Chapter 478: Matter Unresolved, Walk Away

A rider headed towards Kuai Xue Mountain Manor. The young knight, with a refined face, wore a red fox-fur hat, with two strands of black and white hair falling beside his temples. A short, black-sheathed dao hung at his waist. Instead of hurrying into the manor, the man and his horse dismounted and walked along the bluestone path by Spring God Lake.

It was midday, the sun was warm, and the winter snow had melted. The lake water was as clear as a mirror, and sightseers streamed by endlessly. The rapid succession of events at Kuai Xue Mountain Manor was dazzling, leading to a flurry of rumors. After the manifestation of Emperor Zhenwu appeared by the lake, Young Master Li Huoli of Yanbao first left, leading elite cavalry and escorts, carrying an urgent military order that had traveled six hundred li at an expedited pace, to return to the border. Subsequently, Xie Lingzhen of Chuntie Thatched Cottage also departed the manor. Yu Chi Liangfu claimed that this senior elder from the cottage had gained enlightenment by observing the lake and was returning to Shu to seclude himself, with hopes of reaching the Celestial Phenomenon Realm in this lifetime. Li Yibai of Dongyue Sword Pool also stated he was going to meet his esteemed mentor Song Nianqing, and then vanished. Kuai Xue Mountain Manor had originally intended to elevate its prestige and status through the grand event of electing a martial arts alliance leader. With three key figures leaving one after another, it seemed destined to become the laughingstock of the entire martial arts world. However, the sudden emergence of the purple-clad woman from Huishan changed everything. She defeated sixteen renowned masters in a single day, gaining unmatched prominence for a time. She appeared to be on the verge of winning the championship in one fell swoop, which prompted many martial artists who had already left the manor and were on their way back to turn their horses and carriages around, surging back into Kuai Xue Mountain Manor. This undoubtedly resolved the manor's urgent crisis.

In this materialistic era, where "people are judged by their clothes, and Buddhas by their gold," a sword-wielding wandering knight leading a horse would not be conspicuous among the crowded throngs unless closely observed. Most martial artists arriving at Kuai Xue Mountain Manor were powerful and influential figures. Leveraging their sect backgrounds or personal reputations, they might not be the wealthiest in their hometowns, but they certainly never lacked money. Along the lake, one saw a profusion of brocade robes and fox furs; wearing a sable hat costing less than several dozen taels of silver was considered embarrassing for social greetings. Many beautiful women clung intimately to these heroes, their eyes subtly scanning, secretly comparing their companions' wealth. There were also martial artists traveling with their wives, children, and family members, who undoubtedly felt even more confident. Most of these were direct descendants of first or second-tier major martial arts sects. The playful children, completely uninhibited, disregarded their parents' admonitions, romping and playing as if they were butterflies flitting among flowers. These children might not even know that in the imperial court, there were terms like "official's sons" and "general's grandsons," but they were the equivalent of "scions of prominent martial families" in the jianghu. When they eventually inherited their fathers' legacies and ventured into the jianghu, they would clearly find things much easier than others. The bustling bluestone path was filled with polite greetings, expressing long-standing admiration, and joyful reunions among old acquaintances. Several pairs of young children, whose parents happened to be long-standing family friends, quickly became familiar with each other, charging around together amidst laughter and shouts. Occasionally, a martial artist they bumped into, even a man typically prone to fits of rage, would simply brush it off today, offering a rough but friendly smile and reaching out to ruffle the children's heads. The children would cleverly duck and run past, while their helpless parents behind them would not forget to cup their hands and smile at the man. If the interaction was simple, it would end with a shared smile. If it was more elaborate, they would stop, exchange names, and easily form a minor connection—costing not a single copper coin, so why not?

Several children, playing together like joyful fish, wove through the gaps in the crowd, their antics growing more boisterous. They possessed some rudimentary light-body martial arts skills, and spurred by their excitement, they unconsciously employed their family's movement techniques. Coincidentally, someone had stopped by the lake, leading a horse, gazing at the misty Spring God Lake. The first child, just as he was about to collide with the horse's belly, grabbed the horse's back with both hands, nimbly flipped over, and continued running forward. His fluid motion was eye-catching and quite impressive. A pigtail-wearing girl behind him imitated his move, also flipping over the horse's back. The last child, however, lacked such a foundation. Unwilling to go around, he failed to leap over and crashed into the horse's belly, falling to the ground. Whether from pain or feeling humiliated in front of his childhood friends, he sat on the ground, wailing uncontrollably. The young man wearing the red fox-fur hat turned at the sound, released the reins, and smiled as he reached out to help the child up. The child looked up at the stranger, and perhaps thinking the smile was mockery, cried even more heartbreakingly.

The young man, perhaps owning an inferior horse and a cheap fur hat, lacked an air of nobility, which might explain his warm, slightly apologetic smile as he faced the tantrum-throwing child, who was practically rolling on the ground, feeling somewhat at a loss. The two older children who had already jumped over the horse turned back, glaring at the young man. The boy who had first leaped over the horse looked furious, displaying an intimidating martial aura despite his young age. The pigtail-wearing girl, a budding beauty, had a much gentler temper. Seeing that the "culprit" did not seem like a bad person, she merely gave him a naturally charming glare before going to help her dust-covered companion. Though the rescued child had been crying loudly, he had actually been observing everything around him. Once his older brother and sister arrived to support him, and his parents also quickly approached from behind, his courage surged. He ran over and gave the man holding the horse a vicious kick on the calf. The young man dismissed it with a smile, lowered his head, and patted off the dust. Unexpectedly, the child was still not satisfied. He slapped the man's head, knocking off the fox-fur hat, which he could tell at a glance wasn't worth much. Only then did he grin triumphantly. After the hat fell, the twenty-something sword-wielding young man revealed a head of hair that mirrored the streaked hair at his temples—it was a grayish-white, like that of an elderly person, giving him a lifeless, late-in-life appearance.

The young man shook his head, not wanting to argue with the naughty child. He took a few steps forward and bent down to pick up his precious fox-fur hat. Unexpectedly, a soft whip, like a spiritual snake flicking its tongue, hooked the fox-fur hat, which was indeed a cheap, unsightly piece. The whip lifted, tossing the hat high into the air. Then, this soft whip, praised in the jianghu as the "Tiger Tail Whip," coiled like a snake. The whip head struck the whip body, making a sound like firecrackers. After the loud crack, it suddenly straightened, flicking the hat and forcing it to float back down to its owner, landing perfectly on the young man's head. This scene truly exemplified the old saying that a good horse is ridden and a good man is taken advantage of. The young man was likely awestruck by this display from the child's elder. Amidst the cheers and applause from onlookers, who seemed to revel in chaos, he quietly stood up, straightened his fox-fur hat, and did not even glance at the burly man who had just displayed such exceptional whip skills.

Seeing the young man repeatedly retreat after causing trouble, the man whose family had been prominent in Liaodong for generations bothered no further to "beat a dog when it's down." He was short and stocky, but his wife beside him was strikingly tall and alluring, enough to make others envious. Her long legs alone reached almost to his ribs, a height rare for a woman even in the northern regions, let alone the south. What was even more remarkable was her well-proportioned figure, her chest prominent even beneath a thick fur coat, as if eager to draw attention. Beside them were two other pairs of "immortal martial couples," whose family backgrounds were quite comparable to the Liaodong family. All in their thirties, the men exuded virility, and the women were graceful. The four of them exchanged smiles upon witnessing this scene, which was far from harmonious and prosperous. They showed some disapproval, but only through sympathetic glances, and did not speak a single word of fairness for the strange young man. Venturing into the jianghu, it was generally understood to "help friends, not principles." Almost everyone failed to notice that the young man, who seemed to lack any backbone, had subtly made an almost imperceptible dismissive gesture with his hand after leading the horse and before pressing down his fox-fur hat. The only exception was Zhou Qinjun, who had been observing dispassionately. This was because she had consistently kept her gaze fixed on Xu Qi, whom she had first met on Longwei Slope. She couldn't comprehend how a man capable of making dozens of great devils from Zhulu Mountain retreat in the face of difficulty, a prominent figure invited by the Demonic Sect to ascend a mountain and be ennobled, could be in such a desolate state.

Zhou Qinjun hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the man who continued to gaze at the desolate winter scene of Spring God Lake. Xu Zhan, who had been inseparable from her these past few days, followed closely behind. Xu Zhan, carrying an ancestral long staff on his back, had only walked a few steps when he was quickly recognized by some sharp-eyed individuals. In recent days, Kuai Xue Mountain Manor had set up several immensely expensive martial arts stages on Spring God Lake. Besides the main arena, whose spotlight had been entirely stolen by the purple-clad woman from Huishan, there were also several smaller stages, which had also seen the emergence of many masters. Xu Zhan had made a stunning debut on one of these stages. He fought for four hundred rounds against an elderly but still vigorous saber master from the Northwest, and emerged victorious. He then successfully defended his stage for four consecutive matches before finally being defeated by Xie Huaibai, a renowned swordsman from the Southeast whose reputation far surpassed Xu Zhan's by "a hundred thousand eight thousand li." It was only then that everyone suddenly remembered that Xu Zhan's father, Xu Daqiu, had authored the "Treatise on Techniques" and was once one of the world's foremost masters of staff combat. The once-declining Xu family, thanks to Xu Zhan's astonishing display, was now regarded by many martial arts elders, especially masters from Lianghuai, as having the potential for a family revival. The Liaodong hero, who was a head shorter than his wife, put away his soft whip. Seeing Xu Zhan's sudden appearance, he pondered for a moment, then laughed heartily and proactively asked, "Is this Young Master Xu Zhan, who is carrying on and promoting his family's 'Treatise on Techniques'?"

Xu Zhan, who initially had little fondness for these arrogant jianghu heroes, nonetheless turned around upon being recognized. He smiled, cupped his fist in return, and replied, "This junior is Xu Zhan. I once heard my elders speak of the Feng family of Liaodong, filled with masters. They can kill a fierce tiger with a single whip and possess divine archery skills, able to make birds fall from the sky merely by the sound of their bowstring." Upon hearing these words, Feng Maolin, the illegitimate son from a side branch of the Liaodong Feng family, felt as if "Ma Gu had scratched an itch"—it hit just the right spot, leaving him thoroughly comfortable. Indeed, a kind word warms one for three winters. If anyone else had flattered him, he would have easily dismissed it, but Xu Zhan was different. Not only did Xu Zhan possess extensive family knowledge not much inferior to the Liaodong Feng family's, but he also had formidable martial skills himself, with the potential to become a first-rate master in the future. Feng Maolin, whose reputation circulated mainly in the Liangliao region, was skilled with the whip and exceptional at archery. Were it not for the Feng family's longstanding disfavor with King Zhao Sui of Jiaodong, Feng Maolin, with his family background and abilities, could easily have secured a real military position as a captain. On this trip south to Kuai Xue Mountain Manor, to avoid trouble, he had not brought his large ox-horn bow, an opportunity for him to truly shine, much to Feng Maolin's regret. Relying solely on his soft whip, and without having fully grasped the essence of the Feng family's whip techniques, he knew his own limitations. It was exceedingly difficult for him to win multiple consecutive matches in the arenas like Xu Zhan. It was hard to make a name in the jianghu, especially for scions of prominent families like Feng Maolin, simply because as an illegitimate son, he would always be suppressed by the legitimate heir of the main branch. Practicing martial arts was a bottomless pit, a money pit. A family with ambitions to rise to prominence in the martial world could not possibly cater to everyone. If Feng Maolin was in such a situation, it was even more so for martial arts practitioners from ordinary families: the cost of medicinal herbs for physical conditioning, the dual expenses of money and favors for accumulating or borrowing secret manuals, and the various outlays for inviting renowned masters to teach within the family—all these would make one gasp in astonishment. Thus, the saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" was not exaggerated in the slightest. Here, Feng Maolin sought to build rapport with Xu Zhan, introducing the two couples, whose family backgrounds were comparable to his own, to the newly famous Xu Zhan, and they chatted very happily.

Zhou Qinjun approached the young man, who was standing still with his horse, and mustered her courage to ask, "Why have you changed your personality? Your temper is so good now." Xu Fengnian turned to look at this rare acquaintance from Kuai Xue Mountain Manor, smiled, and said nothing. Zhou Qinjun recalled their narrow escape from a series of dangers and realized that this young man, whose background was obscure, had indeed never been a domineering figure. No matter how much Hu Chunya rolled her eyes or provoked him, she had never seen him show even a hint of anger. Zhou Qinjun glanced at his profile, feeling momentarily lost in thought. Was his constant calm and composure due to him simply not caring about the ups and downs of people like them? Viewing others' rise and fall as mere child's play—Zhou Qinjun felt a touch of ennui at this thought. She turned to see Xu Zhan laughing and talking with that group, acting like long-lost brothers. During his time at Kuai Xue Mountain Manor, Zhou Qinjun had witnessed much of the warmth and coldness of human relations. With Xu Zhan's newfound fame, they had been fortunate enough to stay in a detached courtyard at the manor. All sorts of people, from various walks of life, came to their courtyard to establish connections, leaving no moment of peace. Xu Zhan had also subtly probed her. During one drinking session together, he almost opened his heart under the influence of alcohol, but she still managed to change the subject. Zhou Qinjun had a very good impression of Xu Zhan, with whom she had faced life and death, but unfortunately, it was not romantic love. Zhou Qinjun only wished to continue venturing into the jianghu while she was young, to witness more bizarre and fantastic stories. Whether she had companions or was alone didn't matter. Perhaps the day a man who made her fall in love at first sight appeared would be the day she left the jianghu.

Xu Fengnian returned to Kuai Xue Mountain Manor under the secret escort of the Death Warrior Yin for three reasons. The first was to settle things with Lin Hongyuan of the Dragon Palace; she still owed him a "Stele Rubbing" move of Finger Profundity. The second was to see if he could wait for the young Sect Master Li Yufu, to offer a cup of wine at the grave of the wandering hero He Zhu on behalf of Hehe girl, and to inform Li Yufu of the creekside child's first awakening. The last reason was based on a secret letter: Xuanyuan Qingfeng was dominating the main arena and showed a strong tendency to win the championship. He had previously promised her the seat of martial arts alliance leader, and if the opportunity arose, he would assist her. Xu Fengnian himself had little desire left for this jianghu. Other than the old Zhao family bastard still hiding in Longhu Mountain, other than the battle in the East Sea whose occurrence was still uncertain, and other than the two women from Zhulu Mountain whom he still cared for in his heart, there was nothing else that could stir his interest.

Regardless of willingness, one must depart when matters are unfinished.

Fortunately, this time, he would return to Beiliang with Xu Xiao, who was waiting for him in Xiangfan.