Chapter 618: Scorching Summer Sun, Snowy Wind and Far Road
The first sunlight shone upon the high city walls.
Die Zhang, Dong Hua Fu, and Fan Da Che chose to retreat.
Ning Yao, Chen San Qiu, and Yan Zhuo remained in their original positions.
Chen Ping'an returned to their side, changing into the face of a middle-aged man. He first helped Chen San Qiu and Yan Zhuo keep an eye on the battlefield situation, occasionally offering a reminder.
Compared to Fan Da Che, who had to be precise in his words, Chen Ping'an was much more concise when speaking to Chen San Qiu and Yan Zhuo, merely filling in the gaps in minor details.
Mostly, he offered suggestions regarding flying sword trajectories and where to land, a form of rapid review, striving to go from good to better. It wasn't that just because they had shared drinks and become good friends, Chen Ping'an would take these two Golden Core Sword Immortals lightly. In fact, Chen Ping'an's focused observation of Chen San Qiu and Yan Zhuo's sword strikes had benefited him greatly.
Then Chen Ping'an went to find Fan Da Che.
Fan Da Che saw Chen Ping'an's middle-aged face and felt somewhat helpless. Being hostile to Chen Ping'an was truly the worst luck imaginable—it wasn't ancestral tombs emitting auspicious smoke but billowing black smoke, and even the coffin funds couldn't suppress it.
Despite his helplessness, Fan Da Che was also grateful. If not for Chen Ping'an's appearance, he would have been flustered for a long time.
Chen Ping'an crouched down and tossed Fan Da Che a gourd of Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine, smiling. "Remember to think well of me."
Dong Hua Fu said, "Buying wine with Fan Da Che's money, then giving it back to him as a favor—I've learned something."
Chen Ping'an pretended not to hear, and stuck a yellow paper decontamination talisman on himself to help dispel the smell of blood.
Die Zhang asked with a smile, "Went to pick up money elsewhere?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Just wandered around. Worried that if I exerted myself too much, I'd attract the attention of some hidden great demons in the shadows, so I didn't dare go all out. Later, I plan to discuss with the Sword Immortals about taking charge of a small section of the city wall alone as bait—willing victims will take the bait. Then, when any of you withdraw from the battlefield, you can come find me and witness the grand sight of a great cultivator riding a flying sword. Remember to bring wine; no wine, no show."
Dong Hua Fu shook his head. "Then I'm not going."
Die Zhang smiled. "I'll pass too."
Fan Da Che noticed Chen Ping'an looking at him, and reluctantly spoke the truth. "I don't dare to go."
Chen Ping'an grinned. "Da Che, you don't have to come in person, but the wine can. Who's actually interested in seeing you anyway?"
Die Zhang and Dong Hua Fu almost simultaneously stood up and continued toward the southern city wall.
Fan Da Che wanted to follow, but Chen Ping'an reached out to stop him, indicating there was no hurry.
Chen Ping'an said, "Fighting alongside these friends, do you feel a lot of pressure? Like every time you help them, you're holding them back?"
Fan Da Che nodded.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Having that thought isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if you want to improve, you should suppress those thoughts. Fan Da Che, don't forget, you're a bottlenecked Dragon Gate realm sword cultivator, and you're not even thirty yet. Do you know how remarkable a young prodigy a sword cultivator who is destined to reach Golden Core is, even in the Northern Juzhou Continent of our Haoran Heaven, which is renowned for its abundance of sword cultivators?"
Chen Ping'an pointed to himself. "Just because there's someone like me in Haoran Heaven doesn't mean everyone in Haoran Heaven is like Chen Ping'an. Among the mountain peers around our age, when it comes to the sheer weight of killing enemies, there are certainly those better than me, probably many. But those inferior to me are even more numerous, extremely numerous."
Chen Ping'an continued slowly, "In my homeland, the Eastern Treasure Vase Continent, in the many rivers and lakes I've traversed, if you, Fan Da Che, were cultivating there, you would be a favored son of heaven, carrying the hopes of an entire dynasty. You might think I often joke about being a dignified Five Realms Great Cultivator, that it's teasing or self-deprecation, but it's not entirely so. In my homeland, a Cave Dwelling realm demon or ghost is truly a great demon, a terrifying specter. Think about it: a Golden Core sword cultivator with a natural sword embryo, maybe just over thirty years old—how lofty would that be in Treasure Vase Continent?"
Fan Da Che nodded. "I never thought about that before. I wasn't very interested in matters of Haoran Heaven. Since childhood, I've felt my talent was mediocre, not good enough."
Chen Ping'an smiled, spreading two hands and joining his fingers to mark two points. "What I'm saying is, Fan Da Che, being beside Ning Yao, Chen San Qiu, and the others, feeling like everything you do is wrong—that's one extreme. In my homeland, you could seemingly wield a sword against an entire nation—that's another extreme. Neither is desirable."
Chen Ping'an withdrew one hand and formed a fist, shaking it in the middle of the line he had drawn earlier. "Things can be extreme; it's unavoidable. But a sword cultivator's Dao heart should rest here, unmoving. External matters, when viewed broadly, are truly just external matters—difficult to fully control. But a cultivator's original heart is always at hand, right beside you, a domestic skill that can be honed and refined anytime, anywhere. The human body is a small heaven and earth; to the great heaven and earth, it's merely a foothold. Yet the human heart encompasses all phenomena, can be higher and greater than heaven and earth. Especially for sword cultivators, where thought reaches, the flying sword reaches; body and heart are both free. That saying, I think, is very true. I'm giving it to you for free, along with this gourd of wine."
Fan Da Che's eyes were clear. He took a big gulp of wine, wiped his mouth, and said solemnly, "Chen Ping'an, if you had said these words to me before, I might have only understood them intellectually, but not truly internalized them. Now it's different. I get it."
Chen Ping'an smiled slightly. "Actually, it's the same for me. I've gone through many hardships, large and small, walking and stopping, thinking this and that, before arriving where I am today."
Fan Da Che was silent for a moment, then asked curiously, "That saying you gave me with the wine—which sage or eminent person said it? The more I ponder it, the more reasonable it becomes."
Chen Ping'an rubbed his chin with his palm. "Da Che, your little brain isn't too bright, but is your eyesight also failing?"
Fan Da Che laughed, stood up, and threw the empty wine gourd forcefully, about to head over to Chen San Qiu and the others.
Unexpectedly, Chen Ping'an reached out, caught the empty gourd, stood up, and cursed, "A mere Dragon Gate realm sword cultivator, acting like a hero in front of a dignified Two Realms Great Cultivator—who do you think you are? Wine gourds aren't free, you know!"
Fan Da Che felt a bit guilty and hurried away, but couldn't help turning back. He saw the second shopkeeper tilting his head, pressing a finger to his temple, then slowly peeling off a disguised face.
Fan Da Che asked, "Chen Ping'an, I just can't forget her. Am I really that worthless?"
Chen Ping'an tucked the face-skin crafted by Zhu Lian into his sleeve and smiled. "When it comes to being devoted and infatuated, there's nothing better than this."
Fan Da Che was puzzled. "That's not what you said when we first met. You scolded me ruthlessly."
Chen Ping'an, looking weary, took out his Sword Nurturing Gourd, took a sip, and smiled. "I don't have the energy to explain the intricacies to you. Figure it out yourself. And also, show a bit of the bearing of a Dragon Gate realm great sword immortal. Roosters fight head-to-head; sword cultivators don't hold grudges."
In truth, Chen Ping'an was no longer worried about Fan Da Che's heartbreak. Fan Da Che might not stand out among their group in terms of cultivation or behavior, but Chen Ping'an was certain that Fan Da Che's path of cultivation would be a long one. What concerned Chen Ping'an at the moment was the fear that Fan Da Che, having heard his reasoning and understood it, would find himself unable to achieve it or do it well—that would become another kind of trouble.
A principle, once unknown, is itself a form of negation. Knowing it and acknowledging it is a form of affirmation. Being unable to achieve it is another negation.
Generally speaking, at this point, the principle has reached a dead end, a burial ground on the path of the heart, leaving no trace. The most terrifying aspect is that a whole series of related knowledge would also die along with it, dying in large swathes.
Unexpectedly, Fan Da Che said, "If I can't immediately achieve that kind of steadfast sword heart you spoke of, and can't help being influenced by Chen San Qiu and the others, Chen Ping'an, remember to remind me often. If once isn't enough, do it twice. I don't have many great virtues, but I am relatively receptive to advice."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Easy to say."
Fan Da Che added, "Then you take my advice too: this great battle will be a long one; a few days or half a month won't make a difference. Heal your injuries first before returning to the city wall. If you keep going like this, when the time comes for us to leave the city wall and head to the battlefield, you won't be able to recover to your peak. I am your protective array sword master. Even if you don't worry about yourself, at least worry about my little life. Don't you want to drink free wine in the future?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Reasonable."
And indeed, Chen Ping'an summoned his talisman boat and left the city wall.
Fan Da Che arrived at the southern wall. Ning Yao nodded at him and smiled. "Thanks."
Fan Da Che tried to keep a straight face but couldn't, so he just laughed.
Dong Hua Fu commented, "What a fool."
Among the group, Chen San Qiu, whose flying sword killed enemies with the most grace, smiled and said, "Dong Black Charcoal, do you have the guts to ask Ning Yao for a thank you?"
Dong Hua Fu turned his head and asked, "Elder Sister Ning, could you say thank you to me?"
Ning Yao kept her eyes forward and replied with a single word: "Scram."
Dong Hua Fu nodded, as if accepting this, then turned to Chen San Qiu and Fan Da Che and asked, "Elder Sister Ning never stands on ceremony with me. Can you say the same?"
Chen San Qiu gave a big thumbs up.
Fan Da Che took a deep breath, summoned his natal flying sword, and with a flash of sword light, descended from the city wall.
Chen Ping'an piloted the talisman boat, feeling idle, so he imitated his own disciple and lay on the bow of the boat, paddling with his hands as if it made the boat go faster.
---
During the lulls in the battle, a group of young sword cultivators from foreign lands withdrew from the southern city wall to the northern one, replaced in silence by another batch of local sword cultivators who had been resting and building their strength. But as they passed each other, the latter had smiles on their faces.
Yu Juan Fu sat on the northern city wall, chewing on her last piece of flatbread. Her entire body brimming with martial intent, yet she was never able to throw a punch. This was the first time in her life that Yu Juan Fu, who could only watch from the city wall, felt an immense craving to climb higher in the martial realm. The seventh realm, Golden Body, was ultimately not like the eighth realm, Far Roaming. Once she broke through to Far Roaming, she would be able to fly like a Qi refiner and unleash her punches freely.
Zhu Mei, pale-faced and still shaken, wiped the sweat from her forehead and said nothing.
After she had released her natal flying sword, she had faced several dangerous situations. She was either protected by the bitter summer sword immortal or rescued by Jin Zhen Meng. Even Lin Jun Bi, who was still only a Contemplating Sea realm sword cultivator, had helped her once. If not for Lin Jun Bi seeing through the disguise of a demon suicide soldier, deliberately luring the demon to unleash its killing move, then swiftly withdrawing his flying sword in the nick of time, allowing Jin Zhen Meng to follow up and slay the demon, Zhu Mei would certainly have damaged her natal flying sword. Even if her Dao foundation wasn't severely wounded, she would have had to withdraw from the city wall and recuperate in the Sun Mansion, effectively ending her participation in the entire campaign.
Lin Jun Bi was discussing the insights from the previous battle with Jin Zhen Meng.
This was likely the first time Lin Jun Bi had chatted so casually with Jin Zhen Meng in private, analyzing the gains, losses, flaws, oversights, and various subtleties of both sides' swordplay.
Jin Zhen Meng smiled warmly and, though still taciturn, clearly showed a bit more closeness to Lin Jun Bi.
This was also the first time Jin Zhen Meng felt that Lin Jun Bi, that perpetually spotless genius youth, had finally shown some hint of humanity.
Lin Jun Bi took out a small, exquisitely crafted porcelain bottle from the Shaoyuan Dynasty's Imperial Workshop, poured out three pills of different colors, kept the pale yellow one for himself, and tossed the other two—one dark green and one spring green—to Jin Zhen Meng and Zhu Mei respectively.
Jin Zhen Meng and Zhu Mei, with similar hesitation, still chose to accept them. The three of them swallowed the pills.
Lin Jun Bi began to concentrate, breathing and absorbing, as the pills slowly dissolved and abundant spiritual energy surged into several key Qi mansions.
Lin Jun Bi diverted a portion of his mind to continuously review the end of that "heart inquiry" session he had experienced.
Each time he replayed it, it allowed his Dao heart to become slightly more perfect.
At that time, the youth in white who called himself Cui Dong Shan, in the process of picking up pieces from the chessboard and dropping them into the bowl, had asked a question: Did Lin Jun Bi dare to stay at the Sword Qi Great Wall and wield his sword against demons?
Lin Jun Bi had said he dared, but the risk was too great and the profit too small—it didn't seem worth it.
"That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. Since you're too stupid, I have to say more, so I don't have my good intentions stir-fried into a plate of donkey liver. Then what was originally a great favor would become a reason for you to complain about me. When that happens, if I beat you to death, you'd still think you were wronged."
Cui Dong Shan held a chess piece between two fingers and shook it. "First, after staying behind, how many great demons you kill doesn't really matter. If you can kill a few more and earn the recognition of one or two Sword Immortals, that's even better."
He casually tossed that piece into the bowl, then picked up another. "Second, with Bitter Summer by your side and you being careful with your limits, you won't die. Bitter Summer is even stupider than you, but in the end, he's a rare good person on the mountain. So the more you act like a good person, the more decisively you wield your sword, and the more demons you kill, the more Bitter Summer's approval of you will grow each day on the city wall. Bitter Summer already harbors a death wish, so one day, he might be willing to change his manner of death, turning it from being for himself to being for you, Lin Jun Bi, for the future pillar of the Shaoyuan Dynasty. At that moment, you need to be careful not to let Bitter Summer die in battle for you. You must constantly use Zhu Mei and Jin Zhen Meng, especially Zhu Mei, to make Bitter Summer abandon that heroic resolve to die. Accompany them to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall. Remember, even if Bitter Summer insists on returning to the Sword Qi Great Wall alone, he should escort you all to the Southern Bodhisattva Continent before turning back. How to do it and what it means—I won't teach you. Use that brain of yours, which has rusted despite its youth, to figure it out."
Cui Dong Shan dropped the second piece. "Third, on your way back from Hanging Mountain, when dealing with Zhu Mei and Jin Zhen Meng, you must exercise restraint from start to finish. Do not add superfluous touches or try to win them over. Let me teach you a trick: In daily interactions, Lin Jun Bi should remain the same arrogant and aloof Lin Jun Bi at heart, but the Lin Jun Bi who wielded his sword on the city wall must be like two different people. Otherwise, you will undo all your previous efforts. Zhu Mei and Jin Zhen Meng are not like Yan Lü and Jiang Guan Cheng. The latter are pragmatic in nature; the former are more idealistic. They belong to two different worlds. Weigh that carefully yourself."
"Fourth, after returning to the culturally prosperous Shaoyuan Dynasty in the Central Earth Divine Continent, shut your mouth and mention nothing. If you can't, go into seclusion and refuse guests. Before you shut your mouth, of course, you should have a private discussion with your teacher. Be honest and straightforward with him; aside from me, don't hide major or minor matters. Don't treat your teacher as a fool. The Imperial Preceptor will understand your ambition. Not only will he not dislike it, but he will be gratified, because you and he are kindred spirits. He will naturally protect your path behind the scenes, doing his duty as your teacher for his proud disciple. He won't personally step in to promote your fame; such methods are too base. I believe the Imperial Preceptor will not only avoid that but will instead control the timing and do the opposite. Yan Lü, who is even stupider than you, is already your pawn. When he returns home, he will do what he should do and say what he should say. But the Imperial Preceptor will seal off the news in the Shaoyuan Dynasty, not allowing exaggerated accounts of your experiences at the Sword Qi Great Wall. Then you can wait for the academies and colleges to speak for you. During this time, the more Lin Jun Bi remains silent, the more the Shaoyuan Dynasty maintains silence, praise will come to you from all directions on its own. You won't be able to stop it even if you close the door."
"Not only the Shaoyuan Dynasty, but all surrounding dynasties, vassal states, emperors, generals, ministers, and nobles—mountain cultivators and mundane jianghu—will know that there is a youth named Lin Jun Bi who journeyed to the Sword Qi Great Wall, dared not to retreat in battle, and could wield his sword to slay demons."
Cui Dong Shan held a chess piece between two fingers and asked with a smile, "In this 'fourth' point, where is the most subtle detail? Think carefully; don't disappoint me with your answer."
Lin Jun Bi replied, "To make my teacher feel that my conduct is still somewhat immature, and to give him something to do that his student can never accomplish. That way, my teacher won't harbor any grudges in his heart."
Cui Dong Shan tossed that piece away. "At least you're not stupid enough to die. Wait and see. The more brutal the battles at the Sword Qi Great Wall become, the more Haoran Heaven gets knocked senseless and gradually regains some clarity, the more weight your deeds at the Sword Qi Great Wall will carry."
Cui Dong Shan picked up another piece and sneered, "Even those Confucian sages and virtuous men from different scholarly lineages and traditions will look at you with new eyes. The Imperial Preceptor will see you as an increasingly promising closed-door disciple. But the Confucian academies and colleges may not continue to view Lin Jun Bi as merely the disciple of the dynasty's Imperial Preceptor. The subtlety here—savor it well. It will be like drinking fine wine."
Cui Dong Shan wagged his finger and the chess piece, "But don't get carried away. All today's praise will become tomorrow's criticism. And the ones praising and criticizing will often be the same people. That's another subtlety. If you understand it, it's another pot of intoxicating wine."
He dropped the piece, which clinked against the pieces in the bowl, then shook his sleeves. "Yan Lü can be used well. Zhu Mei must earn your recognition. Especially the latter. If you handle the relationship properly, you'll have an unexpected surprise."
Lin Jun Bi asked softly, "Is it the family behind Zhu Mei?"
Cui Dong Shan shook his head. "More than that. Your brain is full of paste—how do you play chess? Only looking one or two moves ahead and expecting to win?"
Lin Jun Bi said sincerely, "Please enlighten me, Mr. Cui."
Cui Dong Shan said, "What Zhu Mei says is not much different from what Yu Juan Fu sees with her own eyes. The two women are inseparable, their relationship is intimate and pure—what wouldn't they say? If Yu Juan Fu recognizes Zhu Mei's character, and Zhu Mei recognizes you, Lin Jun Bi, she will naturally speak a few truly fair words for you. Because Zhu Mei is genuine, Yu Juan Fu will listen. Then, in Yu Juan Fu's eyes, that bit of crude cunning you displayed at the Sword Qi Great Wall will not become a blemish on Lin Jun Bi's life from the Shaoyuan Dynasty; instead, it can reinforce her positive view of you. Do you understand this?"
Lin Jun Bi whispered, "I'm afraid my understanding might be too shallow. I would like to hear the details."
Cui Dong Shan laughed. "If a person has no flaws at all, they are the least approachable. Once she has negated you, then acknowledges you, that acknowledgment will be firmer and more unwavering than if she had acknowledged you at first sight. You don't understand that? You can't play chess, and you can't read people's hearts. I'm starting to regret making this long-term deal with you. It feels like I'm going to lose money. Lin Jun Bi, I never had any worries playing countless games of chess with you, but now I'm filled with anxiety about going into business with you. What should I do?"
Lin Jun Bi wanted to speak but hesitated.
Cui Dong Shan narrowed his eyes. "Only ask, not think? Do you know that my patience is limited? I will kill you. Do you know why? If you answer wrong, you die."
Lin Jun Bi's forehead beaded with sweat. "I can die stupid, but I cannot implicate Mr. Cui's judgment and make him look bad for choosing a fool for a business partner."
Cui Dong Shan smiled. "Good boy, you're still teachable."
Cui Dong Shan pressed his palm against the chess pieces in the bowl, gently rubbing them, and said casually, "A Central Earth sword cultivator who is clever enough yet dares to risk death—a pure martial artist like Yu Juan Fu, also from the Central Earth Divine Continent, will not dislike him. The Yu family, even that old codger Zhou Shen Zhi—how do you think they would view a young sword cultivator that Yu Juan Fu doesn't dislike? Do you think it's a trivial matter? Old man Yu, Zhou Shen Zhi—these old immortals—how many so-called half-baked clever people like the original Lin Jun Bi do you think they've seen? Old man Yu single-handedly controlled the rise and fall of two dynasties; he's seen all kinds of clever people. Old codger Zhou has lived for thousands of years and is well-versed in the vicissitudes of the world. What they've seen less of are young people who are both clever and stupid, full of vitality, who don't take heaven and earth seriously, yet carry a kind of stubbornness that makes them willing to sacrifice fame, profit, and even life for certain major principles."
Cui Dong Shan lightly raised his hand an inch above the bowl, gently twisting his wrist. "This is the wind and clouds of the subtle human heart—a magnificent landscape, but you just can't see it clearly. A heart as fine as a hair? A cultivator, a guest of the immortals, with such good eyesight yet pretending to be blind—cultivating the Dao, cultivating the Dao—cultivating a shitty Dao heart. You, Lin Jun Bi, are destined to make your mark in the grand halls of the mountain world. If you don't understand the human heart, how can you discern people, know people, employ people, and control them? How can you use people without suspicion?"
Lin Jun Bi was convinced and said with solemnity, "Mr. Cui is brilliant. Lin Jun Bi has learned much."
Cui Dong Shan looked up. "Brilliant? You use such a vulgar term to describe me."
Lin Jun Bi shook his head. "Both noble and wise! Only comparable to the sun and moon! This is a realm I am willing to spend my entire life pursuing. It is definitely not the 'brilliant' that common people speak of."
Cui Dong Shan laughed heartily. "This flattery has the style of our mountain. Very good, very good. Perhaps one day I will truly accept you as a disciple, and then you can go to the Patriarch Hall to kowtow, burn incense, and pay respects to the portraits."
Lin Jun Bi had actually already formed a guess in his mind, but it was too incredible to believe.
Cui Dong Shan restrained his smile, looked down at the chessboard, wiped his hand, and all the pieces fell into the bowl. Then he picked out a single black piece and placed it on the board, then picked up white pieces one by one, forming a large circle around it.
Cui Dong Shan said, "Since I'm treating you as half a disciple, I have to show some real skill. Take Yan Lü as an example for this black piece. You want to teach this black piece to feel free, that heaven and earth are vast and unconstrained, and life is full of hope. But his heart, all his thoughts, are in fact under your control. Whether he lives or dies, gains or loses power—it's all within your calculations."
Lin Jun Bi felt this reasoning was simple and easy to understand.
Then Cui Dong Shan formed an even larger circle of black pieces around the white circle. "This is the heart of old codger Zhou and old man Yu. How do you break this situation?"
Lin Jun Bi pondered for a long time, raised his arm to wipe his forehead, and shook his head. "No solution. I shouldn't even think about breaking it."
Cui Dong Shan nodded. "Not bad. Half right."
Cui Dong Shan picked up a white piece and placed it on the board outside the black circle. "On the chessboard, the situation can't change quickly. Life is ultimately not a game of chess; the difference between first and second move is only one piece. But don't forget, the heart is unrestrained. So you can cast a thought far away, open your eyes wide, and carefully observe the larger chessboard of heaven and earth. What is Zhou Shen Zhi? This is cultivating the heart."
Lin Jun Bi lowered his head, staring at the chessboard that was not a game record, lost in thought.
"The deer cry out, 'Yo yo,' eating mugwort in the fields, eating duckweed in the fields. I have fine wine, blow the sheng and beat the drums—a pity there are no worthy guests."
Cui Dong Shan withdrew his gaze from the earth, turned to look at the sky, and smiled faintly. "Guests on the mountain, lords in the clouds, seeing birds fly by—drink a large cup."
On the city wall, at this very moment, Lin Jun Bi also looked up like that "youth in white."
That person was Cui Chan, who had composed the "Colorful Cloud Spectrum."
His chess skill was even higher than Cui Chan's back in the day.
That youth in white put away his chess bowl and board, stood up, and said one last thing to Lin Jun Bi: "Teaching you all this is to tell you that calculating human hearts has no real meaning. No fun, no fun."
---
Chen Ping'an did not directly return to the Ning Mansion but instead went to the wine shop.
The shop wasn't closed, but there were no customers.
Zhang Jia Zhen and Jiang Qu, the two teenage laborers who had been helping at the shop earlier, had already secretly gone to Hanging Mountain, just like the Golden Core sword cultivator Cui Wei. Zhong Qiu, with Pei Qian and Cao Qing Lang, would travel to the Southern Bodhisattva Continent, and the two teenagers would follow Cui Dong Shan to the Treasure Vase Continent.
Now, the three helpers at the wine shop were a teenager named Qiu Long, a girl named Liu E, and the youngest child, called Tao Ban. They were all chosen by Die Zhang as shop assistants, all familiar neighbors.
Among them, Tao Ban was different from Feng Kang Le, who was of the same age. Feng Kang Le, who had started saving money for a wife from a young age, was truly fearless and very good at reading the room and changing with the wind. But Tao Ban was just fearless, a one-track mind. When Qiu Long and Liu E, who had been chatting at a table, saw the amiable second shopkeeper, they still grew nervous and stood up as if sitting at the table was loafing. Chen Ping'an smiled and reached out to motion them down. "There are no customers; make yourselves at home."
Only Tao Ban was lying on a bench at another table, staring blankly at the empty street.
Chen Ping'an sat at that table and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Lost a fight for a little wife to Feng Kang Le? Not happy?"
Tao Ban replied gloomily, "Second shopkeeper, do you think I could be one of those sword embryo types that no one can recognize?"
Chen Ping'an had no words.
He patted the table. "Go get me a pot of wine. The usual."
Tao Ban didn't want to get up, so he shouted, "Sister Liu E, go get the second shopkeeper a pot of wine. Don't forget to charge him."
Chen Ping'an took out a Snow Flower Coin and handed it to Liu E, saying he didn't need the pickled vegetables or plain noodles—just the wine. Soon, the girl brought a pot of wine and a white bowl, setting them gently on the table.
Chen Ping'an poured a bowl of Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine and took a sip.
Tao Ban sat up, resting on the table, bored, tapping his fingers on the surface. "Second shopkeeper, I don't want to sell wine for the rest of my life either."
Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "Then what do you want to do?"
Tao Ban said, "I haven't figured it out yet."
Chen Ping'an drank his wine and said nothing more.
Tao Ban made small talk. "Second shopkeeper, did you know that a lot of people badmouth you behind your back? Many customers who come to buy wine here feel sorry for you. Some of the things they say are really infuriating just to hear."
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I don't know. Tell me about it?"
Tao Ban then began to pour it all out, repeating the words he had heard.
Seeing that the second shopkeeper just kept drinking without getting angry, the child started to get a bit upset. "Second shopkeeper, you're not deaf. Are you even listening to me?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I'm listening."
The east wind blew the willow catkins up; the east wind blew the willow catkins down.
The same east wind, the same willow catkins—rising and falling—what does it matter?
But such reasoning is too boring, not worth repeating to a child.
So Chen Ping'an, as if just catching on, feigned anger. "Those bastards are too infuriating!"
The child eagerly asked, "What should we do about it?"
Chen Ping'an paused his wine bowl mid-air, squinting. "Are you going to fight for me, or keep watch for me?"
Tao Ban sighed and lay back down on the table. "When there are lots of customers, I find it tiring. When there are none, I find it boring. What's going on?"
Chen Ping'an teased, "Exactly, what's going on?"
Tao Ban glared. "You're no fun. You stopped being a storyteller, you don't bother with the shop, and you're always busy with who knows what all day."
Chen Ping'an waved his hand. "I paid for the wine. I should get a plate of pickled vegetables and a bowl of plain noodles. I'll give them to you."
Tao Ban grinned from ear to ear.
Liu E, who had been eavesdropping, immediately went to greet Uncle Feng and asked him to make a bowl of plain noodles for the second shopkeeper.
Chen Ping'an leisurely drank his wine.
Suddenly, he recalled the ordeal of Old Minister Liu from the Lion Garden of the Green Luan Nation.
A scholar who treasures his reputation fears nothing more than losing it in his later years.
Cui Dong Shan had said that those intricate and venomous schemes were all the idea of Old Minister Liu's eldest son, Liu Qing Feng, and that Li Bao Zhen, a fellow townsman, had merely carried them out.
Chen Ping'an turned his head to look at the large and small taverns behind him on the street, the empty road.
In fact, the people Tao Ban had mentioned and their words did not surprise Chen Ping'an at all. He could even say he had expected them. Just as he had inscribed on the side of that seal: nothing in the world is unexpected.
For Chen Ping'an now, it was hard even to get angry.
And disappointment? Not a trace.
There were definitely those who, having once flattered and ingratiated themselves with Young Master Chen San Qiu at wine tables or on Tai Xiang Street or Yu Hu Street, had gotten nothing in return, so they secretly began to resent Chen San Qiu. Since the second shopkeeper was friends with Chen San Qiu, they would resent Chen Ping'an as well.
There were definitely sword cultivators who looked down on Die Zhang's background but envied her luck and cultivation, and so they hated the noisy, bustling wine shop and the young second shopkeeper who had become so prominent.
There were those who once joined the crowd in mocking Fatty Yan, but as Yan Zhuo's realm grew higher and higher, they went from looking down on him with contempt to having to look up to him. Because Yan Zhuo was acquainted with the Ning Mansion and Chen Ping'an, these people felt bitter and resentful, their hearts clawed and torn.
There were also young drinkers who had tried to cozy up to the second shopkeeper at Die Zhang's wine shop, feeling that they could never really connect with him. At first, they didn't think much of it, but as Chen Ping'an's reputation grew, it felt like a tangible loss of personal gain. Over time, they stopped coming to the wine shop to drink and instead preferred to go to other taverns with their friends, gossiping and speaking ill of the little wine shop and Chen Ping'an. They found great pleasure in it, and the more people agreed, the better the wine tasted.
These people, especially when they remembered how they had once pretended to squat by the roadside drinking wine and eating pickled vegetables with those sword cultivators, suddenly felt uneasy. So among their like-minded companions, they slandered the wine shop with even more enthusiasm.
The more lively and prosperous the wine shop, the better the business, yet those who drank elsewhere and spoke in sarcastic tones would look around. Even if there were few by their side, they would find many reasons to comfort themselves. Some might even feel that everyone else was drunk while they alone were sober, and in twos and threes, they would huddle together for warmth, becoming true confidants, and that too was sincere.
As the Buddhist scripture says: "The same rain nourishes all, yet the plants and trees each differ."
It is much like the old saying: "The same rice raises a hundred kinds of people."
Denying anyone is an easy thing.
Whether it's the great Sword Immortal of the Sword Qi Great Wall, a Confucian saint of virtue from Haoran Heaven, or the sages of the hundred schools of thought—anyone in the world, if others want to find fault, can easily deny them, killing them in their hearts.
Anyone can do it. If you don't, you'll be isolated. But you can't only do that, or you'll become mediocre and end up being the one who suffers.
Acknowledging someone sincerely is much harder.
Chen Ping'an's current pleasure wasn't in wrestling with them. Instead, whenever he had leisure and opportunity, he would try to observe these people's complex lives, to watch the jianghu of the human heart.
Chen Ping'an took a big gulp of wine, finishing the bowl, then poured another.
Watching Tao Ban wolf down his food, Chen Ping'an smiled. "Eat slowly. No one's going to take it from you."
Tao Ban ignored him.
Chen Ping'an drank his wine and felt a pang of homesickness.
In his childhood, in the small town, a child once climbed a tree to retrieve a broken kite stuck on a high branch, only to be called a thief.
Once, from a distance at the Immortal's Grave, he watched his peers playing. Someone was bitten by a snake, and that child quickly went to the Yang Family Shop to ask, learn by eavesdropping, and steal a herbal remedy to help the snake-bitten child apply medicine.
After that, every time they saw the black charcoal child from Mud Vase Alley, who always played alone at a distance, the ones who cursed him the loudest and threw mud clods the hardest were those very peers who had had contact with the Mud Vase Alley orphan.
Back then, Chen Ping'an didn't understand why this happened. As he grew up, he came to realize that if they didn't do this, they would lose their friends.
But that didn't stop those children from growing up to be filial to their parents, helping the elderly carry water, or rushing to fetch water in the dead of night.
Some became unruly rascals. Some, with luck, became lackeys for the rich kids from Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley, finding any excuse to glare fiercely and act tough.
Even so, it didn't stop some of them, after earning a few rewards, from going home and taking their younger siblings, who wore shabby clothes and always stood with their toes "outside the door," to the town shops to buy a large amount of New Year's goods, then letting their parents make a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, lively and full of family reunion.
They would make bamboo dragonflies, bamboo swords, and bamboo sabers for their siblings.
There were also those who were born into families with completely bad hearts and remained so as adults. They married and had children, and their lives went on, not too well, but they never argued over right or wrong. The family's entire worldview seemed to be in harmonious agreement, like a small heaven and earth. Even when Chen Ping'an became a kiln apprentice, he still didn't understand why this was so. It was only after he had walked many roads in the jianghu and read many truths from books that he learned the reason.
The child from Mud Vase Alley grew up day by day. In each moment of those early years, he had his share of unhappiness and grievances.
He could only squat alone, shaking his head, playing with grass, or in front of the ruined statues at the Immortal's Grave, pinching out crude little clay figures.
He would pick up a dead branch on a lush country path, hopping and skipping alone, wielding the branch like a sword, slashing and hacking until he was out of breath, thoroughly enjoying himself.
He would have a toothache so bad that his face swelled, forced to chew on some herbal remedies for days, not wanting to speak.
But as long as he was free from illness and pain, free from any ache, even if he went one meal full and the next hungry, he was happy.
And when he couldn't sleep late at night, he would run alone to the Dragon Locking Well or under the old locust tree. A lonely child, staring at the starry sky, would feel as if he had nothing and yet everything.
Later, that little snot-nosed kid from the same alley grew up, learned to walk, and learned to talk.
The straw-sandal youth from Mud Vase Alley also met Liu Xian Yang.
Then he became a kiln apprentice, and life gained a bit of extra anticipation.
He had to take better care of the little snot-nose, and learn more skills from Liu Xian Yang.
Chen Ping'an hoped that the three of them would always have enough to eat and warm clothes, and no matter what happened in the future, whether great disasters or small setbacks, they would all get through it smoothly, endure it, and come out on top.
The little snot-nose said he would definitely make a lot of money, so his mother could wear gold and silver every day when she went out, and they would move to a house on Fortune Street. Then, all the bastards who had bullied his mother and him would be scared to death without him even looking for trouble. They would slap themselves and bring chickens and ducks to apologize on their own initiative, or else he, Gu Can, would never forgive them. If they had cursed him a hundred times, he would curse back several hundred times. If they had kicked him once, he would kick back seven or eight times until they rolled on the ground and nearly died.
Liu Xian Yang said he wanted to become the best craftsman among all the dragon kilns, learning all of Old Yao's skills. The porcelain he fired would become objects placed on the emperor's table, and the emperor would treat them as family heirlooms. When he got old and became an old man, Liu Xian Yang would definitely be more imposing than Old Yao, scolding every clumsy apprentice and student until they were utterly disgraced.
Liu Xian Yang also hoped that he could smash bricks with a single punch, jump across the widest stream in one step, and that everyone who had studied in the village school, everyone who could spout a few flowery phrases, would look at him with new respect and beg to write Spring Festival couplets for his family.
Back then, each of them had dreams that they themselves thought were huge, the biggest possible.
But none of them imagined that, compared to the twists of fate they would later encounter, those dreams, as huge as they seemed then, were actually not that big—one could even say they were small.
But Gu Can became the kind of person that the three of them had most despised back then.
Liu Xian Yang did not become that kind of chivalrous hero, but instead became a true scholar.
And Chen Ping'an, who only wanted a stable life, did not end up living so stably.
He didn't earn less money, he walked a very far jianghu, and he encountered people and things he had never dared to imagine before. He was no longer the straw-sandal child carrying a large basket up the mountain to gather herbs. Instead, he had a large basket that couldn't be seen or touched, filled with big and small stories he had picked up along life's path, stories he couldn't bear to forget or discard.
Some stories had endings far from perfect. Lovers did not become spouses, good people seemed not to be rewarded, and some partings that seemed not so sad at the time turned out to be partings with no hope of reunion. Some stories had beautiful endings but also regrets. Some stories had yet to reach their conclusion.
But Chen Ping'an had always believed that seeing light in darkness, and finding hope in despair and desperation, was never wrong.
Chen Ping'an set down his wine bowl, staring blankly into space.
He remembered Old Yao, who liked to stand alone with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
He remembered the first time he followed the old man into the mountains to find suitable clay for firing porcelain. Suddenly, a heavy snow began to fall, the wind bitterly cold, and the snow piled up to his knees. The thin-clothed straw-sandal youth nearly froze to death.
The silent old man walked ahead without looking back, only slowing his pace and speaking a few extra words, reluctantly: "Walking mountain paths in the dead of winter, freezing cold, finally earning a bit of money, not willing to spend a single coin, and you want to freeze to death?"
"It's cold and the road is far—wear more clothes. Can't you figure that out? If your parents didn't teach you, can't you think for yourself?"
On that seemingly endless snowy road, the suffering boy, hearing even harsher words, couldn't even cry.
The old man never cared whether Chen Ping'an lived or died.
But when Chen Ping'an once again felt that genuine despair, someone caught up to him. Not only did that person bring Chen Ping'an a large bundle containing a thick cotton coat and dry rations, but that tall youth also cursed the old man—the one Chen Ping'an had formally kowtowed to as a master—calling him a bastard.
Before Chen Ping'an knew it, someone grabbed him by the neck and yanked him backward, causing him to fall.
Instead of letting up, that person tightened his arm, rubbing Chen Ping'an's head vigorously with his other hand, and laughed loudly: "You've grown quite a bit now! Did you ask my permission?!"
Chen Ping'an's eyes reddened, and he murmured, "Why did you only come now?"
The one person in the world who could meddle in Chen Ping'an's life, and whom Chen Ping'an would be willing to listen to, had arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Because he was Liu Xian Yang.