Chapter 804: A Smile Strokes the Green Duckweed
The Li Saint, the Second Saint, and the Old Scholar—three sages—returned to the Confucian Temple to participate in the discussions, instantly making the already gradually relaxed atmosphere tense once more. Some cultivators who had been planning to go out drinking and gossiping now obediently stayed behind to deliberate.
The Old Scholar sat upright, waiting for a long time without hearing a single congratulatory word. He was a bit baffled. They say that once a person leaves, the tea grows cold, and only then do you see the warmth or coldness of human relationships, the fickleness of the world. But now that a cold stove had been rekindled, why didn't these clever people, big and small, show any sign? On the Confucian Temple's side, he had been restored to the status of a accompanying sacrificial sage. He wasn't one to be elated by external gains or saddened by personal losses, but that was no reason for them not to fart out a single word. Were they bullying a good-natured man, tormenting an honest soul?
Old Man Fu saw the Old Scholar putting on a fierce face all by himself, and smiled as he explained to the Old Scholar the general changes that had occurred earlier at the Confucian Temple. Five academies—Yunbian, Lantai, Hulian, Chunsou, and Tongli—had all had their headmasters stripped of their titles, causing quite a stir. Among them, the youngest headmaster, from Chunsou Academy, had openly questioned the Li Saint, and in the end, all were escorted out the door by A Liang. So everyone present was being cautious with their words.
The Old Scholar exclaimed in admiration, "A tiger father doesn't beget a dog son."
The Second Saint took out a volume from a large stack of booklets on his desk, glanced at the position just vacated by the young Hidden Official, and felt somewhat helpless. Was he just not going to come home?
A golden light flashed, and the scripture scholar Xiping at the entrance reached out to catch it. It was a single book page, a secret letter in person from the accompanying sacrificial sage at the Sword Qi Great Wall.
The Li Saint put down a geography booklet that had just been delivered from elsewhere, and said, "A Liang and Qing Mi have already arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall. It seems they intend to join forces and head south together first."
Having said this, the Li Saint smiled. "You all continue your discussions."
The Second Saint frowned slightly.
The Li Saint spoke to the Second Saint via heart-to-heart communication: "A Liang, along with Feng Xuetao, first went to the Hundred Thousand Mountains. They set up a stove there, saying that with hotpot and liquor, the world is theirs."
The Second Saint pressed his hand against his forehead.
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi asked, "This elusive wild cultivator Qing Mi—after being slashed a few times by Zuo You, did he immediately change his ways and become a hero?"
Qi Tingji chuckled. "He was definitely forced onto the stage by A Liang; Qing Mi had no choice but to agree."
Zuo You said, "This Qing Mi has excellent escape techniques, and his combat power is a cut above Jing Hao's. With A Liang leading the way, it will be hard for them to get surrounded in the Barren Wilderness World."
Killing A Liang—that was the biggest headache.
This had become a consensus between the Haoran World and the Barren Wilderness World.
In one-on-one combat, he couldn't be beaten. If they tried to join forces to surround and intercept him, even if they eventually formed an encirclement, A Liang would love it—he might just take on the entire group by himself.
But this journey of A Liang's was clearly about taking Qing Mi, as his attendant, to charge straight through the Barren Wilderness World. Danger was inevitable.
Chen Ping'an said, "A Liang intends to stir up the situation at the mountain peaks of the Barren Wilderness World by himself, to lure out a few truly big fish that are hiding deep for the Confucian Temple."
To truly stop A Liang, the Barren Wilderness World would have to produce a strong enough wielder to cross swords with him, a pinnacle existence like Liu Cha.
On the surface of the Barren Wilderness World, only two fourteen-realm cultivators had their identities publicly revealed. One of them, Xiao Xun, if she faced A Liang, they definitely wouldn't fight—they'd just drink.
Xiao Xun, as well as the two sword immortals from the old Hidden Official's lineage, Zhu An and Luo Shan, plus the great sword immortal Zhang Lu, who once guarded the Inverted Suspension Mountain, all had excellent relationships with A Liang.
As for that wild cultivator Qing Mi, even if he was at the Flying Ascension realm, being dragged along by A Liang on this southern tour probably meant he would have to undergo several tough sessions of heart-cultivation whether he liked it or not.
Lu Zhi sneered. "If he can come back alive, letting him touch my legs a few times wouldn't be a big deal."
Qi Tingji, Zuo You, and Chen Ping'an—three men who were all very particular about matters of romantic love—wisely said nothing.
Qi Tingji had only ever had one Dao companion on the mountain. After his wife passed away, he never considered remarrying. In fact, many female cultivators on the Barren Wilderness World admired this handsome old sword immortal, and all of them were in the upper five realms. It seemed that if Qi Tingji just nodded, giving them any kind of status, they would be willing to betray the Barren Wilderness World.
As for Zuo You, that went without saying.
And Chen Ping'an, at the Sword Qi Great Wall, was famously upright in his gaze, as if the only woman in the world was Ning Yao.
Chen Ping'an was flipping through a booklet, which was a summary from Old Man Li's room, while also consulting the scripture scholar Xiping, humbly asking about the art of the "Character Breaking Command."
On the Night Boat, it was highly possible that the Character Breaking Command was the method to disembark, and it could become something like a travel document. If he had another chance to board the boat in the future, he wouldn't need to use his sword to break through and forcibly leave.
Chen Ping'an had long-term plans for this wandering ferry. If he could determine that the aftereffects were minimal, he even wanted to voluntarily serve as a city lord on the Night Boat.
Xiping said he would bring Chen Ping'an a few books from the Confucian Temple's library later, but they couldn't be taken out of the Grove of Merit and Virtue—they had to be returned after reading. These books, according to the temple's rules, could only be perused by accompanying sacrificial sages and academy headmasters. But since the Li Saint had personally permitted it, exceptions could be made, but they still couldn't violate the regulations too much. Chen Ping'an had doubts but didn't ask further.
Xiping seemed to guess Chen Ping'an's thoughts and voluntarily explained that to master the Confucian divine ability of the Character Breaking Command, one first had to learn the "Character Borrowing Method" used by academy junzi and xianren.
After hearing this, Chen Ping'an first thanked the scripture scholar Xiping, then brazenly asked him for a set of handwritten scripture manuscripts, saying it was for his student Cao Qinglang. Since he had missed his student's coming-of-age ceremony, if he could make up for it with a secret handwritten copy of the Stone Classics, Cao Qinglang would surely treasure it immensely.
Xiping smiled. "I do indeed have two sets of handwritten scriptures preserved here. They are quite old and in good condition, but it's not easy for a scholar to copy books."
Chen Ping'an immediately said, "At the current market price for scripture scholars copying books at the Confucian Temple, I'll pay double the most expensive rate."
Xiping, standing at the entrance, turned his head and looked at the young Hidden Official, whose face was full of sincerity. He smiled but said nothing, neither nodding in agreement nor shaking his head in refusal.
He had heard that at the Sword Qi Great Wall, no one could make money off Chen Ping'an.
After the many steles of Xiping Stone Classics were erected at the entrance of the Confucian Temple, later scholars copying books could earn a living from it. Most were poor students from humble families who hadn't yet passed the imperial examinations. They generally earned very little money, using this to fund their studies and travel expenses to return home. Even if someone wrote an extremely beautiful and skillfully executed small regular script, they might ask for only a dozen or so silver taels.
So what did doubling the price mean?
A set of handwritten secret scriptures by the scripture scholar Xiping—the Hidden Official would buy it for thirty silver taels?
Xiping suddenly laughed. "Alright, I'll sell one set and give away two sets. The total price will be one Snowflake Coin for you. Making several hundred silver taels off the Hidden Official isn't easy."
Chen Ping'an asked tentatively, "At least one set is in the master's own hand, right?"
Xiping nodded, turned around, and left to go copy books.
Fire Dragon True Man clicked his tongue in wonder. "Chen Ping'an, you're even doing business with the scripture scholar Xiping? Impressive, impressive. Then you should know that the Gufeng Mountain also likes to read, hmm?"
Chen Ping'an said in anguish, "Senior, why didn't you tell me earlier? Otherwise, even if I had to roll around on the ground and throw a tantrum, I would have asked Master Xiping for two sets."
Fire Dragon True Man immediately stood up and went after the scripture scholar Xiping, making Chen Ping'an's heart pound with anxiety, unable to even dare to stop him.
Fire Dragon True Man walked out of the Confucian Temple and quickly caught up with Xiping. He put his arm around Xiping's shoulders and said that that young rascal Chen Ping'an had changed his mind on the spot, thinking the opportunity was too rare to let just one set suffice. The good lad had opened his mouth wide, demanding three sets of handwritten scriptures from you at once. At first it was five sets, but it was only through the poor old Daoist's earnest persuasion that the lad was convinced to be content and not trouble Master Xiping too much.
The scripture scholar Xiping gently brushed off the old true man's hand and chuckled. "Then I'll copy two more sets. The previously agreed price remains. But for the extra two sets, I'll have to charge one Small Summer Coin."
Fire Dragon True Man stroked his beard with a smile and strode back to the Confucian Temple. At the steps, he immediately slowed his pace and dawdled before crossing the threshold. After sitting down, he said to Chen Ping'an, "It's settled. I talked with Master Xiping about it, using my old face to the fullest, and managed to get you an extra set."
Chen Ping'an smiled awkwardly. What else could he do? He nodded in thanks.
Fire Dragon True Man seemed to remember something and said, "But for this extra set, it will cost one Grain Rain Coin. At first glance, the price might seem a bit steep. But you need to know, young man, that here at the Confucian Temple, Master Xiping never socializes with anyone. How many sages at the temple have begged him for a piece of his calligraphy in vain? There has never been a single set of 'Xiping's True Works' known to appear in the whole of the Haoran World. One Grain Rain Coin—you're getting a huge bargain. If you're unwilling to spend that much, well, the poor Daoist will pay for you?"
Chen Ping'an said, "No need, no need. Although I spent quite a bit at the Parrot Island 'Package Study' and bought a ferry from the Xuanmi Dynasty, which emptied my savings and left me deep in debt, one Grain Rain Coin is something I can still scrape together by gritting my teeth."
Fire Dragon True Man raised an eyebrow. "A ferry, an intercontinental ferry, right? Don't tell me it's that 'Wind Kite' ferry that the Gufeng Mountain has coveted for several hundred years but could never afford?"
Chen Ping'an forced himself to say, "Mr. Yu didn't mention the ferry's name."
Fire Dragon True Man nodded. "That's a good thing. The Gufeng Mountain and the Fallen Mountain—what's the relationship? Your ferry is as good as mine. In the future, when you expand your business to the doorstep of Gufeng Mountain and help build a celestial ferry port there, it would be even better. Then I can save on the expense of a ferry. Good, good, it's all trivial. When I get back, I'll have a word with that Little Fatty Yu. All the expenses for the Wind Kite to travel from the Central Continent to Bottle Gourd Continent won't be charged to you. With the vast Xuanmi Dynasty, and that Little Fatty Yu being notoriously wealthy, haggling over a trifling sum with your Fallen Mountain would be unseemly."
However, Yu Panshui, whose corporeal form was at the Confucian Temple while his yin spirit was traveling far away, had a sudden sense of foreboding. Sure enough, Fire Dragon True Man's hearty laughter soon echoed in his heart-lake. "Brother Yu."
Yu Panshui forced a dry laugh. "Elder Brother Fire Dragon, is something the matter?"
Fire Dragon True Man complained, "Brother Yu, you're being inconsiderate. I misjudged you before. I thought you were a righteous and loyal brother."
Yu Panshui raised a hand to wipe the fine beads of sweat he had forced onto his forehead. "Elder Brother Fire Dragon, what's the deal? If there's something I did wrong, I can change it. Right away."
Loyal brother? Come on, before this Confucian Temple meeting, we had never even met.
So Fire Dragon True Man had a heart-to-heart talk with this retired emperor of the Xuanmi Dynasty, speaking some fair and square words.
Yu Panshui nodded like a pecking chicken, absorbing the lesson. If there were faults, he would correct them; if not, he would be encouraged.
In the end, Fire Dragon True Man stroked his beard and smiled, then turned to Chen Ping'an and said the matter was settled. Yu Panshui, though they had just met for the first time, was unexpectedly easy to talk to and very reasonable.
If only the old true man hadn't turned around. When he did, Yu Panshui became even more certain of his suspicions. The old fatty was filled with inner anguish, his gaze dull and fixed on Chen Ping'an.
What a fine Hidden Official, honest in his dealings—very fine, the finest indeed. Now the entire Xuanmi Dynasty would have to deliver that fully repaired Wind Kite ferry all the way to the Oxhorn Mountain ferry terminal of Fallen Mountain. Just keep fleecing my Xuanmi and me, go ahead. From now on, if I, Yu Panshui, ever take the initiative to come and negotiate a deal with you, I'll change my surname to yours.
Chen Ping'an didn't dare to explain himself to Yu Panshui via heart-to-heart communication.
He sighed. Whatever would be, would be. Once the old true man was no longer around, he would explain things properly to the head of the Yu clan.
Lady Dandan of the Lucent Pit suddenly took the initiative to approach Chen Ping'an and asked softly, "I heard that a fragment of the tip of Bai Ye's immortal sword, Taibai, has fallen into your hands?"
Chen Ping'an didn't hide anything from this new co-lord of water transportation in the Haoran World. He turned slightly to face the woman and nodded. "Senior Qing Zhong, that is indeed the case."
Lady Dandan hesitated for a moment, then got straight to the point. "Could you let me see it?"
Cultivators at the mountain peaks of the Haoran World all knew what was written on the gate of the Lucent Pit. They all knew that this plump, corpulent woman had the greatest admiration for Bai Ye, the most proud and accomplished man in the human world. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken two characters from Bai Ye's poems and chosen the Dao name "Qing Zhong."
Chen Ping'an politely declined. "The tip of the Taibai sword has already been refined into the longsword on my back."
The implication was that, as a sword cultivator, he couldn't just draw his sword just for someone to look at it.
Then, remembering the pile of Lucent Pit dragon pearls in his mountain's treasury, whose precious light illuminated the entire room, Chen Ping'an quickly added, "If I ever have the honor of fighting alongside Senior Qing Zhong on the battlefield, I will definitely draw my sword."
Lady Qing Zhong felt a bit displeased inside. What a stingy man, so ungracious.
Chen Ping'an pretended not to notice her displeasure.
Zuo You suddenly said, "Any objections?"
Qi Tingji smiled. "It seems there might be."
Lu Zhi added just one word: "Oh?"
Lady Qing Zhong said firmly, "In reply to Mr. Left: Absolutely not!"
Here we go again.
First, it was Fire Dragon True Man and two other old Daoists scaring people with their words.
Now it was Zuo You and the other two sword immortals.
Why did they always have to bully a poor, lonely, well-behaved woman like me? What had she done?
If you have real skills, go find Xiao Xun, that fourteen-realm sword cultivator of the Barren Wilderness World. But then Lady Dandan thought again—it seemed the person who caused the most trouble for Xiao Xun in the world was this very Mr. Left. So she just smiled foolishly and ingratiatingly.
Ignoring this Lady Dandan, who had a high status and realm but little courage, Lu Zhi asked, "How long does the Confucian Temple plan to keep this meeting going?"
Qi Tingji said, "It's not up to us when it ends. If you really can't wait any longer, just go outside the door for a drink, then head back to Southern Bodhisattva Continent. I'll explain things to the Confucian Temple afterward."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "It's fine for Mr. Lu to slip away mid-meeting, but it's best not to fly off on a sword right at the Confucian Temple's main gate. It would be more appropriate to trouble yourself a bit, first meet up with the eighteen sword disciples of the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect, and then return to Southern Bodhisattva Continent together."
Qi Tingji nodded.
After all, neither he nor Lu Zhi were like A Liang, for whom coming to the Confucian Temple was as common as eating a meal. They still had to observe the proper courtesies for the temple.
Lu Zhi thought that was acceptable. Have a drink, slip away, walk a few extra steps, and then fly off on her sword. It wasn't much different from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
So Lu Zhi pretended to be proper, asked Chen Ping'an for a jug of wine, and headed for the main gate.
Crossing the threshold, this slender, tall woman sat alone on the steps, drinking. Before long, someone else followed and sat down beside her.
It was the Lady of the Azure Spirit Mountain. She smiled and handed Lu Zhi a pot of pure, authentic Azure Spirit Mountain wine, addressing her as "Mr. Lu."
Lu Zhi quickly tipped her head back and finished her own jug in one gulp, then tucked the empty jug into her sleeve. She took the wine from the Azure Spirit Mountain lady, removed the clay seal, and sniffed it. "It does smell more fragrant."
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady asked, "I heard Mr. Lu is originally from the Central Continent?"
Lu Zhi said indifferently, "You can think that if you want. I don't think so myself."
She placed the wine jug on the step beside her.
The woman next to her was good-looking, but she didn't know how to talk.
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady smiled. "I have a direct disciple named Chunqing, a young girl. She would like to learn swordsmanship from Mr. Lu. Would you be willing to take her on?"
Lu Zhi asked, "Is she brave enough to go to the Barren Wilderness World and kill demons to practice swordsmanship?"
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady nodded. "Yes."
Lu Zhi picked up the wine jug at her feet. "How talented is Chunqing? If she's too poor, I can't teach her."
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady thought for a moment. "Whatever she learns, Chunqing's talent can be considered very good."
Lu Zhi asked, "Compared to our Hidden Official?"
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady said helplessly, "Mr. Lu, if you ask like that, how can we continue talking?"
Lu Zhi said, "I can agree to take her as a disciple. As a reward, it's simple. I've heard that the bamboos on your Azure Spirit Mountain are quite good. Madam, send a few trees to Fallen Mountain later. Chen Ping'an once mentioned that there's a place called Piyun Mountain near his hometown, and a mountain lord named Wei who loves to plant bamboos."
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady agreed, smiling. "His name is Wei Bo."
She actually would have been willing to give away a few green bamboos for free just because Chen Ping'an had "helped" sell wine from the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven at the Sword Qi Great Wall.
But the young Hidden Official had never brought it up himself. She couldn't exactly force gifts on him.
Lu Zhi said, "Madam, don't misunderstand. Chen Ping'an and I have no romantic involvement. It's just that back when I left the Inverted Suspension Mountain and killed demons at sea, Chen Ping'an let me have half the credit for it. Since I didn't become a consecrated elder of Fallen Mountain, I've been owing him that debt. Since you came to me, I'll teach your disciple and pay off the favor at the same time."
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady nodded, studied Lu Zhi carefully, and smiled. "No wonder that person thought Mr. Lu was beautiful. Now I think so too."
Lu Zhi laughed. "Who is that person? Qi Tingji? Zuo You? It can't be Chen Ping'an, can it?"
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady shook her head and said softly, "It's really hard to talk with Mr. Lu."
Lu Zhi took a big gulp of wine and glanced at the stunning woman beside her. "I think pretending not to like someone is even harder."
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady asked, "And what about Mr. Lu? How is it for you?"
Lu Zhi shook her head. "It's nothing special. Practicing the sword is already difficult enough, why make it harder and cause unnecessary suffering?"
In the hometown she held in her heart, there were far too many men and women who, because of separation, left those who survived with a grief that took a lifetime to recover from.
At the Sword Qi Great Wall, there was almost never any such thing as a separation between the living and the dead—because whenever someone left, they were never seen again.
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady said, "I wish Mr. Lu a swift breakthrough and entry into the Flying Ascension realm."
Lu Zhi said, "Then I won't be polite. The Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven should lend me another Grain Rain Coin. Practicing and forging swords is expensive, and it's a headache."
Chen Ping'an walked out of the Confucian Temple's main gate and hesitated for a long time. Earlier, he had seen the Azure Spirit Mountain lady go outside, and he thought the opportunity was rare, so he mustered his courage and planned to ask her if he could buy a few bamboo trees from the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven. Naturally, he didn't have the face to ask for credit from the Azure Spirit Mountain, given that they had no prior history of goodwill. So he would have to borrow money—from the Tender Daoist, from Liu Daochun, from the Tipsy-Face Lady, anyone.
Chen Ping'an clasped his fists. "Junior Chen Ping'an pays respects to Lady Azure Spirit."
Lu Zhi and the Azure Spirit Mountain lady both stood up. The latter smiled and asked, "Does Mr. Chen have business with me?"
Chen Ping'an looked a bit embarrassed. "Junior would like to buy a few bamboo trees from Azure Spirit Mountain, but I'm short of money and dare not puff myself up beyond my means. So I must first ask Madam for the price."
Bamboos from the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven were usually given as gifts; buying and selling was extremely rare, so there was no market price. But going by the market conditions of the Haoran World outside the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven, Chen Ping'an didn't have the confidence to bring even one or two green bamboos back to Fallen Mountain. After all, a Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven had thousands of green bamboos, their ranks divided into three grades and nine classes. And since Chen Ping'an specified "Azure Spirit Mountain bamboos," they would naturally be priceless. He was still hoping that with Lu Zhi present and A Liang absent, he could negotiate more easily with the Azure Spirit Mountain lady.
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady glanced at Lu Zhi, and Lu Zhi smiled. "If the Hidden Official wants to buy, then sell."
Chen Ping'an, rarely being so courteous to Lu Zhi, clasped his fists again. "Thank you, Mr. Lu."
Lu Zhi chuckled. "Don't thank me. You're the one spending your own money."
Chen Ping'an asked about the prices of various bamboo types. What he had in mind were two pairs of "double-trunk bamboos" (lianli zhu), one a "literary qi bamboo" and the other a "martial fortune bamboo."
Two would be given to Wei Bo's Piyun Mountain, while the remaining two would be kept at home—one for the little Warm Tree and one for Pei Qian. If the soil and water conditions at Fallen Mountain were suitable, they would be planted in their courtyards.
Of course, he wasn't aiming for those ancestral bamboos of the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven—that was out of the question. But these green bamboos, which had grown on Azure Spirit Mountain for five or six thousand years, were of considerable "seniority" within the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven. So when the Azure Spirit Mountain lady quoted the price, Chen Ping'an felt that he had indeed been bold in puffing himself up.
Looking at the young Hidden Official before her, who had suddenly gone mute, she deliberately paused for a moment before smiling. "Fallen Mountain can buy on credit, but interest will be charged."
Yet Chen Ping'an still didn't dare agree. One bamboo tree cost hundreds of immortal coins. Grain Rain Coins—Grain Rain Coins—they weren't really rain falling from the sky that turned into money in your hand.
Especially at the mention of interest, Chen Ping'an became particularly uneasy. This trip had already cost a lot at the Parrot Island Package Study, and then buying the Wind Kite ferry from Xuanmi. If he now bought these bamboos, he was worried that the god of wealth, Wei Wenlong, would rebel.
What? The mountain lord, having finally stopped being a hands-off manager, goes out and starts splurging?
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady smiled. "The interest can be charged to someone else. He already owes the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven a considerable amount for wine. I believe Mr. Chen has a good understanding of these bamboos. Once transplanted and properly cultivated by mountain immortals, each bamboo tree becomes a money tree—you could even call it a small treasure trove."
Chen Ping'an immediately straightened his back. "Junior has no problem. I'll buy!"
It was just on credit, and with no interest, what was there to fear?
At worst, he wouldn't mention it to Wei Wenlong back at Fallen Mountain. When he earned some private money through the Package Study, he would repay the debt himself. If the secret ever came out, he would just drag out Cui Dongshan to take the blame.
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady smiled. "I'll have someone deliver them to Fallen Mountain later."
Chen Ping'an said, "I wouldn't dare trouble Madam so much. They can be sent directly to the Yu clan of the Xuanmi Dynasty. A ferry will be traveling intercontinentally to my mountain."
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady was about to return to the Confucian Temple.
But Chen Ping'an continued to ask, "By the way, Madam, what are the prices for the 'mountain-driving bamboo,' the 'spring-drawing bamboo,' the 'purple mansion cloud-engendering bamboo,' and the 'hairpin wine-dipping bamboo' respectively?"
The Azure Spirit Mountain lady stopped and smiled. "Mr. Chen, your business sense is indeed impressive. Why not just buy the entire Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven on credit? That can also be negotiated."
Chen Ping'an immediately clasped his fists apologetically. "Then junior won't delay Madam's discussions."
It was all because of poverty. Otherwise, when meeting this ethereal and elegant lady of Azure Spirit Mountain, Chen Ping'an would have kept his distance. Talking about money was too vulgar, but without talking about money, there was nothing else to discuss.
She suddenly changed her mind and sat back down on the steps. Chen Ping'an had no choice but to sit down as well, with a gap between them that could fit several Lu Zhis.
She gazed into the distance and asked softly, "Chen Ping'an, what kind of place is the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and replied, "According to Lin Junbi, it's a place where one can forget about life and death."
She asked again, "I want to know what you think in your heart."
The young man beside her was a scholar like her, both outsiders to the Sword Qi Great Wall, yet both could be regarded as locals by the sword cultivators there.
Chen Ping'an scratched his head and said nothing, just glancing at the Azure Spirit Mountain lady, who seemed unwilling to leave without an answer. So he borrowed a phrase from Xu Yuanxia.
"It is absolutely not a place of filth and corruption; it is a land where vengeance can be sought and wrongs can be righted."
Anyway, that was Chen Ping'an's true feeling.
As for the other answer Chen Ping'an didn't voice, it was nothing that could be shared with outsiders.
He and the woman he loved were still young, still youths.
Ning Yao had come to him from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
And he had gone to the Sword Qi Great Wall to see Ning Yao.
---
Bottle Gourd Continent, under the night sky.
At the White Heron Ferry of Zhengyang Mountain, a fine rain drizzled down. The road was soft, the night wind was cool.
Two had come; three were leaving.
A young man in a green scholar's robe, a white-robed youth with a mole between his eyebrows.
And now there was a sharp-eyed girl, slender and graceful, holding an umbrella for the white-robed youth.
Occasionally, a flicker of pain would pass through her lively eyes.
Whenever that happened, the white-robed youth would gently steady the umbrella handle.
Then the girl's eyes would immediately clear again, as if a spring had touched the grass in a pond—shallow and clear, the bottom visible at a glance.
This was the result of a bet Tian Wan had made with Cui Dongshan.
The bet was that he wouldn't need Tian Wan to play matchmaker for him and Chief Zhou. He only needed to travel through the corridors of her heart. Before that, he would give her a few days to shut herself up, set up layers of obstacles in her mind, and create numerous restrictions within the small universe of her body—her various acupoints and qi palaces. Cui Dongshan's only requirement was that she not move the bridal sedan chair. If she broke the oath, there would be no more Tian Wan in the world.
Jiang Shangzhen sighed emotionally. "Peanut, Peanut—such a good name. Brother Cui has truly inherited the true essence of our mountain lord."
Cui Dongshan said with a straight face, "Of course the name is wonderfully witty. But it doesn't even have half the skill of my master's naming."
The girl's eyes were resentful. She didn't think the name was very good at all—it was too rustic.
She only knew that she had lost her memory and couldn't remember anything. The most troublesome thing was that every few days, she would completely forget everything from the day before.
As for the two people beside her, one was her brother, and the other was the father of her fiancé, to whom she had been betrothed by their parents before birth.
That's right. The man in the green robe looked young, but he had frost at his temples. His real age must have been considerable; he just didn't look old. And come to think of it, if her fiancé looked a bit like his father, he probably wouldn't be too bad.
The two of them had come to Zhengyang Mountain to seek a miraculous pill from an old immortal, hoping to cure her amnesia. But they had been turned away at the foot of the mountain without even seeing the immortals on the mountain. They had wasted a lot of silver, nearly exhausting their family's savings.
Jiang Shangzhen communicated silently via heart-to-heart: "When did you create another porcelain figure? And you had to keep it from me and your master?"
Cui Dongshan grinned. "I was messing around with that Young Gao guy earlier, and I thought I'd find a companion for him. It just happened to come in handy. If I hadn't run into Tian Wan, I would have almost forgotten about it."
Jiang Shangzhen turned his head, slowed his pace, and for the first time, his face was deadly serious, seeking a definite answer from Cui Dongshan.
Cui Dongshan sighed and nodded. "I know the stakes. Since the master is back, and he'll be at the forefront from now on, I naturally won't have to do this anymore."
Jiang Shangzhen sighed in relief and smiled. "Good. Otherwise, I would have abandoned the position of chief and stayed far away from Fallen Mountain."
Cui Dongshan patted Jiang Shangzhen on the shoulder. "Only a long-lost brother could say something so heartwarming!"
Jiang Shangzhen chuckled. "We're brothers, aren't we?"
Cui Dongshan turned and said, "Peanut, when you get to Fallen Mountain later, you'll do odd jobs for a few years. When the time is right, you'll be responsible for gathering and compiling intelligence. In the future, you might even be in charge of the Mountain and Water Gazette and the Mirror-Flower-Water-Moon. It's a heavy responsibility, not for ordinary people. You'll have only one boss—that's me, your brother, though we share neither mother nor father."
The girl nodded. "Is my surname Cui too?"
Cui Dongshan's eyes were full of paternal kindness as he patted her head. "You guessed that? Little head, so bright! Almost as bright as Little Rice!"
Jiang Shangzhen squinted and nodded. "Indeed."
Cui Dongshan shook his head and flipped his palm. "Li, li, li."
The girl felt a bit embarrassed. The way these two men talked was just weird.
Good thing it was nighttime and they were walking on the road, so they wouldn't run into anyone.
So she tried to change the subject. "Brother, is it a martial arts sect?"
"Mm, exactly. It's the most jianghu-like place in the world. You'll love it once you get there."
"I don't know anything about intelligence."
"Then learn. Fallen Mountain doesn't support idlers. If you can't learn, you'll spend your life selling pastries at Qilong Lane. But you're my sister—how dumb could you be? You'll learn in no time."
She wanted to say something more; in her heart, she thought selling pastries sounded pretty good.
Cui Dongshan gave her a rap on the head and scolded, "Stop interrupting all the time."
"And remember, remember—if there's an old maiden named Changming on the mountain who asks you about intelligence, be accommodating with her. If she wants to see it, let her. That elder sister is old, has a bad temper, and guards our family's moneybag. We siblings shouldn't stoop to her level."
She nodded vigorously. "Got it."
Cui Dongshan smiled and patted her head.
The Fallen Mountain's Law Keeper, Changming, along with Pei Qian's future mute girl she picked up, would be her right and left hands.
One ruthless, the other merciless.
They would be the two shadows hiding in the shade of Fallen Mountain, silently doing only the dirty and difficult work.
Provided, of course, that the master was willing to allow it.
That was an unwritten rule at Fallen Mountain: no one had to act against their will; everything could be discussed.
Cui Dongshan hoped that this rule could endure on Fallen Mountain for a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand years.
"When you should cut but don't, chaos arises. When you should kill but don't, great thieves emerge."
Jiang Shangzhen communicated silently with a smile: "I'll help you talk to Chen Ping'an about this matter. If I can't convince him once, I'll say it several times until he's annoyed."
When this Chief Zhou addressed Chen Ping'an by his full name, it meant he was speaking very seriously.
For example, in matters concerning the Lotus Flower Blessed Land and the Fox Kingdom, Fallen Mountain's general direction had been correct, but there had been some flaws.
However, at that time, he hadn't yet secured the position of chief consecrated elder, so he wasn't in a hurry to fix the omissions. Besides, some small truths were better spoken later than earlier, because they could be more targeted, addressing specific issues and turning small mistakes into big correctives.
The three of them walked to the ferry dock, waiting for the ferry. Late at night, there were few cultivators on the shore. Most glanced at the trio and then looked away.
Cui Dongshan blinked and grinned. "Chief Zhou, with such a beautiful night, good friends, and a lovely maiden, your literary talent must be stirred. Doesn't some poetic inspiration arise? I might just have an idea."
Jiang Shangzhen cleared his throat, strolled back and forth under the umbrella at the dock, pondered for a moment, and his eyes lit up. "Beyond the wall, a swing is seen, her waist sways delicate and fine, graceful as the clouds. Giggling sounds, her lover looks up, entranced outside the wall, calling her pet name."
Cui Dongshan gave a thumbs up. "Absolutely breathtaking."
The girl suddenly raised a hand and pressed the back of it against her forehead.
For no reason, a series of past events surged into her mind.
She came from a local county of a vassal state. Her father was a man of deep learning, and her mother was a lady from a distinguished family. It was a golden marriage that others envied. Her father's early career went smoothly. After passing the imperial examinations, he served as a master of the Water Department in the Ministry of Works, then was transferred to a prefecture as a magistrate, and later promoted to prefect. But his official career was unstable. He was framed by colleagues, dismissed from office, and returned to his hometown, where he became a lecturer at an academy in Fenyang Prefecture.
Unexpectedly, his enemies in the central court pressured the local government to ostracize him severely. He couldn't even stay at the academy anymore. He died depressed, and the family declined year by year. Eventually, this affected her brother, who couldn't even take the imperial examinations. He had to leave his hometown to seek refuge and found a sect on the mountain. After receiving a letter from home about her amnesia, he immediately set out on a difficult journey to find her. Then, relying on the connections of her future husband's father, the three of them traveled thousands of miles together, finally arriving at this immortal mountain that was the leader of the entire continent, seeking a venerable old immortal master with the Dao name "Mountain-Moving Patriarch"...
The girl couldn't hold back her sobs. She turned her head and tremblingly called out, "Brother."
Cui Dongshan rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Don't bother me all the time. A frozen sparrow must be silent."
The girl immediately fell silent, trembling with fear.
Cui Dongshan crouched by the shore. The girl had to bend down to hold the umbrella for him as she heard her brother, her only kin, reciting what seemed to be a poem about roaming immortals.
"The Emperor's residence is in the Zhen hexagram, the Dragon Virtue governs spring. The immortal roams the Everlasting Spring Palace, not driving cloud chariots, but riding a white dragon. All say it's easy to seek immortals on the Eastern Mountain, but who knows it's hard to find the true path in the Northern Sea? Mending the sky and cultivating the moon, people gone, their lingering charm through the ages. Yet with the Southern Sea turning green, brewing the wine of longevity. I only wish the master would grace us with his presence more often, to ask the profound within the profound."
Jiang Shangzhen sighed in admiration. "Brother Cui's verses are filled with such immortal energy that this mortal must kneel to listen."
Cui Dongshan clapped his hands, stood up, took a step back, and then kicked Jiang Shangzhen right behind the knee.
The two men started shoving each other, playfully sparring with shouts and laughter, exchanging punches and kicks—neither too fast nor too hard.
The girl found the scene quite... heartwarming. For a moment, she wasn't as afraid of that Fallen Mountain.
Jiang Shangzhen looked up at the night sky. The drizzle had stopped, and the clouds parted to reveal the moon gradually emerging. "Thank you, moon, for pitying me, for not bearing to be full tonight."
Encounters, partings, longing—all are good omens, but on the mountain, not below.
The man with graying temples, holding an umbrella as he watched the deep night, his eyes tender, murmured, "Life's hardships are many, but already I have you. Still, I long for immortality."
The girl felt that this line was far better than the doggerel he had recited earlier. She looked timidly at the white-robed youth and softly called out, "Brother."
Cui Dongshan laughed. "Ignore him. He's famously a lovesick fool."
In that Northern Juzhou, many mountain fairies and jianghu heroines may not have given their bodies to the wrong person, but they had already given their true hearts.
The ferry pulled into the dock. From a mustard seed in the distant sky, it transformed into a colossal vessel before their eyes. The girl named Peanut was stunned. So this was a celestial ferry.
She turned back to look at the Azure Mist Peak of Zhengyang Mountain. Remembering how her brother had traveled over mountains and rivers, endured countless hardships, and spent all their money to cure her illness, yet still couldn't even step onto the mountain, she couldn't help but feel indignant. What kind of one-continent leader of immortals was this Zhengyang Mountain? What kind of invincible Mountain-Moving Patriarch?
Cui Dongshan waved his hand dramatically. "Going home!"
---
Near the Confucian Temple, at the mao hour of this day, a middle-aged Daoist traveling with a child who had left his hometown had stayed overnight there. He woke the child from the tent, and the two of them, one big and one small, sat by the water. The child was drowsy, nodding off. The Daoist wasn't in a hurry to make the child follow him in his morning devotions. In fact, the child sitting there was already a form of cultivation.
This Daoist from the Classic and Weft Temple had his hands folded on his abdomen and asked softly, "Jingxiao, have you ever heard the saying, 'Don't drink wine at the mao hour, or you'll be drunk and dazed until the you hour'?"
In the Daoist scripture collection of the Jade Capital in the Azure Underworld, there was a "Great True Book" called "The Great Thunder and Lang Book of Jingxiao."
The child named Wu Jingxiao patted his mouth. "Never heard it. I don't even know what mao hour or you hour is."
This made many of the Daoist's prepared remarks useless.
His name was Zhao Wenmin, his Dao name Pine Snow Daoist. He was a Heavenly Lord from the Central Continent Daoist sect. Zhao Wenmin's master was one of the six direct disciples of Yu Xuan, the talisman master.
Before going up the mountain, Zhao Wenmin came from a family with generations of Confucian scholarship. He was a child prodigy, did well in the imperial examinations, and before he was twenty, he served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. Later, he met a lame old Daoist in the marketplace who called himself the "Filthy Daoist." Later still, he encountered several immortal opportunities, eventually entering the Classic and Weft Temple, where he cultivated Daoist arts. As time passed, three hundred years ago, his master stepped down from secular duties to focus on cultivation, and Zhao Wenmin succeeded him as temple master, taking charge of affairs. Later still, Zhao Wenmin mistakenly thought his master was in seclusion at the back mountain, only learning of his master's death on Southern Bodhisattva Continent when a message reached the temple.
The Classic and Weft Temple was a first-rate sect in the Central Continent Divine Land, though not among the very top, it was not comparable to ordinary sects.
Zhao Wenmin breathed slowly. If a qi practitioner of the upper five realms were nearby, they would notice that the Pine Snow Daoist's inhaling and exhaling was rapidly refining water qi. However, every time he condensed strands of water qi, he would return them to the river one by one. It seemed that the Daoist's cultivation was merely the process of refinement, not the result.
Zhao Wenmin said, "Jingxiao, we Daoist cultivators often perform our morning devotions at the mao hour because at this time, yang qi is just rising, yin qi has not yet stirred, we haven't eaten or drunk, and our blood and qi are not yet disturbed."
Even if he was like a chicken talking to a duck, some truths, if spoken often enough, might sink into the child's mind and be remembered silently, waiting for the day enlightenment struck.
The child was very sleepy. "Devotions? Don't I know that? Reciting lessons at school, right? If you don't recite well, you get the teacher's ruler. Now that I'm a Daoist, there's still homework?"
Zhao Wenmin smiled and nodded. "Devotions are about checking one's own merits, understanding one's true nature, and cultivating one's own path. They are certainly important and cannot be neglected. Cultivating the heart and refining one's nature is the gateway for all Daoists to practice and seek the truth. But don't worry, it's not too late to start cultivating on the mountain."
The child grew even more drowsy.
So Zhao Wenmin smiled and said, "But it won't be me who wields the ruler. You're now considered my junior... junior brother."
He didn't say the truth. According to the sect's genealogical ranking, he was actually the child's junior uncle. The Classic and Weft Temple master didn't want to scare the child.
This child, though he often sniffled and wiped his nose, was actually quite clever and crafty.
The child wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "What? You're already so old—at least forty or fifty—and you're just my senior brother? That means our sect doesn't have many experts."
Zhao Wenmin smiled without speaking. Monks don't speak their names; Daoists don't speak their ages.
The child's parents, under the secret instruction from the county magistrate, hadn't told the child much about the Classic and Weft Temple being an extraordinary immortal mansion of the sect-head level.
The child grinned with delight, thinking to himself. "That's good. A small sect with few people means the study rules won't be so strict. I can sleep in later."
"Homework? Senior Brother said not to rush. I'm not in a hurry even when I get to the mountain."
"Senior Brother, tell me the truth, how much silver did you secretly give my parents? They were so happy to sell their own child—it must have been a lot. When I first left, I was heartbroken."
The Daoist was amused and had to comfort him. "I did give your parents some silver, but not much. The reason they were happy is that they trust my sect. They aren't too worried about your cultivation on the mountain."
The child said, "Oh. Senior Brother, can we get married in this sect?"
"Yes, we can."
"Then after a few years on the mountain, I'll come down and marry that dumb girl next door. She's really bad at reading, and her handwriting is crooked. It always runs out of the box, and the teacher sighs when he sees it."
If she didn't look as good as when she was little, he'd think about it again.
The child's little abacus was clicking away.
He perked up a bit and asked softly, "Instead of being my senior brother, why don't you be my master?"
Still calculating. The guy next to him seemed good-natured. But a senior brother wouldn't be in charge. If he made mistakes, he couldn't protect him from scolding or beating. But if he were his master, heh. Right, Senior Brother? I think you're a good person. Good temper, pleasant to talk to, very good. My future master is you from now on. Want to pinky swear...?
Zhao Wenmin had a headache. The founding patriarch's eye for picking disciples was, as always, rather... picky.
Actually, when he himself had been allowed to cultivate on the mountain, it was because the patriarch had accepted a disciple on behalf of his own direct disciple.
Was he now paying off that debt?
A purple-robed old Daoist with a wine gourd at his waist appeared suddenly beside them. Zhao Wenmin was about to hurriedly stand up and make a Daoist bow, but the old Daoist waved his hand. All that pretentious nonsense—wasn't it annoying?
Yu Xuan had found an excuse to leave the Confucian Temple and take a walk.
This discussion had taken too long. It was truly grinding.
Now that he had finally taken on a new direct disciple, he wanted to come over and take a few more looks.
Yu Xuan thought for a moment, coughed, and rarely put on a stern face, putting on the airs of an old immortal on the mountain.
Zhao Wenmin whispered a reminder, "Your master is here."
The child looked up and saw a face that looked very disagreeable—not much different from the tutor at school who could hit him with a charcoal stick even with his eyes closed.
The child's face crumpled, and he felt like crying. This time, he wasn't acting—he was genuinely scared. The child's thinking was simple: the school was close to home. But once he got to the mountain, how could he run away? How full would he have to eat to make a sprint back home without getting hungry?
Yu Xuan quickly crouched down, glared at Zhao Wenmin for failing to handle such a simple matter as taking in a junior uncle, and then comforted the child. "Jingxiao, I am your master."
The child was startled. Wasn't this the same old swindler who couldn't even afford a candied hawthorn stick?
He hesitated, then fumbled out a handful of copper coins—almost his entire fortune. He kept only enough for a candied hawthorn stick and handed the rest to the senior brother. "I only have this much money. Give it to him. I'm going home. Take more money from you guys. Wait here. I know the way. No need to see me off..."
He slapped the copper coins into the Daoist's hand and ran off.
The Daoist was dumbfounded. He cautiously glanced at the old patriarch.
Yu Xuan smiled and shook his head, signaling not to stop him. They should just wait here.
The child walked backward, then turned around. His pace wasn't fast. He looked back a few times, then broke into a sprint.
But after running quite far, the child stopped, panting. He turned and looked at the middle-aged Daoist.
The child scratched his head, feeling a bit guilty. He seemed about to say something but hesitated. In the end, he was still timid and ran off without saying a word.
The two Daoists, differing in seniority, stood side by side by the water.
Zhao Wenmin asked quietly, "Patriarch, why don't I conceal my form and escort Junior Uncle home?"
Yu Xuan said impatiently, "Who is his master? Is it your turn? A Daoist must have integrity. Sycophancy and flattery must be avoided!"
Finally having the opportunity to make a proper Daoist bow to the patriarch, Zhao Wenmin stood up and said, "I almost forgot the patriarch's teaching. A person's virtue is the soul of talismans; sincerity and reverence in the heart are the roots of Daoist magic."
Yu Xuan squinted and smiled. "Wenmin, helping me take on a disciple this time merits a reward. When you get back, go ask your master of finance at the Classic and Weft Temple for a reward. At the very least, a half-immortal artifact. If its rank isn't high or its quality isn't good, that would be unbecoming. Just tell him it's not my order, he can handle it himself. As for who your master uncle will complain to, I'll be heading to the celestial river soon, so I won't be around to listen to your grumbling."
Zhao Wenmin made a bow.
His Classic and Weft Temple was the poorest among the patriarch's several lineages in terms of assets. Hence, there was a saying, "The Classic and Weft Temple is best at complaining about poverty."
From the patriarch's words, it seemed he wanted his master uncle to go to the ancestral mountain and display the Classic and Weft Temple's signature skills. That would be carrying out the patriarch's will. His master uncle's voice in the ancestral hall wouldn't be small.
Yu Xuan asked, "Wenmin, although it's now the age of peace and prosperity for our Haoran World, are you willing to descend the mountain, travel far, and kill some enemies?"
Zhao Wenmin smiled. "Patriarch, to be honest, I was planning to ask the ancestral mountain in a letter after returning to the Classic and Weft Temple. Whether they agree or not, I will go to the Barren Wilderness World. Several senior uncles on the ancestral mountain wouldn't be able to drag me back to the Classic and Weft Temple anyway. As for the position of temple master, I already have a suitable candidate in mind. The lineage won't be cut off. Since I've spoken to the patriarch about it today, I can save myself the trouble of sending a letter when I return to the Classic and Weft Temple."
Yu Xuan nodded. "May the blessings of limitless heavens be upon you."
The old Daoist glanced at Zhao Wenmin, who was standing still, and said, "What are you waiting for? Go escort your junior uncle. He's just a small child. As his nephew, are you really at ease? Huh?!"
Zhao Wenmin smiled, bid farewell, and left.
Yu Xuan looked up at the sky.
He took down the vermillion gourd at his waist and took a sip of wine.
Oblivious to self and the world, refining the galaxy, he drifted into the Daoist realm.
Yu Xuan withdrew his gaze. Damn it, those old throne holders of the Barren Wilderness World liked to gang up, didn't they? Well, stretch your necks and wait. Sooner or later, a galaxy would come crashing down on your heads.
---
People began to leave the Confucian Temple in succession. This time, it wasn't just to go out drinking and relieve boredom; their discussions had ended.
Among them were Chao Pu, the national teacher of the Shao Yuan Dynasty, and his proud student, Lin Junbi.
Chao Pu said, "There's no problem with you succeeding me as national teacher. As for the other issues, big and small, seen and unseen, you'll have to solve them yourself."
Actually, it would have been better to wait another twenty or thirty years, to prepare more ground for the student before it was safe. But time waited for no one; it couldn't be delayed. And it was for the best—Lin Junbi would have more to temper him.
Chao Pu himself needed to hurry to another continent to take up the position of sect master, purely as a mountain cultivator, to plan for an entire continent.
He had to admit, he was walking the same old path as the Embroidery Tiger, Cui Chan.
As for the final height, he would do his best and leave the rest to fate.
Lin Junbi nodded. "I will try not to disappoint my master."
Chao Pu reminded him, "You can learn a lot from Chen Ping'an, but don't become a second Chen Ping'an. In this, you should most learn from him."
Lin Junbi understood. "I will."
Fire Dragon True Man had been standing outside the main gate and hadn't left.
Almost everyone who passed by would take the initiative to greet the old true man, exchanging a few pleasantries.
When Lady Dandan, the Dao name Qing Zhong of the Lucent Pit, walked out with the Flower Master of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land and saw Fire Dragon True Man's back, she immediately tried to take a detour down the steps.
But the old true man turned around, looked at the plump woman, and said with a smile, "Lady Dandan's footsteps are so heavy, even with my ears covered, I can hear them."
Lady Dandan grabbed the Flower Master's sleeve and went to see Fire Dragon True Man together.
The old true man's face was full of regret. He sighed deeply. "The poor Daoist has never visited the Lucent Pit to travel, nor has Lady Dandan ever come to Gufeng Mountain as a guest. This is truly a great regret in my life."
Lady Dandan understood. Paying to avoid disaster. Apart from the portion given to the Confucian Temple, she still had some private savings.
Wei Ying and Song Changjing walked out together.
The Jade Gui Sect and the Dali Song clan had formed an alliance.
There was no oath, no written contract.
Just a verbal agreement between the two.
For example, every ten years, the Sticky Rod Corps of the Dali Ministry of Justice would send no fewer than ten top-tier cultivation seedlings to the True Realm Sect of the Book and Bamboo Lake. Once they reached the Earth Immortal realm, they would serve as various ranks of consecrated elders in the Dali Ministry of Justice for sixty years, undertaking various unsavory secret missions.
In return, the True Realm Sect would dispatch Earth Immortal sword cultivators to serve as accompanying military cultivators in the Dali border army. Each would train in the ranks for at least thirty years, and no Earth Immortal cultivator of the True Realm Sect could decline.
The Second Saint stood at the top of the steps outside the Confucian Temple's main gate, gazing at a certain point in the sky.
The scripture scholar Xiping stood beside him and asked with a smile, "Since you're worried, why not let him know?"
The Second Saint said, "He's not a child anymore. What's the point of saying that?"
Xiping smiled and asked, "I'm very curious—I probably shouldn't ask, but I will anyway. At the top of that city wall, did Cui Chan curse?"
The Second Saint shook his head. "No. He just said that if he had been born a hundred or two hundred years earlier, many fewer people would have died in the world. It's a pity he was born too late. With only a little over a hundred years to plan, he had to move hastily, leaving the plan full of gaps."
Xiping was speechless. Embroidery Tiger, you call this full of gaps?
The Second Saint recalled the final scene at the top of the city wall.
After a discussion and debate, Cui Chan raised his hand, his palm facing his ear, as if listening to something.
As if when the sky had collapsed earlier, the wind had scattered all the sobs in the world—both from the Haoran World and the Barren Wilderness World.
At Aotou Mountain, Nanguang Zhao suddenly felt restless and uneasy, so he performed a divination for himself.
A gentleman asks about calamity, not fortune—that was the rule for Confucian disciples. As for poverty, wealth, honor, and base station, the previous life had it all; lifespan, whether long or short, was determined by fate. Nanguang Zhao didn't believe in that either.
After looking at the hexagrams, Nanguang Zhao was drenched in cold sweat, lost and bewildered. His heartstrings tightened. He made up his mind to go into seclusion. He had to go into seclusion. Even if the Confucian Temple sent him to the battlefield, he would find an excuse to delay for a few years.
The Flower Master of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land returned to her lodging, spread out a piece of colored paper on the desk, and picked up a brush. But she didn't know what to write. Her arm rested lazily on a brush rest.
She sighed faintly. In the end, she hadn't been able to see the man who had disappeared for many years.
She looked down at the brush rest. On it were four lines of text carved in running cursive.
"Melted amber, sapphire-green, black-haired steed; dazzling precious pearls, rouge-and-powder adornment. Above the bridge, the acrid wind stings the eyes; on the surface of the gourd, ganoderma grows."
The last two lines had only two characters each, the names he had carved, like Dao companions on the mountain, leaning on each other.
Back then, she had only been an ordinary flower goddess of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land, with a low rank. Her flower name at the time was "Xiangxiu."
That name Xiangxiu had already been abandoned for many years since he left.
She put down the brush and gently turned the brush rest over. On the other side were four small characters: "Clear spirit, nourish the qi." The characters were written with a dragon's flight and a snake's stride, the spirit of the characters just like that person.
Even though she knew that the chance of meeting him at this Confucian Temple discussion was slim, she still held onto that one-in-ten-thousand hope.
What if that one-in-ten-thousand turned out to be ten thousand?
---
Confucian Temple, Grove of Merit and Virtue.
The Wen Sheng lineage.
The Old Scholar.
Zuo You, Liu Shiliu, Chen Ping'an.
Li Baoping, Li Baoping, and that little spirit Liu Shiliu had brought from the Yuhua Blessed Land to the Haoran World.
And Mao Xiaodong.
The Old Scholar was drinking heavily and soon became bleary-eyed. He muttered, "Is this real?"
After a good drunk, a dream come true. This old man could hardly believe it.
The Old Scholar suddenly slammed the table. "If you don't shout while drinking, there's no taste. Anyone want to say a few lines?"
All eyes, without exception, fell on Chen Ping'an—the student, the junior brother, the little master uncle.
Chen Ping'an had been holding a sword across his knees, drinking small sips, thinking of someone.
Drunk in the land of intoxication, heaven and earth seem small, the cosmos narrow, past and present short.
A smile strokes the green duckweed, the three-foot sword in hand, never once betraying a lifetime.