(Just like the ending of the Lotus Boy, the main thread and conclusion of this volume of “Little Master” were conceived from the very beginning, in the first volume.)

The painted pleasure boat slowly approached the shore, its towering size causing Fan Yan, Yuan Yuan, Lu Caisang, and the others on the dock to crane their necks.

Gu Can, clad in a dark azure python robe, leaped down from the bow’s railing. Eldest Sister Tian Hujun naturally helped him smooth out the robe. Gu Can glanced at her, “You don’t need to disembark today.”

Tian Hujun’s face was filled with worry, “Those assassins lurking in Pool Water City are said to be sword cultivators from the Vermillion Fluorescence Dynasty, not to be underestimated. With me here…”

Gu Can chuckled, “With you here, what good would you be? Unless you’d actually die for me in a life-threatening situation? Since you definitely wouldn’t, don’t try to curry favor with me on such matters. Do you take me for a fool? Look, helping me smooth out the wrinkles in my robe like this is within your capabilities, and you’re willing to do it. I, in turn, enjoy it very much. How wonderful.”

Tian Hujun’s eyes dimmed, and she didn’t insist.

Qin Jue and Chao Zhe exchanged a smile.

Their Little Junior Brother Gu Can was absolutely not to be treated as a child.

Their shared master, the River Interception True Monarch Liu Zhimao, had once joked at a victory banquet that Gu Can alone had truly inherited his mantle.

Liu Zhimao then glanced around the hall with a sinister gaze, frankly stating that the future island master of Azure Gorge Island would only be Gu Can. No one should even think of vying for it, or he would personally take action and cleanse the sect, ensuring that their corpses wouldn’t be wasted.

At that time, Gu Can was sprawled on an exceedingly large chair, his feet resting on the “slendered” true form of the “Mudskipper.” Upon hearing those words, Gu Can laughed heartily and raised his cup of sweet fruit wine. “Master, drink up!”

In the end, only Gu Can, his two senior brothers Qin Jue and Chao Zhe, and two unveiled young women wearing bamboo hats to obscure their features, with curvaceous and alluring figures, disembarked.

Fan Yan, the young city lord of Pool Water City, was a useless, handsome face. Tall and dignified in appearance, he hurried to greet Gu Can and his party, bowing with clasped hands, flattering, “Big Brother Gu, didn’t you complain last time that eating crab was troublesome? This time, I put my heart into it, specially selecting a…”

At this point, Fan Yan wore a playful smile, making a gesture of drawing semicircles on his chest. “A damsel like this, it’s been agreed upon beforehand that if Big Brother Gu doesn’t take a liking to her, she’ll just help pick crab meat. But if you do take a fancy to her and want to bring her back to Azure Gorge Island as a maid, remember to give me credit. Big Brother Gu, you have no idea how much effort it took to bring her from Stone Millet Kingdom to Pool Water City, how much immortal money I spent!”

Gu Can smiled and narrowed his eyes, “Could it be that this woman, who has a chance to get close to me, has actually been swapped out with an enemy who’s scheming to assassinate me?”

Fan Yan was dumbstruck. “What do I do then? Did all my money go down the drain?”

Yuan Yuan, who had been blessed with a good birth, laughed with schadenfreude.

Lu Caisang, who had been the Little Devil King of Book Scroll Lake before Gu Can came to Azure Gorge Island, looked down on the fool Fan Yan from the bottom of his heart. It was just a bonus to have a spendthrift who believed that “whoever stops me from spending money is my mortal enemy.” All the island masters of Book Scroll Lake needed a few purses who were happier spending money than earning it, especially since Pool Water City, as one of the three major cities surrounding Book Scroll Lake, truly had deep pockets.

Lu Caisang was a handsome youth with a delicate figure, dressed entirely in snow-white. Huang He had jokingly said that Lu Caisang could even apply some rouge and be Gu Can’s unveiled maid, except he’d have to stuff two large buns in his chest. As a result, Lu Caisang flew into a rage, fighting on the spot and killing a martial arts grandmaster who desperately protected Huang He. However, he was eventually persuaded by Gu Can. But obviously, Lu Caisang and Huang He, the only son of the Stone Millet Kingdom’s Grand General, had broken off their relationship. Huang He regretted it immensely afterward and tried many ways to repair the relationship, but Lu Caisang didn’t give him the face.

Lu Caisang said to Gu Can in a delicate voice, “Can Can, don’t worry. I’ve examined her. She’s just a cultivator seedling below the fifth realm, and she’s truly beautiful. She’s very famous in the Stone Millet Kingdom. The women you’ve gathered in the Azure Gorge Island mansion are just eyesores compared to her.”

Gu Can swept his leg lightly and kicked Lu Caisang, scolding with a smile, “Is your head filled with water? Why did you have to be so meddlesome, robbing me of all the surprise?”

Lu Caisang glared at Gu Can, actually showing a hint of charm, which made Qin Jue and Chao Zhe feel inexplicably strange, but they didn’t dare to show it.

Although everyone was one of the Ten Heroes of Book Scroll Lake, everyone knew how much each person weighed, like Huang He, who mistakenly thought he could truly be a close brother with Lu Caisang and immediately got a slap in the face. It was said that after returning to the Grand General’s mansion, he initially complained and felt wronged, but was scolded thoroughly by his father.

Yuan Yuan, the young island master of Oriole Island, who was nicknamed “Round Round” by his parents, looked around, puzzled. “Gu Can, where’s your big Mudskipper? Isn’t it coming ashore with us? We walked the roads of Pool Water City once last year. It’s wide enough for the Mudskipper to pass.”

Gu Can held his hands in the wide sleeves of his python robe, smiling, “Little Mudskipper is staying in the lake this time. It’s not joining us in Pool Water City. It needs to wander around more and drink more water lately, because it ate too many Qi Refiners last year and directly swallowed the water spirit essence accumulated by the two large islands for hundreds of years. So it’s often cultivating in seclusion at the bottom of the lake this year. I’ll tell you good news, we’re brothers, so I’ll tell you this secret, remember not to spread it! Little Mudskipper will soon be a genuine Nascent Soul realm cultivator. By then, even my master, River Interception True Monarch, won’t be a match for Little Mudskipper in this Book Scroll Lake. Well, maybe only that old guy from Palace Willow Island who’s been gone for many years will be qualified to fight Little Mudskipper.”

Fan Yan stammered, “Big Brother Gu, you promised me that one day when you’re in a good mood, you’d let me touch the Mudskipper’s head so I can brag about it everywhere. Does that still count?”

Gu Can slightly raised his head, looking at the simpleton.
Young Master, truly there are fools in this world, and not the kind who are merely concealing their brilliance, but truly lacking in wit. This has nothing to do with wealth, nor with the cleverness of their parents.” Gu Can smiled faintly. “Of course, my word is my bond. When has Gu Can ever gone back on his word?”

Fan Yan beamed with delight, gesticulating wildly.

The next moment, Gu Can’s foot connected with his crotch. “Wasted such a large frame, yet your bird is so tiny.”

Fan Yan doubled over in pain, clutching himself, yet he remained unangered, pleading, “Elder Brother Gu, please don’t do that! My parents are agreeable to everything, save for matters of progeny! That rhetoric you taught me last time, about how true heroes of the martial world disdain the thought of settling down, and wouldn’t dare face their peers without embracing a life of solitary cultivation, caused my mother to fly into a rage and chase me around, beating me! Her strikes weren’t heavy, so I wasn’t in pain, but seeing her eyes red with tears broke my heart.”

Gu Can rose onto his toes and patted Fan Yan’s head. “A fool’s luck will prevail. You’ll surely be blessed with a whole litter of little fools with that wife of yours who hasn’t even been reincarnated yet.”

Fan Yan grinned foolishly.

Gu Can rolled his eyes.

Never understanding good words from bad, nor good people from ill.

However, it was plain for all to see that Fan Yan, a fellow whose head was always a little loose, would be swindled at every turn were he to leave the protection of his parents. Yet Gu Can was the most tolerant of Fan Yan, tricking him out of coin, but never excessively, and never allowing others to bully him too much.

Lü Caisang’s eyes shone, as if she were even more delighted than Gu Can. “This is truly a momentous occasion! Later at the banquet, Can Can, I shall share a few more cups of Crow’s Cry Wine with you!”

Yuan Yuan of Oriole Isle, with his round face, was the most carefree of the “brothers”, always smiling at everyone, never taking offense at any joke.

But upon hearing such earth-shattering news, Yuan Yuan’s face stiffened, a fleeting moment before returning to normal. He clucked his tongue and said, “In the future, thanks to Gu Can’s influence, won’t we be walking sideways through Scholar Lake to truly live up to our status?”

Gu Can chuckled. “Fan Yan, you, Caisang, and Yuan Yuan, take my two senior brothers to the crab-eating spot and secure a good location. I’ll take a slight detour to buy a few things.”

Fan Yan was enraged, daring to glare at Gu Can, huffing, “Buy things? Buy?! Elder Brother Gu, do you look down on me as a brother? In Poolwater City, if you fancy something, does Elder Brother Gu need to spend money to acquire it?”

Gu Can leaped up and slapped Fan Yan across the face. “Who the hell said buying things requires coin? Seizing them is far more elegant!”

Fan Yan, despite the slap, beamed, covering his face with one hand and extending a thumb with the other. “Elder Brother Gu truly understands the proper way!”

Gu Can waved a hand dismissively. “Get lost, don’t delay this Young Master’s enjoyment of the scenery. How can one find merriment when stuck with the likes of you?”

Lü Caisang wore a stern face. “No, Scholar Lake is a chaotic place right now, I must stay by your side.”

Gu Can sighed helplessly. “Fine, fine, you can just follow behind me, eating dust all day long, like a nagging woman.”

Lü Caisang snorted.

The group split paths at the ferry, Fan Yan having prepared a lavish carriage for his Elder Brother Gu, of course.

Gu Can and Lü Caisang headed towards one carriage, while the other two unbuttoned maidens boarded another.

In the eyes of the tens of thousands of mixed fish and dragons, wandering cultivators of Scholar Lake, the only thing that Gu Can and Lü Caisang had in common was perhaps that they both had good teachers. Yet their relationship was surprisingly good.

Gu Can, still with his hands tucked into his sleeves, suddenly nudged Lü Caisang with his elbow, whispering with a mischievous grin, “If you were to go to my hometown, and happen to lose your cultivation, I dare say you’d be walking down an alley and those lecherous, unmarried men would see you, their eyes would light up, and they would chase after you, groping you everywhere! Then you’d come running to my doorstep in tears, pounding on the door, shouting, ‘Gu Can, Gu Can, it’s terrible! Men are trying to strip me!’ Haha, just thinking about it makes me so happy. But do you know what’s even funnier? It’s when those bastards pull down your pants…”

Gu Can lowered his head, doubled over and laughed heartily.

Lü Caisang’s face was icy. “Disgusting!”

The two entered the carriage one after the other, and only then did Lü Caisang softly ask, “Why have you changed into such attire? You never used to enjoy wearing such gaudy things.”

Gu Can closed his eyes, remaining silent.

Lü Caisang hesitated for a moment. “Yuan Yuan is a very scheming person. His mother is related to a Nascent Soul Swordsman of the Zhu Ying Dynasty. Many people in Scholar Lake believe this is Oriole Isle deliberately trying to intimidate others, but my master has said that this matter is absolutely true. Yuan Yuan’s mother was originally that powerful swordsman’s most beloved concubine, although he could not give her a proper title, their bond remains strong. You must be careful. If you were to kill Yuan Yuan, who harbors ill intentions, it would mean that you would be targeted by a Nascent Soul Swordsman!”

Gu Can did not open his eyes, but the corners of his mouth turned up. “Don’t think of Yuan Yuan as being so bad.”

Lü Caisang was furious. “I’m doing this for your own good! If you’re not careful, you’ll suffer! Yuan Yuan’s family is the kind that enjoys harming others in secret!”

Gu Can finally opened his eyes and asked, “Could Yuan Yuan be more wicked than I, Gu Can?”

Lü Caisang abruptly covered his mouth and laughed.

Gu Can mimicked his tone, sweetly saying, “Disgusting.”

Lü Caisang suddenly felt somewhat saddened, looking at Gu Can, this “child” who changed every year. Who would dare to consider him a child?

Even his master, one of the few old cultivators who could make True Monarch Intercepting River feel wary, had said that Gu Can was a freak, unless he were to die suddenly one day, accidentally fulfilling the cliché that evil deeds will be punished, then if he were to gather a great force that was not closely tied to Green Cliff Isle, even the Celestial Immortals of the Upper Five Realms might not dare to risk getting involved.

Lü Caisang softly asked, “Gu Can, when will you ever open your heart to me?”

Gu Can pulled one hand out from the sleeve of his python robe and lifted the curtain of the carriage, casually saying, “You, Lü Caisang, shouldn’t even think about it. There are only two people in this world to whom I would reveal my true heart, and…”
Reveal my innermost thoughts to them. That’s how it’ll be for the rest of my life. I know it’s not fair to you, because you’re one of the few Shu Jian Lake cultivators who truly sees me as a friend. But there’s nothing I can do. We met too late. By the time you knew me, I had already made a name for myself. So, you’re out of luck.”

Having entered the city, Gu Can lowered the carriage curtains and smiled at Lu Caisang, “But don’t worry, if you ever get beaten to death, I, Gu Can, will definitely avenge you.”

Lu Caisang pouted.

Leaning against the carriage wall, Lu Caisang asked, “Gu Can, you’re so young, how did you do it?”

Gu Can said, “Back home, I was probably only three or four years old when I started watching my mother curse and fight with people. I learn everything quickly.”

Gu Can extended a finger. “A little older, I could lie motionless under the scorching sun on the ridge of a field for at least an hour, just to catch a loach. He can’t even compare to me.”

Lu Caisang asked curiously, “Who is ‘he’ exactly?”

Gu Can narrowed his eyes and retorted, “Do you want to die?”

Lu Caisang, who feared nothing in Shu Jian Lake, felt a shiver in that moment.

Gu Can’s expression suddenly changed, and he grinned, “That little devil Yuan Yuan, sooner or later, I’ll say the same thing to him, just changing one word, ‘Do you want your mother to die?’ So what if you have a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator as a cheap father? If he provokes me, I’ll strip Yuan Yuan’s mother naked in front of that Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator and hang her on the bow of my ship, parading her around all the islands of Shu Jian Lake.”

Lu Caisang looked puzzled.

Gu Can raised the curtain again, nonchalantly saying, “It’s a local dialect, you wouldn’t understand.”

Inside the top floor of that tall building in Chi Shui City, Cui Dongshan was still surrounded by a circle of golden thunderous pools.

Cui Dongshan sighed.

Cui Chan slightly bowed, looking at the two paintings on the ground, and smiled, “Aren’t you disappointed? That last bit of hope you held onto doesn’t exist either? You can’t have that kind of mindset, putting your hopes on others.”

Cui Chan probably knew that Cui Dongshan wouldn’t respond, so he continued on his own, “This is two dead knots tied together. Chen Pingan slowly figured out the truth, and Gu Can naturally developed his evil. You thought that one possibility was in Gu Can, thinking that Chen Pingan could move this little guy with emotion and reason, and he would suddenly wake up? Don’t even mention how difficult it is to explain this principle, even if the relationship is strong, Gu Can still won’t change his nature. That’s just who Gu Can is. Ni Ping Lane is so small, would I not see Gu Can, this little guy with such strong ‘backbone’ that even Liu Zhimao couldn’t handle?

“Did you, Cui Dongshan, underestimate Cui Chan himself too much? To dare set up this scheme without even understanding Gu Can’s true heart? For people like us, a mistake can only be made once, no more. But I can’t blame you, when you’re at your wit’s end, people like to grasp at a straw, that’s just human nature. In fact, back then when we were still one person, I saw it, so you naturally saw it too, it’s just that you’re completely flustered now.”

Cui Chan pointed to Chen Pingan, who was secretly following the carriage in the painting, “Do you know where your bigger mistake lies?”

Cui Chan answered himself, “Back then, after Qi Jingchun completely broke ties with us at the old house in the small town, he made a statement, saying that if we dared to scheme against Chen Pingan again within sixty years, our realms would fall continuously. Naturally, Qi Jingchun wasn’t just putting on a show. You and I both knew that. But after you and I separated, you still retained a bit of youthful spirit and didn’t believe it, right? Then at the bottom of the well in that inn, you almost got killed by a wisp of sword energy from Chen Pingan at the wellhead. After that, you went to the other extreme and began to deeply believe in that statement. That’s the last straw in your, Cui Dongshan’s, chaotic mind.”

Cui Dongshan’s mouth twitched.

Cui Chan remained calm, staring at the painting, and said to himself, “Qi Jingchun’s lingering soul really can’t be any more dead. Well, let’s look at this issue more cautiously. Suppose Qi Jingchun’s chess skills were heaven-defying and far-reaching, and he had already foreseen this calamity in Shu Jian Lake. So, before he died, he used some secret technique, with a part of his soul, placed in some place in Shu Jian Lake. But have you ever thought about what kind of scholar Qi Jingchun was? He would rather have Zhao Yao, whom he had high hopes for, not inherit his literary legacy, but instead have Zhao Yao study and travel safely and peacefully. Do you think that incomplete soul of ‘Qi Jingchun’ would, even if he was hiding in some corner watching Chen Pingan, only hope that Chen Pingan could live on, carefree, peacefully, and sincerely hope that Chen Pingan wouldn’t have to shoulder so many messy things in the future? Even you feel sorry for your new teacher, do you think that Qi Jingchun wouldn’t feel sorry for him?”

Cui Chan smiled, “Of course, I don’t deny that even if Qi Jingchun split his soul into three back then, I would still be a little afraid of him. But now, as long as he dares to show his face and I catch a trace of him, I won’t give him a chance to say a word, not a single word.”

Cui Dongshan turned his head, staring blankly at Cui Chan, this older, aged version of himself, “Tell me, why did I have to become you?”

Cui Chan smiled slightly, moved his finger, and pointed to the carriage, “Chen Pingan should also say this to Gu Can after they meet, ‘Why did you have to become the kind of person you hated the most back then?'”

Cui Chan didn’t even look at Cui Dongshan or the slightly swaying golden thunder pool and slowly said, “Not to mention that you can’t kill me at all, even if you did kill me, this dead end would still be a dead end, just like the general trend of the world, unchangeable. So you should just sit there obediently. While I still have some time before returning to Da Li, you can still ask me, Cui Chan, about many things that you, Cui Dongshan, don’t understand.”

When Cui Chan stopped talking.

The building became silent.

Cui Chan seemed to remember something interesting and asked with a smile, “If you don’t ask, then I’ll ask you. What do you think Chen Pingan’s mood would be if Gu Can answered that question like this? For example… um, Gu Can might confidently say to him, ‘I don’t think I’m wrong, Chen Pingan, you can kill me if you have the ability,’ or maybe… ‘When I, Gu Can, and my mother were bullied by that gang of bad guys from Shu Jian Lake, where were you, Chen Pingan?'”
Cui Dongshan’s vision blurred, gazing blankly at the Confucian-robed old man, the self that had resolutely walked to this very day.

Cui Chan smiled faintly, “In truth, after growing up, everyone, whether they study or not, will feel a certain degree of loneliness. Those who are slightly more intelligent can, in the depths of their being, perceive that heaven and earth, the human realm, are not still and silent in certain fleeting moments. Some soul-searching questions will elicit a vague response: guilt, regret. Do you know what this is called? You don’t, because I, Cui Chan, only came to understand it in recent years. You, Cui Dongshan, are sailing against the current, retreating further and further. If I don’t tell you, you’ll never understand. It’s called a person’s inherent moral compass. However, this feeling will absolutely not make a person’s life better; it will only make them more miserable, whether they are good or bad.”

Cui Chan continued, “Oh, right. While you were squandering your time at the Great Sui Academy, I shared the ideas we came up with back then with Old God Monarch, which helped him untangle a small knot in his heart. Think about it: a being like Old God Monarch needs nearly ten thousand years to wear down a mental hurdle. How long do you think Chen Ping’an will need? Furthermore, if it were me, Cui Chan, I would never cry so miserably just because Chen Ping’an casually said ‘Think again,’ because it was a different answer from Old Master. Just like you are now.”

Cui Dongshan raised his arm, shielding his eyes.

Cui Chan laughed, “You don’t even have the energy to call me an old bastard anymore? It seems you’re truly heartbroken, almost as pitiful as Chen Ping’an. But don’t worry, the teacher will only be more pathetic and heartbroken than the student.”

Cui Dongshan fell backward, his face covered in tears and snot, sobbing softly.

Cui Chan said expressionlessly, “If I remember correctly, the earliest instance of such a miserable state of mind was a long time ago, back in your hometown, on the top floor of that study building where your grandfather removed the stairs. You were about the same age as this body then. You were angry with your grandfather and deliberately tore up a sacred book that he most admired, used it to wipe your behind, and threw it down. Your grandfather didn’t become enraged or even say a word. He simply put the ladder back up and left.”

Cui Chan smiled, “What I said to Old God Monarch was only half the truth. It was the powerful aspect hidden within frail humanity: those things later generations interpret as ’empathy,’ ‘sympathy,’ and ‘compassion.’ They allow individuals, no matter how strong or how vast their future prospects, to do things that those aloof, indifferent, and flawed deities cannot imagine. They will generously sacrifice themselves for others, share others’ joys and sorrows, and be willing to be utterly destroyed for someone they’ve only known for a short time. A tiny spark of humanity will burst into blinding brilliance, sing heroic songs of sacrifice, and willingly use their own corpses to help future generations climb higher, to that mountaintop, to those jade palaces visible from the summit, to tear them down! To smash those deities who look down on humanity, who treat the human race’s destiny as incense offerings!”

Cui Chan laughed again, “But that’s only half of it. The other half of humanity is that a person is innately aware that they can use any means necessary to survive. No matter how insignificant ‘I’ am, I am unique in this world. Therefore, countless ‘I’s want to live on, to live longer, to live better. We don’t know that we already know that ‘one.’ Relying on the instincts once nurtured and cultivated by deities, we strive and snatch. Since there is only one ‘one,’ we can only seize it from others’ hands, to make our ‘one’ bigger, more numerous. There is no end to this pursuit.”

Cui Chan pointed his finger, touching Chen Ping’an and the carriage, “Gu Can might not know Chen Ping’an’s difficulties, just as Chen Ping’an back then might not have understood Qi Jingchun’s thoughts.”

Cui Chan withdrew his hand and asked with a smile, “Then guess, the last time Qi Jingchun held an umbrella for Chen Ping’an, walking on the street outside the Yang Family Medicine Shop, Qi Jingchun had already given a reason for Chen Ping’an not to feel guilty in the future. However, I think the most worthy thing to ponder is whether that Mud Bottle Lane boy had already guessed at the time that he was the key pawn that caused Qi Jingchun’s death?”

Cui Chan turned his head and shook his head with a smile.

Cui Dongshan had isolated all perceptions and divine senses.

Cui Chan continued to look at the two paintings, “Old Master, if you saw these, what would you say? Hmm, probably tug at your beard and say, ‘Not very kind, eh?'”

Cui Chan suddenly mocked, “In such a vast Tongye Continent, only Xun Yuan isn’t blind. It’s truly inconceivable.”

Cui Dongshan lay there stiffly, like a dead man.

Cui Chan turned his head, “What exactly is written in your brocade pouch? That’s the only thing I’m curious about. Don’t play dead. I know that even if you’ve sealed your Bridge of Longevity, you can still guess my thoughts. You, Cui Dongshan, still have that bit of intelligence.”

Cui Dongshan remained motionless, playing dead to the end.

In the most crowded street in Chishui City, in a place where assassination should never occur, a thrilling ambush unfolded.

An eighth-realm sword cultivator from the Zhu Ying Dynasty, an eighth-realm Wanderer martial artist, and a Golden Core Formation Master who had set up a formation.

A foolproof arrangement.

But the result disappointed the onlookers.

First, the assassination was too sudden, and second, the ending came too quickly.

The carriage of the second carriage scattered and exploded, revealing a “low cut blouse little lady” wearing a veiled hat.

Allowing the eighth-realm sword cultivator’s natal flying sword to pierce her heart, she punched the oncoming Wanderer martial artist to death. She clutched a heart that had been gouged out of her chest in her hand, then flew away, opened her mouth wide, swallowed it down, and then chased after the sword cultivator. She punched him in the back of the heart, forcefully cracking his Bingjia Golden Crow Armor. Then, she grabbed and gouged out another heart, suspended in the air, not looking at the body falling to the ground, allowing the cultivator’s natal nascent soul to escape far away with the golden core.

This was what the master had told her in advance: kill them all in one go, no more playing later.

And this “low cut blouse little lady” was the “small mud…”