Chapter 582

Epilogue · The Fated Pact (I)

"Hoist the sails!!"

In the Eastern Sea of Great Qin, amid loud shouts, the anchor of a large fishing vessel was retracted; bare-armed men strained with rhythmic cries as the boat cut through the water, spraying a burst of mist, the fresh fishy odor still clinging to the air, slapping against faces.

In the morning light of the summer port, a hundred thousand sounds floated.

The rasping of oyster shells on stone slabs, the thudding of fresh tung oil brushed onto hulls, the clicking of abacus beads in a pawnshop clerk's hands. Boys in summer linen tunics carried whole oyster shells past, the scent of newly baked sesame cakes mingling with the sea mist.

The aura of a golden age was already evident.

Summer of the first year of Tai Ping in Great Qin.

Trade routes across the land had opened, and the Mohists had improved the ships.

Seafaring had grown ever more prosperous.

At one stall, a sturdy aunt used oyster meat, eggs, and flour to spread a batter on a searing-hot iron plate—a coastal specialty, hearty enough to fill the belly—and today, a man from the Central Plains sat at the roadside stall.

Seated beside the canvas-covered stall, he spoke eloquently, recounting strange tales and anecdotes.

A large crowd had gathered around him.

The old man told stories well, but asked for no silver, no coins.

Only food and drink.

Now that Great Qin's realm was at peace, if he asked for money, people might suspect a fraudster; but asking for food—even if he didn't tell the story, they'd still slip him a steamed bun, enough to fill his stomach.

Yet this old man told stories beautifully.

With just that one mouth, he could trick his way to meals and drinks across the five lakes and four seas, throughout the four corners of the world.

Ah, no.

He exchanged poetry and prose for wine money.

The stall owner suppressed his private thoughts and brought the old man a plate of the snack, along with a small dish of dipping sauce, as the blue-robed elder spoke with flowing eloquence:

"Do you know? The wedding of the Qin Huang and the Empress was magnificent beyond measure—officials lined up in court robes, palace ladies held phoenix fans and ornate canopies to lead the way. The Empress's palanquin was adorned with nine dragons and nine phoenixes, jeweled curtains hanging down, a thousand palace lanterns glowing as bright as daylight."

"Drums and flutes sounded together, their music echoing through nine heavens. The people lined the streets, burning incense and shouting 'Ten Thousand Years!'—the clamor reached the ears of Heaven."

"Hehe, that day, the Emperor arrived riding a dragon—it was truly…"

As he spoke, he cited classics as if he had witnessed it all himself.

The common folk merely enjoyed the spectacle.

Just behind them, a man wearing a conical hat, fishing, sneered.

"Him?"

"How could the Qin Huang possibly afford such extravagance?"

An old man beside him, selling turtles in a bamboo basket, twitched his lips:

"Show some respect. Don't go blabbing everywhere."

The fisherman sneered: "Is that even worth saying?"

"Who in the Fire Qilin Army doesn't know how their general and the Emperor behave?"

Finally, he added: "Don't worry—they can't hear us."

Indeed, though many surrounded the storyteller, passersby acted as if they saw neither the fisherman nor the turtle seller, though they stood mere feet apart—as if they existed in two separate worlds.

All listened as the old man recounted tales from distant lands.

It was as if the two men nearby were in another world entirely.

As the fisherman heard the storyteller describe the Qin Emperor and Empress's wedding, his temple veins bulged; unconsciously, his fishing rod trembled, ripples spreading across the sea, scaring away the fish just about to bite.

The old man beside him: "…………"

The old turtle in the basket: "…………"

The fisherman glanced at the fish that had flicked its tail and swum away, and said casually:

"Tu Shengyuan's mouth is still too talkative."

The old man and the turtle exchanged glances.

Mohist wanderers, Confucian scholars, and merchants along the trade routes brought news from all corners—but this man claimed the Mohist scholars were now building steel ships. Fishermen by the shore didn't believe it; wasn't it common sense that only wood could float?

Iron lumps sank the moment they hit water.

Build ships out of it?

Tsk, tsk, tsk—these wandering merchants and academy scholars from Tiannanhaibei certainly made life easier, but they also spread rumors everywhere, no one knew what was true or false.

The boat captain smoked two puffs of southern dry tobacco.

"It's time to set sail."

Everyone dispersed, returning to their tasks.

The storyteller shook his wine flask, still damp with the sea breeze and fishy scent, slightly drunk, when he felt someone tug his sleeve. He looked down—it was a child of about ten. The child said:

"Grandpa, I heard emperors all have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines."

"Is that true?!"

"The Qin Huang is even greater than the Red Emperor—he must have even more, even more!"

The fisherman froze.

With his back to the storyteller and the fishermen, his ears perked up.

Former Chief Guest of the Tianxia Diyi Lou of the World, Tu Shengyuan, laughed heartily: "The Qin Huang rose from obscurity, roamed the four seas—of course he has many beloved companions who've shared life and death with him. But seventy-two concubines? That's pure rumor."

"Not to mention one woman who's known him since childhood, never left his side through all their travels—her father is a rare master of the martial world, the youngest legendary martial sage of the previous generation, and the undisputed master of array arts."

"Has a heart smaller than his own asshole!"

The fisherman: "…………"

His temple veins bulged.

The drunk Tu Shengyuan slurred his tongue and said: "Back then, he even drugged someone before this Miss was born."

"After the child was born, he was afraid to see her, so he ran off to the East Sea to fish."

"Gone for over a dozen years."

"Never really asked about her."

The old man beside the fisherman twitched his cheek, flipped the old turtle over with a backhand, shoved it in front of him, and with a forceful push of his backside, darted sideways for several zhang, his rear end nearly sparking fire.

Looking at the storyteller over there with his tongue lolling out, then looking at the fisherman with his head lowered and black qi churning atop it, then looking back at the storyteller.

The white-haired old gentleman and the old turtle both sharply sucked in a cold breath.

Tu Shengyuan, damn you!

If you're looking to die, don't splash blood all over me.

But just as the fisherman slowly rose, that guest retainer of the World's Number One Tower tilted his head back and took a swig of wine, let out a wine burp, and said: "With such an irresponsible old man, tell me, how could things possibly be fine?!"

"Still, though this old man is irresponsible, he truly doted on his only daughter. Along the way, Qin Huang went through life-and-death situations with certain people, and that's fine. But if he were truly to philander with beauties on all sides, I'm afraid this fisherman would grab his fishing rod and storm into the world's foremost forbidden ground, the Great Qin Imperial Palace."

The impulse on the fisherman's face to toss this fellow in front of a shark pack out at sea to use as chum finally slowly faded.

From beginning to end, he still maintained the composed bearing of a Martial Dao Legend.

That kind of steadiness and detachment of one who walks amid the myriad phenomena of the mortal world, gazing down upon all living beings.

Everything is within my control.

Until that biggest loudmouth in the world, Tu Shengyuan, took one last swig of wine and said: "But then again, this fellow really is unreliable. He doesn't even know that his own daughter is going to marry Qin Huang."

"The envoys were sent to look for them at their old stomping grounds, but try as they might, they couldn't find him."

The expression on the whale-fisherman's face froze bit by bit.

Hmm????

"Setting out to sea——!!!"

"Setting out to sea!!!"

On a summer day, another great ship was about to put out to sea. These burly fellows with plenty of strength chanted their work chants, waves rolled, a scene of utter tranquility — yet at this moment, a thunderous boom suddenly rang out.

BOOM!!!!

As if a fishing rod had smashed into the sea.

Across the vast sea, waves split and were cleaved apart. In an instant, a trench several li long directly collapsed inward, currents surging, crashing downward, the sound thunderous as lightning, like a waterfall cleaving open the sea.

A whale was sent flying by this tremendous force, hooked up into the air.

Invisible qi transformed into fishing line.

The whale tumbled several zhang into the sky, casting a massive shadow. The common folk along the East Sea coast had never witnessed such a sight — each and every one was stunned, faces pale, eyes glazed.

Master Siming and the Xuan Turtle clung to each other and shrieked: "Shit!!!"

"Fisherman, what the hell are you doing?!"

One only saw qi surging violently. The fisherman wearing a bamboo hat strode through the void, merely swept his sleeve, and that immensely heavy great whale was sent flying off into the far distance, crashing down with a thunderous boom, churning up towering waves.

Such a feat — parting the sea with a flick, soaring qi, hooking up a great whale — was like that of an immortal.

The great whale plunged into the sea, sending up spray and sea wind mingled together, like a sea of clouds fallen to the earth. Though the people were not injured, they cried out in astonishment or by instinct, looking up subconsciously at the figure hovering in the void.

The cloud-sea-like spray and gale blew the whale-fisherman's bamboo hat clean off.

A head of silver hair tumbled down, brows and features handsome and bright, hazy as an immortal.

Yet his face bore the look of a man who had overslept and missed something momentous — as if five thunderbolts had struck his head.

"Yaoguang, daughter, marriage?"

"Done for, done for, done for!"

"Missed it again!!!"

The whale-fisherman did not hesitate. He turned and deployed the divine ability of a Martial Dao Legend, stepping through the void, silver ripples blossoming one after another, forming an array that bore up his figure. Like a bolt of lightning, he shot off toward Jiangnan's direction.

Tu Shengyuan sat there, raised a hand, and wiped the seawater from his face.

His drunkenness had sobered. He murmured: "... That was close. How is this Array Champion here at the East Sea? How did such a thing end up landing on me?"

"But still, lucky for me — he cares about this matter, so he probably won't bother coming after me."

"After all, he's still the peak of the martial world, a Martial Dao Legend."

"Things have come to this."

"Take a sip of wine first, calm the nerves."

Tu Shengyuan was about to drink when his waist suddenly tightened. His expression froze, then he slowly lowered his head, bit by bit, to look — and saw a silver thread visible to the naked eye bound around his body.

The silver thread was like a segment of starlight sheared off.

Light flowed along it, yet it was exceedingly tough.

The corner of Tu Shengyuan's mouth twitched.

"... Crap."

This fellow was a beggar by origin.

He never waits overnight to take revenge.

Whoosh——

A great roar seemed to sound by his ear. The next instant, Tu Shengyuan's vision blurred, and he was already being dragged by that "thread" — god knew where. Gale-force winds slammed into his face, his beard whipping wildly.

Then he saw ahead of him another old fellow styled just like himself.

"Isn't that... Master Siming, sir?"

"Are you doing alright, sir?"

Master Siming and the old Xuan Turtle were bound together. Hearing this, they rolled their eyes: "Does it look to you like I'm doing alright?!"

He was about to say more, but his expression stalled.

"Damn it! There's a flock of birds ahead, you fishermen, fly slower!!"

But the Whale Catcher couldn't care less about all that.

His speed kept increasing.

He smashed through everything blocking the way ahead with the force of a Martial Dao Legend, and in the shortest possible time, soared back to the Jiangnan Imperial Palace, not caring about anything else, and dropped straight down.

The great general guarding the imperial palace, General Yue Qianfeng, tried to stop him.

He was slapped flying by the Whale Catcher.

This wasn't an era of warring states, and there were no armies around; even at the Grandmaster realm, one was no match for a Martial Dao Legend. He barely avoided slapping the armor of the future Northern Tripod Duke Yue Qianfeng apart at the seams. After landing, he paid no heed to the two people and one turtle swaying and dazed behind him, and strode forward.

But he saw an old man ahead, already dressed in full ceremonial robes, waiting.

Nan Hanwen cupped his hands and said: "Array Chief Mr. has arrived."

The Whale Catcher had rushed back in a hurry, his heart on fire as if set ablaze. He looked left and right, his brows raised, and said: "Isn't it supposed to be a grand wedding?! Why is it so plain today?"

After a pause, he suddenly flew into a rage: "What's going on?!!"

"What is that kid trying to do? Is the wedding he gives my daughter really so much worse than the one for that Xue family's daughter?!"

Nan Hanwen's expression didn't change as he said:

"Your Majesty certainly wouldn't do such a thing; it was the Consort's insistence."

The Whale Catcher's brows furrowed: "What?!"

"Where is that kid Li Guanyi?!"

"Your Majesty and the Consort are both not here right now."

Nan Hanwen took out a letter, handed it to the Whale Catcher, and said politely and gently:

"This is the letter the Consort prepared for Mr."

Yaoguang's letter suppressed the Whale Catcher's fury. He snatched back the letter, unfolded it, and froze slightly, seeing that on the letter there was only a single character—

"【Dummy】."

………………

Creak creak creak—

The carriage rolled across the land. Though it was summer, because the Fire Qilin had absorbed the heat, the temperature was at the most just-right and comfortable state. The silver-haired girl read quietly, and sensing that the letter she had left behind had been unfolded, only then drew her attention back from the book.

Beside her was Qin Huang, dressed like a wandering knight, sitting cross-legged, one hand propping up his chin, yawning. Before leaving, he had urgently pulled overtime with his ministers to resolve a great backlog of official business, and only then was able to come out.

"Where are we going?!"

"Going home."

The silver-haired girl's eyes were as calm as they had been at the very beginning. Li Guanyi said: "Do you want to go back and see the secret grounds of the Star Gazing lineage?"

The silver-haired girl nodded.

"Mm."

There was no ripple or fluctuation in her tone as she said: "I don't like crowds."

"I want to go back and see Teacher and Teacher's wife."

"There."

The silver-haired girl picked up a pouch, her face expressionless, but with a sense of eager anticipation: "I've already prepared it—rations."

When opened, it was an entire bundle of steamed buns.

The Fire Qilin let out a pained whimper.

Li Guanyi's forehead twitched. The silver-haired girl closed the bundle, looked at the young man beside her. Just as Li Guanyi turned his head, a finger gently poked his cheek. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting pale golden shadows on the silver-haired girl's face.

The girl's eyes were clear and transparent, just as in those days long past.

Qin Huang saw a feeling of peace and a faint smile emanating from Yaoguang.

Though Yaoguang looked like a seventeen-year-old girl, the changes in her expression were very subtle. She thought seriously, then, with no particular expression or tone, asked solemnly: "By the Central Plains' way of saying it, would this count as a 【hui men】?"

Li Guanyi was stunned, then laughed:

"We haven't even done the wedding ceremony yet, so technically it doesn't count."

"But if you say it counts, then it counts."

"Ah, should I bring some gifts when visiting?"

The silver-haired girl's eyes were calm. The wandering knight sitting cross-legged said something with a smile. The girl had a scroll resting on her knee, the scroll closed, with a line of ink-black characters written on it—

【Xiaoyu'er and Little Cat's Travel Record】.

Your story and mine.

The curtain rises on the next chapter.

?? Back to work, back to work.

? Camera rolling, typing—Happy New Year to everyone~