Chapter 342: Coming and Going

"Seeing Pei Ye, greetings.

The investigation of those five jin of heart amber has been completed. You were right; we indeed did not find it.

He exchanged it for heart amber with 'Bengxue' back then, and it is unknown what it was used for. In any case, this record was erased later, so 'Bengxue' could not enter, and 【Heart Amber】 could not be seen leaving.

It is a pity that there have been many officials, large and small, over the past twenty years, and we still do not know who he is, or when he did this.

Fortunately, the Qijiao have been completely wiped out, and Cuiyu is now acting in Bowang without any obstruction. I will investigate one by one as soon as possible. If you have any clues about this person, remember to write back.

Also, thank you for the 'Feiyu Immortal Fourth Rank' method attached to your last letter. Master was very happy to see it, but he cannot practice it himself now. He just urges me every day—can you please explain in more detail how to connect 【Breaking Earth】 and 【Stepping on Water to Pluck Scales】?

Do not take risks lightly, take care of everything, and give my regards to Sword Master Xiangming and the little cat."

Seeing Pei Ye put down the letter paper. Before the desk in the middle of the night, there was only a lonely lamp, and a blue bird overflowing with spiritual energy stood on the top of the lamp, grooming its feathers, seemingly not afraid of the heat at all.

Shining under the lamp, besides this new letter, was also an eye-shaped jade pendant. Seeing Pei Ye had just picked it up when his movements suddenly stalled. He raised his hand to press his own eyes, his brows twisted tightly, as if enduring some great pain.

The black cat watched him quietly from the side, until a moment later, the youth gasped heavily, slowly lowered his hand, and the molten gold-like liquid in his pupils gradually faded.

"The opening you broke through that night will always be eroded by the Edict Map." The black cat said softly, "This matter is very serious. The moment you completely lose control—just for an instant, it will guide the Immortal Lord down."

"... Is there any way to drag it out?" Seeing Pei Ye gasped lightly. This pain of the mind-spirit being gnawed away could only be known by those who had experienced it. He stretched his palms three times before his fingertips stopped trembling.

"【Chunshou】 is already the best means." The black cat said, "Getting to the bottom of it, the erosion of the mind-spirit by the Edict Map and the Immortal Lord is only based on 【Chunshou】. Even if He really descends into your body, 【Chunshou】 is already a sword shield sufficient to resist... but different people holding the same sword will still have distinct victories and defeats."

"—The problem lies with you, Seeing Pei Ye."

"..."

"Ming Qitian is right. You must first repair yourself. A healthy mind-spirit, while not able to resist the flawless and indestructible sword-holding heart of the Immortal Lord, is at least sufficient to resist the erosion of the Edict Map." A pair of clear, emerald-like green eyes looked at the silent youth, "What are you thinking, Seeing Pei Ye? What do you want to prove?"

Under the flickering light, half-bright and half-dark, the youth lowered his brows and said nothing.

"Nothing..." After a long time, he said hoarsely, "I will kill him first."

He stretched out his palm to pick up the jade pendant and stared deeply at this pupil.

——

The gray-white river traced back for a long time before Seeing Pei Ye saw that faint color in a tributary.

Jinghu, Yashan, Gao Lin, for decades, a generation had passed, but the Hushan Jianmen seemed to have never changed.

Under the winter sun, bright white snow covered everything. When the sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth ran into the sword field with a saber, the sword stakes were still shaking, but the person practicing the sword was nowhere to be seen. The youth looked around and shouted loudly: "Brother! Brother! Bro—"

"You are noisier than a hundred ducks." A lazy voice came from above. The youth looked up abruptly. Sparse sunlight spilled down, and amidst the shadows of branches and leaves, a figure in white lay leaning on a high tree, one leg hanging halfway down, holding a book in front of his face with one hand.

"Come down! I have learned the 【Whale】 character chapter, let's spar!"

"..." The man closed the book with one palm and flipped down, "Bring my sword."

The youth ran to the weapon rack: "Which one are you using?"

"Whatever."

The youth weighed them one by one, deliberately picked an extremely heavy one, ran over and handed it to him. The man didn't care at all, waved it casually: "Come."

The youth set up his stance solemnly, not forgetting to remind: "Remember to suppress your True Qi to the Fourth Life!"

"Hmm."

The youth jumped up with his saber, the man stepped sideways and held his sword horizontally, the saber and sword rubbed against each other with a "clang—," and a mysterious ripple swayed out invisibly, and the man's long sword instantly lost its strength.

The youth was overjoyed, let out a strange cry, seized this opportunity, and turned his saber to slash.

However, the man had already put his sword on his back with that weak hand, standing in place, watching him calmly without moving.

The next moment, the youth stumbled abruptly under his feet, as if his left foot had tripped over his right foot, and he rushed forward, performing several strange dance steps, and finally fell in front of the man's feet like a dog eating mud.

The long saber fell to the ground with a "ding-clang."

"... What is this?!" The youth pulled at the invisible fine threads like tangled hemp on his body and shouted with wide eyes.

"A little toy I made casually yesterday when I saw you were about to finish practicing." The man's mouth hooked into a subtle arc, "Do you like it?"

"..." The youth let out a heavy breath, stood up sullenly, and took out a book of sword theory from his pocket: "Here, it's this one. I think it might be helpful for learning 'Bengxue'."

The man reached out to take it and began to lower his head to flip through it.

"... Actually, I think Master is right." In the quiet, the youth said in a low voice, "Cultivation is about playing to one's strengths and avoiding weaknesses. If you put this effort into saber, array, artifact, or whatever, you would have long been a young master."

"To be the sect leader, both saber and sword must enter the Second Rank. Master has said it so many times, what nonsense are you talking about here."

"But I think..." The youth's voice got lower again, "What's so good about being the sect leader of our sword gate? A few years ago, that senior from Yangyi Tower felt like one could beat a hundred of our masters. Why don't you go learn from them?"

"So you are the 'Swallow and Sparrow', Qu Zhoufu." The man rolled his eyes at the book and smiled lightly, "I just want to lead the Hushan Jianmen to become a sect like Yangyi Tower."

"... Wow."

"And, I have discovered some clues recently."

"What?"

The man frowned and looked at the sky: "Our sect... seems to have an ancient inheritance."

"...?"

"Really, but it seems only the sect leader can control it." The man said.

"Did you ask Master?"

"Asked, the old thing said no."

"Then when you really get it, secretly show it to me."

"Easy to say."

The youth obviously didn't believe it. He was silent for a while, but still said: "But I think, some roads don't work, so you have to change roads. You spent five years and didn't enter the second style... Master is right, this sword technique works if it works, and doesn't if it doesn't. You have to compromise when you have to."

Thus, the man's smile also restrained, his lips pursed into a thin, sharp line. He lowered his head to look at the book, his face a kind of expressionless laziness.

"I don't compromise with anything." He said casually.

Qu Zhoufu left, and the man sat alone in the field, carefully flipping through this sword book page by page. When left alone, the man's laziness washed away a lot, and a clear sharpness shone through. He put all his energy into what was in his hand, and his other hand kept rubbing the sword hilt.

Time passed, and gradually dusk arrived. The man rubbed his brows and stood up, looking at the sword in his hand thoughtfully. He slowly opened his stance—in those countless areas he was good at, he had never been so serious.

Standing still for a long time, he stabbed out with one sword, but his arm slanted first, and his True Qi went astray.

The man took a light breath, frowned, and readjusted his body. Standing still for half a moment, he stabbed out again, and his True Qi exploded in disorder on his wrist.

Such a scene continued twenty-nine times.

The sword field had completely entered the middle of the night, and Hushan seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. Under the reflection of the cold moon and white snow, the man was stumbled again by his own True Qi.

He rubbed his brows with some fatigue, took a deep breath to readjust, but a burst of irritability could no longer be suppressed. In the quiet, deserted sword field, he swung his arm abruptly and smashed the sword to the ground.

Amidst a series of "ding-clang" sounds, the man raised his head without expression and stared at the deep, high sky for a long time.

——

The time in between flowed for a long time. On the sword field, the frequency of the man's figure appearing was several times that of others. When Seeing Pei Ye arrived at the next node, it seemed as if years had passed.

This time it was in a strange courtyard. In the vision of Yang Yan and Meng Li, Seeing Pei Ye had never seen this courtyard.

Qu Zhoufu already looked like a crowned man, having shed much of his childishness, and there was already that kind of calmness in his brows and eyes that he had in his old age, and he was practicing with a saber in the courtyard.

The man was now about twenty-two or twenty-three, leaning on a chair holding a sword book, occasionally raising his eyes to look at his junior brother's movements.

"What fame did you make for yourself in the state city two days ago?" Qu Zhoufu said, "Yesterday, the daughter of the Inspector ran to the mountain gate to look for someone."

"A few half-baked people wrote and boasted. I wrote a piece, and they gave me that name."

"... Is your calligraphy very expensive to buy now?"

"Sick."

"I'm not asking you to sell it." Qu Zhoufu said with great interest, "Didn't we discuss making a pair of good saber and sword to pass down? Since your calligraphy is of a high level, carve a few characters on them separately. When you make a name for yourself later, people will know it's our Hushan Jianmen at a glance."

"..." The man put down the book, his eyes moved, "That's possible..."

Qu Zhoufu got excited: "Then wait until I think it through, and you carve it."

The man smiled lightly: "Don't embarrass yourself."

"Of course I have to think about what you carve, otherwise how am I involved in this saber and sword?"

"You hold it when the time comes."

"..."

At this time, the man frowned and stared at his movements: "The key to the third chapter is 'deep', not breathing harder... You must strive to see things that are more essential."

Qu Zhoufu put away the saber and wiped his sweat, shaking his head: "Can't see it, can't comprehend it... This should be my limit."

The man's brows frowned slightly, as if he didn't like hearing this: "You are only twenty."

Qu Zhoufu smiled: "Said it so many times, these two saber and sword techniques can't be passed if they can't be passed—it's been nine years since you learned the first style, aren't you still unable to enter the second style?"

Upon hearing this, the man smiled suddenly.

"I used it once yesterday." He said softly.

"... What?" Qu Zhoufu was stunned.

"Maybe my talent just happened to be stuck here." The man did not hide his joy, "Relying on time to pile it up, I just happened to be able to reach it."

"..."

"I heard that someone from Yunlang Mountain is coming to the foot of Tianshan Mountain to lecture on swords in a few days. I want to go and listen. If it is useful, I should be able to learn it completely." The man smiled, "By the way, I'll pick up the pair of saber and sword entrusted... what's wrong, your face looks terrible?"

"... No." Qu Zhoufu smiled reluctantly, "Brother, you really learned it... then are you still going to be the sect leader?"

"Naturally, did I say I was going to change?" The man's hand flipping the book stopped, and he said softly, "Ever since Master told me that I must enter the Second Rank in saber and sword... I have worked for it for eleven years."

Then he smiled: "Do you remember a sentence I said to you a long time ago—I don't compromise with anything."

"..."

"Alright, go back, I'll leave tomorrow." The proud man didn't pay much attention to his junior brother's strangeness. He had always been like this; if others said it was fine, he wouldn't ask more. That was the pride raised in his bones.

Seeing Pei Ye watched the man disappear into the darkness of the mountain pass. He dragged the time back thirteen days before this figure returned to his field of vision again.

He was carrying a long bag, and the lightness on his body was very subtle, but still visible to the naked eye. Seeing Pei Ye knew at the first glance that he had achieved the purpose of this trip.

He didn't have much patience to appreciate his joy, so he dragged the time back a little bit again.

A pair of saber and sword fell on the table, and three people stood among them. The high and vast hall still appeared dark and cold.

The man's cold questioning echoed in this space: "I spent ten years to meet your requirements, and you tell me you passed the sect leader position to him?"

"Zhoufu has this qualification."

"Don't play dumb, give me a reason."

"No reason." The old man looked at him calmly, his expression the same as Qu Zhoufu thirty years later.

"..."

"No reason." The old man repeated, "For ten years, I have said a thousand times, you are not the right candidate."

Seeing Pei Ye knew he was.

Resilient, calm, wise, talented... although proud, pride itself is not a flaw; it is just the temperament that a sect leader brings to a sect.

It's a pity that the Hushan Jianmen has never chosen the more excellent one.

There was only the man's clear breathing in the hall, and Qu Zhoufu lowered his head without a word. Seeing Pei Ye came to the table. He was very familiar with that pitch-black, sturdy saber, only it looked much newer now.

"I will find out what's going on." The man's cold words sounded behind him. Seeing Pei Ye reached into the bag and took out a casting note.

During the days of winning the championship, Zhao Zhang had told him that famous saber and sword casters often gave guests such receipts, with the casting location, season, materials used, casting process... and finally, the name of the sword inscriber.

"Saber and sword are a pair, each inscribed with two sentences, saying: Bright blade washes blood, sword steals plum posture; buried in snow for three years, saber soul is not lost."

"Calligrapher, Qu Zhu."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 343 =====

"The calligrapher, Qu Zhu."

(End of chapter)