Chapter 725 Zhao Qingxiu: My destiny lacks him, I need to make up for it [Seeking a guaranteed monthly vote mid-month!]

Chengtian Temple, inside a hall where the murals are still unfinished.

Yuan Huaimin asked in confusion:

How else can it be done completely?

Wu Daozi suddenly asked in return:

"Since you know about the Ding Sword, you must also know about the Ding, right?"

"I've heard that both cauldrons and swords are forged from cauldrons."

"The sword is forged in a cauldron, but can't the sword be transformed into a cauldron?"

"You can do it the other way around?"

"Why not? It's just that the True Ding Sword is a mythical object, and almost no one can defy it, but the Counterfeit Ding Sword can. That scholar named Cui Hao has verified it."

"Later, the original Peach Blossom Spring Record, also known as the Counterfeit Ding Sword, fell into the hands of Cui Hao. He directly dismantled this counterfeit Ding Sword into three hundred and twenty counterfeit dings. The counterfeit dings would distribute the power of the counterfeit Ding Sword according to their number, and the requirements for the sword wielder were lower. In fact, all that was needed was to know the sword technique. It was far less demanding than the real sword wielder. Back then, these counterfeit dings were scattered in three hundred and twenty Buddhist temples to protect the national fortune of your ancestral Great Wei."

"So, when you were painting in the Buddhist temples of Chang'an, you were collecting fake bronze tripods and recreating them into the most powerful fake bronze sword?"

"That's right. I first discovered the fake Ding Sword in a dilapidated mural at Caotang Temple. Who would have thought that Cui Hao could hide the fake Ding Sword there? After Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei suppressed Buddhism, Cui Hao suggested leaving 320 Buddhist temples. So that's what he was thinking. Great Wei has always believed in Buddhism. Even if Buddhism is suppressed, it cannot be completely eradicated. It's better for Great Wei to build its own Buddhist temples and use the abundant incense offerings of Buddhists within its borders to support this new Peach Blossom Sword Formation. Scholars are so practical and ruthless."

Wu Daozi nodded, somewhat moved:

"But to do this, it would take the entire nation's resources. Even if we brought in a reclusive sect, it wouldn't work. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism could try with their combined strength, but we don't have the resources of the entire nation. So, I collected the fake ding swords hidden in the murals of three hundred and twenty Buddhist temples and recreated this painting, which is now the Peach Blossom Spring painting. It has been restored to a pure fake ding sword, and it is also the first fake ding sword on the mountain. It can be said that it has seen the light of day again."

The old man said with a smile:

"Seeing it is like seeing a poor scholar."

Yuan Huaimin asked, "Are we no longer able to find [poor scholars]?"

Wu Daozi nodded, then shook his head:

"At least I haven't found it. Tao Yuanming left something behind, but I still feel that the clue to the 'Humble Scholar' is hidden in this fake sword. It may require someone with the spirit of the 'Humble Scholar' to find it. At least so far, I haven't met such a person."

The old man's tone was somewhat regretful.

Holding the new bronze scroll, Yuan Huaimin asked cautiously:

"Mr. Wu, I don't think I'm a hot-tempered person."

Wu Daozi glanced at him and replied with a half-smile:

"You really are infuriating."

Yuan Huaimin hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Wu Daozi gently waved his hand:

"I don't think so. If it were, you wouldn't have given me the original copy of 'The Peach Blossom Spring' that you hid in your house. You would have kept it by some twist of fate instead of generously giving it away and letting it slip through your fingers."

"Although it's now just an empty shell, no longer considered a counterfeit sword after being dismantled by Cui Hao, it still holds an unseen attraction. It's a window connecting the 'poor scholar' of Peach Blossom Spring to the mundane world below, even if it's just a blank sheet of paper. But now, this window is a new scroll; the old one is indeed just an old piece of paper..."

The old man asked again with a smile:

“Little Huaimin, do you know that in the eyes of some fortune tellers on the mountain, someone like you is considered to have a body that leaks blessings, making it easy for others to benefit from your misfortune? Those with impure intentions might even take advantage of this weakness. But those young ones are not very good at it. In my eyes, you are a person with great fortune and luck. It is what I praised you for before, because you are proud enough and you don't care. Who says it leaks blessings? You clearly have great fortune.”

Yuan Huaimin couldn't help but raise his hand to interrupt:

“Mr. Wu, if you were outside, you’d be called a spendthrift. That’s what Qiu Niang and the elders in the clan say about me.”

Wu Daozi coughed lightly and waved his hand:

"What do they know? A bunch of little kids, they're like morning mushrooms that don't know the difference between day and night, or cicadas that don't know the difference between spring and autumn."

Yuan Huaimin looked down at the new bronze scroll and said with a touch of melancholy:

“They all looked at me strangely after they found out I gave this to you. Qiu Niang said that if it weren’t for her pleading on my behalf, the Imperial Observatory might have imprisoned me, and it might even have affected my family.”

"I almost got you into trouble. This matter is indeed my fault, but if I'm not mistaken, the bronze axle was initially discovered because you, Xiao Huaimin, didn't know how to keep things to yourself and accidentally let the court know. However, the fact that they were so slow to discover it shows that they are indeed a bunch of short-sighted people."

Wu Daozi, with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face, said:

"That original copy of 'The Peach Blossom Spring' has been in the secret vault of your Yuan clan in Jingzhao for so many years, yet none of your clansmen have discovered it. As descendants of the Northern Wei royal family, you are truly a bunch of good-for-nothings. The Imperial Observatory is the same; I reckon they haven't even figured out the mysteries of the counterfeit Ding Sword yet. They've all gone off to study the counterfeit Ding recorded by the Yuan clan. They only have a superficial understanding of what I'm telling you. It's laughable and pathetic."

Yuan Huaimin stroked the blood-bronze axle with his palm and asked with some doubt:

"Mr. Wu, didn't you say that Cui Hao dismantled the Peach Blossom Spring Record into 320 fake bronze vessels? Then why does the original Peach Blossom Spring Record still exist?"

Wu Daozi succinctly stated: "Words without spirit, a dry sheet of paper."

Yuan Huaimin then asked:

"That senior Cui Hao created a new sword formation, doesn't he need Blood Bronze?"

Wu Daozi sighed:

"That's why we say this person is amazing. There's an unofficial history that says he looks like a woman but is as intelligent as a demon. That's true. In the new Peach Blossom Sword Formation, he bypassed the Blood Bronze and created a more suitable Qi-refining material, similar to the Blood Bronze."

"Moreover, the blood bronze used by Tao Yuanming is subtly related to the Yunmeng Sword Marsh. The blood bronze has another use in the Yunmeng Sword Marsh, which the Queen's Palace could not have imagined. Tao Yuanming was able to borrow it. Therefore, it can be said that Tao Yuanming and Cui Hao both had a stroke of genius that created the new sword-wielding system of the Peach Blossom Sword Formation."

After a pause, Wu Daozi glanced at Yuan Huaimin and asked:

"Little Huaimin, you didn't know about these things before?"

Yuan Huaimin scratched his head: "If it weren't for you, sir, how would I have known?"

Wu Daozi looked at him, his eyes holding a meaningful look, and said:

"It seems you're really not valued within the Yuan clan."

Yuan Huaimin had some misunderstandings and felt guilty, saying:

“I am indeed useless and can’t bring anything to the family. In this respect, I am far less promising than Qiu Niang.”

Wu Daozi suddenly said:

"This little girl named Yi Qianqiu is at Xunyang Grottoes now, right? She's the commander of the White Tiger Guards protecting the Buddha? Amazing? Ha, little Huaimin can go over there and teach her a lesson. You're a man, after all."

Yuan Huaimin immediately shook his head: "No, we mustn't hurt Qiu Niang."

He then said weakly:

"Mr. Wu, is something going to happen on the day of the celebration? Will your side intervene?"

Wu Daozi remained silent, gazing up at the Buddhist painting as if intently appreciating it, occasionally adding a stroke of his own.

Yuan Huaimin said in a low voice, "Mr. Wu, I'm begging you..."

Wu Daozi suddenly said:

"They say that if you fight in bed, you'll make up before you get out of bed. What's the big deal about giving them a little lesson? It's not like they're going to kill you."

Yuan Huaimin subconsciously said, "Mr. Wu, it's a deal. If you make a move, are you sure you won't harm her?"

He paused, then noticed Wu Daozi's smiling gaze. Realizing what was happening, he blushed.

“Mr. Wu, don’t talk nonsense. We’re not husband and wife. She’s my cousin. Of course, people from the same clan should help each other when they’re away from home.”

Wu Daozi asked leisurely:

"Then you must choose one of the two choices I'm giving you."

Yuan Huaimin paused for a moment, then suddenly untied the heavy new bronze scroll. He handed back the counterfeit bronze sword, equivalent to the one used by the "Humble Scholar," and said softly:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wu, I'm incompetent and can't choose either of them. I still prefer my current life."

He smiled and said:

"What destiny is it to me?"

Wu Daozi paused for a moment, then waved his hand:

"I'll say it again, give me your answer after the celebration. Don't bring it up now. As for this painting, please hold onto it for me for now. I can promise you that I'll protect Yi Qianqiu on the day of the celebration, but that's not a condition. It's about our friendship, our master-disciple bond. However, I also have something I need your help with. Well, that's not a request either. It's also about our friendship. I won't force you. You can accept it or not."

The hunched old man smiled happily. He stood on the ladder, just out of reach to pat Yuan Huaimin on the shoulder.

"I know your personality, so I won't force you."

Yuan Huaimin's expression was somewhat moved. He stood there, taking a deep breath:

"Please speak, sir. Speak freely."

Wu Daozi said with a smile:

"It's like this, there's an old friend of mine at Xunyang Grottoes. We've known each other for many years, but we don't get along. He seems to have recently taken on a new student. You know I'm always been a proud person. I happen to be passing through Xunyang City this time, and since you're here too, I'm going to bring a student over to have a little competition with him. I want to see just how good his student really is, and how much weight his old bones still have. What do you say?"

"What does that old man do? What if we lose?"

Wu Daozi laughed and scolded, "What are you thinking? You're already scared before the battle even begins. You're really spineless. Where's the spirit you had when you wrote poems criticizing the false emperor and changing the title back then?"

Yuan Huaimin, seemingly indifferent, shrugged and said, "Sir, you've seen it too, it's leaked."

Before he could be scolded, he asked again:

What if we lose?

"It's just a skinny old man and a little girl. Are you, a grown man, afraid of that?"

"That depends on whether it's a skinny old man or a little girl. Mr. Wu doesn't know that when Qiu Niang was ten years old, she could take on five people and even swing me around for fun..."

Wu Daozi joked, "Heh, if you lose, you're an unworthy disciple; if you win, it's because I've taught you well. Anyway, I don't care."

Yuan Huaimin hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "That works too."

Wu Daozi smiled:

"Okay, let's go together."

Yuan Huaimin suddenly said:

"Besides Qiu Niang, could you please save one more person, sir?"

Wu Daozi asked, "Who?"

Yuan Huaimin whispered:

“A good friend, I owe him many meals. Like my husband, he sometimes feels disappointed in me, but he truly considers me a friend.”

He rubbed his face, lowered his head, and said:

"But in some matters, I'm a terrible friend, a coward, and dare not tell him the truth..."

Wu Daozi saw Yuan Huaimin raise his head high for the first time ever, looking directly at him and saying:

“Mr. Wu, I know you won’t harm innocent civilians this time. I don’t care about the power struggles and life and death of others in Xunyang City, except for innocent civilians. But he must live, and live well. Don’t let his fights among you extraordinary experts hurt him.”

Wu Daozi asked curiously, "Who is he?"

“Ouyang Lianghan”.

...

A quiet courtyard.

Lobby, at the table.

Yu Nianyuan rested his chin on his hand, sat dignifiedly at the table, and waited patiently.

Zhao Qingxiu came from the kitchen, holding a bowl of hot noodles in both hands, placed it on the table, and wiped her apron with her hands.

"Thanks to you, Xiao Qi."

Yu Nianyuan reached out and wiped her temples, then straightened Zhao Qingxiu's sky-blue satin ribbon.

After doing all this, she glanced at the gift box that Zhao Qingxiu still had on the table, ready to be picked up at any time, and said nothing.

Yu Nianyuan lowered his head and started eating his noodles.

Zhao Qingxiu stayed by her side, seemingly listening to the sounds of her eating noodles.

The lobby fell silent.

Yu Nianyuan, who hadn't eaten noodles in a long time, noticed that Zhao Qingxiu in front of him seemed to be writing, so he looked up.

The pretty, blind and mute girl was writing meticulously:

Second Senior Sister, I have to go out in a bit, but there's something important I need to tell you.

Yu Nianyuan asked, "Where to?"

[A birthday gift for a deceased elder]

Yu Nianyuan was about to speak.

But Zhao Qingxiu's outstretched hand grabbed it.

"Ah ah." Zhao Qingxiu seemed to close her eyes, allowing Yu Nianyuan to observe.

Yu Nianyuan looked down and saw the red aura of spiritual energy. Her expression froze for a moment, and she asked:

"You've reached the seventh or sixth rank?"

Zhao Qingxiu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Yu Nianyuan asked, "When did this happen?"

Zhao Qingxiu smiled as she wrote:

[A few days ago, thanks to my beloved, Second Senior Sister, without him I don't know how long I would have gone. You and Eldest Senior Sister should have seen what I said in my letter, right? My beloved and I are truly a perfect match. We even drew a fortune stick.]

Yu Nianyuan listened silently as she eagerly began to praise someone.

The woman in white sighed softly and said, "Actually, Xiao Qi, it was only a matter of time before you broke through this realm. It might not be him..."

Before she could speak, she saw that Zhao Qingxiu had already taken out a bronze longsword and was holding it in her hand.

The fiery red light that immediately flared up on the sword made Yu Nianyuan choke, as she saw something that made her eyes widen in astonishment:

"Top-grade? You subdued the evil dragon? You jumped two grades in one go?!"

Yu Nianyuan, whose self-control was excellent, was surprised and blurted out.

After displaying the "Strange Phenomenon of the Trapped Dragon," Zhao Qingxiu shook her head and then nodded, muttering "ee-yah-yah" as if she couldn't explain it. She was about to write when Yu Nianyuan grabbed her hand.

The latter looked down and stared at the object, muttering to himself, "It's not top-grade, but why did it subdue the dragon so early...? Could it be some extraordinary encounter?"

Yu Nianyuan looked up to ask a question, but found the pretty young girl in front of him sitting with her hands behind her back, smiling. Four new characters had been written on the table in front of her:

[Tanlang's merit]

She swallowed her words, looked closely, and realized that her junior sister didn't seem to be joking.

Yu Nianyuan asked hesitantly, "This is not normal. How did your virgin husband help you...?"

[Second Senior Sister, I was also puzzled at first, but then I realized there's only one possibility, otherwise it's inexplicable.]

Yu Nianyuan's beautiful brows gradually furrowed. If a way could be found to subdue the evil dragon in the Dream Abyss ahead of time, the help to Jianze would be immeasurable. In the future, when the other junior sisters and Yue Nu were promoted to sixth-rank Dream Ladies, they would be transformed, avoid a major detour, and even have a much higher success rate...

Upon seeing Zhao Qingxiu's words, the woman in white was overwhelmed with a thousand thoughts.

Her lips were a little dry. She pursed her lips and asked seriously and expectantly:

"What's possible?"

Zhao Qingxiu, with a serious expression, wrote:

My life lacks him; I need to make up for it.

Yu Nianyuan: ...?

(End of this chapter)