wasn't the fault of Great Li for being disloyal, nor could it be blamed on the Song Emperor for being a coward.
But Cao Xi still felt it was too unlucky, too inauspicious.
On top of that, on his way here, he had received intelligence from Great Li about the Lizhu Cave Heaven, which mentioned that his ancestral home had collapsed and been repaired. That made Cao Xi even more displeased.
If it weren't for the refined Confucian Chen family making the request, he really wouldn't have been willing to come as this "river-crossing dragon."
Especially since Cao Xi still couldn't figure out the fatal knot in Qi Jingchun's inevitable death game. That made him feel uneasy as soon as he entered Dragon Spring Prefecture.
So he hoped that Xie Shi's death might draw it out. Even if the worst-case scenario he imagined came true, there would still be Great Li's Song clan, the sage Ruan Qiong, the Snow Wind Temple behind him, and the refined Confucian Chen family behind himself, as well as the main Chen family from the Middle Earth—all sharing the risk.
Great fortune comes with great danger.
Whether in the mortal world or in the mountains, it was all the same.
---
The old Xie residence was on Peach Leaf Lane. The family wasn't particularly flourishing; by this generation, they had already declined. If it weren't for the long-browed youth becoming a nominal disciple of Ruan Qiong, they would have long been forced to sell their ancestral home to survive.
A middle-aged man began knocking on the door.
A young girl opened it and asked, "Who are you?"
The man answered seriously, "Your ancestor."
The girl, delicate-featured but actually fiery-tempered, immediately snapped, "It's the first day of the New Year—why are you cursing at people? Do you believe I'll hit you with a broom?"
The man remained expressionless. "Go look up the family genealogy. Find the edition from the year Jiaxu. There's someone named Xie Shi. That's me. The character 'Shi' is missing a dot."
An incense stick of time later, the entire Xie family was kneeling on the ground outside the ancestral hall.
Xie Shi ignored the trembling younger generations of the family. Without a word, he pushed open the hall's doors, went inside, and lit three sticks of incense.
Then he said in a deep voice, "The one with eyebrows longer than usual, come in and light incense. The rest of you, go back. Even without you burning incense, the ancestors are already furious when they see you."
Outside the hall, a woman was overjoyed, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed her son's arm with one hand and covered her mouth with the other to keep from crying out.
The long-browed youth took a deep breath. After his mother let go, he stood up, stepped cautiously over the threshold of the ancestral hall, and walked step by step toward that figure from behind.
---
On the post road outside the town, a carriage moved slowly.
The driver was Liu Yu, who had once blocked a certain swordsman at Chess Pier Mountain. Inside the carriage sat a refined old man, resembling a pedantic scholar, and a young girl with naturally cold and sharp features.
The National Teacher Cui Chan, and the palace maid Zhigui.
Or rather, the old Cui Chan, and Wang Zhu?
---
In the small courtyard, the little boy in green started wailing again, clutching his head.
Why was this town at the foot of the mountain so annoying? It was only the first day of the New Year, and already two formidable characters of unpredictable depth had shown up. He didn't need to think hard to know they were the kind who could kill him with one punch. The little boy used to think he had seen great storms, but now he realized that those storms were nothing compared to this little puddle outside the gate in Mud Vase Alley.
He began to genuinely admire Chen Ping'an. To have survived until today—it was no small feat! No wonder he could become his master. He must be no simpleton. No wonder he had such a fierce disciple by his side back then.
So the little boy in green tearfully grabbed Chen Ping'an's hand and said from the bottom of his heart, "Master, from now on, I'll definitely treat you better."
Chen Ping'an pushed his head away and laughed, "You're the one who's most afraid of trouble. Aren't you embarrassed?"
The little boy, glancing sidelong at the carefree silly girl, felt that he was indeed quite embarrassing. He silently sat back on his stool, sulking.
The little girl in pink was indeed more easygoing than he was. She held the smooth, warm Peace and Safety Tablet, unable to put it down.
Of course, the one with the biggest heart was still their master, Chen Ping'an.
He brought out bamboo slips inscribed with characters and placed them on the low earthen wall between the two courtyards, as if airing out his books.