Chapter 93: There's a Word on the Wall

A small hill, no more than ten zhang high, was sparsely populated by about twenty people. Their clothing varied, but their expressions and eyes were eerily similar, as if they were cast from the same mold.

A burly man knelt on one knee, carefully examining the stiff bodies of two corpses. He pried open the eyelid of one corpse, revealing an eye that resembled a cracked porcelain shard.

A petite woman, dressed in a commoner's cotton clothing, slowly ascended the hill, followed by a sword-bearing woman and a pale-faced old man.

She did not approach the corpses, but covered her nose and asked in a nasal voice, "Wang Yifu, what's the assessment?"

Wang Yifu sighed, "Both were killed by a master with a single blade stroke. The bodies are unharmed, but their meridians are shattered, and their internal organs are completely destroyed."

The woman's face darkened. "Such powerful martial arts grandmasters have appeared in our Great Li, and two of them at that. Our esteemed Prince, who is responsible for monitoring the border, claims to... could it be that he deliberately let some fish slip through the net?"

Wang Yifu hesitated, "Your Highness, if I'm not mistaken, it was the work of one person."

The woman's eyes narrowed suddenly, radiating an imposing aura. "What did you say?!"

Wang Yifu pointed to the necks of the two corpses, where faint red lines were visible. "The lines connecting the two deceased are tightly linked, clearly the result of one person sweeping across with a blade."

The woman took a deep breath, struggling to suppress her rage and murderous intent. She sneered, "When did Wind and Snow Temple become so invincible? A random, unknown character can kill people as easily as slaughtering chickens? You, Wang Yifu, know who these two are, and Xu Hunran knows as well. Come, tell us, so that our Great General Wang can be enlightened."

Xu Hunran's face was awkward, but he steeled himself and explained, "One was a grandmaster who had just reached the seventh realm of martial arts, proficient in fist techniques and skilled in close combat. The other was an Eight-Floor cultivator, also skilled in flying swords and Taoist talismans. For twenty years, the two have carried out six joint assassinations without fail. Now, they are experts of the Jia class under Your Highness' Bamboo Leaf Pavilion."

The woman was extremely angry, but she had been desperately trying to suppress it. Now, she vented her anger on the Great Li's premier swordsman, shouting shrilly, "Xu Hunran! Report their names! Even the dead have names!"

The old man shuddered and lowered his head slightly. "The martial artist was named Li Hou, and the cultivator was named Hu Yinglin. Both have risked their lives for Your Highness time and time again, making great contributions to Great Li."

Only then did the woman's expression improve slightly, but she quickly became despondent, her voice weak. "Yes, Li Hou and Hu Yinglin. Back then, Ye Qing, the border pillar of your Lu Dynasty, was killed by these two. Not killed on enemy territory, not killed on the battlefield, but killed on our own land in Great Li."

Perhaps realizing that her behavior was inappropriate and would allow Wang Yifu to mock her, the woman used the former Lu Dynasty, which the martial general had once served, as a target. "It's laughable. At first, we thought that an important figure like Ye Qing would surely have several great Qi Refinement cultivators protecting him in secret. To get rid of him, I even had to join forces with my uncle. Who would have thought that from infiltrating the border, sneaking in to kill, and then retreating successfully, the Lu Dynasty wouldn't react at all? Ye Qing had merely angered a few immortal families on the border. Was he so isolated in the court? Wasn't the Lu Emperor the most supportive of mountain immortals? Why was there only one immortal sect willing to accompany your Lu Dynasty to its demise?"

After saying these things, the woman felt refreshed and much happier. Indeed, she didn't mind suffering, as long as someone else was suffering more. She was willing to enjoy happiness, but not if someone else was enjoying even more happiness than her.

This was probably the reason why she was willing to hand one of her children over to the Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan, rather than Qi Jingchun of Cliff Academy.

It was easier and less troublesome, and she didn't have to worry about the child being bullied and only knowing how to cry for their parents when they grew up.

A flicker of sadness crossed Wang Yifu's face.

General Ye Qing, a loyal and outstanding man of the country. He guarded the border of the Lu Dynasty for thirty years, single-handedly stopping three large-scale offensives by the Great Li border army. Song Changjing had almost died in battle once and had cursed Ye Qing as an obstinate old fool countless times. But in the end, after Ye Qing's death, the Lu Dynasty court argued for ten days about even posthumously awarding him a title. The key point was that even then, they didn't give him a very high honorable title, so that the morale of the 60,000 elite border troops, who still had the power to fight, slowly dissipated.

Song Changjing marched over, as if entering an uninhabited land. The first thing he did was to personally offer wine and incense at Ye Qing's grave. Afterwards, the Ministry of Rites of Great Li criticized him, but Song Changjing silenced them with a memorial, "Is it only Great Li that has heroes?"

The Great Li Emperor successively approved three big "goods" and laughed heartily. The delighted Emperor, however, finally smiled at the eunuch beside him and said that those words were his imperial brother's true feelings, as for the writing, he must have had someone else do it for him.

In fact, the woman had been observing the face of the general of the fallen kingdom. The woman nodded secretly, though she was not completely at ease with him.

If he lost even the common feelings of humanity, he must have an indomitable will. To do what? What else could he do but restore his country?

Then Wang Yifu would truly be seeking death.

If Wang Yifu was just a simple-minded martial artist who knew how to fight and kill, and he could be so meticulous in acting to such a degree, then Wang Yifu was capable indeed.

But she wasn't afraid either.

Old Swordsman Xu Hunran asked in confusion, "Your Highness had clearly spoken to Ruan Shi and agreed not to act within the territory of Longquan County. We also sent a message to Li Hou and Hu Yinglin, telling them not to act rashly in the near future, but to wait until they reached the border of Great Li. It stands to reason that Ruan Shi should give Your Highness some face, shouldn't he? Surely the people of Wind and Snow Temple wouldn't disregard the face of Your Highness and Ruan Shi?"

Wang Yifu asked, "The detailed identity of the saber-wielding man has still not been found out?"

The sword-bearing woman shook her head. "There have been no results yet. We can't go to Ruan Shi to ask about this, and it's even harder to go to the military cultivators of the Wind and Snow Temple. We can only rely on Great Li's own intelligence agencies to look for clues, and Your Highness can't interfere in border intelligence matters..."

She stopped there, and the young woman said no more.

This involved the undercurrents of the highest level of Great Li's politics.

Wang Yifu asked, "Is it possible that the Li family's retainer named Zhu He is actually a hidden expert?"The woman scoffed, "That fellow, barely at the fifth realm of a martial artist, is not worth mentioning. The Li family wouldn't dare cause trouble under my nose anyway."

The old swordsman sighed, "This makes things a bit difficult."

The woman smiled charmingly, "Difficult? It's quite simple. We return to the capital immediately! I'll cry to His Majesty the Emperor."

After all, someone else broke the rules of Great Li first, so His Majesty would be willing to stand up for her.

Li Bao Ping had a brand-new little book-box, so the larger and smaller items in her back basket needed to be rearranged. Taking this opportunity, the two, big and small, found a secluded spot away from Li Huai and the others during a rest, secretly taking stock of their belongings to prevent loss or damage.

Chen Ping An also took off his back basket.

There was an old locust wood sword, suspected to be a gift from Mr. Qi, because Chen Ping An had inexplicably found a jade hairpin on his head at the time. Chen Ping An and Li Bao Ping both thought it must have been Mr. Qi's intention. Chen Ping An usually kept the locust wood sword leaning in his back basket, only taking it out late at night and placing it on his lap, which would bring the young man a sense of peace and tranquility.

There was a yellow snake gallstone. When placed in sunlight, it would reflect strands of beautiful golden veins.

The remaining twelve exquisite snake gallstones had already faded from their original vibrant colors, but the texture was still delicate and remained impressive.

Li Bao Ping loved these little trinkets. Holding the yellow snake gallstone in her palm, she said, "Little Martial Uncle, you must never sell this one. As for the other twelve stones, even if we have to sell them in the future, we must find a buyer who knows their worth, or we'll definitely lose money."

Chen Ping An smiled, "Of course."

In the back basket was also a foot-long black stone bar, looking very much like a Dragon Slaying Platform. However, Chen Ping An couldn't be sure. He remembered Miss Ning saying that if one wanted to separate the Dragon Slaying Platform to make the best sword sharpening stone in the world, it would not only require a sword immortal to take action but would also need to sacrifice a very valuable weapon. Of course, for the young man, weapons or objects that were powerful or precious could be directly equated with being valuable.

Just like for the girl returning to her youth, an opponent's battle strength could be directly linked to the number of Chen Ping Ans.

Chen Ping An knew that this was definitely not a gift from Master Ruan. Did Mr. Qi send the locust wood sword and the sharpening stone together? Or did that white-clad immortal woman use her divine powers? Or could it be that it was Master Ruan's private treasure?

Chen Ping An felt a headache coming on.

Previously, Master Ruan had left a gold ingot, two silver ingots, and a bag of ordinary copper coins in Li Bao Ping's back basket. Once, Li Bao Ping inadvertently opened the money bag, and Chen Ping An was shocked to discover that there was a gold-essence copper coin mixed inside.

This charm coin was definitely secretly left behind by Ruan Xiu.

This gave Chen Ping An a great shock, and he broke out in a cold sweat. If he had been careless and hadn't discovered the truth, and then accidentally spent this copper coin as an ordinary one, the thought of the consequences made Chen Ping An want to slap himself.

Chen Ping An neatly packed away all the items, big and small, like a woman who was used to meticulous calculations, managing a small household.

Every time Li Bao Ping saw this scene, she wanted to laugh, thinking that her Little Martial Uncle was so good at managing a household.

What kind of outstanding girl would be worthy of her Little Martial Uncle in the future?

The little girl felt it would be hard to find one, so she felt a little sad.

A mischievous child sneaked over. After being discovered by Li Bao Ping, he looked at the little book-box at her feet and said to Chen Ping An, "Chen Ping An, if you make me a bamboo box bigger and better-looking than Li Bao Ping's, I'll call you Little Martial Uncle, how about that?"

Chen Ping An glanced at him without saying a word.

Li Huai became anxious and decided to take a step back, "Then it's fine if it's the same size as Li Bao Ping's little book-box, is that alright?"

Chen Ping An inadvertently noticed that Li Huai's shoes were tattered, exposing his toes, and said, "I'll make you two pairs of straw sandals later."

Li Huai was furious, jumping up and down, "I don't care about those broken straw sandals, I want a book-box! A book-box to hold the classics of sages! I, Li Huai, am also a disciple of Mr. Qi!"

Chen Ping An frowned, "Go away."

Li Huai was stunned, carefully examining Chen Ping An's face. After their eyes met, Li Huai suddenly felt a little scared and guilty. This child, who feared nothing and nobody, did not retort or scold for once, and left dejectedly. But after running out a few steps, he turned back and said confidently, "Don't forget the straw sandals, two pairs, so I can change them."

Chen Ping An nodded.

After Li Huai ran far away, the little girl said with a face full of admiration, "Little Martial Uncle, you're really amazing. You don't know, I can only beat Li Huai into submission, arguing is no use, even if Mr. Qi tries to reason with him, Li Huai doesn't really listen."

Chen Ping An reached out and rubbed the little girl's head, and picked up his back basket. "Get ready to set off. In two more days, we'll be able to see the Great Li post road."

The little girl picked up her little book-box.

A little girl, a red padded jacket, a green bamboo box.

In fact, Ah Liang was holding back with great effort, wanting to tell this big and small pair that if it weren't for their Little Bao Ping being cute enough, this color combination would make people laugh to death.

Li Bao Ping suddenly said, "This Li Huai is a bit like that snot-nosed kid from your Mud Bottle Lane, Little Martial Uncle."

Chen Ping An was taken aback, as if he had never compared the two before. After thinking about it carefully, he shook his head and said, "They're not alike. If you have a chance to see Gu Can in the future, you'll understand."

The little girl said "Oh," but it was just a casual mention anyway, and she quickly went on to imagine what the Great Li post road would be like.

Chen Ping An, like Li Bao Ping, initially thought that the snot-nosed Gu Can and Li Huai were a bit alike, but after spending time with them, he would find that there was a big difference between the two.Li Huai and Gu Can, though seemingly similar in their viperous personalities, capable of stinging with a single sentence, were vastly different in Chen Ping'an's eyes. Both were carefree and came from impoverished backgrounds. Gu Can, despite his cunning, possessed a shrewdness born of self-preservation. Li Huai, on the other hand, was a pure little hedgehog, pricking anyone who came near, a consequence of his parents being alive and a sister watching over him. His temperament was simpler. Moreover, he had attended the village school and studied, his classmates including Li Bao Ping, Lin Shouyi, and Shi Chun Jia – slightly older children. Overall, Li Huai had not suffered greatly.

Gu Can was different. His mother, who had single-handedly raised him, had sometimes, unavoidably, burdened him. At a young age, he had tasted the bitterness of human indifference. Chen Ping'an had once witnessed a drunken man staggering out of Mud Jar Lane, reeking of alcohol. Seeing Gu Can returning home from playing, he kicked the boy hard in the stomach without a word. After Gu Can fell to the ground, he stomped on his head. The little boy curled up against the wall, clutching his stomach, unable to even cry.

If Chen Ping'an hadn't happened to be going out and rushed over, knocking the man back with a punch, and then carried Gu Can to Yang's shop, who knew what kind of lasting damage it might have caused?

Gu Can was also more resentful, keeping a meticulous mental ledger. He remembered every slight, every insult against his mother, every lewd comment directed at her. Perhaps, as he grew older, some details would fade, but his hatred for certain individuals would never wane. He remembered the man who had kicked him vividly – his name, the alley he lived in, his family. Whenever he was alone with Chen Ping'an, he would rant about digging up the man's ancestral graves, and when his daughter grew up, he would sleep with her and abuse her to the extreme.

Back then, children probably didn't even know what "sleeping with" meant. They only knew that many women and men liked to "joke" with his mother, women using the word "adultery," and men often using the word "sleep."

Chen Ping'an still vividly remembered the boy's young face, contorted with ferocity, his eyes filled with malice.

Chen Ping'an was worried. He sincerely hoped that Gu Can would have a better life than anyone else, but he also didn't want him to become like Cai Jinjian or Fu Nanhua, those immortal figures.

Seeing her Little Uncle Chen looking distracted, Li Bao Ping asked, "What's wrong?"

If it were Chen Ping'an from before, he would have said nothing was wrong. But now, he spoke his mind directly, "I'm afraid that the next time I see Snotnose, I won't recognize him."

Li Bao Ping asked in confusion, "Children grow up quickly. If you don't see each other for four, five, seven, or eight years, it's normal that you wouldn't recognize each other."

Chen Ping'an grinned, more like he was encouraging himself, "I believe in Gu Can. He will always be that Snotnose from Mud Jar Lane."

As for whether he recognized him or not, it didn't matter. As long as the boy was doing well, that was all that mattered.

The Iron Talisman Riverbed had a fault line of rocky cliffs, plunging sharply downwards, causing a sudden surge in the downstream water flow.

Chen Ping'an stood on the riverbank cliffs, practicing his fist techniques, repeating the same six steps.

Ah Liang appeared at the edge of the cliffs, unnoticed.

Water splashed, the river roared, and mist filled the air. Fortunately, it was late spring, and the chill had subsided, making it not so bitingly cold.

Ah Liang shouted, "There's not much point in practicing this fist technique. This stepping practice is a very basic stance, found in any martial arts sect. The standing stance is passable at best. At least it can help you barely stay alive, like life-saving herbs, not precious, but they treat the symptoms."

The youth heard him and smiled, without saying anything.

Because Old Yao had said that when practicing fist techniques, one must never become discouraged.

Ah Liang nodded, "But something meaningless can become meaningful if done by someone interesting. There's no big problem with the way you're practicing. The path of martial arts is all about grinding, relying on consistent effort."

Chen Ping'an finished his practice, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked, "Ah Liang, aren't you that Wei Jin from the Immortal Platform?"

Ah Liang laughed, "Of course not. He recites poetry all the time and has terrible drinking habits. When he gets drunk, he likes to cry and snivel, even worse than Li Huai. How could I be that kind of person?"

Chen Ping'an was stunned, seemingly not expecting Ah Liang to be so direct, "Then the donkey and the wine gourd?"

Ah Liang rolled his eyes, "Of course, they belong to Wei Jin. I'm not as particular as he is. I like drinking, but riding a donkey to admire the mountains and rivers is something I really can't do. It's too slow; it would drive me crazy."

Chen Ping'an asked cautiously, "He's not dead, is he?"

Ah Liang smiled playfully, "Why would I kill him? For treasure?"

Chen Ping'an looked at Ah Liang and shook his head, "I believe you wouldn't kill him."

Ah Liang picked up the wine gourd, which should have been used to nurture a sword, and took a sip, "This little sword-nurturing gourd was a gift from him. I taught him a superior sword technique, and the kid finally broke through his bottleneck, so he went into seclusion. As payment, he gave me the gourd. Don't think I'm taking advantage; he made a great bargain. I'm just helping to take care of this donkey."

The Ten Embraces of a Bingjia swordsman from the Wind and Snow Temple, breaking through them is very difficult.

However, Ah Liang didn't want to explain it to Chen Ping'an too clearly.

The road must be taken step by step.

Chen Ping'an asked strangely, "Why didn't Master Ruan recognize you?"

Ah Liang found a place to sit, shaking the small silver-white gourd, "The Natal Sword Qi in the gourd is still there, and it's complete, which means the owner is still alive, and his soul and body are intact. Your Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent is a small place. Ruan Qiong doesn't think there's a terrifying expert here who can instantly kill Wei Jin and be so fast that even Wei Jin's Natal Flying Sword doesn't have time to respond."

Chen Ping'an was surprised, "A small place? Some say we have thousands of dynasties in the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent. We haven't even reached the Dali border yet."

Ah Liang turned his head and tossed the wine pot to the youth standing beside him, "You know it's 'walking,' right? Come on, have a drink. A man who doesn't drink has lived in vain.""I don't drink. Zhu He said that those who practice martial arts shouldn't drink alcohol." Chen Ping'an carefully took the wine gourd, sat next to A Liang, and handed it back to him. A Liang didn't take it, so Chen Ping'an carefully held it in his arms, looked at the river, and softly sighed, "Yeah, I've seen immortals flying around on swords, flying over our town, many times."

A Liang felt annoyed whenever he heard Zhu He's name now, especially since this guy next to him liked to compare him to Zhu He.

Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "A Liang, can you really teach the Wei-Jin sword techniques? Then aren't you even more formidable than Zhu He?"

Here it comes again.

A Liang sighed, "I'm just good-tempered and don't bother arguing with you."

Chen Ping'an was genuinely curious about this, determined to get to the bottom of it, "Could it be, even more formidable than him by a lot?"

A Liang snatched the wine gourd, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp, looking disgusted, "Get lost, get lost."

Chen Ping'an laughed heartily, turned his head to look at the frustrated man in the bamboo hat, blinked, and said with a grin, "Actually, I know you're much more formidable than Zhu He."

A Liang finally felt a little better.

Chen Ping'an immediately added, speaking earnestly, "I think even two Zhu Hes might not be able to defeat you."

A Liang said helplessly, "If you really want to flatter me, can you at least be sincere? At least remove the word 'might'!"

Chen Ping'an remained silent, the corners of his mouth turned up, looking at the magnificent blue waterfall, he suddenly said, "A Liang, thank you."

A Liang took a sip of wine, one after another, and casually asked, "Hmm? Thank me for what? I haven't taught you how to practice your fists, nor have I taught you how to practice swords."

Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged, habitually clasping his hands together at his chest, practicing the sword furnace stance, "After meeting you, I feel like the outside world isn't so scary anymore. Because I've discovered that there are good people out there too, not everyone with high skills just bullies others. Li Huai and Zhu Lu said so much about you along the way, and you never got angry."

A Liang smiled and took a sip of wine, slower this time, "This praise came so unexpectedly, I need to drink some wine to calm my nerves. But you kid is also afraid? Daring to kill a young immortal in an alley, daring to face off against a Mountain Moving Ape? Daring to take Xiao Bao Ping out on a journey to the Great Sui without a word? You're quite the daredevil."

Chen Ping'an softly said, "Some things are done because they have to be done, it doesn't mean I'm not afraid at all. I'm just a pottery apprentice, how big can my courage be?"

A Liang nodded, "That's the logic."

They were both silent, only the sound of water remained.

A Liang took the lead in breaking the silence, asking, "If you could do something famous in a very famous place, and then you could carve a grand character to last for thousands of years, which character would you choose?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, "It would probably be my surname, both my parents are named Chen, carving the character 'Chen' would be great."

A Liang shook his head and sighed, "So vulgar, unlike me."

A Liang quickly explained on his own, "It's normal, it's normal, someone like me is a rare breed after all, cattle and sheep gather on the plains, fierce tigers roam alone in the deep mountains. So lonely."

The man in the bamboo hat was perhaps moved by his own words, quickly taking a big gulp of wine.

The straw sandal-wearing boy suddenly grinned, his smile not able to close, as if he had also thought of something happy.

This was definitely a rare occurrence.

So A Liang asked, "What are you thinking about, grinning like an idiot?"

The boy's face turned a little red, shyly saying, "If I could carve more characters, then I would write the name of my beloved girl on that wall."

A Liang bared his teeth, clicking his tongue, "Then you should burn more incense and pray that your future wife's name only has two characters, if it has three characters, four characters, hehe."

Chen Ping'an was stunned for a moment, "Are there really people whose names have four characters? Wouldn't that be very strange?"

A Liang patted the boy's shoulder, "Chen Ping'an, read more books in the future."

Chen Ping'an was a little embarrassed.

A Liang suddenly woke up, "Chen Ping'an, you have a girl you like?! Who, who, who, quickly tell me, let me have some fun!"

Chen Ping'an smiled, his eyes narrowed, shaking his head, "Not yet."

A Liang pointed his finger at the boy, "I knew from the start that you weren't being honest."

Chen Ping'an asked softly, "A Liang, are you still a bachelor?"

A Liang: "Shut up!"

Chen Ping'an retorted, "I knew it from the start."

A Liang pointed his thumb at himself, saying, "Do you know how many female warriors and fairies in other places are crying and shouting to marry me, A Liang?"

Chen Ping'an replied seriously, "Of course I don't know."

A Liang was speechless and silently drank his wine.

Chen Ping'an asked, "By the way, A Liang, what character did you carve? Can you tell me?"

A Liang immediately became radiant, full of pride, "That's incredible, the character I wrote isn't just strong and unparalleled, but the key is that the character has so much meaning! Easy to pronounce, majestic, compared to anything like surnames, Righteousness, or Thunder Pond, it's so much better. You don't know, in order to stop me from carving such a character, the faces of so many old turtles and bastards turned black, there's no way, they were just afraid of comparisons, some of those guys were high ranking elders, they were so angry that they blew their beards and glared their eyes, they almost rolled up their sleeves to fight me, I was too lazy to pay attention to them, you shameless guys ganging up on me, why wouldn't I run? Am I stupid, right? Of course, I carved the character before running."

Chen Ping'an regretted asking this question a little.

A Liang had a "Hurry up and ask what character it is" expression.

Chen Ping'an gently turned his head, looking at the river again, refusing to speak under any circumstances.

A Liang was dumbfounded.

The man in the bamboo hat carefully put away the fragrant wine gourd, clearly losing his mood for drinking.

Just then, Chen Ping'an suddenly widened his eyes, discovering that on the river surface downstream of the Iron Symbol River, there were four or five people walking on the water together, there was a white-haired old man in a straw raincoat singing "Since ancient times, famous mountains await sages," there was a charming woman in brightly colored clothes giggling, and there was a young Taoist boy in a Taoist robe holding a bamboo staff, acting like an old man.

Chen Ping'an widened his eyes, murmuring, "Immortals?"

A Liang didn't even glance at them.Zhu He clutched a string of crimson bells, shaking them rapidly as he sprinted towards Chen Ping An and A Liang. His face was etched with concern. "This is the Spirit-Quelling Bell, passed down by my ancestors. Any demon or mountain spirit within a hundred feet will trigger its chimes. Senior A Liang, Chen Ping An, we should be cautious and leave this riverside cliff to avoid unnecessary conflict."

Chen Ping An considered it and began to rise.

A Liang, however, paid no attention to the strange spectacle on the river. He uncorked his wine gourd, brandishing it at the two of them with a smile. "I'll just finish this sip, then we'll go. It'll be quick."

Zhu He's anxiety grew. "Senior A Liang, the Great Li Dynasty has always been lenient towards mountain demons. As long as no one is killed, they usually don't interfere..."

A Liang exclaimed, "Oh, is that so?" He quickly stood up, preparing to leave the cliff and give way to the uninvited guests.

But on the river's surface, the five extraordinary figures, their cultivations now starkly apparent, stopped abruptly. The old man in the raincoat, evidently the most powerful, was the first to freeze as if struck by lightning. The other four followed suit. Then, the ethereal old man was the first to turn tail and flee with a desperate speed that abandoned all pretense of immortal grace, wishing he had more limbs to aid his escape. The remaining four mirrored his actions.

A Liang wore an expression of utterly fake suspicion, tinged with a mischievous grin.

Zhu He swallowed hard.

The bells in his hand were now utterly silent.

He tentatively asked, "Senior A Liang, what was that?"

A Liang secured his silver gourd and rubbed his chin. "Could it be my killing intent is too strong?"

Chen Ping An whispered, "A Liang, did they recognize your Sword Nurturing Gourd?"

A Liang burst into hearty laughter, slinging an arm around the boy's shoulder as they walked down the cliff. "Perhaps, perhaps! There are many secrets within this Sword Nurturing Gourd. I don't tell just anyone."

Suddenly, A Liang released Chen Ping An, letting him go ahead.

The straw-sandaled boy scurried away.

A Liang, still arm-in-arm with Zhu He, asked in a low voice, "Zhu He, you're a Fifth Realm martial artist, right? How do you subtly make Chen Ping An think you're a master? Teach me, or all my efforts, all these grand gestures, will be for naught! The kid's just blind."

Zhu He's body stiffened, his voice trembling. "Senior A Liang, I really don't know."

A Liang grumbled, "That's no fun."

Zhu He's face was crestfallen. "Senior A Liang, I truly don't know."

Ahead, the boy turned and walked backward, facing A Liang, shouting with laughter, "A Liang, what was that word again?"

A Liang's face lit up. He cleared his throat, adjusted his bamboo hat, and thrust his thumb high in the air. "Fierce!"

The boy, like the five figures on the river, was struck dumbfounded. He turned around and ran away, muttering, "Damn you!"