Chapter 600: Students and Disciples Go to See Their Teacher and Master

Chapter 600: Students and Disciples Go to See Their Teacher and Master

In the Sword Qi Great Wall's autumn, there was no rustling parasol trees, no rain on plantain leaves in the night, no crows calling on withered lotuses, no west wind lifting the curtains, no cold at the Mandarin Duck Ferry, no osmanthus floating like jade.

Yet there were still trees full of autumn colors, grasses and trees shedding their leaves, cool autumn nights, and the city bathed in moonlight.

As for the Haoran World, now was the season of spring wind and spring rain striking spring couplets, spring mountains and spring waters giving birth to spring grass, the entire world sharing the same spring.

On Destitute Mountain in Dragon Spring Prefecture of Vase Bottle Continent, during the Jingzhe solar term, the sky inexplicably changed its face, turning from bright sunshine to dark clouds, and then poured down a torrential rain.

Three little girls were lying together in the second-floor corridor of the bamboo tower, enjoying the rain.

Beside the black-clad little girl, on either side, were placed an emerald green walking staff and a small golden carrying pole. As the legitimate right protector of the Destitute Mountain Ancestral Hall, Zhou Mili had secretly given the walking staff and small carrying pole the nicknames "Little Right Protector" and "Little Left Protector," but she didn't dare tell Pei Qian about this. Pei Qian had way too many rules, annoying. Several times she had even thought about not being friends with her anymore.

But whenever they were in a quarrel, from the very beginning, Zhou Mili would start counting on her fingers, waiting for Pei Qian to come play with her.

Chen Nuanshu was a bit worried, because Chen Lingjun had recently seemed to have made up his mind: once he achieved the Golden Core, he would immediately go to the Ji Du in North Ju Luzhou to become a river dragon.

Pei Qian changed her position, lying on her back, hands crossed behind her head as a pillow, crossing one leg over the other and gently swinging it. After thinking for a while, she slowly shifted her body, changing direction so that her crossed legs faced the curtain of rain outside the bamboo tower's eaves. Pei Qian had been a little troubled lately too. Practicing boxing with the old cook always felt lacking, not good. Once she even got impatient and yelled at the old cook, and then he rather unceremoniously stomped her unconscious. Afterwards, Pei Qian felt she was actually quite sorry toward the old cook, but she was not too willing to say sorry. Besides that one sentence—she had indeed been a bit harsh—the rest was originally the old cook's fault. Feeding punches should be like how Grandpa Cui did it: beat her to death. Anyway, it wasn't like he would really kill her. She wasn't afraid of getting beaten. Close her eyes, open her eyes, yawn a few times, and it was a new day. She really didn't know what the old cook was afraid of.

You, old cook, never put any strength into your strikes, what's that about? How much silver did her master have to spend for each time she soaked in the medicine vat? She had calculated with Nuanshu that at her current rate of martial training, even if Pei Qian pulled Sister Shirou to do business on Dragon Riding Alley, even if they never closed the shop at night, with the few bits of silver she earned, she wouldn't recoup the cost for who knows how many centuries. So why were you, old cook, so hesitant, as if you hadn't eaten enough? When feeding punches, just use your heart and punch. Anyway, she would just end up unconscious and sleeping. Actually, she had tolerated him several times before, and only finally lost her temper.

So that night after she woke up, she went to call the old cook to make a midnight snack, and then ate several extra bowls of rice. The old cook should have understood that this was her apology, right? He probably got it. The old cook was wearing an apron at the time and even helped her pick up food with chopsticks; he didn't seem angry. The old cook, well, he was old, and ugly, but he had one good quality: he didn't hold grudges.

There was another bigger worry: Pei Qian was afraid that if she shamelessly insisted on following Scholar Zhong to the Sword Qi Great Wall, her master would be unhappy.

Pei Qian rolled her eyes. That guy was coming again to look at the little pond behind the bamboo tower.

Wei Bo, the Great Li North Peak Mountain Lord, stood in the corridor and said with a smile, "Pei Qian, are you bored lately?"

Pei Qian said listlessly, "Bored? Of course I'm bored. Bored to the point my head hurts."

Pei Qian slapped the floor lightly, and with a carp-like leap, she stood up. That slap was extremely clever; the walking staff bounced up, and she grabbed it in her hand. Vaulting onto the railing, she launched into a wild sword dance. Countless raindrops shattered, water splashing everywhere, quite a bit spraying toward the corridor. Wei Bo waved his hand but didn't rush to speak about matters. Pei Qian, while letting loose with her swordplay, shouted at the top of her lungs, "Thunderclap and gongs and drums sound! Rain like coins comes to my face! Getting rich, getting rich..."

Destitute Mountain was really short of money, that was true, no doubt about it.

But the one who wanted money to fall from the sky like this was probably only this girl, who herself thought she was a loss-making product.

Wei Bo said with a laugh, "I have a letter here. Who wants to see it?"

Pei Qian immediately withdrew her walking staff, jumped down from the railing, and waved her hand. Chen Nuanshu, who had already stood up to welcome the Mountain Lord, and Zhou Mili, who had slowly gotten up, together with Pei Qian, all bowed and said in unison, "Mountain Lord, your honourable presence graces our humble home, making it shine with radiance, and may wealth roll in endlessly!"

Wei Bo nodded with a beaming smile, then handed the envelope, which bore the small regular-script inscription "Nuanshu personally open, Pei Qian read the letter, Mili put away the envelope," to the girl Chen Nuanshu.

Chen Nuanshu quickly wiped her sleeve, took the letter with both hands, carefully opened it, then handed the envelope to Zhou Mili. Pei Qian took the letter paper, sat cross-legged, and straightened her posture. The other two little girls also sat down, their three little heads almost bumping together. Pei Qian turned her head and complained, "Mili, use less force. You've wrinkled the envelope. How do you do things? If you keep being this clumsy, how can I dare entrust major tasks to you in the future?"

The black-clad little girl immediately pulled a long face, on the verge of tears. Pei Qian smiled immediately, patted little Mili's little head, and comforted her a bit. Zhou Mili soon laughed again.

Wei Bo leaned on the railing, gazing into the distance. The rain was heavy and urgent, the world hazy, but within the corridor, the scenery was bright.

The three little girls read the letter extremely slowly, unwilling to miss a single word. They also hoped to see themselves mentioned in the letter, even if just one or two sentences—that would make them happy for a long time.

After Pei Qian had carefully read it through once, Zhou Mili said, "Read it again."

Pei Qian said in an exasperated tone, "What's the point of saying that?"

After reading it back and forth three times, Pei Qian carefully returned the family letter, which consisted of only two sheets of paper, to the envelope, coughed a few times, and said, "You both saw clearly what Master said in the letter, right? Master said you two can't go to the Sword Qi Great Wall. Anyway, the reasons were written, clear, flawless, and perfectly justified. So now the question is, do either of you have even an ounce of resentment in your hearts? If you do, you must say it out loud. As Master's first disciple, I will definitely help you see the light."

Chen Nuanshu said with a smile, "I really can't go to the Sword Qi Great Wall. It's too far. If I leave Destitute Mountain and go to Dragon Spring City, after just one night, I'd be anxiously hurrying back up the mountain."

She was truly used to staying put in one place. Before, it was Cao's Orchid Tower Library in the Huangting Kingdom; now it was the larger Dragon Spring Prefecture. Besides, before she had to hide from people, like a thief. Now, not only on Destitute Mountain, but also going to Dragon Riding Alley in the town or to Dragon Spring Prefecture City, she could do it openly. So Chen Nuanshu liked it here, and she liked the daily busyness even more.

Zhou Mili crossed her arms, trying hard to keep a straight face, but still couldn't hide her smugness. She said, "The mountain lord said I, the right protector, need to keep a close eye on that little pond. It's a great responsibility, so after I go down the bamboo tower, I'm moving my bedding next to the pond."

The black-clad little girl, if not for holding it in, would have been grinning from ear to ear by now.

In the letter, Chen Ping'an said that over at the Sword Qi Great Wall, he had told the landscape story of the Dumb Lake Water Monster to many people! And he heard there were a lot of scenes, not like in some tales where it shows up and gets killed right away. Oh my god, that was another world entirely, something she wouldn't have dared to dream of before.

Pei Qian said, "Mm, this shows you two still have some conscience. Don't worry, just consider that I'm making the trip to the Sword Qi Great Wall on your behalf. This wild sword dance of mine—the Haoran World doesn't appreciate it. But I'm sure that when I get there, there will be countless sword immortals who, upon seeing my self-created peerless sword technique, will have their eyes pop out, and then immediately cry and beg to take me as their disciple. And then I'll just have to sigh softly and shake my head, saying, 'Sorry, I already have a master.' And they'll just have to cry. For those sword immortals born at the wrong time, this is truly a lamentable, pitiable, and sorrowful story."

Chen Nuanshu asked with a smile, "When you get to the master over there, would you dare talk to a sword immortal like that?"

Pei Qian said seriously, "Of course I wouldn't dare. Didn't I just say, it's only a story."

Zhou Mili nodded vigorously. She felt that Sister Nuanshu was sometimes not too bright, still a lot worse than herself.

Chen Nuanshu took out a handful of melon seeds. Pei Qian and Zhou Mili each nimbly grabbed a handful. Pei Qian glared, and that Zhou Mili, who thought she was being sneaky and had grabbed the biggest handful, immediately froze, her face unchanged, as if Pei Qian had cast a freezing spell on her again. She slowly loosened her fist, letting a few melon seeds fall back into Chen Nuanshu's palm. Pei Qian glared even wider, and Zhou Mili put back most of them. She opened her hand to see it was still plenty, so she secretly cheered.

Chen Nuanshu took out a handkerchief and placed it on the floor. Elsewhere on Destitute Mountain it didn't matter, but in the bamboo tower, whether on the first or second floor, melon seed shells couldn't be thrown around carelessly.

Pei Qian said, "Wei Bo, if you can't remember the parts about you in the letter, I can go to Piyun Mountain every day to remind you. Nowadays, I cross mountains and ridges, coming and going like the wind!"

Wei Bo said with a smile, "No need."

Pei Qian worriedly said, "Really no need? I'm afraid you won't take it seriously."

Wei Bo turned his head and teased, "Shouldn't you be worried about how to explain to your master that martial fight you had with Baishou?"

Pei Qian looked blank and said, "Huh? Who's Baishou? I've never seen this person? Wei Bo, are you dreaming, or did I dream and forget it when I woke up?"

The three girls had been working on this for so long, and this was all they came up with?

Wei Bo gave a thumbs up and praised, "Chen Ping'an will definitely believe it."

Zhou Mili reached her hand to the side of her mouth, leaned over to Pei Qian's ear, and whispered while taking credit, "See, I told you this explanation works best. Everyone will believe it. Lord Wei isn't too dumb, and even he believed it, right?"

Pei Qian nodded, "I'll credit you for this! But let's be clear, public and private matters are separate. I'll only record this credit in my little ledger. It has nothing to do with the Destitute Mountain Ancestral Hall."

Zhou Mili was in a good mood today, wagging her head with a smile, "Oh, come on, what credit? We're the best of friends!"

Wei Bo sighed with emotion, "There was once a poem that began with the line, 'The vast world departs from the old pass,' echoing the sage's words 'Then I felt a vast urge to return home.' Later literati praised it as 'the highest opening tone.'"

Zhou Mili frowned deeply, "What does that mean?"

Pei Qian said, "Saying some fitting words to sponge our melon seeds, that's all."

Wei Bo's general meaning was something Chen Nuanshu definitely understood best, but she usually didn't say much. And Pei Qian wasn't bad now either. After Master left, she couldn't go to the school anymore, so she read a lot of books. She had finished all the books Master left on the first floor, then had Nuanshu buy some more. Anyway, she just memorized them first regardless. When it came to memorizing things, Pei Qian was much better than Chen Nuanshu. If she didn't understand something, she skipped it—Pei Qian didn't care. Occasionally, when in a good mood, she would ask the old cook a few questions. But no matter what she said, she always felt that if Master were the one speaking, it would be much better. So she was somewhat dismissive of the old cook's half-baked way of teaching. After a while, the old cook got a bit disheartened and would often say some nonsense about how his scholarship was no worse than Scholar Zhong's. Pei Qian naturally didn't believe it. Then one time when he was cooking, the old cook deliberately added a bit too much salt.

Chen Nuanshu walked over and handed a handful of melon seeds to Wei Bo.

Wei Bo thanked her, his face full of smiles, took the seeds with both hands, then leaned back against the railing, began cracking seeds, and chatted with the three little girls. On his open palm, one pile was seeds, the other was shells. The big pile became a small pile, the small pile became a big pile, until finally there was only one pile.

Outside the railing, wind and rain.

Inside the corridor, warmth and harmony.

Wei Bo knew Chen Ping'an's innermost thoughts.

He wanted his two disciples and students to go see the Sword Qi Great Wall earlier. If they went too late, would the people of the Haoran World still have the chance to see the Sword Qi Great Wall again? Could they still go there to tour the mountains and waters, treating it like a scenic courtyard opened by the Haoran World?

Although it wasn't written in the letter, Wei Bo still saw another layer of Chen Ping'an's worry. Zhong Qiu, the national teacher of the Nanyuan Kingdom, was taking only two children, Cao Qinglang and Pei Qian, who had just finished touring the Lotus Root Paradise. Chen Ping'an was actually a bit uneasy about this. But now on Destitute Mountain, Zhu Lian, who was almost half the mountain master, definitely couldn't leave. The other three from the painting scroll each had their own duties and their own great paths to pursue. And he, Wei Bo, was even less likely to leave Vase Bottle Continent. So, what Chen Ping'an was truly worried about was the current lack of top-tier cultivators and martial grandmasters on Destitute Mountain. As for "Zhou Fei," the offering who was at the Immortal realm, even if Chen Ping'an could persuade Jiang Shangzhen to come, he definitely wouldn't ask for such a favor.

Actually, if this letter had come earlier, it would have been better. Then he could have traveled together with Liu Jinglong of North Ju Luzhou to Old Dragon City, and then to Inverted Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Wei Bo now had an idea in his mind. He was going to try to see if that elusive Cui Dongshan could solve some problems for his own teacher.

A few days later, Piyun Mountain received a secret flying sword message. The message said that Zhong Qiu, Pei Qian, and Cao Qinglang should head south first and wait for him, Cui Dongshan, at Old Dragon City.

Then they would all take a cross-continent ferry together, lively and noisy, to go find his teacher.

As soon as she heard that big white goose was also coming along, Pei Qian's original little bit of depression completely vanished.

The originally agreed half-month-later boxing match—Yu Juanfu actually reneged, saying the date was to be determined.

The gamblers in the city were not in a hurry at all. After all, that second shopkeeper's gambling skills were not bad; betting too hastily would easily fall into his trap.

But the experienced old gamblers began to fret instead. They were afraid that the girl Yu Juanfu would accidentally drink too much of the second shopkeeper's wine, mess up her head, and then this well-arranged sparring match would turn into a two-man act. How would they make money then? As things looked now, not only the careless gamblers, but even many of the bookmakers, hadn't managed to earn a few immortal coins from that Chen Ping'an.

So an old gambler, after drinking, sighed and said, "The blue comes from the indigo but is better than the indigo. From now on, the gambling tables of our Sword Qi Great Wall, big and small, are going to see blood and storm."

Since she didn't have a hut to live in, Yu Juanfu, after all a woman, felt embarrassed sleeping on the city wall every day. So, like the Kuxia Sword Immortal, she stayed at the residence of Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan. But she would still make the round trip every day, practicing boxing for many hours on the city wall. Sun Juyuan didn't have a good impression of that bunch of brats like Yan Lü and Jiang Guancheng, but he had a decent opinion of this young lady from the Zhongtu Yu family. On the rare occasions he showed up, he would speak from a high vantage point, explaining boxing methods through sword techniques, and Yu Juanfu was grateful.

Lin Junbi, besides going to the city wall to practice swordsmanship, mostly spent his time in the pavilion at Sun's residence playing out game records alone, carefully studying the world-renowned "Rainbow Cloud Manual."

Lin Junbi was interested in only three things: the general situation of the Central Earth Divine Continent, cultivation, and go. As for the general situation, Lin Junbi could only observe for now. As for cultivation, he had never slackened. As for go, at least in the Shaoyuan Dynasty, the youth had hardly any rivals. The one he most wanted to see was Embroidery Tiger Cui Chan.

His junior brother, Bian Jing, preferred the Mirage area and was nowhere to be seen.

The Kuxia Sword Immortal never deliberately restrained that unreliable Bian Jing. When it came to practicing swordsmanship, once a Golden Core sword cultivator was achieved, each had their own path beneath their feet; they only needed to proceed forward and climb higher.

If there were no such path, how could one form the golden core.

Among this batch of Shaoyuan Dynasty sword cultivators, Yu Juanfu could only talk a bit with Zhu Mei.

But so-called chatting was actually just Zhu Mei chattering away by herself, and Yu Juanfu didn't get annoyed listening.

Zhu Mei had also helped Yu Juanfu buy that thick "Two Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Manual." Nowadays, at the Sword Qi Great Wall, there were some relatively fine printed editions, reportedly from the Yan family's handiwork. They should barely break even, not make much profit.

Today, Zhu Mei was drinking tea in Yu Juanfu's room, watching Yu Juanfu intently flipping through the seal manual. Zhu Mei asked curiously, "Sister Yu, I heard you came directly from Golden Armor Continent to the Sword Qi Great Wall. Didn't you even want to take a look at your fiancé? That Huai Qian, after you left your hometown, his fame has been growing. For example, he's friends with Cao Ci and Liu Youzhou, making many young immortal maidens from top sects heartbroken. So many rumors. Sister Yu, do you purely dislike that arranged childhood engagement, so you're being stubborn with the elders? Or have you dealt with Huai Qian privately, and just couldn't like him?"

Yu Juanfu said, "Both."

Zhu Mei asked again, "Then let's not talk about this Huai Qian. Let's talk about that Old Sword Immortal Zhou? This old immortal seems to make a big splash every time he acts. Last time he acted, it was supposedly to stand up for Sister Yu. Even now, there are many vivid rumors that Old Immortal Zhou's actions that time were too fierce, and he actually incurred the pursuit of a Grand Sacrificial Wine from the academy."

Yu Juanfu hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, "False."

Zhu Mei's eyes widened, full of expectation.

Yu Juanfu said, "Old Mr. Zhou has accumulated merits. As long as he doesn't go too far, the academies and schools generally won't trouble him. Just know this yourself, don't spread it."

Zhu Mei nodded.

Yu Juanfu added another reminder, "If you can't keep your mouth shut and someone like Yan Lü gets wind of this, it could be a significant leverage for him. Be careful."

Zhu Mei could only nod again.

Zhu Mei suddenly covered her mouth, laughing.

Yu Juanfu was staring at a seal inscription on the manual and didn't notice the girl's reaction.

"A white egret stands in snow by day; an inkstone has no lamp at night."

Yu Juanfu looked at this seal inscription, slightly moved. Back then, when Cao Ci taught boxing, in principle, whether or not Cao Ci appreciated it, she should have thanked him.

But she was just looking at the seal manual; she definitely wouldn't buy those seals or folding fans.

Zhu Mei really couldn't contain her curiosity, suppressed her smile, and asked, "Sister Yu, what's the story with your name? Is there a meaning?"

Yu Juanfu continued flipping through the seal manual, shook her head, "There is a meaning, but it's not interesting. I'm a woman, and I've always thought the name Yu Juanfu didn't sound good. It can't be changed in the family genealogy, but I can change it freely when traveling the jianghu. In the Central Earth Divine Continent, I used the alias Yu Qiyun. When I reached Golden Armor Continent, I changed it again to Shi Zaixi. You can call me directly by my given name, Shi Zaixi. It sounds better than Sister Yu."

Zhu Mei softly called out, playfully, "Zaixi, Zaixi."

Yu Juanfu was somewhat helpless, shook her head, and continued flipping through the seal manual.

"Who on the city wall is actually carefree."

"Her hair bun holds the most clouds in the world."

There were also many paired seals: "Kneel to the heaven beyond heaven," "Dao illuminates the vast world."

"Generous departing," "Vast returning."

"Fill a cup of wine for you," "The sun and moon swim in your cup."

Yu Juanfu looked at the seal manual for a long time, and the more she looked, the more irritated she became. Clearly a somewhat learned scholar, yet he was so unserious!

She flipped to a page and saw the three-character seal inscription: "Goose Hits Wall."

Yu Juanfu thought of that wall at the Sword Qi Great Wall which was more than just towering into the clouds. She couldn't help but almost laugh. Hardly suppressing her smile, she put on a stern face and snorted coldly.

Chen Ping'an and Qi Jinglong were drinking at the shop.

In the Sword Qi Great Wall, one of the most wasteful things was to not drink purely, using cultivator techniques. Someone like that was even more contemptible than a bachelor.

Qi Jinglong still just ate a bowl of plain noodles with a plate of pickled vegetables.

The surrounding drunkard sword cultivators exchanged glances. Judging from the look of it, everyone felt that this young sword immortal from North Ju Luzhou had an unfathomable capacity for alcohol, definitely a sea of drink.

Maybe it was really like the second shopkeeper said, he had reached the state of "I sit alone at the wine table, while everyone else lies under the table."

Baishou liked coming here because he could drink. Although that Liu had instructed him to only drink one bowl each time, his capacity was such that one bowl was enough to get him slightly tipsy.

Besides, Chen Ping'an himself had said that with their shop's huge big white bowl, it was normal for people to get drunk; it had nothing to do with drinking capacity.

Qi Jinglong wanted to say something but hesitated.

Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "Feeling that even though Miss Lu doesn't say anything, the language in her eyes when she looks at you hasn't decreased but increased, so you're a little flustered?"

Qi Jinglong remained silent, glanced at the wine pot, and really felt like having a drink.

Chen Ping'an smiled without speaking, putting on a profound face.

In your situation, how the hell should I know what to do.

Meanwhile, in the current Haoran World, on a cross-continent ferry from Old Dragon City heading to Inverted Mountain, at the prow, two similarly blue-robed gentlemen, one large and one small, were silently admiring the scenery. A handsome, snow-white-robed youth with a mole between his eyebrows was frolicking and roughhousing with a slightly dark-skinned little girl holding a walking staff, as if no one else was around.

The youth ran and dodged the walking staff, his wide sleeves fluttering like flying snow, shouting loudly, "We're going to see my teacher, your master! Happy or not?!"

The little girl chased after that big white goose, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Happy! Really happy!"