This new visitor was the son of Nie Beihu, Nie Teng.
Su Yi had encountered this valiant youth once before, at the Immortal Gathering House.
Although he still had a few youthful vices, he was hotblooded and understood gratitude.
That part of him, at least, had already won Su Yi’s approval.
“Brother Su, my father told me to deliver you this invitation.” As Nie Teng entered the courtyard, he greeted him solemnly, then proffered the gold-embossed card with both hands. “City Lord Fu Shan prepared this just for you. He hopes that you can join us at the next Dragon’s Gate Banquet as a VIP guest.”
Despite himself, Su Yi was surprised. He mulled it over, then accepted the card. “I’ll accept this for now. As for whether I choose to attend, it’ll come down to whether or not I have time to spare.”
Nie Teng exhaled, then said, “Brother Su, there’s one other thing. Last night, the city lord’s estate joined forces with the Wen Family to search for clues regarding Ghoul Worms. We’ve already located two ‘worm farms’. Both have since been destroyed.”
He paused, then continued, “We should be able to search all suspicious locations within the city within three days. Father told me to tell you that there’s no need for you to concern yourself too much with this, and that if there are any developments, he’ll have me inform you.”
Su Yi examined the courteous, restrained youth before him in mild surprise. Suddenly, he laughed. “Your father has really thought this through. Alright, that’s everything. Hurry back and report to your father.”
But Nie Teng hesitated, as if struggling to put something into words.
Finally, he steeled himself and said in a low voice, “Brother Su, my father also told me to follow you and learn from you. We hope that you… We hope that you won’t carry a grudge over my rudeness when we first met at the Immortal Gathering House.”
As he reached the end, he sounded sheepish and awkward.
“There’s nothing like a parent’s concern for his child,” lamented Su Yi.
But when he recalled his father in his current lifetime, Su Hongli, he felt nothing but unforgettable hatred and indignation.
This obsession runs too deep; it’s already planted roots in my heart. I’ll have to resolve this sooner or later, or my lingering regrets will make my heart unstable.?Su Yi shook his head, cast his scattered thoughts aside, and asked offhandedly, “And how do you feel about your father’s arrangements?”
Nie Beihu?really had helped?him with quite?a lot. Although Nie Beihu had taken all of it upon himself, Su Yi couldn’t refuse his good intentions.
Furthermore, without Nei Beihu’s assistance last night, he couldn’t possibly have smoothed Wen Jieyuan’s death over so easily.
As such, Su Yi was actually willing to at least consider whether or not Nie Teng was worthy of looking after.
“I….” Nie Teng fell silent, suddenly inwardly conflicted.
After a while, he grit his teeth and said, “I don’t want to follow my father’s arrangements. I’m still young, and I don’t want to borrow another’s power to cultivate. Even if the obstacles in my path leave me broken and bruised, I want to venture forth on my own!”
His words were forceful and decisive.
Finally, he took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with longing and determination. “Even if my hard work amounts to nothing, so long as I follow my heart, I’ll have no regrets.”
Su Yi’s eyes glinted with a hint of admiration.
Youths ought to have such lofty ambitions!
The older generation might turn up their noses at such things, but they’d long since lost their youthful, hotblooded vigor and wholehearted determination.
“Both the hero and beauty are still young. Of the countless valiant figures of history, who wasn’t once an outstanding youth?” Su Yi sighed, and his thoughts were elsewhere.
When he saw Nie Teng’s spirited youthfulness, he recalled his own youth in his past life. He was open and upright, clad in blue, sword in hand as he traversed all corners of the world on horseback. Stopping by a leaning bridge, buildings full of red-sleeved beauties beckoned to him. He’d drunk his fill of the world’s pleasures!
Nie Teng was stunned, and a little confused.
Su Yi is obviously the same age as me, give or take. Why does he sound so much like an elder reminiscing about his bygone youth?
“Go back and tell your father that I admire your decision, and that within ten years, so long as I remain within the Great Zhou’s borders, you are free to come to me with any problems you cannot resolve on your own. I’ll assist you up to three times.”
With that, Su Yi put his hands behind his back, turned, and walked back into his room.
He muttered to himself, “There’s no seniority or rank between sparrows and swans. I might wear cotton and drink like a commoner, but a sovereign is like a great peng soaring amidst the clouds. He hates nothing more than heavens too low for him to fly in.
“Now, I too am a youth. As the old poem goes, I ought to have the spirit needed to ‘use the heavens as my shore upon reaching the limits of the ocean’, and ‘become a new peak upon reaching the top of a mountain’!”
Nie Teng stood there, dazed, as Su Yi disappeared into his room. When he finally came to his senses, he waved, then turned and dashed off excitedly.
He could finally answer to his father.
….
Guangling City, the Li Family.
In the hall they used for welcoming guests.
“Brother Zhou, with you in attendance at this year’s Dragon Gate Banquet, we’re sure to attract countless eyes. After all, your status is lofty enough that even City Lord Fu Shan has to treat you with respect,” said Family Head Li Tianhan with a respectful smile.
Zhou Huaiqiu sat on another side of the room. He waved and said flatly, “I just happened to be passing through and thought I’d take this opportunity to see the prowess of Guangling and Cloudfall Cities’ youths for myself. I’ll leave managing the banquet up to City Lord Fu.”
His hair and whiskers were graying, and his robes were simple cloth. He looked a bit aged, but when his eyes opened and closed, they glinted with intimidating sharpness.
“Hahaha, Brother Zhou, you’re too modest! You’re an elder of Blueriver Sword Manor’s inner sect, and you’ve attained perfection in the ‘Thirteen Stances of the Bluepeak Sword.’ Your name is enough to shake all of Cloudriver Prefecture!”
Li Tianhan laughed heartily. “Besides, you’re still in your prime! You’re certain to have an opportunity to point your blade at the Grandmaster Realm and achieve even higher breakthroughs!”
This wasn’t just empty flattery.
Of Blueriver Sword Manor’s twelve elders, Zhou Huaiqiu was ranked fourth, and his attainments in the Dao of the Sword were exquisite and deep. In Cloudriver Prefecture, they honored him as the “Bluepeak Sword Elder.” .𝒐𝙧𝒈
“The Grandmaster Realm….” Zhou Huaiqiu’s gaze went a little misty, and he sighed. “That’s a hard level to reach, harder than reaching the blue skies. I’ve been stuck at the peak of the Qi Accumulation Realm for nineteen years now, yet I’ve at most barely reached the threshold of the Grandmaster Realm. Who knows how many years of bitter struggle I’ll need to step through that doorway….?”
As he spoke, the handsome, golden-robed Ni Hao and the gentle, modest beauty in white, Nan Ying,?walked in side?by side.
“You visited Su Yi, right? How is he doing?” asked Zhou Huaiqiu.
“We saw him, Martial Uncle,” said Nan Ying with a meek, courteous bow. She sighed dejectedly, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su has lost his cultivation and married into the Wen Family; his predicament really makes one’s heart ache.”
.
“Sigh…” Zhou Huaiqiu, his expression complicated and his gaze upset. “Su Yi, that boy, had an incredible knack for the Dao of the Sword. When he became the outer sect’s sword Chief, I was certain that his accomplishments would be no inferior to your Senior Apprentice Brother Ni?Hao’s.
He sighed, “But the heavens envy the talented! Just like that, his Martial Dao ended prematurely!”
How could a waste like him compare with Senior Apprentice Brother Ni Hao??Nan Ying muttered to herself, but out loud, she hurriedly comforted Zhou Huaiqiu. “Martial Uncle, all of that is in the past. You needn’t worry about Senior Apprentice Brother Su; he might have become an ordinary person, but his life is pretty decent.”
Zhou Huaiqiu nodded. “That’s why I didn’t go visit him; I was afraid I’d bring back painful memories and make him brood over his lost cultivation.”
Suddenly, Ni Hao turned to Li Tianhan. “Uncle Li, is Junior Apprentice Brother Moyun home?”
Li Tianhan’s eyes glinted, and he laughed, “It’s truly a bit unfortunate, but he left just yesterday. He’s already on his way back to the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital.”
Ni Hao nodded. “That makes sense. With his status and cultivation, there’s no need for him to spar in the Dragon’s Gate Banquet.
When they brought up Li Moyun, Zhou Huaiqiu couldn’t help but smile and praise him. “Moyun, that kid, really is something. His talent for the Martial Dao is outstanding. If you ask me, he’ll be able to try breaking into the Qi Accumulation Realm within the year.”
“Hahaha, Brother Zhou, you’re exaggerating!” Li Tianhan laughed in delight.
“Martial Uncle, Apprentice Brother Ni Hao is no slouch either, yet you rarely praise him. You’re too biased!” Nan Ying interjected in a coquettish attempt to defend Ni Hao’s honor.
Seeing this, Zhou Huaiqiu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Ni Hao is indeed a dragon among men, a rare genius among youths. There’s no need to even question it!” Li Tianhan continued, “But the way I see it, Su Yi’s predicament is likely to get worse.”
Zhou Huaiqiu furrowed his brow. “Why do you say that?”
Li Tianhan’s eyes flashed. “To my knowledge, his wife, Wen Lingzhao, is about to become Grandmaster Zhu Guqing’s direct disciple, and she’s a stunning beauty with numerous admirers within Heaven’s Origin Academy. Several sons of noble families have already announced that they plan to oust Su Yi from her side completely.
He paused, then sighed with emotion. “Given his situation, the days ahead can’t possibly be easy for Su Yi. You ask me, and never mind the others; the Wen Family themselves are likely to think less and less of him. It’s entirely possible that something unfortunate will befall him.”
Zhou Huaiqiu’s eyes narrowed, and he sank into silence. He felt sorry for Su Yi and his impending misfortunate, but his hands were tied.
Despite a bit of a guilty conscience, Zhou Huaiqiu didn’t feel strongly enough to stand against a grandmaster’s disciple, and there was certainly no way he’d get mixed up in the Wen Family’s affairs.
For one thing, it sounded like trouble. For another, overextending his reach might very well invite disaster onto him instead.
“He can’t blame anyone else for this. If he wants to blame someone, he should blame himself; he’s in no way worthy of a woman like Wen Lingzhao,” said Ni Hao flatly.
“Let’s not discuss this any further,” said Zhou Huaiqiu with a wave, looking a bit upset.
Li Tianhan smiled, but inside, he thought to himself,?It seems everyone has made the same prediction. They’ve realized that after Wen Lingzhao becomes a Grandmaster’s disciple, that cripple Su Yi is effectively done for.
That’s enough!
Now I just have to wait and see when Moyun makes his move!
Starting that day, Zhou Huaiqiu, Ni Hao, and Nan Ying took up residence in the Li Family estate. They planned to stay there until after the Dragon’s Gate Banquet.
Morning the next day.
Family Head Wen Changjing, Wen Changtai, Qin Qing, and?Wen?Lingxue left Guangling City to visit Wen Lingzhao.
From beginning to end, only Wen Lingxue bothered so much as mentioning this to Su Yi. The others ignored Wen Lingzhao’s supposed husband completely.
Su Yi naturally didn’t mind.
He strolled along the river, his tall frame bathed in gentle sunlight. As he neared the mulberry grove, he noticed that this time, there were two people waiting for him.