Chapter 249 - Misty Rain in Jiangnan
However, after the trials of life and death in the desert, Tie Niu is no longer the Wu A'mon.
His steps were steady, and his hammer swung with an unstoppable momentum. Although seemingly clumsy, he always managed to accurately block the opponent's attack path. The immense force made the double-sword monk's arm numb, and he was horrified.
After more than a dozen rounds, Tie Niu seized a flaw in the opponent and swept his heavy hammer across, not hitting the human body, but accurately hitting the intersection of the opponent's two swords!
"Dang!" A deafening noise!
The monk with two swords only felt an irresistible force coming, his knuckles cracked, and the two swords flew out of his hands. He was shocked and retreated repeatedly, and fell to the ground with an expression of disbelief on his face.
The whole audience was silent for a moment, then erupted in enthusiastic cheers! No one had expected this seemingly simple and clumsy big man to possess such terrifying strength and precise control!
Tie Niu put away his hammer and stood, bowing to the audience with a simple yet confident smile on his face. He subconsciously glanced at Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao below the stage. Seeing his eldest brother nod slightly and his second brother give him a thumbs-up, he felt a sudden sense of accomplishment.
Xie Zhao held Gungun in his arms and said proudly to the people around him, "See? That's my junior brother!" He felt very proud of it.
After two days of rest in Jinshaji, it was finally time to part ways. Tie Niu would continue westward, heading for the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords, while Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao planned to head south, to the balmy water towns of the south of the Yangtze River.
Outside the city gate, Tie Niu, carrying a huge bag, his eyes reddened, "Big Brother, Second Brother, I...I'm leaving. Take care!"
Chu Linyuan looked at him and handed him a new sword talisman and several bottles of high-level healing pills: "Be careful."
Xie Zhao also stuffed him with a bunch of talismans and spirit stones, and patted his shoulder vigorously: "Silly cow, be careful! If you can't win, just run away, there's no shame! Remember to send messages back often to report your safety! We'll be waiting for you at the sect!"
Gungun also seemed to understand that they were about to part. He leaned out of Xie Zhao's arms and said "hmm" twice to Tie Niu, as if saying goodbye.
Tie Niu nodded heavily, carefully put away the instructions and gifts from his senior brothers, and finally looked at them deeply. He turned around and strode away with firm and steady steps towards the west, towards the road to his sword tomb.
Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao stood there until Tie Niu's tall figure disappeared at the end of the road.
"Let's go, Brother." Xie Zhao retracted his gaze and took Chu Linyuan's hand, "It's time for us to continue our journey."
Chu Linyuan held his hand with his backhand, interlocking their fingers: "Yes."
After bidding farewell to Tie Niu, Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao took Gun Gun and boarded a rented, elegantly decorated pleasure boat, heading south along the Jade Belt Grand Canal that runs through the north and south.
The further south you go, the more the scenery becomes completely different from the vastness of the north and the desolation of the west.
The air became moist and warm, and the banks were no longer covered by yellow sand deserts or majestic mountains, but were gradually replaced by endless rice fields, dense mulberry forests and scattered lakes and ponds.
There is often a drizzle in the sky, covering everything in the world in a layer of poetic gauze.
The pleasure boat broke through the mirror-like calm of the river, creating ripples. Xie Zhao was no longer as lively and active as before, but preferred to sit on a bamboo chair at the bow, propping up his chin and quietly gazing at the scenery on both sides of the river.
He saw fishermen wearing conical hats paddling their black-sailed boats across the Yellow River, and cormorants obediently diving into the water to pick up plump fish.
I saw a girl in blue printed clothes washing clothes by the river, her clear laughter echoing with the water;
The ancient stone arch bridge looks like a weathered old man, quietly spanning the river. Occasionally, ships loaded with cargo pass slowly under the bridge.
"A painted bridge in the mist and rain, green curtains in the wind, and ten thousand houses scattered around..." Xie Zhao couldn't help but recite in a low voice the poem he had read from some miscellaneous notebook. He felt that the scene was very appropriate.
Chu Linyuan spent most of his time in the cabin meditating or flipping through the volume of miscellaneous notes that seemed to never end.
But whenever Xie Zhao stayed at the bow for a long time, he would always appear silently, put a thin cloak on Xie Zhao's shoulders, or hand him a cup of hot tea to dispel the moisture.
"Brother, look at the willow trees on the shore. Their branches are almost hanging down in the water. Do they look like girls washing their hair?" Xie Zhao pointed at the shore and turned back to smile at Chu Linyuan.
Chu Linyuan looked in the direction he pointed. The drizzle was like silk, wetting the willow branches, making them look even greener and softer.
He withdrew his gaze and fell on Xie Zhao's profile, which was becoming whiter and clearer due to being soaked in water vapor. He hummed softly, not knowing whether he was responding to the willow tree or looking at the person in front of him.
GunGun also seems to like this humid environment. He often lies on the bow of the boat, stretching out his little claws to reach the splashing water, or trying to catch dragonflies flying low over the water, having a lot of fun.
On this day, the pleasure boat docked at a typical Jiangnan water town called "Furong Town".
The town is not big, with rivers crisscrossing it. Every house is by the water and every household is on the river.
They abandoned the boat and went ashore, walking on the wet bluestone pavement and strolling in the narrow alleys.
The air was filled with the sweet aroma of osmanthus cake and the scent of damp earth. An old woman set up a stall on the roadside, selling fresh lotus roots and water chestnuts.
Xie Zhao bought some out of curiosity, peeled the tender water chestnuts, ate one himself, and stuffed another into Chu Linyuan's mouth.
Chu Linyuan frowned slightly, as if he was not used to this kind of street food, but he still chewed it slowly.
"Is it sweet?" Xie Zhao asked expectantly.
"...It's OK." Chu Linyuan gave his usual evaluation, but looking at Xie Zhao's bright eyes, he added, "It's lighter than the candied haws you bought."
Xie Zhao's face suddenly lit up with smiles, as if he had received some great compliment.
They found a teahouse by the river and sat down in an elegant second-floor booth. A drizzle continued outside the window. A black-sailed boat creaked past on the river, its female companion singing a melodious tune in the soft Wu dialect. The lyrics were hard to discern, but the tune had a distinct charm.
Xie Zhao ordered a pot of Biluochun tea and some exquisite snacks, and while enjoying the rain, he chatted in a low voice with Chu Linyuan.
"Brother, when we go back, how about we dig a small lake next to the sect? Plant some lotus flowers, raise some koi, and build a water pavilion..." Xie Zhao began to plan his "sect beautification blueprint" again.
"Yes." Chu Linyuan took a sip of tea, his eyes passing over a pair of egrets on the river outside the window. "We need to consider the evil energy of the earth veins, so it shouldn't be too strong."
"I see! We can bring in a stream of purified water..." Xie Zhao continued to perfect his idea with great interest.
As he was speaking, the sound of a few young men who looked like scholars arguing about poetry came from the next table. It seemed that they were arguing about the origin of a certain allusion, and their faces were red.
Xie Zhao found this interesting. He was already well-informed and well-read, and he couldn't help but interject, "Brothers, if I remember correctly, this allusion seems to come from the annotations to the 'Autumn Water Chapter' in the third volume of 'Nanhua Miscellaneous Records'."
The scholars were stunned and looked at Xie Zhao. Seeing that he had an extraordinary demeanor and the person next to him was even more stern and intimidating, they did not dare to neglect him. They hurriedly checked the books they carried with them and found the source. They immediately respected Xie Zhao, thanked him repeatedly, and warmly invited them to drink tea and discuss poetry together.
Xie Zhao declined with a smile. He was too impatient to show off his knowledge to a bunch of nerds.
Chu Linyuan, on the other hand, looked at Xie Zhao who resolved other people's disputes with just a few words, and a barely perceptible pride flashed in his cold eyes.
After spending two days in Furong Town, experiencing the tranquility and elegance of the water town, they set off again. The pleasure boat sailed out of the crisscrossing river network and entered a more expansive lake area - Mirror Lake.
Mirror Lake is as its name suggests, with a surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds and the surrounding green mountains, which is breathtakingly beautiful.
They rented a small boat. Xie Zhao rushed to row the boat, but after a few strokes he made the boat spin in place. Finally, Chu Linyuan took over the oars and paddled them a few times seemingly casually. The boat then sailed smoothly and quickly towards the island in the middle of the lake like an arrow, which Xie Zhao was amazed at.
There is a small Guanyin temple on the island in the middle of the lake. It is not very popular, but it is particularly quiet and peaceful.
The two of them walked around the temple casually. By the wishing pool, Xie Zhao insisted on pulling Chu Linyuan to throw coins together.
"Brother, make a wish quickly!" Xie Zhao closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and muttered something.
Chu Linyuan looked at his serious expression, then looked at the densely packed copper coins at the bottom of the pool. He was silent for a moment, and finally threw a copper coin into the water as he was told. What was going through his mind, perhaps only the Guanyin in the pool knew.
When they emerged from the temple, the setting sun had already dyed the lake a golden red. They sat on the rocks by the island, watching the sunset slowly sink behind the distant mountains, the changing colors of the sky a magnificent sight.
Xie Zhao leaned on Chu Linyuan's shoulder, looking at the magnificent scenery, and suddenly whispered: "Brother, when we are old, let's find a small courtyard by the water in a place like this to live in, okay?"
Chu Linyuan's arm tightened slightly around him, and his deep voice was particularly clear in the twilight: "Yes. Wherever you are, I'm there."
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