Chapter 270: Long Time No See, Miss Ning
After visiting the Swordmaster Hall that day, Chen Ping'an and Jin Su finally went to the Sword Veneration Pavilion. In this way, today's itinerary required the fewest detours, without having to walk too much unnecessary distance.
Earlier, on that screen wall in the Swordmaster Hall, densely packed lists were plastered all over. Chen Ping'an had found three familiar names back then: Cui Chan, Xu Ruo, and Song Changjing.
Among them, Cui Chan appeared the most frequently, on as many as six different lists, with the posters coming from four different continents. It was easy to imagine just how unwelcome this former senior disciple of the Sage of Culture was in the Haoran World.
The Mohist Xu Ruo and the Great Li vassal king each had one list. The reasons were rather peculiar. The person offering a reward for Xu Ruo was a woman signed as "Zhengrong Lake's Bishui Yuanjun Liu Rouxuan." Between the lines, there was full resentment and also affection.
As for the person who put a bounty on Song Changjing, the signature was "Han Wanzhan of Golden Armor Continent." This person probably had too much money and nowhere to spend it. The reason was simply that they thought a tiny Bottle Gourd Continent wasn't worthy of possessing a grandmaster martial artist at the pinnacle of martial arts.
When Chen Ping'an and Jin Su turned to leave, they brushed past a group of three on the other side of the street from afar.
Chen Ping'an couldn't help but take an extra look, because that woman was really too tall. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail, her figure was well-proportioned, and at her waist hung a sheatheless longsword. It looked like a freshly forged new sword. Under the sunlight, as the tall woman walked, the longsword refracted bursts of snowy white and clear light.
Actually, it wasn't just Chen Ping'an. Almost everyone on both sides of the street was sizing up this strange woman.
A handsome man walked side by side with her, whispering now and then. The woman occasionally nodded but rarely spoke.
Behind the two was a middle-aged retainer, his murderous aura extremely heavy and hard to conceal. Either he was a pure martial artist below the seventh realm who hadn't yet condensed a golden body, hence unable to hide his qi, or if he was above the seventh realm and could still have such an aura, that would be somewhat frightening. Among the thousands of sword cultivators in the Haoran World, the one named Zuo You from the Central Earth Divine Continent was the most extreme example.
Even after walking a long way, Jin Su couldn't help turning her head to look at the woman's back, reluctant to part. Although the woman never spoke, wore no gorgeous clothes or accessories, and didn't even have a face that could topple cities, Jin Su envied a woman like that. She couldn't explain why clearly.
Some people were always so different. A single glance could make them memorable for many years. And some people, even if looked at for many years, never took root in one's heart.
Chen Ping'an, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention. He quickly went his own way, taking small sips of wine. He was just reminded of the stone arch bridge in his hometown. But of course, as he thought about it, he also thought of that golden arch bridge in the sky, stretching endlessly amid the sea of clouds.
The tall woman never looked at anyone the entire way.
She walked straight to the screen wall in the Swordmaster Hall, looked up, and quickly scanned the bounty lists. Most of them didn't interest her; she was too lazy to give them an extra glance. Finally, her gaze stopped at a list in the top left corner, and her eyes lit up.
On this trip south to Leaning Sword Mountain, she had taken the "Mirage," a ferry belonging to her own dynasty, from the north of the Central Earth Divine Continent, flying over one of the five great lakes, Zhengrong Lake, bypassing the greatest mountain in the world, Sui Mountain, and then passing through the Southern Pravata Continent. She had stayed inside the entire time, reading an ancient book from the collection of a fallen dynasty, never showing herself. Having been still for too long and wanting to move, she thought that after quenching her sword at Leaning Sword Mountain, on the return trip north, she might find something to do.
She reached out and snatched that bounty list into her hand, said calmly to the direction of the Swordmaster Hall entrance, "I'll take this bounty."
The handsome man had been muttering along with the tall woman's gaze. When she fixed her eyes on this list, he silently recited: "Don't tear this one, don't tear this one, just pick any other one..."
But heaven didn't comply with his wishes. The woman tore down this old list that had been posted for who knows how many years.
The grandmaster retainer behind the pair was full of smiles, not surprised at all. He had long known it would be this way.
The man said with a wry face, "National Preceptor, are we really going to cause a big ruckus at White Emperor City? That fiendish overlord near us is only a few ranks below the city lord of White Emperor City, isn't he? He's also on the list of the ten great demons of the Haoran World. Why not go after him, National Preceptor? A round trip, and I might just have a pot of wine warmed for the National Preceptor in the palace. Although that demon has been wary of the National Preceptor in recent years and has already gone into seclusion, with rumors of relocating his sect..."
She interrupted the man with a smile, "The reason I could break through to the next realm owes a lot to that person. I forgot to tell Your Majesty, he has already been killed by me."
The man paused, then said regretfully, "Why didn't the National Preceptor try to persuade him to surrender and recruit him? With such an ally..."
The tall woman laughed again. "I did. But he made a condition: he wanted me to be his concubine. I thought about it and decided that compared to serving him tea and water, killing him was easier."
The man sighed first, then suddenly realized, pounding his chest and stamping his feet. "National Preceptor, tell me honestly, were these words spoken before the fight?"
The woman felt a little guilty and patted the man on the shoulder with a smile. "Your Majesty is wise."
Afterward, that demon had knelt at her feet begging for mercy, kowtowing and admitting his wrongs. She didn't agree. After leaving that demon sect mountain covered in corpses, she galloped her horse on a mountain path, the tip of her spear still hung with that head. She had intended to take it to the capital's palace to let His Majesty have a look, to see what the great demon he had been yearning for looked like. But thinking that the emperor would mostly blame her for not considering the bigger picture, she flicked her wrist and flung the head off the spearhead. That way, she could pretend nothing had happened.
So she felt a bit sorry for this emperor by her side.
An emperor who would consult her on everything—choosing or deposing an empress, selecting the crown prince, even the location of his own mausoleum—was hard to find in the Haoran World.
She needed to cherish him.
The man was a bit numb from heartache and said weakly, "Then I'll have someone send a message to the capital immediately to have them bring the National Preceptor's armor. The city lord of White Emperor City is too invincible. The National Preceptor must not underestimate him."
She suddenly shook her head, her eyes blazing. "If it's going to be a life-and-death battle with White Emperor City, wearing that Gold and Silver Terrace armor or not makes no difference. Your Majesty, there's no need for this unnecessary action."
The man said in a grave tone, "I've begged you many times. I'll beg you one more time. Don't divide it into life and death. Just determine victory and defeat. Then go see the colorful clouds with the city lord of White Emperor City, play some chess, take a walk by the great river..."
The tall woman glanced at him and laughed. "Does Your Majesty want the city lord of White Emperor City to one day marry into our dynasty?"
The man gave a thumbs-up, unabashedly saying, "The National Preceptor's calculations are never wrong!"
The woman said calmly, "In this life, I have only wedded the martial path."
The man sighed and said no more.
When the tall woman tore down this list, no one from the Swordmaster Hall came out to deal with it. All the qi refiners near the screen wall who were watching the excitement had scattered like birds and beasts.
Among the latest top ten masters of the Central Earth Divine Continent, of course, only those who had appeared in the world in the last hundred years were counted; otherwise, they would be excluded.
Originally, all ten were upper fifth realm qi refiners, like the Grand Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain. But now it had become nine.
This was the first time in the history of the Haoran World that a pure martial artist had made it onto this list.
And that female martial god had charged straight into the top five.
The fourth person was exactly the city lord of White Emperor City.
The tall woman turned to the retainer behind her and said, "As for the trip to Bottle Gourd Continent, you go in my place. If the person truly refuses to hand over that scabbard, then forget it. Don't force the issue."
The burly retainer nodded.
Upon entering the Sword Veneration Pavilion, Chen Ping'an and Jin Su each had their own thoughts. Chen Ping'an wanted to see if there was a sword belonging to that bamboo hat man. If so, what would its name be? How many upper fifth realm great demons had been slain by that sword? Jin Su, on the other hand, wanted to admire the swords of the female sword immortals.
Each had their own pursuits, so they split up, each looking at their own things.
The Sword Veneration Pavilion had two floors. The replica swords on the upper floor were not open to the public. On the first floor, one could go all the way inside, because the replicas in the Sword Veneration Pavilion were arranged in rooms according to the achievements of slaying demons every thousand years. So the number of immortal swords in each room varied, but no room felt empty; it was just a matter of more or many more. As Chen Ping'an walked along, he remembered one ancient name after another, then came to a conclusion: those who had their names carved on the Sword Qi Great Wall, along with their swords, were probably enshrined in secret on the second floor.
The Sword Veneration Pavilion was meticulously arranged. Each replica sword was placed on a distinctively styled sword rack. Behind the rack was a half-man-high portrait of the sword immortal, vividly lifelike. Calling it a portrait wasn't quite accurate; it was condensed from white mist, every detail visible, as if the person were still alive.
Although the replica swords of male sword immortals were more numerous, Chen Ping'an looked quickly, while Jin Su looked slowly. In the end, the two happened to meet in the last room. What was more coincidental was that they nearly stood shoulder to shoulder, one looking at a male sword immortal's "Cornelian Cherry," his expression slightly changed, and the other gazing at a female sword immortal's "Secluded Bamboo," her eyes complex.
The key point was that neither of these male and female sword immortals had portrait depictions.
Suddenly someone shoved Chen Ping'an aside, cursing and swearing. Chen Ping'an couldn't understand what continent's refined speech it was, but the tone was very harsh. The person spat at the sword rack and the replica, and also showed no good face to Chen Ping'an standing there, saying a bunch of words that left Chen Ping'an completely puzzled. That person seemed to realize that the sword-carrying youth didn't understand the continent's refined speech and left angrily.
Jin Su sighed. "Let's go."
Chen Ping'an had heard about this episode from Wei Bo outside the bamboo tower on Fallen Mountain. Not to mention the current war of the demon race invading the Sword Qi Great Wall, there had been that soul-stirring one-on-one fight before, to decide the ownership of the Sword Qi Great Wall or for the demon race to return the remnant flying swords of the sword cultivators. Wei Bo had mentioned that outside the Sword Qi Great Wall, amidst thunderous noise, a pair of male and female sword immortals had died in battle, extremely tragic. These two great sword immortals, with outstanding merits and peerless sword techniques, were both slain by great demons in full view of everyone!
Slain!
Both of them.
Chen Ping'an looked at the name of the male sword immortal, then turned his head to glance at the name of the female sword immortal.
Jin Su asked doubtfully, "Chen Ping'an, aren't you leaving yet?"
Chen Ping'an hummed in acknowledgment. "You go back to the inn first. I plan to look through the Sword Veneration Pavilion again. It's open all twenty-four hours anyway."
She asked, "Do you know the way back?"
Chen Ping'an still didn't look up, nodding. "I know it."
Jin Su found it a bit strange, but she assumed that the youth who carried a sword box all day was too enamored with the sword immortals of that other world to leave. She walked out of this endmost room, passing through one room after another, as if time were flowing backward, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years.
There were many foreign visitors coming to the Sword Veneration Pavilion to pay homage to the sword immortals. Most were polite. Even if that sword-carrying youth stood before the replica of "Cornelian Cherry" for a long time, squatting on the pot but not shitting, no one said much. But there were also some with tempers as bad as the one earlier, who either sneered at the two swords "Cornelian Cherry" and "Secluded Bamboo"—which had collectively slain eleven upper fifth realm great demons—or threw cold water on them, or simply spat at the sword racks and replicas.
Chen Ping'an couldn't understand what they said.
But he could feel their anger, sarcasm, indifference, mockery, schadenfreude, amusement, mild interest...
Chen Ping'an didn't like this feeling. It was like back then on the sea outside Osmanthus Island.
As if the whole world had been reduced to malice.
Once, when a burly man shoved him aside, the man strode forward and was about to punch the sword rack. Just then, a middle-aged Taoist nun with a fish-tail crown appeared out of thin air, smiling. "The collection in the Sword Veneration Pavilion must not be damaged. Those who violate this rule will bear the consequences."
The man retracted his fist resentfully and asked, "What about spitting? Does that break Leaning Sword Mountain's rules?"
The Taoist nun smiled without speaking.
The man understood. He spat a mouthful of phlegm at the sword rack and walked away.
Someone nearby applauded in praise, and the burly man felt even more heroic, as if he had done something satisfying.
Chen Ping'an still couldn't understand anything.
He silently walked to a corner of the room, squatted down, and drank wine. Only in the intervals when visitors were sparse would he quickly get up, wipe clean the saliva and phlegm from the replicas of "Cornelian Cherry" and "Secluded Bamboo" and the sword racks, quickly clean up, then return to the corner to drink. Over time, some mistakenly thought the sword-carrying youth was a janitor of the Sword Veneration Pavilion, in charge of this room, to prevent the replicas of those two sword immortals—sinners of the Sword Qi Great Wall—from being smashed.
Chen Ping'an stayed in this room of the Sword Veneration Pavilion until evening. The stream of visitors became sparser, so he got up less and less often.
In the night, no one had come to this room for a full half hour.
Only then did Chen Ping'an leave the Sword Veneration Pavilion. He sat on the steps outside, holding the Sword Nurturing Gourd, but no longer drinking. His lips were tightly pressed together.
The male sword immortal's surname was Ning.
The female sword immortal's surname was Yao.
Once, a girl had introduced herself to Chen Ping'an like this: "Hello, my father's surname is Ning, my mother's surname is Yao, so my name is Ning Yao."
During the battle with the Mountain-Moving Ape of Zhengyang Mountain, her words clearly implied that her parents were still alive. Moreover, in her behavior at the Pearldrop Cave Heaven from beginning to end, she didn't seem at all like someone who had lost her parents. So even when Wei Bo mentioned the death of that sword immortal couple on Fallen Mountain, Chen Ping'an never thought of that girl.
But looking back, there were signs all along.
She didn't like mentioning the word "fierce" on the Sword Qi Great Wall.
She said that her future man must be the greatest sword immortal in the world, the greatest great sword immortal, bar none.
She had traveled alone across the Haoran World early on, asking someone to forge a fine sword for her.
Chen Ping'an sat on the steps, hugging his knees.
On his back, the sword box held the swords he had named Demon Vanquisher and Evil Destroyer.
At his waist, the Sword Nurturing Gourd held what he had named First Dawn and Full Moon.
On his feet, the straw sandals were also a pair.
The Sword Veneration Pavilion behind the youth, in the innermost room, "Cornelian Cherry" and "Secluded Bamboo" were still dependent on each other for survival.
Chen Ping'an sat on the steps, not knowing how long he had been in a daze. He just stared blankly ahead. Then he suddenly snapped back to reality and found a girl standing not far away.
She frowned slightly, getting straight to the point, "Chen Ping'an, the letter that was sent to my home, why wasn't it written by you, but by Ruan Xiu? What's going on with you!"
Chen Ping'an felt as if struck by lightning. Instead of answering the question, he said, "Long time no see, Miss Ning."
She looked at his silly expression and sighed, a bit helpless. She sat down next to Chen Ping'an, said irritably, "Long time no see? It's only been a short while."
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then scratched his head.
For some reason, Chen Ping'an felt as if a long time had passed.
Walked ten thousand miles.
Practiced a million punches.
She glanced at this guy sitting upright, then looked at the sword box on his back. She suddenly laughed, couldn't help saying, "Chen Ping'an, you are..."
Ning Yao inexplicably found that this fool, who feared nothing, was so frightened that sweat dripped down before she could finish her words.