Chapter 581: Only the Drinker Leaves His Name

Chapter 581: Only the Drinker Leaves His Name

Autumn passed and winter came, time flowed leisurely. If not for looking up and seeing the outline of the Sword Qi Great Wall in the south from afar, Chen Ping'an would have mistakenly thought he was in the White Paper Blessed Land, or had drunk the Forgetful Sorrow Wine of the Yellow Millet Blessed Land.

Even though Chen Ping'an cultivated diligently, without a single day of slack, and could even be said to be quite busy, he still felt this wasn't working out. So he asked Bai Momo to help him with boxing, but never expected Bai Momo to be utterly unwilling to exert full force; at most, she taught the future son-in-law some fist postures and techniques. Left unsatisfied after his boxing practice, Chen Ping'an had no choice but to call Nalan Ye over to the training ground in the mustard-seed pocket world, to familiarize himself with the killing power of a Yu Pu realm sword immortal's flying sword. At the same time, he roughly studied the methods of concealment and stealth from this "assassin" who had fallen from the Immortal realm. Many exquisite techniques pertaining to the fundamentals of cultivation—"approaching by day as if walking in the night"—had to be practiced by a sword cultivator. This made Chen Ping'an somewhat regretful.

Aside from this, whenever he had free time, Chen Ping'an tried his best to visit the wine shop every day, staying for an hour or two. He didn't help much with selling wine; instead, he would hang out with a bunch of kids, boys and girls, continuing his role as a storyteller. At most, he would also act as a teacher of characters and a recitation tutor, but he never imparted any real knowledge.

Although Chen Ping'an was a hands-off shopkeeper, the big boss Diezhang had no complaints. The real money-making methods of the shop were all outlined by the second shopkeeper Chen; it was only right for him to slack off now. Diezhang, after all, had only put up some capital and exerted some mechanical effort. Moreover, after the wine shop successfully opened for business, there were still many novel tricks. For example, after hanging that couplet, a brand-new horizontal scroll was added.

"Drink my wine and you can break through realms."

The tavern owners and wine shop managers all along the main street were nearly driven crazy. Not only did it snatch away a lot of their business, but the key point was that they had obviously already lost their momentum. This led to almost every place selling wine on the Sword Qi Great Wall starting to hang couplets and horizontal scrolls.

But after looking around, many sword cultivator drunkards ultimately felt that this shop had the most charm, or, to put it bluntly, the most shamelessness.

After almost all the wine shops began to copy this trend, this shop started using a new tactic.

Inside the shop, they hung a bunch of small wooden plaques in the style of "Safe and Sound" plaques. Diezhang had begged sword cultivators who came to drink to carve their names with sword qi, leaving their calligraphy treasures, all hung on the wall, claiming it was to seek good omens.

There was no distinction based on realm level; there was no hierarchy. Whoever wrote first had their plaque hung first. On the front side, they all wrote the name of the wine shop customer. If they were willing, they could also write on the back of the plaque, whatever they wanted, long or short. The wine shop didn't care.

By now, the wine scholars who had hung plaques on the shop wall included four Upper Five Realms sword immortals: Wei Jin of Fengxue Temple in Baoping Continent, the native Sword Qi Great Wall sword immortal Gao Kui, the Southern Bodhisattva Continent sword immortal Yuan Qingshu, and a Yu Pu realm sword cultivator from North Juzhou, Tao Wen, who came alone late one night to drink. All of them had written words on the back of their plaques. It wasn't that they wanted to; originally, the four sword immortals only wrote their names. Later, Chen Ping'an found opportunities to catch them and insisted they add something. If they refused, he always found ways to make them write, much to the awestruck fascination of the flustered Diezhang, who realized that business could be done this way.

Thus, Wei Jin carved: "Trapped by love, my sword cannot be drawn."

Gao Kui, a one-eyed, bearded man with a rugged appearance, wrote: "Blooming flowers, full moon, and long life for people."

The dashing and elegant Yuan Qingshu wrote: "This world should know that I, Yuan Qingshu, am a sword immortal."

The sword immortal Tao Wen was the most astute. After hearing he could get a free jar of Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine, he didn't hesitate and wrote: "This place's wine is cheap and good, excellent. Even better if you can buy on credit."

Among the younger generation of genius sword cultivators, there were a dozen or so, including Pang Yuanji, Yan Zhuo, Chen Sanqiu, and Dong Huafu. Of course, there was also the little girl Guo Zhujiu, who wrote her full name Guo Zhujiu and her nickname "Green Duan," and secretly wrote on the back: "Master sells wine, disciple buys wine. The bond between master and disciple is touching, enduring as heaven and earth."

There were also many Earth Immortal sword cultivators who couldn't quite bring themselves to do it, mostly just leaving their names and nothing else. Besides, Chen Ping'an didn't actively manage the business, and Diezhang herself didn't know how to ask. Later, Chen Ping'an thought this wouldn't do, so he gave Diezhang a few slips of paper, telling her that when she saw a pleasing Nascent Soul sword cultivator—especially those who actually wanted to leave a calligraphy treasure but didn't know what to write—she could hand over one of the slips when settling the bill.

So it happened that a rough-mannered, illiterate old Nascent Soul sword cultivator, after seeing one of the slips, was originally making excuses to Diezhang and putting on airs. Unexpectedly, his expression changed immediately. He secretly pocketed the slip and told Diezhang to quickly fetch a Safe and Sound plaque. With the serious attitude of an enemy fighting a great demon, he copied the poem from the slip. When he left, he even bought an extra jar of the most expensive Green God Mountain wine. Deliberately suppressing his sword qi, he staggered along while drinking heartily, singing at the top of his voice, repeating over and over the poem he had supposedly "written personally in a burst of inspiration."

"Bygone elegance not worth boasting, a hundred battles back and forth through many autumns. After drinking deep, drunk, I pillow my sword, once dreamed of Green God pouring wine for me."

Overnight, among the drunkards and gamblers of the Sword Qi Great Wall, this Nascent Soul sword cultivator, who had inexplicably become able to write poetry, gained great fame.

However, it was said that he ended up catching a sword immortal's flying sword strike from some unknown source, and lay on his sickbed for several days.

There was also a relatively young Nascent Soul sword cultivator from North Juzhou who claimed to have been drinking under the moon and accidentally gained some insight. On his Safe and Sound plaque, he wrote: "Half the sword immortals in the world are my friends, which lady in the world is not shy? I wash my sword with fine wine, who doesn't say I am romantic?"

The shop's Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine was divided into three grades. The cheapest, one Snowflake Coin per jar, had the mildest flavor.

The better grade cost five Snowflake Coins per pot. But the shop announced that for every hundred jars of wine they sold, there would be one Bamboo Leaf of inestimable value from the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven hidden inside. The sword immortal Wei Jin and the little girl Guo Zhujiu could both testify to the truth of this claim.

The top grade, Green God Mountain wine, cost ten Snowflake Coins per pot, and you might not even get to drink it, because the shop only sold one pot per day. After that pot was sold, no one else could drink it; customers had to come back the next day.

For a time, the small wine shop was overcrowded. But after the initial excitement faded, there was no longer the spectacle of numerous sword cultivators squatting on the ground drinking together and scrambling to buy wine. However, the six tables could still be filled.

Although Diezhang was quite satisfied with the shop's income, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. As expected by Chen Ping'an, once the shop became famous, buying wine became a huge problem. Many taverns and inns would rather breach their contracts and pay compensation to Diezhang than sell their original-strength wine. It was clearly intended to cut off the shop's supply at the source. Once customers came to buy wine and found none, business would inevitably slide downhill. The short-lived hustle and bustle would be hard to sustain.

Diezhang could see these immediate worries, and the hands-off second shopkeeper would naturally be even more aware. But Chen Ping'an never said anything. When he came to the wine shop, he either chatted with regular customers and cadged some drinks, or he acted as a storyteller at the street corner, mixing with the children. Diezhang didn't want to bother Chen Ping'an with everything, so she had to figure out a way to break the deadlock on her own.

Late one night, Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao came to the shop, which was about to close. There were no customers drinking.

Diezhang brought out the ledger. Chen Ping'an sat down, took out a Snowflake Coin, and ordered a pot of the cheapest wine. Even the boss had to pay for his drink—that was the rule.

Chen Ping'an drank his wine while carefully going over the accounts.

Yan Zhuo and the others had also arranged to drink together today, because Chen Ping'an was rarely willing to treat them.

Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao sat on one long bench.

Yan Zhuo hogged one whole bench by himself, while Dong Huafu and Chen Sanqiu sat together.

Yan Zhuo looked at Chen Ping'an, who was sitting there poring over the ledger, then glanced at Diezhang sitting nearby, and couldn't help asking, "Diezhang, don't you think Chen Ping'an doesn't trust you?"

Chen Ping'an smiled knowingly. He didn't look up, just raised his wine bowl and took a sip, as if admitting he was being unreasonable and willing to penalize himself with a drink.

Diezhang said irritably, "What nonsense? When doing business, you have to follow the rules like this. We're friends, that's why we go into business together. Just because we settle accounts openly, does that mean we're not friends anymore? Who doesn't make mistakes? If there's a mistake, whose fault is it? If there's a mistake but it's okay, just muddling through with 'you're not wrong, I'm not wrong'—the business will collapse, and that's just throwing money away."

Yan Zhuo said aggrievedly, "Diezhang, you're too biased. Why is it that with Chen Ping'an you're friends doing business together, but the beatings I took back then were for nothing?"

Diezhang smiled and said, "Didn't I already apologize to you for that?"

Yan Zhuo said with some resentment, "Back then, hearing you say 'I'm sorry' made me quite happy. But now I feel like your sincerity is lacking."

Chen Ping'an turned a page of the ledger and teased, "When a friend gets a new friend, it's always so upsetting."

Yan Zhuo waved his hand, "That's not it at all."

Chen Ping'an offered his wine bowl and clinked it with Yan Zhuo's, smiling, "I just saw you, Young Master Yan, big and round, pockets full of money, yet you always stingily buy the cheapest wine. You've got less spirit than a little girl like Green Duan. So I just casually nagged you."

Diezhang seemed a bit hesitant, but finally mustered the courage to say, "Yan Zhuo, Sanqiu, could I discuss something with you?"

Yan Zhuo looked puzzled. Chen Sanqiu seemed to have guessed already and smiled, nodding, "It can be discussed."

Yan Zhuo's eyes lit up, "You want to bring us two into the partnership? I thought so! I took a glance at those wine jars in your house, and considering the daily flow of customers, I figured there aren't many jars left. Now all the big taverns are envious, so the source of wine has become a huge problem, right? This is easy. It's simple. You don't even need to find Sanqiu—he's a pampered young master who doesn't lift a finger, completely clueless about these things. I'm different. I help with a lot of my family's businesses. Bringing you some lower-cost original-strength wine is no problem. Don't worry, Diezhang. Just as you said, we'll follow the rules. I won't lose too much on my own business. I'll try to make a small profit and help you earn more."

Diezhang's expression was complicated.

Chen Ping'an looked a bit helpless and closed the ledger, smiling, "There are two kinds of happiness for Shopkeeper Diezhang when she makes money. One is the peace of mind from each Immortal Coin falling into the till, and after the shop closes for the day, tallying the abacus to calculate the earnings. The other is the feeling of making money when it's not easy, yet she still manages to do it. Yan Fatty, tell me, isn't that the truth? With you hauling a sack of silver over to the shop like that, I'm afraid Diezhang won't even want to use her abacus. You might as well just announce the number directly."

Yan Zhuo suddenly understood, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Diezhang, if you'd been so straightforward from the start, wouldn't I have understood?"

Diezhang snapped, "Blame me?"

Yan Zhuo drank his wine and pleaded, "Blame me, blame me."

Chen Ping'an began to change the subject, explaining to Diezhang some reasons for profit and loss and points to note.

Actually, Yan Zhuo wasn't ignorant of this principle. He had probably already figured it out. But there are barriers between good friends that can seem big or small, there or not. Some careless words that hurt others, one is unwilling to explain intentionally, feeling it would be too deliberate, or maybe it's a loss of face. If it drags on, luck may hold, and it might not matter. But it drags on for a lifetime. Minor matters are still minor matters. If there are greater, more correct actions that do better, then it's nothing. If luck is bad, friends are no longer friends, so whether you say it or not becomes even more irrelevant.

Every person sitting here, all of the same generation, including Ning Yao, had their own heart barriers to overcome. It wasn't only Diezhang, the only one among all their friends who came from a humble alley.

Chen Ping'an was merely using the opportunity to speak tactfully, playing a bystander's role to help two people see and articulate the issue. Early wouldn't do; it would put him in a bad spot with both. If it were later, for example, if both Yan Zhuo and Diezhang each thought he was their closest friend, then it would also become inappropriate. These considerations could not be spoken aloud. If spoken, the wine would lose a character and become nothing but bland water. So Chen Ping'an could only ponder them himself. It might even make Chen Ping'an feel he was being too calculating about people's hearts. In the past, Chen Ping'an would have felt guilty, full of self-doubt. But now he would not.

Every kindness needed to be nurtured with greater kindness. Chen Ping'an believed in the saying that good people are rewarded with good fortune, and he believed it sincerely and wholeheartedly. But he couldn't only hope for heaven to repay him. In life, when dealing with everyone, every person is actually heaven. There was no need to seek endlessly outward, only seeking from above.

How he was weighed down by considerations of worldly affairs might seem like he wasn't treating people with sincerity. But if, after following the rules, his actions ultimately harmed no one, even benefited the world to some degree, great or small, then he shouldn't be tied down by scruples. After a series of actions, he could then examine his conscience, gradually polishing it with the word "conscience"—that was cultivating the heart. This was what his teacher, the Sage of Literature, meant by "it's okay to think more, even if you later find you've just gone in circles and returned to the same spot, it's still top-tier effort." If I don't take a single thing from heaven and earth, yet heaven and earth can gain one more person who seeks good—able to perfect myself and benefit others—isn't that wonderful? Isn't that excellent?

The "One" of heaven and earth remains unchanged through the ages. Only the human heart can increase or decrease.

The teachings of the three religions and the hundred schools of thought, at their root, all work on this matter.

After the discussion, it was just friends drinking together.

Chen Sanqiu shared a bit of gossip: recently, another sword immortal from North Juzhou would soon be rushing to the Sword Qi Great Wall. It seemed he had already arrived at Inverted Mountain, but at the same time, a local sword immortal was about to return home.

North Juzhou sword cultivators were often like this. Generally, they would return after a major battle.

But two major battles within ten years had caught everyone off guard. The vast majority of North Juzhou sword cultivators had voluntarily stayed behind, wanting to fight another battle first.

Nevertheless, some sword immortals and Earth Immortal sword cultivators had to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall, as they still had sects to worry about. The Sword Qi Great Wall never had any objections to this. Not only were there no complaints, but whenever an out-of-town sword immortal prepared to depart, there was an unwritten rule that several familiar native sword immortals would invite that person for a drink as a farewell, considered a return courtesy of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao almost simultaneously turned their heads toward the street.

Six people were walking over.

All were sword immortals!

One of the female sword immortals, Chen Ping'an not only recognized but was quite familiar with—it was Li Cai, the sect master of Floating Parasol Lake in North Juzhou.

She had once said that after challenging the newly ascended sword immortal Liu Jinglong of Taihui Sword Sect, she would come to the Sword Qi Great Wall to draw her sword. Apart from fulfilling her promise to her good friend Li Yu of Tai Xia Peak, she also intended to kill one more great demon for the latter, who had failed in her breakthrough and had already been reborn.

Of the other five, Chen Ping'an only knew one. Walking at the front was a tall, elderly man with snow-white hair and beard. He had a truly bad temper. Back then, on the city wall, Chen Ping'an had seen and heard with his own eyes that this old man had directly called the Great Sword Immortal by his name, loudly demanding why Chen Qingdu had killed Dong Guanpu. This old patriarch of the Dong family had almost started a fight with the Great Sword Immortal right there, throwing out the line, "Others may fear you, Chen Qingdu, but I do not." So Chen Ping'an had a very deep impression of this old man. He was also somewhat curious about Dong Guanpu, who had been killed with a casual sword strike by the Great Sword Immortal, because according to Ning Yao, this "Little Patriarch Dong" was actually a very good person.

All one could say was that every family has its own difficult scriptures.

On the Sword Qi Great Wall, there were too many dazzling sword immortals, and even more conflicts.

Dong Sangang and the group, including Li Cai who had just arrived, seemed to be heading straight for this small wine shop.

Chen Ping'an took an extra look at the other four sword immortals and guessed the identities of two: Han Huaizi, the sect master of Taihui Sword Sect, and Huang Tong, the ancestral hall's law-enforcing elder.

Chen Ping'an and the others had already stood up.

Dong Huafu called out "Old Ancestor" to Dong Sangang and then said a fair word: "The shop doesn't do credit."

Dong Sangang glared and asked, "Don't you have any money on you?"

Dong Huafu shook his head, "I never spend money on drinks."

Dong Sangang laughed heartily, "Truly worthy of being a descendant of the Dong family. This kind of shameless behavior—on the entire Sword Qi Great Wall, only our Dong family's sons can carry it off with such justification."

Diezhang couldn't help but be a bit nervous.

This old man was the patriarch of the Dong family, Dong Sangang.

The old sword immortal who had carved the character "Dong" on the city wall!

One of the things A Liang hated most was sparring with Dong Sangang. He would dodge if he could, and if he couldn't, he would demand money from Dong Sangang. If Dong didn't pay, A Liang would obediently stand beside the thatched hut on the city wall to take the beating, not going to the city wall to disturb the Great Sword Immortal's rest. Otherwise, he would lie on the roof of the Dong family ancestral hall.

Dong Sangang waved his hand grandly and pushed two tables together, saying to the younger generation, "No one come up and chatter nonsense. Just bring the wine and put it on the table."

Chen Ping'an took the initiative to nod a greeting to Li Cai, who smiled and nodded back.

Unexpectedly, Huang Tong, the ancestral elder of Taihui Sword Sect, took the initiative to smile at Chen Ping'an. Chen Ping'an had no choice but to clasp his fists in salute, without speaking.

After Dong Sangang sat down, he glanced at the couplet by the shop door and clicked his tongue, "Quite daring to write that. Good thing the calligraphy is decent, much better than A Liang's earthworm scrawl."

Diezhang's forehead was involuntarily beaded with fine sweat.

Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo were also a bit uneasy.

It couldn't be helped; if they got scolded by Dong Sangang, they wouldn't even be worthy of being scolded. Most of the sword immortal elders in their families had been solidly beaten by him.

The only ones who remained relatively composed were probably Ning Yao and Chen Ping'an.

Dong Sangang got up and left after drinking one pot of wine, and the other two native sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall also took their leave together.

Han Huaizi, Huang Tong, and Li Cai, also from North Juzhou, stayed behind.

Chen Ping'an had Diezhang bring an extra jar of good wine from the shop. He carried it over himself and said, "Junior Chen Ping'an pays respects to Sect Master Han, Sect Master Li, and Sword Immortal Huang."

Li Cai said with a smirk, "Huang Tong, listen to that. I'm ahead of you. That's what happens when you're not the sect master."

Chen Ping'an felt a bit helpless.

That was you, Sword Immortal Li Cai, was not being at all chivalrous.

Unexpectedly, Huang Tong said with a grin, "Being behind Sect Master Li is just fine. Above or below—either works too."

Chen Ping'an had just sat down and nearly fell off his seat. He ignored etiquette and hurriedly took a sip of wine to steady himself.

When he had traveled in North Juzhou before, he hadn't heard that this sword immortal of Taihui Sword Sect was such a passionate man.

Why hadn't Qi Jinglong ever mentioned a single word? Out of respect for the superior?

It seemed Huang Tong's swordsmanship must be high, otherwise in North Juzhou...

Li Cai sneered, "I wish you a safe journey on this cross-continent ferry—may you drown halfway and feed the fish."

Huang Tong burst into loud laughter, not at all annoyed, quite delighted instead.

Han Huaizi, however, was an extremely steady elder, full of sword immortal elegance. He smiled at Chen Ping'an and said, "Don't mind their nonsense."

Huang Tong restrained his smile, no longer showing any sign of being an old fool. "Nowadays, flying sword messages at Inverted Mountain are all under tight surveillance—the origins and contents of every single one. Many are even arbitrarily intercepted and sealed. There's no reasoning with them. Fortunately, our Qi Jinglong's letters are cleverly written and haven't been stopped or sealed. Since you, Chen Ping'an, are a close friend of our Qi Jinglong, and Li Cai, you're a fellow sword cultivator from our homeland, then the four of us here can all be considered family. First, I thank you, Li Cai, for taking the initiative to challenge the sword, giving Qi Jinglong a good start. Then the one who is close to the academy followed up, forcing that old thing Bai Shang to care about face, which allowed Qi Jinglong not only to stand firm in North Juzhou as a sword immortal but also to gain three consecutive benefits to his swordsmanship—that's a great favor. Our Taihui Sword Sect owes you, Li Cai, a huge debt."

Having said this, Huang Tong smiled slightly, "So, if Sect Master Li wants the front or the back, choose whichever. If I, Huang Tong, say a single 'no' or even frown slightly, then I'm not a real man!"

Li Cai twitched the corner of her mouth and said, "I'll tell you some good news: Jiang Shangzhen has already reached the Immortal realm."

Huang Tong promptly said, "I, Huang Tong, am a dignified sword immortal, and that's more than enough. So what if I'm not a real man?"

Damn Jiang Shangzhen was the common nightmare for all male and female cultivators in North Juzhou. Back then, his Golden Core could be used like a Nascent Soul, and later, his Yu Pu realm was famously usable like an Immortal. Now he was at the Immortal realm? Even ignoring this guy's cultivation level, he was a guy who seemed like he was running around carrying a cesspit on his back. Who would want to get involved with him? Punch him, thrust a sword at him, and you'd really get shit and piss thrown back. The key was that this guy held grudges and was good at running away. Even Huang Tong didn't want to provoke him. In the history of North Juzhou, there was an old Nascent Soul cultivator who didn't believe the hype. He spent twenty years determined to kill this pest that everyone hated but couldn't kill. In the end, he gained little profit, and his sect's fate was miserable beyond description. The whole sect was embroiled in a stinking mess of love and hate, all fabricated by Jiang Shangzhen. He wrote several big books of "Mandarin Duck Frolicking Immortal Stories," with illustrations, too. And Jiang Shangzhen liked to give them away to anyone he met. If you didn't take them, he'd say, "I'll give you money, you take it, right? If you take it, at least flip through a few pages, won't you?"

Han Huaizi smiled and said, "Senior Brother, there are juniors here. Even if you don't care about your own status, at least do Qi Jinglong a favor and save some good impressions."

Huang Tong coughed, took a sip of wine, and continued, "Li Cai, let's talk business. The customs here on the Sword Qi Great Wall seem similar to those in North Juzhou, but they are actually very different. The battlefield south of the city wall is even more vastly different from the one-on-one fights we're familiar with. Many cultivators from other continents die in the first few days of skirmishes. One wrong move, and it's the end. Don't assume that being a Yu Pu realm sword cultivator makes you something special. On the battlefield, when fighting, there is mutual calculation, and among the demons, there are also extremely insidious beings."

Huang Tong twisted his wrist and took three books out of his storage artifact, two old and one new. He pushed them across to Li Cai, who was sitting opposite. "Two books are engraved editions from the Sword Qi Great Wall. One introduces the demons, the other is like a military text. The last one is my own experience after going through two major battles, written as notes. I advise you: don't memorize them thoroughly. If you don't, I'll toast you now, but later in North Juzhou at Taihui Sword Sect, I won't offer a remote sacrifice for Li Cai's death in battle, because you would have sought your own death and not be worthy of my sacrifice!"

Li Cai pocketed the three books and nodded, "Life and death are serious matters; I wouldn't dare be overconfident."

Huang Tong sighed and turned to his junior brother, the sect master of Taihui Sword Sect, "Miss Li has no higher-ups in her sect, so she has to come in person. Our Taihui Sword Sect still has me, Huang Tong, to hold the fort. Junior Brother, you know I'm not good at handling mundane affairs. You also know I have no patience for teaching disciples. Wouldn't it be better for you to return to North Juzhou and continue helping Qi Jinglong advance, escorting him on his way? There are already sword immortals from Taihui Sword Sect on the Sword Qi Great Wall—me."

Han Huaizi shook his head, "We've already settled this matter. Don't try to make me change my mind."

Huang Tong fumed, "Settled my ass. That's because I can't beat you, so I have to roll back to North Juzhou."

Han Huaizi said calmly, "Go back to Taihui Sword Sect and practice your sword well."

Huang Tong was deeply worried and drank a large bowl of wine, "But you're still the sect master. If you go, leaving me, Huang Tong, behind, my Taihui Sword Sect will have a clear conscience."

Han Huaizi said, "I have a guilty conscience. Since its founding, Taihui Sword Sect has never had a sect master die in battle on the Sword Qi Great Wall, nor has it ever had an Ascension realm sword immortal. For the latter, there's Qi Jinglong, so there's hope. That's why I can confidently go achieve the former."

Huang Tong departed in gloom.

But before going to Inverted Mountain, Huang Tong visited the wine shop, carved his name with sword qi, and wrote a sentence on the back.

As the old man left, his demeanor was desolate, without a trace of sword immortal spirit.

Li Cai, having heard about the wine shop's rules, enthusiastically carved only her name, but didn't write anything on the back of her Safe and Sound plaque. She said she would come back to write after she had killed two Upper Five Realms demon creatures.

Han Huaizi also wrote his name and some words.

"Han Huaizi, fourth-generation sect master of Taihui Sword Sect."

"In this life, there are no great regrets."

Throughout this time, Chen Ping'an sat quietly drinking.

When Li Cai and Han Huaizi, the two sect masters from North Juzhou, walked side by side onto the deserted main street in the dead of night,

Chen Ping'an stood up and called out, "Two sect masters."

Han Huaizi said softly with a smile, "Don't turn around."

But Li Cai had already turned and asked, "Something on your mind?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "The wine money."

Li Cai asked Han Huaizi in confusion, "On the Sword Qi Great Wall, do you have to pay for drinking?"

Han Huaizi said with a straight face, "I wouldn't know."

Li Cai frowned, "Just charge it to Jiang Shangzhen. For one Snowflake Coin, you put it down as one Minor Heat Coin!"

Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile.

The two sword immortals walked slowly forward.

Li Cai felt a bit strange. Logically, given Chen Ping'an's temper, he shouldn't have been like this. She turned to look.

The young man had his hands in his sleeves, looking at the two of them. Only after he saw Li Cai turn her head did he sit back down at the table.

Han Huaizi spoke through mind voice, laughing, "This young man is just making conversation. He probably thinks even one or two extra exchanges are good."

Li Cai said helplessly, "What's all this about?"

Han Huaizi thought for a moment and actually came up with an answer: "Sword cultivator to sword cultivator."