Chapter 79 Get the Sword (III)

The forceful head-on blow of the old master from Sword Mountain didn’t make the old Confucian scholar with a book box on his back feel scared at all. This old scholar who didn’t read many books but had walked ten thousand miles looked at the old master with powerful sword Qi and shouted, “Xu Ji, what’s wrong? The stab that year didn’t injure your foundation? Now you still have power to show off in front of me, a powerless scholar?”

The old master who was called Xu Ji looked at this old Confucian scholar who he had known many years ago and frowned. “Old guy, you are incapable, but you like to reason with others. What? You are still alive after so many years? You haven’t been killed?”

The old Confucian scholar looked up and laughed. “I, Du Yuanyou, have walked a long way in this life and spoke out many reasons. Who isn’t convinced by me after listening to me reasoning? How can they want to kill me? But you, old man, you are outwardly strong but inwardly weak. However, you still want to show off your power and make things difficult for me. Don’t you hope to live longer and see more scenery in this human world?”

The old master concealed his sword Qi and came to the old Confucian scholar, standing beside him. He sighed with emotion. “I have seen enough and been fed up since long ago.”

The old Confucian scholar giggled and didn’t speak in a hurry. Instead, he took the book box off his back and took out several books from the box, giving them to the old master. Then he put the book box back and looked ahead. “All these are the only existing copies of books about swordsmanship I have found, and you must not have them on Sword Mountain. Just take them. I owe Chao Qingqiu a favor and can’t repay him only once, so I will return his kindness several times, and I will repay him eventually. By the way, I have met a teenage boy at the border of Yanling, and he wanted to climb the mountain to learn swordsmanship. Is he on the mountain now?”

The old master’s expression didn’t change. He took a few steps and walked up the mountain before saying, “He couldn’t reach the mountaintop before dark, so he didn’t pass the test of Sword Mountain. According to the rules, he is not a disciple on the mountain.”

The old Confucian scholar goggled. “What? Don’t you have a look? What’s your situation now? You are still picky. Do you think that it’s still like six thousand years ago and every cultivator in the world would look up at the swordsmen?”

The old master looked indifferent and responded calmly, “Even if the swordsmen are declining, we still need to pay attention to the rules. Otherwise, if everybody is like this, what should we do?”

The old Confucian scholar wanted to directly tell this old man that there were few people on the mountain and they couldn’t pay attention to the rules, but after thinking it over, he probably believed that it was too much, so he didn’t speak at once. He just said with regret, “I like the teenage boy’s character. If he can’t practice swordsmanship, just let him read and write with me. I don’t have other capabilities, but I have my own thoughts about reading books. Even if this boy still wants to practice swordsmanship, I can teach him. There were scholars who changed their minds and started to learn swordsmanship. The young man who is trapped in the Star Building in Luoyang City can do that, so I can certainly do it, too.”

The old master made no comment but stated, “I have never seen such a scholar like you who would talk about practicing swordsmanship all the time.”

The old Confucian scholar responded, “I have never seen such a swordsman like you. If you didn’t insist on drawing your sword that day, you shouldn’t be like this now anyway. Perhaps you really qualify to step on Chenxie Mountain instead of waiting for the old Taoist to get you in trouble.”

The old master didn’t want to talk about this matter anymore. After he took several steps, he kept silent, but the old Confucian scholar didn’t give up and asked, “What about that boy? Where did he go after he went down the mountain?”

The old master asked peacefully, “Who said that he went down the mountain?”

The old Confucian scholar was speechless and didn’t react until a long time later. He patted the old master’s shoulder and didn’t speak a word. He really didn’t know what to say.

In the end, when they almost reached the top of Menchen Mountain, the old Confucian scholar finally talked the proper business. “Liang Yi is at a high stage and it’s said that he is close to a sage. The outsiders think it is exaggerated, but I know it is not. Even if his soul came out of his body and would reach Sword Mountain this time, can you stop him?”

The old master felt empty and lost. Although he unsheathed his sword for Sword Mountain that year and he almost had no chance to reach the peak of swordsmanship, he didn’t regret it. However, the temple owner on Chenxie Mountain would come here today, and Chao Qingqiu was not here, so even the old master didn’t have the confidence.

He laughed in a low voice. “It doesn’t matter if I draw the sword for the last time.”

The old Confucian scholar who had been to many places expressed with a smile, “I have said that I owe Chao Qingqiu a favor, so I came at the right time.”

The old master shook his head. “The issue on Sword Mountain only has something to do with swordsmen. Don’t get involved.”

The old Confucian scholar didn’t say more. He had walked a long way and been to a lot of places, but after going to so many places, he found that this Sword Mountain was the most interesting place. That year, he met Xu Ji at the foot of Sword Mountain and they became friends. Later they hadn’t seen each other for many years. This time, they met again. As a matter of fact, he didn’t come for Xu Ji or Sword Mountain. As for Chao Qingqiu’s kindness, he would return to Sword Mountain in secret. If he acted so openly, he was afraid that the swordsmen on the mountain wouldn’t accept it anyway.

Such as this stubborn old man in front of him.

However, he really wanted to reason with the temple owner on Chenxie Mountain, but the people on that mountain didn’t act according to reasons for too long, and he could do nothing.

After they walked ahead for several steps, the old master talked about what happened when Li Fuyao climbed the mountain that day. He said that the boy practiced at the foot of the mountain after he failed in reaching the top. In the end, he told his friend that he was satisfied with that bloke and it was no big deal no matter if he practiced on the mountain. Anyway, the boy was his disciple’s disciple and a swordsman.

The old Confucian scholar smacked his lip and laughed. “You give him a way of retreat.”

The old master finally showed a smile. “The plants can’t be moved, but people are flexible. Such a teenage boy doesn’t need to stay on the mountain with the old men. If the mountain has gone, it’s fine that the swords and swordsmen are still here. However, I don’t believe that the people on Chenxie Mountain would act in this way regardless of anything. Chao Qingqiu is still alive.”

The old Confucian scholar looked at the old master several times in surprise. “You really don’t know that some people are aiming at Chao Qingqiu on the demonic land now? Two huge demons join hands although they are unwilling to and want to take his life. Otherwise, how would Liang Yi’s soul come out of his body to Sword Mountain from afar? He is always cautious.”

The old master stopped walking and looked terrible.

The old Confucian scholar cursed, “They are old and have become sages, but they are so shameless. Two huge demons join hands and aim at a Sword Immortal. If the news spread, wouldn’t people laugh their heads off?”

The old master kept silent and just continued to walk slowly.

The situation on Sword Mountain these years became worse and worse, like a building which would collapse and couldn’t save the desperate situation. Even when a Sword Immortal, Chao Qingqiu was alive, he could just ensure that Sword Mountain would exist, and they didn’t dare to expect more. However, in the eyes of the old master who had lived many years, he couldn’t bear to see the declining situation, but he could do nothing.

If Chao Qingqiu died on the demonic land, without the Sword Immortal’s protection, Sword Mountain might soon become a waste mountain.

The two walked slowly side by side. When they passed the shabby temple on the top of Menchen Mountain, the old Confucian scholar stopped and looked at it several times, but he didn’t stay there for long. Then he continued to walk on the mountain path with the old master. After they reached the mountaintop, the old scholar and old master came to the Sword Asking Lawn and stood next to the cliff. The old Confucian scholar felt it was open and then said with a smile, “I tried to study in many places those years and wanted to be a world-famous scholar, but none of the academies and temples accepted me. Then I suddenly remembered that my name is Yuanyou (travel far away), so I thought that the sages said it is better to walk ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. In fact, if I had a chance to read ten thousand books, how would I want to walk ten thousand miles? I had no choice, so I have been to many places, but I think they are the same. Only when I came to the foot of Sword Mountain that time, I saw different scenery. There are too many views in the world, and I can’t watch the scenery everywhere or care about everything, but only Sword Mountain, I really don’t want it to be a history. The swordsmen were at the peak and then declined, which took six thousand years. It doesn’t have a deep foundation like the three religious sects, but the swordsmen were at the peak because they were sincere, and they declined because they were straightforward. It’s said that the Confucian sages are righteous, but they don’t do everything like this. They can say that even the finest feast must break up at last, but they can also say that people would meet at any time. Although the cultivators from the three religious sects stand on the mountain, they would talk about the way of the world with the ones who also stand there. But how about the swordsmen? You have a sword on your waist and unsheathe your sword when there is something unfair, or when you want to vent your anger, or when you see something that is not straightforward, so others certainly don’t like you guys. In the final analysis, you caused the current situation by yourselves.”

The old master stood next to the old scholar and stated peacefully, “It’s not that the swordsmen are too straightforward, but there are few people who are straightforward from the three religious sects. That year, Sage Zhang wrote an excellent assay and made all the cultivators in the world admire him from the bottom of their hearts, and he was fired with boundless enthusiasm. But now, can you find the second one?”

The old Confucian scholar furrowed his brows and laughed even though he was angry. “It was a great fortune in the world that such a scholar like Sage Zhang showed up. How can you dare to say that you would find the second one?”

The old master made no comment and just looked at the bottom of the cliff.

The old Confucian scholar suddenly thought of something and asked with uncertainty, “Did you tell that bloke to go to the bottom of the cliff?”

The old master was silent.

He just admitted it in silence.

The old Confucian scholar felt furious unprecedentedly and questioned resentfully, “Which stage is that bloke at? Is he at the third stage? You dared to let him go down. I know what are under there.”

The old master didn’t explain anything else but just chuckled. “The second stage.”

The old Confucian scholar was dumbfounded.

In the old scholar’s opinion, this old guy was frantic.

He was too frantic.