Longevity Candle

Chapter 36 His name is—Candle
Two months later, Yao Yao returned to Zhenbei City.

She was spotless, as if the previous killings had nothing to do with her.

All the soldiers looked at her with fear, knowing full well how many atrocities this woman had committed on the grasslands.

Lieutenant Cao opened the door to greet her: "Miss Yaoyao, have you found your father?"

"We haven't found it." Yao Yao shook her head.

The group of soldiers returned to Qian Kingdom, but not to Zhenbei City. There must be another reason for that, but she didn't say it.

"We've traveled a long way, and a banquet has been prepared in the city to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey," said Lieutenant Cao.

"I have food and drink." Yao Yao said, holding the bread and water bag she had stolen from the grassland.

She always remembered her mother's words: never eat food from strangers.

What's yours is the safest.

Lieutenant Cao's expression stiffened slightly, but he didn't dare to insist: "Then let's go into the city to rest. We've prepared a fine room for you."

"No need," Yao Yao refused again, but followed him into the city: "I want to inquire about someone."

"You said that if I knew, I would never hide it," Lieutenant Cao said quickly.

“Her name is Ayan, and she was once a legendary swordswoman,” Yaoyao said.

Lieutenant Cao pondered for a moment and said, "We've only heard some legends about Ayan. If we want to know more, we'll have to ask the General."

"You speak first."

"Ayan became famous during the Chengwu era. Her martial arts skills were even higher, and her swordsmanship was like that of a celestial being. She charged in and out of the midst of a vast army seven times..."

Lieutenant Cao recounted everything he knew, which he had obtained from those江湖人 (jianghu people, people from the martial arts world).

He charged in and out of the enemy ranks seven times, his sword pressing down on the imperial generals.

She fell into deep thought; it seemed that Ayan's martial arts skills weren't very high.

At least, it wasn't as high as she had imagined.

Moreover, her record is even more terrifying than Ayan's.

"I heard she doesn't age?" Yao Yao asked.

"I don't know about that. You'll have to ask the General. I heard that his ancestors found Ayan's relatives," said Lieutenant Cao.

"Does Ayan still have any relatives alive?" Yaoyao asked. "Where is the General?"

"We are hosting a banquet at the General's residence and were planning to invite you," said Lieutenant Cao.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Yao's figure turned into a phantom and disappeared into the street.

"They're really making a lot of noise." Lieutenant Cao quickly followed after them.

Inside the general's mansion, servants were preparing a banquet, consisting mainly of cattle and sheep.

A squad of soldiers stood guard outside the gate.

Yao Yao's sudden appearance startled them, and someone exclaimed, "The Peach Blossom Sword Demon?"

"I want to see your general." Yao Yao ignored their form of address, which sounded quite decent.

"Please come in. The general has instructed that you should go directly to the backyard to find him once you arrive," the guards said hurriedly.

Yao Yao entered the general's mansion and, led by a servant, arrived at the backyard.

An elderly man with gray hair, exuding a chilling aura, and with eyes as sharp as a hawk, sat in the pavilion in the backyard. He was none other than General Yang Pingzhang, the General Who Guards the North.

He stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Miss Yaoyao, please take a seat."

Yao Yao sat down opposite him and said directly, "I want to know about A Yan."

"I'm not surprised you're asking about her," Yang Pingzhang said. "What do you want to ask her about?"

"Her beauty remains unchanged, and so does her swordsmanship," Yao Yao said.

"I can give you swordsmanship, but I advise you not to pursue the matter of eternal youth."

Yang Pingzhang said with a complicated expression, "It must have been very difficult to cultivate martial arts to your level. There's no need to be fixated on such unrealistic things." "But I heard that she doesn't age," Yao Yao said.

Yang Pingzhang was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know what happened to her in the end. The secret scroll records that she did indeed return to her teenage years, but after that, she disappeared and no one has seen her since."

"How does she not age?" Yao Yao asked.

"The secret scroll records that the sword immortal Ayan swung his sword at a deity in the mountains, and that deity was a giant centipede," Yang Pingzhang said. "I've always thought it was fake, sigh."

He never believed it until that year, when he entered the northern grasslands with the army and found the so-called grassland spirit.

"A giant centipede?" Yao Yao nodded slightly, then asked, "What about her swordsmanship?"

Yang Pingzhang took out a booklet from his bosom: "This was copied from the hands of Sword Immortal Ayan's younger brother. We did not make things difficult for her relatives, nor would we dare to."

Yao Yao took the booklet, flipped through it, and was struck dumb.

Peach Blossom Sword Technique!

The Peach Blossom Sword Technique that I practiced was actually the Seven Star Sword Technique of the Sword Immortal Ayan.
Why does my older brother Jiang Zhu possess this sword technique?

She quickly finished reading it and breathed a slight sigh of relief. The sword manuals were different; hers was more complete, and it didn't contain the Seven Star Sword Formation.

Seeing her expression, Yang Pingzhang's eyes flashed with a strange light: "Miss Yaoyao, have you perhaps seen this sword technique before?"

"I've never seen it before, but I was astonished by the profound and mysterious sword techniques of the Sword Immortal." Yao Yao put down her sword technique: "Where are her relatives and descendants now?"

"They used to live in Yigu City, but they moved away later, and nobody knows where they went," Yang Pingzhang shook his head.

"Is there any other news?" Yao Yao asked.

Yang Pingzhang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Ayan left behind a booklet, and at the end there is a sentence that tells her story to Qingdeng."

"The Green Lamp?" Yao Yao's heart tightened as she thought of the Green Lamp she had hidden deep inside her sword box.

"The secret scroll records that they believed Ayan had hidden her martial arts skills in the green lamps, but they destroyed all the green lamps in Ayan's courtyard and still couldn't find them."

Until the Qingjiang River floods years ago, a spirit with a green lamp appeared, and we suspected that the green lamp referred to this spirit.

Yang Pingzhang said.

"Spirits? How are they different from elves?" Yao Yao asked.

“The spirits are evil, ugly in appearance, bewitching people and enjoying harming them.” Yang Pingzhang denounced: “That Green Lamp spirit is truly hateful. He wanted to devour the Qingjiang spirit, which resulted in the Qingjiang spirit’s counterattack, causing a flood and killing countless people.”

"Where is that green lamp spirit?" Yao Yao couldn't help but clutch the hem of her clothes.

Is my own lamp the same as Ayan's lamp?
If so, then Jiang Zhu made him hold the green lamp back then to light his way forward and drive away the wolves.

What is his relationship with Qingdeng?
Yang Pingzhang was both angry and grief-stricken; "The spirit of the green lamp died in the battle of Qingjiang. He underestimated the power of the Qingjiang spirit and was killed by it. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't have been the flood back then."

Yao Yao frowned; this was different from what Xue had said.

According to Xuekou, the emperor of Qian Kingdom sought immortality and harmed the spirits of Qingjiang, thus angering the heavens.

"Does the elf have a name?" Yao Yao asked.

“The spirit of the Qingjiang River is nameless; it is a green snake. The spirit of the green lamp seems to be called Zhu,” Yang Pingzhang said.

“Candle?” Yao Yao murmured. Jiang Zhu!

At that moment, she understood: it was Qingdeng who had awakened, saved her when she was young, and passed on the Seven Star Sword Technique to her.

Jiang Zhu isn't ugly either. If he were trying to harm others, why would he save himself?

Moreover, the merits she possessed were given to her by Jiang Zhu. Only by doing good deeds and protecting all living beings can one receive blessings from heaven and earth.

If one does evil, how can one bestow merit?
She didn't show it, but stood up and said, "Thank you, General. I plan to go to Yigu City to take a look."

"The banquet is ready. After you have eaten, rest for a day, then prepare some fine horses, and I will escort you out of the city."

"No need, I have food and drink."

Watching Yao Yao leave, Yang Pingzhang sighed slightly, somewhat disappointed that he couldn't keep her in Zhenbei City to serve the country.

If there were such a sword immortal, what would the North have to fear?

(End of this chapter)