Chapter 689: A Young Man's Little Story
After a heavy snowfall, the capital of the Great Spring Dynasty, Mirage City, became a rare beauty in this world.
Mirage City was filled with magnificent buildings, and Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries were scattered like stars. Thus, the beauty was not during the snowfall, but during the snowmelt. One had to climb high to appreciate the snow, overlooking the city, which resembled a colorful glazed fairyland, with flowing clouds and brilliant colors, crystal clear and flawless.
Jiang Shangzhen and the Splashed Silk Lady entered this earthly paradise just as the snow was melting. But beautiful scenes in the world are like beautiful women; they seem unable to withstand prolonged, close scrutiny. Jiang Shangzhen had barely entered the city before he lost interest. The lady, however, had concerns weighing on her heart and had no appreciation for the scenery either.
Jiang Shangzhen obtained a travel permit, naturally using the name Zhou Fei. This was indeed a name full of good fortune. Jiang Shangzhen wished he could change even the Jade Gui Sect's genealogical register to Zhou Fei. Unfortunately, being the sect leader, and with that old man Xun Yuan, who was like a supreme patriarch, neither would allow Jiang the sect leader to be so frivolous. That old fellow simply didn't understand the annoying principle of an old horse unwilling to leave its stable.
The Splashed Silk Lady, being attached to Ninth Lady, didn't need such trouble. She originally had the identity of a member of the Yao family from the border army. Her father was Yao Zhen, an old general who had dismounted, removed his armor, and entered the capital to become an official, serving as the Minister of War for the Great Spring Dynasty. However, it was said that in the past two years his health had been failing, and he rarely attended morning court or night shifts. The young emperor had specially invited several immortals to offer prayers for him at the Central Marchmount Lord's Mansion and the Bury River Azure Wandering Palace. The old minister enjoyed such extraordinary treatment not only because Yao Zhen himself was the backbone of the Great Spring military, but also because his granddaughter, Yao Jinzhi, was now the Great Spring Empress.
After entering the city, Jiang Shangzhen, dressed in a scholar's robe and carrying a bookcase on his back, tapped the ground with his green bamboo traveling staff, making a "duo duo duo" sound. He looked like a country bumpkin visiting the capital for the first time, and smiled, "Ninth Lady, are you going directly to the palace to visit the Empress, or will you first return to the Yao Mansion to greet your father and see your daughter? If it's the latter, please be careful of rogues roaming the streets along the way."
The Splashed Silk Lady was Ninth Lady, but Ninth Lady was not the Splashed Silk Lady.
That tail she had cut off herself, which had caused Xun Yuan to exclaim "How strange!" was actually on Yao Jinzhi. It had long since merged souls with this Great Spring Empress, serving to protect Yao Jinzhi, this younger generation bearer of fortune. Besides this, it was also a determined gesture the Splashed Silk Lady intentionally made for the Great Fu Academy to see. By cutting off the most fundamental tail of her Great Dao, she fell from the immortal realm to the Jade Marrow realm. If the world fell into chaos in the future, she would similarly stand aside and help neither side.
The lady wore a veil hat to conceal her face, and asked softly, "Sect Leader Jiang, how many days can you stay in the capital at most?"
Jiang Shangzhen said, "Catch up on old times, drink wine, visit those temples, and admire the 'Forty Farts of Ox Mountain' on the walls. Stroll through those Taoist temples, find an opportunity to bump into that Madame Caozhou who was demoted and exiled from Hundred Flowers Blessed Land. And by the way, see what that old fellow Xun Yuan is up to, since he seems to have so many things to do. Is ten days enough for you, Ninth Lady?"
The lady performed a curtsy and said, "Thank you, Sect Leader Jiang."
The two parted ways. It seemed Ninth Lady would first go to the Yao Mansion to visit her family. Old Minister Yao was actually in good health. But the Yao family had been rising too rapidly in recent years. Add to that the many students and disciples from border army backgrounds who clustered together in official circles, their influence spreading like branches and leaves. The younger generations had achieved considerable accomplishments in both civil and military paths within the Great Spring court. Furthermore, Yao Zhen's youngest daughter had married Li Xiling, whose father—Yao Zhen's in-law—had once been the Minister of Personnel. Although the old man had voluntarily stepped back to avoid suspicion and resigned many years ago, he was still a civil leader with students scattered throughout the court and countryside. He was also the teacher of the succeeding Minister of Personnel. So when Yao Zhen entered the capital to preside over the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War naturally had a good rapport. Even if Yao Zhen wished to change this rather taboo-avoiding configuration, he was powerless.
Take the old minister's grandson, Yao Xianzhi, who had already become the youngest Scout Commandant in the history of the Great Spring border army. Because all previous evaluations by the Ministry of Personnel and military selections by the Ministry of War were full of praise for Yao Xianzhi, and because Yao Xianzhi had indeed achieved outstanding military merit, the Emperor himself greatly favored this brother-in-law. Thus, even if Yao Zhen wanted this beloved grandson to advance more slowly in officialdom, he could no longer manage it.
His granddaughter Yao Lingzhi, however—Ninth Lady's only daughter—was an exception. She had practiced martial arts since childhood and had excellent talent. After entering the capital, she frequently left to travel the martial arts world, often for two or three years at a time. She had little interest in marriage. The group of wealthy and powerful young men in the capital, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, were all wary of this old maid who was ruthless in her attacks and had powerful backing. They would automatically detour when they saw her.
Jiang Shangzhen watched her graceful figure receding into the distance and smiled, "This really feels like a husband sending his wife back to her parents' home."
Afterwards, Jiang Shangzhen had a hard time asking for directions. He finally managed to find an unremarkable small martial arts school, established over a decade ago. The school's master, Liu Zong, was of second or third rate skill in a capital like the Great Spring's, which was crowded with martial arts schools. Whenever there was a gathering of peers to discuss whether some out-of-town boxer could open a school or to arrange for three school masters to test his skills, Liu Zong could only take the lowest seat. Afterwards, when it came time to test the boxer, Liu Zong was often the one to step forward first, because Liu Zong was sure to lose—it was a way of giving face to the outsider from the start.
As time passed, the capital's martial arts world had a saying: "Liu Zong, the master who always loses at fistfighting." If not for this reputation making Liu Zong somewhat known, Jiang Shangzhen reckoned he wouldn't have been able to find the school's address just by asking directions.
Two men were guarding the school's entrance, a sturdy young man and a skinny youth, busy clearing snow from the front door. When the young man saw Jiang Shangzhen, he ignored him.
The youth, at least somewhat concerned for the school's business, sized up this man dressed as a traveling scholar and asked curiously, "Sir, have you come to our school to learn boxing?"
Jiang Shangzhen smiled, "I have no relatives or friends in the city. Fortunately, I'm an old acquaintance of your Master Liu from the martial world, so I've come to beg for a cup of hot tea."
The youth smiled. He was an honest sort, and prepared to lead this scholar inside. A small martial arts school had its advantages—not too many messy martial world grudges. Out-of-town heroes who came to the capital to make a living weren't interested in using their school to warm up. Winning wouldn't be anything to brag about, and given the old master's good temper, there were no enemies coming to their door.
The sturdy man beside him, who wasn't wearing a padded jacket even in the heavy snow, had been listlessly sweeping the snow. Suddenly, he noticed two neighboring women passing by on the street in front of the school. He gave a low shout, muscles bulging, and with a sinking of his dantian, slightly bent his knees and began to spin rapidly. In an instant, countless snow particles flew up at the school entrance. The two women were annoyed and embarrassed, muttered a few curses, and quickly ran away.
The scholar hopped to dodge the broom, but slipped on the ground, lost his footing after landing, and fell. The sturdy man laughed loudly, not bothering to apologize, and instead mocked the scholar for having such weak legs and no stability in his lower body. That wouldn't do! Had his wife been stolen by some wild man, and since he couldn't out-argue or outfight the bastard, he'd come to learn boxing and suffer hardship?
The youth grew anxious. He had heard that scholars cared most about face, and this man was the master's guest, so they couldn't humiliate him casually. What if he had some scholarly rank, or was a juren gentleman who had come for the spring imperial examination? If it came to a lawsuit at the yamen, the school would be in serious trouble.
Fortunately, the scholar seemed like the sort of soft persimmon used to being squeezed. He smiled, "It's not about learning boxing. I can't endure hardship."
This commotion caused the two women to frequently look back, covering their mouths with tittering laughter. What kind of bookworm was this? If he wanted to learn fist and foot techniques, he was already so good-looking that women would be willing to steal other men's husbands for him.
The youth led Jiang Shangzhen to the back courtyard of the martial arts school.
Liu Zong, the knife-grinder, was walking the stakes, slowly throwing punches.
The old man had simply lost in the "appearance" department from birth. His hair was sparse, his features were ugly and misshapen, and he always gave off a lecherous, vulgar feeling. No matter how high his boxing skills were, he had no master's demeanor.
But back in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Liu Zong had fought alongside the Southern Garden Kingdom's State Teacher Zhong Qiu and the banished immortal Chen Ping'an, three pure martial artists who went from enemies to allies, fighting side by side.
Liu Zong had also fought against Yu Zhenyi, who had already cultivated immortal arts.
He really couldn't win. He truly couldn't win.
Jiang Shangzhen smiled, "Elder Brother Liu, do you still recognize your fellow townsman Zhou Fei?"
The old man immediately stopped his boxing stance, told the young disciple to leave, and sat down on the steps. "Over the years, I've made many inquiries. It seems there never was any Zhou Fei or Chen Ping'an in the Parasol Leaf Continent. But I have heard of the sword immortal Lu Fang. Of course, at most, I've learned about mountain affairs through some marketplace rumors and by borrowing landscape gazettes from a few immortal guesthouses."
Jiang Shangzhen looked around and said, "Since you're already at the bottleneck of the Golden Body realm, why are you still holed up here? Has the heroic spirit of the knife-grinder from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land been completely worn down by the immortal aura of the Haoran World?"
Liu Zong snorted, "What else? In this homeland of yours, those mountain immortals casually move mountains and overturn seas, summoning clouds and rain. Especially those sword immortals. A Golden Body realm martial artist like me, encountering any one of them, would have my eggs facing heaven—how could I bear that? Using my life to exchange for some empty fame isn't worth it."
Jiang Shangzhen took off his bookcase and sat on it as a stool. "The Great Spring Dynasty has always revered martial arts, constantly fighting against the Southern Qi and Northern Jin dynasties at the borders. If you were to attach yourself to the Great Spring Liu Clan and join the army to temper your martial path, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? As long as you successfully break through to the Distant Travel realm, even the Great Spring Emperor would treat you with courtesy. Then you could leave the border, become a behind-the-scenes honored guest for someone like Li Li of the Shougong Acacia, and live a peaceful life. When Li Li 'died of illness' back then, the capital was very short of experts to sit in command."
Liu Zong shook his head. "A person can't end up as a pitiful creature who doesn't even get to choose how to die. By your reasoning, back in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, I could have just picked any emperor to serve. The days now are a bit hard, but very free. Anyway, I've never stopped practicing martial arts. When it's time for Liu Zong's Distant Travel realm, it will come slowly, but it will eventually come."
Jiang Shangzhen nodded. "No wonder Chen Ping'an holds you in some regard."
Liu Zong smiled and asked, "That young sword immortal, is he from another continent? Otherwise, being so young, he wouldn't have a small reputation on this Parasol Leaf Continent. How's he doing now?"
Jiang Shangzhen thought for a moment. "Hard to say."
As for this knife-grinder, of course he hadn't told the truth—or rather, he had been almost entirely talking nonsense. Otherwise, Jiang Shangzhen wouldn't have seen the name "Liu Zong" in the intricate intelligence reports of the Jade Gui Sect. In fact, after leaving the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Liu Zong had made quite a name for himself, fighting many times with Qi practitioners. He was now not only an unregistered honored guest of the Golden Summit Temple, but also one of the Dragon-Supporting men personally selected by the late Great Spring Emperor Liu Zhen. To ensure the new emperor could ascend smoothly, he had even gone so far as to place the eldest prince Liu Cong, who held military power in the north, under house arrest in the capital on the pretext of "recuperating from illness." Liu Zong was precisely the watchman at the prince's mansion, making him a trusted confidant of the current Son of Heaven.
An old hand at self-preservation in the martial world—Jiang Shangzhen could understand it. After all, Zhou Fei of the Spring Tide Palace didn't have a very good reputation in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land's martial world.
The previous idle chat had just been Jiang Shangzhen amusing himself by teasing Liu Zong.
For instance, Chen Ping'an had once clashed with the third prince Liu Mao at Ninth Lady's inn in Fox Town. He had not only killed Shen Guogong Gao Shizhen's son but also personally slain Wei Li, the Seal Holder of the Imperial Horse Supervisor. He was a deadly enemy of two former princes of the Great Spring. Chen Ping'an also had an excellent relationship with the Yao family. It could even be said that the loss of hereditary nobility for the Shen Guogong mansion, Liu Cong's house arrest, the exposure of the third prince Liu Mao and Academy gentleman Wang Qi's affairs, and the current Son of Heaven's eventual successful emergence—all were deeply connected to Chen Ping'an. Given Liu Zong's status, he naturally couldn't be completely ignorant of these palace secrets; he must have heard something.
Liu Zong was talking nonsense over there, and Jiang Shangzhen just listened.
Liu Zong's only mistake was not knowing that the "Zhou Fei" before him was actually the leader of the entire Parasol Leaf Continent's mountain world.
Even if he had indeed heard that one of the sword immortal Lu Fang's good friends was Jiang Shangzhen of the Jade Gui Sect, Liu Zong would never have imagined in his wildest dreams that the clan head of a Cloud Cavern Blessed Land, a mountain summit immortal of the Upper Five Realms, would be willing to waste sixty years in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, being that damned Spring Tide Palace master. Would an immortal who could easily travel afar, dine on clouds and drink dew, actually enjoy rolling around in the mud for fun? Having long since "ascended" from the blessed land to the Haoran World, Liu Zong was no stranger to the mountain scene in this world. The cultivators here were all like Yu Zhenyi in their moral conduct of severing emotions and desires. He had even seen quite a few Earth Immortals who were far inferior to Yu Zhenyi in their genuine pursuit of the Dao.
Liu Zong sighed emotionally, "This world is indeed full of wonders. When I first arrived here, I saw with my own eyes water gods borrowing boats, city gods conducting night trials, fox spirits haunting people, and such things. In my homeland, how could I have imagined it? No wonder those banished immortals regarded us as frogs at the bottom of a well."
Jiang Shangzhen smiled, "See enough of these ghosts and spirits, and they're just so-so. On the contrary, it's more interesting to stubbornly watch for a few more years the one born to demolish the house on the day the roof beam goes up."
Liu Zong didn't want to beat around the bush with this man. He asked directly, "Zhou Fei, what is your purpose in coming to me this time? Recruiting helpers, or settling old scores? If I remember correctly, in the blessed land, you were philandering among flowers, and I was keeping a broken-down shop. We had no grievances. If you're here out of a bit of fellow townsman sentiment, truly to catch up on old times, then I'll treat you to some wine."
Jiang Shangzhen said, "Wine is out of the question. I only drink fine wine. How much silver can your martial arts school earn? Don't worry, I'm really not here for you. I happened to be traveling far with a friend to Mirage City and chanced to hear the illustrious name 'Liu Zong,' so I thought I'd try my luck. I didn't expect it to actually be you. It seems my luck is good right now. Taking advantage of this favorable fortune, I'll go tonight to seek out Madame Caozhou and see if I can glimpse her beauty. Elder Brother Liu, would you like to join me for a night stroll? With your fine looks to set off my humble self, I'll have a better chance of winning Madame Caozhou's favor."
Liu Zong stroked his beard and smiled, "Brother Zhou's charm remains undiminished."
Jiang Shangzhen smiled slightly, "Judging by my scholar's attire, you can tell I came prepared."
Liu Zong asked with a smile, "Are you truly just a passerby?"
Jiang Shangzhen nodded. "So please, Elder Brother Liu, put away that boning knife up your sleeve. Such hospitality is quite frightening to your little brother."
---
Finally approaching that Central Divine Continent, Liu Chicheng had been unusually silent throughout this journey. After the Resting Dragon Stone, he had been in this half-dead state.
Chai Bofu, deep down, was already utterly impressed by Liu Chicheng.
If that little bastard Gu Can was someone blessed with fortune everywhere, then Liu Chicheng and himself were proper fellow sufferers.
Back at the Resting Dragon Stone, while Chai Bofu was busy picking treasures on the mountain, fully displaying his mountain swamp wild cultivator nature, a large group of Qi practitioners had suddenly arrived, rushing over. Both registered immortal masters and mountain swamp wild cultivators were among them, divided into several large and small mountain strongholds, hovering in the wind. They had all come because of the sudden disappearance of the Resting Dragon Stone's restrictions. Chai Bofu wasn't afraid of trouble. Liu Chicheng had opened the restrictions but not closed the door, allowing outsiders to be attracted by the abnormal phenomena. Naturally, he had confidence in his strength. Even setting aside Liu Chicheng's Jade Marrow realm cultivation, just the name of the White Emperor City was enough for them to swagger around anywhere. Moreover, that person was right there in the Green Water Pit. If something really happened, he wouldn't watch them die—especially with Gu Can, his newly accepted direct disciple, present.
Then, on the Resting Dragon Stone, right beside Chai Bofu, an old fisherman in a bamboo hat and green straw raincoat suddenly appeared. He carried a green bamboo pole over his shoulder, from which hung two pale golden carp, threaded through their gills.
This was precisely the Fishing Immortal of the Green Water Pit that Liu Chicheng had mentioned. There were several Lone Riders of the South Sea at the Green Water Pit, but there was only one Fishing Immortal, and his whereabouts had always been unpredictable.
Chai Bofu was about to stand up and show some respect to this senior on the cultivation path, but the old fisherman glanced at him, and Chai Bofu immediately remained motionless.
The old fisherman waved his hand at those Qi practitioners who had come on the wind, indicating that this Resting Dragon Stone was not something they could covet.
A Jade Marrow realm Fishing Immortal whose Great Dao was close to water, situated on his own Resting Dragon Stone with the sea on all sides, possessed immense deterrent power.
If this old fisherman hadn't been guarding the Resting Dragon Stone, and only a few exhausted dragons returning from raining were coiled there, this group of immortal masters, accustomed to the sea wind, could have thoroughly plundered the Resting Dragon Stone with various techniques and divine powers. Historically, the Green Water Pit hadn't cared much about the theft of this Resting Dragon Stone. But if the Fishing Immortal appeared here to drive people away, that was a different matter. As for maritime immortal families, the mountain swamp wild cultivators drifting like duckweed were one thing; the large sects with unmoving island peaks had mostly seen or even personally experienced the power of the Lone Riders of the South Sea.
So the registered immortal masters, weighing the pros and cons, all bowed to the old fisherman and took their leave. The remaining wild cultivators glanced at the precious dragon spittle flowing into the sea, somewhat reluctant.
The Fishing Immortal then pointed at one person. The dragon spittle in the sea quickly gathered, surged up, and enveloped the mountain swamp wild cultivator closest to the Resting Dragon Stone, suffocating him on the spot. His body dissolved.
Liu Chicheng's mind wasn't on the Fishing Immortal. The registered immortal masters tactfully left, and the wild cultivators nervously fled far away. Finally, only two women remained, still hovering in the wind at a distance.
One was a young woman who looked soft and delicate. Her beauty wasn't the kind that captivated at first sight, but rather the enduring kind, very enduring.
Beside her was a little fox spirit with different colored eyes, at the Golden Core realm. Compared to his own Dragon Uncle little brother, she was still a cut above.
Gu Can remained silent throughout.
The old fisherman, for some reason, was even more silent, his expression uncertain.
Liu Chicheng couldn't help but ask, "Young ladies, if you trust me, feel free to climb the mountain and take treasures."
Then Liu Chicheng smiled at the stunningly beautiful fox spirit. She blinked her eyes and then hid behind the young woman.
The young woman wasn't shy at all. She brought the little fox spirit, who looked like a maid, down onto the Resting Dragon Stone.
She told the fox spirit to wait where she was, then climbed the mountain alone.
Liu Chicheng went over to the little fox spirit and smiled, "May I ask the young lady's name, and where does she live? I am Liu Chicheng, a scholar, from White Mountain Country in the Vase Bottle Continent. My hometown is very close to Lake View Academy."
The young woman stepped back a few paces, timidly, "My name is Wei Taizhen, from the North Ju Liang Continent."
This "scholar" in the pink Daoist robe was too strange.
Liu Chicheng's face showed surprise, his eyes filled with pity, and he said softly, "Sister Wei is truly remarkable, coming from so far away! How arduous! On this trip to the Resting Dragon Stone, you must return fully loaded. The quality of these coiled dragon pearls on the mountain is very high, most suitable as the finishing touch for the dragon girl's immortal garment, the Xiangshui skirt. When worn by Sister Wei, it will be a match made in heaven. And if you refine a 'Pearl in the Palm' bracelet, wouldn't Sister Wei be mistaken for a celestial maiden?"
Wei Taizhen was neither flustered nor angry. She just said, "Mr. Liu, if you continue like this, my mistress will get angry."
Liu Chicheng pointed to the ground, still seven or eight paces away from her, and smiled, "I am restraining my feelings for Sister Wei, stopping at propriety. That young lady will not be angry."
Wei Taizhen said, "I have already been given away by my mistress as a maidservant. Please stop your nonsense. Besides, whether my mistress will be angry is not for you to decide."
Liu Chicheng raised his sleeve to cover his mouth and laughed, "Sister Wei is truly adorable."
Wei Taizhen said, "If you continue like this, I will have to be rude to you."
Liu Chicheng lowered his sleeve and said with a grin, "Sister Wei, why be so formal with Brother Liu?"
Chai Bofu crouched beside the Fishing Immortal, utterly bored, and felt that Liu Chicheng really was a leopard that couldn't change its spots. Earlier, on the northern journey in Vase Bottle Continent, whenever he saw a pretty woman—whether a female cultivator on the mountain or a woman in the marketplace—he had to go up and flirt with her with some teasing words. The key was that this lecher Liu Chicheng only talked and never acted. What on earth was he after?
At the summit of the Resting Dragon Stone, Gu Can finally spoke with a smile, "Long time no see."
Li Liu nodded. "It's been alright."
Gu Can nodded, unable to help but smile.
Because Gu Can remembered some things from childhood.
Back then, besides being Chen Ping'an and Liu Xianyang's tagalong, he also liked to wander around by himself. When he encountered older, stronger bullies, he could only run far away and then shout a few curse words. But there was a broken-down house at the westernmost edge of town, where a boy his age named Li Huai lived. Li Huai was one of the few poor souls Gu Can could bully. Li Huai couldn't out-argue him, and was no match for him in a fight. And Li Huai had one good quality: he didn't like to tattle to his family. So Gu Can would go there to play from time to time. Then one day in a heavy snow, with no one around, he was stuffing a snowball down Li Huai's collar when Li Huai's sister caught him. The result was that Gu Can, held by one leg with his head dragging on the ground, was used like a broom to sweep the snow clean from her doorstep. Only then did Li Liu casually throw Gu Can to the ground. Dizzy and disoriented, Gu Can scrambled up and ran far away before yelling curses at Li Liu, saying he would call Chen Ping'an to come and bully you, you little bitch, and have Chen Ping'an ride on top of you and beat you to death, see who would marry you then...
Gu Can asked, "I heard you went to the North Ju Liang Continent?"
Li Liu hummed in acknowledgment. She was looking at Liu Chicheng at the foot of the Resting Dragon Stone.
Gu Can spoke to her through heart voice, "He's the youngest junior brother of the White Emperor City Lord. Be careful. Although Liu Chicheng has a foul mouth, he won't really do anything."
Li Liu glanced at Gu Can. "You've changed quite a bit."
Gu Can smiled. "Not really."
After that, Gu Can was also startled, instinctively rising several zhang higher in the wind.
Because Li Liu stomped her foot, and the entire Resting Dragon Stone shattered instantly.
It didn't sink slowly into the sea; the entire mountain peak was directly broken apart. In that instant, the Haoran World lost this Resting Dragon Stone belonging to the Green Water Pit.
Wei Taizhen swayed, then quickly stabilized herself in the wind.
The Fishing Immortal who had been guarding this place for the Green Water Pit said nothing at all.
Chai Bofu was almost scared out of his wits.
Liu Chicheng turned his head dully, staring at the young woman.
Li Liu asked, "Do you want to die?"
Liu Chicheng said aggrievedly, "My senior brother is not far away."
Li Liu asked, "Oh? Should I call Zheng Juzhong here for you?"
The White Emperor City Lord's real name was Zheng Juzhong, styled Huai Xian.
But in the entire Haoran World, how many dared to utter the name of this demonic overlord directly?
Liu Chicheng immediately shook his head. "No need, no need. I have things to do. I have to go."
Liu Chicheng shouted at the top of his lungs for his Dragon Uncle little brother, saying they should be on their way. Chai Bofu swallowed his saliva, stood up shakily, and carefully flew away with the wind.
Gu Can clasped his hands and bid farewell to Li Liu, then departed.
After all, they were fellow townsmen. Gu Can didn't have much fear of Li Liu. Even though she had crushed the Resting Dragon Stone with one stomp, Gu Can's heart remained largely undisturbed.
So at the former site of the Resting Dragon Stone, only the old fisherman of the Fishing Immortal remained. When Liu Chicheng and the others had gone far away, the old fisherman knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground, and said tremblingly, "Former official of the Green Water Pit pays respects to—"
Li Liu frowned, interrupting the old fisherman's words. "Take all the Lone Riders of the South Sea to the North Ju Liang Continent's Ji River to assist Shen Lin of the Southern Xun Water Hall. She will be the new Numinous Source Duke, but her realm is insufficient."
The old fisherman still dared not rise and said loudly, "This minor official receives the decree!"
Li Liu reached out and grabbed. The Resting Dragon Stone, which had already shattered and sunk into the sea, gathered into a pearl and was put away in her sleeve.
After the old fisherman's form dissipated, Wei Taizhen came to Li Liu's side and asked softly, "Mistress?"
Li Liu said, "Let's go to the Green Water Pit first. Zheng Juzhong is already there."
But Li Liu's flight to the Green Water Pit was neither hurried nor slow. Suddenly, she smiled. "Let's get back earlier. My younger brother should have reached the North Ju Liang Continent by now."
Wei Taizhen nodded gently.
Then Li Liu grabbed the fox spirit by the shoulder, and in an instant, they were in the Green Water Pit.
The Green Water Pit was like a palace city, with jade buildings and countless halls.
The White Emperor City Lord stood at the top of the steps outside a main hall, beside a plump palace maid in ornate robes. When she saw Li Liu, she asked softly, "City Lord, this person... is it really?"
The man smiled and said, "You shouldn't have refined this Green Water Pit as your life-bound treasure."
Li Liu climbed the steps step by step. The palace maid's face flushed red, and her knees bent slightly. By the time Li Liu reached the middle of the steps, the woman's knees were almost touching the ground. When Li Liu reached the top of the steps, the woman was prostrate on the ground.
The man was not surprised at all. For a single Green Water Pit to bear the weight of all the seawater within ten thousand li, even a Flying Ascension realm cultivator would find it difficult. Otherwise, for this young woman, given her current realm...
Li Liu stepped on the head of that Flying Ascension realm great demon and said to the man, "Meeting again."
The White Emperor City Lord smiled. "Are you truly determined to let this life be just this life?"
Li Liu looked into the distance, still stepping on the Flying Ascension realm's head, and nodded. "Everything needs an ending."
---
The sky was clear, the great sun blazing high.
A green-clad child and a black-clad youth flew a thousand li together from the Ji River to a very high place, overlooking the earth. Below was a small vassal kingdom under the Great Source Dynasty. The region was suffering from severe drought, with no rain for several consecutive months. Tree bark had been eaten clean. Refugees were scattering to other countries. But when common folk left their homeland, how far could they travel? So many starved to death on the road. White bones filled the wilderness, corpses lay piled on top of each other—a scene of extreme tragedy.
The black-clad youth asked doubtfully, "You went back the way you came to find me, just to show me this scene?"
The green-clad child, carrying a bamboo box on his back and holding a bamboo staff, looked somewhat dejected. "Just tell me, can you help me with this? I don't have any water-bearing magic treasures. I can't carry too much water from the Ji River. If I frequently travel back and forth between here and the Ji River, arbitrarily moving the river water, the Water Dragon Sect will certainly stop me. Li Yuan, you're the only friend I have here. If you find it difficult, I'll just move the river water myself when I go back, and you pretend not to see it."
The youth said helplessly, "Is this something you need to worry about right now? My good brother, the river-walking matter is bigger than the heavens. I beg you to take it seriously."
The green-clad child bit his lip and said, "If I hadn't seen those pitiful people, I would have ignored it. But since I have seen it, I feel uneasy. If my master were here, he would definitely do something about it."
It was Chen Lingjun, traveling along the Ji River from east to west, and Li Yuan, one of the Ji River Water Magistrates, who had hit it off at first sight.
The two had already sworn brotherhood at the Duckweed Island, chopping chicken heads and burning yellow paper—they were sworn brothers.
Earlier during the journey, because Chen Lingjun needed to survey the landscape and geography along the great river's banks, he had strayed slightly from the river. Unexpectedly, the further he got from the Ji River, the more unbearable the scenes became. Under the scorching sun, crops were withered and scorched. In the mountains and wilderness, there was almost no trace of green. Rivers and wells had all gone dry. Local officials had all set aside their other duties, either leading people to dig wells or kowtowing and praying for rain. Then, on the road, Chen Lingjun had encountered a group of refugees fleeing disaster. Under a dead tree, they were taking slight shelter from the blazing sun. Among them was a little girl, thin as a stick, held in her mother's arms with vacant eyes. She was at death's door, her lips cracked but bloodless, only able to whimper softly.
Chen Lingjun, renowned at the Fallen Mountain for being heartless and carefree, for once couldn't bear to see a little girl like that.
After rescuing the little girl and the others, he had returned to the Dragon Palace Cave Heaven and called Li Yuan to come here.
Li Yuan said seriously, "Aren't you curious why the ministers and immortal masters of this kingdom still can't make clouds and rain, or borrow water from the Ji River? I'll tell you. This drought is caused by heavenly timing. It's not some demon causing trouble or a cultivator casting spells. So according to the rules, the people of this kingdom are destined for this calamity. And that little kingdom's sovereign, a few years ago, for some reason, offended the Emperor of the Great Source Dynasty. The mountain and river gods within this kingdom suffered disaster even before the people. The mountain gods are slightly better off, but many of the water immortals have already had their Great Dao damaged. Aside from a few river gods and water gods barely managing to protect themselves, many river earls and river grannies are now in even worse shape. Their jurisdictions have no water, and their golden bodies are as if being boiled by fire day and night. Now, no outsider dares to intervene rashly to help resolve the situation. If the Venerate Mysterious Office's Cloud Sky Palace sent a few Earth Immortals to operate water arts, they could bring down sweet rain. And that sovereign originally had some connection with a direct disciple of Shao Jingzhi of the Water Dragon Sect's Southern Branch, but now they can't even call on them."
The Ji River ran east-west across the entire North Ju Liang Continent. There had once been three great Ji River temples. The lower temple near the Spring Dew Nursery had long been destroyed. The upper temple was under the control of the Yang Clan of the Venerate Mysterious Office. The middle temple, nominally refined as the Founder Hall of the Water Dragon Sect, was in fact truly owned by the incense Water Magistrate Li Yuan.
Chen Lingjun gripped his traveling staff tightly and said solemnly, "I don't care about any of that. If I fail in my river-walking, my master will at most scold me a few times. But if I turn a blind eye this time and let people die without helping, then even if I succeed in river-walking later, I won't have the face to go home."
Chen Lingjun began to murmur to himself, as if trying to bolster his own courage. "If my master finds out, even if I shamelessly insist on staying, it won't work. I know my master's temper best. Anyway, if because of this matter, I offend the Great Source Dynasty and the Yang Clan of the Venerate Mysterious Office, at worst I'll just go back to Fallen Mountain and take a scolding from my master. It's nothing."
Li Yuan asked doubtfully, "Chen Ping'an planned for your river-walking so meticulously and carefully, and you're going to give up halfway like this? You haven't even officially started river-walking, and you'll slink back home in disgrace. Will he really just scold you a few times?"
Chen Lingjun laughed slyly. "Maybe he'll even praise me a few times."
Li Yuan's expression turned serious. "Brother, don't blame me for pouring cold water. Let me tell you some old history. After you know it, think it through clearly before making your decision. Regarding rain-making, there are countless bloody precedents from the ancient true dragons. If one is careless, they can be detained at the Dragon Beheading Platform. At best, they'll have their tendons pulled out and skin peeled. At worst, their dragon claws will be cut off, their primordial spirit detained to suffer brutal torture for centuries or millennia, and then they'll be demoted to be minor river or river gods in the mortal world. There are even poor wretches who receive the beheading penalty, their heads chopped off and bodies thrown into the water. This kingdom's drought is not a man-made disaster; it's undergoing a tribulation. And you have no mountain-water spectral register status as a local god. If you forcibly interfere, you'll incur very heavy karmic consequences. Even if the Venerate Mysterious Office turns a blind eye, it will greatly affect your future river-walking. It will only make the heavenly tribulation heavier. Think about it! Before you even transform into a dragon, you, a mere small water creature of the dragon lineage, would dare to arbitrarily change the heavenly ordained number? If you succeed in walking the river and transforming into a dragon, wouldn't you only become more reckless? Who else would the old man heaven deal with if not you?"
Chen Lingjun said dejectedly, "Don't try to persuade me. I'm scared to death right now. As a brother, you're being disloyal. You know I won't change my mind, yet you still scare me like this."
Li Yuan sighed. "Alright, alright. A brother who only shares good times isn't a true brother. We have to see if he dares to share difficult times. Come, I, the future Dragon Pavilion Marquis, will take you to meet the future Numinous Source Duke of the Ji River! As long as she nods her head, even if the Yang Clan immortals of the Venerate Mysterious Office hold a grudge, the problem won't be too big. As for the Water Dragon Sect, Sun Jie and Shao Jingzhi, this humble Water Magistrate can still handle them."
Chen Lingjun was overjoyed, then asked curiously, "The future Numinous Source Duke of the Ji River? Who is it? Should I prepare a meeting gift?"
If he could really get this done, he would even be willing to hand over one of his Dragon Fisherman's Baskets!
Li Yuan grinned. "It's that Shen Lin sister inside the Southern Xun Water Hall, the one you praised until she was all wobbly and quivering."
Of course, "wobbly and quivering" was Li Yuan talking nonsense. But Chen Lingjun had indeed said "Sister Shen Lin is really beautiful," which was absolutely true.
Chen Lingjun couldn't believe it. He looked down at the earth beneath his feet. "You're not fooling me, are you? Going back and forth like this..."
Chen Lingjun was silent for a moment, then continued, "Many people might die."
Li Yuan's smile faded. He said, "Since you've made your decision, let's work together as brothers. I'll lend you a jade token. Using the water arts, it can hold the water of an entire river god's jurisdiction. You go directly to the Ji River to fetch water. I'll go directly to the Southern Xun Water Hall to find Shen Lin and ask her for a Numinous Source Duke decree. That she will soon be promoted to the Great River's Numinous Source Duke is a certainty. The Academy and the Great Source Venerate Mysterious Office have already received the news and tacitly agreed. Only my Dragon Pavilion Marquis position still has some variables. For now, at most, I can still put up a front in the Water Dragon Sect's Founder Hall."
Li Yuan handed a "Three-Foot Sweet Rain" jade token to Chen Lingjun, then flew away first, returning to the Dragon Palace Cave Heaven.
Chen Lingjun, holding the jade token, went to a secluded spot by the Ji River. He secretly jumped into the water and began using his life-bound water arts to discreetly pour the river water into the jade token.
Li Yuan first went to the Water Dragon Sect's Founder Hall and told them that he would personally handle the water-moving and rain-making this time, and they could just tell the Water Dragon Sect and the Venerate Mysterious Office directly. Sect Leader Sun Jie smiled and nodded.
Li Yuan's eyes widened. "Damn it! Are you really going to tell them directly? Aren't you afraid Old Immortal Yang will come knocking on my door and chop me to death?"
Sun Jie smiled. "Even if the Venerate Mysterious Office's Cloud Sky Palace is overbearing, they wouldn't dare to act like that."
Li Yuan rubbed his chin. "That's true. I'm like a brother-in-arms with the Fire Dragon True Person, arm in arm. What's a little Venerate Mysterious Office? If they dare to chop me, I'll go to the Crouching Peak, hug the Fire Dragon True Person's leg, and cry."
Li Yuan then hurried to the Southern Xun Water Hall to visit the Water God Lady Shen Lin, who was about to become his superior. Having a favor to ask, he was inevitably a bit awkward. Unexpectedly, Shen Lin directly produced a Dharma decree, stamped with the "Numinous Source Duke" seal, and handed it to Li Yuan. She even asked if he needed her help moving the water.
Holding the scroll decree, Li Yuan was shocked. "Shen Lin, you're about to be promoted to Numinous Source Duke. Aren't you afraid of creating complications and souring relations with the Great Source Dynasty and the Yang Clan of the Venerate Mysterious Office?"
His brother Chen Lingjun was someone who thought the sky was the limit. As soon as he heard the Water God Lady was an old acquaintance of his master, and because Li Yuan had indeed given some inappropriate hints—like winking and saying "you know what I mean," and that the mistress of the Southern Xun Water Hall was extremely beautiful and graceful, and that water immortals had always loved scholars, and his master was a young and promising handsome man—Li Yuan had even touched his two thumbs together. So Chen Lingjun had believed it all at the time. He put his arm around Li Yuan's shoulder and said, "I know, I know. Let's go, let's go. Let me go see what my master's little wife looks like."
When they arrived at the Southern Xun Water Hall, Chen Lingjun truly made himself at home. And since he didn't know at the time that Shen Lin was destined to be the Great River's Numinous Source Duke, he was extremely informal with the Water God Lady. Logically, Shen Lin, with her virtuous nature, wouldn't have a terrible impression of this water snake from another continent, but certainly not a good one either. If Chen Lingjun hadn't been a green-clad child, the Southern Xun Water Hall probably would have closed its doors to him from then on. In Li Yuan's view at the time, it didn't matter. As long as he, Li Yuan, was in the Dragon Palace Cave Heaven, his brother Chen Lingjun didn't need to care about whether a woman like Shen Lin liked him or not.
Now, Shen Lin smiled back and asked, "Isn't it more that the Great Source Dynasty and the Venerate Mysterious Office are worried about souring their relations with me?"
Li Yuan gave a thumbs up. "A woman can be as heroic as a man! Those words make me respect you!"
After Li Yuan left the Dragon Palace Cave Heaven, Chen Lingjun had already revealed his true form, carrying the jade token, and had begun to move clouds and bring rain.
For a thousand li of mountains and rivers, dark clouds gathered without warning, and then sweet rain suddenly fell.
Many local Qi practitioners who flew over upon seeing this unusual phenomenon all bowed to the green snake in the clouds in thanks.
Li Yuan discovered that Chen Lingjun seemed very unfamiliar with cloud-moving and rain-making, so he stepped in to help organize the sea of clouds and rain curtain.
An hour later, Li Yuan sat on a cloud. Chen Lingjun reverted to human form, came to sit beside Li Yuan, and leaned back, exhausted. He still found the energy to thank Li Yuan.
They were silent for a long time.
Li Yuan looked at the earthly mountains and rivers being moistened by the torrential rain, clapped his hands, and laughed, "Great drought, river grass turns yellow; flying birds die of bitter heat; fish eggs turn into locusts; water temples, earth generates smoke; a little dragon meanders out, carrying the azure sky on its back, washing away a thousand li of red..."
Chen Lingjun had already sat up, gazing into the distance at the land, lost in thought.
He had always been that kind of person—liking to talk tough, never having a sense of proportion in his actions. So having accomplished the rain-making, he was happy, of course, and had no regrets. But that his future river-walking along the Ji River might be obstructed by the Great Source Dynasty, or that the karmic tribulation at the Spring Dew Nursery might increase, leading to him ultimately failing to walk the river—these things did worry him. He didn't know how to face Zhu Lian, or how he could brag to Pei Qian, Nuan Shu, Mi Li, and the others. As Zhu Lian had said, he had almost mapped out even where he ate and shit. If he still couldn't walk the river and transform into a dragon, he might as well jump into the water and drown himself.
So Chen Lingjun only hoped for one thing: that the best-natured master in the world would have already returned home before he, Chen Lingjun, made it back to Fallen Mountain.
Having the master on Fallen Mountain made things a bit more reassuring. If he did wrong, at worst he'd get a few scoldings. But if he happened to do right, the young master's smiling face was also there.
Besides, Chen Lingjun was still thinking about the master's family assets. Knowing his master's temper, he was sure there were still a few Snake Gall Stones. He, Chen Lingjun, didn't need the Snake Gall Stones, but that silly girl Nuan Shu, along with the black snake on Chess Mound Mountain and the great python on Yellow Lake Mountain, still needed them. The master could be unreasonably stingy, but he could also be outrageously generous.
Chen Lingjun jumped up. Time to continue the journey.
Li Yuan said, "Keep Shen Lin's Dharma decree and my jade token on you. If some clueless person from the Great Source Dynasty tries to block your way, show them. You can return them when you come this way for your river-walking."
Chen Lingjun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He had no choice. Chen Lingjun was already afraid that the Venerate Mysterious Office would suddenly produce some old Taoist with an immortal aura, who would then slap him to death.
Chen Lingjun decided to find some way to bolster his courage for the journey. Otherwise, his legs were a bit weak and he couldn't move.
He thought for a long time, then said to Li Yuan, "You don't know my master. He's one of the few great martial arts grandmasters in the world. I learned a bit of the surface from him. Let me show you, so you don't think I'm just bragging."
Li Yuan raised his hand. "Don't. Brother, I'm begging you. I'm afraid it will hurt my eyes."
But before he could stop him, Chen Lingjun was already striking a pose. He stood on one leg like a golden rooster, then twisted his arms backward and leaned forward. "How's this Flaming Roc Spreading Its Wings?!"
Li Yuan said grumpily, "Already blind."
Chen Lingjun laughed heartily, strapped his bamboo box on his back, took up his traveling staff, and drifted away into the distance.
Li Yuan sat cross-legged, not turning his head, and said coldly, "Little Celestial Lord of the Venerate Mysterious Office, you came so quickly? What, looking for trouble with my brother? If you dare to lay a hand on Chen Lingjun, don't blame me if I flood the Venerate Mysterious Office."
A young black-clad scholar holding a folding fan stepped onto the white cloud. At his waist hung a small yellow silk bag from which rainbow-colored light flowed, very eye-catching.
This man sat down beside Li Yuan, tapped his palm lightly with the closed fan, and smiled, "Water Magistrate Li is overthinking. I, Yang Mumao, and that Chen Haoren—we are rare friends who have shared hardships together. It's just that since parting at the Ghost Valley, we haven't met again. I miss my good brother Haoren very much."
Li Yuan asked doubtfully, "Chen Haoren? Good Man Chen? Is that Chen Ping'an?"
The scholar suddenly realized, "Chen Haoren and I are sworn brothers of the same generation. Water Magistrate Li and Chen Lingjun are sworn brothers. Oh my, haven't I accidentally become a generation higher than Water Magistrate Li?"
Li Yuan said with a grin, "If the Little Celestial Lord is happy, that's fine."
The scholar said, "The rain dragon swings its tail among the black clouds, carrying the blue sky on its back, embracing the azure heavens."
Li Yuan exclaimed angrily, "What, are you challenging me to a poetry duel?!"
The scholar laughed. "Dueling in poetry with Water Magistrate Li? I'd rather go watch Chen Lingjun practice boxing."
It was most interesting to scheme and play mind games with that Chen Haoren.
Li Yuan suddenly said with malicious glee, "Little Celestial Lord, in this year's Young Ten, you're still at the bottom, aren't you?"
The scholar nodded. "Being at the bottom is good. It gives you something to look forward to."
A landscape gazette from the Qiong Lin Sect of the North Ju Liang Continent had not only selected the Young Ten of their continent but also selected the Young Ten of the neighboring Vase Bottle Continent. However, the mountain cultivators of the North Ju Liang Continent weren't interested in the latter.
Since Qi Jinglong had become the new sect leader of the Grand Abyss Sword Sect, he was naturally not included in the latest Young Ten. Otherwise, they would be showing too little regard for a sword sect. The Qiong Lin Sect was worried that the mountains near the Millstone Mountain would be flattened by sword cultivators from the Grand Abyss Sword Sect.
Most of the faces were old ones. Still unshakably first was Lin Su.
Wild cultivator Huang Xi, martial artist Embroidery Lady—this old pair of enemies from Millstone Mountain who had nearly fought to the death—were still on the list.
Yang Jinshan, already at the bottleneck of the Distant Travel realm; Yang Ningxing, the Little Celestial Lord of the Venerate Mysterious Office; Lu Sui, the immortal from Water Meridian Mountain.
As for the other two, both were generally expected. But one woman, Li Liu, a direct disciple of the Lion Peak who had burst onto the scene, was the subject of much speculation.
As for Xu Xuan, who had been severely injured by He Xiaoliang, it wouldn't have been hard for him to make the list. But the Qiong Lin Sect dared not include him in the evaluation, since Xu Xuan had now become a laughingstock across the entire North Ju Liang Continent.
As for the Vase Bottle Continent, besides the Young Ten, there was also a list of ten alternates, a whole bunch of them, which would probably bore the cultivators of the North Ju Liang Continent to sleep.
Names like Ma Kuxuan, the great gentleman of Lake View Academy, one of the former Golden Boy and Jade Girl of the Divine Proclamation Sect, Jiang Yun, the illegitimate son of the Yun Lin Jiang Clan, a youth from the Zhu Ying Dynasty who sleepwalked into the Central Marchmount and received a sword immortal's legacy from a divine being, breaking through realms like splitting bamboo...
The scholar clicked his tongue and laughed. "Surprisingly, there's no Good Man Chen. This gazette from the Qiong Lin Sect disappoints me greatly."
Li Yuan was somewhat confused. How had Chen Ping'an managed to offend this Little Celestial Lord? With Chen Ping'an's naive and overly kind temperament, he hadn't already suffered a great loss, had he?
The scholar said, "I'm going to watch a good show. I won't keep Water Magistrate Li company in the sun. I'm off to see the elegance of that Sword Immortal Wei."
Li Yuan asked, "What exactly does the Venerate Mysterious Office intend?"
The scholar laughed. "I am Yang Mumao. How would I know what the Venerate Mysterious Office is thinking?"
Li Yuan exclaimed angrily, "Are you a piece of shit or what? A perfectly good Little Celestial Lord, and you've turned into this bird-like thing!"
The scholar let out a loud laugh and flew away with the wind.
The only two "younger generation" who could truly catch the North Ju Liang Continent's eye were the Great Li's tenth realm martial artist Song Changjing and the Snow Temple's sword immortal Wei Jin. They were indeed young, both around fifty years old. For mountain cultivators, given their current realms, their youth was astonishing.
One was like a "supreme emperor" of the Great Li Song Clan, and the other was a genuine sword immortal. Putting them back into the Young Ten list would indeed be inappropriate.
The Qiong Lin Sect wasn't afraid of a Vase Bottle Continent's Jade Marrow realm sword cultivator, but Wei Jin had traveled to the Sword Qi Great Wall and had been stationed there for many years. He must have been no stranger to Qi Jinglong, the sect leader of the Grand Abyss Sword Sect; Huang Tong, the Law-Maintaining Ancestor; and Li Cai of the Floating Lotus Sword Lake. This kind of ties born of shared smoke and fire couldn't be won by clinking glasses at a banquet.
Moreover, in the eyes of the cultivators of the North Ju Liang Continent, sword immortals in the world were divided into only two types: the heroes who had been to the Sword Qi Great Wall, and the worthless cowards who hadn't.
Even the great sword immortal Bai Shang, known as the number one in the north, was secretly mocked by the cultivators of the North Ju Liang Continent.
So towards Wei Jin, the sword immortal of the Snow Temple, even the completely uninvolved Qiong Lin Sect was willing to show a degree of respect.
And how did Wei Jin repay this respect? In a way that was very North Ju Liang.
He crossed continents to challenge the Celestial Lord Xie Shi.
---
A woman quietly came ashore in the northern part of the Parasol Leaf Continent. She found a traveling sword immortal named Zuo You, who was cultivating in a thatched hut by the water at the Parasol Leaf Sect.
Nowadays, all the Zong character head immortal families in the North Ju Liang Continent, including the Jade Gui Sect, the Fecal Divination Sect, and the Peaceful Mountain, were engaged in massive construction. The Parasol Leaf Sect was no exception.
When she met Zuo You, she called herself Long Life, saying she came from a prison and would be cultivating at Fallen Mountain from now on.
Zuo You listened to her account of Chen Ping'an's affairs, then simply nodded and said two words: "Very good."
Long Life seemed to have something to say but hesitated.
Zuo You stood by the water. "When matters here are concluded, I will go bring back my junior brother."
Long Life's face showed bitterness. Sure enough, as the Hidden Officer had anticipated. She had to speak in a small voice, "Master told me that if, by chance, senior had this intention, he hoped that senior would..."
Zuo You waved his hand. "Who is the senior brother and who is the junior brother? There are no rules."
Long Life was speechless.
Zuo You remembered something. Seizing a moment of free time, he said, "I'm going to the Bury River. I won't see you off."
Zuo You flew away directly on his sword.
Long Life could do nothing about this. She left the Parasol Leaf Sect and headed for the Vase Bottle Continent.
In the night sky, within Mirage City of the Great Spring Dynasty, Jiang Shangzhen was having a pleasant conversation with that Madame Caozhou. She was appreciating the moonlight, and Jiang Shangzhen was appreciating her beauty.
This Madame Caozhou, who came from a family known for its peonies, was truly a national beauty with a heavenly fragrance. Tonight's trip had not been in vain.
High above, there was a sound like thunder.
Jiang Shangzhen looked up intently. It was a sword immortal passing by. He laughed, stood up, excused himself to Madame Caozhou, and turned into a rainbow light that flew away, passing through Mirage City's protective formation as if it were nothing.
Madame Caozhou was stunned for a long time. This refined and elegant impoverished scholar had said he was a scholar going to the capital for the examinations! He had only claimed to be lodging in a Taoist temple out of embarrassment because his pockets were empty?
A moment later, Jiang Shangzhen, who had been struck to the ground by the sword, shook off the dust in dismay, secretly returned to Mirage City, went back to the Taoist temple, and apologized profusely to Madame Caozhou.
Madame Caozhou's eyes were full of reproach. She pressed her hand to her heart. "Who exactly are you?"
The man raised his cup and said softly, "I do not ask you, madam, if you are a celestial visitor banished to the mortal world, yet you ask me for my name. Would that not make me, a mere mortal, even more vulgar?"
Madame Caozhou sighed mournfully, flicked her sleeve, and said, "Go, go, go. Not a single serious word from you. I dare not drink wine with you."
Jiang Shangzhen stood up, bowed, and left. But he left his traveling staff behind at the table. Madame Caozhou did not remind him.
A sword light landed before the Bury River's Azure Wandering Palace. He said to the female ghost doorkeeper, "Announce me to your Water God Lady..."
Before Zuo You could finish speaking, the Bury River Water God Lady, who was in the middle of eating a bowl of eel noodles, had already sensed the sudden arrival of a sword immortal. Worried that her doorkeeper, being a ghostly entity, might be found offensive by the sword immortal and get chopped to death, she shrunk the earth and came to the gate in an instant, her cheeks bulging. She spoke indistinctly, grumbling and cursing as she crossed the mansion's threshold. A sword immortal was something special, huh? Couldn't he come to bother someone at night while they're having a late-night snack... When she saw the plain-looking man, she burped and then asked loudly, "What's up?"
Zuo You smiled. "My name is Zuo You. I am Chen Ping'an's senior brother."
The Bury River Water God Lady was first stupefied, then her eyes lit up. She slapped her own face. She wasn't dreaming!
Damn! The disciples of the Sage of Literary Arts were each more handsome than the last!
---
By the great river in the central part of the Vase Bottle Continent.
Cui Dongshan was leafing through a book.
Liu Qingfeng was beside him, eating a slightly hard and cold zongzi, chewing slowly and carefully.
Cui Dongshan closed the book, a freshly published, widely printed volume, and handed it to Liu Qingfeng. "Borrow it and have a look."
Liu Qingfeng took the book, eating his zongzi while flipping through it. At first, he turned the pages very quickly, but he ate the zongzi very slowly.
Liu Qingfeng seemed to have come to an interesting part. He smiled, turning the pages more slowly. It told the mountain-and-water story of two good friends, not far apart in age, a difference of about seven or eight years. Both came from poor, humble backgrounds. The younger one eventually went to a place called the Qingzhu Lake, and was the first to step onto the path of cultivation. The older boy from the same alley, who was older, was still a martial artist who had just learned boxing when he left his hometown. One was named Gu Chan, the other Chen Ping'an. Gu Chan, when he was still very young, went to the Qingzhu Lake, which was teeming with wild cultivators, and there he forcibly took many young women to be unbuttoned young ladies in his mansion, intending to give them to Chen Ping'an, whom he regarded as an older brother. The latter was the head of the Ten Friends of Qingzhu Lake.
The story roughly followed two parallel lines. Gu Chan acted like a tyrant in the Shujian Lake, while Chen Ping'an traveled alone through the landscapes. In the end, the two were reunited. The young man, now a martial arts grandmaster, saved the indiscriminate murderer Gu Chan. Then he produced some worldly gold and silver, made a show of things, and hastily held a few funeral rites, trying to stop the mouths of the multitudes. After that, the young martial artist quietly slipped away, and Gu Chan changed his name and vanished without a trace.
Finally, an immortal sect, in cooperation with a garrison of iron cavalry, cleaned up the mess, holding a Great Zhou Grand Penitential Rite and a Water and Land Dharma Assembly for those who had died unjustly.
Cui Dongshan asked with a smile, "Having finished reading, what is your impression?"
Liu Qingfeng asked back, "What happened to the two groups of people who initially wrote and printed this book?"
Cui Dongshan said, "They either died or were injured."
Liu Qingfeng nodded. "The discretion was handled quite well. If they had killed everyone and completely rooted out the weeds, they would be treating the onlookers both on and off the mountain as fools. Since that well-read young martial artist had some conscience and was fond of seeking fame, he naturally wouldn't act so brutally. If I had been the one orchestrating this behind the scenes, I would have let Gu Chan commit the murders, then had Chen Ping'an appear to stop him. Chen Ping'an would just happen to slip up, and be recognized by someone who survived by luck. That way, it would be both reasonable and plausible."
"Not reasonable and plausible, but in line with the narrative thread."
"In the landscape gazettes, which immortal mountain first recommended this book?"
Cui Dongshan smiled. "It was an inconsequential small mountain sect. They make a living doing exactly this kind of thing. They've already grabbed their money and run away. Of course, it's also possible they've been silenced by murder, done quite covertly. For now, I can't find out. To be honest, I'm too lazy to investigate."
Liu Qingfeng said with emotion, "Speaking of which, the very beginning of this book, just a few thousand words, is truly simple and moving. Much of the suffering of the common people is captured at the tip of the pen. Immortal masters on the mountain, and scholars as well, really ought to read it carefully."
Various rural customs were described in detail: guarding the fields at night and fighting over water, a young boy going up the mountain to chop wood and burn charcoal, coming down the mountain with a bamboo basket, haggling with a wealthy old man at his doorstep over the price, being yelled at to step back down the steps, calluses on the boy's palm when he took the string of copper coins. During the bitter cold of deep winter, the boy went up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs to earn money. His hands were cracked with frostbite. When gathering the herbs, he was very careful not to stain them with blood. When selling them to the pharmacy at the foot of the mountain, the price was low.
Depicting these things, often in just a few words, made one feel pity for the boy from the very beginning. Among them were some particularly striking passages that any man would understand. For example, the book described a rural custom called "Gleaning the Spikes." It meant that when the wheat was ripe in the fields, orphans and widows could pick up the leftover wheat after the village men had cut it. Even if it wasn't their own wheat field, the farmers wouldn't drive them away. And the strong young men cutting the wheat would not look back. This was very much in the style of ancient etiquette and ancient customs.
The wonderful part was a line in the book: "The young man was helping a widow when he happened to look up. Seeing the woman squatting on the ground, his figure made him blush. He quickly lowered his head, then turned to look at a full ear of wheat nearby."
This single phrase—looking up, then lowering his head, then turning his head—brought to life the complex thoughts and feelings of a hardworking young man, both simple and ignorant.
The story after the opening would probably be enjoyed by destitute scholars, martial world people, and mountain cultivators alike. Because besides Gu Chan's wanton slaughter at Qingzhu Lake, it also described the young man's subsequent string of miraculous adventures, all interconnected without seeming abrupt. Finding an old boxing manual in the deep mountains. Meeting a transcendent master while traveling. After his boxing skills were somewhat accomplished, he accidentally stumbled into an immortal's mansion and learned a superior technique. When he struck out with his fists to kill, he was always on the side of righteousness. Even when crossing mountains and rivers and encountering demons and monsters, his punches were decisive, utterly satisfying, full of youthful, heroic vigor.
He hit it off with many mountain gods and water immortals at first sight. There were also chance encounters with fair maidens and a mutual affection with an innocent fox spirit in the martial world. To help a beautiful female ghost clear her name, he caused a huge ruckus at the City God's Pavilion—these were all written with unique charm. What a young lover who cherishes the fair sex!
The key was that the diligent and studious nature of the young wandering knight during his landscape travels was given considerable ink. After all this came the big scene at Qingzhu Lake. Danger lurked at every turn—one wave unsettled, another rose. He finally succeeded in rescuing Gu Chan from the mountain swamp wild cultivators who had already drawn the wrath of the masses. During this time, the young martial artist was full of clever schemes and resourcefulness. With his side immortal arts, he turned misfortune into fortune, obtaining a Sword-Nourishing Gourd by chance. Two female immortals also secretly helped and looked after him, even going so far as to turn against their own sects. This was enough to make readers who flipped through the pages cheer heartily.
Liu Qingfeng suddenly realized he was still holding half a zongzi. He swallowed it in one gulp.
Qingzhu Lake. Shujian Lake. Qingzhu Nanshu. Crimes too numerous to record.
Gu Chan. The Chan in repentance. Homophone for Gu Can.
Chen Ping'an. Also a homophone for Chen Ping'an.
The end of the book read: "The young wandering knight looked back once at Qingzhu Lake. He felt he had a clear conscience, yet he could not escape a troubled conscience. He tugged at the collar of his green robe, which seemed like a scholar's garment, and was silent for a long time. Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, he could only take a hearty swig of wine, then, dejected and lost, he went far away."
What a brilliant "dejected and lost, went far away."
As for whether the young wandering knight returned home or continued his travels in the martial world, the book did not say.
Liu Qingfeng gently patted the closed book, then suddenly asked, "If Chen Ping'an had the chance to read this book, what would he do?"
Cui Dongshan thought for a moment. "If he came across good writing and good verses, he might even copy them down. After reading it, he would probably just think that Chen Ping'an was too laughable, too careless and imprudent. It didn't resemble him at all. He would wish he could revise the book for the ghostwriter."
Liu Qingfeng asked again, "What if he could actually meet the author in person?"
Cui Dongshan shook his head. "I used to know the answer. Now, I'm not sure."
Liu Qingfeng, for once, insisted on getting to the bottom of things. "Is it 'he would have punched him to death before, but now having seen the truly great affairs of the world, maybe not'? Or 'he wouldn't have before, but now he would punch him to death'?"
Cui Dongshan leaned back and grinned. "Who the hell knows."
Liu Qingfeng returned the book to Cui Dongshan and said with a faint smile, "Having read a book and eaten one's fill, doing what a scholar ought to do—that is what makes a scholar."
But after smiling, Cui Dongshan started rolling around on the ground beside Liu Qingfeng.