Chapter 927: Asking the Blind, Heart Has Sword Sound
The mountaintop was extremely quiet. Zhe Xiu, Tang Thirty-Six, and the disciples of Lishan Sword Sect watched the two men in silence.
Among the younger generation of cultivators, the most famous had once been Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong, and only later did Chen Changsheng's name emerge.
The relationship between these three was very complicated; that story could take a long time to tell.
But as far as the world knew, Chen Changsheng and Qiushan Jun had never met.
The entire continent was curious: if they ever met for the first time, what would happen?
Today, they had finally met. What would happen next?
Qiushan Jun calmly performed a salute and said, "The journey must have been arduous."
Chen Changsheng calmly returned the salute and said, "Long time no see."
In Wenshui City, Qiushan Jun had walked past him without truly meeting.
By that reckoning, this was their first meeting since parting at the Songshan Military Prefecture.
Hearing Chen Changsheng's words, the Lishan Sword Sect disciples looked somewhat bewildered, thinking: Had the senior brother and His Holiness the Pope met before?
Zhe Xiu and Tang Thirty-Six exchanged a glance, also surprised.
Ye Xiaolian, however, wasn't thinking about any of that. Her gaze darted back and forth between Qiushan Jun and Chen Changsheng's faces, utterly entranced, wondering how she would boast to her junior sisters when she returned to the monastery.
Only Gou Hanshi and the others who had returned to the mountain with Qiushan Jun the day before knew that these two had spent some time together at the Banya Horse Ranch.
Thinking of that matter and watching the scene before them, Gou Hanshi and the others wore strange expressions. Bai Cai, in particular, was struggling mightily to suppress his laughter.
Tang Thirty-Six was very curious. Without any sense of being an outsider, he walked over and asked what was going on.
After learning the answer, he was speechless. He looked at Qiushan Jun and Chen Changsheng and said with emotion, "Are you two blind?"
...
...
Qiushan Jun said, "You are Tang Tang?"
"You know me?" Tang Thirty-Six asked, slightly surprised.
He thought to himself that even someone like Qiushan Jun knew who he was, and felt a bit smug, but then grew annoyed at himself for that smugness.
"I heard that when you came out of the ancestral hall, you were unbearably foul. Now it seems you bathed in the street but forgot to rinse your mouth."
Qiushan Jun shook his head and gestured for Chen Changsheng to follow him into the cave dwelling.
Tang Thirty-Six was furious. He didn't care that the other party was Qiushan Jun or that this was Lishan Sword Sect; he rolled up his sleeves, ready to start a war of words.
Gou Hanshi quickly pulled him back and urged, "Senior brother is in a bad mood today. Please be understanding."
This was true. Although Qiushan Jun was not a gentle and refined gentleman like Gou Hanshi, he was quite magnanimous and rarely spoke such sharp, sarcastic words.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at the closed stone door of the cave dwelling and laughed loudly, saying, "So even Qiushan Jun can be humiliated into anger."
...
...
For the two most remarkable figures among the younger generation of cultivators to have once done something so foolish, it was naturally somewhat embarrassing.
And for this most embarrassing past to be exposed in public, and even bluntly criticized as being blind, was naturally very awkward.
Moreover, for many reasons, there was already a great deal of awkwardness between Chen Changsheng and Qiushan Jun.
So, until they reached the depths of the cave dwelling, neither of them spoke.
"Master, His Holiness the Pope has arrived."
After saying this, Qiushan Jun walked to the side and sat down.
A Daoist sat on a cushion, his head bowed, intently reading what looked like a sword manual. He seemed extremely focused; only his head full of white hair was visible.
Chen Changsheng knew this was the Sect Master of Lishan Sword Sect and instinctively looked at him.
Just then, the Lishan Sword Sect Master also raised his head, and their gazes met.
Chen Changsheng noticed that although the man had white hair, his eyes were extremely clear and penetrating, with no trace of worldly weariness, possessing a fresh quality.
Such clear and penetrating eyes, yet they gave a feeling of unfathomable depth.
Chen Changsheng was slightly surprised, thinking that this sword master might not have only recently entered the Divine Domain.
"I had already crossed that threshold before Little Master Uncle left."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master saw his confusion and said with a smile, "But there's no need to publicize such things. I'm not like those figures of the past who needed to secure vast fertile lands for their clans and disciples, and attending ceremonies is very troublesome, so I didn't let the world know."
Chen Changsheng asked, "Then why..."
What he wanted to ask was naturally why, a few days ago, Lishan Sword Sect had suddenly announced this to the world.
The Lishan Sword Sect Master said, "The Prince of Xiang crossed this threshold. If I didn't step forward, I'm afraid people's hearts would be unsettled."
Chen Changsheng understood his meaning and said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master said, "These are just empty reputations and postures. But Your Holiness must understand that I, this old Daoist, hate trouble the most. If there's no pressing matter, I absolutely will not descend the mountain."
Chen Changsheng said, "If it's not necessary, I will certainly not disturb Senior's cultivation."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master said, "If you didn't want to disturb my cultivation, why would Your Holiness be sitting before me right now?"
Chen Changsheng felt a bit embarrassed and said, "But that matter still needs to be resolved."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Is that wolf child's illness cured?"
Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, "Not only is it not cured, but there are signs of it worsening."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master sighed and said, "In that case, meeting is worse than not meeting."
Chen Changsheng said, "Our purpose in coming to Lishan this time, besides seeing people, is also to seek treatment."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master asked, "What does this mean?"
Chen Changsheng explained Zhe Xiu's condition and then said, "I once read a record in the Daoist Canon. I heard that Lishan Sword Sect once had a Daoist technique that infused pure, clear, and wondrous sounds into the way of the sword. It was the most balanced and gentle. I believe this technique can help Zhe Xiu temporarily control his blood surging."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You mean to let that wolf child learn the Daoist techniques of my Lishan Sword Sect?"
Chen Changsheng said, "That's correct. I ask Senior to grant this request."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master said, "I have heard of the Right Sword Clear Sound technique, but it has been lost for many years."
Chen Changsheng also knew this but still held onto his last hope, saying, "If the Sword Sound Dual Score still exists, perhaps the true method can be learned."
The Lishan Sword Sect Master smiled without speaking, but he seemed to casually close the book he had been intently reading.
Chen Changsheng's gaze fell on the cover of that book, and he was very surprised. So this was the Dual Score of the Right Sword Clear Sound!
The Lishan Sword Sect Master said with a smile, "The Right Sword Clear Sound has indeed been lost. I only started learning it yesterday, and I cannot be sure when I will master it."
At this point, Chen Changsheng understood. Lishan Sword Sect had already made arrangements for this matter.
He made a deep bow to the Lishan Sword Sect Master and said with sincere emotion, "Thank you, Senior, for granting this request."
Having a sword master at the Divine Domain level to revive the Right Sword Clear Sound tradition and then teach it to Zhe Xiu was infinitely better than Zhe Xiu studying the sword manual on his own.
The Lishan Sword Sect Master smiled but did not respond.