Chapter 327: Letting Go of Feelings

Guanliu Tower.

The sun was already a bit high, but the thin mist by the lake forest was still lingering. The martial competition had ended a long time ago, and the people on the long street had dispersed very cleanly. In the morning, there were not many people in the building.

The four of them set up a small table on the Lin Feng Terrace: Seeing Pei Ye, Yang Yan, Zhang Junxue, and Zhang Dingyun.

"Fang Jidao is purely colorful and unrighteous. Once Layman Qi left, he wouldn't stay for even a quarter of an hour." Zhang Dingyun said, "Still, you three are good people, with good martial arts, high prospects, and righteousness."

Hearing that Seeing Pei Ye was leaving, the little fatty immediately set up a farewell banquet. Unfortunately, Yang Yan and Zhang Junxue were two dull people, and Seeing Pei Ye seemed to have sealed his mouth with mud today. He sighed, but the atmosphere remained silent and quiet.

Finally, Yang Yan and he exchanged a few awkward words. Before long, several people were full, sat leaning on the terrace together, blowing the wind and looking at the willow forest and lake surface below. The Zhuoyue Tower could be seen far away at the other end of the lake.

"Junxue, what are your plans next?" Seeing Pei Ye held the porcelain bottle of wine on his knees, looking into the distance outside the railing, and spoke actively for the first time after a long silence.

"I'll continue to fight in the martial competition in Bowang." Zhang Junxue said dully, "You all left during the winter competition... I should have some opportunities. After taking the qualification, I will go to the Divine Capital next summer to participate in the Divine Capital martial examination, and then take the results of the Divine Capital martial examination... to apprentice at the White Deer Palace."

The woman said everything she thought in her heart in one breath.

Seeing Pei Ye nodded and said softly: "Remember to heal your injuries before practicing. Don't be in a rush and leave behind any root of illness."

"It's almost there... really."

"... Next summer, I will wait for you in the Divine Capital."

"Okay."

"Hmm."

"... Seeing Pei Ye."

"Hmm?"

"Don't press too many things on yourself..."

"..."

Zhang Dingyun's voice came from the other side: "Still catching up with the opera."

Below the Lin Feng Terrace, it was the largest opera house in Bowang singing autumn operas. It was babbling, and Seeing Pei Ye couldn't hear it clearly, but the little fatty was clearly a regular, humming along with the tune.

After humming for a while, he stretched his neck and said: "By the way, Seeing Pei Ye, Yang Yan said he's not going to Tianshan anymore, is it true?"

"True."

"... Brother Yang, you truly have ambition."

"... It's alright."

Zhang Dingyun gave him a thumbs up.

"How about you, do you have any arrangements later?" Seeing Pei Ye looked at the little fatty.

"What arrangements do I have." Zhang Dingyun smiled, "You all left, so I will continue to enjoy my spring flowers and autumn moon alone... Next year at the martial and poetry competitions, there will be more heroes."

The autumn wind blew his lapels. Several people chatted intermittently, saying words before parting. Zhang Dingyun truly couldn't see any sadness of parting on his face, leaning on one side with wine, humming the tune softly.

Seeing Pei Ye hadn't really listened to operas much, but perhaps the experience in Xiangzhou awakened this hobby of his, or perhaps his emotions were low at this time and easily caught by his ears. He turned his head and asked: "What opera is this?"

Zhang Dingyun was about to speak when the young girl's voice came from the door first: "《Pear Blossom Mist》, it's a local opera in Bowang."

Seeing Pei Ye turned back and saw Li Piaoqing standing at the door. Her skirt and hair were neatly tied, looking quite quiet.

"It's about the same as 《Spring Boudoir Dream》. It's about a girl who is good at brewing pear blossom wine, who fell in love at first sight with her sweetheart, but the war ignited, and the sweetheart went to the army, so the girl brewed a pot of pear blossom wine every year to wait for him." Li Piaoqing walked in with her sword, smiled, "But she never waited for him again."

Hearing this, the vague singing lyrics below became clearer: "Arriving at the spring flowers peeking through the window, arriving at the white snow paving the installation..."

"Right! It's what we've heard since we were young." Zhang Dingyun laughed, "The Young Li Li Zhangmen is truly busy. It's almost time to disperse before you come."

"You all aren't leaving anyway. Whether I come or not, it's just to see Seeing Pei Ye off." Li Piaoqing smiled, and only then did she pretend to be natural and meet the youth's gaze.

Seeing Pei Ye avoided it and handed her a bottle of unopened wine: "In the future, you will support Cuiyu alone. If you offend anyone, you must bring someone with high cultivation by your side."

"Hmm... Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu told me. Since I can't go, she wrote a recommendation letter to Shaolong for the Divine Capital, recommending me as a Shaolong Sword Student, but not to go to the Prefecture City, just to study sword techniques by correspondence."

"... The effect is much smaller that way."

"I didn't have much time anyway." The young girl smiled, "Instead, I can learn many powerful sword techniques. Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu said I am 'Jade'... only a little worse than you."

"Hmm."

The atmosphere quieted down. Seeing Pei Ye turned his head to look outside the railing, not letting the green skirt enter his field of vision, looked up at the sky: "It's about time."

Several people stood up one after another.

Guanliu Tower stood in the southeast of Bowang City. Walking through the long street, when they arrived at the Nanmen, several people had already fallen behind, and only the young girl followed closely, quiet and silent.

Seeing Pei Ye stood still.

He turned his head and switched the sword to his other hand: "Lord Wu told me about the five catties of Heart Amber. If there is any news, just send a letter to me."

"Hmm... Yu Zhaocai bought this thing in Xiangzhou that year, it must have been for a purpose. I will check the records of twenty years ago these two days, and I should be able to find something along this line."

"Hmm... I'll ask Miss Ming to see if there are any extra small jade swords."

"Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu has already given me one."

"Oh..." Seeing Pei Ye was quiet for a moment, "Then, take care."

"..." Li Piaoqing lowered her head, "You take care too."

Seeing Pei Ye nodded and turned to leave the city gate.

In the distance outside the Nanmen, the white-clothed woman stood under the high willow trees, with a black jade cat crouching on her shoulder, and two tall, handsome horses beside her, with luggage packed on the horses' backs.

Seeing Pei Ye walked toward her, nodded, took the reins, and looked back again. Several friends had become several figures standing side by side, and the green dress was very eye-catching among them.

Seeing Pei Ye was quiet for a moment and waved his hand toward them again.

————

Seeing Pei Ye turned onto the horse blankly, and the scenery flew backward on both sides of his vision.

After galloping for a considerable time, he suddenly came back to his senses. He turned his head, and the rhythm of the horse's hooves beside him was like rain. The woman was riding on the horse, holding her sword horizontally before her, holding the reins. The clear, light white clothes fluttering like clouds falling into the human world.

"... Sorry, Miss Ming, did I slow down your pace?"

"No, a day or two, it's not urgent."

"Inspector Wuhe hopes we go later." Seeing Pei Ye explained, "He sent a letter to the upper echelons of Kongdong first, asking them to be loose on the outside but tight on the inside. It delayed your schedule of asking about the sword for two days."

"It doesn't matter, actually I like walking slowly like this."

"Hmm?"

"I rarely ride horses, and I don't walk below much." They rode into a dense forest. The woman looked at the cool, moist branches and leaves that were washed green by the rain beside her, some of which brushed against her clothes, leaving only the moist fragrance of leaves, "The time for asking about the sword in the world is indeed too rushed. Flying from one place to another, what you see is only the sky and clouds, which is actually very boring."

Seeing Pei Ye didn't expect the word "boring" to come out of the woman's mouth, but he had never had any interaction with the woman, so he just nodded blankly.

The two continued to ride quietly.

Gradually, the sun was past noon, and the warm autumn sun spilled down. Ming Qitian suddenly opened her mouth: "Have you finished reading the "General Introduction"?"

"... Finished reading, Miss Ming."

"Hmm, with an understanding of the complete description of the sword path in the world, you can have support when building your own sword ladder."

"What is a 'sword ladder'?"

"The saying of Yunlang Mountain... as the name implies."

"... Oh."

The woman's voice was as clear as water: "Remember when I first taught you to learn the sword, I asked you what swords you had learned—now if I ask you the same question again?"

"... 《Opening Door Sword》, 《Supporting Willow Sword》; 《Jade Essence Sword · Feng Yao Chapter》, half of 《Jade Essence Sword · Yellow Jade Chapter》; two layers of 《Collapsing Snow》; two stances of 《Snow Night Flying Goose》... nothing else, Miss Ming."

"Hmm, perform them for me one by one later."

"Hmm."

"Next, what sword do you want to learn?"

"《Jade Essence Sword》... The Li Li Zhangmen said that the intersection of the two jade essence pulses at the top is an intent-sword named 《Flying Feather Immortal》. I have roughly touched on some of the ways to start." Seeing Pei Ye was blank for a while, "The road ahead can barely be seen. If I work hard on learning the sword next, I should take it as the priority."

"Hmm." The woman nodded lightly, "We will sort it out first when we rest later."

"Also, Li Piaoqing handed me a sword classic just now." Seeing Pei Ye took out this book, which was still deep in dark light and hadn't had time to put away. The woman turned her head to look and saw five ancient characters left on it—"Deeply Hidden Immortal in the Earth."

"This is an incomplete intent-sword. Piao... said that the sect temporarily has no one who can learn it, worried that the meaning would be lost after copying, so she let me take it to learn first." Seeing Pei Ye looked down for two glances, "I will try to learn this as soon as possible... but it is incomplete."

Ming Qitian turned her head to look at it a few more times: "Can you show it to me later?"

"... Of course. Then, 《Snow Night Flying Goose》... I can't see the third stance for the time being, so it shouldn't work."

"Tell me about it."

"... Very clean." Seeing Pei Ye was silent for a long time, then looked at the sky and said in a low voice, "Bright, quiet, vast... as if carrying a lonely dream across a layer of thin ice. Below is cold, transparent, quiet water. I am also carved from cold, transparent ice jade. Skin, hair, bones, blood, there is no obstruction or shadow. Everything is transparent in this world."

"... Very beautiful sword intent."

"Yes." Seeing Pei Ye revealed a slight smile for the first time, "But I can't see the road to enter."

The woman turned her head and looked at him lightly.

Yes, the youth was almost the opposite of it now: heavy, gloomy, violent, suffocating. Actually, when she went to find Li Piaoqing this morning, she wanted to mention to the young girl whether she could temporarily not mention the separation, after all, the Edict was eyeing them covetously. But when she found it had already ended, she didn't speak again.

Besides, it was just treating the symptoms but not the root cause. Now that one of the two had walked through the state of mind, it was better than mutual entanglement.

"Also... 《Collapsing Snow》." Seeing Pei Ye continued in a low voice, "This sword is very, very strong, but it doesn't look like an orthodox sword. I will learn it when I have time... that's all."

"Then which one do you like to learn the most?"

"... Like the most?"

"Yes. I remember when we first met, weren't you obsessed with that stance 【Cloud Sky Obscuring Eyes Losing Feathers】 you just learned? Getting up from the recliner in the middle of the night, practicing it with love."

Seeing Pei Ye remembered that first meeting and smiled reluctantly with his head down: "Miss Ming makes me laugh."

"I didn't laugh at you." The woman looked at him gently, "But now, how did it become 'can learn', 'hurrying to learn', 'useful to learn'?"

"..."

"Which one do you like, and we will build your sword ladder with it." The woman turned her head back peacefully, "Of course, if you must go for 'most useful', that's fine too."

"I like..." Seeing Pei Ye was blank for a while. It was indeed a strange question at some point, "I... I will think about it again, Miss Ming."

Ming Qitian nodded: "No rush. Your talent is very good, and you have revealed it fully in this month. I guide your sword path, but it's just 'teaching the method' and 'pointing the way'. For the rest, whatever sword you learn at this time, I will watch for you and make you learn faster."

"... Hmm." Seeing Pei Ye responded somewhat absent-mindedly.

Quiet galloping, until the sky began to turn dark, and the sun was a bit west.

They came out of the forest path, passed many ups and downs and twists, and looking back, they couldn't see the shadow of Bowang City. It was in this flatness after coming out of the forest that a mountain shadow hidden in deep green appeared in the field of vision in the distance.

Standing under the horizon, hidden behind the twilight, standing motionless with the galloping horses of the travelers.

It was very tall and deep, but there were few steep peaks, and the green color was very thick, so there was no sense of majesty, but deep, quiet, and vast, covered with a layer of thin mist, adding to the immortal meaning.

Seeing Pei Ye was blank for a while before he realized what it was.

Legend has it that the mist of Yilan Mountain is like a ribbon all year round, legend has it that recluses like feather people once lived there, legend has it that the green birds inside are light and free, and their feathers are as beautiful as heaven's work... Seeing Pei Ye looked at it quietly, suddenly remembering inexplicably that he had never entered this misty mountain.

Go forward for a while, and before dark, they should be able to approach Xiangzhou.

————

In Bowang City, on Guanliu Tower, the remaining four people also ended their drinking and talking.

With the youth's departure, Zhang Junxue would return to Xu Valley, Li Piaoqing would return to Yilan Mountain to settle the old man, and Yang Yan got the reward for the martial competition and was also preparing to purchase equipment.

The four of them raised their glasses to part ways again. Zhang Dingyun closed his fan and left first. Zhang Junxue also went downstairs and left. Li Piaoqing still leaned on the terrace with the wine bottle, showing no intention of moving.

Yang Yan stood up somewhat hesitantly, looking at the young girl.

Li Piaoqing turned her head: "What's wrong?"

"Many thanks for saving me in the building that day. I haven't had a chance to repay you. I will keep it in mind in the future." Yang Yan raised his glass to toast again.

"A small effort, don't be so polite." Li Piaoqing smiled, raised the bottle and drank back a sip, "We are all friends."

"..." Yang Yan hesitated again, "Then, let me ask something."

"What?"

"That... it's just..." Yang Yan was a bit curious and a bit embarrassed, "I saw you and Seeing Pei Ye at the door yesterday morning... I discovered long ago that you like him... now you two..."

"... Are you together?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

Li Piaoqing suddenly laughed, unable to stop: "Hmm, hmm, you discovered it very early... Seeing Pei Ye told me..."

"Then are you or not?!"

"... No." The young girl's corners of her mouth converged, and she laughed in a low voice.

She leaned her head and looked at the darkening lake with the white porcelain wine bottle, the evening breeze brushing her soft hair across her cheeks.

The opera troupe below had been singing for a day, and now a round of lyrics finally reached the end.

"Gathering is fate to be repaid, scattering is feeling to be let go."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 328 =====