Bai Shaoliu returned to the inn. Anping Canal was right outside the inn, and the water was naturally flowing.
He took a bench and placed it by the side of the canal. He stared at the running water.
The inn owner, Zhou Ling whose charm from her younger days still existed was wondering what was wrong with him. He did not look half dead today, but he looked even duller.
Even though the sun was bright and it was extremely hot, he was paying full attention to the water.
The water in Anping Canal, while it did not flow particularly fast, it was clear. The water glittered under the sun. It was hard for one to keep his eyes open when looking at it. Bai Shaoliu’s eyes got drier, but he did not close his eyes. He continued staring.
He kept doing it until evening. The water was now dyed red by the sunset, which made it as pretty as flowers.
Zhou Ling could not stand it anymore. She went beside Bai Shaoliu and asked, “What is wrong with you?”
Bai Shaoliu did not move even an inch and he continued to stare at the water.
Zhou Ling could not stop herself but to give him a kick.
Bai Shaoliu then reacted in a delayed manner, and asked the inn owner, “Why do you think water flows?”
Zhou Ling was astounded by how stupid this question was, and answered, “If the water comes from a higher place, it is natural for it to flow downward. The water upstream is at a higher place than the downstream, and hence it is only natural for it to flow.”
Bai Shaoliu frowned a little, and said, “Is it that simple?”
The inn owner put her hands on her waist and glared at him, “Why are you thinking of such rubbish? You should be working.”
Bai Shaoliu had nothing to hide from the inn owner. He owed a lot to her, comparable to how much he owed to Shen Lian. He replied, “Mister Shen asked me to think about why water flows.”
When Zhou Ling heard this, she asked, “Which Mister Shen?”
“The one from the next street, from the ‘Walking Dead’ Clinic.”
“You mean the guy asked you to think about that? Well, then you should go and tell him about my answer just now.” The inn owner seemed like she was about to laugh.
Bai Shaoliu knew that the answer would not be so simple, but what she said seemed to have a power on him. Under such unknown forces, he followed her order.
The ‘Walking Dead’ Clinic.
Shen Lian sat next to Ruoxi, and looked at her writing practice.
The word ‘Yong’ as written by Ruoxi, from the shape of it, it looked nothing different from what Shen Lian had written. Even the style was similar. However, by looking at it carefully, there were some differences to be found.
The ‘Yong’ written by Shen Lian looked as if it was alive and moving. On the other hand, the ‘Yong’ written by Ruoxi lacked liveliness.
While Bai Shaoliu was staring at Ruoxi’s writing, he was thinking about what the inn owner said again.
Shen Lian patiently listened to Bai Shaoliu’s answer and then he replied slowly, “You said that water flows from upstream to downstream, and this is the reason why water flows. Why don’t you tell me why can’t water flow from the bottom to the top?”
Bai Shaoliu was stunned, he knew the answer was too simplistic, but in fact, he never thought about it.
Shen Lian used another question to dismiss Bai Shaoliu. He thought to himself, “It probably requires him to get hit by an apple on the head, then can he figure out the answer.”
He did not intend for Bai Shaoliu to figure out the reason water flowed from high to low. It was simply because he was too stubborn and inflexible. If he could get out of this bottleneck, then he would have come to a revelation.
Ruoxi then said to him, “I understand why you asked him the question, and how it is related to the Stream Sword technique.”
Shen Lian smiled and patted her head, “How do you know?”
Ruoxi replied, “Water flows, it is because it flows, then it’s called a stream. The stream will not stop, and similarly to the sword art. If you understand how it can flow like water, it will then become Stream Sword.”
The power of flowing water was tremendous. Even if a dam was built, water could only be held back for a short while. Ultimately it would break through the barrier. It then would not be a small stream, but a disaster which could destroy everything.
Shen Lian sighed, and said, “You’re just too brilliant.”
For a child to be able to figure this out, wherever she was, it was extremely rare. Shen Lian, however, did not know whether it was a good or a bad thing.
When he was at her age, he probably enjoyed playing with mud more.
Ruoxi’s intelligence was partly contributed by his teaching, but it was also because she had the talent.
Shen Lian thought about the phrase, “Spoil things by undue haste”, he wondered what would become of this.
Ruoxi could not understand the meaning behind the sigh, but she supposed she had annoyed him.
Bai Shaoliu returned to Fuman Inn, which was the name of the inn owned by Zhou Ling.
The inn owner wanted to know what Shen Lian’s reply was. He was surprised to see why the inn owner was suddenly interested in this, as she was usually only interested in money.
Was it because she liked Shen Lian? While Shen Lian looked really young, it was probable that he was already nearing 50. He heard that if one’s martial art reached a certain level, one could reverse aging.
Although the inn owner was still beautiful, women aged easily, and Shen Lian was not a common man.
The inn owner pinched her sexy red lips into a line. Some doubts flashed through her eyes, and she came to a revelation. She glanced at Bai Shaoliu and said, “If he asked you to think, you should just go ahead. If you can’t figure out an answer after all, then you should go to him again.”
Bai Shaoliu acknowledged that, and subsequently he heard, “Remember to do the dishes. I am going to take a bath and sleep. I hate this goddamn weather.”
After he heard that, he felt a flush on his face and he suddenly thought of one thing – he had never seen her sweat. Even though this place was situated close to the waters and hence not particularly hot, it would still be easy for someone normal to just sweat.
From this, he figured that the inn owner was not someone normal.
Everyone had their secrets. The inn owner never asked him about his, and hence he would respect her and do the same. Furthermore, he should have thought about that, why would a normal woman save someone who was covered in blood? Even if one was kind, she would not have the guts to do so.
The inn owner liked to take a bath. She thought that by dipping herself in clean hot water was the best enjoyment in life.
She also liked this phrase, “Human can dirty the water, but water can’t do the same to a human. As it goes, there is no dust left.”
When she thought of this phrase, she suddenly heard it. It did not come from her, but from another person.
There was someone in the room. It was a beautiful phrase coming out from her mouth.
She was Zhao Xiaoyu, Zhao Xiaoyu who was unsullied by the dust.
Zhao Xiaoyu was still dressed in white robes, or one could say she was wearing a pure white veil. She appeared all in a sudden, if accompanied by celestial music, one would not doubt that a fairy had arrived.
The inn owner had a complicated look in her eyes when she saw her. She then said, “I can’t imagine that you will still be looking for me at this day and age.”