Chapter 664: Two Sword Immortals
A Liang stood up, hearing a horn sound from afar on the battlefield. The Barbarian Olden World was sounding the retreat.
Both sides would each clean up their own battlefields. For the next great battle's conclusion, perhaps there would be no need for the horn's sound.
A Liang arrived at the pavilion on Dragon-Slaying Cliff, released the empty wine jug in his hand, spun around once, let out a howl, and kicked the wine jug out of the pavilion. It smashed onto the martial training ground.
The great battle had come to a temporary halt. For a moment, the sword cultivators on the city wall, like migratory birds heading north, returned home one after another. Streaks of sword light painted a picturesque scene.
Secluding themselves for cultivation, healing wounds, refining swords, drinking wine.
The dead had passed on. The grief of the survivors would all be dissolved in wine bowls, whether gulped down heartily or sipped slowly, at the table.
A Liang forgot which eminent person had said at a wine table that a person's stomach was the best wine vat in the world; old friends and old stories were the best raw ingredients. Add the gall bladder, then blend in the joys and sorrows of partings and reunions, and you could brew the finest wine, with endless flavor.
After a moment's thought, he slapped his thigh. This eminent person was none other than himself.
Being too self-deprecating as a person was really not good. He needed to change.
Soon, a group of people flew on their swords from the city wall back to the Ning Estate. Ning Yao suddenly made a sharp descent, landing at the main gate, speaking with the old woman.
The rest—Chen Sanqiu, Diezhang, Dong Huafu, Yan Zhuo, Fan Dache—continued straight to the pavilion, drifting down gracefully, sheathing their swords.
A Liang propped one hand on a pavilion pillar, standing with the toes of one foot touching the ground, looking at the woman standing gracefully. He sighed emotionally, "Diezhang has grown into a big girl."
Diezhang smiled and called out, "A Liang."
When she was little, Diezhang had often accompanied A Liang, squatting at street corners and alleys, worrying. He, a man, worried about how to scrape together money for wine; she, a little girl, worried about why she wasn't allowed to go buy wine yet. Every time she bought wine, she could earn some copper coins or bits of silver as a delivery fee. When copper coins "fought" with each other in the tattered cloth money pouch, if you added a piece or two of silver, that was the most delightful sound in the world. Unfortunately, A Liang had too many tabs, and many innkeepers and tavern owners were afraid when they saw her.
Dong Huafu asked, "Where is she bigger?"
A Liang said with a grin, "Go ask your mother."
Dong Huafu chuckled, "Peak upon peak, layer upon layer. My mother said you gave Diezhang this name with bad intentions."
A Liang said helplessly, "What nonsense is this? Tell your mother to read fewer romance novels from the Haoran World. With all those books your family has collected, you've made who knows how many unscrupulous book merchants in Southern Potala Continent rich. The block prints are poor, the content is crude. Out of ten books, not a single one is worth reading a second time. And your sister is a girl who has no conscience—tearing out so many key pages, what for? Using them as toilet paper?"
Dong Huafu said nothing. He had a hand in that matter too. His sister would flip through the pages rapidly, with murderous intent, and he was only responsible for helping tear out the pages. Then his sister would secretly bind them into a booklet.
Chen Sanqiu kicked off his boots, sat cross-legged in a leisurely posture, leaning back against the railing.
He liked Dong Bude, and Dong Bude liked A Liang, but that wasn't Chen Sanqiu's reason for disliking A Liang.
On the contrary, Chen Sanqiu admired A Liang's carefree nature and was grateful for some of A Liang's actions back then.
For instance, for Chen Sanqiu's sake, A Liang had once had a big argument in private with the Elder Sword Immortal, cursing out Chen Xi, the head of the Chen Clan, but never told Chen Sanqiu about it from start to finish. Chen Sanqiu only learned about these inside details afterward, and by the time he knew, A Liang had already left the Sword Qi Great Wall, wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a bamboo knife, quietly returning to his hometown.
Some sword immortals had very high swordsmanship but were not free, never at ease within the world between heaven and earth.
Yet A Liang, who seemed the most free, always said that true freedom was never about having no attachments.
Fatty Yan was massaging the man's shoulders and pounding his back, asking in a low voice, "A Liang, A Liang, with my swordsmanship now, if I go to the Haoran World, can I make a fairy maiden's heart beat like a deer? You said before that as long as you're a sword immortal, even if your looks aren't that handsome, when you draw your sword, it's the best rouge for a woman. When they see brilliant swordsmanship, it's like they've applied blush on their cheeks. Is that still true or not?"
A Liang nodded, "It's true. How could it not be true? I'm very familiar with the Haoran World. If you ever get a chance to travel there, I'll give you a map with all the mountain peaks that have immortals marked on it. Don't be stupid and go challenge them with your sword. Just go to the foot of the mountain, rise on your sword, circle the peak once, perform a set of sword techniques, and finish. During that time, don't say a word. Take out your wine jug and leave the fairies with the sight of your back as you look up and drink. At that very moment, you recite a poem loudly and then ride off into the distance..."
Yan Zhuo's head was as big as a winnowing basket. "A Liang, I don't know how to recite poems."
A Liang said, "I have some. A booklet with over three hundred lines, all poems tailor-made for sword immortals like us. Friend price, sell it to you?"
Dong Huafu asked, "The poems in that booklet, haven't you already worn them out from overuse?"
A Liang looked a bit embarrassed.
Fan Dache was the most reserved.
He wasn't familiar with Senior A Liang.
Even though Senior A Liang was approachable, to Fan Dache, he was still lofty and unreachable—close at hand yet far away.
It was like many young sword cultivators meeting old sword immortals and great sword immortals like Dong San'geng or Lu Zhi. The seniors might not look down on the juniors, but the juniors often couldn't help looking down on themselves.
A Liang smiled. "Your name is Fan Dache, right?"
Fan Dache quickly nodded, flattered.
A Liang said, "You broke through to the Golden Core Realm a bit earlier than the Elder Sword Immortal and I originally expected."
Fan Dache couldn't believe it.
He could be noticed by Senior A Liang and the Elder Sword Immortal?
A Liang laughed. "Actually, the Elder Sword Immortal has been watching every child's growth. It's just that the Elder Sword Immortal is a shy person and doesn't like to be polite."
This was hard to respond to.
After all, he wasn't the Second Shopkeeper who treated people with sincerity.
After Ning Yao parted ways with Old Bai, she walked up the stone path on Dragon-Slaying Cliff. By the time Ning Yao reached the pavilion, A Liang had already sat down with the others.
Ning Yao looked tired. She asked, "A Liang, is he badly hurt?"
"That kid couldn't sleep soundly, so I knocked him out. He's snoring like thunder now. Much better."
A Liang spoke plainly. "Chen Ping'an probably won't be able to leave the city to fight in the short term. You should have stopped him from fighting that earlier battle. It was too dangerous. He can't get into the habit of betting his life."
Ning Yao shook her head. "I let him decide major matters. I can't persuade him."
A Liang clicked his tongue in wonder. "Are you still the Ning Yao I know?"
Ning Yao sat down silently, her shoulder leaning against the pavilion pillar.
She carried a sword box on her back and wore a snow-white dharma robe.
Inside the pavilion, they chatted casually.
Mostly Dong Huafu asking A Liang about his experiences in the Green Firmament World. A Liang boasted about how impressive he was over there—beating the Second Old Master of Dao wasn't really a big deal, since the fight ended in a draw, but being able to charm the entire White Jade Capital with his presence alone, without drawing a single sword, was a feat that not everyone could pull off.
Speaking with feigned ease, there must be something hard to let go of.
In the end, A Liang gave some pointers on swordsmanship to the young people, pointing out the bottlenecks and obstacles in their respective cultivations, then stood up to take his leave. "I'm going to find an old acquaintance to get some wine. You all should head home too."
Ning Yao stood up and watched A Liang and all the friends ride their swords away.
She walked down Dragon-Slaying Cliff alone, went to that small residence, gently pushed open the door, stepped over the threshold, sat down by the bed, and softly held Chen Ping'an's left hand, which had somehow slipped out from under the covers. It was still trembling slightly—an outward sign of a trembling soul and unstable qi. Ning Yao moved gently, putting Chen Ping'an's hand back under the quilt. She bent down and wiped the sweat from his forehead, then used one finger to gently smooth his slightly furrowed brow.
Chen Ping'an liked her, and Ning Yao was very happy.
But because Chen Ping'an liked her, he had to be this tired. Ning Yao was angry at herself.
So just as Chen Ping'an's brow relaxed in his sleep, her own brow furrowed.
What could she do? She couldn't stop liking him, and she couldn't bear to have him stop liking her.
These worries of love, having barely left her brow, settled once again on her heart.
---
A Liang went straight back to the city wall, but not to his thatched hut. Instead, he sat down beside Wu Chengpei, who was still diligently refining his sword.
Wu Chengpei gazed out at the battlefield. That golden river had already been taken away by the saints of the Three Teachings. On the earth, there were still scattered skirmishes.
His face showed no trace of sorrow, but he had unspeakable pain in his heart.
To many wandering sword cultivators who came from afar for the first time, the native sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall were almost all eccentric in temperament and hard to get close to.
A Liang didn't speak either.
Wu Chengpei finally spoke. "I heard from Mihuo that before Zhou Cheng died, he said, 'Living is meaningless anyway, so I'll just try dying.' Tao Wen said dying a quick death was rare relief. I envy them."
A Liang said, "Indeed, not everyone can choose how to live, so they can only choose how to die. But I still say a living dog is better than a dead lion."
Wu Chengpei said, "In the years you've been away, all the wandering sword cultivators—whether they're alive or dead now, and regardless of whether their realm is high or low—have earned my respect. I no longer have any resentment towards the Haoran World."
A Liang took out a jug of immortal wine, removed the clay seal, swirled it gently, sniffed the rich aroma, and laughed. "Another autumn has passed in the wine. The flavor of the wine surpasses the fragrance of osmanthus every year. The wines of the Haoran World and the Green Firmament World are both inferior to that of the Sword Qi Great Wall."
Wu Chengpei suddenly asked, "A Liang, have you ever truly loved a woman?"
A Liang thought for a moment and was about to speak, but Wu Chengpei shook his head. "Don't answer. Asking this question already makes me regret it. I'm afraid hearing the answer would make me regret it even more."
A Liang smiled. "When you walk the martial world, if you don't have a little love story, what's the point of drinking? Look at those lovestruck fools—which one isn't a drunkard soaked in a wine vat? On the battlefield of love, everyone is a coward."
Wu Chengpei was a bit surprised. This damned A Liang actually said a few serious words without any crude jokes for once.
Lu Zhi made a rare appearance, sitting on Wu Chengpei's other side.
A Liang tossed the wine jug in his hand to her, but Lu Zhi slapped it back. A Liang caught the jug and grumbled, "Why be so polite with your A Liang Big Brother? It's just a jug of wine."
Lu Zhi raised her arm.
A Liang sighed mournfully, took out a new jug of wine, and tossed it over. "A woman of heroic spirit should not be bothered by trivial formalities."
After drinking some wine, Lu Zhi asked, "I heard that in the Green Firmament World, there's a lineage of Daoist sword immortals with a long history. How is their swordsmanship exactly? Compared to the Grand Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain?"
A Liang rubbed his chin. "You mean Sun Zhangjiao from the Grand Mystic Abyss Temple? Never dealt with him. A bit of a pity. The female priests of the Grand Mystic Abyss Temple... ah, no, wait, I mean the peach grove in that temple—whether there are people or not, the scenery is excellent. As for the Grand Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, I'm quite familiar with him. Those noble personages in purple and yellow robes from the Heavenly Master Mansion are especially enthusiastic every time they receive guests. Truly a grand mobilization."
Meeting without exchanging a word, they'd first greet you with a Five Thunder Strike from the heavens—indeed, very enthusiastic.
A Liang pushed aside Wu Chengpei's head and said to Lu Zhi with a smile, "If you're interested, when you visit the Heavenly Master Mansion later, you can first name-drop me."
Lu Zhi sneered, "Name-drop you? Doesn't that mean I'm challenging Dragon Tiger Mountain to a sword duel?"
A Liang laughed loudly, "On the Sword Qi Great Wall, no one knows me better than Lu Zhi."
Wu Chengpei said, "You two, I'm refining my sword. Go drink and chat somewhere else."
Lu Zhi said, "When the heart dies before the person, you can't forge a good sword."
Wu Chengpei said, "No need for your concern. I only know that my flying sword 'Sweet Rain' is still among the top three of the A-grade, even if I never refine it again. The A-grade records of the Summer Resort Mansion are written clearly. Sword Immortal Lu's lifebound flying sword is only in the B-grade."
Lu Zhi said, "Wait for me to finish this wine."
Wu Chengpei said, "I beg you, drink faster."
Sword Immortal Wu Chengpei wasn't skilled in one-on-one combat, but he was famously unafraid of anyone on the Sword Qi Great Wall. Back then, A Liang had suffered a lot from Wu Chengpei.
Wu Chengpei had said a casual sentence that made A Liang drink sorrowful wine for half a year.
"You, A Liang, have a high realm and a big background, and you won't die anyway. What are you trying to show off in front of me?"
What makes people uncomfortable is never speech that is completely unreasonable, but speech that sounds somewhat reasonable but not entirely so.
Right now, A Liang waved his hand grandly and shouted to two old sword cultivators sitting at the north and south ends of the city wall, "I'm setting up a betting pool! Cheng Quan, Zhao Geyi! Place your bets!"
But Lu Zhi had already stood up, tossed her wine jug outside the city wall, and rode her sword away.
After Lu Zhi had gone far, A Liang said, "Lu Zhi used to see everyone as outsiders. She's changed a lot now. She rarely speaks to you as a friend. Why didn't you appreciate it?"
Wu Chengpei looked dazed. "Hearing friendly words only makes it more painful."
A Liang nodded. "True."
Wu Chengpei said, "You know about Xiao Xun's matter, right?"
A Liang leaned back, lying down with his head on his hands, crossing his legs. "Everyone has their own aspirations."
Wu Chengpei suddenly said, "About that matter back then, I never thanked you and never apologized. Today, I'll make up for both. I'm sorry, and thank you."
But A Liang said, "In other worlds, sword cultivators like us brothers—with good swordsmanship and good looks—are very popular."
Indeed, Wu Chengpei was a handsome man. In the conversations of many foreign women, he was often paired with Mi Yu and called the "Jade Pair."
Only one was a faithful lover, the other a romantic.
Having seen the looks and bearing of two Jade Pure Realm sword cultivators with their own eyes, those foreign women, who all felt it was worth the trip, finally realized that men could be this beautiful too. "Beauty" wasn't a word exclusive to women.
Wu Chengpei placed his sword from the Sword Workshop horizontally across his knees, gazed into the distance, and murmured softly, "Walking to where the water ends, sitting and watching the clouds rise."
Wu Chengpei then asked, "How about 'Sitting and watching the mountain clouds rise'? Adding the character 'mountain' to echo the 'water'—would that be better?"
A Liang said casually, "Not good. More words, less meaning."
Wu Chengpei pondered for a moment and nodded. "Makes sense."
A Liang smiled. "Since when did you become so fond of refined pursuits?"
Wu Chengpei replied, "Had nothing to do, so I flipped through the 'Catalogue of the Two Hundred Sword Immortals' Seal Collection. Quite interesting."
A Liang looked puzzled. "What the hell is that?"
Wu Chengpei smiled. "Don't recognize the character 'bai'? How did you become a scholar? Didn't your father die of anger?"
A Liang grinned. "Your father is about to die of anger because of you."
Wu Chengpei stretched lazily, a smile on his face, and said slowly, "A gentleman's heart is like a clear sky, bright as a mirror. A gentleman's friendship: if we agree, we walk the same path; if we part, no harsh words. A gentleman's conduct is like wild grass and morning dew: pleasant when it comes, lovely when it goes."
A Liang was stunned. "Did I say that?"
Wu Chengpei laughed. "A scholar said it."
---
When Chen Ping'an woke again, he could move without hindrance. Learning that the Barbarian Olden World had stopped attacking, he didn't feel much relief.
He couldn't find Ning Yao. Old Bai was teaching fist techniques over at the Retreat Pavilion, so Chen Ping'an flew on his sword to the Summer Resort Mansion. There, he found A Liang sitting on the doorstep, chatting with Chou Miao.
Chou Miao, Dong Bude, and the other native sword cultivators were all very familiar with A Liang, but for wandering sword cultivators like Lin Junbi, A Liang was just a name. Everyone had heard of him, but no one had seen him.
A Liang had spent over a hundred years on the Sword Qi Great Wall. For cultivators from the Haoran World who weren't very old, A Liang was nothing more than legends passed down by word of mouth.
Jiang Shangzhen of the North Juzhou Continent had many stories, but A Liang, who had already traveled through three worlds, had even more.
Because the two landscape scrolls spread out in the Summer Resort Mansion couldn't reach the battlefield south of the golden river, none of the sword cultivators of the Hidden Official lineage had witnessed A Liang's two earlier sword strikes firsthand. They could only sense his brilliance through the compiled intelligence reports. As a result, young sword cultivators like Lin Junbi and Cao Gun were even more restrained than Fan Dache when they saw A Liang in person.
Song Gaoyuan, who came from Fuyang Continent, was even more excited, his face flushed red, but he didn't dare speak.
From a young age, Song Gaoyuan had known that a certain female ancestor in his lineage deeply admired A Liang. Back then, taking advantage of his youth, Song Gaoyuan had asked many questions that were actually taboo. That female ancestor had shared many old stories with the child. Song Gaoyuan remembered vividly that whenever the female ancestor spoke of A Liang, she was full of resentment, anger, and shyness, which confused the young Song Gaoyuan. It was only much later that he realized that look was what a woman had when she truly liked someone.
Guo Zhujiu squatted beside the doorstep, holding her cheeks in her hands, staring intently at A Liang.
She was too young; she had never seen A Liang before.
Today, she was going to stare a few more times to make up for it.
Occasionally, Guo Zhujiu turned her head to glance a few times at the old spinster [Dong Bude?], then at Deng Liang, who liked the old spinster.
A Liang was getting creeped out by this little girl who never forgot to carry a bamboo box on her back.
The little girls on the Sword Qi Great Wall these days were no pushovers.
Occasionally, when their eyes met, the little girl would immediately grin widely. A Liang, for the first time, felt a bit awkward and could only smile along with her.
It reminded him inexplicably of that little bastard Li Huai, the epitome of the pure folk customs of that small town.
Guo Zhujiu spotted Chen Ping'an and immediately bounced up to him. Her expression became instantly worried, as if she wanted to say something but held back.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "It's fine. I'll just heal slowly."
Guo Zhujiu nodded vigorously, then pointed towards the doorstep and lowered her voice, "Master! It's alive! It's the living A Liang!"
Chen Ping'an rubbed the little girl's head. "Forgot? Senior A Liang and I have known each other for a long time."
A Liang stuck out his thumb and laughed. "You took on a good disciple."
Guo Zhujiu returned the favor, sticking out her own thumb. Probably thinking that wasn't enough courtesy, she stuck out another thumb too. "My master got to know a good senior."
A Liang also stuck out another thumb. "Little girl, good eyes."
Guo Zhujiu maintained the pose. "Sister Dong, good judgment!"
A Liang said, "Sword Immortal Guo, good fortune."
Guo Zhujiu was about to continue speaking when she received a knuckle tap on the head from her master. She had to put her hands down. "Senior, you win."
Finally, Guo Zhujiu swaggered inside.
Chen Ping'an and A Liang sat on the doorstep, one on each side.
Two sword immortals, two scholars, began drinking together.