Chapter 426: Peach Blossoms, Beauties

Xu Fengnian truly picked up the martial arts he once disdained most, practicing with dedication.

Originally, Xu Fengnian wanted to learn swordsmanship from Lao Huang, but Lao Huang was as tight-lipped as a clam, and besides, "Sword Ten" was nearing perfection, so it was inconvenient to disturb him; otherwise, if he were a step behind during the decisive battle against Wang Xianzhi in Wudi City, he might lose his life, and regret would come too late.

After picking and choosing among the experts in the mansion, in the end, he could only select the White-Haired Old Monster.

The Old Monster had originally intended to leave the Wang Mansion to roam the Edo and go meet those top ten experts. Once he had fought all nine, he would then cross moves with that Wang Laoguai who occupied the latrine but didn't produce.

However, after Xu Fengnian's admonition, the White-Haired Old Monster decided to wait until his injuries were healed before going out to roam.

After all, he was currently wrapped in bandages and leaning on a crutch, looking like a disabled person; no matter how one looked at it, he lacked the slightest air of an expert. Even if he went to challenge those top eleven experts, he feared others wouldn't even spare him a glance.

Thus, the White-Haired Old Monster stayed behind, drilling Xu Fengnian whenever he was free, lecturing until spit flew everywhere. As for the Prince, besides wiping his face with his sleeve, he had no way to deal with this old monster.

"Alright, that's enough explanation for the blade techniques. What you lack most is still the foundation; today's task is very simple. Three thousand stabs, three thousand flicks, four thousand chops, four thousand sweeps."

The Old Monster let out a burp; during the time he was lecturing Xu Fengnian, one suckling pig and two lamb legs, meat and bone alike, had entered his stomach; he stood up, patted his belly, and felt satisfied.

Xu Fengnian said nothing, waving the long blade.

The Old Monster picked the meat scraps from between his teeth and nodded with slight satisfaction.

Although this kid was a young master accustomed to a life of luxury, he could indeed endure hardship and withstand loneliness.

Every day he started practicing the blade at dawn, and only left with a staggering gait late at night.

His innate talent and bone structure were quite extraordinary, and with the support of this behemoth, the Beiliang Prince Mansion, even if he started practicing martial arts late, he might not fail to make a name for himself in the future.

Suddenly, the Old Monster's figure trembled, and he turned his head with some stiffness, vaguely seeing a slender figure standing before the window on the sixth floor of the Listening Tide Pavilion.

He immediately curled the corners of his mouth, trying his best to reveal a kind and humble smile.

But his body, nearly a zhang tall, along with that ferocious face, looked like it could scare children to tears no matter how one looked at it.

However, this also indirectly showed that Yu Liancheng's "draining surgery" on the Old Monster's head was indeed very successful, making him humble and polite, at least toward Yu Liancheng and the Murong siblings.

Yu Liancheng did not look at the White-Haired Old Monster; his eyes, piercing through the building and layers of soil, seemed to see an old man with a severed arm picking at his feet.

"Sword God Li Chungang, I truly wish to have a good fight with you and learn the legendary Two Sleeves of Green Snakes and Sword Opens Heaven's Gate." Yu Liancheng held a wine pot that looked like white jade, tilted his head, and poured it into his throat, his eyes flashing with a scorching light.

He naturally knew that the old Sword God, who claimed "Heaven did not give birth to me, Li Chungang, the Sword Dao is like a long night for eternity," was suppressed beneath the Listening Tide Pavilion.

Although this old Sword God had not walked in the Edo for twenty years, his reputation remained resounding.

His past titles were simply too dazzling to be ignored. Sword Jia of the Spring and Autumn Thirteen Jia, one of the four great Grandmasters of the previous sixty-year cycle, a rare talent in Sword Dao once every five hundred years...

Even the New Sword God Deng Taie had said that while he might luckily defeat the senior Li in killing, in terms of Sword Dao cultivation, he was still far behind; for a thousand years, he was the only one whose Sword Dao could stand shoulder to shoulder with Lv Zu.

And the people of the world all knew that Wang Xianzhi clearly had the qualifications to look down upon all heroes, yet he called himself second, leading to the saying that he occupied the latrine but didn't produce.

But the people of the world did not know that the reason Wang Xianzhi did this was out of nostalgia for the Edo where Li Chungang was invincible in the world. He was convinced, leaving the first place in his heart to Li Chungang.

To Yu Liancheng, having such an expert within reach was like placing fine wine and delicacies before a glutton, making him eager to feast immediately.

"However, the old Sword God is not in a good state right now."

In Yu Liancheng's deep eyes flashed a light that perceived everything; the current Li Chungang, let alone a Land Immortal, was still a cut below even the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm.

And he was not one of the Three Teachings Saint, so the realm had a significant impact on the old Sword God.

Even if his sword techniques were unfathomable, without the support of a realm, he could not hold out for many moves against an expert of Yu Liancheng's "Great Vajra Realm."

It wouldn't be satisfying.

"The old Sword God has drawn a circle on the ground as a prison, trapping himself. However, I might be able to help him walk out."

Yu Liancheng's thoughts stirred, and he picked up a wine cup and filled it.

Then, he lightly tapped his brow, and a faint divine light submerged into the wine cup; the liquid suddenly rippled with circles of waves.

"I wonder how the effect will be."

Yu Liancheng drank the wine in the cup in one gulp, closed his eyes, and began to experience it carefully.

The wine still had its original taste, mellow and long-lasting. Yet a strange feeling spread in his heart, like a drop of water falling into a tranquil Xinhu, stirring up circles of ripples that could not subside for a long time.

Within the ripples were contained countless joys, loneliness, melancholy... a hundred kinds of emotions surged out, and one familiar figure after another appeared in his mind, only to disappear quickly.

Yu Liancheng let out a long breath.

Perhaps, it really could work.

"Hey, Murong, what are you looking at?"

Yu Liancheng turned his head and saw a pair of peach blossom eyes that exuded charm; who else could it be but White Fox Face.

She wore a white robe with double blades hanging at her waist, paired with that perfect face and an air of independence from the world; she could be called a beauty that could topple cities and states, enchanting all living beings.

Yu Liancheng smiled: "Why did you come up?"

Ever since the last time at the small courtyard, the other party seemed to be intentionally distancing herself from him.

White Fox Face raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Why, can't I come up?" She seemed to have forgotten the shyness she felt in the small courtyard back then.

Yu Liancheng picked up his wine cup and leaned against the window: "You wouldn't visit the temple without a reason; if you have something to say, speak."

White Fox Face smiled: "I have realized a blade technique and would like to ask you to appraise it."

Yu Liancheng raised his wine pot and smiled: "Good, before that, I also found a pot of good wine and would like to have you taste it, to get drunk together."

"Good wine?" White Fox Face was surprised.

"Indeed, do you want to try it? This wine is very special; you might get drunk very soon." Yu Liancheng wore a smile.

"With just this small pot of wine, let alone Nangong, even I, your sister, wouldn't get drunk."

A charming and pleasant laugh suddenly arose, and Murong Wuzhu, dressed in white like snow and unstained by dust, drifted in.

Her gaze flowed, and her pitch-black eyes were like a bottomless dark pool. The whole person possessed the charm of a dark elf transcending the mundane; even with Yu Liancheng's romantic flair and White Fox Face's peerless elegance, they could not cover up her charm.

As the "Heavenly Demon Great Art" deepened, Murong Wuzhu's temperament was completely different from the "silly sweet" she had at the beginning.

"You'll know once you taste it." Yu Liancheng smiled slightly, not offering much explanation, and poured a full cup for each of the two women.

Nangong Pushe and Murong Wuzhu took the wine cups, looked at each other, drank them in one gulp, and then a strange sensation spread from the bottom of their hearts.

Yu Liancheng also poured himself a cup, but he tasted it slowly, and familiar figures surfaced in his Xinhu.

Feng Siniang, Liusheng Piaoxu, Wanwan... they were so clear, yet they quickly faded away.

Solely focused on his own path forward, he had already failed many people, and in the future, he would inevitably fail even more.

"What is the name of this wine?" After a long while, Nangong Pushe lowered her head, her voice somewhat low, as if recalling something.

Yu Liancheng pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Peach Blossom."

Murong Wuzhu's beautiful eyes also brimmed with a hazy mist: "Could it be that this is Peach Blossom Brew?"

"It just reminded me of a poem," Yu Liancheng recited softly: "On this day last year within these gates, a human face and peach blossoms reflected each other in red. The human face knows not where it has gone, while the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze."

The wine was indeed good wine, but the reason it could have such an effect was still his God-mind, which could stir up a person's seven emotions and six desires; it was almost substantial, infused into the wine liquid.

After drinking a cup, the Xiqing Fanyong surged, and thoughts were myriad.

It was truly a case of the wine not intoxicating the person, but the person intoxicating themselves.

"Peach Blossom," Nangong Pushe muttered to herself, as if entranced.

"The name was originally quite vulgar, but paired with this poem, it has become a match made in heaven," Murong Wuzhu smiled like a flower and raised her wine cup, "I want more."

"Please add a cup for me as well."

Yu Liancheng smiled and poured a cup for Murong Wuzhu and Nangong Pushe.

Then cup after cup followed.

Everyone saw the "Peach Blossom," but the human face that had once shone alongside the peach blossoms was no longer there; the things remained, but the people had changed.

Nangong Pushe sipped the "Peach Blossom" cup by cup, her pair of peach blossom eyes appearing half-drunk and half-sober, like flowing spring water, seemingly carrying an indescribable affection that made one's heart ripple.

Murong Wuzhu, however, was already drunk; she hooked her slender arms around his neck and giggled, "Tonghuang, hurry and pour wine for your sister, sister wants to drink more."

Yu Liancheng patted her head: "You are drunk."

"I'm not drunk, I'm really not drunk, I still want to drink, I saw Father and Mother."

Murong Wuzhu swayed, her jade-white cheeks flushed with a rosy tint: "Hee hee, of course I also saw you. You were so well-behaved when you were little, but now that you've grown up, you don't listen at all, and you often bully your sister, but you are very manly."

Her eyes became blurred, like hazy moonlight; she stumbled two steps and finally fell into Yu Liancheng's arms, closed her beautiful eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Yu Liancheng shook his head; he would not let Murong Wuzhu drink anymore in the future, as it seemed she got drunk every time she drank.

He skillfully picked her up, placed her on the soft bed, looked down at that face filled with drunkenness, smiled, and pinched her delicate nose.

This scene felt strangely familiar.

When he saw the white-robed beauty again, she was leaning against the window, head lowered, making it impossible to see her expression, and a white jade-like wine cup had fallen to the ground.

"Hey, don't drink anymore either; if you drink any more, you'll be drunk too." Yu Liancheng walked over.

Nangong Pushe raised her head, her pair of peach blossom eyes overflowing with tears, completely devoid of her usual dashing demeanor, and she called out in a voice slightly choked with sobs: "Mother."

Yu Liancheng gasped.

His tiger-like body shook!

How did he suddenly become a male mother?

Then Nangong Pushe's figure swayed, her steps stumbling as she bumped into Yu Liancheng's arms, her tears wetting his lapel, and she sobbed, "Mother, Pushe is so tired."

Then there was no more movement.

Yu Liancheng looked down and saw her eyes tightly closed, long eyelashes drawn together, a single teardrop hanging on the tip of her lashes, her pert nose breathing softly, her moth-like eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking just like a little girl who had been wronged.

He shook his head and carried her into another room.

Nangong Pushe's waist was slender, yet full of elasticity and a sense of strength.

Having drunk wine, she now radiated a heat that seemed to penetrate through her clothes, allowing him to feel her scorching body.

After putting Nangong Pushe down, he couldn't help but pause to admire her drunken state, a strand of hair resting on her cherry lips.

Yu Liancheng's fingers traced across her exquisite, fair face and landed on her soft, moist lips.

He paused for a moment, then couldn't help but reach inside to probe, clearly feeling her hard, pearly teeth; his heart stirred, and he withdrew his finger, incidentally brushing away the strand of hair at the corner of her mouth.

After Yu Liancheng left, Nangong Pushe opened her peach blossom eyes hazily. With her martial arts, no matter how drunk she was, she could maintain a sliver of clarity.

She felt a sense of relief in her heart, yet also felt a sense of loss, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Yu Liancheng held the less than half-remaining Peach Blossom, sipping it alone, and ripples once again spread from his Xinhu. His gaze turned back to Li Chungang beneath the Listening Tide Pavilion.

Li Chungang also seemed to sense something; he looked up, then continued to pick at his feet, and then smelled them.

A look of contemplation appeared between his brows as he considered whether to agree to Xu Xiao's conditions, accompany the so-called Prince out for a trip, and see if this Edo could still remember him, this Sword God.

……

Two hours passed, and Nangong Pushe let out a soft "Yingning," slowly waking up; after being dazed for a moment, she suddenly became clear-headed.

Her peach blossom eyes widened, her pretty face flushed slightly; having retained a sliver of consciousness after being drunk, she could vaguely recall the situation from yesterday upon waking.

She immediately sensed something was wrong, and at the same time, a trace of shyness spread through her heart.

The other party had carried her over, and they had been so close; with Murong Tonghuang's perception, it was not impossible that he had discovered she was a woman.

Finally, the act of brushing the hair from her lips—this kind of gentleness mixed with flirtatiousness made her blush and feel even more embarrassed than when they had almost kissed a while ago.

"Nangong, you're awake."

Just then, Yu Liancheng's voice sounded.

"Mm, I'm awake." Nangong Pushe hurriedly got up.

"Are you hungry? The pavilion servant just brought the food; would you like to eat some?"

"No need."

"By the way, didn't you come this time to test your saber technique against me? Let's go, let's go down and have a spar."

"No need, I... I have urgent business, I'll go first, I'll ask for your guidance another day." For some reason, Nangong Pushe could not maintain her usual demeanor; she picked up Xiudong and Spring Thunder and hurriedly walked down to the sixth floor.

"This fellow." Hearing the hurried footsteps gradually moving away on the top floor, Yu Liancheng laughed dumbly.

He raised the wine in his hand again, shook it slightly, and chuckled, "I wonder if the Old Sword God will burst into tears on the spot after drinking this."

……

Several days later.

Xu Fengnian pushed open the door and walked into the main hall of the Listening Tide Pavilion, intending to tell Murong Tonghuang some rather unpleasant news.

He was just preparing to walk up floor by floor when he saw a new face at the corner of the second floor.

It was an old man with a severed arm.

The old man was short in stature, sported a pair of goat-like whiskers, wore a worn-out, tattered sheepskin coat, and was straining on his tiptoes to pull out a martial arts manual, wetting his finger with saliva to flip it open.