NOVPUBChapter 749 -52: The Moonlight of That Year (7721)_2
However, the shopkeeper was an expert judge of goods; he tossed down the silver and lunged forward to snatch back the jade pendant. Wang Anfeng reached out to intervene but was grabbed by Ye Zhuhua.
At this moment in the depths of Jiangnan Road, Wang Anfeng naturally had to hide his identity. Otherwise, if his identity were exposed, this courteous and chivalrous scholar before him would probably draw his sword to slay demons.
If it had been an ordinary person, such a move would have surely revealed signs of martial proficiency.
But when Wang Anfeng was young, his Foundation Establishment required him to carry heavy loads while fetching water and climbing mountains. Because of Master Ying, his body had learned to deal with fluctuating weights, akin to practicing martial arts in the tide. His Inner Qi was forged from these practices, circulating as naturally as his heartbeat. When he restrained his Inner Qi just now, he seemed like an ordinary steward without martial skills, not giving himself away, yet he had no choice but to let the shopkeeper snatch back the jade pendant.
As the shopkeeper held it in his hands and breathed on it, wiping it with his sleeve, a faint mist of clouds and water appeared on the previously empty pendant. The shopkeeper became somewhat distracted, muttering to himself:
“It’s actually a Water Cloud Match…”
Hearing this name, Wang Anfeng knew that he had underestimated the value of the jade pendant. He turned to Ye Zhuhua and said:
“Young Master Ye, you must not do this…”
Ye Zhuhua released his right hand and first apologized with a self-deprecating laugh, saying, “Meng Lang is my given name; please forgive my offenses.” He then shook his head and laughed bitterly: “Your noble intentions are deeply appreciated, for drawing your sword to help me. However, along the way, all expenses for lodging and silver coins have been covered by you and the others. It weighs heavy on my conscience.”
His voice paused slightly, then with a bit of self-mockery, he added:
“It’s true that I’ve thought about pawning this jade pendant to settle debts these past days, yet I’ve always been too greedy and reluctant to part with this worldly possession. Now, my One-Leaf Pavilion is merely a hundred miles away; I truly cannot let you gentlemen spend any more.”
“Brother Feng, please see it as sparing my poor scholar’s pride. A whiff of pedantic air would suffice, but on this matter, please do not contend with me any further.”
With the conversation having reached this point, Wang Anfeng had nothing more to say. He knew sects in Jianghu placed great emphasis on reputation, but he had not expected it to such an extent. The scholar before him was not only skilled in martial arts and courteous but also had the capacity to self-deprecate, which made Wang Anfeng’s impression of him much better.
The two of them simply conversed as they walked toward the inn. As they left, Wang Anfeng noticed the shopkeeper holding the Water Cloud Match, his hands trembling uncontrollably from his ecstatic heart, a stark contrast to the strength he had shown when clutching the silver earlier. Wang Anfeng sighed in his heart, wondering just how valuable that jade pendant was to cause such a reaction from the shopkeeper.
…
Sikou Tingfeng looked at Xue Qinshuang.
These past days, she had finally found the time to corner this duplicitous fellow. The Number One Manor in the World’s Manor Master furrowed her brows lightly as she gazed at the woman before her who was all smiles and composure, saying in a calm voice:
“Is that man your brother?”
She had not pointed it out directly, but Xue Qinshuang knew whom she was referring to. Smiling faintly, with no ripple in her heart, almost teasingly, she said:
“Why, have you taken a fancy to that good-for-nothing younger brother of mine?”
“Oh dear, Tingfeng, I am indeed fond of him. It’s just too bad that my brother has a merely passable face and an impatient character, making him far from an ideal match.”
Sikou Tingfeng stated lightly:
“It was not until recently that I heard of his fame. To have gained such cultivation, did it arise from the secret grounds of the Xue Family?”
“…Since you have already guessed, why bother asking?”
“Those things were supposed to be yours.”
Sikou Tingfeng’s eyes opened slightly wider as she looked at Xue Qinshuang, who appeared indifferent. Being born into one of the greatest martial arts noble clans in the world, she understood the significance of these things and emphasized more heavily:
“They were supposed to be yours!”
“With your talent, by now, you ought to be devouring seas and opening the Heavenly Sect with the unthinkable foundation of a commoner, stepping into the Grandmaster Realm. Within a decade, you might even meet the Great Elder Qingfeng, and possibly even…”
“It might be your one chance in life to glimpse the threshold of the Land Immortal Realm.”
While saying those four words, Sikou Tingfeng even felt a sense of suffocation from agitation and powerlessness, her hand trembling imperceptibly.
Land Immortal.
Pursuers of the vast skies face a long and arduous journey. Those who seek diligently might get there.
Countless have sought throughout the ages.
Yet in the millennia of martial arts, despite numerous talented and exceptional individuals, only two have witnessed it.
One founded the Confucian School, and the other left behind subtle teachings of the Great Way.
Despite the woman before her having exceptional talent, she was still not unparalleled throughout history. Even the two extraordinary ancestors of the Taoist Sect were confined to the Great Grandmaster Realm.
She surely couldn’t have more talent than the two ancestors.
The accumulated Qi Mechanism of generations was like a ladder built of life and time, not everyone could climb it, but it was the only chance to see the splendor of the heavens.
Xue Qinshuang’s smile faded.
In this secluded spot on Jiangnan Road, even an ordinary inn had a touch of elegance. Seated at a nearby desk, Xue Qinshuang’s demeanor lost its heroic and free-spirited air, her lips pursed to form a gentle curve, much like the answer she had given back at the Xue Family, “Just a Grandmaster, although unworthy, I can find plenty.”
That identical answer held such gravity after the boast, it deeply moved Sikou Tingfeng, who perceiving the underlying message, raised her eyebrows slightly and coldly said:
“What about the Great Grandmaster then? In the vast Great Qin, throughout a hundred years of Jianghu, there are but seven who have entered that realm. With your talent, are you completely certain?”
Xue Qinshuang did not respond.
