Chapter 460: The Struggle Between Water and Fire, Make Way

Chapter 460: The Struggle Between Water and Fire, Make Way

Chen Ping'an tentatively asked, "Miss Ruan?"
Wei Bo smiled and nodded.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Did you need to remind me of that? Given Miss Ruan's temperament, as long as she's climbing the mountain, she'll definitely come to the bamboo tower."
Wei Bo wore a hurt expression, as if his good intentions had been taken for ill intent.
Chen Ping'an laughed in exasperation. "I'm just meeting Miss Ruan once. Even though it's night, under everyone's watchful eyes, there's nothing exciting for you to see. Are you, the Northern Mountain True God, so idle as this?"
Wei Bo, full of righteous indignation, pointed at the mountain gate, then at Chen Ping'an. "Now that my Northern Mountain territory is divided into inner and outer courtyards, and the two biggest landowners in the inner courtyard are meeting, can I afford not to be concerned?"
Chen Ping'an stopped paying attention to Wei Bo and got up to welcome Ruan Xiu. Since he knew she was visiting the mountain, as the master of Luopo Mountain, he still had to observe some basic etiquette as a host.
Wei Bo did not follow, remaining where he was, muttering to himself, "Really nothing going on? This fellow looks quite upright and honorable."
As soon as Pei Qian heard that the gentle and warmhearted sister in blue was visiting, she was happier than anyone. She jumped up, took off like a shot, and sprinted away. But she ended up crashing into a curtain of mountain mist rippling with waves. Stumbling, she found herself standing back by the stone table. Pei Qian looked left and right, noticing subtle ripples around her that shifted unpredictably, rising and falling. She said angrily, "Mr. Wei, aren't you ashamed, a mountain god, using such a lowly trick like a ghost maze?"
Wei Bo said helplessly, "What are you interfering for? For example, if your master is tired and wants to sleep, and you run around the room with a big lantern, is that appropriate?"
Pei Qian crossed her arms, extended two fingers to rub her chin, and fell into thought. After a moment, she asked seriously, "Sleeping without a proper ceremony with a sedan chair carried by eight bearers? Isn't that inappropriate? I've heard that Master Ruan is getting old and his eyesight isn't good, so he doesn't really like my master being together with Sister Ruan. How about you, Mr. Wei, accompany me for a stroll at the Longquan Sword Sect and have a chat with Master Ruan? By the time dawn breaks, the rice will be cooked, and she'll be Second Master's wife whether she likes it or not, hehehe. The more master's wives and the more money, the better..."
Of course, these were all jokes from Pei Qian. Since her master wasn't around, and Wei Bo wasn't the type to tattle, she spoke without restraint and did as she pleased.
But Pei Qian genuinely liked Ruan Xiu the most in Longquan County. It was heartfelt. Pei Qian felt a natural closeness to Ruan Xiu, not just because she had seen Cui Dongshan's scroll of the River of Time. From the moment Pei Qian arrived at Luopo Mountain and first saw that sister in blue with the long ponytail, she felt joy. And when Pei Qian looked at Ruan Xiu, it was like seeing an incredibly "warm" painting—not like Cui Dongshan's scenes that made one's bones chill, but rather boiling the sea and cooking the lake, heaven and earth in turmoil, fiery lava filling the sky, all a blazing red.
There was a woman seated high on a throne, one hand propping up her cheek, looking down upon the earth. That Sister Ruan Xiu, whose face was blurred, held in her other hand a round sun that seemed to have been plucked from the dome of the sky. She gently twisted it, as if it were the densest essence of fire in the world, radiating countless rays of light, illuminating all directions.
But this secret, Pei Qian hadn't even told the little girl in the pink dress. She only wanted to tell her master when they were alone.
Wei Bo's head ached.
Fortunately, the old man surnamed Cui had already walked out of the bamboo tower. Pei Qian immediately sat back down on the stone stool, turned to ask the little girl in the pink dress if she had any sunflower seeds. The latter quickly pulled out a handful and handed them to her master's first disciple. They got along very well.
Pei Qian busied herself cracking sunflower seeds, lowering her head. She was still a bit afraid of the barefoot old man, especially after hearing the pink-skirted girl talk about her master's training experiences back then. Pei Qian almost had nightmares, so she would rather wander around outside all day, afraid that the old man would see at a glance that she was a once-in-a-millennium martial arts prodigy.
The old man said to Pei Qian and the pink-skirted girl, "Aren't you going back to sleep?"
Pei Qian had no choice but to drag the pink-skirted girl away. Not far from the bamboo tower, a few modest residences had been built. Pei Qian and the pink-skirted girl lived in the same courtyard, as neighbors.
The old man looked toward the mountain gate and sneered, "Daring to come see me with a sword on his back shows his nature hasn't changed too much."
Wei Bo asked with a smile, "If Chen Ping'an hadn't dared to climb the tower with his sword, cowering and hesitating, would Mr. Cui be troubled?"
The old man laughed heartily. "Troubled? It would just take a few more punches to turn him back into that little brat from back then. Is there any truth in this world that can't be settled with a fist? There are only two kinds of truth: the kind I can explain with one punch, and the kind that takes two punches to enlighten someone."
Wei Bo said wryly, "But Mr. Cui comes from an aristocratic clan."
"So what if I was the patriarch of the Cui clan? Did I become a Sage of the Academy from studying? Since my own studies didn't amount to anything, did I teach any Sage descendants?"
The old man said self-deprecatingly, "So I understand the difficulties of scholars' conduct, but I also know their deep-rooted flaws."
Wei Bo said no more.
This mountain god, currently the most prominent on Bottle Gourd Continent, stood at the edge of the cliff, elegant as a jade tree in the wind, white-robed with wide sleeves, appearing ethereal and otherworldly. He looked like a piece of jade-white lingzhi growing on a high precipice.
The old man asked, "Why did Ruan Qiong change his mind at the last minute and refuse to take that immortal ferry port left behind by the Baofu Zhai at Oxhorn Mountain? Why would he hand over such a huge advantage to you and Chen Ping'an?"
Wei Bo said, "I thought Mr. Cui wouldn't care about these mundane worldly affairs."
The old man curled his lip. "Zhu Lian, that rascal, when playing Gomoku with those kids down there, deliberately kept mumbling and muttering, and it got annoying. I almost couldn't hold back several times from punching him off the cliff."
Regarding Zhu Lian, Wei Bo had only good things to say when they talked, feeling they could have been close friends if they'd met earlier.
How formidable was Zhu Lian? So formidable that Wei Bo sincerely thought that if he had known Zhu Lian a few years earlier, he might have been able to untie his own heart knot sooner, and wouldn't have passed her by on that path at Qi Dun Mountain the last time, not daring to even look at her. Instead, he should have left Qi Dun Mountain early to find her. Even if fate decreed that they could never be together in life after life, since he, as a mountain and river god, lived as long as immortals, he should at least get closer in each lifetime, watching her joys and sorrows, loves and hates, instead of hiding on Qi Dun Mountain sighing year after year.
As for why Zhu Lian was unwilling to learn martial arts from Old Mr. Cui, Wei Bo never asked.
Now, Wei Bo explained, "Regarding the purchase of the mountain, I had two candid conversations with Saint Ruan in private. On the one hand, Saint Ruan had leased those several peaks from Chen Ping'an for a few hundred years. Naturally, it was mutually beneficial then. Chen Ping'an kept only Luopo Mountain and Zhenzhu Mountain, so he wouldn't attract too much attention, avoiding jealousy from the Great Li capital and cultivators elsewhere. Saint Ruan could also expand his sect's territory. But later, Chen Ping'an rose rapidly and could protect himself without worry. Saint Ruan felt somewhat uneasy, thinking that contract, originally well-intentioned, had caused Chen Ping'an to suffer a loss. So he was willing to accept the ferry port and then pass it on. That way, with my mediation, the Great Li court, the Baofu Zhai at Oxhorn Mountain, and Chen Ping'an all had a way to save face."
Wei Bo smiled. "After all, the Great Li court would rather see a more harmonious relationship between Saint Ruan and me."
The old man's smile was sardonic. "As for the other side, it's that Ruan Qiong doesn't want too much entanglement of favors with Chen Ping'an. The fairer the transactions, the less nerve Chen Ping'an would have to cheat his daughter away."
Wei Bo made no comment on that.
It had almost become Ruan Qiong's obsession.
Wei Bo and the old man both looked toward the foot of the mountain and exchanged a knowing smile.
It was rare to see a saint in charge of a region reduced to this.
Wei Bo said, "I'll go and put Saint Ruan's mind at ease."
The old man nodded. "If it were ordinary townsfolk, being a parent would be this worrisome, then so be it. But this blacksmith from the Wind and Snow Temple has actually made me see him in a new light."
Wei Bo vanished in a flash.
Within the territory of the Great Li Northern Mountain, Wei Bo was the master of the landscape.
Even more legitimate than Saint Ruan Qiong.
Even when the other four Great Li mountains were established, Wei Bo would still be the one with the most extensive territory among all the Five Mountain Gods of Bottle Gourd Continent. Because of the geography of Bottle Gourd Continent—long north-south, narrow east-west—the Eastern and Western Mountains would be at a natural disadvantage compared to the Northern and Southern Mountains. And Great Li's foundation was in the north; the current capital was the place of the Song clan's rise, with ancestral estates all in the north, which made the Northern Mountain slightly superior to the Southern Mountain. Therefore, even when the continent's situation was settled, if the Great Li Song clan moved the capital south in the future, they likely wouldn't move it all at once to the south of the central Cauliflower Kingdom and Comb Water Kingdom, because the Viewing Lake Academy was down there. The Great Li Song clan wouldn't cut off their own qi and split north and south.
Thus, when the hooves of the Great Li iron cavalry trampled the southern shores of the Old Dragon City, the only mountain god who could compete with Wei Bo would be the Central Mountain.
At the midslope of Luopo Mountain.
Chen Ping'an met Ruan Xiu.
Ruan Xiu watched the young man who stopped and waved. She blinked her eyes, quickened her pace, and then they walked side by side up the mountain.
There was no awkwardness of friends meeting after a long time apart; it flowed naturally.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "That night when you made your move at Furong Mountain on Book-Slip Lake, I saw it from Qingxia Island far away. Quite imposing."
Ruan Xiu blushed slightly and said softly, "During my training journey down south, I traveled with a group of Great Li Sticky Pole Boys. Later, I met a certain Cui Dongshan who claimed to be your student, and we went together to Meiyou Kingdom."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Later, while traveling through Meiyou Kingdom with a friend, I saw the battlefield where you were chasing Zhu Ying Sword Cultivators, over by Spring Flower River."
Ruan Xiu said nothing.
Spring Flower River? She had no memory of it at all.
She never bothered to remember such things. Even on this journey south, after leaving the immortal ferry boat and taking a carriage through Shihao Kingdom, she had seen many people and events, but she didn't remember any of them. At Furong Mountain, she had taken it upon herself to control a fire dragon and kill that youth with flourishing martial fortune. As compensation, on her way back north, she had helped the Great Li Sticky Pole Boys find three new candidates. She had gotten along well with them, but in the end, she couldn't even remember the names of those three children. What she did remember were some special snacks from Green Tung City.
Ruan Xiu suddenly said, "Not far to the north, my father just bought a mountain called Jinrang Mountain, not far from Luopo Mountain and Huimeng Mountain. My father plans to build a new sword furnace there. The crew is working overnight on the peak. I went over there for a stroll tonight, and then I saw the phenomenon of the cloud sea being dispersed over here. I was a bit worried about Pei Qian, so I came to check."
Chen Ping'an suppressed a smile.
But he didn't say anything.
Others might not know the depth of the old man surnamed Cui's martial arts, but the god Wei Bo and Saint Ruan Qiong definitely did, aside from that old Yang at the medicine shop.
If Ruan Qiong knew, it usually meant Ruan Xiu would know too.
Ruan Xiu laughed as well. Lying was indeed not her forte. Awkward. Her father had never been fooled; he liked to expose her face to face. But this person beside her wouldn't call her out.
Chen Ping'an did not go toward the bamboo tower.
Instead, he led Ruan Xiu all the way to the summit.
Oddly enough, as the master of Luopo Mountain, Chen Ping'an had never been to the mountain god temple at the peak.
Their conversation consisted of casual chitchat, trivial matters.
For example, the progress of the repairs at the Immortal Tomb, the business of the two shops on Dragon Riding Lane, the brood of chickens Chen Ping'an had asked her to look after back then, and that stray dog.
Near the mountain god temple.
Chen Ping'an was about to speak.
Ruan Xiu stopped, turned to look into the distance, and said with a smile, "I know what you want to say."
Chen Ping'an sat down on the steps, his expression calm. The steps where they sat were bathed in moonlight, flanked by ancient trees. On the stone steps, the moonlight flowed like a stream down the slope, and in the water were crisscrossing waterweeds and duckweed, the shadows of pines and cypresses. The scene was dreamlike and surreal.
Chen Ping'an said frankly, "It seems no matter what I say, it's wrong, but not saying it would be even worse. The best-case scenario is that I'm being presumptuous. No man would be unhappy to be liked by a woman—that's human nature. Even if many men already have a girl they like and deliberately entangle themselves with other nice girls, I can't just say those men are wrong. I believe many men take pleasure in it and even think it's something great. But that's not the human nature of me, Chen Ping'an. If I really did that, I would be letting down Ning Yao and also letting down Miss Ruan. However, if I've misunderstood Miss Ruan, if I'm overthinking, that would be best. But even if you get angry, Miss Ruan, and we can't even be friends anymore, I still have to make things clear today. You've helped me so much over the years, and I keep it in my heart. Not to brag, but even in front of Ning Yao, I would tell her that Miss Ruan's kindness deserves gratitude. A person must not forget their roots. In ten or a hundred years, if something shouldn't be forgotten, then it must not be forgotten, and if it can be repaid, it should be repaid. Of course, I like Miss Ruan, but it's not romantic love. If it's the opposite—if my words and actions back then caused you to misunderstand—then the fault is not yours but mine, Chen Ping'an. If that's the case, what do we do..."
These words were like pebbles in a stream, without any sharp edges, but they were still hard stones, not the drifting waterweeds, nor the playful fish in the water.
Ruan Xiu looked at the young man who seemed both hurt and guilty, and she too felt a little sad.
How could it be that, having finally returned home, she had to feel sad again? And because of her.
As for things like liking and love, Ruan Xiu was actually not as conflicted as he imagined. As for right and wrong, she didn't even think about it.
If I like you, even the heavens can't interfere or stop me.
If I don't like you, you're useless even if you're the heavens.
Such a simple matter.
This very lazy girl even felt that whether she liked someone or not had little to do with that person.
But Ruan Xiu did not tell Chen Ping'an these innermost thoughts.
The Great Dao does not contend over the immediate.
Ruan Xiu sat there quietly and asked, "If you had met me first back then, instead of Miss Ning, what would have happened?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head without any hesitation. "Miss Ruan can ask that, but I cannot entertain such thoughts. So there will be no answer."
Ruan Xiu cupped her cheeks with both hands, gazing into the distance, murmuring, "In matters like this, you're just like my father. He's very stubborn. He never goes looking for my mother's reincarnation, saying that even if he found her, she wouldn't be his real mother anymore. Besides, not everyone can recover past-life memories. So meeting is worse than not meeting—it would wrong the woman who always lives in his heart and waste the time of the woman beside him."
Involving Master Ruan, Chen Ping'an didn't say anything.
Ruan Xiu turned her head and smiled. "Back home this time, no gifts?"
Chen Ping'an said awkwardly, "How would I dare bring gifts? If I hadn't made things clear, wouldn't that cause even more misunderstanding?"
Then Chen Ping'an smiled with relief. "But from now on, I can bring gifts for you, Miss Ruan."
Ruan Xiu tilted her head, squinting her moist eyes with a smile, and asked, "So when did things become clear?"
Chen Ping'an looked dumbfounded.
He quickly reorganized the whole conversation from beginning to end.
Logically, if Miss Ruan didn't like him, and even if by some chance she did like him a little, he had made it clear either way.
Ruan Xiu smiled. "Alright, it's just that you don't have that kind of liking for me, and you're afraid that I might have that kind of liking for you, making you feel embarrassed. You worry that if you say it bluntly, it'll make me uncomfortable, make things worse, and then we can't even be friends, right? Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm not lying about that. My liking isn't the kind you think it is. You'll understand later, or you can ask your disciple Cui Dongshan. Anyway, it doesn't stop us from being friends."
Chen Ping'an nodded. Miss Ruan's words were a bit convoluted, but it seemed she had expressed it even more thoroughly than he had.
Ruan Xiu asked, "Does Miss Ning like you too?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "She does."
Ruan Xiu hummed in acknowledgment. "Chen Ping'an, why do you think so much? Why don't you think more about yourself?"
Chen Ping'an didn't know how to answer.
Ruan Xiu patted her knees and stood up. "Alright, let's leave it at that. Suddenly feeling a bit hungry. I'm going home for a midnight snack."
Chen Ping'an stood up as well. "How about coming to my bamboo tower? I have all the equipment for making midnight snacks. I keep a lot of ingredients in my Inch-Space—dried fish, dried bamboo shoots, ham, cured meat, and plenty of wild greens. I can stew a pot—it should taste good and won't take much effort."
Ruan Xiu smiled. "My father is still waiting at the foot of the mountain. I'm afraid he might not be able to resist stewing you as a midnight snack."
Chen Ping'an wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Ruan Xiu walked down the steps, turned her head, and said with a laugh, "Don't see me off."
Chen Ping'an said, "I need to go down too. I'll see you to the fork in the road."
The two slowly descended the mountain together.
Ruan Xiu was calm and composed, like a spirit roaming the forest at night.
Then they parted ways. Ruan Xiu continued walking down the mountain, while Chen Ping'an took the path toward the bamboo tower.
Chen Ping'an suddenly remembered a beautiful phrase carved on a bamboo slip.
"The stars and moon are bright, the Milky Way is in the sky, and there are no human voices—only the sounds in the trees."

---

Outside Luopo Mountain.
Wei Bo stood beside Ruan Qiong.
The burly man sat on a massive boulder.
Wei Bo said with a smile, "Mr. Ruan, don't you want to take a look at Luopo Mountain? If my presence would be inconvenient, I can leave. I promise that whether on the mountain or outside, I will neither see nor hear anything."
Ruan Qiong drank his wine and shook his head. "I'm not that despicable. If I can't trust Chen Ping'an, can I at least trust my own daughter?"
Wei Bo was speechless.
If you really trusted her, why would you sneak all the way here?
Ruan Qiong continued drinking.
Wei Bo stood by, accompanying him.
Ruan Qiong asked, "Wei Bo, who do you think will be emperor of Great Li in the future?"
Wei Bo wasn't afraid of anyone eavesdropping. Within the Northern Mountain territory, anyone who dared do that would be asking for a short life.
As for the old senior at the Yang Family Medicine Shop, he wouldn't care about such things.
Wei Bo thought for a moment and said, "For now, it seems both Song He and Song Jixin are possible. Of course, Song He is more likely—deep-rooted both in court and among the people, more able to command respect. As for Song Jixin, only the Ministry of Rites is somewhat desperate, secretly placing some bets on him. But either way, none of this really matters. In the end, it all comes down to the decisions of two people. Even that lady's words won't matter. I think Song Changjing and Cui Chan will both ultimately make unexpected choices."
Ruan Qiong said, "The Great Li emperor's death came at a rather convenient time."
Wei Bo smiled and said nothing.
Ruan Qiong was a top-tier offering official of Great Li, also the number one sword forger on Bottle Gourd Continent whom everyone wanted to please. He had friends all over the continent, and his "maiden home" was the Wind and Snow Temple—the relationship had never been cut, lingering on, wanting to speak yet hesitant. No one thought Ruan Qiong had truly broken with the Wind and Snow Temple. Otherwise, that Dragon-Beheading Platform cliff wouldn't have seen the figure of a Wind and Snow Temple sword immortal—it would simply have been Ruan Qiong abandoning the Wind and Snow Temple outright and splitting it with Zhenwu Mountain fifty-fifty.
As for Wei Bo, he was a true god of mountains and waters enfeoffed by the Great Li Song clan. It was better to say as little as possible about treasonous and presumptuous matters.
Talking about the two princes was fine; chatting about the prince and the state preceptor was also acceptable. But Wei Bo, as the Northern Mountain god, had his position stamped with the seal of the late Great Li emperor. He had to honor that favor. So when it came to Song Zhengchun's life and death, whether Ruan Qiong brought it up or that old flood dragon from Huangting Kingdom mentioned it, Wei Bo always kept silent.
In the distance, a figure in blue appeared. She didn't seem to be walking fast, but her figure drifted like smoke until she arrived.
Ruan Xiu saw Ruan Qiong and Wei Bo. She nodded first to Wei Bo, then looked at her father. "Father, what a coincidence, you're out for a walk too?"
Ruan Qiong nodded, casually tossing aside the empty wine flask.
Wei Bo tactfully took his leave.
Ruan Qiong's lips moved slightly, but in the end, he just pulled another flask of wine from his Inch-Space, removed the mud seal, and began drinking.
Ruan Xiu smiled. "I ran into Chen Ping'an just now on Luopo Mountain."
Ruan Qiong put on a stern face. "What a coincidence."
Truly father and daughter.
So Ruan Xiu picked and chose, telling her father about their conversation. The general gist remained the same, but she tweaked some wording.
Ruan Qiong took a large gulp of wine, wiped his mouth, and said heavily, "Is Chen Ping'an blind? What's wrong with my daughter? He doesn't like her?! Who gave him the audacity to not like her?"
Ruan Xiu squinted with a smile.
Ruan Qiong was exceedingly indignant and took another big drink. After a moment of silence, he said, "But this kid is still a decent person. Not like many men who are always eyeing what's in the pot while eating what's in their mouths. There's not a single fault to find with Chen Ping'an on this point."
Ruan Qiong suddenly asked suspiciously, "Xiu Xiu, could it be that after five years on the road, this kid has become more and more cunning, deliberately retreating to advance? So that I won't be on guard against him?"
Ruan Xiu gave her father a look of disdain and said nothing.
Ruan Qiong said sheepishly, "That kid probably isn't that wicked."
Ruan Qiong asked curiously, "Xiu Xiu, you're not at all unhappy? Tell me the truth, daughter. Do you really like Chen Ping'an? I'm only asking you this once. I won't ask again after this, so don't lie."
Ruan Xiu raised both hands and shook them vigorously, grinning. "Not really."
Ruan Qiong was half-convinced. "If it came to a fight between your father and Chen Ping'an, whose side would you take?"
Ruan Xiu said solemnly, "Of course, I'd take your side, Father."
Ruan Qiong felt some comfort.
He suddenly turned his head sharply.
Ruan Xiu looked completely sincere, with no cracks.
"Get home early." Ruan Qiong felt slightly reassured. He rose into the air and turned into a rainbow as he shot away.
Ruan Xiu, as leisurely as ever, walked alone through the woods. She finally came to a stream, crouched there, and cupped a handful of water. In the water was a bright moon, broken and whole, whole and broken.
Over at the bamboo tower on Luopo Mountain, Chen Ping'an had just wanted to sit alone at the stone table for a while when the old man surnamed Cui reached out, grabbed him, and pulled him into the second-floor room.
Then the old man kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. Chen Ping'an braced himself with one hand on the ground, flipping his body, but before he could land steadily, the old man struck him in the forehead with a fist aura. The bamboo tower shook with a loud bang.
Enough to show the force of that punch.
Chen Ping'an, who had been inexplicably beaten up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, cursed loudly, and then shouted angrily, "If you've got the guts, fight me at the fifth tier!"
The old man sneered. "Fine, we'll exchange the God-Man Drumming Style at the fifth tier?"
Chen Ping'an charged forward using the Six-Step Stance.
The old man stood motionless, one hand behind his back, the other casually extended palm-forward, signaling Chen Ping'an to throw the first punch.
Chen Ping'an stomped heavily on the sixth step, his momentum like a rainbow.
Then, without warning, he swerved, dashed out the still-open bamboo door on the second floor, let out a soft shout, and unsheathed his Sword Immortal. Stepping onto the sword, he shot straight into the clouds, whistling away into the distance.
Punch feeding—Chen Ping'an could accept that.
But tonight, the old man had clearly taken the wrong medicine, as if he were using Chen Ping'an as a punching bag. That wouldn't do.
The barefoot old man did not immediately punch him down. He clicked his tongue. "Such a slippery fellow, yet when it comes to affairs of the heart, he's such a blockhead? So young, and already feeling that all sails have passed by? Unacceptable!"
The old man silently calculated for a moment, then stepped onto the railing outside and threw a punch—the Cloud Steaming Marsh Style.
Chen Ping'an, thinking he had escaped, had originally planned to spend the night in the sky admiring the moon. Otherwise, life wasn't worth living.
But unexpectedly, even with his sword, the old man punched him back down to earth with one blow.
Then the old man casually pressed down with his palm.
As if a powerful aura, like a waterfall, poured down from the sky, slamming Chen Ping'an, who was trying to ride his sword again, into the forest.
Chen Ping'an crashed into a stream, sending up a huge splash.
The stream wasn't deep. Chen Ping'an staggered to his feet from the water, guiding the Sword Immortal back into its sheath on his back.
He saw Ruan Xiu crouched by the stream, staring at him dazedly.
Chen Ping'an bent over, gasping for breath, then wiped his face and said helplessly, "What a coincidence. Meeting again."
Ruan Xiu nodded.
Just as Chen Ping'an was about to say something, he was punched again and sent tumbling into the woods. A familiar voice roared angrily, "You little brat, I knew your wicked heart wasn't dead! Are you ever going to stop?! You're addicted to longing for my daughter, aren't you? Using even the bitter play?!"
Another punch followed.
The entire stream was cut in half by the passing fist aura.
Chen Ping'an had no choice but to summon his Sword Immortal again. With a mind-to-mind connection, he fled on his sword, barely dodging that punch. Danger followed after danger.
Chen Ping'an even used a Fangcun Talisman. While frantically fleeing for his life, he muttered, "Add Wei Bo to the mix, and we could have a full table."
Out of the corner of his eye, on a towering ancient tree, a figure in white stood gracefully, smiling. "That would be a bit embarrassing."
Wei Bo's voice wasn't loud, but Chen Ping'an heard it clearly.
Chen Ping'an rushed into a ripple, and in the next moment, he was standing on the mist-shrouded peak of Piyun Mountain. Heaving a sigh of relief, he sat down on the ground.
At least Wei Bo hadn't added insult to injury.
Back by the stream, Ruan Qiong lightly pressed on Ruan Xiu's shoulder, and they vanished in a flash, returning to the Longquan Sword Sect.
Ruan Qiong personally made a midnight snack. Father and daughter sat facing each other, and Ruan Xiu beamed with joy.
Ruan Qiong sighed inwardly.
Better to be sad today than to lose all hope in the future.

Over at Piyun Mountain.
Wei Bo smiled, bent down, and extended a hand to help the exhausted Chen Ping'an to his feet.
Chen Ping'an said bitterly, "Tonight feels like a dream."
Wei Bo laughed and stretched out his hand.
A moment later, a green bird that had been soaring through the sea of clouds above Piyun Mountain suddenly swooped down and landed in the god's hand.
Wei Bo held the green bird in one hand, and with the other, he lightly waved his sleeve. A white cloud cushion materialized behind Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged on the cushion.
Wei Bo raised his hand slightly, and the bird flew far away, back into the sea of clouds.
Wei Bo said softly, "Chen Ping'an, based on the contents of the letters you sent to Piyun Mountain, and combined with what Cui Dongshan casually mentioned last time on Piyun Mountain, I've pieced together a clue—a strange matter that you yourself might not have noticed."
Chen Ping'an asked, "How strange?"
Ever since he learned Go from Cui Dongshan, especially at Book-Slip Lake, reviewing the board had been one of Chen Ping'an's daily tasks as an accountant.
Wei Bo gazed into the distance. The sea of clouds could not obstruct a mountain god's vision. He saw the Dragon Beard River and Iron Seal River connected, and farther away, the Embroidered Flower River and Jade Liquid River near Red Candle Town. Wei Bo said slowly, "Ruan Xiu's fortune in the Li Zhu Cave Heaven was that fire dragon coiled around her wrist like a bracelet, right?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. That was an obvious truth.
Wei Bo continued, "After Mr. Qi gave you the Mountain and River Seal, it was destroyed in the Jiaolong Creek battle, leaving only a Water Seal. First, at that Elegant Water Lofty Wind Mansion by the Embroidered Flower River, you met a bride ghost. Then, on Tongye Continent, you had karma with that Mai He River Goddess. Before going to the Lion Garden in Qingluan Kingdom, you supposedly inscribed a poem on the wall inside a water god temple. In the Ziyang Manor of Huangting Kingdom, you encountered the ill-intentioned White Crane River God. Whether good karma or bad, it's still karma. But among mountain gods in the landscape, aside from me, there are very few. At least in your heart, even if you passed by them, you don't remember them deeply, right? Especially in these past few years at Book-Slip Lake, you've been living by the water for quite a while now, haven't you?"
Chen Ping'an thought seriously and nodded.
"Have you forgotten? Who did that little loach choose first back then? It chose you, Chen Ping'an, not Gu Can!"
Wei Bo smiled bitterly. "Have you ever thought about why you are so 'water-affinitive'? And Ruan Xiu? The struggle between water and fire—is there any struggle of the Great Dao more natural than that?"
Chen Ping'an was stunned.
Wei Bo let out a mournful sigh.
Chen Ping'an suddenly laughed. He pointed to the Sword Immortal on his back. "Don't worry. If there really is a struggle between water and fire, I'll make way for Miss Ruan. The reason is simple: I am a swordsman. My Great Dao, Chen Ping'an's, is on the path of martial arts, wielding my sword on distant journeys, throwing the hardest punches, delivering the fastest sword strikes, drinking with reasonable people, and punching and striking against injustice..."
The young man, who had nearly been "wasted away," had never been so spirited in years. "I hope that one day, when I, Chen Ping'an, stand somewhere, the truth will be right there!"