Chapter 425: Returning to an Old Haunt, Elegant Waters and Lofty Winds

Chapter 425: Returning to an Old Haunt, Elegant Waters and Lofty Winds

Zhu Lian noticed that after Chen Ping'an had cleverly used his flying sword to return to the plank road, something about him felt different. It was a kind of mysterious, profound sensation. Only by living day and night with Chen Ping'an could Zhu Lian perceive such subtle changes, like... a spring breeze rippling the surface of a pond.

Chen Ping'an told Pei Qian, who had been waiting for most of the day, to go to sleep. Then, breaking his usual habit, he called for Zhu Lian to drink together. The two sat cross-legged on the cliff outside the plank road. Zhu Lian asked with a smile, "You seem happy, young master? Is it because flying on your sword felt so good?"

Chen Ping'an asked in return, "Remember Cao Ci?"

Zhu Lian chuckled, "How could this old servant forget that name? At the Sword Qi Great Wall, you lost to him three times in a row. Someone who could make you lose so thoroughly and willingly—this old servant can't wait to meet him one day and beat him to death with a few punches, to spare you the trouble of competing for the world's martial fortune later, delaying your ascension to that legendary eleventh realm, the Martial God realm."

Chen Ping'an didn't bother with Zhu Lian's flattery or jokes. He took a leisurely sip of wine. "I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but Cao Ci might have broken through to a new realm again."

Zhu Lian asked curiously, "Then why does young master seem happy? That number one seat in the world can't fit two backsides. Of course, talking about this now, with you and Cao Ci, is still too early."

Chen Ping'an took a small sip of the "Old Jiaolong's Drool" wine from his Sword Nourishing Gourd and asked, "What do you think we pure martial artists practice boxing and learn martial arts for?"

Zhu Lian laughed, "Naturally, to attain great liberation and great freedom. To be able to do anything you want and say no to anything you don't. In the Lotus Flower Paradise, every number one under heaven, though their pursuits might differ slightly, all ended up on the same path in this regard: Sui Youbian, Lu Baixiang, Wei Xian, and me, Zhu Lian. But the Lotus Flower Paradise is ultimately a small place, so none of us felt deeply about immortality or eternal life. Even we who stood at the highest point in the world never thought much about it, because we never knew there was a 'heaven above.' The Haoran World is far stronger than us in that regard. Seeking immortals and asking about the Dao—among the four of us, Wei Xian went the farthest. After all, when you're an emperor, your subjects and commoners shout 'long live' ten thousand times, and you can't help but want to live ten thousand times ten thousand years."

Chen Ping'an pointed at himself. "I never told you much about my early years. When I first started practicing boxing, it was because my Bridge of Immortality had been severed. I had to rely on boxing to stay alive, so I persisted. Later, according to an agreement, I carried the sword forged by Ruan Qiong to deliver it to Miss Ning at the Hanging Sword Mountain. After walking a very, very long road, I finally arrived at the Hanging Sword Mountain, nearly having completed a million punches. By then, deep down, I naturally began to wonder: when I no longer needed to box just to survive, and since I'm not the type to always strive to be first, what should I do next?"

"Should I become the next Zhu He? That wouldn't be hard. Or the next Song Yushao of the Comb-Water Kingdom? That wouldn't be hard either. Or should I just keep my head down and punch another million times, hoping to catch a glimpse of the glory of a Golden Body realm martial artist? You have to remember, I was at the Sword Qi Great Wall, the place with the most sword cultivators under heaven. The place I stayed was just a few steps away from a thatched hut where the oldest great sword immortal of the Sword Qi Great Wall lived. Under my feet were words carved by that great sword immortal, and also words carved by A Liang. Do you think I never thought about switching to sword cultivation? I thought about it a lot."

"So at that time, I was so eager to rebuild my Bridge of Immortality. I even considered giving up boxing entirely to focus on becoming a sword cultivator, nurturing a natal flying sword, and eventually becoming a genuine sword immortal, a great sword immortal? I thought about it a lot. But I never dared to tell Miss Ning, afraid she would think I wasn't a single-minded person—that if I could so easily discard my boxing, then perhaps I might treat her the same way."

Zhu Lian took a big gulp of wine. "This old servant only met you too late, missing out on this youthful sorrow that you might never experience again. I must drink a mouthful to drown this regret in my heart."

Chen Ping'an raised his head, cradling the Sword Nourishing Gourd with both hands, patting it gently as he smiled. "At that time, I met Cao Ci. So I'm very grateful to him, though I'm too embarrassed to say it out loud."

Chen Ping'an pointed at himself again, then extended his finger toward the high cliff across the plank road. "Cao Ci might be over there. I'm still far behind. Although I don't deliberately pursue being number one in martial arts, I'm not an idiot—who wouldn't want to be number one? Of course I'd like to be first. I just... prefer to take it slow. Like when I was walking the railing in the Ziyang Mansion's treasure pavilion earlier, I was pondering the word 'slow.' I understood a lot of things. If I trace it back to its source, it actually started when I was learning to throw clay pots as an apprentice at the Dragon Kiln. Old Yao thought I had no talent and never bothered to teach me principles. He hardly even spoke to me. But back then, I considered firing the kiln to be my livelihood. What could I do? Old Yao wouldn't teach me, so I would eavesdrop every time he talked to Liu Xianyang and the other apprentices. Old Yao would tell them that the mind must be calm for the hands to be steady, to go from slow and error-free to fast and correct. Logically, I should have understood this principle early on, right? I did remember it well. But it wasn't until I had walked a long road and met many people that many principles without legs, as Mao Mountain Master said, came to live in my heart. Only then did the principles become truly mine."

"When Cao Ci appeared, I understood that among my peers, there wasn't just Ma Kuxuan, but also Cao Ci. No matter how dazzling Cao Ci was, I could never hate him or envy him. At most, I felt a bit down—losing three times in front of the girl I loved, right in front of her eyes, naturally made me uncomfortable. So at that moment, I made up my mind: one day, no matter how high Cao Ci's martial realm becomes, no matter how many people say he's an unprecedented martial genius, I will strive to make him lose three times in a row!"

Chen Ping'an's expression was calm, his eyes shining. "Only in the art of boxing!"

Zhu Lian slapped his thigh. "Magnificent! The young master's aspirations are lofty as the mountains!"

Chen Ping'an patted the Sword Nourishing Gourd, gazing at the opposite cliff with a slight smile. "I'm just talking drunk talk."

Zhu Lian, considering himself the most sensitive to atmosphere and the least likely to spoil it—much like sealing a new jar of wine and waiting for it to mature instead of opening it immediately to sniff it—changed the subject. "Young master, along this road, you seem worried about something?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "You've been paying attention to the Great Li kingdom's national situation. Isn't it strange that Cui Dongshan appeared at the Cliff Academy, while the national master Embroidered Tiger is busy laying out strategies and closing nets elsewhere?"

Zhu Lian asked, "The supernatural powers of the Upper Five Realms are unimaginable. Splitting one's soul isn't that strange, right? We have Shi Rou living in an immortal's discarded shell by our side."

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Cui Can and Cui Dongshan are already two different people, walking on different paths. So tell me, how will two people with the same original heart and the same nature get along in the future?"

Zhu Lian smiled. "Given Cui Dongshan's temper, aside from you, his teacher, he would never bow his head to anyone—not even himself."

Chen Ping'an murmured, "So how does a person who composed the Caiyun Score play chess with himself?"

Zhu Lian frowned, his expression turning serious as he turned to look at Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I suspect I am that chessboard. They might have started playing chess the moment we arrived at Old Dragon City."

Chen Ping'an extended a finger, drawing intersecting horizontal and vertical lines. "At those intersections, there are large ones like the Azure Feather Kingdom and the Cliff Academy, and small ones like the Lion Garden, any immortal ferry heading to Great Sui, and the Ziyang Mansion we passed recently. All of them are possibilities."

Zhu Lian asked, "Cui Dongshan probably wouldn't set a trap for you, would he?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "He has always tried his best to help me. There's no doubt about that."

Zhu Lian couldn't help but stand up, his figure hunched, and said gravely, "This is no small matter!"

Chen Ping'an remained seated, gently shaking the Sword Nourishing Gourd. "Of course it's no small matter. But it's fine—I've faced bigger schemes and more intricate chess games."

Zhu Lian began pacing slowly, rubbing his palms together. "I need to think this over carefully."

Chen Ping'an comforted him in turn. "Don't worry, it won't involve life or death. It won't be a brutal fist-to-fist battle, nor a dead-end situation like Du Mao suddenly appearing in Old Dragon City."

Zhu Lian thought for a moment, his brow furrowed. "That makes it even more troublesome. This old servant won't be able to do a thing. Staring helplessly from the sidelines? That would suffocate me."

Chen Ping'an looked at the opposite cliff, straightened his back, and clasped his hands behind his head. "Forget it. We'll take it one step at a time. There's no reason to be afraid of going home!"

Zhu Lian glanced at Chen Ping'an's profile. "Deal with problems as they come? You've got a big heart."

Chen Ping'an sighed unexpectedly. "Knowing too many principles can sometimes make your heart confused."

Chen Ping'an bent over, placed his palms one on top of the other, and pressed them against the top of the Sword Nourishing Gourd. "The horizontal and vertical lines on a chessboard are just rules. Rules and principles are dead, straight lines. But the world will bend those straight lines. For some people, the lines in their hearts might even twist into crooked circles. That's what they call 'self-justification.' That's why there are so many people in this world who have read many books but still refuse to reason. Many people talk only to themselves, yet they still live well—because they can still feel at ease, still be calm. Sometimes they even have fewer constraints than those who follow the rules. They simply live according to their own hearts. As for making it seem reasonable, to live more comfortably with themselves or to cover up their true nature and live better—there are so many books from the three teachings and the hundred schools of thought. You can just pick a few sentences from a book and borrow the principles you want for a while. What's so hard about that? Not hard at all."

Zhu Lian let out a long sigh.

He sat back down beside Chen Ping'an, setting aside the wine jug he had unknowingly emptied. The hunched, thin old man rested his fists on his knees, looking a bit melancholy.

If Chen Ping'an had spoken these heartfelt words to Sui Youbian, Wei Xian, or Lu Baixiang, none of them would have been too deeply affected. Sui Youbian had a sword-clear heart focused solely on the sword; Wei Xian was a battlefield demon sitting on the dragon throne; Lu Baixiang was the founding ancestor of the demonic sect in the Lotus Flower Paradise. But sharing them with Zhu Lian was... more interesting.

Zhu Lian seemed carefree, treating major and minor matters alike as trivial affairs, never burdening his heart. But among the four, Zhu Lian was the one who had seen the most of the human world in the Lotus Flower Paradise.

Born into a noble family with generations of prestige, he knew the true flavor of wealth. He had witnessed emperors, kings, dukes, and ministers up close. He had been a martial prodigy since childhood, racing ahead on the martial path early on, yet still followed his family's wishes to participate in the imperial exams. He easily achieved the top score in the second rank, and that was only because the examiner—an elder family friend and a high-ranking minister—deliberately held back his ranking. Otherwise, he would have been the top scholar or at least the runner-up. Back then, Zhu Lian was the most famous young talent in the capital. A casual calligraphy piece, an essay, or a spring outing would make countless noble maidens swoon. But after a few years as a leisurely official, he found an excuse to go on a ten-thousand-mile study tour, which was actually just traveling for pleasure. He left everything behind and drifted into the martial world.

Before long, this carefree noble son inexplicably became the number one under heaven, and subsequently, an insurmountable obstacle in the hearts of countless martial arts fairies and female chivalrous heroes.

Later, when wars broke out between nations and the land was torn apart, Zhu Lian left the martial world, returned to his family, and threw himself into the battlefield, becoming a brilliant military strategist who appeared out of nowhere. In six years of military life, he relied solely on military strategy, not martial arts, to turn the tide and prop up a crumbling regime for many years. But the tide of the times was unstoppable. Even after Zhu Lian devoted himself wholeheartedly to assisting a prince for several years and personally managed the court, he could not prevent the dynasty's collapse. Finally, after settling his family, he returned to the martial world, always alone.

According to Zhu Lian himself, when he was in his forties or fifties, he was still charming and dashing, exuding the mature allure of an older man, still the "Zhu Lang" in the hearts of countless young maidens.

Chen Ping'an said, "Next, we'll pass by a mansion inhabited by a female ghost, with a plaque that reads 'High Mountains and Beautiful Waters.' I plan to take only you with me. Let Shi Rou take Pei Qian around that mountain and go directly to a place called Red Candle Town to wait for us."

Zhu Lian, eager to try, asked with a grin, "Mm, you mentioned this before, but you didn't go into detail. Now it seems it's dangerous, but not extremely dangerous?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "That mansion is occupied by a female ghost in a wedding dress. When Bao Ping and the others passed by back then, we had some conflicts. I want to settle them now."

Zhu Lian suddenly understood. "So that's why you've been asking Shi Rou so many questions about the innate abilities of yin things and ghosts lately, and stopping to conserve energy to write so many yellow talismans."

Chen Ping'an suddenly raised his hand. "Shut up."

Zhu Lian shrugged sheepishly—truly, he understood his young master well. Last time, he hadn't managed to get the young master to describe the wedding-dress female ghost's appearance: was she pretty or ugly, plump or thin? Zhu Lian had been itching to know.

After all, in the Lotus Flower Paradise, no alluring female ghost from a burial mound had ever admired him. Now that he was in the Haoran World, how could he miss this chance?

But that River God of the White Stork River and Shi Rou—one a deity, one a female ghost—didn't seem to fancy him either. Zhu Lian rubbed his chin indignantly. "What's this? Whether ghost or god, they all judge by looks around here?"

Chen Ping'an picked up the Sword Nourishing Gourd. "Cheers."

Zhu Lian glanced at the empty jug at his feet and grimaced. "Young master, my jug is empty."

He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. "Young master, don't worry about this old servant's tolerance. As Pei Qian would say, 'No problem!' One jug just quenches thirst, two brings a mild buzz, and three will make me truly happy."

Chen Ping'an grinned, opened his mouth wide, shook his head as if inhaling, then turned to Zhu Lian with a gleeful look. "Go drink the northwest wind instead."

Zhu Lian was speechless for a long moment. He considered making a bold remonstrance, refusing to be a flattering sycophant. With a righteous air, he said, "Young master, a joke that unfunny makes it really hard for this old servant to flatter you."

Chen Ping'an's mind stirred slightly. He took out a jug of wine from his Dimension-Reducement Artifact and tossed it to Zhu Lian. "Zhu Lian, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Zhu Lian caught the wine without hesitation. "A good person."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "This wine isn't wasted on you."

Zhu Lian shook his head. "Even without this jug of wine, I would still say the same."

Chen Ping'an muttered to himself, "So I'm a good person now."

Zhu Lian laughed heartily. "Young master, just treat that as more flattery from me. Don't take it seriously. Drink up!"

An old man from a family of great wealth and privilege, and a young man from a poor alley—neither of them really cared about the master-servant distinction. They sat on the cliff, slowly enjoying their wine.

Zhu Lian wiped his mouth and suddenly said, "Young master, how about this old servant sings you a hometown tune?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Sure."

Zhu Lian quickly took a small sip of wine to moisten his throat, then began to hum and sing, swaying his head. He used the official language of a long-vanished dynasty in the Lotus Flower Paradise.

Chen Ping'an naturally couldn't understand it, but hearing Zhu Lian hum so leisurely and engrossedly, even without knowing the content, Chen Ping'an found it charming.

After finishing a verse, Zhu Lian asked, "Young master, how was it?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Not bad, not bad."

Zhu Lian shook the half-empty jug. "If you could grant this old servant another jug, I'll sing it in the Great Li official language."

Without a word, Chen Ping'an tossed him another jug.

Zhu Lian set it aside and began to hum softly. "The spring night's candles are like human eyes, watching the lady undo her buttons. Her delicate fingers loosen the silk sash, her snowy bosom rises like twin peaks, her belly soft and yielding. Pity the candlelight cannot reveal her smooth back and narrow waist, where a great gourd hangs. Little lady, thinking of the faithless wanderer who has not returned, her heart pounds like a deer, a thousand knots tied in her heart... The lady twists her waist to look back at the double pillows, her hand covering her mountain peak in sorrow. Since an inch of time is worth an inch of gold, who will earn ten thousand taels?"

Zhu Lian paused, took a drink, feeling quite satisfied.

Chen Ping'an asked, "That's it?"

Zhu Lian was surprised. "Young master, you didn't even think about hitting me?"

Chen Ping'an sneered. "After all the journeys I've been on, I've seen the big world. This is nothing. Back then, in the underground dragon river channel, I was riding an immortal ferry while the gods and gods were fighting overhead in the cabins day and night. Heh."

This belated realization was actually thanks to Zhu Lian, as well as the long river of time in the Lotus Flower Paradise.

Zhu Lian asked, "Tell me about it?"

Chen Ping'an said with a sly smile, "Alright, but first give me back that jug of wine."

Zhu Lian hesitated, then handed the jug to Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an put it away in his Dimension-Reducement Artifact. "It really was a series of soul-stirring, brutal battles."

Zhu Lian waited a long time for more. "That's it?"

Chen Ping'an stood up. "What else?"

Zhu Lian quickly rose and followed. "Young master, give me back that wine! Those pitiful few words said nothing at all—not worth a jug of wine!"

Chen Ping'an ignored him.

On the plank road, he flipped his body and walked on his hands in a heaven-and-earth stance.

Zhu Lian stood there, frustrated. He suddenly turned to look at Shi Rou, who was meditating in a state of forgetfulness. Zhu Lian bared his teeth in a grin.

Shi Rou opened her eyes and snapped, "Get away!"

Zhu Lian raised his hand, pinched his fingers in a lotus gesture, and waved at Shi Rou. "How annoying."

Shi Rou was thoroughly disgusted.

Then, in a fleeting glimpse, she was dumbstruck.

Zhu Lian pressed a finger to his temple and made two gestures: one tearing motion, one wiping motion, with a brief pause in between.

The old man twitched the corner of his mouth at Shi Rou, then turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to stroll alone through the night.

All that was left was the former bone-desiccated ghost of a beauty, looking as if she had seen a ghost.

In the distance, Zhu Lian clicked his tongue. "Boring."

***

After traversing the plank road and crossing the border between the Nanyuan Kingdom and the Great Li dynasty, Chen Ping'an and Zhu Lian walked along a mountain path between towering peaks and rugged ranges.

Shi Rou had already taken Pei Qian on a detour, following the Embroidery River toward Red Candle Town, where they would rendezvous. Chen Ping'an had instructed Shi Rou to carry Pei Qian on her back and use her supernatural abilities, so it was certain that Shi Rou and Pei Qian would reach Red Candle Town first.

Chen Ping'an smiled as he recalled an old incident. Back then, on this very mountain path, he had encountered a trio of master and disciples—a crippled boy carrying a tattered banner that read "Suppress Demons, Capture Ghosts, Vanquish Evil, Guard the Dao." They had ended up in the same predicament, all captured by that female ghost in a wedding dress and taken to her mansion, which was hung with countless large red lanterns. Fortunately, everyone had come out safe in the end. When they parted, the shabby old Daoist had given Chen Ping'an a painting of the "Mountain Search Diagram," a family heirloom of his sect. The trio had passed through Longquan County but didn't stay in the small town. At the Qilong Lane shop, they met Miss Ruan Xiu. Finally, they continued north to the Great Li capital, hoping to try their luck there.

Chen Ping'an deliberately chose to climb the mountain at dusk. When he reached the winding path where the ghost wall had once been, he stopped and looked around. Nothing unusual.

Chen Ping'an, carrying the Sword Immortal and the bamboo box on his back, felt like half a scholar.

But the female ghost in the wedding dress remained unmoved. That was understandable. Back then, Wei Jin of the Snowstorm Temple had torn open the sky with a single sword strike, and the gallant Xu Ruo had appeared. Having suffered a great loss, the female ghost was probably no longer bold enough to randomly harm passing scholars.

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and said to Zhu Lian, "Go up high and see if you can spot that mansion. But I doubt it—there will surely be some deception obscuring it."

Zhu Lian shot into the air. Such was the ability of a Far Traveling realm martial artist—they could go anywhere in the four directions.

After a moment, he descended back to the path and shook his head. "I can't see it indeed. We'll have to waste two of your talismans."

Chen Ping'an smiled and took out two talismans: a Yang Qi Lantern-Lighting Talisman and a Mountain-Water Barrier-Breaking Talisman, each held between his fingers. Both were drawn on the yellow paper from the stack given to him by Li Xisheng.

He infused some of the spiritual energy stored in the golden civil gall bladder's energy palace within his body into the Yang Qi Lantern-Lighting Talisman.

A tiny flame flickered.

Chen Ping'an leaped onto the treetops, circled around, and carefully observed the flame's burning speed and size on his fingertip. Finally, he determined a general direction.

Using the Lantern-Lighting Talisman as a guide to find the mansion's mountain-water barrier was like an ordinary person walking with a lantern at night, lighting the path ahead.

Eventually, Chen Ping'an arrived before a rock face. The flame suddenly flared up. Chen Ping'an flicked his wrist, and the talisman core of the Mountain-Water Barrier-Breaking Talisman was filled with spiritual energy, shining brightly. He pressed the talisman against the rock face, and the scene before them rapidly transformed. The rock wall melted like snow meeting fire, revealing a palm-sized hole. Through the hole, they could already see a gloomy valley path inside, with yin and killing energy pouring out.

When the Mountain-Water Barrier-Breaking Talisman was nearly burnt out, the hole had grown to the size of a courtyard gate. Chen Ping'an and Zhu Lian stepped through.

Inside the mountain hollow, where ancient trees reached the sky, Chen Ping'an still held the mostly intact Yang Qi Lantern-Lighting Talisman, leading Zhu Lian forward in a flash.

Zhu Lian, his feet not touching the ground, followed behind.

Chen Ping'an hadn't detailed the grudge with the female ghost in the wedding dress.

But Zhu Lian had never seen Chen Ping'an so genuinely fixated on a "small matter" before.

To meet this female ghost, Chen Ping'an had made many preparations and arrangements. Zhu Lian, who had experienced the Old Dragon City incident with Chen Ping'an, felt that at the Dust Medicine Shop, Chen Ping'an had also been extremely cautious and weighed every detail. But the two were similar yet not entirely the same. This time, it was as if Chen Ping'an had been waiting for this day for a long time. When it finally arrived, his mindset was strange—like when Zhu Lian assumed the monkey-like boxing stance: before a major battle, he would first collapse inward, shrink, rather than a typical pure martial artist's soaring spirit and overflowing fist intent.

The Yang Qi Lantern-Lighting Talisman burned faster, and when the last ember drifted down.

The two finally stood in a square, before an imposing mansion with a plaque that seemed to have been brushed by an immortal's hand: "Elegant Waters and Lofty Winds." Two enormous stone lions guarded the entrance.

Chen Ping'an squinted, looking up at the plaque.

Once, a female ghost in a bright red wedding dress had floated there.

She was devoted. She had once been a benevolent ghost. She always had her own principles.

It was said that a scholar walking the mountain road at night had loudly recited saintly poems to bolster his courage, and she had noticed him.

The scholar and the female ghost, despite the separation of yin and yang, had fallen in love. Willingly, she had put on that red wedding dress.

Chen Ping'an twitched the corner of his mouth.

Principles have no favoritism—this was what Chen Ping'an himself had said.

Those who are unreasonable may live as they please, however they want, and it's still the path they choose. But if one day they meet someone who is reasonable and has harder fists, then they'd better be reborn into a better life in their next incarnation. This was also what Chen Ping'an had said.

Chen Ping'an...

Zhu Lian couldn't help but turn his head.

Even Zhu Lian, a Far Traveling realm martial artist, sensed an unusual aura emanating from Chen Ping'an.

Was this the aura of a pure martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Fifth Realm?

Like a bright moon rising into the sky.

But that was nothing compared to what shocked Zhu Lian even more: the external manifestation of Chen Ping'an's state of mind and aura.

That bright moon was like a luminous pearl held in the mouth of a flood dragon.