Chapter 16 A Chance

After leaving Zhuyu Town, they continued to walk northward. These days, Huang Jin was in low spirits obviously. After getting out of that mansion, he didn’t carry that machete on his back, and it was replaced with that umbrella, so the machete was on Li Fuyao’s back.

It was ridiculous for a swordsman to carry a machete on his back. Although in Chen Sheng’s opinion, Li Fuyao was an unpresentable swordsman, he was a swordsman anyway. However, Li Fuyao had special feelings for this machete which was with him when he fought the first fight in his life, so he didn’t say anything.

The three continued on the official road. Huang Jin walked quickly behind the other two but didn’t raise his head. This scholar took part in the first test of the imperial examination in Shaoliang City this year and learnt the news that the woman got married. Then he gave up the next tests and came back home in a hurry. According to the rules in Dazhou, he couldn’t attend the imperial examination in the following ten years at least. If the examiner didn’t know what this scholar would do, perhaps he would suffer more than being deprived of his qualification to take the imperial examination. After he left for home, he had lost his chance to be outstanding as an official after taking the examination. If he wanted to do something important in the future, he had to find out another way.

After walking for one day, they came to a branch road, and Huang Jin stopped in his tracks. He called Li Fuyao from behind, and then the latter turned his head to look at the scholar.

Huang Jin jogged to Li Fuyao. Looking at this teenager who was several years younger than him, he expressed sincerely, “Mr. Li, I have to say goodbye here. When we were in Zhuyu Town, you had saved my life. If you are in trouble in the future and I can help you, just tell me. I will do everything I can for you.”

After speaking, Huang Jin seemed to think of something and felt awkward all of a sudden.

Li Fuyao patted the handle of the machete and said with a smile, “I think this machete is nice for me, so I won’t give it back to you. We are even now.”

Huang Jin smiled and didn’t say more.

Li Fuyao asked casually, “After you return home, what will you do? Still reading?”

Huang Jin shook his head and replied calmly, “A master among the Confucian scholars in the past had traveled around the world. Although I am a poor civilian, I still look forward to it. After I go back home and arrange for the elders in my family, I want to learn from that master and have a tour around.”

Li Fuyao knew that the Confucian masters as Huang Jin mentioned were Confucianists but they were merely scholars and not cultivators. However, the Confucian scholar who could drive an ox carriage to travel around was not alone then. If there were no Confucian cultivators helping him secretly, how could a poor and weak scholar travel so far? Now if Huang Jin wanted to learn from him, it would be difficult.

But Li Fuyao pondered for a second and then nodded, “It will be a long journey. Take care.”

Huang Jin smiled.

He saluted Li Fuyao and then turned to Qing Huai, “Lady, you deserve to be a heroine.”

Qing Huai was unmoved.

From the beginning to the end, this scholar thought that Qing Huai was just a heroine in the human world, and he didn’t feel scared when he met the female ghost in red earlier probably because she showed that woman’s face most of the time.

After speaking, the scholar who came with a machete and went with an umbrella left the official road and took the branch road, walking away.

Li Fuyao looked at Huang Jin’s back and asked, “If he is determined to travel around, would he be swallowed by the mountain fairies and wild demons in the human world?”

Qing Huai answered softly, “Who knows?”

Li Fuyao pursed his lips and continued to walk on the official road. After a long way, he asked with a smile, “Qing Huai, will Huang Jin be lucky and meet an extremely powerful cultivator who insists on taking him as a disciple?”

Qing Huai ridiculed, “Even such an idiot like you could meet Chen Sheng. What can’t happen in this world?”

Li Fuyao frowned, “I have good talent to practice swordsmanship.”

Qing Huai didn’t say anything but the ridicule in her eyes was stronger. She was one of the most outstanding young demons in the demonic land. Anybody would admire her talent to cultivate. If she was in the human world, her talent would be the top among the young generation. As for the women, it was safe to say that she wouldn’t be inferior to anybody except that gifted Dao cultivator. So no matter how talented Li Fuyao was, could he be a match for her?

Li Fuyao didn’t know what Qing Huai was thinking about. He just wondered dispiritedly how many geniuses he would meet when he reached the Sword Mountain.

Qing Huai seemed to have read Li Fuyao’s mind and comforted him rarely after a long while, “Don’t worry. Chen Sheng’s eyesight is not that bad.”

Qing Huai had seen a lot, like a bird in the cloud. Although Chen Sheng was in a high stage, she didn’t take him seriously, while Li Fuyao was a bird in the cage. He didn’t say much to express his admiration for Chen Sheng, but in fact, he worshiped his master.

But soon after Li Fuyao felt much better, Qing Huai added with a smile, “But it’s not that good.”

Li Fuyao laughed it off and didn’t mind. After all, these days, he had been mocked many times.

Looking at the way ahead, Li Fuyao grinned all of a sudden. In his heart, he expected it.

Qing Huai was clear about Li Fuyao’s character, so she didn’t worry if this guy would lose heart in the end.

Look, he was happy soon.

……

The young scholar Huang Jin took the branch road and walked slowly along the path, step by step. It was not far away from the village. After he walked a few steps, he would occasionally meet some acquaintances from his village. When he went out of the village to snatch a bride, the news spread and many childhood friends sneered at him, but most of the elders had seen him grow up and advised him to think twice before snatching the bride. Later, they realized that they couldn’t stop him, so they just told him to be careful. At the moment, seeing Huang Jin come back with an umbrella, an old man who was smoking on the ridge looked at him and asked, “Jin, what’s wrong? Is Hehua unwilling to come back? Or didn’t the family let her go?”

Huang Jin shook his head and grinned, answering, “No. Hehua lives happily there, so I didn’t disturb her. I just had a look at her in the distance and then left.”

The old man shook his pipe and questioned with displeasure, “What? I have seen you grow up. Aren’t you honest with me?”

Huang Jin smiled bitterly and didn’t reply.

The old man asked cautiously, “Do you think that Hehua fell in love with somebody else? I tell you. I have watched both of you when you grew up. I know well about you two. Don’t misunderstand her.”

Huang Jin responded expressionlessly, “Uncle Gen, it’s not like that.”

“Then what on earth happened?” The old man didn’t give up.

Huang Jin stayed silent for a while and then simply told him what had happened.

The old man looked gloomy and smoked, murmuring, “Why?”

Huang Jin wiped his face and stated in a low voice, “Uncle Gen, I have to go now. I have something to do at home.”

Huang Jin walked on along the country road much more quickly than before. He walked a long way and then could see the village. But after a few steps, he stopped all of a sudden.

In the front of the village stood two figures, with one tall and one short.

A middle-aged man in black and a little girl were standing there.

Huang Jin walked to the two and looked at the man in black, greeting respectfully, “Mr. Yan.”

This man in black was the cultivator, Yan Yu from Yanling Confucian Temple who once showed up in Baiyu Town. After leaving that town, they didn’t leave Dazhou immediately but stayed in this village for a long time. Before Huang Jin went out to snatch the bride, he had asked Yan Yu, but then Yan Yu just smiled while speaking and didn’t encourage or stop him.

Yan Yu from Yanling Confucian Temple looked at this scholar who went out with a machete on his back and came back only with an umbrella. He asked casually, “How is it? As I expected?”

Huang Jin shook his head and didn’t say a word.

Yan Yu smiled, “No matter what happened, the result is the same. What do you think? Will you agree to study in the temple with me?”

Huang Jin still shook his head.

Yan Yu asked patiently, “Why?”

Huang Jin replied seriously, “I want to learn from that master and travel around the world.”

Yan Yu stared at Huang Jin and expressed indifferently, “You want to travel around the world? After you leave Dazhou, you will lose your life. Why not listen to me and study in the temple first? Then you can naturally travel around.”

Huang Jin laughed heartily, “I will go to study in the temple after I return from travel. If I can’t come back… What does it matter?”

Yan Yu looked as usual. On this trip, he had told two people that he would take them to the temple, but neither of them agreed. In anybody’s eyes, he couldn’t feel happy.

Gu Yuan, the little girl next to him, chuckled, covering her mouth.

Yan Yu didn’t rebuke his student but turned around nonchalantly. While walking, he asked, “Huang Jin, I don’t understand. It’s a great chance obviously. Why don’t you want it?”

Huang Jin didn’t answer this question but said something irrelevant, “When Hehua was alive, I just wanted to be with her. I asked for little, so I had few worries. Now she is gone, and I have nothing to ask for. In the future, I think I will live more carefreely. Speaking of carefree, that girl who I met on my trip is really carefree. Mr. Yan, you must be an excellent scholar, but in my opinion, you are not that carefree.”

Yan Yu walked away. He heard that but made no response.

However, Gu Yuan laughed, “Master, he said that you live a tiring life.”

Yan Yu smiled, “Indeed, I do.”