Chapter 297: So High

Xu Fengnian, who had just performed a nimble trick with his hands, smiled and said, “Just a little juggling act.”

Liu Qingzhu touched the porcelain bowl with one slender finger, then rubbed her Willow Leaf Eyebrows and exclaimed in surprise, “Just a juggling act?”

Xu Fengnian did not answer but asked, “How did you end up in this stronghold?”

She did not dare to drink from the bowl and thought for a moment before smiling and saying, “Too much complaining can break one’s heart and liver; let’s not talk about it anymore.”

Xu Fengnian, rather impolitely, pressed on, “Your husband?”

She gave him a cold look, “You really want to know?”

Xu Fengnian shook his head, “Forget it.”

Women’s hearts are hard to fathom, and just when Xu Fengnian didn’t want to listen, she poured out everything like spilling beans from a bamboo tube, though her tone was indifferent: “He died. Useless as a scholar, when our family fell apart, a brute from the stronghold thought he was in the way and gutted him with an iron spear. Then Han Fang married me off to a man who ranked third in the stronghold. We hadn’t even consummated the marriage yet when he couldn’t control himself and wanted to have his way with me out in the wild. I had already taken off my clothes down to my calves, sitting there naked for a while, only to find out that a high-ranking figure from the Demon Sect happened to pass by. He smashed my husband’s head, and seeing that I still had some beauty left, took pity on me and made me his concubine, bringing me to his majestic sect. I suppose I was something like a personal servant, attending to him along with some seductive girls for half a year. When he grew tired of me, he sent me back. Men like Fang Dayi are nothing but cowards with only lustful thoughts. They want to become brothers-in-arms with that demon lord, but do they even have the guts? Otherwise, how could I, a beautiful widow, survive until today? Even if I had survived, I probably wouldn’t have had the strength to stand upright during the day. Serving men, especially these rough, muscular ones, is truly hard work. Thinking back now, being in a place like the imperial palace was quite an experience, and it was worth the suffering. Look at me, you’ve stirred up my memories, and now my heart is broken. Change the wine, this one feels ominous, afraid I might fall for your tricks and end up in your bed. Then I wouldn’t be the one losing out, but you, a young bull, might get your head smashed again by that demon lord, leaving a mess like bean juice. It’s just too horrifying to imagine.”

Xu Fengnian pushed the wine bowl over and calmly asked, “What sect is so famous?”

She replied with a hint of sarcasm, “Master Xu, you haven’t even heard of Shenmen Caolu? And you dare to travel here to Liuyi Mountain for study?”

Xu Fengnian smiled and said, “Shenmen Caolu? It sounds like a prestigious Confucian sect.”

Qingzhu Mother took a sip of wine and, seeing no one around, said, “Han Fang is nicknamed the Golden KirinGeneral, but which eye of yours sees him as a Kirin? Do you really think he’s like the Northern Liang’s national teacher? Zhang Xiucheng is called the Thunder Sect’s True Immortal, but has he ever summoned thunder? This Song Kui, who was beheaded at the execution ground, was even called the Heaven-Bearing King, but he was self-proclaimed too. With his frail body that sways in the wind, even lifting me, who weighs around ninety jin, is questionable. He only knows how to use some underhanded poisoned weapons. So, Shenmen Caolu, though called a thatched hut, is actually as luxurious as the emperor’s residence, filled with gold and jade everywhere. I don’t know how they made all that money, but even their latrine is more magnificent than the residences of the mountain stronghold leaders. I’ve never been to the imperial palace, but I reckon it’s about the same.”

Xu Fengnian nodded and then asked, “Qingzhu Mother, you weigh more than ninety jin, don’t you? You must be around a hundred jin.”

The woman, annoyed but blushing, retorted, “Can’t I have eaten seven or eight jin of beef today?”

Xu Fengnian just smiled.

The woman glanced at the sky and said, “You know, don’t treat Liuyi Mountain lightly. It’s not a place you can come and go as you please. Everyone here is a cunning fox; without a few tricks up your sleeve, you won’t be able to stand firm here. Come on, leave something behind for me, so I can explain to Han Fang and the others. I’m not the compassionate Goddess of Mercy, nor am I a young girl in the bloom of youth anymore. I won’t lose my head just because you have a handsome face. If you’re reluctant to part with your sword, then give me some silver as a toll to ward off bad luck. Han Fang gave me a gold ingot to pacify his starving brothers, making them think he’s rich in front of you. This stronghold has long been reduced to a bankrupt household.”

Xu Fengnian actually took out a stack of silver notes from his book chest, placed them on the table, and smiled, “More than a hundred taels, is that enough?”

She raised her eyebrows, tapped the silver notes with her finger, and smiled, “So you really are a wealthy young master. With this kind of wealth, as long as you’re not poor, you’ll be treated like a god of wealth in the stronghold. As long as they haven’t drained all your blood, your life will be safe. I worked so hard just now, and it turns out I was just imagining things. Xu Lang, where are you from? Are you really a scholar traveling for study?”

Xu Fengnian teased, “A small family in Gusu State. There are so many aristocratic families there, more than hairs on an ox, and no one with a surname worth mentioning dares to greet others on the street, too ashamed to lift their heads. I never thought that carrying just one or two hundred taels of silver here would make me a rich man. If I had known earlier, I should have come here to show off my wealth sooner. Maybe I could have married you properly and enjoyed a happy union.”

She glanced at this smooth-talking scholar and mocked, “You’ve been watching for so long, but you don’t dare to touch?”

Caught red-handed, Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, “I’m not that kind of person.”

She stood up and intentionally or unintentionally patted her chest, creating a swaying, alluring sight that made the men wish they could rush over and catch it before it fell to the ground. Xu Fengnian still kept his eyes lowered, making Qingzhu Mother unsure whether to roll her eyes or give him a flirtatious glance. She laughed and left. The tavern had no waiters to help, all the work fell on her, always busy with endless trivial matters. The scholar with a sword on his back and a book chest didn’t plan to go up the mountain. After paying more than a hundred taels of silver, he sat at the fork at the foot of the mountain, moved the table to a shady spot under the eaves himself, took out a geography book from his book chest, asked Qingzhu Mother for a plate of salted peanuts, a bowl of cooked beef, and a jar of wine, and sat there from noon until dusk. Qingzhu Mother didn’t treat him as an honored guest, preparing a simple meal for him. When she asked him about his plans, Xu Lang said he wanted to stay here for a few days to figure out how a bandit stronghold survives, asking her many detailed questions about income and expenditure, recruiting people, and winning people’s hearts. Even when there was no killing or robbery, he asked whether they needed to cultivate vegetables on the mountain. He recorded everything meticulously on an abacus. Qingzhu Mother answered all his questions without holding back, as it wasn’t any big secret. If this young scholar turned out to be a government spy, gathering intelligence for the soldiers to clear the mountain of bandits, she wasn’t afraid either. If the stronghold was destroyed, she could just go back to Shenmen Caolu to serve as a servant. To her, who died didn’t matter. There was no one in the world she would willingly mourn.

It was also easy to deal with him at night. He just took two long chairs and managed to sleep through the night. Inside the house, Qingzhu Mother tossed and turned for half the night before finally falling asleep. In the morning, she looked in the copper mirror, but no matter how much cheap powder she applied, she couldn’t cover the dark circles under her eyes. When she saw the man sitting there, full of spirit and holding a book, her eyes were filled with resentment. She didn’t know whether she was angry at this man for being so persistent or angry that he didn’t even knock on her door like a beast the previous night. Although she wouldn’t have opened the door, at least it would have proven that she still had some charm. She snorted coldly, took the silver notes he had given to the stronghold, and went to the bandit stronghold. After hesitating for a moment, she still didn’t keep one or two silver notes for herself, but she kept the gold ingot she had received. These men who lived off her, this money was rightfully hers. Han Fang’s stronghold wasn’t far into the mountains, just a dozen or so miles away, but the mountain paths were not as smooth as the official roads. Fortunately, she was used to walking them and didn’t find it too tiring. After all, she was no longer the delicate young woman of the past who never touched firewood or rice.

Han Fang politely accepted the silver notes, treating her with proper etiquette, even personally serving her a pot of tea. Lu Dayi, who was practicing martial arts in the muddy training ground, stared at the young widow’s buttocks and watched her tired expression. Though he appeared coarse, his mind was sharp, and his expression was strange. He was secretly annoyed and thought to himself, this reckless young man dares to take a bite of this thorny woman? Does he think he can just have his way with her and leave? Yesterday, when he went up the mountain, Zhang Junshi said this kid might have some martial arts skills, but they were just the clumsy moves of a novice. Could he withstand a finger press from that great demon lord of the thatched hut? That god could single-handedly take down several bandit strongholds without even pausing for breath.

After leaving the stronghold and returning to the tavern, Qingzhu Mother saw Xu Lang still reading his book. The skinny monkey, whose name she still didn’t know to this day, was squatting nearby, looking dazed. This rascal was lazy and gluttonous, cowardly and bullying the weak, and had every fault imaginable. But compared to the mountain bandits who would hack people to death at the slightest provocation, he was small-time and timid, so he didn’t seem too despicable. Over the years, he often came here to do small, insignificant favors. It was obvious he couldn’t control his eyes, but surprisingly, he had never done anything as vile as dipping his saliva to poke a hole in the paper window to spy on her bathing. This made her look at him differently. In this mountain, who didn’t believe in the saying that fortune lies in danger? The skinny monkey was a stark exception, a man without ambition. It was said that the first time he committed a murder to join the bandits, he didn’t kill a woodcutter with one blow. He cried and sobbed so much that he wanted to carry the woodcutter to a doctor, but fortunately, a brother was watching and helped finish the job, allowing him to join the stronghold. However, if she were to think that this was enough to make her willing to spend a few warm nights with the skinny monkey, that would be absurd. She still preferred men with more scholarly charm.

Seeing the fiery Qingzhu Mother, the skinny monkey, who could only rely on his thick chest hair to act manly, forced a smile but didn’t dare to speak to her. Instead, he pretended to get close to the young man and asked, “Hey, SurnameXu, do you know about a big event that’s happening in the martial world now?”

Xu Fengnian put down the geography book he had borrowed from the old master and smiled, asking, “What happened? Tell me about it.”

The skinny monkey stood up, swaggered to the seat opposite him, and seeing that the other man had pushed a plate of peanuts toward him, his previously uneasy mood calmed down a bit, secretly feeling a bit more relaxed. He threw a peanut into his mouth, propped one foot on the long chair, and clicked his tongue, saying, “A few days ago, I went to the city with a brother who’s on duty to a restaurant for a meal. Do you know what restaurant? Fengxian Lou. A meal there costs several taels of silver…”

The woman, unable to bear the skinny monkey’s bragging, hit him on the back with a broom and laughed, “Get to the point! With your poor fate, you can’t possibly know any brothers on duty. And going to Fengxian Lou for a drink? Why don’t you just say you went to Jinjiang Pavilion to visit a courtesan? Wouldn’t that be more impressive?”

The skinny monkey’s face turned red, his momentum weakened by seven or eight points, and he awkwardly said, “You woman, with your long hair and short sight, you really look down on me…”

Seeing Qingzhu Mother raise the broom again, ready to strike, the skinny monkey hurriedly said, “Do you know that the Tao Hua Sword God Deng Ta’a from Liyang has come, right?”

Xu Fengnian nodded.

“Wait a minute,” Qingzhu Mother went inside to fetch some wine and meat before sitting down.

The skinny monkey smelled her fragrance, swallowed hard, and spoke with great enthusiasm, “This sword god, who is the third most powerful in the world, went to challenge our military god, right? Guess what happened?”

Qingzhu Mother wasn’t in the mood for guessing, but Xu Fengnian smiled and said, “He probably lost.”

The skinny monkey slapped his thigh, “Wrong!”

“Who are you shouting at!” Startled, Qingzhu Mother grabbed the broom at her feet and rushed over. The skinny monkey, who was knocked over, didn’t dare to get angry with her. After sitting up straight, he lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously, “He was about to lose when the sword god broke his peach blossom branch, fighting with Toba Junshen from morning to night, and then from night to morning, no one knows how many days and nights they fought. Oh, Qingzhu Mother, don’t hit me, I’m getting to the point. At the crucial moment when the outcome was about to be decided, oh no, when Deng Ta’a was about to lose, hundreds or even thousands of experts present heard a voice coming from thousands of miles away, from the sky!”

Qingzhu Mother sneered, “More nonsense! Do you think you’re a storyteller spinning tales of immortals and monsters?”

The skinny monkey, his neck red, said, “It’s absolutely true!”

Xu Fengnian reached out and poured a bowl of wine, not forgetting to pour one for Qingzhu Mother and the skinny monkey as well. He smiled lightly and said, “Go on.”

The skinny monkey glanced at Qingzhu Mother, and where his gaze landed, whether on her face or her chest, was anyone’s guess. He clicked his tongue and said, “They heard a voice say, ‘Deng Ta’a, borrow you a sword, dare you accept it?'”

Xu Fengnian had just lifted his wrist to take a sip of wine, but he paused, not drinking.

The skinny monkey wanted to slap his thigh again, but remembering his previous experience, he held back. With a look of yearning on his face, he continued, “Then Deng the Sword God replied, ‘Why wouldn’t Deng Ta’a dare? Thank you, Li Chungan, for opening the path of swordsmanship for us!’ Then it got even more terrifying. A sword descended from the heavens into Tao Hua Sword God’s hand, and he fought the Toba Junshen to a draw.”

A battle as stirring as that, when recounted by someone like the skinny monkey, always lacked nine out of ten parts of its flavor.

Qingzhu Mother was skeptical, more doubt than belief, and after hearing it, she just let it go. Glancing sideways, she saw the young scholar bowing his head to drink.

The skinny monkey sighed and muttered, “All flying immortals. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see them from afar in this life.”

Qingzhu Mother didn’t think much of it and casually asked, “Who is this Li Chungan? How could he lend a sword to someone as powerful as the third strongest in the world, the Tao Hua Sword God?”

The skinny monkey, his knowledge exhausted, stammered, “Probably a great swordsman from Liyang.”

Qingzhu Mother noticed the young scholar lifting his head, his face expressionless, and putting down his wine bowl. He said, “He’s an old man in a sheepskin coat with only one arm.”

The skinny monkey sneered, “Who are you trying to fool? Can a one-armed old man control a sword from thousands of miles away? It’s like you’ve seen him yourself.”

The young scholar smiled bitterly, “I’ll never see him again.”

The skinny monkey didn’t know what to say to lighten the mood. Seeing Qingzhu Mother go inside to work, having eaten most of the wine, meat, and peanuts, he felt bored and patted his butt as he went back up the mountain.

Qingzhu Mother occasionally stood at the door, glancing at Xu Lang a few times. A long sword with a green scabbard had appeared on the table. She narrowed her phoenix eyes, which even she had to envy, and just pursed her lips in thought.

Except for the two meals, he just sat there. When it got dark, Qingzhu Mother still couldn’t sleep at night. Seeing the dim, flickering oil lamp outside through the window, she put on her clothes and walked out, softly asking, “Want some wine?”

He turned his head, smiled, and gently said, “No, thanks.”

Still, she went to get a jar of wine, a good one that was almost finished. After opening it, the aroma spread, and she said, “I’ll drink it myself.”

After drinking a few bowls, she asked, “Really not going to drink?”

He shook his head, “You drink. I’m waiting for you to lose control after drinking.”

The woman, amused, indeed started drinking alone, Drinking Heartily, not inferior to those men who claimed that death was nothing more than a nod of the head.

As she drank, she began to speak softly, “It fits a saying from my hometown: a bird without feathers is still taken care of by heaven. I, well, have somehow survived mysteriously. I’m afraid of death, thinking that hanging oneself is too ugly. How painful would it be to cut one’s throat or stomach with a kitchen knife? Being a chaste and virtuous widow is really not for me.”

This woman, who once ground ink and added fragrance to the study, and who had made steamed buns from human flesh, was now drunk and teary-eyed.

“My husband didn’t do anything bad. He did too many good things. The maids in our house were all unfortunate children. When they made mistakes, he couldn’t bear to scold them harshly. I had to be the bad cop and the good cop all by myself. The farmland we leased out, when the harvest was bad, he said he would collect the IOUs, but they piled up year after year. Did he ever go to ask for them? Why did he die? You heroes who claim to uphold justice and help the poor, why did you kill everyone before you were satisfied? The people you killed were all good people who weren’t as bad as you!”

Xu Fengnian said calmly, “The last time I saw my eldest sister, who had married far away, I urged her to come home, but she refused, saying that a woman follows her husband’s family when she first marries, but can choose her own path when she remarries. I know she was waiting for someone.”

The woman laughed and cried at the same time, “Did she wait for him?”

Xu Fengnian nodded, “She did, but I wish she hadn’t.”

She turned her head, roughly wiping away her tears, no longer drinking, no longer sobbing.

The two sat in silence.

With a bang, she fell asleep with her head on the table, her lips trembling as she stretched out a hand and softly said, “If my daughter were alive, she’d be this tall by now, right?”

She raised her hand a bit higher, the hand on the table stiff with her five fingers, “Even taller.”

Xu Fengnian said, “Since I picked up the sword again and started practicing martial arts, it seems I haven’t done a single good deed related to chivalry. Today, I’ll break the rules once. Tell me who you want to kill, and I’ll kill them for you.”

She just Absent-minded turned her head, looking at this increasingly strange stranger, and asked, “If you kill someone, will my daughter come back to life and grow taller under my eyes?”

Xu Fengnian strapped the Spring and Autumn Sword on his back and walked up the mountain.