Embers of Sword

Chapter 118 Lotus Peak Master, accepting a disciple

Why did he lock himself up at Yuping Peak? Why did he abandon his natal flying sword?

Until the end, Jiang Miaoyin did not give an answer. She summoned the female disciple who had been guarding the mountain gate before and asked her to send Xie Zhen down the mountain.

On the mountain leaving Yuping Peak, the female disciple named "Ling Yu" took the initiative to comfort him.

"Mr. Xie, there is no need to be depressed."

Ling Yu said softly, "Master may appear cold but be kind-hearted. He's not expelling me this time out of dislike, but simply because he was exhausted from the previous sword duel with Young Master Ye."

In just a short time, Ling Yu's attitude had changed a lot.

After all, the misunderstanding about Dashui’s opening of the mountain is already known to everyone.

Because of their master, they have always disliked Prince Jiangning.

With the added impression of the incident at the mountain gate, the more I looked at this ordinary Xie Zhen, the more I liked him.

"After you go back, tell Master Jiang Shan that I was rude."

Xie Xuanyi knew the reason.

The reason for expelling the guest was naturally that I asked questions that I shouldn't have asked.

But Jiang Miaoyin's reaction in front of the sword washing pool... made Xie Xuanyi realize that there might be something unspeakable about this matter.

Jiang Miaoyin restrained herself.

"For the past ten years, Master Jiang has been in seclusion at Yuping Peak?"

The way down the mountain was long, so Xie Xuanyi deliberately slowed down his pace and asked about old events.

"Yes, Master sits in meditation all day long to sharpen his sword spirit."

"Sharpening the sword's heart?"

"Mr. Xie also saw it before. The flying sword in the sword-washing pool is the 'chronic disease'."

Ling Yu had a complicated expression, and said with emotion: "Disciples under Yuping Peak need to 'clean their swords' every day. The pain of 'cleaning the sword' penetrates the heart. Even those with a strong heart can hardly endure it for a cup of tea... And Master actually threw his life-saving flying sword directly into the ink pool for ten whole years. What use is this pain every moment if it is not to sharpen the sword heart?"

Xie Xuanyi fell silent.

He then asked, "Besides meditation, is there no other practice?"

"Master no longer practices swordplay."

Ling Yu sighed, "Master Yuping, you need to take charge of the 'Sword Qi Command' and guard Dasui Cave Heaven. For the past ten years, Master has been refining the command, saying that he will only guard Yuping in this life, and will not go out again, nor will he ask about worldly affairs."

Xie Xuanyi's voice was hoarse, "Because of Xie Xuanyi?"

"Hush, please keep quiet."

Ling Yu widened her beautiful eyes and quickly raised a finger, signaling Xie Xuanyi to stop talking nonsense.

"Perhaps it's because of Uncle Xuanyi..."

Ling Yu sighed and said, "Over the years, Master has lost a lot of weight. We all guess that the reason why he threw the 'chronic disease' into the sword-washing pond was because he was reminded of him by the sight of it."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopped.

"After Uncle Xuanyi died in battle, Master was depressed for a while."

"Later, Dasui closed the mountain, and all the maids sent by the Jiang family who had grown up with her were dismissed."

Ling Yu murmured, "Since that day, Master has gone into seclusion on Yuping Peak... This is all I know."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes silently and wrote down everything Ling Yu said.

He whispered, "Thank you, fairy."

"You are Welcome."

Ling Yu escorted Xie Xuanyi to the mountain gate and bowed respectfully: "I bow on behalf of all the brothers and sisters in Yuping Peak. I heard that the lotus in Xuanshui Cave is unparalleled in the world. I hope that Mr. Xie can achieve his wish."

The meaning of this sentence is self-evident.

The entire Da Chu Dynasty, all the four regions knew about it—

Xie Sheng stepped into the Sword Palace in a high-profile manner, intending to climb the Lotus Peak and reach the Xuanshui Cave Heaven.

Ling Yu's gift was very important.

"Thank you..."

Xie Xuanyi looked solemn and slowly returned the greeting: "Xie will do his best."

……

……

"You finally came out!"

Jiang Qihu waited for a long time in front of the mountain gate. When he saw Xie Zhen finally coming down the mountain, he quickly chased after him and said unhappily, "What did you tell me before? Just take a walk. How did you get to Yuping Peak? Mr. Xie, tell me the truth. Are you up to something bad?"

"Master Jiang, Yuping Peak is a forbidden area in Dasui."

Seeing Benhu's anxious look, Xie Xuanyi couldn't help but laugh and said, "If Lord Jiang didn't invite me, how could I go up there?"

This casual rhetorical question left Jiang Qihu speechless.

"you you you……"

Jiang Qihu glared angrily, "I've been so sincere to you, and this is how you treat me?"

What really made him angry was not that Xie Xuanyi climbed up Yuping Peak.

Instead.

After Xie Xuanyi went down the mountain, a reply came from Ruyiling.

Jiang Miaoyin told herself that she was tired today and would go hiking again another day!
Xie Zhen and Ye Qinglian could climb this mountain, but his own brother could not!

"Master Jiang, please be considerate of me for investigating the case."

Xie Xuanyi sighed.

He knew that even if this climb was a coincidence, it could not be explained.

In desperation, they had to move Chen Jingxuan out.

"You can assume that... I came to visit Master Jiang Shan this time because of Master's order." Xie Xuanyi looked at Jiang Qihu and said seriously, "Everything was arranged by Master."

This advice is indeed useful.

Jiang Qihu's anger suddenly dissipated.

"Everything is arranged by the master..."

He frowned slightly, looked directly at Xie Xuanyi, and asked, "Really?"

"Guaranteed genuine." Xie Xuanyi nodded seriously.

The two returned to the Zhenyin Peak mansion. Not long after, as night fell, the sound of sword energy breaking through the air was heard.

A large black-shirted figure, riding a flying sword, landed in front of the mansion.

Huang Su originally wanted to raise his hand to knock on the door.

But when the flying sword landed, a sound was heard in the mansion.

"Mountain Master, you are finally here."

The door slowly opened.

In the courtyard, petals rustled and candlelight flickered in front of the stone table.

Jiang Qihu opened the door and had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Master Jiang, thank you, Master."

Huang Su raised her eyebrows slightly: "Did you calculate that I would come tonight?"

"It's just a coincidence."

Xie Xuanyi stood up, bowed, and said with a smile: "It is also thanks to Lord Jiang's reminder that the mountain master does not like trouble. I guess he will come after everything at Zhenyin Peak is settled."

"Oh?"

Huang Su looked at Jiang Qihu.

She knew this person quite well... The information about herself was most likely provided by Jiang Qihu, but it was unlikely that the latter had come up with it.

"I am only somewhat interested in what happened during the day."

Huang Su smiled and said, "You are Xie Zhen?"

"……Yes."

Xie Xuanyi looked at the young woman in front of him. Perhaps because of the seclusion in the mountains, or perhaps because of her promotion to the Yin God Realm, her appearance remained unchanged, Huang Su had hardly changed in the past ten years.

Xie Xuanyi’s current publicly known age is seventeen.

If I remember correctly, Huang Su should be twenty-seven years old now, only ten years older than me.

Ten years have passed in a flash.

Jiang Miaoyin became much more haggard, but Huang Su...didn't change much.

"Interesting, interesting. At first glance, it doesn't seem to be outstanding, and upon closer inspection, it's still just average."

Huang Su circled around Xie Xuanyi and looked him up and down: "You were able to suppress the rebellion in Qingzhou and Beihailing... You are indeed quite capable."

Xie Xuanyi smiled helplessly.

Huang Su has indeed not changed over the years.

Even the style of doing things is the same as before——

If it were someone else, they would inevitably look down on themselves because of the difference in realm.

But Huang Su believed that he had some special skills to hide from her.

"Unfortunately……"

Huang Su stared at Xie Xuanyi, shook his head, and finally sighed.

"What's a pity?"

Jiang Qihu couldn't help but ask.

"It's a pity that the news about Dasui Sword Palace is now spreading like wildfire."

Huang Su said calmly, "It is said that Prince Jiang Ning was humiliated and insulted in public at the mountain gate today... I am afraid there will be a strong enemy in this Xuanshui Cave Heaven Sword Qi Contest. This strong enemy is not an outsider, but you, Xie Zhen."

Jiang Qihu sneered when he heard this.

He had long been dissatisfied with Prince Jiangning, and said unhappily: "So? What's so regrettable about this?"

"What a pity this is."

"Many people hope to see you two fight, and some even hope you can win."

Huang Su shook his head and said regretfully: "Mr. Xie's cave aura is weak, and it seems that he has just been promoted. Maybe he has two or three trump cards in his hand... But if he wants to fight against Xie Sheng, it is far from enough."

"you……"

Jiang Qihu stood up and said angrily, "The Sword Qi Ceremony has not yet begun, how can you boost the morale of others and destroy your own prestige?"

"Who is yours?"

Huang Su glanced at Ben Hu and said, "You are a member of the Jiang family, a member of the library, and the second seat of the Imperial City Department, but you are not a member of the Sword Palace. Even if we take a step back, wouldn't Senior Sister Miaoyin still refuse to let you in today?"

Jiang Qihu was speechless after being refuted, especially the last sentence, which almost made him collapse.

He sat back down, gritting his teeth.

"Today at Zhenyin Peak, I met the Prince Jiangning."

Huang Su said calmly: "Although I don't like it, I have to admit that this person does have some skills. His sword energy cave heaven has been fully developed, and his soul realm is also approaching perfection. In the early years, it was said that he was just a rising star, but now it seems that he has reached the stage of 'initiation'."

Speaking of which.

She said bluntly: "Xie Zhen, at your current level, you are no match for him."

"The mountain master is not meeting me today just to say these things, right?"

Xie Xuanyi smiled and didn't take it to heart: "Besides...if I remember correctly, I didn't seem to declare war on that prince directly when we were at the mountain gate."

In just one day, there were so many rumors and gossips, adding fuel to the fire.

It seems like everyone is looking forward to it.

He had a fight with Xie Sheng.

"I was the one who let the news out." Huang Su paused and said, "You and Xie Sheng will have a fight sooner or later."

"Oh?"

Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Huang Su frowned and asked, "Don't you want Xuanshui Dongtian?"

"Of course I want to."

Xie Xuanyi sighed helplessly, corrected himself slightly, and said: "The 'why' I want to ask is about the first half of the previous sentence. Why did you release this information?"

"The reason why I spread the news throughout the Sword Palace is because I want to see you fight."

Huang Su smiled and said, "To be precise, I want to see you win and him lose."

Xie Xuanyi looked at Huang Su in silence.

Huang Su said in high spirits: "I am here today to accept you as my disciple before the Sword Qi Ceremony begins, and then I will let you defeat Xie Sheng in the Xuanshui Dongtian Competition."

"..."

Waited for a long time.

The mansion was silent for a long time.

Huang Su did not wait for the expected reaction.

Jiang Qihu looked happy.

But Xie Zhen was looking at him calmly. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be some complexity in his eyes.

"Aren't you happy?" Huang Su was a little puzzled.

“Happy, but not that happy.”

Xie Xuanyi sighed: "Does the mountain master think that I should be very happy?"

"otherwise?"

There was a hint of anger in Huang Su's tone.

After all, I am still a little too young.

"I'm sorry, but I have to decline."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said calmly: "This matter of accepting a disciple doesn't seem to be appropriate."

"???"

Huang Su raised his sword-like eyebrows and flicked his sleeves lightly, and a strong wind swept through the entire mansion.

Rumble!
The next moment.

She sat opposite Xie Xuanyi.

Jiang Qihu stretched out his hand to stop him, but Huang Su pressed him down with one hand.

"You'd better give me an explanation."

Huang Su stared at Xie Zhen. She calmed down and spoke word by word.

This sharp voice caused the atmosphere in the entire courtyard to freeze.

Xie Xuanyi picked up the teacup nonchalantly and took a small sip.

"Please move, Lord Jiang."

He looked at Jiang Qihu and said calmly, "I have a few words to say to the mountain master."

Why is it me again...

Jiang Qihu's body trembled.

He hadn't encountered any good things since coming to Dasui Sword Palace. There was just a misunderstanding at the mountain gate.

I was just driven out from Yuping Peak.

Now I have to go back to my house and leave.

"…Then I'll leave?"

He looked at Xie Zhen tentatively, then at Huang Su. The two of them stared at each other and had no time to pay attention to him.

Jiang Qihu sighed deeply and left alone.

……

……

(PS: Brother Meng, please stop fishing for me. This is the first time I’ve been treated like a fish in all these years.)
(End of this chapter)