Chapter 59 A teacher for a day, a father for life. I'm like a father to you...
He was so terrified by the sword god's casual glance that his legs went weak and his mind went blank. He was so weak that he couldn't stand up and couldn't even speak. He had to be half-dragged and half-carried home by the people around him. He lay in bed for three days before he slowly recovered.
Even now, many years later, and though the sword god's gaze in his memory has long since blurred, it still makes his scalp tingle, his neck go cold, and his whole body tremble whenever he thinks of it.
Seeing that he stopped there, one of the two couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what happened next? What happened to the Sword God and your ancestor?"
The man sighed and said, "How would I know? If I were still standing there when these gods were fighting, how would I be alive to be sitting here?"
As he spoke, he looked at Li Chenjin and said with great emotion, "Although Chenjin Jushi looks somewhat like the Sword God, he makes people feel close to him. Alas... Fortunately, it is Chenjin Jushi here now. If it were the Sword God, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to speak."
"It's a little embarrassing to admit, but although I'm a seasoned businessman and, while I wouldn't call myself a silver-tongued silver-tongued person, I can still say a few words. But after seeing the Sword God, even though I was able to stand up after lying down for three days, I was completely speechless, as if my soul had been stolen away. I practiced diligently at home for six or seven months before I finally remembered how to speak properly, sigh..."
Li Chen coughed lightly, raised his hand to touch his nose, and slowly said, "Ah... this... the Sword God is actually so fierce? But I've heard that the Sword God's temper is sometimes quite good."
The man scoffed and said, "I guess it's only when you're facing your own people that you have a good temper, right? Anyway, I wasn't the only one who saw the Sword God. I was lucky; at least I could still sleep. Some people were so scared that they couldn't sleep for nights on end after they went back, and some even had nightmares as soon as they closed their eyes. I heard that the longest one had trouble sleeping was three or four years, which almost killed him."
"But that's normal, isn't it? In the world of sword cultivators, reputations are earned through hard work, sword by sword? If one's killing intent isn't strong, one wouldn't become a sword god at such a young age. Speaking of which, that sword god was truly a once-in-a-millennium genius. He succeeded the Wanshan Sect at the age of eighteen, and in just one year, he earned the title of sword god. He was only nineteen at the time!"
As he spoke, he shook his head again, looking extremely regretful, and said, "It's a pity that the heavens are jealous of talent. That sword god only served as the head of Wanshan Sect for six years before he perished. He was only twenty-four years old when he died. Alas... he was still very young."
"Even if that sword god were still alive, he would only be twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, which is almost a full twelve years younger than me!"
Li Chen said, "It must have been because this Sword God was too arrogant in the past. When it comes to dealing with people, being too arrogant makes it easy to be resented and targeted; being too weak makes it easy to be looked down upon and bullied. This Sword God didn't know what the Doctrine of the Mean was when she was young. If you can't learn this, you're bound to take some detours and fall. It can only be said that she was just unlucky."
No sooner had Li Chen finished speaking than the person next to him jumped up and shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about?! The Sword God is not like that at all!!"
Li Chen was startled by Han Shannan's sudden outburst. He turned to look at him, about to speak, when Han Shannan continued, "The Sword Goddess isn't arrogant; she simply did what she could. Does that mean she's arrogant just because she could do things that most people can't? If she did things that most people could do, how could she have become the Sword Goddess? How could she have punished evil and eliminated wickedness, keeping demons and monsters from harassing the human world for just a few years?!"
"It's true that the Sword Goddess was the only dominant force in the sword cultivation world when she was alive, but she was always an upright and honest person who personally saved so many people and eliminated so many evil spirits. She was clearly a rare righteous person in the world! Even her death was for the sake of saving people. She spent her whole life saving people, and in just a few years after becoming the sect leader, she did so many things that no one before her could do. Can't you see any of this?"
"Li Chenjin, aren't you her friend? She clearly trusted you so much, leaving you even the sword manual. How could you say such things about her? Even if everyone else in the world doesn't understand her, shouldn't you be the one who understands her best? Shouldn't you stand on her side?!"
Li Chen glared at Han Shannan, then turned and gave the two opposite him an embarrassed smile.
The two people opposite were also shrewd. Just from what Han Shan Nanfang had just said, they deduced a lot of information and realized that they couldn't afford to offend them. They made an excuse and, ignoring Li Chenjin's attempts to persuade them to stay, hurriedly got up and went upstairs, leaving behind the remaining drinks on the table.
After everyone had left, Li Chen looked at Han Shannan and couldn't help but sigh, "Han, you've been following me for quite some time now. Why can't you learn the principle that silence is golden and too much talk leads to mistakes?"
"Now that's good. Those two know that I am a friend of the Sword God, and they also know that the Sword God left me the sword manual before he fell. Not only those two, but everyone else in this hall heard it too. You were so loud just now, I think not only the people in this hall, but also the people upstairs must have heard it clearly."
"By then, word will spread like wildfire, and everyone will know that the Sword God's sword manual is with me. Didn't you make me a sitting duck? I'm afraid it won't be long before someone comes to ask me for the sword manual. If I don't give it to them, they might even torture me to extract a confession."
"You...I...them...I..."
Han Shannan calmed down at this point, and after listening to Li Chenjin's words, he was speechless for a long time and couldn't say a complete sentence.
Seeing this, Li Chen sighed again, waved his sleeve, and leisurely went upstairs. "Fine, let's just say it was an unintentional mistake on your part, Cultivator Han."
"Don't worry, if anyone comes to me later to ask for the sword manual, or tries to kidnap or beat me, I will definitely not hold a grudge against you, Cultivator Han."
Han Shannan: "..."
The anger he felt earlier vanished in an instant. Looking at Li Chenjin's retreating figure, Han Shannan felt only endless regret.
He genuinely couldn't help himself just now; he didn't intend to say those things out loud. He had been keeping an eye on things all along, but he didn't expect that in his anger, he would forget everything, and those words would just naturally come out of his mouth.
He regretted it for a while, then quickly followed them upstairs.
Just then, Li Chenjin hadn't closed the door. He walked into the room, looked at Li Chenjin who was reading a storybook, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to just now. I know I can't say those things, I... I just couldn't help it..."
Li Chen raised his eyes and looked at Han Shannan, saying, "Cultivator Han, how many times have you used this excuse with me? Haven't I always told you that silence is golden and too much talk leads to mistakes?"
"And what have you done? You didn't remember a single thing, yet today you spilled the beans about my affair with the Sword God, and you did it so loudly. Are you going to reveal tomorrow that the Sword God didn't actually perish?"
"No! I, I won't, you have to believe me!" Han Shannan said hurriedly. "I really wasn't paying attention just now, I promise I won't do it again! Don't worry, I'll stay with you from now on. When I really have to go back, I... I'll take you with me, I promise I won't let anything happen to you!"
"Of course, if you don't want to go home with me then, I won't force you. I'll send you back to the meditation world first before going back myself. I will definitely protect you!"
Li Chen nodded. "So you do have some respect for your teacher. But a mistake is a mistake. Aren't you going to do anything to make amends?"
Han Shannan was taken aback, and subconsciously touched his waist, saying, "I don't have anything left to give you. The thousand taels of silver I brought with me are all with you, aren't they? I only have a sword left now, do you want it?"
Li Chen raised his hand and said, "Hey. This spirit sword recognizes its master, so don't just give me your sword casually. If it suddenly gets angry and pokes a hole in me, wouldn't I die here?"
"You don't need to do anything else. Just come with me tomorrow to investigate the matter of the Weeping Dew Pavilion. I am very interested in the Weeping Dew Pavilion. It just so happens that the matter entrusted to me by Zen Master Mingcun is also related to the Weeping Dew Pavilion. It's always good to learn more about it. Knowing yourself and your enemy is never wrong."
Han Shannan couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the Weeping Dew Pavilion a dance hall? Is the matter that Zen Master Mingcun asked you to handle related to a dance hall?"
Li Chen said calmly, "It's precisely because this Qilu Pavilion is a dance hall, filled with young women, even if those women aren't real people, that most disciples from the Zen cultivation world are not suitable to come here."
"Besides, everyone in the meditation community, whether monks or nuns, has already shaved their heads and has the ordination scars on their heads. If they come here, wouldn't others be able to tell them at a glance? So, when Zen Master Mingcun looked around and didn't see anyone suitable, this task fell to me?"
"It really is true! And only you could come!" Han Shannan said in realization. "Don't worry, even if you hadn't said anything, I would have gone with you to investigate. Your cultivation is so weak, and your health isn't good, how could I let you go alone?"
Li Chenjin nodded with great satisfaction. "You're quite filial. Here, let me pour you a cup of tea."
As Li Chen finished speaking, he took a clean cup, filled it with tea, and handed it to Han Shannan.
Seeing that she was no longer angry, Han Shannan was immediately relieved and reached out to take her with a smile.
But when he accidentally touched Li Chenjin's fingers, he suddenly pulled his hand back, and the cup full of tea fell to the ground, spilling tea everywhere.
Li Chen stared at the broken teacup and spilled tea on the ground and couldn't help but say, "Han Shannan, even if you're rich, you can't do this! Let me tell you, the tea sets in this inn are all complete sets. You broke one of their teacups, so I have to pay for the whole set!"
Han Shannan snapped out of his daze and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "No, no! I didn't mean to drop it. I just accidentally touched your hand!"
Li Chen paused, his expression momentarily blank before turning serious. He abruptly stood up, took a large step back, and pointed at Han Shannan, saying, "Han Shannan, let me warn you first. You and I are master and disciple. A teacher for a day is a father for life, and I am both your father and your mother. Don't you dare have any thoughts of betraying your master or committing treason."
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