Chapter 584

Epilogue · The Fated Pact (Part Three)

The Guanyi lineage, secluded beyond the world, had little contact with mortal affairs, but that did not mean they were rigid, ascetic hermits; Yu Yanming, though stern-faced, was in fact quite clever, and had gone to great lengths for his wife.

This place, arranged with mysterious array techniques and celestial-terrestrial topography, featured flower beds and artificial hills, waterfalls and swift streams; though it was summer, here bloomed rare flowers and exotic herbs of different seasons, radiant auras swirling, rosy light reflecting, as if it were the abode of an immortal from another world—truly magnificent.

But this is not the point!

Who the hell is looking at flowers today!

Mr. Pojun stared fixedly at that spot.

Before the rare flowers and exotic herbs, a girl with silver hair, dressed in an ancient-style Guanyi sorcerer's robe, crouched there, holding a pastry and watching butterflies flit through the blooms, lowering her head, chewing—seemingly aware of Pojun's attention.

The girl's motion paused.

Thinking, thinking.

The silver-haired girl, with her back to Pojun's gaze, slowly crouched lower.

Slowly buried her head into the flower bed.

Stare~~~

You can't see me, you can't see me.

Slowly opened her mouth, tiny teeth biting into the flaky crust.

Crack—

The craftsmanship was indeed excellent; the teeth bit through, the outer crust crackling crisply, evoking the sweet, delicious taste within. The sound was faint—had this been in a bustling market, it might have gone unnoticed—but here, it was unnervingly loud.

The silver-haired girl's movements grew more subtle.

Yet she still bit down firmly, hidden within the flowers, back turned to a certain purple-eyed strategist, expressionless.

Carefully, yet with unwavering resolve, she bit down, her cheeks puffing out softly, trembling slightly.

Chewing, chewing.

Pojun's temple twitched.

For a moment, he didn't know whether Bai Mao was insulting him—or overestimating her own concealment skills.

Why are you still eating?!

No, that's not the point either!

Mr. Pojun pressed his finger to his brow, wondering if he'd been cursed by Bai Mao in a past life—that every encounter with silver-haired people brought nothing but misfortune, his thoughts growing chaotic.

Calm down, calm down, think carefully.

Bai Mao?!!

How is Bai Mao here?!

How could Bai Mao be here?! Wait—if Yao Guang is here…

Pojun's expression froze; suddenly he realized something, strode into the hall, pushed open the door, and saw dim lantern light swaying in the wind, casting flickering shadows on either side.

The scrolls that his teacher and senior had brought to show off were piled here.

A young "wandering hero," clad in dark-blue martial attire, stood tall and elegant, holding the scrolls, reading them with rapt attention.

The reigning Emperor, who had conquered an unprecedentedly vast realm with a battle spear and a long sword, whose martial prowess was unmatched in this age, naturally possessed peerless perception—he had known of Mr. Pojun's arrival long ago.

But he was in no hurry, finishing the letter in his hands.

He placed it on the table, lightly pressing his finger against the scroll, then lifted his head, seeing the purple-eyed strategist—his usual gentle, composed smile already in place:

"Mr. Pojun has arrived."

Pojun: "…………"

In an instant, even the wind seemed to halt.

In an instant, the purple-eyed strategist had already decided where he would bury himself.

Given this man's stature, he naturally wouldn't care about the contents of these scrolls—but Pojun's pride was immense; these letters were meant only for the elders back home, to boast about—now that the actual subject had seen them…

Pojun had come to Yao Guang's domain with lofty confidence, eager to show off—yet now he stood frozen; the smile he'd worn through over a decade of chaotic warfare, always slightly curled, finally dropped—first time ever, it vanished on its own.

The corner of his mouth—curled, curled… wouldn't curl anymore!

The purple-eyed strategist's brilliant mind spun countless thoughts—explanations, feigned ignorance—but in this moment, his towering self-respect, pride, and thin skin brought overwhelming shame; all he wanted was to turn away, cover his face, and sprint away—run straight out of Guanyi's sacred grounds, run to the ends of the earth.

But human will is no match for fate.

Before Pojun could act, laughter came from behind.

"Hahahaha, Pojun, why are you rushing so fast?!"

"Tsk, young people, so unsteady, so impatient—what's the point?!"

"Your Master Yu won't run off. We've been here before. Walk slowly, walk slowly—it shows the grace and composure of true victors."

Pojun's teacher was a short man with messy eyebrows but a booming voice; beside him stood Pojun's uncle, Pojun's senior—indeed, every member of Pojun's branch of the Guanyi school had come, all the aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered in full.

This lineage was all fiercely competitive.

After eight hundred years of rivalry with Yao Guang, finally—finally—they'd won!

To see this before dying? Worth every moment. How could they not bring the whole family? Yu Yanming, standing beside them, was already a middle-aged man with a perpetually stern face—now his expression was so dark it seemed to radiate malevolent energy.

Yao Guang's lineage was refined and composed.

In their eyes, Pojun's branch was nothing but a pack of northern sled dogs.

Always barging into their home, showing their faces.

But they couldn't just break off relations over this.

If Yao Guang's side grew angry, Pojun's branch would only laugh themselves sick.

Yu Yanming and Pojun's teacher, Zhou Wangji, had decent personal relations—but when it came to the grudges between their lineages, things weren't so simple. Besides, even if they were good friends, Zhou Wangji still found it delightful to see his brother-in-arms show his face.

Now seeing his prized disciple—the young strategist who had washed away eight centuries of humiliation for Pojun's branch—standing motionless, he deliberately raised his voice and shouted: "Hahahaha, Pojun, what are you standing there for?!"

"Come quickly and pay your respects to Master Yu! Even if you've won, you can't forget manners—hurry over!"

Zhou Wangji chewed over the word "won," stressing each syllable.

The dark aura on Yu Yanming's face deepened.

If not for the style of the Star-Gazing Yaoguang lineage, he would have loved to kick this old friend right in the face.

This old thing, how can he smile so despicably, really asking for a beating.

His wife An Ruoxue, however, was composed and gentle; though this was a dispute between two lineages, both belonged to the Star-Gazing of the Shiwaisan Sect, so she treated it as mere play. But that white-haired girl seemed not to care about the matter at all.

She was simply wearing the Star-Gazing sorcerer's robe of the Star-Gazing lineage, her hood taken off.

She swayed as she followed her teacher and teacher's wife inside.

An Ruoxue treated Yaoguang as her own, reading the girl's emotions, reached out and tapped the girl's nose, whispering with a laugh: "You, the entire Pojun lineage has come calling, your teacher is so angry his liver hurts, why do you still seem so happy, even a little smug?"

The silver-haired girl's face showed no change in expression.

She simply looked at the back of the purple-eyed strategist over there.

Stare—

Then her gaze met that of the young ranger in blue, clear and bright in bearing, and in a calm voice she said to her teacher's wife: "I remembered something fun."

Before Pojun could react, Zhou Wangji was already laughing heartily and stepping forward.

He patted his disciple's shoulder: "Come, good child, your martial uncles and grandmasters are all here, quickly tell us, how did you win!"

"How did you defeat this generation's Yaoguang little girl, and how did you spread the divine might of our Pojun, successfully assisting His Majesty Qin Huang in opening the empire that unifies the four seas, and successfully ending eight hundred years of struggle, thereby establishing our Pojun lineage's position as the foremost strategist under heaven?!"

The ranger's smile went rigid.

Mr. Pojun's mouth twitched; for the first time he had the urge to stuff all these elders' mouths with rags. Looking at the 'ranger' over there, Mr. Pojun stared at the heavens speechless, with a faint feeling of wanting to cry but having no tears.

Huh, now?

How about a different time?!

Zhou Wangji noticed the young ranger before him and said boldly: "This young Mr. is…, is he a guest? Or, old Yu, do you already know you've lost, and have already started choosing the next generation's Yaoguang successor?"

Zhou Wangji spoke in jest, Yu Yanming scolded: "Old fool, this is my disciple's friend from the jianghu, your mouth is more and more unrestrained, I don't know how many jin of horse piss you drank today, no decorum at all."

Zhou Wangji laughed heartily.

Pojun, however, sighed.

With his intelligence, he could see clearly that today he had once again been thoroughly defeated by that Bai Mao, almost a complete loss; Mr. Pojun's eyes were about to turn ash-gray, yet he still made a decision swiftly.

Yu Yanming pointed at the young ranger and said: "This is one of the Daoist Libationers, a top disciple of the Academy, a jianghu ranger, his secular surname is Li, his Daoist title is Pharmacist, that's him. You, must not speak carelessly again."

When his words fell, Zhou Wangji, who had been planning to happily reach out and pat this ranger's shoulder to get friendly, his smile instantly froze; the hand he had stretched out just stopped there.

Zhou Wangji's brain spent about five breaths processing what had just been said.

Then he slowly turned around.

He could almost feel the stiffness of his neck turning, hear the crack of his joints, his old eyes vacant, looking at Yu Yanming: "……what???"

A group of old Pojun members all stood dumbfounded.

The cheerful laughter from earlier was as if its throat had been violently seized.

Yaoguang is sparing with words, Yu Yanming didn't know that was normal.

But how could the Pojun lineage not know what the three characters "Li Pharmacist" represented? Zhou Wangji's outstretched hand stiffened, and they all looked at the young ranger holding the letter, his bearing calm and unhurried.

Pojun stepped forward, the sound of his sleeves rolling like drifting clouds.

He cupped his hands; the purple-eyed strategist would always remain loyal to his sovereign, saying:

"Your subject Pojun, pays respects to Your Majesty."

"My Emperor—"

"Ten thousand years."

The voice drifted out slowly, and the atmosphere here instantly grew heavy.

Zhou Wangji's hand trembled, almost springing back as if electrocuted; for the first time Yu Yanming's face lost control of expression, and the gentle smile on An Ruoxue's face froze.

Only that silver-haired girl quietly watched the Qin Huang over there.

Li Guanyi turned sideways, looked at the purple-eyed strategist before him, suddenly broke into a smile, and said: "I was just wondering why you took so long, Mr. Strategist. Pojun is my bone-and-sinew minister, my foremost strategist; if you had not come, my wedding would truly have lost its luster."

The purple-eyed strategist was stunned, watching the young ranger wink at him.

It was just like when they were young.

Back then, the twenty-seven-year-old Pojun and the thirteen-year-old Imperial Guard youth first met in Jiangzhou City; Qin Huang paced forward, reached out and grasped Zhou Wangji's arm, and slightly cupped his hands in a bow, saying: "I must thank you all."

Zhou Wangji and the others were stunned.

But they saw Qin Huang reply: "Without you all, I would not have gained Mr. Pojun."

"I was born of common cloth, trapped within prison walls; it was upon meeting Mr. Pojun that I first saw the great trends of the world, like a hidden dragon breaking from the abyss, a bird entering the heavens, no longer bound."

Old man Zhou Wangji's mouth curved up, then he clenched his fist and pressed it down.

Suppress it, suppress it!

He simply could not suppress it.

All the old men of the Pojun lineage of the Star-Gazing school had the same expression on their mouths, enough to hang seventeen or eighteen fish-and-water swords. Zhou Wangji coughed once, glanced with some reserve at Yu Yanming, who was still stunned by Qin Huang's identity and couldn't come back to his senses, and said:

"Your Majesty is too courteous; to meet a wise and capable lord like Your Majesty is also this brat's fortune. However, this old man presumes to ask, may Pojun be considered your chief strategist?"

Li Guanyi answered: "He who opened the empire for me is Mr. Pojun; he who shared life and death with me is Mr. Pojun; my left and right arms, it should be so, he is my chief."

Zhou Wangji opened his mouth, exhaled a breath, and finally felt content.

"If so, most excellent!"

The obsessions and grievances passed down through generations over nearly a thousand years finally dissipated. But An Ruoxue was clever, her eyes shifted slightly, and she said: "Your Majesty said, coming here… to wed?"

The old masters of the Pojun lineage finally reacted.

Yu Yanming as well.

The people of the Star-Gazing lineage were all outstanding talents of their age; the ranger in blue leaned the divine weapon that had pacified the four corners of the world against the ground, stretched out his right hand from afar, and smiled:

"Li the Pharmacist, I've come here to ask for Yao Guang's hand in marriage."

One gaze after another fell on the white-haired maiden.

The white-haired maiden, who had been swaying lightly and at ease a moment ago, suddenly froze.

【Xiaoyu'er and Linu'er's Travel Record】, Part Seven:

When the bright, glistening full moon hung above the forest, the rings of an old pine tree began to turn. Linu'er licked the dandelion fluff on her paw and heard a rustling whisper from deep within the tree hollow.

It was an old pine that had lived for five hundred years, with very thick, very sturdy bark.

Droplets of dew dripped from the branches, piecing together a star map on the ground: "When the tiger in the western sky sweeps across the earth for the third time, you will meet your story—a promise that never ends."

Linu'er twitched his whiskers, held his head up proudly, and set off on the journey to find his story. The tiger-stripe markings on his back glowed faintly warm as he stepped onto the moss-covered stone stairs with the first ray of morning light, with dew weaving a curtain of pearls among the flowers and grasses.

On the seventh night, the proud little cat with tiger-stripe markings arrived at the lakeside. The water reflected two skies of stars, and a ball of silver-white was stirring the starlight with its tail.

"Little stray cat." Its eyes were like a melted moon, and its voice was clear: "The shadow of the tiger in the sky has already swept across the earth twice."

"What have you come here to find?"

Linu'er replied: "I've come to find a story, a story of a journey." That ball of silver-white laughed and said: "There are no stories here, there's only me. A story can't be completed by just one cat, and a story won't just sprout up like a mushroom just because you're stuck in one place."

The proud little cat didn't know what this meant, scratched at the moist weeds after the rain with his paw, and said: "You and I already make two, don't we?"

"But we'll part ways, and then the story ends."

Linu'er tilted his head, watching as that ball of silver-white raised its tail and rolled up a rainbow, and said: "Then we just won't part. From the time the tiger in the sky runs across the river of stars for the third time, until the moon falls into the river and is washed by the water onto the ground."

"It's all a journey between you and me."

"The story never ends."

…………………………

BOOM!!!!

The sea of clouds in the vault of heaven was torn apart, and a streak of flowing light shot forward at great speed. A rope hung down, with two fellows dangling from it—one was a drunken-looking fellow, seemingly around sixty years old, with a carving knife and bamboo hanging at his waist.

The other was an old man with a turtle sitting on his butt.

Old Master Siming pondered: "I don't know why, but I feel something's a bit off, yet I can't figure out where it's off. Tell me, what if by the time we get there, Li Guanyi and Yao Guang have already finished their business?"

Tu Shengyuan's mouth twitched.

Ancestors!

Shut your mouth!!!

The gale lashed his face, and Tu Shengyuan's mouth was stretched wide open by the wind. He nearly had a glob of bird droppings slapped onto his face, but dodged it with nimble skill, turning danger into safety. Still, Tu Shengyuan's face was a bit pale.

He felt—

That certain white-haired fisherman had accelerated!

The Whale Fisherman's eyes had gone red. Missing his only daughter's wedding was enough to make the Whale Fisherman want to tie up the two below, and then have all three of them go to the North Sea to fish together.

Damn it, none of you shall live!

If those fellows found out about this, that surnamed Xue would probably crawl out of his coffin—even if he was lying stiff on a board inside—just to watch this spectacle.

Daughter, wait.

Dad is coming!!!

As Old Master Siming was rolling his eyes wildly, he suddenly felt something was off. A certain crystal stone at his waist seemed to glow faintly, as if the slumbering true spirit contained within this Mystical Realm crystal stone showed signs of awakening due to some extremely grand spectacle.