Chapter 78 Get the Sword (II)

After Li Fuyao went to the bottom of the cliff along the mountain stones behind the shabby temple, Xie Lu held her sword and returned to the temple. Seeing Liu Yibai who lifted a pot of liquor and drank alone in front of the statues, Xie Lu kept silent. She almost had never drunk but brought a pot of liquor under the table and wiped away the dust on it. She blushed after taking a sip. She didn’t want to talk but just drank the liquor with small sips.

The temple was full of aroma of liquor. The more Liu Yibai drank, the clearer his eyes were. He wasn’t drunk at all. In the end, this swordsman at the Dawning Stage had a lot of sword Qi, which made the shabby temple shaky with dust falling.

But in the end, it returned peaceful and nothing unusual could be seen.

When Xian Chunan walked into the shabby temple, nobody knew how much the two had drunk. The senior fellow apprentice found a spot and sat on the floor, smiling peacefully. “They still can’t forget it after so many years?”

The two ignored him, and Xian Chunan talked to himself with a smile. “If we unsheathe the swords, there will be nothing unfair in the world.”

Liu Yibai murmured, “Unfortunately, we can’t unsheathe the swords anymore.”

Xie Lu was silent with tears in her eyes. This swordswoman who pursued the way of swordsmanship all her life had excellent talent.

The three fell into silence. However, there was a figure standing at the door for a long time. He didn’t enter or leave but just stood there.

All the three in the temple knew who he was, but none of them said anything or stood up. They just waited before the old man left alone when he was tired after standing for long.

The old man stood in front of the temple for a long while and repeated Xian Chunan’s words for several times. Then he expressed with self-mockery, “The foundation shouldn’t be so heavy, but it worries people everywhere.”

The three in the temple turned a deaf ear.

The old man turned around and walked down Menchen Mountain, going to Green Lake. A guest would come to Sword Mountain today.

He would go down the mountain to welcome the guest.

But he walked alone and didn’t bring his sword Reminiscence.

A group of travelling merchants came to the border of Dayu from Yanling and planned to purchase some rare products which weren’t produced in Yanling. They would sell them in Yanling and make money with the price differences. But before they walked out of the border of Yanling, they almost paid all their money, which was not much, in that tavern. They drank only several pots of rice wine in the tavern, but they owed several hundred taels of silver for no reason, which was beyond their expectations. They wanted to ask that boss lady who looked beautiful why she didn’t do business honestly but made them pay through the nose. But before they started to speak, the military officers dressed in armor of the North Army who came in after them took out a lot of silver and put it on the counter. Then they left while smiling after the woman nodded. The group of travelling merchants turned to look at the empty bowls on the table of those military officers and then swallowed involuntarily. Only a few bowls of rice wine cost so much silver, and it seemed to be no big deal when they had to pay several hundred taels of silver after drinking some pots of wine. Seeing that the military officers in Yanling paid the bill obediently, these merchants didn’t dare to act recklessly. However, they came to the border for the first time and didn’t know there was such a tavern selling unreasonably expensive wine. They didn’t bring much money and needed to purchase products. If they had to spend all here, how could they survive? When they were in a stalemate, an old Confucian scholar who was sitting in a corner all the time suddenly said something to uphold justice. He said, “Their silver was not from nowhere, and how can a pot of wine be worth so much? Moreover, the travelling merchants at the border live a hard life. If you have conscience, you should offer them the wine for free.” They had thought that the boss lady who appeared shrewish would burst into anger, but unexpectedly, she didn’t get mad at all but replied with a smile that they could avoid paying for the wine.

So those travelling merchants finally sighed with relief. When they stood up, preparing to leave, the old Confucian scholar who had found a book box from nowhere suddenly said with a smile that he would go to Dayu with them to enjoy the scenery there. The travelling merchants kept his kindness in mind and didn’t stop him. They just asked with concern if the old man could afford to suffer the hardships on the journey. The old Confucian scholar smiled and nodded, saying that he was old, but in fact, he was not inferior to the young men in their twenties. Then the group of people went to the border of Dayu with the old scholar, and from beginning to end, the boss lady didn’t say anything.

After they took a boat and came to the border of Dayu, the old Confucian scholar said goodbye to the travelling merchants and then went somewhere alone. He walked unhurriedly all the time. On the way, he came to a great river and stood on the bank for a long time. When he was in a good mood, he recited an essay written by a sage, which made all the fish in the great river gather under his feet and quietly listen to the sage’s essay. They didn’t even scatter after the old scholar finished reciting it. He looked at the fish and stated happily, “The truth and knowledge can be expected, but it will take hundreds of years.”

There were waves on the river after the old Confucian scholar turned around and left the great river. A man walked out from the river with a woman and worshiped him respectfully behind.

The old Confucian scholar didn’t see them, but the two were more sincere.

The old scholar left the great river and came to the ferry-place in front of Green Lake after walking around. At first glance, he saw the huge shell of a tortoise hung on the wooden pole of the ferry-place.

The old Confucian scholar with a book box on his back walked to the ferry-place and asked the boatman who was setting the boat, “How much shall I pay if I want to go to the foot of Menchen Mountain by Green Lake?”

The thin boatman looked at the old scholar’s clothes and asked in surprise, “Old master, you won’t read books but would go to learn swordsmanship?”

The old Confucian scholar shook his head and replied with a smile, “I have read books for a lifetime. How can I give it up easily? But I want to write a poem recently, and how can I finish it before seeing those swordsmen? So I have to come from afar to have a look.”

The boatman pursed his lips and soon responded while smiling, “Don’t need to mention if those gods on the mountain would show them to you, but you came after choosing a good day. If you came one year or half a year ago, you might have to return.”

The old Confucian scholar was stunned. “What do you mean?”

The boatman pointed to the tortoise’s shell and laughed. “In the past, such an animal caused trouble in Green Lake, and many swordsmen who wanted to cross the lake were eaten by it. Till late spring, when a young master with a broken matchet on his back passed Green Lake, this huge tortoise came out again to act with murderous intent, but it was beaten to death by that young master. Otherwise, nobody dares to send you to Menchen Mountain. Alright. If you want to go to the foot of Menchen Mountain, just come into the boat, and I won’t ask you to pay.”

The old Confucian scholar jumped to the bow and sighed with emotion. “The huge tortoise acted violently under the mountain, and those swordsmen on the mountain didn’t come down. It appears that life was really difficult.”

The boatman didn’t hear it clearly, so he didn’t answer but just rowed the boat to Green Lake. All the way, he just told the old Confucian scholar how capable the young master was that day. After the boatman talked too much, the old scholar felt annoyed.

Before the boat approached Menchen Mountain, the old Confucian scholar suddenly looked up at Sword Mountain in the distance and stated in a rage, “I didn’t come to destroy this waste mountain, but you drew in a lot of people. You just save your energy to cope with the guy who would come to provoke later. Why are you aiming at me?”

The boatman was open-mouthed and looked at the old Confucian scholar who talked to himself.

After the boat came to the center of the lake, the old Confucian scholar suddenly said in a low voice, “Forgive me.” Then the boatman watched as the old scholar tiptoed and flew away.

The boatman opened his eyes wide and asked involuntarily, “An old god?”

He had been a boatman at the border of Dayu for so many years and heard that the scholars were righteous, but he had never heard that the scholars could fly.

Meanwhile, the old Confucian scholar walked on the water surface and came to the foot of Menchen Mountain with the book box on his back. He laughed. “Chao Qingqiu’s sword Qi has gone, and that bloke must have climbed the mountain. Old man, you didn’t thank me but wanted to scare me. You are so unreasonable.”

And when the sword Qi came down from the top of Menchen Mountain, it became more and more powerful. When it was close to the foot of the mountain, it was at the peak.

It could hardly be seen in the world.

The old man who came with his hands behind his back stood on the mountain path and looked calm, with his clothes full of sword Qi. His momentum was not the same as usual.

At the moment, he was a sword on Sword Mountain with the most powerful sword Qi.