Chapter 303: 312 A Visit

On this side, the banquet was still continuing. The celebration at Zhuoyu Villa was well-prepared, with various songs, dances, and entertainment programs being presented one after another. The guests from all corners of the land were people who had seen the world, and there was no lack of those skilled in social graces, taking this opportunity to network and chat, keeping the atmosphere lively and never letting it cool down.

Seeing that the day was growing late and the luncheon was dragging on into a dinner, Xue Xianyun suddenly felt it was all meaningless.

By now, he had drunk eight parts of his fill; all the boasting he needed to do was done, the sincere praises he wanted to hear had already been heard, and the people he wanted to mock he had mocked to their faces. A portion of the gloom that had been festering in his heart for half a year had been released, but another portion had likely seeped into his very bones, never to be fully dispelled.

Let it end here.

He stood up unsteadily, exhaling a breath of alcohol as he opened his mouth and said hoarsely, "Yeyu."

His daughter, Xue Yeyu, ran over from the side and steadied him. Seeing his expression, she couldn't help but worry, "Father, are you drunk?"

Xue Xianyun snorted through his nose and said, "I'm not drunk. What... what is the procedure next?"

Xue Yeyu said, "There is nothing left; the banquet can end at any time. Once it ends, we will send them back to the Reception Hall. They will rest for the night, and we will send them down the mountain tomorrow. Before they leave, we will present some small gifts and fulfill all the redemptions for the gifts promised. Originally, there was an auction on the mountain, but because the Ninth Junior Brother needs to focus on Sword Casting and planning, it has been temporarily postponed and moved out of the villa to be held in Jichun City."

Xue Xianyun mumbled, "Can't we... just have them go down the mountain tonight? I want to be quiet."

Xue Yeyu looked troubled and said, "I'm afraid that wouldn't be proper. People have come from far away to congratulate us. We previously arranged for them to stay in the Reception Hall inside the Time Jar and didn't bring them up the mountain for many days; if one were to look closely, that was already somewhat discourteous, so we could only let them guess the reasons themselves, and we dared not say anything. Now that they haven't even spent a full day on the mountain, if we chase them down the mountain overnight without letting them stay, where would you have them go? No matter how you justify it, there is no logic in that."

Seeing Xue Xianyun's bleary eyes, she feared her father might say something he shouldn't under the influence of alcohol, so she said, "Why don't you go back and rest first? We junior brothers and sisters will send the guests to the Reception Hall together and just say you are drunk; that won't be discourteous. The Reception Hall is in the valley next door, not far from here, and soon there won't be anyone left here. You will be very quiet if you stay here."

Xue Xianyun covered his head and mumbled, "Mm, thank you all for your hard work."

Xue Yeyu was quite surprised, not expecting Xue Xianyun to be more sensible after getting drunk. She replied, "Isn't this what we should do?" and intended to find someone to help him away. Just as she was about to look for the less important Sixth or Seventh Junior Brother, Xue Xianyun beckoned to someone himself: "Azhao, come walk with me."

A youth sitting on the edge suddenly looked up, a flash of bewilderment in his eyes.

Xue Yeyu felt it was inappropriate. Tang Zhao and Xue Xianyun were the two protagonists of the banquet; it would be one thing if one didn't go, but for both to not go send off the guests would be too excessive. However, seeing that Tang Zhao had already stood up and Xue Xianyun was swaying as he grabbed his arm to walk forward, she had no choice but to stop.

She shook her head, thinking she couldn't argue with her father and had to leave it at that, so she went to find her fellow disciples to prepare to send off the guests. Starting with Xu Zhongnan, the Third Senior Sister Zhu Ying had already returned, not to mention her; she then looked for Fu Qinghuan, Qin Haizhou, and Deng Chong, who were all there, but when she looked for Jiang Shenyi, he was nowhere to be found.

Xue Yeyu was truly getting annoyed and said angrily, "Why are one or two of them running around blindly? At critical moments, no one can be relied upon..." Just as she was speaking, she brushed past someone.

That person turned back and smiled, "Xue Guniang, have you encountered some trouble?"

Xue Yeyu was startled, recognizing this person as a foster son of Lady Hua Rong, named Hua Qian. He had previously been hired by Tang Zhao to lurk on Shi Chunqing's side, and it had actually proven useful; last night, he had timely delivered the news of Shi Chunqing's sneak attack from the tunnel, which allowed them to intercept that group of turtle bandits by the water. Afterward, this Hua Qian stayed at Zhuoyu Villa, and Xue Yeyu had even treated him to a good meal; he had actually come up the mountain earlier than other guests and was relatively familiar with the villa's disciples.

Although familiar, he was an outsider after all, so Xue Yeyu said politely, "It's not really trouble. I'm looking for Junior Brother Jiang; have you seen him?"

Hua Qian recognized Jiang Shenyi and said, "Oh, I just saw that Brother Jiang run out carrying a turtle."

Xue Yeyu was startled and said, "A turtle? Not a crocodile?"

A turtle in this context was obviously Tang Zhao's Gui Ye, but Gui Ye had always followed Tang Zhao; what was he doing looking for Jiang Shenyi?

Xue Yeyu became even more irritated. Hua Qian raised his eyebrows and said, "Is there something you need him for?"

Xue Yeyu was startled, not expecting Hua Qian to be so forward. Just as she was about to gloss over it, Hua Qian already said, "If you are asking him about a matter, that's fine, but if you are just looking for him to do something, he can't get away—what do you think of me?"

Xue Yeyu was stunned and said, "You?"

Hua Qian said, "I remember Brother Jiang's appearance, and I can imitate his voice; I won't be exposed for a while. If Xue Guniang is willing to pay, I can step in immediately."

Xue Yeyu was thoughtful and said, "In that case, why don't you disguise yourself as Tang Zhao? He is more important."

Hua Qian smiled and said, "Me? I cannot disguise myself as Tang Zhao." He looked past the crowd at the back of the person who was staggering away while supporting Xue Xianyun, "There are too many Tang Zhaos here... Oh, no, I am not familiar with Tang Zhao."

On this side, Xue Yeyu presided, everyone finished their wine, and the banquet dispersed. Then they invited everyone to board the ship again to go to the Reception Hall in another valley to rest. That was the real Reception Hall, not the temporary one inside the Time Jar, but the decor was actually much the same. If someone were slow-witted, they might not even realize they had changed places to stay.

Yun Xiyan had also drunk quite a bit of wine; she boarded the ship in a daze and looked around, only to feel that quite a few people were missing.

Before she could distinguish who was missing, sleepiness surged up, and she couldn't help but slump over in her seat and fall asleep.

The Great Ship sailed away from the sandbar, leaving with a full load of guests and the bustle, and the wooden boardwalk became quiet again.

The night was late, the sunset had fallen, and only a shallow layer of gold remained, leaving a few remnants of light for the marsh.

The night marsh was very cold; gusts of wind blew from the water, making the reeds sway and the plants rustle, while only the Sword Huts on the shore of the sandbar remained unmoved.

An old man and a young man walked forward along the wooden boardwalk. They walked very slowly, especially the old man, whose steps were faltering and whose body was swaying, clearly looking like someone who had not yet sobered up from a drunken state.

"Mm... Azhao, where have we reached?" The old man suddenly hiccuped, exhaling some alcohol, and having sobered up a little, he grabbed the youth's hand and asked.

"We are almost at Gongyu Hall. This is—" The youth supporting him turned his head to look; ahead was a square-shaped building. At this moment, white mist had risen on the marsh, and the mist permeated the shore in wisps, winding around the Sword Hut, making this originally solemn and orderly building look ethereal, and even somewhat eerie.

"We have arrived in front of Shi Chunqing's Sword Hut, Master."

"Shi Chunqing..." The old man touched his lips and said, "His place is abandoned now, isn't it?"

The youth hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps. No one is tidying it up, so it counts as abandoned."

The old man was silent and said, "Let's go in and take a look."

The youth pulled him and said, "It's late today, let's not go, shall we? There's no one cleaning inside, it's all dust, there's nothing to see."

The old man pushed him and stumbled toward the steps himself. The youth sighed and rushed up to support him.

The two went up the steps and entered the Sword Hut, only to see dust everywhere and spiderwebs densely woven; it was indeed as if no one had been there for a long time. But all the furnishings were still there, and the furniture was complete. This was the place where Shi Chunqing had lived for decades; it was truly arranged like a home. While he had taken many things when he left, more things remained here, and his traces were everywhere.

The youth supported the old man to sit on a chair and said, "The air here is not good, let's leave after resting a bit?"

The old man seemed not to hear and said, "His place was originally like this. I haven't been here for a long time... No, I haven't been here. He was a meticulous person and had a knack for arranging a house. You light the Lamp. I'll take a look myself."

The youth had no choice but to go light the lamp. The lamp here was, of course, not an oil lamp, but a brighter Artifice Lamp. Once the lamp was lit, the room became white, and all four walls were clearly visible. He picked up the Lamp and said, "It's a good thing they all went to send off the guests; otherwise, if they saw the light suddenly turn on here, wouldn't they be scared to death?"

Once the lamp was lit, the surroundings were not so eerie anymore, and the furniture looked more homely and closer to a place where someone lived.

The old man wandered around the small hall by the light of the lamp, touching the furniture, his hands covered in dust, and said, "His bedroom is upstairs, right? Let's go upstairs and take a look."

The youth sighed again and said, "There's nothing to see upstairs either."

Although he said that, just like before, when the old man insisted on going upstairs, the youth could not refuse him and had to step forward to support him, walking up along a flight of stairs at the back.

The second floor was not high, and the two arrived after a few steps. Once they reached the top, they felt a cold wind blowing in their faces.

In this closed Sword Hut, where did the wind come from?

Because the window on the second floor had been opened. With the front and back open, the second floor turned into a wind tunnel, and the fierce wind from outside poured straight into the room, blowing so hard that one couldn't even open their eyes.

Pouring in from outside the window without restraint, besides the night wind, was light.

The radiance of the Artifice Lamp downstairs also shone into the room through the wide-open window. Even in the dark of night, the borrowed light revealed the general outline of the room.

Upstairs, it was indeed a bedroom. On a bed, a person was sitting.

One could see that the person was dressed in luxurious brocade, with a dignified appearance, but because the Micro Light left uneven shadows on his face, he became eerie and strange.

Seeing the two people whose eyes were wide open in the wind, that person slowly nodded and said, "You have come?"

Not to mention that the old man was staring straight at that person, the youth shouted aloud: "You are hiding here? Shi Chunqing!"