Chapter 131: 126 Birthday Banquet, End

"Ah..."

Xue Yeyu saw two figures conversing and said in surprise, "Third Senior Sister!"

Shi Chunqing stood beside her and also saw the red, graceful figure, saying, "It really is Third Junior Sister. Why did she come out? Is she also here to celebrate Junior Sister Hua's birthday?"

Xue Yeyu said, "Strange, could it really be to celebrate Junior Sister Hua's birthday? I haven't heard that they have any friendship. I have, however, heard that Senior Sister and Azhao have a pretty good relationship..."

Shi Chunqing smiled slightly, "Ninth Junior Brother is truly loved by everyone. I wonder how he managed to knock on Third Senior Sister's door?"

Although they saw this fellow disciple, neither of them went over to greet her. They knew the temperament of this True Jade Third Disciple; she would never see people she did not wish to see. Even though one of them was the Eldest Senior Brother and the other was the Manor Master's daughter, it was no exception.

Even Xue Xianyun himself seemed to have no way of dealing with her.

After a while, the red figure left quietly, truly not meeting with anyone. Tang Zhao returned by himself, handed a Lucky Bag to Hua Xifu, and said, "Third Senior Sister wishes you a happy birthday. This is her gift; you must keep it close to you."

Hua Xifu was even more pleasantly surprised and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister! It's actually Third Senior Sister's Lucky Bag; I've heard it's especially efficacious!"

Tang Zhao gave another one to Jiang Shenyi, saying it was a gift from Third Senior Sister for his safe journey.

Of course, there was one more, which Tang Zhao wore himself.

Xue Yeyu said softly, "So it really was for Azhao. That Lucky Bag back then was something I had to beg Father to get for me. Azhao actually got three at once." If not for that Lucky Bag, with her constitution of such bad luck, being a Talisman Sword Master would be courting death; she didn't know which explosion would have blown her away. She was very grateful to Third Senior Sister in her heart and had always wanted to thank her in person, but never had the opportunity.

Tang Zhao delivered the Lucky Bags, and seeing that the time was late and the fireworks were nearing their end, he was just about to send everyone off when Deng Chong suddenly patted him.

By this time, Deng Chong's drunkenness had dissipated, and his mind was relatively clear. He looked as if he had something to say. Tang Zhao immediately thought of what he had told him earlier about having something to say in private. He walked a few steps with him to a deserted place and asked, "Sixth Senior Brother?"

Deng Chong said in a low voice, "Junior Brother, let me ask you something. Are you on bad terms with a Green Jade Disciple?"

Tang Zhao asked in confusion, "Who are you talking about?"

Deng Chong said, "Wei Jianzhang."

Hearing this name, Tang Zhao's pupils constricted slightly.

The first time he saw that person, he was sitting in front of Moyu Valley, scattering money from the sky to the ground.

That fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth pointed at several Moyu Disciples who were bending over to pick up the money and laughed loudly, laughing until tears came out.

But what shocked Tang Zhao was not this foolish act, but that the person's appearance was somewhat similar to his friend's.

Seeing him like this, Deng Chong knew that the two indeed had a grudge, and said, "Old Nine, let me tell you the truth. Although he is enrolled under my gate, he is just an ordinary disciple and cannot compare to us brothers. You have a noble status and a bright future; how can a Green Jade Disciple compare to you? If you look at him more than once, it's his gain. Don't hold a grudge against a petty person; let him off."

Tang Zhao said softly, "Senior Brother, you take it too seriously. I have no grudge against him. I'm just curious—how does he have so much money?"

Deng Chong wondered, "Is his money a lot? There is more than one or two people in Qingyan Valley richer than him, right? Our manor has plenty of wealthy, dissolute disciples; he doesn't even count as the top tier. Moreover, his family has fallen, and he fled up the mountain with his family assets. He is depressed, so he eats and drinks excessively, indulging in debauchery just to live in a drunken stupor. For someone like this, don't pay him any mind. Either he wakes up to himself, and there is still hope, or he sits and eats until his wealth is gone, and he will learn his lesson himself; there is no need for you to take action. If you don't lower yourself to his level, people will only say you are magnanimous."

Tang Zhao shook his head and said, "Whether he spends money or not is irrelevant. I am just very curious why he can spend all his family assets on debauchery while some people are left on the streets, without clothing or food..."

Deng Chong was full of question marks. This sounded like something Qin Haizhou would say; Tang Zhao didn't talk like this before.

Tang Zhao didn't continue. He wasn't feeling indignant; he was just stating his own question: "Senior Brother, rest assured. I am just curious; I won't make things difficult for him. If I were to make things difficult for him, it would be without a just cause and unreasonable."

This principle should be taught to him by someone else. Tang Zhao had to inquire with another person.

Deng Chong just said it like that; his standing up for his little brother ended there. After chatting for a few sentences, he walked away casually.

The fireworks went out, the drinking party gradually dispersed, and everyone left with the smell of alcohol. Regardless of the twists and turns in the middle, it was quite pleasant when they left. Tang Zhao and Jiang Shenyi went back separately to prepare things for going down the mountain, and Tang Zhao did not forget to go to class in the evening.

Although the drinking party had dispersed, the birthday banquet had not ended.

————

The next day, it was another night.

Shi Chunqing returned from researching at Gongyu Hall and had just walked to the entrance of the Sword Hut when he heard a bang.

A firework exploded above his head.

Shi Chunqing's whole body tightened. His first reaction was that an enemy had attacked. Immediately after, he heard several bangs, and red, Luse, and blue fireworks shot up into the sky one after another. The colors of the sky changed, magnificent and beautiful.

Shi Chunqing was stunned, his gaze flickering, reflecting various brilliant colors.

Several junior brothers and sisters ran out. All the True Jade Disciples from yesterday were gathered together again today, shouting loudly, "Senior Brother, happy birthday!"

Shi Chunqing looked at the junior brothers and sisters in a daze and said, "You... you all!"

Xue Yeyu said, "Azhao asked Father and found out that today is Eldest Senior Brother's birthday. It's all our fault for being negligent; we didn't even know. It's a pity that Tang Zhao and the others are going down the mountain tomorrow and can't drink, so we set up a hot pot by the water. I made noodles; let's eat longevity noodles together!"

Shi Chunqing covered his face with his sleeves and was pushed and pulled by Tang Zhao to the side of the marsh. By the side of the marsh was a wooden boardwalk. At the end of the boardwalk was a platform that was usually empty, but today a table was set up with fruits and snacks on it, and plates of ingredients—mostly raw fish, live shrimp, eels, and the like. In the middle was a red clay charcoal stove with a casserole pot on it.

Shi Chunqing naturally sat in the main seat, and everyone sat around him to eat hot pot together. Blowing the cool breeze from the water, although there were no lamps or wine, there was a sense of freshness and leisure. At the table, no one said anything strange, nor did they talk about Jianzhou. Everyone chatted about interesting things in the sect. Qin Haizhou and Deng Chong were also in a good mood, happily enjoying the food.

Halfway through the meal, Tang Zhao suggested singing a birthday song for Shi Chunqing, but was urgently stopped by Shi Chunqing. Fifth Senior Sister Fu Qinghuan took out a bamboo flute and played a tune facing the water waves.

The flute sound was melodious and gentle. Listening to it under the starry sky added to the tranquility, as if falling into a gap that had remained unchanged since ancient times; time, space, sorrow, and worry—everything dissipated.

After the song was finished, Xue Yeyu took out a large pot of chicken noodle soup and served a bowl to everyone. Shi Chunqing had a large bowl.

Shi Chunqing said repeatedly, "I can't eat anymore." But he still slurped it all up.

Finally, everyone gave gifts. Among them, Xue Yeyu gave an owl, and Tang Zhao gave a piece of calligraphy he had written himself, saying, "I didn't have time to prepare a gift in the rush. This is a couplet I copied down. Although it is not elegant enough to be presented, it is a small token of my heart."

Shi Chunqing had been smiling the whole time while receiving gifts, but at this moment, he suddenly became serious and said solemnly, "Junior Brother, thank you."

Tang Zhao was taken aback instead and said, "Senior Brother, why thank me? If you had to thank me every time you helped me, I wouldn't be able to finish thanking you. Not to mention anything else, a year ago when I was supposed to cultivate Fire-oriented Internal Energy, it was you who helped me find the mental method. How should I thank you for that?"

At that time, Tang Zhao decided to forge an Ancient Sword and wanted to unify his Internal Energy, Qi, and Sword Essence into the fire orientation. Shi Chunqing took the initiative to give him a "Lihuo Heart Method," which saved him a lot of effort.

Of course, now that was no longer the "Lihuo Heart Method" but the "Bing Fire Mental Method."

Bing Fire, the fire of the sun.

Shi Chunqing shook his head and said, "It's different. Helping each other is the duty of fellow disciples, but some things only you can think of. You are different from others." He didn't say anything more, but instead smiled, "You two little ones are going down the mountain tomorrow, so go to sleep. Whether you win glory in Jianzhou or not is one thing; a safe journey is the most important."

The night was deep, and everyone said their goodbyes one after another and left.

Tang Zhao and Jiang Shenyi were on the same path, and Xue Yeyu walked with them for a while. On the way, Xue Yeyu said, "We suddenly jumped out to celebrate Eldest Senior Brother's birthday, set off fireworks, and sang and made a scene around him. Would it be very awkward? If you ask me, wouldn't it be better to call everyone out and have a quiet meal together?"

Jiang Shenyi nodded and said with his hands in his sleeves, "If someone did this to me, I would want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Now I am officially telling you, Tang Zhao, don't do this to me on my birthday!"

Tang Zhao smiled, "I know, I know, I won't turn into enemies with you. Everyone has their own temperament. I think Eldest Senior Brother will like it."

Xue Yeyu said, "Senior Brother will like it? He is so steady, but he doesn't like those lively, superficial formalities. Don't guess Senior Brother's heart with your own."

Tang Zhao said, "No, I think Eldest Senior Brother likes liveliness, likes to see new things, and likes others to care about him. It's just that he doesn't say it; he hopes that everyone will take the initiative to invite him and care about him."

Jiang Shenyi squinted and said, "According to you, Eldest Senior Brother is very repressed?"

Xue Yeyu disagreed, saying, "Don't believe everything Azhao says. Where is the Senior Brother dull...? How come we didn't know for so many years, but he figured it out after only being here a few years? Still, this idea of celebrating everyone's birthday is very good. We are all brothers and sisters, so let's just write down all the birthdays and celebrate them one by one. Don't make it too troublesome, just like today, sitting by the water, eating noodles, and chatting."

The few of them agreed and returned to their huts separately.

Shi Chunqing did not leave immediately; he remained sitting by the water, quietly watching the ripples.

After a while, he opened the antithetical couplet that Tang Zhao had given him, and saw two lines written in a bold, flowing hand:

"A Treasure Sword's edge comes from sharpening; the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold."

"This kid..." After a start, he felt a sense of melancholy.

"Could it be that he..."

Suddenly, Shi Chunqing felt something and Looked toward the opposite bank, as if he could see through the thin white mist swirling over the water.

That was the direction of Gongyu Hall.

Deep within the white mist, the tide receded, revealing the Blue Stone that had been whetted for a thousand years.

A crane stood in the water, preening its feathers and reflecting in the water, graceful as an immortal.

Xue Xianyun stood beside the Blue Stone, gazing deeply at the night sky.

In that direction, one could see the flickering flames of a red clay charcoal stove.

Finally, the flames went out, and Xue Xianyun, draped in a crane cloak, turned and entered Gongyu Hall.

The water rose again, submerging the Blue Stone once more.

The next day, Tang Zhao and Jiang Shenyi went down the mountain, heading for Jianzhou.