Chapter 341 An unexpected surprise

Yun Chen looked at the sword in his hand in surprise——

Made of black iron and gold, with a diamond edge, it is much heavier than an ordinary sword, but it is no longer as heavy as it was when it was in knife form.

The sword was pitch black with a scarlet hue. When she raised it slightly, there was a buzzing sound as it broke through the air. The vibration went straight from her hand to her heart, and she was so frightened that she could hardly hold it.

As the old man said, the sword has a sword soul.

Yun Chen felt that the sword was like a deep, mysterious, unfathomable and majestic elder. Just standing there, she felt an oppressive feeling that made her want to kneel down and bow her head.

The old man patted her shoulder encouragingly. "This knife is called 'Cheng Ying.' It transforms into a 'sword' when you touch a mechanism. It's a bit too sharp, and it's a bit strenuous for you to use, but it's better than having no weapon at all."

Yun Chen nodded, and in his heart he decided to use the sword well, practice martial arts well, and never let the sword down. But then he put the sword back on the stone platform and said to the old man shyly:

"Senior, thank you for your kindness, but... never mind. I can't have this sword."

There was a flash of surprise in the old man's eyes, and he looked at Yun Chen with great interest.

Seeing that her eyes were glued to the sword, but she insisted that she didn't want it, he found it interesting and motioned Yun Chen to continue combing his hair.

The more he combed his hair, the smoother it became. Yun Chen gathered all the old man's hair, but couldn't find a hairpin, so he used half a chopstick instead, tying it into a neat old bun.

The old man's face finally emerged clearly, and one could vaguely see the handsome and unrestrained appearance of his youth.

Yun Chen washed the towel again and wanted to shave the old man, but found that the old man's chin was smooth without even a stubble.

The old man smiled kindly yet cunningly, "Tell me why you don't want the sword anymore."

Yun Chen lowered his head and thought for a moment, then knelt on one knee, looking at the old man with clear and frank eyes, and said:

"Senior, please forgive me. I was clever and deceived you. The answer on the stone tablet was not my own idea. My master told me."

The old man raised his long white eyebrows and asked Yun Chen to continue.

Yun Chen took a deep breath and opened up the past that he couldn't bear to touch.

"I learned martial arts from my master at Xiangxiao Cliff. After years of traveling, I've learned that the immortal buried at Xiangxiao Cliff is none other than the Empress, whose maiden name is 'Amu.'"

The last two words obviously took the old man by surprise, and he hadn't heard them in thirty years.

This shocked him at first, and then his eyes became moist instantly, and then tears flowed uncontrollably.

He wiped it away in a panic, tears streaming down his face as he smiled sheepishly:

"Look at me, I'm so old and I'm still crying."

Yun Chen was heartbroken. She had seen the Emperor of Dongyan kneeling and crying, the Emperor of Nan Kingdom crying out in regret before his death, and she had also witnessed Jiang Ming's willingness to stay with her for the rest of his life at the cost of his own life.

From the moment she stepped into the lantern temple, she deliberately avoided talking about the old man's past and identity.

Because her intuition told her that the grief of the old man in front of her was probably even greater than that of his predecessors.

Those are the dusty past events that one dare not open easily. Just a slight touch will make one feel excruciating pain.

After crying for a long time, the old man wiped away his tears with trembling hands. Just now he looked like a wise, calm and slightly playful old scholar, but now he was full of sadness and old age.

He choked up and sighed, "Don't blame me, little girl. I haven't heard that name in a long time."

Yun Chen couldn't help but frown, she knelt down again and said:

"Although I don't know what happened decades ago, my master told me that before a massive earthquake struck the Southern Kingdom, there was a dry river running through the country from north to south, starting from the Canghaixiangxiao Cliff in the south and ending at the Paektu Mountain in the north. It was called the 'Netherworld Road'.

Legend has it that the Netherworld Path is the road from the human world to the underworld. Upon death, a person enters the Netherworld Path. From the Fragrant Cliff to Mount Paektu, once a soul has completed this journey, their life is truly over.

The master said that the Empress was afraid of the dark, and before her death, she feared the long, dark road to the underworld. Therefore, the Empress's... beloved made a promise to her, telling her, "Don't be afraid. I will always hold the lamp for you, letting the light guide you along your journey."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man burst into tears.

Huo Gannian had woken up at some point, his eyes red as he stared at Yun Chen in a trance.

Ye Yan, Buyan, and Huo Luyu all woke up and sat quietly on the straw couch, listening to this sad and heartbreaking love story with tears in their eyes.

Yun Chen kowtowed to the old man, and when he raised his head, tears were already streaming down his face.

She said to the old man with shame:

"I didn't think of this at first, but when I took the sword just now, I saw the word 'Netherworld' in the corner of the stone platform. Then I remembered what Master once said, 'Netherworld Path, Netherworld Path. If the Moon rules the world, she shouldn't be walking on the Netherworld Path, but on the Path to Immortality that will transform this world into something glorious.'

I can somewhat understand the difficulties the Empress faced disguising herself as a man to become the Crown Prince. "A man is the sun, a woman is the moon," I remember these words vividly. "Senior, I did not answer the questions on the stele myself. I feel unworthy to accept the sword."

The old man was unable to respond to Yun Chen's words. He covered his face with his hands full of calluses and wrinkles, and cried like a child.

Time takes away youth, and years turn black hair into frosty white.

After thirty years of working as a lamplighter, only the body has aged, but the heart has never changed.

That carefree and unrestrained young man was forever trapped in the day when he lost his beloved.

Inside this old body, there is actually still a young and passionate heart.

Everyone listened quietly to the old man's sad crying, and they were all moved to tears.

After a long time, when the old man calmed down, he looked at Yun Chen and smiled softly, saying:

"Jiang Ming is so lucky."

This sentence is worth a thousand words, there is no need to say anything more, Yun Chen bowed deeply in response.

The old man stepped forward and patted her shoulder, then pulled out the broken Blood-Drinking Sword from her body and flicked the broken sword with two fingers.

"Since the little girl is so sincere, then I, an old man, can't be stingy."

After saying this, the old man lifted his robe lightly and leaped onto the stone platform. His movements were so light that it was amazing.

He aimed at the connection between Cheng Ying's handle and body, and inserted the broken blade of the Blood-Drinking Sword into it fiercely.

There was a loud "bang" and everyone's eardrums seemed to be pierced by a sledgehammer.

The old man actually chopped off the handle of Cheng Ying and threw it into the stove without any care. Then with a "click", he easily broke off the blade of the Bloodthirsty Sword like breaking an apple.

He aligned the hilt of the Bloodthirsty Sword with Cheng Ying's body, gestured, nodded with satisfaction, and smiled at Yun Chen:

"Come back in thirty days to get the sword. This sword is for you."

…

…

Originally, he climbed to this "Bath God's Temple" just to entrust Huo Luyu.

Who would have thought that he would unexpectedly find a top-notch magic weapon.

What was even more unexpected was that Huo Luyu actually asked to stay.

He said he would help the old man watch over the sword-making furnace until the sword was finished.

This was exactly what Huo Gannian and Yun Chen wanted.

Huo Gannian planned to wait for thirty days until the new sword was forged, and then entrust Huo Luyu to the safest and most reliable person and take her to a place far away from the battlefield.

As the old man and Huo Luyu watched them go, when the sky was just getting light, Huo Gannian and Yun Chen held hands, Ye Yan held the kite pieces, ah, held Buyan's collar from the back, and chased in the direction of the Lion Army.

After walking a long way, Yun Chen couldn't help but look back.

She saw Mount Paektu standing under the clear blue sky, so beautiful that it looked like a fairyland.

Halfway up the mountain, the lights are shining brightly, like a bright lamp in the long dark night, illuminating the souls hurrying along the road to the underworld.

Suddenly, a gust of wind came.

The forest at the foot of Mount Paektu made rustling sounds, and the forest sea rose and fell, undulating in one direction, as if a giant was walking towards here, causing all the trees to whisper and sigh in surprise.

Like a dream, Yun Chen seemed to see a peerless hero in white clothes fluttering like a fairy, so beautiful that it was difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman, striding briskly on the road to the underworld.

The road ahead was vast and dark, but the lights of Mount Paektu were all around him, bathing the heroic spirit in golden light and illuminating the road ahead.

"Chen'er, who is this old senior?"

"I don't know, maybe... he is the Queen's true lover."