Chapter 519: The Answer Lies on the Green Bamboo
Traveling as a stranger during the rainy season was already an exceedingly vexing affair, let alone with the feeling of a knife at one's throat, which made the elderly Vice Minister Sui Xinyu even more anxious. After passing several relay stations, facing the poems of wandering travelers on the walls, this literary giant felt a deep resonance. Several times he drowned his sorrows in drink, making the young boy and girl increasingly worried. Only the veiled woman remained calm and composed throughout.
The four riders dared only to take the official roads toward the capital of Wuling Kingdom. On this day, at dusk, a torrential rain had just ceased. Even though they had galloped at full speed through the previous downpour, they still couldn't reach a relay station before nightfall, causing the old minister, who had just removed his straw rain cape and donned a conical hat, to suffer greatly. Looking around, he felt danger lurked everywhere. If not for the fact that he was still relatively hale and hearty, often traveling with old friends to enjoy the mountains and waters after resigning and returning to his hometown, he would have fallen ill long ago, unable to withstand the hardships of this desperate flight.
On the official road, a half-familiar face appeared from a hidden spot beside the path. It was the Jianghu wanderer from the small travel pavilion on the Ancient Tea Horse Road—a sturdy young man with a scarred face. He was no more than thirty paces away from the four Sui riders. The man wielded a long blade and, without a word, began to sprint towards them.
Sui Xinyu shouted loudly, "Sword Immortal, save us!"
But heaven and earth were silent.
Then, beside the old minister who had reined in his horse abruptly, there was a burst of urgent hoofbeats as the veiled woman galloped forward.
A flash of blade light. The rider and the blade-wielding man passed each other.
The veiled woman seemed to be struck in the waist by the blade light, her delicate body bending into an arc as she fell backward off the horse, vomiting blood profusely.
The man's forward momentum did not stop; he slowly slowed his pace, staggered a few steps, and then collapsed to the ground in defeat.
On his face, neck, and heart, three gold hairpins had been thrust in. These three hairpins, resembling both a Jianghu martial artist's hidden weapons and somewhat like an immortal's flying swords, were quite dangerous. If not for the sufficient quantity, they might not have been able to instantly kill this Jianghu martial artist. The hairpin in his face had only pierced through his cheek, making it a bloody mess, while the hairpin at his heart had missed by an inch, failing to penetrate the heart precisely. Only the hairpin in his neck was the truly fatal wound.
The veiled woman staggered to her feet, touched her abdomen, and wondered why that Jianghu blade-wielder had turned his blade edge to the flat side when striking. It seemed he wanted to injure rather than kill. Sui Jingcheng tried to breathe smoothly, faintly hearing a slight bang from far away.
Sui Jingcheng turned her head and shouted, "Careful! Dismount and take cover!"
Someone drew a great bow and shot. The arrow broke through the air at incredible speed, its whistling sound stirring the soul.
Blood seeped from the corner of Sui Jingcheng's mouth. Despite the severe pain in her waist, she held her breath and concentrated, silently reciting the incantation. Following the secret manual and diagram contained in the booklet gifted by a high personage back then, she formed a hand seal with one hand, twisted her slender waist, and spun her sleeve. Three gold hairpins shot out from the corpse on the official road, meeting the arrow. The hairpins flew with extreme speed, arriving even later than the sound of the bowstring, yet they still collided with the arrow, sparking three tiny flames. However, the arrow did not change its trajectory, shooting straight toward the head of the old minister sitting high on horseback.
Sui Jingcheng was filled with despair. Even though she had secretly given her father the plain-silk bamboo robe to wear, if the arrow struck his head, even if it were a legendary immortal robe, how could it save him?
Sui Jingcheng's eyes widened, and tears instantly streamed from her eyes.
At the critical moment of life and death, sincerity was visible.
Even though Sui Jingcheng did not fully agree with her father's conduct as an official and as a person, the bond between father and daughter could not be faked.
Just like that plain-silk bamboo robe, thin as a cicada's wing, the reason she had Sui Xinyu wear it was partly because Sui Jingcheng guessed that she herself was not in immediate danger of death. But when great disaster struck, being willing to gamble like this was not something all children in the world could do, especially for a clever woman like Sui Jingcheng, who aspired to cultivate longevity.
The next moment.
A white-clothed figure carrying a sword appeared out of thin air, standing precisely on that arrow, suspending it near Sui Xinyu and his horse. The figure gently floated down, and the arrow beneath his feet fell to the ground, turning to dust.
Another arrow came whistling. This time, it was extremely fast, exploding with a thunderous and mighty aura. Before the arrow arrived, there was also the sound of a bowstring snapping.
But the arrow was caught by the white-clothed young man's hand and shattered in his grip.
The white-clothed Sword Immortal looked toward the direction of the arrow and said with a smile, "Xiao Shuye, aren't you a blade-wielder? Why have you switched to a bow?"
The white-clothed Sword Immortal shot off in pursuit.
Sui Jingcheng shouted, "Be careful of the feint to the east and attack to the west..."
But the white-clothed Sword Immortal, who had changed his attire, paid no heed. He went alone in pursuit, a white rainbow rising from the ground, dazzling the onlookers.
Sui Jingcheng immediately mounted her horse and galloped off. With a wave of her hand, she collected the three fallen gold hairpins from the road into her sleeve and shouted to the others, "Quick, let's go!"
The four Sui riders galloped away.
After galloping several miles, there was still no sign of a relay station. The old minister felt his bones were falling apart from the jolting of the horse, and tears streamed down his aged face.
Sui Jingcheng raised her arm high and suddenly stopped her horse.
The other three riders also quickly reined in their horses.
On the road, Cao Fu stood with one hand behind his back, smiling as he reached out a hand toward the veiled woman. "Jingcheng, come with me to the mountain to cultivate. I can guarantee that if you enter the mountain with me, the Sui family's descendants for generations to come will have immense wealth and honor waiting for them."
Sui Xinyu's expression shifted uncertainly.
Sui Jingcheng sneered, "If that were really the case, why would you, Cao Fu, go to such great lengths? Given my father's and the Sui family's temperament, they would only offer me up willingly. If I'm not mistaken, the disciple of Hunjiang Jiao Yang Yuan inadvertently let slip that the new list of ten Grandmasters has just been released. Our Wuling Kingdom's Wang Dun seems to be at the bottom? Then the so-called four beauties should also be listed. What, am I, Sui Jingcheng, also honored to be among them? I wonder what the reasoning is? If I'm not wrong, your master, a Land Immortal, is determined to have me, Sui Jingcheng. That is true. But unfortunately, you might not be able to protect me, let alone the Sui family. So you have to scheme secretly, trying to take me to your cultivation place first."
Cao Fu withdrew his hand and stepped forward slowly. "Jingcheng, you have always been so intelligent, so breathtaking. Truly a woman with deep karmic affinity for the Dao. Become my Dao companion. Let you and me climb the mountains and travel far, carefree and riding the wind. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Becoming a cultivator who feeds on clouds and drinks dew, in a snap of fingers, a lifetime in the mortal world passes, and so-called relatives become nothing but bones. Why bother about them? If there is indeed guilt, even if there are some calamities, as long as the Sui family still has descendants alive, that is their blessing. When you and I join hands and ascend to become Earth Immortals, the Sui family can still rise easily in Wuling Kingdom."
Sui Xinyu finally understood the implication of Cao Fu's words. Only at this moment did he suddenly realize that the other party only cared about Sui Jingcheng's life or death. Once his daughter left, the Sui family seemed to face catastrophic doom?
Sui Xinyu cursed angrily, "Cao Fu, I have always treated you well. Why do you harm my Sui family like this?!"
Cao Fu smiled faintly. "Uncle Sui has indeed treated me well. Your foresight back then was excellent, choosing me as your son-in-law. Therefore, for this kindness, if Uncle Sui doesn't have the chance to claim it himself, once Jingcheng and I achieve the Dao in the future, I will repay it doubly to the Sui family's descendants."
Sui Xinyu was so angry he had to steady his forehead with his hand.
Cao Fu looked into the distance. "I won't exchange pleasantries with you. Jingcheng, I'll give you one last chance. If you come with me willingly, I won't kill the other three. If you're reluctant and force me to knock you unconscious, then you won't see the bodies of the other three. In the future, even the customary visits of a consort to her family in the secular dynasties will be omitted. Only on our mountain, during the Qingming Festival, you and I, as husband and wife, can make remote offerings."
Sui Jingcheng took off her veiled hat and casually discarded it. "If you and I ride horses to the immortal mountain, aren't you afraid that Sword Immortal will kill Xiao Shuye and come back to trouble you?"
Cao Fu pulled out several talismans and said confidently, "You are now half a cultivator. Paste these talismans on us, and we can barely travel by wind."
Sui Jingcheng dismounted. "I agree."
Cao Fu extended a hand. "That's right. Once you've seen the true immortal mountains, masters, and techniques, you'll understand how wise today's choice was."
The two were no more than ten paces apart.
Suddenly, three gold hairpins shot out from Sui Jingcheng's direction like lightning, but Cao Fu swept his sleeve and caught them in his palm. Even though he held the gleaming, flowing hairpins lightly in his hand, his palm was scalding hot, his skin split, and it was instantly covered in blood and flesh. Cao Fu frowned, pulled out a golden talisman his master had given him before leaving, silently chanted the incantation, wrapped the three hairpins in it, and only then did the strange phenomenon of flowing treasure light cease. Carefully, he put them into his sleeve. Cao Fu smiled, "Jingcheng, don't worry, I won't be angry with you. It's precisely this rebellious nature of yours that moves me the most."
Cao Fu's gaze bypassed Sui Jingcheng. "But since you reneged first, don't blame me, your husband, for breaking the agreement later."
Cao Fu paused, then smiled helplessly. "What's this? Is there someone behind me? Jingcheng, do you know that in mountain cultivation, knowing fate and following the trend is a necessary subject to understand?"
But Sui Jingcheng's expression was somewhat strange.
Cao Fu suddenly turned his head. There was no one there.
Sui Jingcheng gritted her teeth. The meager spiritual energy in her Qi Mansion surged to her wrist. On one palm, the meridians glowed with white light. She stepped forward quickly, striking fiercely at Cao Fu's back of the head.
But Cao Fu turned around, reached out, and grabbed Sui Jingcheng's fair wrist, which was channeling spiritual energy with its meridians full of vitality. He pulled her towards him, then smashed his elbow into Sui Jingcheng's forehead. He yanked her down heavily, and Sui Jingcheng collapsed limply to the ground. Cao Fu stepped on her arm, bent down, and smiled. "Did you know that a true cultivator like me, by merely focusing slightly and looking into your autumn-water eyes, can clearly see whether there is someone behind me? The reason I turned my head was just to make you hope and then despair."
Cao Fu twisted his toes, and Sui Jingcheng groaned in pain. Cao Fu poked her forehead with two fingers, and she was as if immobilized by a fixation spell. Cao Fu smiled faintly. "Since things have come to this, I might as well tell you the truth. After the Dazhuan Dynasty named you one of the Four Beauties, the 'Jade Beauty of the Sui Family,' you only had three paths left. Either follow your father to the Dazhuan capital and be selected as the Crown Princess, or be intercepted halfway by an emperor's secret envoy from a northern country and become the empress of a border state, or be taken by me to my master's sect on the border of Qingci Kingdom, where my master will refine you into a living cauldron first, teach you a secret technique, and then transfer you to a true immortal. That is the grand-uncle of the Golden Scale Palace Master. But don't be afraid. For you, this is a great blessing. To have the fortune to engage in dual cultivation with a Nascent Soul Immortal, your realm in cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds. Xiao Shuye doesn't know any of this. That chance encounter with a sword cultivator? What Golden Scale Palace Golden Core cultivator? It's all bluff. I just didn't bother to expose him, letting Xiao Shuye exert more effort. Even if Xiao Shuye dies, this deal is a huge profit for my master and me."
Cao Fu sighed emotionally. "Jingcheng, you and I truly have no fate. Your coin divination earlier was actually correct."
Cao Fu helped Sui Jingcheng to her feet, pulled out two talismans, bent down, and pasted them on her ankles. He looked at the three Sui riders. "No matter what, you all will die."
Just then, a familiar voice sounded beside Cao Fu. "Is that all? No more secrets? So, it's the Golden Scale Palace's old ancestor who wants Sui Jingcheng as a person, and your master gets to share the Dao-related items on Sui Jingcheng's body. What about you? You've worked so hard on this trip, plotted every move, toiled and labored, and gained nothing?"
Cao Fu straightened up with a bitter smile and turned his head. A man in a green shirt with a conical hat stood right beside him. Cao Fu asked, "Didn't you go after Xiao Shuye?"
The man replied, "Yin spirit travel. You claim to be a true cultivator, haven't you even seen this?"
Cao Fu said helplessly, "Sword cultivators rarely practice yin spirit travel."
The man nodded. "That's why if you don't travel the Jianghu much, you should do little evil."
Cao Fu was about to speak again.
But he fell backward and fainted.
Chen Ping'an waved his hand, dispersing the bit of spiritual energy restriction that Cao Fu had placed on Sui Jingcheng's forehead.
With another sweep of his sleeve, the corpse on the road was swept away from the main path, falling into the distant grass.
From far away, a white rainbow, just two or three zhang above the ground, flew over on a sword, holding a head with eyes wide open in death. It landed on the road, overlapped with the green-shirted figure, rippled slightly, and merged into one person.
But in the green-shirted man's hand, there was now a head.
Chen Ping'an said to Sui Jingcheng, "You are so intelligent. Have you decided on the path you should take from now on?"
Sui Jingcheng knelt on the ground and began to kowtow. "If I stay in Wuling Kingdom, the Sui family will surely be destroyed. Only if I leave is there a glimmer of hope. I humbly implore the Immortal Master to take me as a disciple!"
Chen Ping'an glanced at the veiled hat that Sui Jingcheng had discarded on the ground and smiled. "If you had started cultivating earlier and become a registered immortal master with an orderly master-disciple lineage, you would surely have achieved no small success by now."
---
Under the heavy night, on a mountaintop, Cao Fu's head was splitting with pain. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself sitting cross-legged, holding something in his hands.
He looked down. His heart was like dead ashes.
He lifted his head. By the campfire, the young scholar sat cross-legged, his mountain-walking staff lying horizontally across his lap, a bamboo box behind him.
Without the veiled hat to conceal her stunning beauty, Sui Jingcheng sat nearby, hugging her knees, curling up. She was staring blankly into space.
Cao Fu held the head of Xiao Shuye in his hands, not daring to move.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Tell me in detail about your sect and the Golden Scale Palace."
Cao Fu did not hesitate. He poured out everything he knew—all the inside information and truth, like bamboo tubes spilling beans. He didn't want to accompany Xiao Shuye on the road to the Yellow Springs.
His master had said that Xiao Shuye had exhausted his potential, but Cao Fu was different. He had the aptitude for Golden Core.
Chen Ping'an asked again, "Now tell me about your family affairs back then and the Jianghu matters of Wuling Kingdom."
Cao Fu again spoke without reservation, hiding nothing.
Sui Jingcheng had already snapped back to attention when Cao Fu first started speaking. She listened silently.
After Cao Fu finished, the man said, "You can leave with this head. Escort the old minister safely back to his hometown, and then you can return to your sect to report."
Sui Jingcheng seemed about to speak but stopped.
The man did not look at her, only said casually, "If you want to kill Cao Fu, try it yourself."
Cao Fu's expression changed slightly.
In the end, Cao Fu actually did not die. He simply left the mountaintop with the head.
Descending the mountain, he felt as if he had been reborn into a different world. But his fate was uncertain, his future unpredictable. This young immortal master, who had once thought the Jianghu of Wuling Kingdom was just a small mud puddle, still felt uneasy.
By the campfire.
Sui Jingcheng suddenly said, "Thank you, Senior."
Killing a Cao Fu was too easy, too simple. But for the Sui family, it might not be a good thing.
If both Xiao Shuye and Cao Fu had died tonight, many people would die. It might start with Hunjiang Jiao Yang Yuan, then Hengdu Gang's leader Hu Xinfeng, and then the entire Sui family.
And Cao Fu being casually let go, allowed to relay messages to the people behind the scenes—this in itself was a show of force by the green-shirted Sword Immortal to Cao Fu's master and the Golden Scale Palace.
Chen Ping'an poked at the campfire. "Talking to smart people saves effort."
Then Sui Jingcheng saw him take a chessboard and chess containers from the bamboo box. But instead of playing out a game like at the travel pavilion, he began to manipulate a flying sword of an immortal, carving two chess pieces. Watching his carving technique, Sui Jingcheng realized he was carving the names of Cao Fu's master and the Golden Scale Palace's founder on the front and back. Then a few more pieces, each representing key cultivators from both sides. He placed them one by one on the chessboard.
Sui Jingcheng smiled. "Senior, you've been watching us ever since we met at the travel pavilion, haven't you?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "You have very good luck in gambling. I envy that."
But Sui Jingcheng's expression turned awkward.
Her self-righteous scheming, in this man's eyes, was probably no different from a child playing with a bamboo horse or flying a kite—utterly ridiculous.
Chen Ping'an placed the pieces of two interconnected games, one after the other, along the edge of the board.
He drew his hands into his sleeves, gazing at the pieces, and said slowly, "In the travel pavilion, the young man Sui Wenfa made a joke to me. It wasn't really about right or wrong. But you made him apologize. The old minister said something that I found very reasonable. Then Sui Wenfa sincerely apologized."
Chen Ping'an raised his head to look at Sui Jingcheng. "I think that's a good family tradition for a scholarly family. Very good. Even though your father's subsequent thoughts and actions might fall short of the word 'pure,' one thing is one thing. There is a distinction between priority and magnitude. The two do not conflict. So before Yang Yuan and his group blocked our way, I deliberately complained that the mud had soiled my shoes, and I retreated back to the pavilion. Because I believe that when a scholar enters the Jianghu, it is a matter of reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles. They should not be hindered by the wind and rain of the Jianghu."
Sui Jingcheng nodded, then asked curiously, "Senior, did you already sense the arrival of Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye back then? Did you already know it was a setup?"
Chen Ping'an gazed into the night sky. "Knew it long ago."
Sui Jingcheng smiled radiantly, her beauty striking.
When she had read tales of anomalies and Jianghu romances in the past, she had never admired or yearned for the kind of immortal who killed with a single sword rainbow or a single fist. Those two types of people and deeds were good, of course. They made readers like her feel exhilarated. Reading to the point of delight, one should drink tea or wine. But it was still not enough. It fell short of her ideal of a transcendent being who practiced immortal arts and achieved the Great Dao.
She felt that a true cultivator should be one who thoroughly discerns human hearts, whose calculations are flawless, whose cunning matches their Dao arts—both reaching high into the clouds—and who is truly an attained person, a true Land Immortal sitting high above the clouds, looking down on the mortal world, yet not minding walking among humans and playing in the mortal realm, all while still willing to punish evil and promote good.
Chen Ping'an said slowly, "The intelligence and foolishness of the world are both double-edged swords. Once the sword is drawn, good and bad things will happen in this world. So I need to look further, more carefully, and more slowly. You'd better remember what I say tonight, so that in the future you can tell it in detail to someone else. As for how much you absorb and grasp for yourself, that's your business. I told you before, I will not take you as a disciple. Your view of the world is too similar to mine. I don't think I can teach you what is most correct. As for imparting immortal techniques to you, forget it. If you can leave Beiju Continent alive and go to Baoping Continent, you will have an opportunity waiting for you then."
Sui Jingcheng changed her sitting posture to kneel beside the campfire. "Senior's teachings, every word, Jingcheng will keep in her heart. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish. Jingcheng understands this principle. Senior has taught me the foundation of the Great Dao, which is far more important than any immortal technique."
Chen Ping'an withdrew his hand from his sleeve and pointed at the chessboard. "In my view, there may be no absolute principle that applies everywhere, but there are absolute facts and truths. When you first see clearly the truths of human hearts hidden behind words and actions, and understand some threads and sequences, complex matters become simpler. Principles can be lofty and vague, so you and I can just review the two games."
Chen Ping'an picked up a chess piece. "Between life and death, human nature can manifest great evil. Struggling for survival by any means is understandable. Whether to accept it depends on the person."
He raised the piece and gently placed it on the board. "Hengdu Gang's Hu Xinfeng chose evil at that moment. So he walked the Jianghu, responsible for his own life and death. From my perspective, it may not have been right, but on the board at that time, he succeeded in struggling for survival. Because unlike you, Sui Jingcheng, he never guessed that I was also a cultivator, and that I would dare to secretly observe the situation."
Sui Jingcheng asked, "If he had sworn to protect the four of us Sui family members with his life, what would Senior have done?"
Chen Ping'an said slowly, "Then Wuling Kingdom should continue to have such a true hero walking the Jianghu. After the storm, if such a hero still wished to buy me a drink, I would feel honored."
Chen Ping'an pointed at two pieces that had not yet entered the game. "Just because he Cao Fu is an immortal master from the mountain, or Xiao Shuye is a Golden Body realm martial artist? Do they really think the Jianghu down the mountain is a pond everywhere? That you can step in and see the bottom? Not even them. Even someone as careful as I am can still inexplicably get hit by a sword boat, have my flying sword contested on the Skeleton Beach, and nearly die on the lake in Jinfei Kingdom and near Zhengrong Peak. So the Jianghu is treacherous. Regardless of good or evil, if even cautious avoidance of calamity can lead to death, then if you seek death yourself, when you die, Xiao Shuye can only blame his own neck for not being hard enough to withstand another's sword slash."
Chen Ping'an pinched the chess piece between two fingers. "But Hu Xinfeng did not choose chivalry; instead, his evil thoughts surged up. That is human nature. I will not kill him for that. I let him live or die by his own efforts. He eventually fought his way to a ray of hope. So I say, setting me aside, Hu Xinfeng made a correct choice at that moment. As for what happened later on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, no need to mention it. That's another game of heart-questioning, no longer relevant to you."
Chen Ping'an placed the four pieces representing the four Sui members on the board. "I knew long ago that you were trapped in a game. Cao Fu was a player. Later events proved he was also a pawn. His master's sect and the Golden Scale Palace were the true masters of the game. Putting aside the latter for now, at that time, I faced a dilemma. The crux was that I didn't know the original intent behind Cao Fu's trap, his character, or where his moral bottom line lay. What grudges or debts did he have with the Sui family? After all, the Sui family was a scholarly household, but they might not have never made serious mistakes. Cao Fu's actions were devious and came in secret, even pulling people like Hunjiang Jiao Yang Yuan into the game. His conduct was not aboveboard. However, that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't doing a good deed. Since he didn't kill on sight, for argument's sake, how could I determine at that moment that it wasn't a twist leading to a happy outcome for you and the Sui family?"
Sui Jingcheng nodded gently.
Chen Ping'an leaned forward, extending a finger to touch the piece engraved with Sui Xinyu's name. "The first to disappoint me was not Hu Xinfeng, but your father."
Sui Jingcheng asked in confusion, "Why? Faced with great calamity, he sought self-preservation and dared not rescue others. If he were an ordinary Jianghu hero, I wouldn't find your disappointment strange. But given Senior's temperament..."
Sui Jingcheng did not continue, afraid of gilding the lily.
Chen Ping'an withdrew his finger and smiled faintly. "Sons of wealthy families do not sit in dangerous places; gentlemen do not stand under crumbling walls. These are all reasonable. Sui Xinyu remained silent in the travel pavilion. That was prudent behavior. The error is not there. But I ask you, what kind of person is your father, Sui Xinyu?"
Sui Jingcheng did not answer hastily. Her father? The head of the Sui clan? The top Go player in Wuling Kingdom? A former Minister of Works? Sui Jingcheng had a flash of insight, recalling this senior's attire. She sighed and said, "He is a great literary man of Wuling Kingdom, well-versed in poetry and books. A scholar who understands many sage principles."
Chen Ping'an said, "A more important fact is that Hu Xinfeng did not reveal the identity of the other party back then, hiding the infamous Hunjiang Jiao Yang Yuan. So at that moment, Sui Xinyu's perception was that the situation in the travel pavilion was not a life-or-death game, but a troublesome and tricky situation. Within Wuling Kingdom, the name of Hengdu Gang's leader Hu Xinfeng—did it carry any weight across mountains and rivers?"
Sui Jingcheng blushed with shame. "Of course it did. At the time, I also thought it was just a Jianghu prank. So regarding Senior, I actually... had a mind to test you. That's why I deliberately didn't ask to borrow money."
Chen Ping'an said, "Because Hu Xinfeng was afraid of bringing trouble to himself, he was unwilling to reveal Yang Yuan's identity and acted very calmly. His warning to you was just right. That's the seasoned experience of an old Jianghu. Earned with his life. So at that time, I glanced at the old minister. He was relieved that I didn't ask to borrow money. That's nothing special. It's still human nature. But Sui Xinyu is a scholar, and a scholar who once held a high position, serving the country and the people with his sage knowledge..."
At this point, Chen Ping'an extended his two thumbs and index fingers, gently bending them without touching, as if holding a chess piece. "The Sage said that having or not having a heart of compassion can distinguish humans from grass, trees, and beasts. Do you think Sui Xinyu, your father, had any compassion at that moment? Even a little? You are his daughter. Unless you are blinded by familiarity, you should know his temperament better than I do."
Sui Jingcheng shook her head and smiled bitterly. "No, he didn't."
Sui Jingcheng looked sorrowful, as if talking to herself. "He really didn't."
"So walking slowly on the road, seeing more and thinking more, is always a double-edged sword. After seeing many people and things, it's just like that."
The man, however, appeared calm, as if accustomed to it. He lifted his head to look into the distance and said softly, "Between life and death, I have always believed that beyond the instinct to survive, tiny evil suddenly becoming as big as a mountain is understandable. But some people—maybe not many, but there must be some—will have a spark of light suddenly kindled in those moments when they know they are doomed."
"At the travel pavilion and along the road afterward, I was watching, waiting."
"As long as I find a single lamp of light, even if that tiny glow is pinched out in an instant."
"But this radiance of human nature, in my view, even if it's just a single lamp, can rival the sun and moon."
Chen Ping'an withdrew his gaze. "The first time, if Hu Xinfeng had fought desperately, out of so-called Jianghu loyalty, risking his life to do something seemingly foolish, then I wouldn't have needed to watch this game. I would have intervened immediately. The second time, if your father, even if he stood by and watched, still had the slightest bit of compassion, instead of loudly cursing me the moment I spoke, then I would have stopped watching and acted."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "On the contrary, that Hu Xinfeng surprised me a little. After I parted ways with you, I found Hu Xinfeng. I saw that spark in him. The first time was when, just before his death, he begged me not to implicate his innocent family. The second time was when I asked him if the four of you deserved to die. He said Sui Xinyu was actually a decent official and friend. The last time was when he naturally started talking about his past chivalrous deeds as a 'side business.' Side business—that's a very interesting way of putting it."
Sui Jingcheng said softly, "But regardless, Senior was watching all along. Senior was so disappointed, yet still protected us in secret. Why?"
"Daoism says calamity and blessing have no gate; they are summoned by oneself. Buddhism says yesterday's cause is today's effect. They are similar principles. But there are many half-baked immortals on the mountains who are not true cultivators. With them around, principles that are already hard to explain become even harder."
Chen Ping'an said, "But you were the weak ones in that trapped situation at the travel pavilion. I happened to encounter you. I thought it through carefully, and I had the ability to protect myself, so I didn't leave. However, during this time, any suffering you endured beyond life and death—like running in the rain all the way, living in constant fear, and being knocked off your horse by a blade flat—was your own doing. It was repaid to you by this world. In the long run, it's not a bad thing. You are still alive. More weak people who had more reason to live died just like that."
The weak demanding more from the strong—Chen Ping'an felt that was nothing unusual and should be so. Even if many weak people protected by the strong had no gratitude at all, Chen Ping'an now felt it didn't matter.
In the Battle of Suijia City, bearing the heavenly tribulation cloud sea, Chen Ping'an never regretted it.
Because in some alley of Suijia City, there might be a Chen Ping'an, a Liu Xianyang, quietly growing.
If it is said that calamities linger for a thousand years, that the world is like this, and human hearts are like this, and it is hard to change, then good people should be smarter and live longer. Instead of the kind-hearted suffering people becoming the calamities themselves, evil begets evil, cycles endlessly, mountains collapse and the earth splits. One day, everyone will have to repay this to the merciless heaven and earth Dao.
Sui Jingcheng silently pondered, throwing a few dry twigs into the campfire. She was about to ask why Senior didn't wipe out the bandits led by Hunjiang Jiao Yang Yuan. But soon she understood the reasoning and decided not to ask.
If they had startled the snake, Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye would only become more patient and cautious.
Sui Jingcheng also wanted to ask why he didn't kill those two on the spot back on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. But she quickly came up with the answer herself.
What right did he have?
Where were the moral bottom lines of those two?
Sui Jingcheng rubbed her temples.
She understood many things, but she felt a headache coming. Her mind was becoming a tangled mess. Was mountain cultivation always so restrained? If one had achieved the level of this senior's sword immortal skills, would everything still be so complicated? If one encountered a situation requiring immediate intervention, where good and evil were hard to judge, should one use Dao techniques to save or kill?
The man seemed to read her thoughts. He smiled. "When it becomes second nature to you, and you've seen more people and things, you'll have a sense of proportion before you act. Not only will you not be sloppy, but whether you draw your sword or use Dao techniques, you'll be very fast—extremely fast."
He pointed at the pieces on the board. "If Yang Yuan had tried to kill all four of you with one slap as soon as he entered the travel pavilion, or if I hadn't seen through that Fu Zhen would draw his sword to block Hu Xinfeng's punch, I naturally wouldn't have watched from afar. Trust me, Fu Zhen and Hu Xinfeng wouldn't have known how they died."
Chen Ping'an looked at Sui Jingcheng, who was nodding with a smile.
Earlier, she knelt on the official road and pleaded again, "Sui Jingcheng wishes to follow Senior to cultivate immortal techniques!"
He asked two questions: "What makes you think you deserve it? Why?"
"I have had karmic opportunities since childhood, talent for cultivation, and a heavy immortal treasure gifted by a high personage. I am a natural cultivator, only lacking a wise master on the mountain to guide me. After I cultivate immortal techniques, I will walk the Jianghu like Senior!"
Two answers. One was not wrong. The other was still very clever.
So Chen Ping'an planned to let her find Cui Dongshan and cultivate under him. He knew how to teach Sui Jingcheng—not just immortal techniques, but also how to be a proper person.
Sui Jingcheng's talent, Chen Ping'an dared not assert, but her intelligence was indeed extraordinary. Especially her gambling luck—good every time. That was no mere heaven-blessed fortune; it was... gambling skill.
But that wasn't the only reason Chen Ping'an wanted Sui Jingcheng to go to Baoping Continent to find Cui Dongshan.
After observing two games, Chen Ping'an had some insights he wanted his disciple Cui Dongshan to see. Consider it half an answer to the question the student had asked the teacher back then.
Chen Ping'an summoned the flying sword Fifteen, gently held it, and began to carve marks on the green-bamboo-like mountain-walking staff that he had refined. He bent down, carving stroke by stroke.
As far as Sui Jingcheng's eyes could see, it seemed each stroke was carved in the same spot.
Sui Jingcheng said nothing, just stared wide-eyed as the man silently carved on the staff.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Sui Jingcheng's eyes felt sore, and she rubbed them.
About an hour later, the man put away the flying sword he used as a carving knife. A flash of sword light disappeared at his brow.
Chen Ping'an said solemnly, "After you find that person, tell him that I have some ideas about the answer to that question. But before answering, there must be two prerequisites. First, the pursuit must be absolutely correct. Second, if there is a mistake, recognize it, and know that the mistake can be corrected. As for how to correct it, in what way to recognize and correct the mistake, the answer is on this mountain-walking staff. Let Cui Dongshan see it for himself. And I hope he can see more carefully and further than I did, and do better. One is countless ones, which is the Great Dao of heaven and earth and the multitudes of the mortal world. Let him start from what his eyes can reach and his mind can grasp. It's not that when the correct result arrives, the small and large errors along the way can be ignored. There is no such good thing in this world. Not only does he need to re-examine them, but he must also look more carefully. Otherwise, that so-called correct result is still just a calculation of benefits for a time and a place, not the eternal Great Dao of heaven and earth."
Sui Jingcheng was completely bewildered, but she nodded vigorously.
Chen Ping'an did not immediately hand the staff over to Sui Jingcheng. He gently held the staff with both palms, looking up at the sky. "In cultivation, besides seizing opportunities, acquiring treasures, and learning techniques, observing the subtleties of the human heart is itself cultivation—it is polishing the Dao heart. Even if you cultivate emotionless methods, you can use this to sharpen your state of mind. If you contemplate the principles of the sages, you should know the complexity of the human heart. The human body is a small world; thoughts and intentions are the most unsettled. Starting this is difficult, but if you face the difficulty and succeed by luck, it's like building a second immortal bridge, benefiting you for life."
Sui Jingcheng saw that the man was just looking up at the night sky.
Chen Ping'an suddenly said, "On the way to the immortal ferry port of Lüying Kingdom, regarding the safety of the Sui family, do you think there is anything that needs to be checked and filled in? If you think of something, you can talk about it. Don't worry about troubling me. Even if you need to turn back to Wuling Kingdom, it's fine."
Chen Ping'an brought his two fingers together and lightly tapped two places on the staff. "After making demarcations and cuts, it becomes one thing. How to do it best, taking care of both ends, is also a form of cultivation. Things that extend too far from both ends may not be done well. That is the limit of human strength. The same principle applies."
Sui Jingcheng recalled his frank arrangements when they climbed the mountain. She shook her head with a smile. "Senior has thought it through thoroughly, even including Senior Wang Dun. I have nothing more to say."
Chen Ping'an waved his hand. "Don't rush to conclusions. No one in this world has a foolproof plan. Just because my cultivation realm is high now, don't think I must be errorless. If I were you, Sui Jingcheng, trapped in the situation at the travel pavilion, regardless of good or bad intentions, I wouldn't have done better than you in escaping."
Finally, the man withdrew his gaze, his eyes clear as he looked at her.
Sui Jingcheng had never seen such bright, clean radiance in any man's eyes. He smiled. "We'll probably be traveling together for a while. If you talk to me about principles, I will listen. Whether you have a point or not, I am willing to hear it first. If you're right, you'll be correct, and I will admit my mistake. In the future, if you have the opportunity, you will see if I am just speaking empty words."
"So with me here, even if it's only me, you cannot say that all principles in this world are in the hands of those with strong fists and high Dao techniques. If anyone tells you that in this world, whoever has the stronger fist is in the right, don't believe them. They have suffered enough, but they haven't had their fill yet. Because such people, in their lives, are protected by countless invisible rules without knowing it."
"Besides, there are many people like me. You just haven't met them yet, or you may have already met them. But precisely because they reason things out so gently, like spring rain moistening everything silently, you just haven't felt it."
The man stood up, holding the mountain-walking staff with both hands, and looked out over the mountains and rivers. "I hope that whether ten years or a hundred years from now, Sui Jingcheng will still be the Sui Jingcheng who said 'I'll stay' in the travel pavilion and was willing to put a life-saving treasure on someone else. In the mortal world, there are millions of lamps of light. Even if you become a mountain cultivator in the future and look down from above, you will still see that even though each lamp, alone in a home, a family, a house, a room, may seem faint and small, when every household lights their lamps, it becomes the magnificent scene of a river of stars in the human world. In our world today, we have cultivators and so many ordinary mortals. It is by relying on these unremarkable lamps, one by one, emerging from the streets and alleys, the villages and markets, scholarly houses, wealthy mansions, noble estates, and immortal abodes on the mountains—from all these places of varying heights—that true strong men and women emerge. With their punches, their swords, and their truly righteous principles, they open the way ahead for later generations, silently protecting countless weak ones. That is how we have been able to stumble along to where we are today."
The man turned his head and smiled. "Take you and me, for example. Is it hard to be a smart person or a bad person? I don't think so. Where is the difficulty? It's in knowing the wickedness of the human heart, yet still being willing to be a good person who pays the price for the principles in one's heart."
Sui Jingcheng's face flushed. "Senior, I am far from that! Not even close!"
The man squinted and laughed. "Hmm, I accept this flattery."
Sui Jingcheng was stunned.
He continued to gaze into the distant night, resting his chin on the backs of his hands, and said softly, "You have also helped me untie a knot in my heart. I have to thank you. I've learned how to get along with beautiful women. So the next time I go to the Sword Qi Great Wall, I'll be even more confident. Because I've seen quite a few beautiful girls in this world. I won't feel guilty just by taking an extra look at them. Hmm, this also counts as success in cultivating the heart."
Sui Jingcheng hesitated for a moment, but felt she should offer some honest advice, even if it was hard to hear. She said timidly, "Senior, it's best to keep such words in your heart. Never say them directly to the woman you love. It won't be well received."
The man turned his head, looking puzzled. "Can't say it?"
Sui Jingcheng nodded vigorously. "Definitely can't!"
The man rubbed his chin, looking a bit conflicted.
Sui Jingcheng's expression brightened. "Senior, I count as one of the beautiful women, right?"
The man didn't turn his head. He seemed to be in a good mood and joked for once, "Stop ruining my Great Dao."
Sui Jingcheng dared not push her luck.
But being named as the "Jade Beauty of the Sui Family" across the territories of over a dozen countries, standing alongside three other peerless beauties who could topple kingdoms, was still a joyful thing for her as a woman.
Her heartstrings relaxed, and she began to feel sleepy. She shook her head and stretched out her hands to warm them by the fire. After a moment, she looked back. The mountain-walking staff was still in its place, and that figure in green was now slowly practicing his standing stances and fists?
Sui Jingcheng rubbed her eyes and asked, "After we reach that legendary immortal ferry port, will Senior return to the Skeleton Beach in the south?"
The man didn't stop his fist practice. He shook his head. "No. So on the ferry, you'll have to be more careful yourself. Of course, I'll try to minimize the surprises for you. But the path of cultivation must ultimately be walked by yourself."
Sui Jingcheng seemed about to speak but stopped.
Chen Ping'an said, "Between the mountain-walking staff and your life, if you must choose, don't hesitate. Life is more important."
Sui Jingcheng replied helplessly, "Senior, do you know everything?"
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then asked casually, "How old are you this year? Over thirty?"
Sui Jingcheng was speechless. She turned away sulkily and threw a handful of dry twigs into the campfire.
(End of this chapter)