Chapter 241: Chapter 160: Distortion and Black Hole
As Zheng Xiu came to this realization, he watched Chu Chengfeng—so filled with righteous indignation he looked ready to grab a spear and charge the enemy lines just to prove his innocence—and felt a sense of calm wash over him.
He was suddenly in no rush at all.
Zheng Xiu was like a bystander.
A Traveler who, in the guise of Gongsun Mo, stood in the seams of history.
Whatever Chu Chengfeng was plotting concerned Gongsun Mo; it didn’t have much to do with him, Tycoon Zheng.
With that thought, Zheng Xiu put on a cheerful front and quickly went back to buddying up with Chu Chengfeng.
However, compared to before, Zheng Xiu was now a little more wary.
To avoid any misunderstanding, after three rounds of drinks, Chu Chengfeng began to explain his relationship with Wen Xiaoniu.
Her current name is Wen Shishan. She was born Wen Shishan.
When Chu Chengfeng was young, he ventured into the Jianghu, sword in hand. Relying on his family’s Swordsmanship, he set out to make a name for himself. And while he never became famous, he was just like the protagonist of some Martial Hero novel—he had powerful backing, a wealthy family, a constant stream of lucky encounters, and a beautiful woman by his side.
"Waiter, another jug!"
Zheng Xiu raised his hand: "More tea."
After chugging the whole jug, Chu Chengfeng’s eyes were bloodshot. It still wasn’t enough for him, so he ordered another pot.
As the yellow wine warmed, its aroma wafting out, Chu Chengfeng continued in a calm voice:
"I was seventeen that year. And my looks? Needless to say, I was cultured, refined, as handsome as jade. Hey, don’t you laugh! If I shaved off this beard, I guarantee I’d be several times more handsome than you. Back then, it was fashionable to use an alias in the Jianghu, especially for our elite generation."
"That day, I called myself ’Heroic Lone Plum,’ and she called herself ’Pear Blossom and Begonia.’"
"I had been entrusted by an old man to escort his precious daughter to her distant wedding. I did a little asking around at the time. The couple was a good match, and it was a proper, formal marriage. The old man just said the roads were crawling with bandits and he feared for her safety. I didn’t think much of it."
"How was I to know the whole story? Turns out, the young lady’s heart already belonged to another man. She had secretly pledged her life to him, and they had a plan. On her way to the wedding, they would stage a fake kidnapping, allowing her to disappear. Then she could change her identity, find some secluded place with her lover, and live in obscurity."
"The guy was some poor kid, strong as an ox. He tried to take her by force, but his skills were no match for mine. Afterward, the girl knelt before me, crying her eyes out, begging me to let them go, to let the two star-crossed lovers be together."
Zheng Xiu asked, "And you agreed?"
I gave a bitter laugh. "Of course... I didn’t. Back then, I was proud and arrogant. I thought if I let this marriage fall through, it would ruin my reputation, so I just wanted to chase that kid off and have the girl marry into the wealthy, well-matched family as planned. I never expected that girl to be so resourceful—to ensure she could elope, she used a huge sum of money to hire another rising star of the Jianghu."
Zheng Xiu asked, "Wen Shishan? No, Pear Blossom and Begonia?"
Chu Chengfeng nodded. "Yes, it was Wen Shishan. But I didn’t know her real identity back then. We fought for three hundred rounds, completely evenly matched. In the end, during our struggle, we both lost our footing and tumbled off a cliff. A few old vines caught us, and we barely survived."
"So Wen Shishan was that skilled?"
Chu Chengfeng drank a few more cups, his eyes growing hazy, and told the rest of the story.
It turned out Wen Shishan’s strength wasn’t just her own skill, but her lineage. To explain, you have to go back to the very beginning of Meihua Manor and Pear Blossom Manor. Legend says the founders of the two manors were once husband and wife, both disciples of the same master. But the couple had a bitter falling out over some domestic dispute. The same two who once shared a bed became mortal enemies.
The two of them split the Sword Manual they had inherited from their master in two, each taking one half. They then used their respective halves of the Sword Manual to found Meihua Manor and Pear Blossom Manor.
The two sword styles came from the same source and were meant to be complementary—a part of one was in the other, and vice versa—making it impossible for one to truly defeat the other. And yet, because of these half-complete Sword Manuals, Meihua Manor and Pear Blossom Manor have feuded for centuries, long forgetting that their shared Source was, in fact, a passionate and tragic love story.
Getting back to Chu Chengfeng and Wen Shishan falling off the cliff... Down at the bottom, there was no light of day. They thought they’d never get out, and... well, what you’d expect to happen, happened.
They spent half a year at the bottom of that cliff. Then one day, there was a torrential downpour and a mudslide. The very same vines that had caught them were washed down by the storm. The vines were strong enough to hold both their weights, so they used them to climb to the middle of the cliff. From a narrow ledge there, they helped each other up and finally escaped. When they returned to the Jianghu, it felt like they’d been reborn. Chu Chengfeng decided to take Wen Shishan back to Meihua Manor to marry her with the blessing of his elders.
At the time, Chu Chengfeng and Wen Shishan were still young and hadn’t yet inherited their families’ grudges. But when they arrived at Meihua Manor and met Father Chu, the two lovebirds were struck dumb. Neither of them could have ever imagined such a coincidence: they were from rival, feuding families. From Meihua Manor’s perspective, this was not a huge problem. If Wen Shishan were to marry into their family, her half of the Sword Manual would naturally come with her as a dowry. In that case, the broken Sword Manual would be made whole again, fulfilling Meihua Manor’s centuries-old wish.
Unfortunately, Father Wen had no sons, only his one daughter. He proposed a condition: they could be together, but Chu Chengfeng had to marry into Pear Blossom Manor and promise to never pass the Pear Blossom Sword Manual back to the Chu Family.
In the Jianghu, matters of family prestige and lineage are not easily broken. In the end, the negotiations failed. Father Chu threatened to disown him, forcing Chu Chengfeng to break things off with Wen Shishan.
Later, Chu Chengfeng sat in the pouring rain all night. After long and painful deliberation, he decided to sever their ties of love. To make Wen Shishan give up on him completely, he said something cruel in anger when they parted: "The truth is, I’m actually into men!"
The moment he said it, all the color drained from Wen Shishan’s face. She felt like she’d been struck by lightning, absolutely thunderstruck. She stumbled home in a daze.
’So melodramatic.’
’Just the dramatic tale of Chu Chengfeng and Wen Shishan’s love and hate,’ he felt, ’would be enough for Ximen the Great Scholar to write a controversial bestseller.’
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