Chapter 206 (4): The Moon Is Round, The Moon Is Crescent
Inside some tall building on some other mountain in the Palace of Eternal Spring, there was a lowly young girl who had previously been a boat hostess in Red Candle Town. Right now, she was listening to her master describe the brutal and tragic battle that had just taken place in the capital of the Great Li Empire.
The young girl held her cheeks with her elbows resting on the table, and she was extremely attentive as she listened to her master speak. There was a porcelain vase on the table, and inside it were two or three branches of peach flowers that the young girl had just snipped from the tree.
In the end, however, the young girl suddenly recalled the scholar in azure that she had encountered in her hometown for some reason. His appearance had been neat and tidy, and he had seemed like a spring leaf drifting across the soiled waterways of Red Candle Town where song, wine, and affairs would pervade every night.
However, she also recalled the man in white who had brushed past her on that small mountain path in Go Table Mountain. She only remembered his feeling of deep sadness as he had walked past her.
The young girl became absent-minded, and the grand elder of the Palace of Eternal Spring lightly tapped her forehead to grab her attention. The woman who was skilled at maintaining her beauty smiled faintly and asked, "Thinking of home?"
The young girl felt slightly guilty, and her face flushed red.
Facing each other, the rose cheeks and the peach flowers both glowed a soft red[1].
————
In the vast sea that lay between Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and Complete Reed Continent, there was a large fish slicing through the water and traveling north.
Initially the most unremarkable family of three in the alley in their town, these people were now traveling across the sea on a large fish that was carrying numerous immortals from the mountains. Even though they were living in the most basic of the low-grade rooms, they still appeared relatively out of place compared to the others.
Not only that, but two of them were mother and daughter, with the mother being a voluptuous and beautiful woman and the daughter being a shapely young girl with lively eyes. Even if their statuses weren't high enough to qualify them as legitimate wives or immortal partners, they were still more than beautiful enough to become maidservants in ordinary sects.
Thus, even though the family of three almost never left their room to enjoy the sea view from the back of the fish that was as large as a small town, there were still some vagrant cultivators and itinerant cultivators who coveted the beauty of the mother and daughter. The journey across the sea would be a long one, so why not find something fun and interesting to do?
Fortunately, there were many people on this transcontinental fish that was also carrying a large amount of cargo, and there were also a ninth tier immortal and a seventh tier martial artist overseeing the situation. Thus, the young Qi refiners with ill intentions didn't dare to act too wantonly.
In the beginning, some people had attempted to entice them with money. After all, the family of three didn't look like they had a powerful background, so even if they were the relatives of some immortal, this would most likely be an immortal from some weak and insignificant force. Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen the cheapest type of room to stay in.
As such, some people pretended to be visitors as they went over to knock on their door. After entering and sitting down to drink tea, they subtly hinted at their intentions. The woman was scared deathly pale, and it was instead her daughter who chuckled coldly and told the cultivators to wait for her father to return.
Meanwhile, there were several other cultivators with the same intention standing in the corridor outside their room. Among them, there was also an experienced Qi refiner at the Middle Five Tiers. Not only that, but he was even a sword cultivator with a sword by his waist! He naturally didn't need to stoop down to the low levels of the people inside the room to deal with these matters by himself. After all, that would be far beneath his status. However, he would naturally be the first person to sample those two wild delicacies. In terms of what happened afterward, that would be up to his mood. Perhaps he would reward the two women to his lackeys and helpers.
When the simple and honest middle-aged man returned with some food that he had purchased, he wasn't terrified upon hearing the news nor did he slam the table and flare up in rage. Instead, he put their extremely cheap and simple lunch on the table and said that he would go outside to chat with the cultivators.
His wife was on the verge of tears, and his daughter held her mother's hand and said that everything would be alright. After all, her father was here to look after them.
However, the woman immediately burst into tears upon hearing this, and she said something that caused her daughter to also feel sad. "I'm afraid of your father getting beaten up by those people..."
The middle-aged man stepped over the door threshold and gently closed the door. He then grabbed the neck of a person as if he were grabbing a little chick, and holding this person in the air, he slowly walked toward the group of Qi refiners from Complete Reed Continent. The faces of these people were slightly pale, and the leading sixth tier sword cultivator was just about to say something to threaten the middle-aged man.
However, he immediately felt a burning sensation in his throat, and it was as if someone had stuck a lump of burning coal down his mouth. His face became bright red, and he groaned in pain as he grabbed his neck with both hands. He couldn't say a single word.
The middle-aged man casually tossed the half-dead Qi refiner in his hand aside, and he asked the sword cultivator, "What's the name of your old ancestor? What sect do you belong to?"
The sword cultivator chuckled coldly and replied, "We didn't do anything wrong, so according to the rules of this ship, you'll be tossed into the sea if you dare to provoke and attack us."
The middle-aged man didn't have time for this nonsense. He shattered the bridge of immortality of the sword cultivator with a single punch, and he forcefully extracted his bonded flying sword — which the swordsman wasn't given the opportunity to summon — out of his acupoint. He gently clenched it in his hand, causing it to instantly explode into pieces.
The sword cultivator collapsed to the ground with blood streaming from all of the orifices on his face.
The remaining cultivators all fell to their knees and begged for forgiveness.
However, the middle-aged man had already used a martial arts mystical ability to block all of this commotion off from that lowest-grade room.
"Tell me the name and background of this sword cultivator," the middle-aged man ordered calmly. "While you're at it, each of you can also tell me your name and sect. Once you all take a punch, I'll naturally look for your old ancestors to cause trouble."
One of the cultivators was quick-thinking, and they purposely told the middle-aged man a fake name and fake sect. However, the middle-aged man's martial arts cultivation was seemingly godly, and he was able to easily observe the fluctuations taking place in the minds of these Qi refiners.
The middle-aged man immediately obliterated the Dao foundation and bridge of immortality of that Qi refiner with a single punch. He huffed and said, "I'm able to kill you people with a single punch, yet I'm actually willing to stand here and peacefully speak with you. So, you people should listen carefully and answer my questions honestly."
The remaining cultivators all wore bitter expressions, and it was as if they had just lost their parents.
The ninth tier cultivator and seventh tier martial artist responsible for overseeing this ship hurriedly rushed over.
The cultivator was an elder with a dignified aura. He was a ninth tier Qi refiner, at the Golden Core Tier. According to the common saying in the mountains, "Those who form a golden core will become one of us." Indeed, those who could reach the Golden Core Tier were all supreme prodigies who had successfully broken through the watershed eighth tier, the Dragon Gate Tier.
Thus, advancing to the Golden Core Tier was also referred to as jumping the dragon's gate, where one would metaphorically bring life to the dragon and go from common to mystical. After reaching the Golden Core Tier, one's sea of Qi would condense and shrink into a golden core that would spin and travel around to all of the different acupoints.
However, the exact state of this would differ among cultivators. Some prodigious cultivators would exude magnificent auras when they formed their golden core, and some of them would even trigger peculiar phenomena of heaven and earth.
There could be huge variations in size regarding the core abodes of Qi refiners at the Golden Core Tier, and there would also be significant differences in quality. However, there were also unique cases where one's core abode might be big and empty, or it might be small but excellent. Heavenly intent was difficult to predict, and this was a prime example.
Meanwhile, the seventh tier pure martial artist was a burly old man eight feet tall. There was a large saber hanging by his waist.
The elderly Qi refiner at the Golden Core Tier flared up in rage upon seeing the chaotic situation in the corridor, and he was just about to use the rules of the ship to punish the perpetrator.
However, the seventh tier martial artist quietly warned him, "Elder Hong, this person is at least an eighth tier martial artist."
The burly old man made sure to emphasize this, and he repeated, "At least!"
The elderly Qi refiner quickly analyzed the distance between himself and the middle-aged man. There was definitely less than 30 meters between them, and this made him feel a little troubled.
He wouldn't have any advantage if he fought with a pure martial artist who was at least at the eighth tier at such close quarters.
Fortunately, the middle-aged man wasn't aggressive or overbearing. Instead, he calmly explained the situation.
Afterward, a foolish Qi refiner felt like reason was on their side, so he shouted in grief and indignation, "Old Immortal Hong, the sword cultivator over there is Tang Xiufeng from Green Shoot Tip, and even his bonded flying sword was forcefully pulled out and shattered by that madman! This is a life-and-death feud! Green Shoot Tip definitely won't forgive him!"
Before hearing this, the elderly Qi refiner at the Golden Core Tier had still been hesitant about what to do. After hearing the Qi refiner's aggrieved shout, however, he immediately examined the pitiful aura of the sword cultivator on the floor. He gulped in silence and finally reached a conclusion.
Not only was that vicious middle-aged man a martial arts grandmaster at the eighth tier, the Far Roaming Tier, but he was at least at the great accomplishment level of the eighth tier. It was extremely likely that he was already at the doorstep of the ninth tier, the Mountain Summit Tier. Otherwise, he couldn't have shattered a sixth tier sword cultivator's bonded flying sword so easily.
Elder Hong cupped his fists and said, "Rest assured, we'll definitely resolve this situation in an impartial manner. We'll definitely return justice to Senior."
The middle-aged man nodded in acknowledgment. After thinking for a moment, he turned to the stunned Qi refiner and said, "I still owe you a punch, so I'll give it to your old ancestor when I go and look for them in the future."
He then turned to the elderly Qi refiner and pure martial artist and warned with a frown, "Don't try to kill these people to silence them. I have my own plans regarding this matter."
"We naturally wouldn't do that," the elderly Qi refiner replied with a helpless smile.
The middle-aged man didn't say anything else, and he turned around and walked back to his room. He knocked on the door that his daughter had purposely locked in order to comfort her mother, and he said, "Liu'er, it's Dad."
The young girl walked over with light footsteps and opened the door. After the middle-aged man entered and closed the door, his wife hurriedly walked over with tear stains still on her face. "Li Er, are you alright? They didn't harass you, did they? Did they hit you anywhere? Do you need some medicine or ointment?"
Li Er scratched his head and replied with an innocent smile, "No, I'm okay. The person responsible for overseeing the ship coincidentally walked passed, and I hurriedly ran over and told him about the situation. Heh, guess what happened? He was very reasonable, and he shooed those people away and warned them not to approach the three of us in the future. So, everything is okay now. Sure enough, there are still more good people than bad people in the world."
His daughter, Li Liu, forcefully suppressed her smile.
Her father hadn't wasted his time during this trip, and he had even learned how to lie with a straight face.
Li Er's wife finally felt slightly more at ease after hearing this, and she vigorously patted her voluptuous chest and said, "Thank heavens."
Li Er simply smiled as he quietly gazed at his wife.
However, his wife misunderstood this, and she viciously pinched his muscular waist. "Our daughter is still here! Control your lecherous eyes!" she grumbled in a low voice.
The middle-aged man huffed, but he simply scratched his head in response.
Night fell, and the bright moon rose above the sea.
The young girl, Li Liu, stood behind the railing of the ship and gazed at the full moon in the sky.
Old Man Yang had once said that she was talented, while Li Huai was blessed with great fortune.
What was her talent?
That was, Li Liu was born with intuitive knowledge.
While she was at Mountain Cliff Academy, she had made a provocative gesture toward the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire. This hadn't been a naive and ignorant act, and it had instead been a calculated act because Li Liu was keenly aware of the situation.
Next door to the young girl's bedroom...
Li Er's wife was a relatively simple-minded person, and she immediately returned to normal after the matter was resolved. She no longer felt scared or aggrieved. She ate and slept as usual, and she was already fast asleep at this moment.
Li Er was lying on the bed beside her, and he gently grabbed her hand as he listened to her thunderous snores.
The middle-aged man slowly closed his eyes. He never spoke any romantic words, nor could he bring himself to utter such words. Fortunately, his wife didn't like hearing such words either.
His wife was good, his son was good, and his daughter was also good. However, he was only so-so.
Li Er closed his eyes and quietly chuckled to himself.
1. Extract from a poem by Cui Hu, a poet from the Tang Dynasty. ☜
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