Immortal Sword

Birds with bright feathers were circling in the sky and singing softly, adding a bit of liveliness to the wedding. Xu Shulou recognized that the one leading the group was Wei Xuandao's former pet Chi Feng, which had been following Xiao Ya since Wei Xuandao's death.

This bird once liked her very much and gave her a feather. She also jokingly said that she would kill Wei Xuandao and kidnap the bird.

But later she really killed its master, and since Chifeng was a spirit, naturally he had no chance to be with her anymore.

A trace of regret flashed across Xu Shulou's heart, but it was fleeting. Things in the world are always like this. How could everything be to her liking?

The junior sister pointed at the sky and said, "The white bird at the back looks a lot like my Jiuyao."

Xu Shulou retracted his gaze: "It seems like I haven't seen your Jiuyao for a long time."

"It's in love with a goose at Third Senior Brother's place. It can't eat or drink when they're apart," Bai Roushuang sighed deeply. "I've entrusted it to Third Senior Brother to take care of it. I don't know what the result of their love affair will be."

Xu Shulou laughed, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Xiao Ya and Xiao Ruzhuo coming over to toast him, so he stood up and picked up the wine glass.

Both of them were wearing red robes, one was as beautiful as a jade, the other as bright as a beautiful jade, they were really a perfect match.

Xiao Ruzhuo raised his glass and said, "A toast to my savior. Thank you for digging me out from under the cave."

Xu Shulou smiled and drank the wine: "I'd better thank your wife. If she hadn't discovered that Wei Xuandao was different and asked me to chase you, how could I have arrived in time?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ruzhuo put his arm around Xiao Ya's shoulders, and they smiled at each other, with sweetness and tacit understanding in their eyes and brows.

Xiao Ya then stepped forward to toast: "Shu Lou, this cup is for us turning our former enemies into friends."

Without waiting for Xu Shulou to say anything, she raised her head and drank the wine in the glass swiftly.

Xu Shulou smiled knowingly: "Congratulations on finally getting married."

After the two men toasted each other, they played the Eight Winds Music in front of the hall, one playing the seven-stringed harp and the other the brocade zither, and they played a very affectionate tune.

Everyone listened very attentively. Xu Shulou also listened with his forehead propped up, tapping the rhythm lightly with his fingers on the wine glass.

How can the harmonious sounds of the zither and the harp not be a unique sight?

"After attending so many wedding banquets, I really want to find a Taoist partner for myself," Jiang Yan was infected by the atmosphere, "What about you? Do you have any ideas?"

Xu Shulou shrugged. She had even attended her own wedding banquet and was currently calm.

She is occasionally touched by other people's happiness, but that doesn't mean she wants to pursue such a life.

"Where's my junior sister?" Jiang Yan asked again, "The friend I mentioned before who likes to be struck by lightning..."

Bai Roushuang shook her head like a rattle. Jiang Yan was sandwiched between these two guys who seemed to have no desire for love. With a longing for love, she shyly asked her purpose: "Then... do you know a girl who is suitable for me?"

Xu Shulou touched his head and said, "Hmm...does it have to be from the human race?"

What kind of question is this? Jiang Yan looked at her in horror, and finally realized that it might not be appropriate to ask the senior sister for help in this matter.

Xu Shulou promised: "I will keep an eye on it for you."

Jiang Yan hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to add the restriction that "it's best to have two eyes, one nose, and no hooves."

As the music of the zither ended, the wedding banquet ended and the guests left in twos and threes. Xu Shulou stayed to talk to Xiao Ya. When he left, he ran into Xiao Ya's mother in the garden. She was already very old, with gray hair on her temples, but she still came from all over the world to attend her daughter's wedding banquet.

Both parties were startled, and looked at each other at the corner of the corridor. The maids behind the imperial concubine became nervous and took a step forward, trying to block the imperial concubine behind them. Xu Shulou knew that in their eyes, he was the notorious princess of the Xu family, a dangerous person.

The imperial concubine signaled the maids, "Stand back."

Xu Shulou smiled and said, "The lily cake at today's wedding banquet was good."

The imperial concubine also laughed: "That was Yaer's favorite dish when she was young."

Xu Shulou nodded: "The palace craftsmanship is indeed good."

After exchanging this casual greeting, she passed the imperial concubine in the corridor. She noticed that the latter stopped and stared at her back, but she did not stop.

"My queen." The maid called softly.

After Xu Shulou's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, the imperial concubine withdrew her gaze: "It's not quite what I imagined."

"Yes," only the trusted maid dared to answer, "It doesn't look bloody, nor does it seem to be full of bitterness and hatred."

The imperial concubine shook her head: "There is no trace of a pampered princess anymore. She is so carefree and free, like a chivalrous woman."

"Madam, do you admire her or hate her?"

"It's not a matter of liking or hating her," the imperial concubine said calmly, "If she were my enemy, I would find her terrifying. If she were my daughter, I would feel sorry for her, but to me, she is just a stranger."

The maid who was familiar with her knew that this was just an exclamation and there was no need to respond. She just silently supported the imperial concubine's hand and slowly walked away along the corridor.

———

Xu Shulou saw Bai Roushuang talking to Lu Beichen from afar, so he stopped and waited for the two to separate before walking over to his junior sister.

"What did you say?"

"Senior Brother Lu suddenly came to me to talk about our past. I said that I really liked him in the past, and even admired him a little. I even thought he was a kind of bright and elegant cultivator... But when he heard these four words, his expression suddenly became complicated. He said thank you to me and left in a hurry." Bai Roushuang wrinkled her nose and said with a smile, "I didn't even have the chance to say that I now think he is a philandering cultivator."

Xu Shulou laughed. In fact, even in the other world, Bai Roushuang only saw Lu Beichen's love and the sadness of the woman in the backyard, and had not really seen the dark side.

Xu Shulou was not planning to tell her.

The two of them walked along the garden path, and Bai Roushuang suddenly pointed to a building nearby: "Senior Sister, does that look like a house from another world? I've lived there before."

"This is Lingji Valley of Lingxiao Sect, which used to belong to Wei Xuandao," Xu Shulou had discovered long ago, "It's originally the same place."

"Is that so?" Bai Roushuang sighed softly, and then asked, "Senior Sister, do you still want to use your chain ring to take a look over there?"

Xu Shulou shook his head: "I don't have such plans for the time being."

Moreover, she looked down at the slightly dimmed chain ring on her hand, and combined with the words of the other Xu Shulou before he left, she felt that she might never return to that place again.

"So where do we go next?"

Xu Shulou shook his head: "I don't know."

"How about going to the Hehuan Sect?" Bai Roushuang suggested in a low voice, "I want to see the real Luo Fusheng."

Xu Shulou nodded in understanding: "Okay, I'll send a note first and tell them we're going to visit."

"Um!"

The two said goodbye to Jiang Yan and headed straight for the Hehuan Sect. Xu Shulou handed in the visiting card and took his junior sister to the nearby Wushuang City for a stroll.

She didn't have any good memories here. She was poisoned by love and met the possessed uncle Zhang Baihe...

The two walked along the long street. It seemed to be more lively here than when they came here more than ten years ago, and there were more tall buildings on the street.

A teahouse named "Zhuangyuanlou" came into view. Bai Roushuang recalled: "It didn't seem to be there last time I came."

Xu Shulou looked up and said, "It's probably to commemorate the only number one scholar from Wushuang City."

"Oh, right, is that the scholar you know? The current Chief Censor?"

Xu Shulou nodded with a smile.

"Go in and take a look?"

"good."

The two of them walked in, and a waiter attentively led them to the elegant seats on the second floor. While waiting for the dishes to be served, Bai Roushuang opened the window and looked out: "Hey, isn't that Yunshui Pavilion across the street?"

Yunshui Pavilion is the tallest building in Wushuang City. It was there that Fan Yang and Fan Zhi ambushed Xu Shulou and planted a love poison in her.

Xu Shulou looked up and said, "It is indeed Yunshui Pavilion. Has it changed its name now?"

A waiter brought them hot tea and said, "It's been more than ten years since it was renamed 'Immortal Sword'. I'm surprised that you're still so young and still remember its old name."

"Immortal Sword?"

The waiter smiled and said, "This is a gimmick put up by the restaurant across the street. If you want to know the reason, you will know when you go there later."

Both of them were intrigued, and after having some tea and snacks, they set off for Yunshui Pavilion across the lake.

After hearing their purpose, someone pointed the way for them: "The top floor."

The two men climbed the stairs, and when they reached the place, Xu Shulou paused.

The sword that she used to kill Fan Yang had nailed through the wall, but she called it back. Now Yunshui Pavilion has not repaired the wall, but has kept the sword mark intact. It has even cast an iron sword of the right size and stuffed it in, making it a tourist attraction.

Xu Shulou didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What is there to keep?"

The waiter beside him was not very happy when he heard this: "Sir, you can't say that. You are a foreigner and don't know the story behind it."

Hearing the word "allusion", Bai Roushuang pricked up her ears. Having been to the Demon Realm before, she was a little panicked by this word, fearing that as soon as the waiter touched her lips, he would come up with some allusion like the "randomly selecting children and eating their brains" of the demon clan.

"What story?" Xu Shulou felt amused. It was clearly her who shot the sword to kill someone. He wondered what kind of story had been made up over the years.

Then the two of them sat down and listened to an outrageous story of love and hate. It was obvious that Xu Shulou had killed Fan Yang, but it was spread that the woman chased the unfaithful man for thousands of miles. Then the unfaithful man also worked as a kidnapper and had a gang behind him. That day, he kidnapped a little girl with bad intentions, but was discovered and rescued by the woman.

This story has been passed down for more than ten years, and has been added to and revised countless times.

Bai Roushuang listened to this bizarre story and opened her mouth: "If the little girl refers to Luo Fusheng who was kidnapped, it seems to be somewhat appropriate..."

Xu Shulou rolled his eyes at her and asked the waiter, "Is this the origin of the Immortal Sword?"

If it were just a story like this, it wouldn't seem worth it for a restaurant to rename it.

"I haven't finished yet," the waiter said, "The Immortal Sword refers to the sword that the immortal used to kill someone more than ten years ago. Its force was so strong that it penetrated the outer wall, but it did not cause the building to collapse, let alone cause any casualties. Do you know the reason, young lady?"

“…”

Not getting a response, the waiter continued mysteriously, "Because the immortal used his spiritual power to protect this building before killing people, this building was renamed for this reason, meaning 'Immortal Sword, Pity for the People'."

“…”

The story is outrageous, but the ending is sublime.

Both of them were silent for a moment, not knowing how to comment.

Seeing that the two men were shocked by the story, the waiter walked away happily.

Xu Shulou walked to the wall, where a door opened and there was a small viewing platform outside. Standing on the platform, she could see the lake view. She then noticed that the stone sculpture in the center of the lake had been replaced by a sword sculpture. Visitors standing here could see the iron sword on the wall and the stone sword in the center of the lake. In addition, the Zhuangyuan Building opposite to the Immortal Sword was drizzling at this time. Standing here and looking at the misty and rainy building from afar, it was indeed a scenic spot.

Bai Roushuang stood beside her, raising her hand to catch the raindrops falling from the sky: "Zhuangyuan Tower and Xianren Sword, one is named for him, and the other is named for you. One man and one immortal, the two towers face each other from afar. You two really have some strange fate."

“…”