427: Chapter 29 Change_2 427: Chapter 29 Change_2 “The world has indeed changed.”
Xie Xuanyi perceived the undertone in True Master Jun Shan’s words, yet remained undisturbed.
He gazed at the reflection of lanterns on Ying Lake, speaking in an exceedingly calm voice, “For a dynasty to make its people willing to die for it, it’s not as simple as chanting slogans…
Whether a dynasty rises or falls isn’t just about what the subjects have done for the dynasty, but also what the rulers of the dynasty have done for the people.”
A simple truth circulated among the mundane streets.
The common man should regard himself as a person.
Those above should regard others as people.
If Great Chu were to follow Great Yue, treating its citizens as worthless, how could such a dynasty be worth the sacrifice of its subjects?
“That’s the principle…”
True Master Jun Shan’s youthful face unexpectedly took on a few traces of vicissitudes.
His eyes held regret and even more pity.
At present, the Holy Empress wielded supreme power in the Great Chu Dynasty.
Compared to Chu Qing, she could hardly be called an “enlightened ruler,”—neglecting the Northern Border Great Wall, recalling the noble families of the Northern County, such misguided decisions had already provoked censure.
Discontent boiled in all Four Realities, yet the moment of “backlash” had not arrived.
“Is Great Chu still the same Great Chu?”
Lost in confusion and reminiscence, Jun Shan looked up at the sky.
…
…
Before dawn in Ying City, True Master Jun Shan bade farewell and departed, taking many with him on his journey outside the Taoist sect.
The battle at Moss Ridge the previous night saw him and Xie Xuanyi leave smoothly but the remaining Taoist disciples had to be “dealt with.”
However, Jun Shan had left Deng Baiyi here.
He had promised Deng Baiyi.
Coming to the Imperial City and seeing Xie Xuanyi, he would allow them ample private time.
“Xie Zhen… have you been well lately?”
By Ying Lake, the lanterns dimmed, overcast clouds dissipated, and the dawn’s early light began to emerge.
Slivers of radiance fell upon them, drawing curious looks.
Xie Xuanyi, wearing an ordinary mask of “All Living Beings,” appeared unremarkable, but Deng Baiyi’s beauty was indisputably superior in the mundane world.
In black attire and white robes, they walked several rounds around Ying Lake.
Although it was a reunion of old acquaintances, they found themselves short of words.
After a long pause, Deng Baiyi finally spoke.
Since parting,
she had heard many stories about Xie Zhen.
Through countless pigeon-sent messages and transmitted Jade Scrolls, Deng Baiyi never missed the “news” of Xie Zhen.
Who could imagine that, after a brief encounter, this youth in black would become the most resoundingly famous figure in the cultivation world?
Let alone just journeying beyond the mortal realms, even if secluded in the forest, one might still hear the name of Xie Zhen—
Deng Baiyi was not foolish.
About the background of “Xie Zhen,” she had already roughly guessed.
Because the Qing State’s records mentioned their traveling together, many curious Taoist disciples had sought her out to hear stories about Xie Zhen.
During these days, Deng Baiyi had never spoken a word about Xie Xuanyi’s past.
She had completely sealed off the period before entering Lichao City, keeping it untouched by anyone.
“Things have been quite all right.”
This question was somewhat vague, but Xie Xuanyi did not answer superficially.
After a moment of thought, he said earnestly and meticulously, “After leaving Qing State, I returned to Da Sui Sword Palace, found a good residence for Jiang Huang, and besides that, I arranged for a mansion on Anshan Street for your father.
I hear he has been very happy lately.
If you now control your sword back to the Imperial City, you might see him out with his servants for breakfast…
Have you learned to control the sword yet?”
He smiled as he asked the latter half.
Deng Baiyi seemed a bit dazed.
This familiar tone reminded her of what Xie Xuanyi had said at Lichao Lake when they parted.
[“Deng Baiyi, train well at World Pavilion.”]
[“When we meet again, you’ll be a Sword Immortal, the kind that can fly in the sky.”]
Taking a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly, Deng Baiyi mustered her courage to ask, “Does using a talisman to control the sword count as sword control?”
…
Xie Xuanyi slowly stopped walking, looking at Deng Baiyi with a hint of surprise.
If he remembered correctly, it had been less than a year since they parted in Qing State.
Deng Baiyi’s aptitude for Sword Qi was not much; to control the sword with talismans required a great deal of Heart Power and a lot of effort.
“If using talismans for Sword Control doesn’t count as Sword Control…I probably still can’t do it…”
Deng Baiyi lowered her head somewhat sheepishly.
“Of course, it counts.”
Unexpectedly, Xie Xuanyi’s voice interrupted her.
Deng Baiyi was momentarily stunned.
She looked up and saw the clear, ocean-like eyes of the young man in black.
“In the grand Dao of the world, there is no distinction between left and right.
In the myriad laws of the world, there is no hierarchy.”
Xie Xuanyi spoke with a hint of satisfaction, “You have only been practicing for a few months, and being able to use the talismans for Sword Control at the Foundation Establishment stage…that is indeed an impressive achievement.
Although you are not yet a true Sword Immortal, controlling Sword Qi is now just a matter of time.
I indeed wasn’t wrong about you.”
Even Xie Xuanyi himself was somewhat surprised by his words.
Were these really the words he had spoken?
Back on Lotus Peak, Xie Xuanyi had been particularly stern about cultivating the Sword Dao.
When the master had him teach, he lectured at Lotus Peak, providing guidance point by point.
The young disciples, initially excited, felt like they had cold water poured on them after receiving his guidance because Xie Xuanyi’s “guidance” was too cold, too harsh.
Even the highly talented Junior Sister Huang Su, upon joining the sect, had also been reprimanded by Xie Xuanyi.
The past him hardly ever spoke words of praise or encouragement.
The reason was simple—he himself was a monument in the cultivation of the Sword Dao.
All geniuses who wished to cultivate the sword had to look up to Xie Xuanyi.
Overlooking his successors, Xie Xuanyi saw only flaws.
How was he to encourage these blatantly flawed and mediocre chasers?
“…sigh.”
Deng Baiyi’s confidence soared greatly, and she let out a long breath of relief, the tension in her heart finally easing.
On the road from Yuzhu Town to Qing State, she had been frequently disparaged by Xie Zhen.
She knew that in terms of talent in the Sword Dao, she was not one ten-thousandth of Xie Zhen.
Despite her relentless, painstaking cultivation, she might still not match a genius’s casual insights.
Thus, Deng Baiyi often worried that even if she gave it her all, when she met Xie Zhen again, she still wouldn’t be strong enough…
would he be disappointed in her?
Now her greatest concern was gone.
“I don’t know if it’s just my imagination…”
Deng Baiyi pursed her lips, gazing earnestly at the black-robed youth beside her, and cautiously said, “I always feel like…
you seem…
a bit different.”
“Really?”
Xie Xuanyi smiled subconsciously, but then his smile briefly froze.
He suddenly realized that perhaps Deng Baiyi was right.
An inadvertent glance down led Xie Xuanyi to see his reflection in the lake.
At dawn, the glimmering light of the rising sun scattered over Ying Lake, and amidst the shimmering ripples, a young face with a smiling corner of the lips emerged.
The face still revealed some pallor.
Yet, it faintly radiated a vigor…
He had indeed changed.
In the past, he was mostly stern.
Even when facing his junior brothers and sisters at Lotus Peak, he rarely showed a smile.
Influenced by Xie Xuanyi, Qi Lie now had that same expression; most of the time, Qi Lie did not smile, almost exactly like the young Xie Xuanyi…
In truth, he was the person at Lotus Peak who admired Senior Brother Xuan Yi the most, emulating Xie Xuanyi in every word and deed.
Xie Xuanyi subconsciously touched his cheek.
Through the cold countenance of All Living Beings, he felt a faint warmth.
He did not know when it started, but he was no longer the same as he had been.
Perhaps it was because he had lived a second life, perhaps because of the Undying Spring, or perhaps because of the Principle of Life—Xie Xuanyi did not know which factors had prompted the change, but he was certain that in this life, his Heart Lake was no longer clouded with gloom, no longer filled only with cold, cruel terms like “victory or defeat,” “life or death.”
If it had been his former self, upon seeing Ying Lake, he would have shifted his gaze away after just a moment.
But now.
He saw the full lake of floating lanterns, the scattered heavenly light, and the people coming and going…
This was the complete, real world.
He was able to see more.
And he had begun to accommodate more.
It turned out that cultivating the Sword Dao was not just a duty, nor merely a burden.
Rather, it was a matter of following one’s heart, doing what comes naturally.