Chapter 33: Yu Liancheng and Ye Gucheng

"The Huanghe flows far away amidst the white clouds, a lonely city stands amidst ten thousand mountains. Why must the Qiang flute complain of the willow, for the spring breeze never crosses Yumen Pass."

A faint, ethereal voice suddenly drifted from afar, entering the ears of the four people.

These are the famous lines by Wang Zhihuan of the Tang Dynasty, and also the favorite poem of White Cloud City Lord Ye Gucheng.

When this voice rang in everyone's ears, they seemed to see the majestic Huanghe surging from the white clouds in the sky, and Yumen Pass standing lonely amidst the insurmountable ten-thousand-fathom mountains.

Faintly, there was even an indescribable sense of desolation lingering in everyone's hearts, long and unending.

"What a fine display of voice projection, what a fine 'Huanghe flows far away amidst the white clouds'."

Amidst the praise, a white shadow flashed and flickered, and a piece of pristine white cloud drifted out slowly. It drifted very fast, and very far, as if it were going to drift from the human world toward the firmament.

"City Lord Ye's light-body technique is truly extraordinary." Hua Manlou wore a smile, and amidst the sound of his robes breaking the wind, he had already flown away following Ye Gucheng; his movement technique was agile and swift, almost inferior to no other expert in the world, making one absolutely unable to believe that he was actually a blind man.

"Everyone says Hua Manlou is as blind as a bat; I did not believe it, but today I have to believe it."

The Nanwang Shizi had also drifted out; his light-body technique was taught by Ye Gucheng, and it also looked like a white cloud drifting out, only this piece of white cloud was not as elegant and agile compared to the previous one, and its speed was also slightly inferior, but it was not slow at all.

"Haha, the Shizi's light-body technique has also reached the first-class level of the Edo; among the younger generation, I fear there are very few who can compare." The last person was naturally Jin Jiuling.

His movement technique was not agile or graceful, but it was swift, concise, and had almost no superfluous movements, following closely behind the Nanwang Shizi, with ease, yet never overstepping by even a bit.

The Shizi laughed loudly: "Let us stop flattering each other; finding that person is the right thing to do."

"The Shizi is right."

The Wang Mansion guards looked at the four in astonishment, completely failing to understand the actions of the Shizi and the others. But the four's light-body techniques were extremely high, and amidst their fluttering robes, they had already disappeared from sight.

It turned out that the voice just now had been condensed into a line, ringing only in the ears of the four of them, and the others naturally could not hear it.

And to be able to send this voice from afar, and also split it into four, that person's cultivation had likely reached the pinnacle, the absolute peak of the current world.

The Wang Mansion's intelligence was naturally extremely well-informed, knowing that "Jade-Faced Mysterious Sword" Yu Liancheng had already entered the city; the person who could emit this voice was ninety percent likely to be him.

Yu Liancheng enjoyed fighting others, traveling thousands of miles to battle, defeating the experts of every sect.

And Ye Gucheng was aloof and lonely, a Flying Immortal, finding it hard to seek an opponent.

With these two meeting, it is not hard to imagine what kind of sparks will collide.

As long as one is a martial artist, who would be willing to miss it?

"Mounting the horse without grabbing the whip, I break off a willow branch. Dismounting the horse to play the horizontal flute, I sadden the traveler."

That voice suddenly rang out again, similarly carrying a sense of desolation, making people's hearts knotted with sorrow, depressed and hard to calm. This was no longer something that could be achieved by deep internal energy; it faintly contained a mysterious and unpredictable spiritual power.

Ye Gucheng had also seen that person; he was wearing black clothes, sitting in a forest, with an inconspicuous long sword placed beside him, using chopsticks to tap on a wine jar, singing loudly.

Behind him was also a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, with agile brows and eyes, holding a wine jar, occasionally adding wine for the black-clothed youth.

The little girl saw Hua Manlou and smiled sweetly: "Little nephew, why have you come?"

Hua Manlou laughed: "Last time I was a little grand-nephew, this time I have become a little nephew. I wonder if I should call you little aunt-grandmother, or little aunt?"

Xue'er laughed: "You are much more obedient than Lu Xiaofeng, so from now on he is the grand-nephew, and you are the nephew. If you are even more obedient, you will be my little cousin."

Hua Manlou touched his nose and smiled bitterly: "If Lu Xiaofeng heard that, he would pull your braids again."

Xue'er snorted lightly: "I have learned sword techniques from half a master; if he pulls my hair, I will poke a few transparent holes in him."

The Nanwang Shizi had also landed lightly and smiled: "Young Master Hua, do you know them? Please introduce them."

"Of course." Hua Manlou smiled: "This little girl who looks very cute is called Shangguan Xueer. The other one is the famous..."

"Yu Liancheng."

These three words were spoken from Ye Gucheng's mouth, and his cold-star-like eyes also seemed to be flashing with light.

Yu Liancheng also looked up at Ye Gucheng and spat out three words: "Ye Gucheng."

The two's gazes met, and at this moment, everyone felt as if two peerless swords were clashing, emitting sharp Sword Qi, making one's whole body feel cold.

Yu Liancheng looked at Ximen Chuixue; he suddenly discovered that Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue had many things in common.

They liked to wear white clothes, and they were both very lonely, very proud people.

They were as cold as the ice and snow on distant mountains.

They also had almost no friends.

Only people like them could practice that kind of aloof and peerless sword technique.

"Very good, to have an opponent like you today is truly worth drinking a large cup of wine. But I know that you, like Ximen Chuixue, never drink alcohol, so I can only drink by myself."

Yu Liancheng was already drinking wine. He drank a cup, and Xue'er poured a cup. He drank a cup, and Xue'er poured a cup... he drank six cups in a row.

Ye Gucheng looked at him, seeming to feel very surprised: "You drink wine, and you drink a lot?"

Yu Liancheng said: "And I drink it very fast."

Ye Gucheng said: "So I find it strange; wine can harm the body and also disturb the nature. For swordsmen like us, drinking wine is originally a great taboo."

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng only drank plain water, because to them, wine was a poison that could harm the body and disturb the nature.

Once wine is consumed, the body and spirit will have flaws.

And to them, their swords could not be stained by even a speck of dust.

Yu Liancheng closed his eyes, revealing a look of comfortable enjoyment, already slightly tipsy: "For people like you, the meaning of life is to climb to the higher peaks of the Sword Dao; your person has been dedicated to the sword. But for me, constantly climbing the high paths of martial arts is just a part of my life; it just allows me to live more Carefree. Our pursuits have an essential difference, so there is no need to force it."

Ye Gucheng suddenly became very desolate, very lonely, and those bright eyes also seemed to dim slightly: "You are not a pure swordsman; perhaps apart from me and Ximen Chuixue, there is no longer a pure swordsman in this world."

There are countless people learning the sword in the world, but in his eyes, the only ones who can be called swordsmen seem to be only him and Ximen Chuixue.

This is not to say that it is not a kind of loneliness.

"Hehe." Yu Liancheng suddenly laughed, and in the laughter there also seemed to be an indescribable sarcasm, suddenly glancing at the Shizi: "Perhaps, the only true swordsman is Ximen Chuixue."