Beneath the mansion’s weathered sigil, the young bladesman, hand resting upon the dragon’s tail of his sheathed sword, remained ever alert. He murmured, “Lady Chu.”

Then, with a whisper on the wind, he vanished.

The Lantern-bearer, a Doctor of Rites, and the Emerald Serpent God, scaled and adorned in river embroidery, stilled their breaths and stood in silent vigil.

From within, a wedding-clad wraith sneered, “What? Has the King’s Justice come to settle a score with me?”

The swordsman, gaze fixed on the heavens where a blade saint of the Snowpeak Temple had cleaved the very air, spoke measuredly, “Lady Chu need not speak in anger. I bear no such intent. But three souls, fled from this place – orphaned children and a blind mendicant – now journey north. I would ask that they pass unmolested. Whether by design or chance, the Song family of Dali owes you a debt, for you unknowingly preserved the lineage of their throne. Yet, the Song family also bears a deep shame. Even an outsider like myself, hearing tell of the tragedy, cannot muster ire, only pity.”

Silence descended once more.

The bride-ghost raised a slender hand to smooth a stray wisp from her temple, revealing a haunting beauty. Her eyes narrowed, and she purred, “And now, good sir, you will speak the ‘but’.”

The young swordsman inclined his head. “But… the whisper of your indiscriminate slaughter of scholars grows ever louder, a fire that cannot be contained. I dare not imagine the Emperor’s thoughts. But if I hear again of scholars vanishing within these lands, I shall return alone and escort you to Dali’s Sunken Keep. Though His Majesty cherishes sentiment, he honors the law above all. And even the deepest affection has its twilight hour.”

He sighed, a genuine sorrow in his voice. “Lady Chu, believe me or not, I pray that day never dawns.”

The wedding-clad specter gazed into the distance, absently twisting the silk of her sleeve. A rare tranquility washed over her. “That you would speak to such as I with such humility… I believe your words.”

A long pause. Then, her face hardened. “I can vow not to *seek* the harm of passing scholars. But understand this: should my eyes alight upon them, straying within these mountains, I cannot answer for myself. I offer no false assurances. Judge me as you will. Should you bind me and cast me into that watery prison, or should I sunder these lands and choke the very rivers… we shall rely on our respective strengths, and bear the consequences!”

The young swordsman smiled, a fleeting glimmer of steel. “So it shall be.”

The River God of Dali, embroidered with the very currents he commanded, opened his mouth to speak, then faltered.

Before departing, the swordsman addressed him. “Do not conceal the truth, Water God. Speak plainly with Lady Chu. The years have spun their web; she deserves to know. Let no blame fall upon your shoulders. Let it all rest upon mine. The court’s judgment is mine to bear.”

The Water God clasped his fists, his voice resonant. “I thank you. Henceforth, even in your personal affairs, I shall walk through fire and water without hesitation!”

With a wave, the young swordsman ascended, carrying the healer beside him into the sky.

Lady Chu remained, regarding the River God, favored of the Dali court, with thinly veiled distaste. Neither extending an invitation nor an order to depart.

The River God ascended the steps, settling casually upon them. “I know you have always looked down upon me, a common soldier made a god. So I will tell you the tale as it is. The scholar you loved did not fail you. The Dali court, however, weighed the needs of the realm. They feared you could never truly quell the remaining power of the Divine Water Kingdom, centered upon Quinton Mountain. And so, they concealed the truth, twisting your heart to misunderstanding.”

Lady Chu’s sleeves billowed, and her eyes welled with crimson. Blood trickled down her cheeks, yet her voice remained calm. “Even now, you would lie? Do you think me a fool? Though I fled after he departed, I never ventured beyond these mountains. No longer did I grace Wanping County or Hongzhu Town with my presence. But I am not deaf. When he walked among the scholars of Guanhu Academy… did they not speak of him? Did not their casual words reach my ears? I know! I know *everything*! In the end… he loved another.”

She murmured, “I know, if he loved, it was with a true heart.”

The River God’s face remained impassive. “Then you should also know that as the first student of Dali admitted to the academy through merit, he was cruelly set upon at Guanhu. They praised him to the skies only to shatter him. Coin was spent to hire a celebrated courtesan, to feign infatuation and inflate his reputation. Elderly scholars from surrounding lands treated him as an equal, spreading copies of his calligraphy far and wide. They sought to make him a gentleman and scholar, recognized by all the lands.”

“But in a single night, it was undone. He was accused of plagiarism. The courtesan claimed he was heartless. Influential men of letters publicly condemned his writings as hypocritical and corrupt. They branded him a stain upon the reputation of Guanhu. A man of light and potential was driven to madness.”

“He languished. The scholar, born of humble stock, became a laughingstock, a cruel jest to say, ‘See? They are barbarians, Dali, and you should not trust them.’ But in the end, he woke.”

The River God turned to face the heartbroken spirit. “Do you know why he woke?”

Lady Chu sank slowly to the top step, her wedding dress cascading about her like a blood-red peony. “Was it the hand of the Imperial Guard?”

The burly god smiled, a coldness in his eyes. “Were Dali truly intent, they would have simply *killed* the scholar.”

Lady Chu gave a ghost of a smile. “True. Expedient, for the good of the kingdom. Deceit is fair in love and war.”

The man exhaled. “The scholar awoke because a woman he knew came to him.”

Lady Chu stiffened.

The River God descended the steps. “A woman with a face the same as yours. Who mimicked your voice, your habits, your desires. If the ruse of the courtesan had been a matter of coin and politics, the actions of this imposter were a game of heart and cruelty.”

The River God strode away. “In any case, after discovering the truth, the scholar plunged into the lake and drowned. It’s that simple.”

“According to the words of this scholar in the Imperial College of Dali Jingcheng, he inferred with his two friends that he had known your inhuman identity for a long time, so he insisted on becoming a wise man in the Confucian school. A gentleman, I guess that in this way, he will be confident to ask the court for a formal marriage to the court.”

He was gone.

The wedding-clad ghost, guilty of a thousand crimes, remained, her face serene as she smoothed the silken cuffs of her dress, arranging and caressing the folds as if they were the finest treasure.

—

No sooner had Wei and Jin departed than a shout rang out behind Chen Ping’an, begging him to halt. He turned to find the blind mendicant and his two charges, hobbling in pursuit.

The old Daoist, weathered by hardship, knew instinctively that these traveling youth were his shield. Who knew if the unpredictable Lady Chu might change her mind and decide to harvest their faces and hearts? His apprentices swore the mansion’s garden was sown thick with the “seeds” of readers. It seemed some had even clawed their way from the earth, poor souls severed halfway through their ascent.

The round-faced girl supported the Daoist as he ran, his robe snagged by thorns and burrs. Though he possessed some knowledge of warding, he knew he was no match for a wrathful Lady Chu. This journey north had been fraught with failure, dismissed as a charlatan by all. It was a bleak state indeed.

Forgetting all pretense of mystery, the Daoist forced a smile. “Might I ask if the Grand Immortal of the Snowpeak Temple, Wei and Jin, still lingers? I am Xu Yingzhen, Daoist Xuan Guzi, and I have long sought his presence. To witness his Three Immortal Swords would be a blessing beyond measure!”

Lin Shouyi scoffed. “That Sword Immortal now treads the North alone. If you seek an introduction, best to follow us; perhaps you can still overtake him.”

The old Daoist smiled awkwardly. “Missed is missed. If fate decrees otherwise, what can one do?”

He knew those hidden dragons of the Upper Five Realms were best left untouched. An encounter with the Snowpeak blade saint might yield nothing but annoyance. Though mountain cultivators were rare compared to mortals, fate was a fickle thing. Best to stick with what one knew. He had faced demons and quelled spirits, built a modest reputation, and climbed to this day without reliance on the Fifth Realm.

He shivered, suddenly aware of the encroaching cold. “Little Jiuer, Little Lame, why not give thanks to our benefactors?”

The girl with the round face started to kneel. The lame boy holding a mud banner in his hand had a gloomy face.

Chen Ping’an strode forward and caught the girl’s arm gently. “No, no need.”

Then, turning to the lame boy, he said, “I remember your warning on the mountain path. Thank you.”

The lame boy looked surprised and flushed for the first time. He faltered, unsure how to respond, but finally turned his head away. The boy had faced the female ghost in the wedding dress on the road before, fighting with her close friends and fighting with her. Although the Taoist practices were very different, his aura was not weak at all. I never thought that he was still a shy boy with such a thin skin.

The old Taoist kicked the boy and acted like he was disappointed: “It’s something that can’t be used on the table.”

Then the old Taoist said in a deep voice: “My benefactors, after you come out of the mountain, you will go south. It takes about a day and a half to pass through Sanzhi Mountain. Remember not to rush at night. There is a ghost there who uses the grave as his nest to steal the blessed land and absorb it. The ancestors of a family are so beautiful, otherwise the family will be able to become a high-ranking official in their previous life according to the numerology.”

“The evil ghost is not weak, and he should have the strength of the fourth realm of Qi training. The main reason is that it is elusive and difficult to capture. He also created dozens of Yin corpse puppets with some evil magic that is unknown. I have once had it with him. The battle was a failure several times, and not only wasted several precious thunder talismans, but also mistakenly thought that local villagers were cheating people, which was really annoying.”

Lin Shouyi’s heart moved slightly, and heard the secret reminder of the Yin Shen Senior, and asked, “The Taoist master is good at the Five Thunder Dharma? I wonder which sect and which sect belong to?”

The old Taoist was a little embarrassed, thinking that this cold young man was really a fledgling boy. He didn’t know the rules of walking in the world. How could he ask the master so directly? Whether it is the immortals who practice Taoism on the mountain or the martial artists at the foot of the mountain, this is a big deal. avoid.

But with the pitiful encounters of brothers and brothers in distress, and with the end of the land sword immortals like the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the old Taoist didn’t care about these things. After careful consideration, he slowly said: “It’s a long story. Benefactors, don’t dislike poor Taoists. Nagging is. My hometown is the Nanjian Kingdom, which is famous in the continent. Taoism is respected. There is a Taoist vein with the sect on the border. It is the master of the Taoist sect of Baopingzhou. It occupies seventy-two worlds The sect master is regarded as the national master of Nanjian Kingdom, because of the mysterious Taoism and vast supernatural powers, so that the monarchs of several nearby countries have personally climbed the mountain and respected the sect master as the number one true monarch of a country. Therefore, this Taoist immortal, who is also known as the True Lord of the Four Kingdoms, is one of the ten most recognized immortal masters in Baopingzhou. It is to be honest. If Wei Dajianxian of Fengxue Temple met this immortal master, Senior Wei, before breaking the realm, before breaking the realm. There is really no way to be on par with it.”

Chen Ping’an and Lin Shouyi heard it very seriously and did not want to miss a word.

There are people outside of people, and there are people outside of heaven.

Especially the term “true king”. Isn’t Liu Zhimao who appeared in the town known as Zhenjun Jiejiang?

Li Baoping and Li Huai are not so focused. Li Baoping looked at the round-faced girl from time to time, who was timidly hiding on the side of the blind man, and did not dare to see anyone shyly.

The old Taoist who was blind became more and more interested. With the help of Xiao Jiuer, he walked between Chen Ping’an and Lin Shouyi without realizing it, and spitted everywhere, saying, “The sects in the world that are qualified to have the word “sect” are generally divided into It is the three sects of ancestors, authentic sects and the lower sects. Among them, ancestors are often also called ancestral courts, and the lower sects will have many affiliated sects. The names of these sects are not so particular. As long as you do not bring a sect character without authorization, you will not use it with The sects that set up mountains and sects are highly named, such as Taoist palaces, Buddhist temples and temples, etc., can be named casually, and regularly handed over to the “Xizong” for some tribute, and then establish a good relationship with the court below the mountain to find a piece of Feng Shui. The treasure land is to practice with peace of mind on the mountain, try to attract disciples with qualifications to practice, and pass on the torch from a hundred and a thousand years.”

“My teacher’s truth-seeking view, which was once the top sect in Nanjian Kingdom, was defeated more than a hundred years ago. In my generation, almost all the teachers and commanders left, and there were not many brothers left. No one is truly promising.”

“We are not afraid of your jokes when we say the Five Thunder Dharma in this lineage. We are indeed not the orthodox thunder Dharma. We mainly practice the Qifu acupoints in both the liver and gallbladders. All our knowledge is based on the words “shh, sheh”. “Shhh is **, and she is **” means that once you have achieved cultivation, you can see several important Qi Mansions, and a magical scene of rising and thunder vibrating will be produced. Then you can go with the heaven and earth. Resonance, raising your hands and feet, attracting thunder, and being disgusted with impeaching evil spirits… Of course, in front of the vast atmosphere of Wei Dajianxian’s sword breaking all kinds of magic with one sword, seeking truth and viewing this kind of trick can only be a joke.”

Lin Shouyi frowned and asked, “The five internal organs are the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys. The five qi gathers like five thunders, which is the Dharma of the Great Dao. Why did Master Taoist sect refine the “bladder” outside the five internal organs to attract thunder land?”

The embarrassing look of the blind Taoist this time was definitely not a false test. He sighed heavily, his face was exhausted, and he said helplessly: “It is really a last resort. The Five Thunder Dharma is the secret of the Dharma that is not passed on. In a naughty way, even if outsiders obtain a complete method of practice, who dares to practice without authorization? I am the main focus of seeking truth and practicing the Qi Mansion of the two places. In fact, even if it is the liver, it is just a meeting between the ancestors. After learning a little bit of fur, he ended up barely resemblance in form but not a little bit of spiritual resemblance. This is why there are very few authentic veins in the world and many other traits and straits as numerous as cow’s hair. ”

Lin Shouyi suddenly said, “So that’s it.”

The old Taoist sighed sincerely, “The road is difficult to walk, it is more than a thousand times more difficult than this muddy mountain road.”

“Precisely because Master Immortality is not the orthodox teaching of thunder, there are pros and cons when practicing. For example, if the Yin-Yang monks leaked the secrets of heaven, they are easily subjected to invisible punishment from heaven. In this lineage, Immortal practice of this thunder method often Choose disciples with innate defects to join the master, because these people are merciful to the heavenly way. Even if they frequently use the method of seeking truth and observing thunder that hurts the origin of the liver and gallbladder, they will not expect to be immortal. If they are lucky, they will at least be able to get a life of their lives.”

“The legendary thunder method on a certain continent is authentic. Once the Qi training man takes action, the thunder mother, the rain teacher Feng Bo, the spiritual official and the cloud official, all kinds of gods are driven to help promote the momentum. Just imagine, this is such a great place. How can you not tell the mountains and rivers to change color after you give it your hand?”

Speaking of these things that had nothing to do with me, the blind old Taoist looked full of energy and no longer had any discouragement.

This is probably one of the reasons why practice is difficult to ascend to heaven, but it is still popular.

Once you embark on the road of cultivation, walk on the bridge of eternity, and see or hear the beautiful scenery on the high places on the mountain, you can live long, know magic, call the wind and rain, and move mountains and seas. All the incredible and magnificent scenery can be expected. Once, who is willing to hang out in the smoky mountain?

The old man sighed, “I and my two disciples have been dependent on each other for years, traveling around the world, subduing demons, catching ghosts and exorcising evil spirits, and also collecting cash. There is no way, and practicing Taoism requires wealth, build The bridge of Changsheng that came out is the largest gold-selling cave in the world. Even if there are evil spirits and evil spirits, I have no way to go or recommend it, so of course I have no chance to enter. As for the land and land opened by the rich family in the local area The temple will only invite famous monks and Taoists who are famous in the local area, but they cannot trust outsiders. The master’s thunder method that I am good at is not a fool, so I have to end up like this. The monster hunting is successful, You may not be able to earn much money. Once you fail, you will definitely be unable to make ends meet and practice is not easy.”

He walked along the way and said that when everyone woke up, he had already walked out of the cage-like valley. I wonder if it was an illusion, but he felt that he had returned to the original appearance of the beautiful mountains and rivers, and he no longer had the strong coldness of the previous gloomy air.

Finally, Chen Ping’an found that even if the blind Taoist stopped talking, he had no intention of distinguishing himself. He always walked south with them. He couldn’t help but ask, “Master, aren’t you going north?”

The old Taoist laughed and said, “It’s just a waste of time. It’s okay. You can’t repay the kindness of saving your life. Just treat it as if I took two disciples to see off my benefactors. It’s nothing more than a small matter of walking a few more steps.”

After that, the two groups walked together, without wind or rain, and smoothly. After completely walking out of the mountains and rivers, the tense heartstrings of the blind old path finally let go and found a random roadside. Place to sit down. The little girl with a round face nicknamed Jiuer quickly handed the kettle. The lame boy stood behind the old Taoist and looked back at the mountain range, not knowing what he was thinking.

At the time of parting, the old Taoist took out a well-preserved scroll from his bag, with a silk cloth texture and handed it to Chen Ping’an with his own hands, “This is a “Search Mountain Picture” passed down from my Master, which is depicted on it. A hundred kinds of mountain ghosts are for reference. This is your first time traveling to study, and you will inevitably pass through the steep mountains and ridges. Maybe you can use it in the future. I have already been familiar with it and only have a little commemorative value left, which is not as good as I give it to you, and you can only get what you want if you have something to use.”

Lin Shouyi pulled Chen Ping’an’s sleeve. The latter knew it and accepted the picture “Search Mountain Picture”, but Chen Ping’an also took out the only snake gall stone left on his body and gave it to the lame boy, saying it was The specialties in my hometown are not valuable, but not large in quantity. The lame boy wanted to refuse, but the blind old Taoist quickly asked him to accept it, saying that it was his benefactor’s kindness. The extremely introverted lame boy had to accept it silently, but he wanted to say it but stopped. After all, he was not embarrassed to say the word thank you.

Chen Ping’an finally smiled and said, “After you pass Hongzhu Town and Qidun Mountain, you can go to Caotou or the New Year’s shop to find a girl named Ruan Xiu and show her this snake gall stone. She knew you were my friends, and maybe she could help you settle down in the town. When I arrived at the nearest station, I would send a letter back to the town to explain everything.”

Afterwards, the two sides parted ways. The blind Taoist would rather take two apprentices around the road and beheaded to death than walk into the mountains and rivers.

Continue to go south, Chen Ping’an looked back and slowly withdrew his gaze.

The boy suddenly wanted to practice swordsmanship.