Xie Songhua did not rush to return to Tou Ni City on her sword, but instead led Pei Qian on foot southwards.

Even a border town, no matter how many hidden dragons and crouching tigers it might hold, would have to carefully consider a female sword immortal’s flying sword.

Her two direct disciples, although not yet in the middle five realms, were sword cultivators, and seedlings for the Sword Immortal Great Wall at that. Even with slight mishaps, Xie Songhua’s flying sword would arrive in an instant.

Moreover, before entering Tou Ni City, Xie Songhua had taken Zhao Mu and Ju Xing to travel around the North Mountain of Yu Gong Kingdom. That North Mountain Lord would take careful care of the two children. If any mishap were to occur to a sword immortal’s direct disciple within his jurisdiction, especially Xie Songhua’s disciple, delaying their path of cultivation, a mountain lord of a small country would recognize he could not bear the responsibility, and might even implicate the entire Yu Gong Kingdom, causing them to be remembered by Sword Immortal Xie.

Because Xie Songhua’s temper was notoriously bad in Ai’ai Continent.

After chatting with Pei Qian for a while, Xie Songhua was filled with emotion, never expecting that even she had not seen the depths of Pei Qian’s martial arts.

It turned out that the young woman, barely in her early twenties, was already a pure martial artist of the Distant Wanderer Realm!

How incredibly rare. Placed on a mountain, it would be similar to a nascent soul sword cultivator in their twenties.

If it weren’t for Cao Ci before and Chen Ping’an after, Xie Songhua would have suspected Pei Qian’s identity.

But Xie Songhua was more pleased.

In truth, she had never met Pei Qian before, and they had no kinship, but seeing Pei Qian traveling with a staff and box on her back, Xie Songhua felt a sense of kinship. As for whether it was a case of “love me, love my dog,” it didn’t matter. If Xie Songhua found someone pleasing to the eye, heaven and earth could not control her. If she found someone displeasing, you could try to control her flying sword, but you would need enough courage and ability.

So Xie Songhua smiled and said, “If you were worried that Aunt Xie’s swordsmanship was not high enough and couldn’t get the upper hand against Xi Liu, and that’s why you gave that ambiguous explanation earlier, there was no need. Just tell the truth, and I’ll chop up Xi Liu right now, and return in at most half an incense stick’s time. Killing a Jade Purity Realm sword cultivator demon is not easy, but without the ‘sword cultivator’ part, it’s not difficult.”

Pei Qian quickly shook her head and said, “Aunt Xie, it’s not like that. If Xi Liu was really being aggressive and using her power to oppress me, I would have asked for a fistfight then.”

Xie Songhua nodded, “Then Xi Liu can consider herself lucky, with good fortune. Originally, I was planning to take Zhao Mu and Ju Xing to temper their sword intent in the southern border of the Ice Plains, and Xi Liu was definitely someone I would ‘meet’. Zhao Mu has two natal flying swords, one called ‘Rainbow Skirt’, and one called ‘Torrential Rain’. ‘Rainbow Skirt’ is especially suitable for tempering here. ‘Thunder Marsh’, Ju Xing’s flying sword, doesn’t benefit much in the Ice Plains. So, I’ll need to visit the Thunder God Temple’s Pei A’xiang later to see if Ju Xing has any opportunities for the Great Dao in Ma Hu Prefecture.”

Pei Qian wasn’t quite sure what this Aunt Xie meant by “meeting Xi Liu” and “visiting the Thunder God Temple.”

However, Xie Songhua was willing to reveal the names of her two direct disciples’ flying swords, which was enough to show her affection for Pei Qian, treating her as family.

Xie Songhua had always had a poor impression of her hometown, Ai’ai Continent. After entering the Earth Immortal Realm in her early years, she mostly traveled around Liu Xia Continent and Jin Jia Continent. Before taking in her direct disciples, she would never reveal her whereabouts whenever she returned home for business, and was too lazy to flaunt her sword immortal status. So, there had been several conflicts, not small ones, and Xie Songhua never considered herself a reasonable person, so she always beat up the small ones, the old ones, and if there were any founding grandmasters still alive, that would be even better. Therefore, Ai’ai Continent cultivators both revered and dreaded this native sword immortal.

Now, Xie Songhua’s prestige in Ai’ai Continent could be described as reaching its zenith.

As a female sword immortal, she traveled to the Sword Immortal Great Wall and made great contributions. She had even slain a Jade Purity Realm sword immortal great demon. And the crucial thing was that Xie Songhua had returned alive to the Vast World.

For the mountains of Ai’ai Continent, a dead female sword immortal was nothing special. Ai’ai Continent did not have the custom of sacrificing the entire continent to a sword.

The most shocking news for Ai’ai Continent was the rumor that Xie Songhua was very likely to break through the Jade Purity bottleneck within a few decades, enter the Immortal Realm, and become the first great sword immortal in Ai’ai Continent to successfully enter this realm in thousands of years.

A cultivator’s few decades was just a short moment for the gods on the mountaintop to take a few naps.

Xie Songhua asked with a smile, “You’re already an eighth-realm martial artist, why not ride the wind and travel far?”

Pei Qian was a little shy and said softly, “Master said that when walking down the mountain, one should first drop two realms. Don’t learn from a certain someone, who lets someone make the first move in a Jianghu contest.”

Pei Qian said, “Aunt Xie, you ride your sword and I’ll ride the wind, the rules are dead but people are alive. Being by Aunt Xie’s side, there’s no need to be so deliberately particular.”

After all, Xie Songhua was a sword immortal senior, and this Ice Plains journey was to impart sword arts to her two direct disciples.

Xie Songhua laughed and said, “As expected of his first disciple, it’s alright, let’s continue walking to Tou Ni City, just treat it as a stroll.”

Xie Songhua then asked curiously, “Who is ‘a certain someone’? Can you talk about it?”

People who could be mentioned by the young Hidden Official were mostly not simple.

For example, that wine-loving Qi Sword Immortal was now the Sect Master of the Tai Wei Sword Sect in Northern Ju Lu Continent.

Pei Qian laughed and said, “Aunt Xie, there’s nothing I can’t talk about. That friend of Master’s is a strategist cultivator from the Ghost Axe Palace in Northern Ju Lu Continent, named Du Yu. He likes to wander the Jianghu. When Master traveled to Northern Ju Lu Continent in his early years, they met and got along well, and I even learned some talisman techniques from Senior Du.”

Xie Songhua nodded, “Although I haven’t heard of any Ghost Axe Palace, but since he can let your master make a move, his strength must be good, but asking for a fistfight will definitely not end well. Never let anyone make a move on your master.”

Pei Qian scratched her head.

No longer the black charcoal girl of the past, and not even considered a young woman anymore, this action was a rare trace of childishness in Pei Qian now.

On the southern border of the Ice Plains, Xi Liu led the old woman and Qiu Shui Daoist back to her mansion, also leisurely strolling in the vast wind and snow.

The old woman asked softly, “Master, is it really that sword immortal, Xie Songhua?”

Xi Liu smiled and nodded, “The sword intent in the bamboo box behind her can’t be faked.”

Qiu Shui Daoist, wearing a crane cloak but lacking a plum branch, no longer had the air of an immortal, and bared his teeth, “The little girl’s fist is so heavy, I’m still aching all over. When that punch landed, my natal Qi Palace and my three souls and seven spirits felt like the earth was turning over. To use that shrinking earth into an inch talisman for close combat by a pure martial artist is really deadly. No wonder the old ancestor who created this line of talismans has been cursed for thousands of years.”
Fine Willow mused, “Looking back, that little girl was deliberately concealing her strength all along. Perhaps even her punches towards you were a way of hiding her true power. Because after my appearance, I became her sole target. I suspect even those talismans were just a smokescreen. I wager that once that little girl truly unleashed her full potential, her speed would far surpass that of using talismans. In this light, I must thank both the Sword Immortal for preventing me from suffering losses, and the little girl for averting a disaster.”

Fine Willow couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, “Heaven’s justice is clear, retribution is inevitable?”

The old woman asked, bewildered, “Master, your aura is completely concealed during your travels, flawless and leak-proof. It’s not inferior to the Confucian Sage of the academy guarding a small world. Even I can’t detect the slightest trace. How could that little girl possibly discover it?”

Fine Willow replied helplessly, “You’re asking me? I want to know too!”

Tou Ni City was the capital of Lin Tan Prefecture in the Rain Worker Kingdom, and one of the two important ferry points to the southern border of the Ice Plains.

At the city gate, Pei Qian presented her passport. Having traveled extensively through Northern Ju Lu Continent, her travel document had numerous stamps. Senior Li Er of Lion Peak had helped her create a new landscape passport, a special travel document for mountain cultivators, which was also an important miscellaneous item for wealthy families and collectors.

Xie Songhua naturally had no such travel document. The guard at Tou Ni City glanced at Pei Qian and turned a blind eye to Xie Songhua, letting them both pass.

At the immortal inn, Pei Qian met the two sword immortal potentials, both children around seven or eight years old. The girl was named Zhao Mu, and the boy was called Ju Xing, both were very bright and intelligent.

However, Ju Xing appeared rather composed, his eyes calm and serene, an unusual demeanor for his age.

As usual, Pei Qian gave them two special bookmarks from Fallen Mountain as a gift.

After hearing from their master that Sister Pei Qian was the opening disciple of the Hidden Official, Ju Xing suddenly became lively. Zhao Mu was also very happy because she lived on the same street as Guo Zhu Jiu, who liked to call himself “my master’s temporary closing disciple.” Besides, there were countless legends about the Hidden Official.

A con artist at gambling dens, still scheming when selling wine, calligraphing fans, his belly full of all sorts of strange tales and landscape stories, a heavenly match made in heaven with Ning Yao, traveling thousands of miles twice for her sake, passing three checkpoints in a row. Even Qi Shou and Pang Yuanji were defeated by his fist. He took Ning Yao’s place to fight with Li Zhen of Mount Tuo Yue, gaining fame in one battle and becoming the youngest and first foreign Hidden Official in the history of Sword Qi Great Wall. Yu Juanfu challenged him, and he accepted, only to fall with one punch. Yet, he still achieved three consecutive victories, spouting countless sarcastic remarks that even the Great Sword Immortal worried. He personally wrote the “Bi Jian Xian Imprint Spectrum,” sat in the Summer Resort Palace to strategize, and on the battlefield, he was even more cunning than the demon Shou Chen, even dressing up as a woman, and liked to collect junk everywhere…

The little girl, who possessed two natal flying swords, “Rainbow” and “Torrent,” pinched the bamboo leaf bookmark with two fingers, held it high, and twisted it gently in the sunlight. She liked this gift very much.

Before accepting the gift, she carefully glanced at Ju Xing, and only dared to accept it after he had accepted his gift.

Since following her master to the vast world, her master had taken them through the Golden Armor, Flowing Sunset, and Snowy continents, passing by many immortal residences, and many kind seniors wanted to give them gifts.

Ju Xing would just have a indifferent expression, with his hands in his sleeves, and the master didn’t care, so she refused along with him. Once, the little girl privately asked Ju Xing why, but the usually taciturn Ju Xing suddenly became furious, asking her if she still had any shame. This made Zhao Mu cry in fear and grief. Seeing her crying, Ju Xing became even more annoyed, saying that she should never talk to him again, or he would beat her.

Later, the master came to comfort her, and Zhao Mu felt a little better. In fact, during their travels in Snowy Continent, Ju Xing didn’t speak a word to her. Zhao Mu didn’t not want to talk to Ju Xing, but she didn’t dare to. Several times, she tried to find excuses to get close to him, but Ju Xing just pretended to be deaf.

So, Ju Xing accepting someone’s gift today was a rare occurrence.

Ju Xing had already gently put the verdant bookmark, engraved with auspicious words, into his sleeve, intending to cherish it. In this vast world, reading was the most ordinary thing.

Xie Songhua joked, “One pretends to be deaf and mute every day, and the other cries at the drop of a hat. It’s really hard to raise two kids. Pei Qian, to be honest, your master is more formidable at raising children than being a Hidden Official.”

Xie Songhua gave a thumbs up.

Pei Qian felt a little embarrassed.

It was indeed quite difficult for her master to travel with her all those years.

Although Xie Songhua complained, she was actually more proud in her heart. She truly didn’t think that Li Cai’s Chen Li and Gao Youqing, Pu He’s Ye Du and Xue Zhou, or Song Pin’s Sun Zao and Jin Luan, and the other children scattered in the vast world, would be more outstanding than her two disciples. Absolutely impossible! She, Xie Songhua, had only taken in these two disciples, imparting everything she knew. Sixty years later, they would definitely be more sword immortal like than Chen Li, who already had the nickname “Little Hidden Official.”

Even if they weren’t, so what? Zhao Mu and Ju Xing were still her beloved disciples.

Ju Xing sat on the corridor railing with his arms crossed, gently swinging his legs. He used to like sitting like this on the city walls back home. He would never be able to change this habit in this lifetime.

Zhao Mu retorted softly, “Master, it was only three times, I don’t cry at the drop of a hat.”

Ju Xing snorted.

Zhao Mu immediately looked dejected.

Xie Songhua stood up and said, “Pei Qian, you guys chat. I’ll go talk to someone. I made an appointment to meet her here. She should be arriving soon.”

Pei Qian chatted with the two children.

Zhao Mu chattered like a little sparrow. When Pei Qian asked, the little girl told Sister Pei Qian about the lively competition among the ten young people in detail.

Ju Xing, of course, defended the Hidden Official, saying that except for Ning Yao, at most Cao Ci, the other eight people had no right to squeeze the Hidden Official out of the top ten, only giving him the “eleventh” spot?

Pei Qian asked curiously, “What’s the Flying Ascension City?”

Zhao Mu smiled and said, “The fifth world, its reign name is Jia Chun. Our hometown was selected as the location for the city, and was named Flying Ascension City during the opening of heaven and earth.”

Ju Xing said, “There’s news that Sister Ning Yao is not only the first Jade Pure Realm Sword Cultivator in that world, but she is now an Immortal Realm cultivator.”
Pei Qian gazed at the sprightly young girl before her, a wave of longing washing over her for the Little Millet of Fallen Mountain, and the eternally youthful Nuan Shu.

It was at this moment that it finally dawned upon Pei Qian that Bao Ping had grown up, and so had she.

Her Shishu, Bao Ping’s junior master, and her own Shifu, how would he feel knowing this? Elated, or filled with melancholy?

Pei Qian opened her book chest and began to copy scriptures.

Chao Mu sat beside her, quiet and still, propping her chin on her hand as she watched Sister Pei write.

Ju Xing was lost in thought about the second opening of the Fifth Heaven, the moment when he could return home.

He had heard that the gate to the Fifth Heaven would remain open for thirty years, after which it would be sealed shut.

To travel between the two Heavens again would require the arduous path of becoming a Grand cultivator of the Ascension Realm.

Ju Xing eyed Pei Qian’s walking staff and bamboo basket with envy. Imitating the Hidden Official, he crossed his arms within his sleeves and sat on the railing, lost in reverie.

The selection of the Ten Young Ones chose those under the age of fifty, with no ranking between them.

The reason was simple: too young, and their path of cultivation, the proof of longevity, still required centuries of observation.

Ning Yao of Ascension City, who had ascended two realms in the Fifth Heaven, entering the Immortal realm.

Cao Ci, the martial warrior of the Great End, who had attained the tenth realm in the overseas mountain and water grottoes of Floating Continent.

Shan Qing, the Taoist of White Jade Capital, a Jade Peak cultivator, who wielded not a single magic treasure, for his natal items were all Immortal Weapons and Demi-Immortal Weapons. He walked the path of the Five Elements, his quality hailed as the finest of his generation.

Fei Ran, head of the Hundred Sword Immortals of Holding Moon Mountain, a Jade Peak swordsman who favored suppressing his realm.

There was also a direct disciple of a Sub-Sage, a young scholar from the Azure Darkness Heaven, brought back to Vast Brightness Heaven in his youth. He had gained a wave of turning books and the embryonic form of a natal character.

A young monk had entered the Fifth Heaven, carrying a twelve-ringed tin staff.

In the Azure Darkness Heaven, a nameless Taoist nun, not even twenty years of age, with only eight years of cultivation, had been stagnated at the Staying Realm of Willow Tendons for six years, before ascending to the Jade Peak Realm in one step.

In Vast Brightness Heaven, there was Liu Cai, a wild cultivator of mountains and lakes, previously unknown. His realm was still low, a mere Golden Core swordsman, but the destructive power of his flying sword was beyond imagination. Even reading the gazette was enough to astound cultivators. For Ning Yao, Cao Ci, and Shan Qing were all undeniably favored by the heavens, and their realms were high, but Liu Cai was merely Golden Core. Generally speaking, not even Nascent Soul sword cultivators under fifty were qualified to be on the list.

With his sudden emergence, two sword-nurturing gourds also came to light: the long-lost “Secrets” and “Immediately”. Liu Cai possessed two natal flying swords. The sword-nurturing gourd “Secrets” nurtured the flying sword “Azure Fall,” a sword capable of breaking ten thousand laws. The gourd “Immediately” nurtured his second flying sword, “White Colt,” whose subtlety and swiftness ignored the obstruction of the river of time.

So now Vast Brightness Heaven had a saying: the only swordsman capable of competing with Ning Yao in the same realm would be Liu Cai, a century from now.

Qi Zhen, the little Shidi of the Celestial Sovereign of Divine Decree Sect, who had gone to the upper sect in the Central Earth Continent as a Keeper of Records, rumored to have read through all the Taoist books within three years.

From the Wild Desolate Heaven came She Yue, a young cultivator who, like the swordsman Liu Cai and the Taoist nun, had seemingly barged into the world’s awareness.

And lastly, there was the “Hidden Official,” as if he were a bonus item in a transaction.

A young man who had finally gained some fame outside his own continent, but whose reputation was tarnished by the “Chen Ping Case.”

There were reportedly ten more candidates, but they had not been announced.

Chao Mu mustered her courage and turned to steal a glance at Ju Xing, who had ignored her for a long time.

He was actually younger than her, born in the same year and month, but a few days later.

But the little girl always felt that Ju Xing was many years older than her.

Ju Xing noticed Chao Mu’s gaze and immediately glared at her. Chao Mu blinked, as if saying, “I wasn’t talking to you, why do you care? You’re being unreasonable.”

Ju Xing pinched two fingers together and gently swiped, signaling the little girl to quickly turn her head obediently.

Chao Mu turned her head, leaned on the table, and continued to watch Sister Pei copy scriptures.

The little girl wanted to ask this sister, since she was home, why did she have to leave?

If she could stay in her hometown, she definitely wouldn’t go far away.

Sister Pei was all alone, so brave and able to endure hardship.

Chao Mu probably didn’t know that the tall, thin, and slightly dark Pei Qian, who made her feel so secure, had actually been so tender before learning boxing. When Huang Ting in Old Dragon City’s apothecary lightly pinched her shoulders and arms, she had cried out in pain on the spot, running to complain to her Shifu with a snotty nose and tearful eyes, even more so than Chao Mu. At that time, Pei Qian was actually a little older than Chao Mu. As for courage, Pei Qian didn’t have much as a child, maybe not even as much as Little Millet. She even carried an ordinary yellow paper talisman with her to this day.

Sister Pei copied scriptures with great focus.

Then Chao Mu suddenly panicked and quickly turned to look at Ju Xing.

Ju Xing looked at Chao Mu, put a finger to his lips, and shook his head, signaling Chao Mu not to speak.

Chao Mu stood up tiptoeing. It turned out that Sister Pei was copying scriptures and, for some reason, was crying.

Pei Qian was sad that when Shifu tapped her on the forehead in the future, he probably wouldn’t have to bend down anymore.

And even if Shifu and disciple were finally reunited, and they traveled together again, Shifu probably wouldn’t reach out and take a little girl’s hand again.

How had she grown up?

Little Shixiong, the white goose, had once told her a joke, asking his eldest Shijie if she knew who in the world had the most worries.

Pei Qian of course said it was her Shifu, because Shifu liked to think about things and take care of others the most.

Little Shixiong had smiled and shook his head, giving a very absurd answer.

He said it was that fellow named “Growing Up.”

In the capital of Great Li, Minister Guan was sitting in a rattan chair under the eaves. The old man was still afraid of the cold, even though he was wearing thick clothes. He held a warm stove and looked at the green parasol tree in the courtyard.

The old man grinned, extended his thumb, gently pressed it against a tooth, and sighed sadly.
The Xuan-grandson, Guan Yiran, weary from travel, had returned to the capital to officially relinquish his post as supervisor of the Qi Crossing project. He was to fill a vacancy in the Ministry of Revenue, though he wasn’t being promoted to Vice Minister like Liu Qingfeng. Frankly, even compared to Liu Xunmei, a scion of a military family, Emperor’s promotion seemed excessively frugal. Although Guan Yiran, who had risen through the ranks as a cultivator in the border army, was reluctant – not because he disdained the low rank, but because he was fundamentally accustomed to the rough battlefield – he still obeyed his great-grandfather’s instructions and chose to take office in the capital. As soon as he arrived home, Guan Yiran immediately went to see the old man.

Guan Yiran squatted at the old man’s feet, reaching out to touch the warm stove.

The old man chuckled, “The Ministry of Revenue is an unpopular department. Get used to it. As for the Ministry of Personnel, forget about it. Don’t you ever dream of holding office there. Everyone thinks the Ministry of Revenue belongs to the Guans, but if you Guan family members actually believe that, it’s a path to ruin. You have to leave a path for others, you understand? Squatting in the privy without shitting, or squatting there too long, will get you pelted with stones. When you’re splashed with filth, don’t blame anyone else.”

Guan Yiran smiled. The earliest group of prominent officials in the Great Li Dynasty weren’t very refined, even those who came from scholarly backgrounds.

The old man looked up at the beautiful sunset, sighing, “Teeth falling out, hair thinning, unable to walk. Annoying. Seeing young, beautiful women, I have neither the heart nor the strength, at most I can only reminisce about the past, think about the heroic deeds of yesteryear. Youth is wonderful, there are promotions to be had. The celestial beings flying in the sky are also something to envy from the bottom of one’s heart.”

The old man spoke to himself, the young man listened.

“’The state is shattered, mountains and rivers remain; in the city, spring brings forth grass and trees. The curtain-roller says it is as ever.’ That’s a collection of verses by a surviving member of the Lu clan, a brilliant writer. A pity his writing was better than his officialdom.”

“The fragrance of food when you’re hungry, the scent of rouge on a young woman, and there’s another good scent, you know? It’s the aroma of scratching your toes on a cool mat on a summer day.”

“Go, steal a jar of wine for your great-grandfather. Those few jars hidden in the study were secretly taken by your father, that damned rascal. He hid them in his own study. After you put down the wine, let your great-grandfather sit alone for a while. Haha, ‘Having wine, let me feast, do not let the children know.’”

Guan Yiran hummed in agreement, getting up to leave.

The old man suddenly called out, “Yiran.”

Guan Yiran immediately turned around.

The old man smiled without saying a word.

Guan Yiran understood, saying, “Understood, I’ll take two jars.”

The old man nodded, “Be a good official, but don’t forget to be a good person first. Don’t learn from those deputy supervisors of the Great Canal project. They don’t leave their homes on ordinary days, but when they have the chance to follow someone with a bigger hat on a tour of the canal, they borrow a pair of badly worn boots first. Don’t do those kinds of clever things done by clever people. Otherwise, your great-grandfather won’t be able to sleep peacefully.”

Guan Yiran’s eyes reddened, and he nodded vigorously, “Understood!”

After the young man left the courtyard.

Old Master Guan lightly tapped the armrest of his rattan chair and softly called out, “National Preceptor? Are you busy? If you’re not, keep me company for a chat?”

The Great Li National Preceptor, Cui Chan, appeared.

Old Master Guan didn’t offer a salute, not even a greeting. The old man just continued to gaze at the darkening sky, murmuring, “Master Cui, will the world get better? I asked you this question when I was young, and you just told me to see for myself. Now I’m getting old, my eyes are failing, and even if I strain my eyes, I can’t see very far. Soon, I won’t be able to see at all. Tell me, Master Cui, so I can leave with peace of mind.”

Cui Chan said, “At least while Guan Yingche is an official, the Great Li world will be better.”

The old man softly said, “But there are still many grievances that make people feel uncomfortable. I don’t even know how to say it, or who to say it to.”

Cui Chan said, “Every family’s meals, every household’s spring couplets, are the answers to the grievances in the hearts of scholars.”

The old man nodded, “There was once a young scholar with a belly full of books who said that the blooming and falling of flowers, the withering and flourishing of grass, are all the earthly echoes of the moonlight in the sky. Master Cui’s words are spot-on.”

Cui Chan smiled, “Who says they aren’t?”

There was once a poor scholar from a remote place who came to the capital to take the imperial examination. At a young age, he dared to declare that he would be the literary giant of the nation, but in reality, his poems and prose were mediocre.

The old man said regretfully, “It’s not that I’m afraid of death, it’s just that I can’t help but feel reluctant.”

That young man came from Shanya Academy.

The old man said, “Master Cui, I’m very glad to have met Master Qi and you. Studying under Master Qi at the academy, serving as an official alongside Master Cui in the imperial court.”

Cui Chan nodded, “I believe Qi Jingchun would also be pleased that among his students, there is a Guan Yingche.”

The old man asked, “Then, can I scold the Great Li National Preceptor a few times for Master Qi’s sake?”

Cui Chan smiled, “You have to scold the Minister of Personnel first, then you can scold me.”

The old man laughed along, shaking his head, “Then I’ll pass.”

Many heart-to-heart talks between old people are like final evaluations of their lives.

By the time Guan Yiran brought back the two jars of wine, only the National Preceptor could drink them.

The sixth year of Jiachun in the Fifth World.

Half of the Sword Qi Great Wall in the Wildlands World had been isolated by an array, truly becoming a solitary entity, wandering alone year after year.

After Fei Ran left that time, he would walk along the cliffs, occasionally using his narrow blade to break open the array for a moment, to glance at the vast, northward-bound demon army.

Six years later, he still hadn’t waited for the demons to retreat south.

Finally, he simply sat in a crevice in the cliff that could barely be called a cave, occasionally releasing his blade to cut open the restrictions, with nothing to do but watch the demons continue north.

However, every time Chen Pingan released his blade, the restrictions would quickly reseal themselves.

Li Zhen, upon learning of this, suggested that Mount Tuoyue be even more ruthless and set up a stable array between the two cliffs that even a Jade Purity Realm sword cultivator couldn’t break, not even giving the young Hidden Official a chance to feast his eyes.

Unfortunately, the Jiazi Account shelved this proposal, saying they were temporarily unable to attend to it and would discuss it later.

On this day, the young Hidden Official, dressed in a bright red Dharma robe, sat cross-legged, his blade across his lap, gently tapping the scabbard with his hand.

One of his large sleeves was filled with the small text from the “Mountain and Water Travelogue,” dense and numerous, like a vast army gathering and garrisoning.

In fact, after Chen Pingan finished reading the book for the first time, he realized the secrets hidden within.
Thus, the thought arose: “It’s fortunate that I didn’t write about the things I truly cared about, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to speak properly in the future.”

Chen Ping’an was extremely sensitive to the number “eleven,” and he certainly knew what the character “De” (得) signified. He hadn’t carved those bamboo slips for nothing; Chen Ping’an actually enjoyed collecting obscure characters and abstruse phrases more than many scholars who had been reading since childhood. Especially the matter of deciphering characters; back in the alleyway near the wine shop, the storyteller’s children had already experienced the formidable skill of the second shopkeeper.

Now, wielding his saber to break through the restrictions, besides observing the number of demon troops and deducing the battlefield situation, Chen Ping’an also needed to infer whether that gate would occasionally close. He was concerned that the Moon-Bearing Mountain side had already noticed the secrets of that Travelogue, and might close the gate to isolate the two worlds, or set up other landscape restrictions in advance. If Chen Ping’an acted hastily, it would render Cui Chan’s secret plan useless.

Merely knowing that the Travelogue was unusual was meaningless. This was also the most meticulous aspect of Cui Chan’s plan.

Over the years, after reading all the characters on the Small Refining Scroll, Chen Ping’an had racked his brains to decipher that secret message. He had painstakingly rearranged those characters in various formations. He repeatedly reread the Travelogue, perhaps taking one character every eleven characters in a certain chapter to see if they could be gathered into a secret message. Perhaps he would focus on the characters “Chan” (瀺) and “Chan” (巉), using various connections to expand upon them. Perhaps he would use a reverse chronological method to search for clues…

Cui Dongshan once said that anyone with a sane mind wouldn’t be able to find the thread of this clue.

But in fact, his teacher, not only found the thread after reading the Travelogue the first time, but even the act of tossing the book and retrieving it was a smokescreen. Afterward, he was simultaneously refining characters and contemplating thousands of miles with his thoughts.

All the trivial matters in life that make one feel uneasy and uncomfortable might, at some point in the future, illuminate the path like scattered stars, eventually gathering together to shine brightly.

Chen Ping’an shrank his body, clasped his hands in his sleeves, and was lost in a daze.

Today, in that vast world, it was the fifth day of the fifth month.

When there were people around him, Chen Ping’an wouldn’t pay much attention to whether it was the fifth day of the fifth month.

When he was alone, he would think of it every time.

After his parents passed away, one day a family opened their door at the tail end of Mud Bottle Lane. Later, that family had a snot-nosed kid. Later, he met Song Jixin and Zhigui, these two neighbors. Later, he also met Liu Xianyang.

Then later, he left his hometown, with Li Baoping and Li Huai. Later, there were Zhang Shanfeng and Liu Yuanxia. And there were Pei Qian and the others, and he had Fallen Mountain. Even in Shujian Lake, and when he arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall, there were people he cared about around him.

Only in these recent years, Chen Ping’an was alone again.

Chen Ping’an gently exhaled a breath and lightly tapped his heart. Anyway, he was alone, so he could talk to himself.