Not long after the straw-sandal boy left the room, the green-clothed young woman stomped her foot and was about to follow him. She was stopped by the middle-aged man who had shifted from "Master Ruan" to "Master Ruan" (implying a change in tone/authority). He said seriously: "Xiuxiu! If you get involved now, you will only make things worse and harm that Chen Ping'an. Then it will truly be a fall from which there is no return."
Ruan Xiu didn't turn around, but just turned her head sharply, her black ponytail swinging in a graceful arc through the air. Her gaze was sharp, and her tone was nearly reproachful: "Father, you didn't get involved in Liu Xianyang's matter either, and look how that turned out!"
The man hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping, finally holding back from revealing the secrets of heaven. He said in a deep voice: "Trust your father. Right now, the greatest help you can give that boy is to tell him as much as you can about the secrets and rules of this small cavern-heaven, and urge him to act within the established framework. Heaven's timing, geographical advantage, human harmony—it's better to have one more than one less."
Ruan Xiu seemed to half-understand, still hesitating. The man waved his hand, patiently instructing: "A single hair moved and the whole body follows. You are my, Ruan Qiong's, daughter. That boy in Mud Vase Lane, no matter how big a stone he throws into the pond, the splash he makes is limited and won't disturb the old turtles at the bottom. This means everything can still be negotiated. But you, Ruan Xiu, are different. Remember: in times of great crisis, maintain a calm heart. I told you to read more, to read more, but you never listen! Your temperament doesn't even compare to a boy from a poor alley. And you're a cultivator."
The man actually regretted that last sentence as soon as he said it. There was no help for it; when it came to his own daughter, the man always failed to hold back that final remark that would surely undermine his authority. Fortunately, this time the girl didn't feel aggrieved. She ran out of the room quickly, leaving behind a man with complicated feelings.
The man, whose real name was Ruan Qiong, pulled up a stool and sat down, taking the tall boy's wrist. The pulse was a tangled mess, extremely bad. The man, already in a poor mood, became even more grim-faced and grumbled: "Qi Jingchun is really something. Zhengyang Mountain acted so brazenly. Even if he couldn't expel them according to the rules, he should have at least given them a lesson, killing a chicken to scare the monkey. If he couldn't kill them, couldn't he have beaten them a few times? Otherwise, with more and more newcomers flooding into this small world, it will become a total mess! What, is he thinking that since he's stepping down in a few days, he might as well leave me a total disaster? What happened to the integrity of a scholar..."
The inept old physician sat to the side, eyes fixed on his nose, nose on his meditation, absolutely not daring to interrupt, for fear of bringing trouble upon himself. The old man only dared to constantly complain in his heart: So much for maintaining a calm heart in times of great crisis?
After finishing his grumbling, Ruan Qiong sighed: "The fact that you, Qi Jingchun, are so constrained is also unavoidable. You can treat what I said before as wind passing your ears, but don't miss this last part."
The old shopkeeper of the Yang family shop had actually been eavesdropping with pricked ears the whole time. Hearing this, he was immediately filled with admiration, thinking: As expected of the next sage to oversee the cavern-heaven. His face is thick enough to block a flying sword.
Ruan Qiong suddenly looked at the old man and asked: "I've only heard that a married-out daughter is like spilled water. But damn it, she hasn't even married yet, and she's already turning her elbows outward?"
The old man had been holding back for a long time and couldn't help but speak a few honest words, otherwise he wouldn't be able to live up to his iron-boned integrity. So he gathered his courage and said: "Master Ruan, is it my old eyes that are failing me? I just feel like that boy doesn't really like your Xiuxiu that much."
Ruan Qiong looked at the old man with a pitiful expression and said firmly: "No need to doubt it. Your eyes are definitely failing you!"
The old man looked at the man with an equally pitiful expression.
The two sat in silence.
Over at the well, Ruan Xiu caught up with Chen Ping'an. She didn't speak, as if she didn't know how to start.
Chen Ping'an smiled at her. He remembered the first time they met at Qingniu Bei, thinking she was a mute or just didn't speak the local dialect. Now he knew she just didn't like to talk.
She followed the straw-sandal boy's footsteps toward the gallery bridge. The green-clothed young woman finally gathered the courage to speak: "Chen Ping'an, my name is Ruan Xiu. My father is Ruan Qiong, a swordsmith. I've been helping my father forge swords since I was a child. This time, coming to your small town, my father said it was due to the sect's trust and because the local conditions were most suitable for setting up a sword furnace, so he came here to wade into the muddy waters. But I know in my heart that my father wanted to find an opportunity for me. My father is just a stickler for pride, just like your friend Liu Xianyang. My father actually really wants to take him as a disciple. You may not know this, but if my father chooses to establish a sect here in the future, the choice of the founding disciple is very important. So it's not that he doesn't want to save him. Please don't blame him..."
Chen Ping'an shook his head: "I don't blame your father."
At this point, the straw-sandal boy paused, raised his arm to wipe his chin, and said bitterly: "I know I shouldn't blame others, but in my heart, I am very angry. Angry that your father didn't take Liu Xianyang as a disciple sooner. Angry that when Liu Xianyang was in trouble, no one stopped it. Even though I know it's wrong, I'm still very angry."
Ruan Xiu nodded: "That's only human."
Chen Ping'an didn't want to waste any more time here and asked: "Miss Ruan, is there something you need?"
Ruan Xiu asked cautiously: "You're not going to seek revenge against Zhengyang Mountain, are you?"
Chen Ping'an didn't speak, neither denying nor admitting it.
The young woman was never good with words, so she just said whatever came to mind: "Don't be so reckless. Zhengyang Mountain is already a famous and powerful sect on our Baoping Continent. That old ape's status is practically equal to the ancestor of Zhengyang Mountain. Even if he can't use magic and divine powers in this place, dealing with you would be easy! Also, after he severely injured Liu Xianyang, Master Qi will definitely punish him. So at least you don't have to worry about this matter being treated as if nothing happened..."
Chen Ping'an interrupted her: "What you call 'punishment,' Miss Ruan, is that the murderer will be kicked out of the small town?"
Ruan Xiu was speechless.
Chen Ping'an smiled and even tried to comfort the young woman, his gaze sincere and clear as a flowing stream: "Miss Ruan, I appreciate your kindness. Of course I'm not foolish enough to rush up and fight that kind of immortal directly."
Ruan Xiu felt a sense of relief, instinctively patted her chest, perhaps realizing her gesture was childish and not very ladylike, not like a girl from a good family. The girl with the ponytail smiled somewhat shyly.
Chen Ping'an also smiled and said: "Last time I only gave you three fish. I was being too stingy."
Ruan Xiu blushed slightly and quickly asked with concern: "Your left hand?"
Chen Ping'an raised his bandaged left hand: "It's nothing. It's not a problem anymore."
Ruan Xiu organized her thoughts and said slowly: "Chen Ping'an, please don't be impulsive. Master Qi is in a difficult position right now, and when Master Qi hands things over to my father, it's very likely the small town will undergo earth-shaking changes. Whether for better or worse, it's hard to say. So it's better to stay still than to move."
Chen Ping'an nodded: "All right."
Ruan Xiu felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety.
In the end, it was because she herself was anxious. According to her nature, she should be rushing toward the mountain-moving ape from Zhengyang Mountain right now. Instead, she had to painstakingly persuade the boy not to take risks, which went against her heart. But the problem was, as she had said, the general trend was that it was better to stay still than to move. This was her intuition too.
If she, Ruan Xiu, went charging in to demand an explanation, even if it caused a sky-shattering disaster, her father would definitely not ignore it, and he would most likely be able to suppress it.
But this Chen Ping'an before her could only live or die on his own.
Chen Ping'an and Ruan Xiu parted ways, and he ran alone toward the gallery bridge.
Having just parted with one girl, he met another.
On the stone steps at the southern end of the gallery bridge sat a girl with a sword and a blade laid across her lap. Her expression was solemn.
She wore a dark green robe, her eyebrows long and narrow, her lips pressed tight. Beside her were two exquisitely woven gold-threaded bags.
Chen Ping'an ran quickly toward the gallery bridge. As soon as he reached the bottom of the steps, the girl, Ning Yao, tossed the two bags of coins to him and said coldly: "Returning them to you."
Chen Ping'an stood at the bottom of the steps, catching the two bags with both hands, momentarily at a loss for words.
Ning Yao kept a straight face: "I promised to ensure Liu Xianyang's safety, but I failed. It is I, Ning Yao, who has let you, Chen Ping'an, and Liu Xianyang down!"
The girl knew perfectly well that in this small town, a boy whose physical body was still ordinary, if struck in the chest by a blow from an immortal being that pulverized it, no one could save him. Besides, if Liu Xianyang had even a sliver of a chance, given Chen Ping'an's "too-good-for-his-own-good" personality, he would probably rather stay at the blacksmith's shop and have his head chopped off than leave even half a step away.
Chen Ping'an walked up the steps and crouched near her, returning the two bags of money to the girl. He said softly: "Miss Ning, keep the money. Plus the bag hidden at my home in Mud Vase Lane, take it all. I don't need it anymore. In the future, if you can, please help by spending money to hire people to look after the houses of my family and Liu Xianyang's."
The girl didn't take the money bags. She was so angry she almost laughed: "And should I also put up the spring couplets and door-gods for you every New Year's?"
Chen Ping'an's face was serious: "If you could, that would be best."
The girl was so angry she could have exploded, and she shouted: "Getting hit by a cow's tail in the face when you were a kid makes you so great?! It gives you the right to do stupid things? I'm furious! Anyway, Chen Ping'an, don't bother with this. Do you think your pathetic little kung fu can handle a mountain-moving ape from Zhengyang Mountain? Liu Xianyang's broken-down house—you can look after it yourself from now on. And go buy your own spring couplets and door-gods! I, Ning Yao, won't be your servant!"
Chen Ping'an looked at the girl: "Miss Ning, although I haven't known you for long, I can be sure of one thing: if you were confident you could avenge Liu Xianyang, you would never have given the two bags of money back to me. At the very least, not now."
Chen Ping'an placed the money on the step between them: "Miss Ning, what time is it now? Do you think I still have the mood to exchange pleasantries with you? You, me, and Liu Xianyang—we were just doing a business transaction. You didn't mean to cheat us. It's just that in such a catastrophe, no one could have predicted it. Why should you have to pay with your life? Believe me, not only would I, Chen Ping'an, not want to see that, that idiot Liu Xianyang would feel the same. If he could speak, he would only say: 'This is men's business, women should stay out of it'..."
The boy suddenly grinned: "Of course I wouldn't dare say that to you, Miss Ning."
Ning Yao placed both hands on the white-sheathed longsword, narrowed her eyes, and said: "I only said half of it before. The guilt is one half; the other is that since I left home and wandered the world, I, Ning Yao, have never once encountered an obstacle and simply gone around it!"
The girl gave a thumbs-up, pointing at her own chest: "That goes for here too!"
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment: "Miss Ning, before you act, can you let me find three people first? After that, we each do what we must!"
Ning Yao asked: "How long will it take?"
Chen Ping'an said without hesitation: "Half a day at most!"
Ning Yao asked again: "Besides Qi Jingchun, who are the other two?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head: "Miss Ning, please don't ask."
Ning Yao frowned: "The kiln-bureau superintendent's office can't handle this. Do you really think it's a small matter like petty theft or a street brawl?"
Chen Ping'an was about to stand up when Ning Yao said in a deep voice: "Take the money!"
Chen Ping'an had to put it away himself.
"Chen Ping'an! Wait, turn around."
After making Chen Ping'an turn around, Ning Yao suddenly bent down, lifted her robe, and took down an ancient, simple short blade bound to her calf. She stood up and handed it to the boy, her tone incredibly solemn: "This is the waist-blade unique to our homeland. Every girl has one. In times of urgency, we do as we must. I will not mind the local customs. But don't forget—this blade is lent to you, not given to you!"
Chen Ping'an was somewhat dazed, but he reached out a hand to take the blade.
The girl snapped: "Use both hands! Have some manners, won't you?!"
The boy quickly raised his other hand, though he was still confused.
Ning Yao said irritably: "You thought a few broken porcelain shards could kill that mountain-moving ape? Cai Jinjian was just a minor character on the path of cultivation, and that old beast from Zhengyang Mountain is naturally born with a strange physique, the toughest of skin and flesh. Forget porcelain shards—even ordinary immortal weapons wouldn't hurt the old beast in the slightest. At best, they'd leave a scratch or two. What's the use? Utterly useless!"
The boy, now holding the blade with both hands but unsure what to do with it, had a somewhat strange expression on his face.
Ning Yao glared: "You're about to take a blade and chop someone, and you're not allowed to let loose a few curse words?!"
Chen Ping'an was speechless. For some reason, the boy sat back down on the step and looked up at the southern sky.
The girl stood beside the boy.
Chen Ping'an made one last attempt at persuasion: "People will really die."
The girl crossed her arms, a sword on one side and a blade on the other, her expression cold: "I've seen more dead people than you've seen living ones."
Then she said in a deliberately casual tone: "That waist-blade, you can strap it to your arm and hide it in your sleeve later."
Chen Ping'an nodded: "All right."
Chen Ping'an slapped his knee hard, stood up, and suddenly said: "Meeting you all has been my privilege."
The girl turned abruptly and walked first across the gallery bridge.
The heroic and beautiful girl, the white-sheathed longsword, the pale-green-sheathed waist-blade.
Her silhouette at that moment.
Was the most beautiful sight the boy had ever seen in his life. Bar none.
At this moment, the boy felt that even if he could leave the small town, he would never see a scene more moving than this.
This life had not been in vain.
So, the boy, who had become a bit more afraid of death and cherishing life after Old Lu's words, once again felt no fear of death, just as he had before.
If I die, I die.