Chapter 32 - 29: Tears of Parting
"Wh-what?!"
Xia Lianxue could feel the warmth of the man’s palm. It was startlingly hot. No, perhaps it was her own cheeks that were burning.
The man’s familiar yet strange warmth left Xia Lianxue feeling a little flustered.
Lu Changyuan looked at the Fairy with amusement. "I asked, do you trust me?"
"I do... I do!"
"Then come with me. Let’s get something to eat." Lu Changyuan plucked an Arhat Pine leaf from the Fairy’s hair and dangled it before Xia Lianxue’s eyes. "You need a full stomach to have the strength to run. As for the rest of those Cultivators, let the people from the Qingcao Sword Sect save them."
The Fairy continued to hold the umbrella as the two of them walked straight to the noodle shop by the city gate.
In truth, it was the only place still open at this hour.
The sky remained dark. The noodle shop was lit by a few flickering candles, its sign knocked to the ground by the rain. The dim, unsteady light made the shop look a little frightening.
Noodle Granny was sitting under the awning, watching the rain. It was as if she knew Lu Changyuan was coming; two bowls of noodles were already on the table, still steaming hot.
This time, they were truly two bowls of plain soup with noodles.
"Have you seen my third-born, my youngest daughter?"
Lu Changyuan waved his hand dismissively. "I’ve seen her. She’s good-looking, but she doesn’t seem quite right in the head. Maybe all that Cultivation at the Compassionate Palace made her stupid. She covers her eyes with a white cloth and thinks she’s renounced the world."
With that, Lu Changyuan picked up his chopsticks. He ate the tasteless, plain noodles with great patience.
Xia Lianxue sat patiently beside him.
She wasn’t actually hungry, but she ate a few bites to keep Lu Changyuan company.
The young master had told her to go and see for herself again. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to be looking at.
Noodle Granny said, "Young Master, you must bear with her. She has been spoiled since she was young."
Lu Changyuan suddenly snapped, "Don’t talk like you’re entrusting an orphan to me. If you want to discipline your child, do it yourself."
Xia Lianxue watched Lu Changyuan’s expression.
This was the first time she had seen him like this. She could tell he was angry.
Noodle Granny was silent for a moment. "I thought you would stop me."
Lu Changyuan set down his chopsticks, his eyes as cold as ice. "You’ve schemed well. You weren’t willing to be honest with me when we met, so how can I stop you now? The Dragon Vein is broken. He’s bound to get out!"
Noodle Granny lowered her head, her tone filled with guilt. "I... I will kill him with my own hands."
Su Luoqiu, hiding nearby and listening to their conversation, was inwardly groaning. ’I know too much now,’ he thought. ’People who know too much never live long.’
So he tried his best to curl into a ball, hoping no one would notice him.
Noodle Granny didn’t dare to meet Lu Changyuan’s gaze. "This was also for my own selfish reasons. I was the one who leaked the information to the Blood Demon Lord. I never thought you would come... Brother Lu, I don’t have much time left. I’m too old."
The wrinkles on her aged cheeks were carved by the merciless hand of time. Those who practice Cultivation usually retain their youth; only when their lifespan is nearing its end do they age so drastically.
"Brother Lu, he Fallen into Demonhood and devoured three thousand people. He’s been suppressed for fifteen hundred years. It’s time he was given a final release."
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes and ignored Noodle Granny.
Noodle Granny said mournfully, "Our child has long since turned to dust. I have nothing left, Brother Lu."
She repeated, "Besides... rather than waiting for him to emerge and bring ruin to the world after I’m dead, it’s better that I end this completely, while I still have one last sword strike left in me."
Suddenly, thunder rumbled on the horizon. Layers of black clouds flew in from the distance, blotting out the sky and sun.
From far away, a loud shout echoed: "As long as I’m here, you will not run rampant!"
That was Li Qingcao’s voice. Things had taken a turn at Liuqing Lake.
Lu Changyuan gazed into the distance. He could see the lakeside filled with a verdant aura, Sword Intent surging violently.
Soon, a beam of sword light shot into the clouds, only to be devoured, leaving not a single glimmer of light.
It was as if the sky had gone completely black.
Noodle Granny walked slowly to the table. She took a piece of iron from beneath the tabletop, kneaded it with her hands, and molded it into a sword.
The Noodle Granny, so old she looked on the verge of death, suddenly transformed. Time itself seemed to reverse for her as a face of moon-eclipsing, flower-shaming beauty quietly returned.
What a stunning beauty.
The former Fairy of the Iron Sword Sect gripped her sword once more, returning to the form she had in her prime.
The Magic of the Sixth Realm Kai Yang swept through the world, completely unrestrained.
Billowing Red Dust rushed forth. The Celestial Vault abruptly split open, and a sliver of light shone through.
Luan Rumeng, Sect Leader of the Iron Sword Sect. She has practiced Cultivation for over sixteen hundred years. Her heart is like a glazed, illusory dream, yet as hard as iron. Her Daoist Technique, the Supreme Profound Sword, is perfected. But alas, with guilt weighing on her heart, she has been unable to reach the realm of Yao Guang for a thousand years.
Her voice was ethereal and profound. "Brother Lu."
Lu Changyuan looked toward Liuqing Lake and said heavily, "Wuxiang is already dead! What’s left is a Demon! It’s not him!"
"But I want to see him."
Without warning, a memory surged from the depths of his mind.
It had also been a rainy night. The man before him had been just as stubborn as Luan Rumeng was now. He had said, "Changyuan, I must see the view from Yao Guang, even if it kills me."
Lu Changyuan couldn’t stop him.
Just like today.
So he turned his head away, no longer looking at her. "Go on, then!" he said. "You two truly are a pair, both with a death wish! I can’t stop either of you!"
Luan Rumeng bowed, sword in hand. "Thank you, Brother Lu."
A streak of light like a vibrant cloud, a sword like a rainbow, she soared into the sky.
Only when her light was no longer visible did Lu Changyuan sigh. "A lovesick fool in the Red Dust."
Xia Lianxue, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke. "Young Master."
"Let me tell you the rest of the story. That young man from the Iron Sword Sect... his real name was Su Wuxiang. He killed the top genius of the Iron Sword Sect, married his Senior Sister, and left behind a child. But because of the Demon Technique, he grew to find the world increasingly dull. So he took up his sword and left for the Black Realm."
Xia Lianxue poured a cup of wine for Lu Changyuan, and Lu Changyuan drank it in one gulp.
"Three years later, Su Wuxiang was still rampaging through the Black Realm, cutting down anyone who stood in his way. But one day, he met two strange people: a man and a woman, who were on the run. They thought Su Wuxiang was another one of their pursuers, and so they both attacked. Su Wuxiang was defeated by the man in a single sword exchange."
Lu Changyuan continued, "After clearing up the misunderstanding, their fight turned into a friendship. Su Wuxiang helped the pair flee until they finally shook their pursuers. The three of them became the closest of friends, and even went on to found a Sect together."
Xia Lianxue said softly, "That’s an enviable bond. A friendship forged in conflict."
"Yes, but the good times didn’t last. A year later, Su Wuxiang learned that the Iron Sword Sect back in the White Realm was being oppressed by a major Sect, so he rushed back."
"His two friends must have come to help, right?"
Lu Changyuan shook his head. "Only the man came, but he was enough. By then, both he and Su Wuxiang had reached the Sixth Realm; there was nowhere in the world they couldn’t go. They easily killed the invaders, but they didn’t arrive soon enough. There weren’t many people left in the Iron Sword Sect. I advised him that since he had a wife and child, he should stay."
Xia Lianxue looked at Lu Changyuan, suddenly thinking that he was quite handsome himself. She said, "Don’t tell me Su Wuxiang didn’t stay?"
"He stayed. That’s how the Glazed Dynasty was founded. But later, he became obsessed with Breaking Realm. No matter how hard I tried to persuade him, he wouldn’t listen. In the end, he was devoured by a Desire Demon and Fallen into Demon."
Xia Lianxue’s eyes widened in realization. "Su Wuxiang was the founding Emperor, and Noodle Granny was the Empress... The one suppressed beneath Upper Jade Capital is the ancestor of the Glazed Dynasty... Doesn’t that mean Noodle Granny has been guarding the seal of the man she loves, all alone, for fifteen hundred years?!"
Lu Changyuan was silent.
Su Luoqiu stared in shock as Lu Changyuan spoke of his own ancestors. Only today did he learn of Noodle Granny’s true identity.
Fifteen hundred years. The child of Luan Rumeng and Su Wuxiang had long since passed away. Everything from the past had changed, but Luan Rumeng remained, guarding Upper Jade Capital, thinking every day of the Su Wuxiang at the bottom of Liuqing Lake.
Lu Changyuan drained the last of his wine in one gulp and murmured as if in a dream, "The poplar catkins are blooming again."
Xia Lianxue shook her head. "Young Master, it’s summer now. Poplar catkins bloom in the third month."
And so, she looked closer.
They were not specks of poplar catkins, but the tears of a farewell.