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Fenghuo Xizhuhou
Three riders and a donkey bypassed Taoshu Town and reached the archway at the foot of Wudang Mountain. Xu Fengnian, Fan Xiaochai, and Chen Tianyuan dismounted. After landing, Deng Tai'a patted the old donkey's back, muttering to himself.
Chen Tianyuan looked up at the four characters "Wudang Will Prosper," personally inscribed by Patriarch Lu. Unlike ordinary swordsmen who showed reverence, he exuded high spirits and a strong fighting will.
Xu Fengnian suddenly turned to Fan Xiaochai and said, "Go to the southeast of Liyang. If you can find that person within two years, please deliver a message to him: he needs to repay the money he owed me back then."
Fan Xiaochai frowned and replied, "According to intelligence from Fushui House, villages and towns are scattered across that region. Dialects change every ten *li*, and customs every hundred *li*. With the fragmented clues we have, he will be difficult to find."
Xu Fengnian nodded, "It's like finding a needle in a haystack; it's up to fate. Just do your best; I don't actually expect you to find him."
Fan Xiaochai asked with a stern face, "Can't you send someone else? I specialize in killing, and that's all I'm good at. There are many others in Fushui House more suitable for finding people."
Xu Fengnian chuckled, "No."
A faint hint of anger flickered in Fan Xiaochai's eyes, swaying like water weeds in their clear depths. She was indignant but dared not speak.
Xu Fengnian teased, "Perhaps in less than two years, you'll hear news of my death. Wouldn't that save you trouble and effort?"
Fan Xiaochai said stiffly, "The greatest pleasure in this world is to personally slay an enemy."
Xu Fengnian sighed, helpless. "You only dare to show your true feelings in front of me. If Lu Qiuer were here, would you have the guts?"
Fan Xiaochai smiled sweetly and retorted, "Is Chu Lushan here?"
Xu Fengnian said grumpily, "That's why they say, only villains can deal with villains."
Fan Xiaochai gazed deeply at the young lord, then remounted her horse. She hesitated, then reached for the hilt of the saber at her waist. "This 'Crossed River Pawn'?"
Xu Fengnian smiled slightly, "It's just a temporary loan; you still have to return it!"
Fan Xiaochai galloped away.
Chen Tianyuan, who had been immersed in the magnificent sword intent of Patriarch Lu's four characters, was startled back to his senses by the fading sound of hooves. He asked, puzzled, "Why did she leave?"
Xu Fengnian said calmly, "I asked her to do something in the Central Plains."
Chen Tianyuan let out an "oh" and waited until the rider and horse completely disappeared from sight before mounting his own. Looking in the direction she had departed, he burst into laughter, full of heroic spirit, "May the world know my sword only through these three: Green Mountains, Clear Waters, and Fan Xiaochai!"
Xu Fengnian scoffed, "If you're so capable, say that to her face."
After mounting, Chen Tianyuan slightly adjusted the famous sword at his waist. "Why would I say something that would annoy her?"
Xu Fengnian said, "But neither I nor your half-master like to hear it."
After Chen Tianyuan put on his mask, he blurted out, "What does that have to do with me?" and spurred his horse, galloping away.
Deng Tai'a smiled, "I'm quite alright, though."
Xu Fengnian rolled his eyes. "I really can't stand the temper of this young exiled immortal."
Deng Tai'a remarked without apparent reason, "Perhaps Li Chungang was just as annoying when he first started out. From what I know, the female martial artists and celestial maidens of the jianghu actually fall for this kind of behavior."
Xu Fengnian grimaced and said indignantly, "No way?"
Deng Tai'a simply smiled.
Xu Fengnian sighed heavily and muttered, "Right now... I feel a bit melancholic."
Deng Tai'a asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"
Xu Fengnian hummed in agreement and said with a sigh, "Although Song Nianqing once came with fourteen new swords to kill me back then, that doesn't stop me from having a good impression of the East Yue Sword Pool. As for Chai Qingshan, who took over the Sword Pool, we became friends after a fight. There are some people in the jianghu whom you can't hate, regardless of whether they are friend or foe. Chai Qingshan is one, Wang Mingyin outside Xiangfan City is another, and Ren Mao Hanshengxuan outside Shenwu City is even more so."
Deng Tai'a remained silent.
The old patriarch of the Wu Family Sword Tomb, who had deep ties with both him and the young lord, had returned to the Central Plains after delivering the sword. Presumably, he had completely withdrawn from the jianghu.
Deng Tai'a seemed to realize something belatedly and asked curiously, "Why did you let that woman leave Beiliang at this time? Do you hope she can take Chen Tianyuan to the Central Plains?"
Xu Fengnian smiled, "Mainly to find someone, and also to conveniently lead away that annoying exiled immortal. It's killing two birds with one stone."
The young lord pressed his hand to his saber hilt and stood beneath the archway. A clear breeze brushed his face, making him feel as if he could float away like an immortal.
The Peach Blossom Sword God stood beside him, gazing into the distance, with Tai'a hanging at his waist, the foremost sword immortal of this era.
Xu Fengnian asked softly, "Old Man in Lambskin, Old Freak Wang, and Cao Changqing—they all left behind their legacies in the world. Old Huang also left me a sword manual back then. Deng Tai'a, what about you?"
The Peach Blossom Sword God, who had entered the Dao through swordsmanship and stood at the pinnacle of the sword world alongside Patriarch Lu and Li Chungang, said with a calm expression, "I, Deng Tai'a, do not wish to concern myself with matters after my death while still alive."
Xu Fengnian said enviously, "How carefree."
Deng Tai'a saw Chai Qingshan and his group slowly approaching in the distance. Clearly having no intention of waiting with Xu Fengnian, he led the donkey, turned, and was the first to ascend the mountain.
Chai Qingshan and Qi Xianxia traveled together. Feng Zongxi, the Divine Fist of the Central Plains, and the celestials from Misty Peak also joined the lively gathering. However, Li Houzhong, the Spear Saint of Snow Lodge, and his disciples did not appear, their character evident at a glance.
Xu Fengnian's left shoulder was suddenly patted hard. He turned his head to look but saw no one. He turned to the other side, but still saw no one.
Xu Fengnian feigned surprise.
Soon, a little girl who had been squatting on the ground suddenly sprang up and laughed heartily, "Were you scared?"
Xu Fengnian squinted and smiled, the corners of his mouth curving upwards, his expression especially gentle.
Every time he saw her, from their first encounter to their reunions, he felt nothing but joy.
Xu Fengnian reached out and ruffled her hair. "Oh, you've grown taller."
She put her hands on her hips, lifted her chin high, and puffed out her chest, clearly showing her smug satisfaction.
Xu Fengnian asked with a smile, "Where's little monk Nanbei?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "That silly Nanbei is chattering away with a little Taoist acolyte named Yufu. I don't like playing with them. You wouldn't believe it, a little bald head and a little scholar—when those two are together, they just talk past each other. It's even more boring than when all the big bald old monks in our family used to gather to discuss scriptures and argue."
"What about your parents then?"
"It's driving me crazy! Not long ago, a female pilgrim from Jiangnan came to the mountain and somehow recognized my father. She cried so much, her eyes blurred with tears, like pear blossoms after rain. It made my mother so angry she was fuming! My father even voluntarily washed clothes for several days, but it didn't work. Yesterday, he even borrowed some copper coins from the old 'bull-nosed' Taoist priest of Wudang Mountain, saying it was for Mother to buy some rouge and powder down the mountain..."
"And then your mother refused?"
"How could that be? You know my mother would never compete with anyone, especially not over cosmetics! As soon as she got the money, she went down to the town at the foot of the mountain and returned with bags full. She tinkered in her room for about an hour before she was willing to see anyone."
"Was your father scared?"
"Nonsense! My father kept saying my mother was a peerless beauty, as lovely as a celestial being. But unfortunately, just as my mother had finally cooled down, that female pilgrim found my parents under the pretense of taking her leave. After seeing my mother's makeup, the woman didn't say anything. She just gave my mother a sidelong glance, then smirked, and finally ignored my mother completely, only bothering with polite greetings with my father. When she left, I saw very clearly that she secretly pursed her lips at my mother again. And that was that; there was no 'then' after that."
"Li Zi, your mother has truly met her match."
"Sigh, I didn't think much of it at the time, but looking back now, it was indeed quite hurtful. Actually, it's also my fault; when my mother was vigorously applying the rouge and powder to her face, I wasn't really paying attention. Otherwise, my mother would definitely have looked even better."
"It's fine. As long as your father thinks your mother is beautiful, that's what matters."
"That's true, but there's nothing he can do when he has a disciple as silly as Nanbei! At that time, my father was completely at a loss, so he asked, 'Silly Nanbei, do you also think your master's wife is the most beautiful woman in the world?' Guess what? Silly Nanbei replied, 'Master, you said that a monastic person does not lie.' What followed was my mother pulling my father's ear, and my father pulling Silly Nanbei's ear. Sigh, those three are really something, like overgrown children. They worry me to death. Xu Fengnian, why don't you take me to Qingliang Mountain to play? The meat buns in Liangzhou City are delicious, but a bit expensive."
Xu Fengnian looked at the head-tilting girl, amused and exasperated. Not wanting to disappoint her, he gently tapped her forehead with a bent finger. "You can go to Qingliang Mountain to play, but you need your parents' permission."
She nodded like a pecking chick, then tugged Xu Fengnian's sleeve and whispered, "When you see my father on the mountain, remember: as soon as you see him turn back to the house, you should run immediately."
Xu Fengnian was bewildered.
The girl said awkwardly, "These past few years, my father likes to sharpen his knives whenever he has nothing to do."
Xu Fengnian was speechless.
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