Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 766 There is a good reason for this.
Pei Ye frowned and thought for a while: "What if he doesn't recognize the Tianshan brand either?"

Li Piaoqing said in a gentle voice, "Although Young Hero Pei is highly skilled in martial arts, he still lacks experience in the martial world. To intimidate someone, it's not enough to just use your most famous reputation; you must first identify their weaknesses."

"He has too many weaknesses."

“I’m not asking you to have a sword fight with him,” Li Piaoqing laughed. “Although that person’s clothes are from Shenjing, the details of his attire have a Northwest flavor. His sword blade is rather thin, so he should be from one of the three schools of Liuying, Jiandu, or Lushan in the southern part of Xilong. He may not know much about the famous Hejian of Shenjing, but it is unlikely that he does not recognize the Tianshan Token.”

Pei Ye thought for a moment, then said, "Crane Inspector is already a very obscure title for me."

"Hmm, what is Young Master Pei's most famous title?"

“The two characters ‘Pei Ye’”.

Li Piaoqing smiled.

It wasn't until the night was very deep and the lights in the West Pond had thinned out that the two left and turned into the side street.

The gate was closed, and the sword banquet in the garden had long since ended. There weren't many disciples from Tianshan to begin with, so only half of the pavilions in the villa had their lights on at this time.

The spring night was cool as water. The two seemed to have talked about everything, both the old and the new. Li Piaoqing stretched her arms and stretched out in a long, relaxed manner, a satisfied smile curving her lips.

"It's such a long detour," she groaned.

"Ah."

"I had a wonderful day today. In the morning, I watched a wonderful sword banquet with my new friends. In the afternoon, I met the beautiful Prince Jinyang. In the evening, I had a long and enjoyable chat with Young Hero Pei Ye." Li Piaoqing said, leaning against the door. "This is the most fulfilling and happy day I've had since coming to Shenjing."

Pei Ye stood below the steps, looked up at her, pursed his lips, and said softly, "I'm also very happy to see you again, Piao Qing."

Li Piaoqing pushed open the door behind her with her hands behind her back, and with a soft "creak," a crack appeared.

But the girl stopped moving; she stood in front of the door, motionless.

“But you’ve always been unhappy.” She looked at the boy.

"..."

Li Piaoqing was silent for a moment, then said seriously, "You don't need to feel indebted to me, Pei Ye. I don't need you to feel that way."

She looked up at the sky: "Back when I was at Changdao Martial Arts School, back when I was at Bowang Qiuyue, I was really vulnerable. Back then, all I could see was darkness. Do you know what you are like, Pei Ye? You are like my morning glow."

"I still can't figure it out. Why did you suddenly appear out of nowhere, without any reason? It's like a gift from heaven that shattered the impenetrable darkness in an instant... And you are so outstanding, sincere, passionate, and mysterious, as if you can always bring miracles."

“So at that time, I entrusted all my hopes and emotions, my strength and support for growth to you.” She whispered, “That was the most beautiful dream I had ever had, so I only woke up with a start when we suddenly had to separate.”

Pei Ye stared at her intently.

Li Piaoqing smiled at him sadly and gently: "No one has an eternal sun in their life, Pei Ye."

“If it has ever appeared and illuminated you, letting you see what light looks like, then you should learn to walk in the darkness on your own, instead of just continuing to hope for and crave it,” she said. “So, I don’t need you to take care of me forever, nor do I want you to live a life of widowhood for me. If you keep putting on this pitying act, I’ll get angry.”

Pei Ye did not look away; he remained staring straight at the girl and said in a low voice, "I have no pity for you, Piao Qing. I am very grateful to you."

"……what?"

“I’m so grateful to you… for talking to me about so many old and new things. I’m so grateful for your radiant personality.” Pei Ye pursed her lips. “Piao Qing, if you were to say a few words to me, I’d be done for.”

“…I’m utterly pathetic in front of you,” he whispered.

Li Piaoqing took a deep breath and abruptly turned her head away.

After a moment, she lowered her head, took out the small Green-Lost Sword that Pei Ye had given her from her sleeve, and whispered, "What about the little sword I gave you before we parted last time? Do you still have it?"

"...I always carry it with me." Pei Ye quickly lowered his head, took the dragon ring out from his neck, and pulled out a finger sword from it.

Both of them recognized it; it was a gift the girl had promised him when they were boating on Zhuoyue Lake, which she gave him before he left Bowang.

Forged from lapis lazuli, decorated with feather patterns, and exquisitely carved, the hilt is inlaid with two tiny jade stones, and ten small characters are engraved on the sword.

[Having escaped the clutches of the hunters, I was able to be near the court of a virtuous man.]

When it was taken from the boy's palm, it was still brand new. Except when no one was around at night, Pei Ye almost never took it out from the deepest part of his palm.

Li Piaoqing placed her own small sword in his palm as well. The two Lost Jade Swords were almost the same size when placed together.

"You should carve a poem for me too, that would be fair," the girl said with a smile.

Pei Ye was taken aback, and then he was very honest: "I can't recite any poems."

Li Piaoqing smiled, she was always easily amused by him: "Then, how about you listen to me?"

"……Row."

Li Piaoqing took his fingertips and slowly wrote ten more words in his palm.

Pei Ye paused for a moment, then picked up the jade pendant that had just been carved a couple of days ago and engraved these two short lines of poetry on it.

Li Piaoqing smiled gently and brightly at him, lowered her head to pick up the small sword, took a step back, and squeezed open the door. Pei Ye stared at her clean and tall face in the moonlight, stunned for a long time, then suddenly seemed to understand her meaning, and couldn't help but smile as well.

With that smile, Li Piaoqing gently closed the two doors, and the last ray of moonlight was driven away from her face with a "click" in the quiet night.

Only a closed door remained between the two.

"Goodbye, Young Hero Pei Ye," she said.

Pei Ye stood quietly in front of the door for a long time, then took a deep breath and looked up at the moon.

In fact, wasn't the girl also his sun? During his most vulnerable month, far from home and alone, he met such a lively and vibrant girl who was in a crumbling nest. How could he not be drawn to such a spirit full of life?
Regardless of what happened now or what will happen later, it was an extremely beautiful encounter. There's really no need to feel regret or distress about it, and the girl never lingered or complained about it. To feel alienated because of it would be too much of a fuss.

We meet again amidst mountains and rivers, and we will meet again someday. My message to you is contained in this short poem:
[Tame your heart and entrust it to your nature, may you, male and female, live a long and healthy life.]

Pei Ye looked down at the remaining sword in his hand, then slowly turned his head to look at the kitten. The black cat was perched on his shoulder, quietly watching the closed door.

"Don't look back until you meet Xiao Shi, and don't let Hongya pat your shoulder again." It said, "Since Young Hero Pei knows the tenderness of love, there shouldn't be many things in the world that can trouble him."

Pei Ye smiled helplessly: "I didn't take pictures of Piao Qing randomly... but I definitely won't take pictures of other people in the future."

He turned around, picked up the kitten, and headed towards the Sword Cultivation Academy.

For about two quarters of an hour, they walked slowly and quietly, neither Pei Ye nor the kitten speaking, until the bright lights of Zhuque Avenue outside Shengqianfang shone back into view. Pei Ye stroked the kitten's ear: "Do you think Xizhou will be a little annoyed today?"

The black cat didn't look up: "What do you think?"

Pei Ye thought for a while: "I think she has a broad vision and a magnanimous mind. She wouldn't get caught up in these trivial matters. Jealousy is probably just a game for her to relieve stress. Today, she knew that Piao Qing and I had something to talk about, so she let us go out... and we didn't meet behind her back."

"Hmm, but?"

“...But it’s hard to say about the emotions,” Pei Ye said.

Trust your instincts.

Pei Ye smiled helplessly again. However, after experiencing the events in the palace and the mirage, "emotions" were probably the least important thing between them, often just material for jokes, so he wasn't too worried.

At this moment, he walked outside the neighborhood, and the bright lights of Zhuque Avenue came into full view.

Even though the outlying neighborhoods were already dim and quiet, the wide Suzaku Avenue remained as bustling as daytime. If the capital city at night was a pile of flames, then Suzaku Avenue was its last and brightest embers.

Pei Ye stood on the street for a moment, then took a step north. Just then, he heard waves of shouts rising behind him.

As if rushing towards him from behind, Pei Ye stopped and turned around to look. He saw a long black dragon, cloth armor, heavy cavalry, and a huge chariot, all made of shiny black iron.

The Vermilion Bird Passage seemed to be swallowed by darkness in an instant, and even the last ember was covered up.

It seemed to stretch on forever, its surface as smooth and hard as iron, its formation unwavering as it advanced straight ahead. Pedestrians, startled, scrambled to the side; sons of the wealthy and powerful, wives of generals and kings, all scattered to avoid this torrent of iron.

Even after living in Shenjing for many years, this scene was still unfamiliar to me. Shenjing had no memory of sniper cavalry for twenty years.

Especially on such a gentle spring night.

Pei Ye stood still, pursing his lips. His whole body gradually turned into iron, and his hands forged iron hoops on the sword hilt.

The long, black dragon passed in front of him, but Pei Ye's gaze remained fixed on the empty space, the mountain-like chariot majestic and silent.

The only things fluttering were a few flags with the character "燕" (swallow) on them, and many people had to think for a long time before they remembered where the character came from.

He had indeed been away from the capital for far too long. Prince Yan, Yongbei, returned to the capital he had personally conquered at midnight on the 16th day of the third month of the Renwu year.

……

……

Pei Ye watched as the long procession passed straight through the street and entered the imperial city one by one. Surprisingly, guards in black armor were also left at the city gate, standing together with the imperial guards.

Ignoring the noise on the street, he glanced at the distant, needle-like observatory and went straight back to the Sword Cultivation Academy.

“I would have advised you not to be impulsive before,” the black cat said, unusually speaking up as it lay by the window.

Pei Ye put his hands behind his head and looked at the roof beam: "You can praise me for being steady now, but I wasn't always this reckless and stupid."

“You’re not exactly composed anymore, you’re just definitely not as silly as you used to be,” the black cat said.

“I told you I’m not stupid,” Pei Ye retorted absentmindedly, her fingers tracing the lines on the sword hilt.

He stared silently at the roof beams. There was no sound from inside the room for quite some time, about 15 minutes.

Pei Ye said softly, "Fuck you, I really want to kill him."

The black cat leaped to his pillow without saying a word.

Pei Ye stared at the roof beam for a while, then picked up the book and continued to open the darkened ancient scroll. The "You Sheng Pian" was nearing its end.

Since arriving in the capital, Pei Ye has rarely been restless or agitated; in the past six months, it has only happened a handful of times.

Every time this happened, he would use his sword to calm himself down. Perhaps it was partly his natural habit, and partly the feeling that Miss Ming gave him. He couldn't tell the difference.

But no matter how chaotic the world is, holding a sword manual is like entering a peaceful world, holding the power to change everything.

Pei Ye turned the pages of the book, most of his consciousness studying this quiet and enchanting sword, pondering and confirming every detail; the remaining wisp waited for the soul bird of the Immortal Platform, wondering what Li Jian was doing, what Yong Bei was doing, what Xizhou was doing, and what kind of news they could send him at the earliest.

However, the northern palace was very quiet, as if nothing had happened after the convoy entered.

So when the first hour had passed, the small window was pierced with a "poof" sound, and a thin shadow flew in, Pei Ye suddenly sat up.

However, when he opened his palm, he was slightly taken aback. It wasn't the sharp claws of the Soul Bird, but a small, bright jade sword.

The boy's cold, hard expression softened instantly, for it had almost become a reflex; every time he saw that clean, familiar jade sword, a cool sensation seemed to spread from the point of contact with his skin all the way into his heart. The entire night fell silent, and all distracting thoughts vanished like snowflakes.

It's much more useful than studying sword manuals.

It's been so long since we last met; since the Lunar New Year, I've only heard rumors about it.

"Pei Ye, no news for three months, I hope you are in good health and spirits."

I wonder if you are still in the capital? I dare to venture forth with my sword to investigate. I will be entering the capital tomorrow, hoping to find you first. Is this appropriate?
As I approach the capital, I gradually hear news of you. It turns out your fame has already spread far and wide, not just as it did with Lü Meng in three days, but even closer to the soaring voice of Chu Zhuang.

Also, I've been studying at the Sword Academy for half a year now. I wonder how your swordsmanship is progressing? If I do see you tomorrow, I hope we can discuss it.

Yun, March 16th, at a hotel in Gyeonggi Province.

Pei Ye took a deep breath, feeling the joy in her heart gradually rise like a tide. It was quiet and peaceful, never sudden or wild.

Pei Ye smiled, read the letter word by word several times, then got out of bed, sat upright at the table, laid out paper and ink, and wrote a reply to the letter stroke by stroke.

“Miss Ming, I am doing well. I was very happy to hear that you have finally arrived in the capital.”

I may have some plans tomorrow, such as Xianrentai, Xiujian Academy, and the palace... I don't know where, but I would love to meet Miss Ming no matter when.

I haven't had much time to practice swordsmanship, but I have learned some techniques. I've already mastered the Spring Sword of the [Cicada Fish Temple]. I'm currently learning two other sword styles and am waiting to ask Miss Ming for guidance.

"Written by Izayoi at the Shuken-in Academy."

He checked it carefully several times to make sure there were no mistakes, tied it securely to the small jade sword, stroked it for a moment with some reluctance, then raised his hand and released it, letting it disappear into the night sky.

(End of this chapter)