Wen Chaoshen heard A Shui's advice and muttered as he turned back:

  "It's so dangerous, why are you telling me this?"

  A Shui gnced at him sideways and said:

  "Didn't you ask me about my past st time?"

  "Now that you know, do you regret it?"

  Wen Chaoshen stood there thinking for a moment, then shook his head:

  "Regret? Not a chance. I'm off to work."

  He headed to the woodshed, and soon the sound of chopping wood echoed from within. A Shui sat on a stone bench, no longer drinking. She propped her face on her hand, staring absentmindedly at the woodshed, lost in thought. Her other hand idly pyed with the wine bowl until drowsiness, accompanied by intoxication, overcame her, and she y down on the table and fell asleep.

  ...

  By the Chensha River.

  A light snow fell, and Madam Lü stood on the riverbank, her silver hair fluttering, her purple velvet skirt dancing in the wind. The fine snowfkes falling from above were blocked by an invisible barrier. The elderly Ma Huan, dressed in brown cloth, leaned on a cane and approached the rge stone, his gaze fixed on the murky river.

  In the distance, many fishermen could be faintly seen fishing. Madam Lü thanked Ma Huan, her tone less cold than before, somewhat softened.

  "Thank you for st night."

  Ma Huan sighed.

  "What's there to thank? I've done this all my life. Ask me to do something else, and I might not be as handy."

  He paused, recalling the events of the previous night, his whitening eyebrows twitching slightly as he asked:

  "That young man, what's his story?"

  Madam Lü was taken aback by his question.

  "Who?"

  Ma Huan replied:

  "The one you took in."

  Madam Lü realized he was referring to Wen Chaoshen and shook her head, saying:

  "I don't know his past. This young man appeared in Kuhai County three years ago. My husband and I have been settled here for many years, and we hadn't seen him before."

  Ma Huan was somewhat surprised by her words.

  "You never asked?"

  Madam Lü replied calmly:

  "Everyone has their secrets. Why dig so deep?"

  "Even if you find out, what difference does it make?"

  Ma Huan chuckled, lightly rubbing his cane, seemingly reminiscing about the past, and said with emotion:

  "Thirty years, you've changed a lot. Meeting you again, I feel like I'm talking to a stranger."

  Then he shifted the topic:

  "That young man showed some guts st night. He must have seen the crows on the eaves and the bugs in the alley. Without any martial skills, he held a hatchet, carried someone on his back, and refused to back down from a fight."

  "I'm old, and I can't help but admire such youthful spirit. I don't know if it's envy or appreciation. If you hadn't taken him in, I would have wanted to take him as a disciple."

  Madam Lü gnced at him:

  "That young man has no dantian. Can you teach him?"

  Ma Huan replied:

  "I can teach him some killing techniques. It might help him defend himself in the Martial World."

  Madam Lü shook her head, advising:

  "Old Ma, this young man may not have a dantian, but he's a remarkable talent. My husband pointed him out, and if he awakens in the future, his potential is beyond ordinary. Don't let worldly skills ruin his future."

  Ma Huan smiled, lowering his head.

  "I know what you're worried about. I don't even want to be involved in Wangchuan anymore, so why drag someone else in?"

  "I've roamed the Four Kingdoms and the Martial World for most of my life, and I have some skills. Whether I can pass them on depends on fate."

  As he finished speaking, he suddenly sensed something and looked up across the riverbank, his gaze piercing through the snowy mist. He saw a Man in Green Robe strolling along the bank, his figure appearing and disappearing, until he finally vanished into the distance.

  "Is that the young man?"

  Ma Huan asked.

  Madam Lü looked in the direction where the Man in Green Robe disappeared and softly said:

  "It is."

  "He often strolls by the Chensha River and Mian Lake, watching the water and feeling the breeze. He's been doing this for over ten years."

  Ma Huan thought for a moment and asked:

  "How long has it been since he practiced swordsmanship?"

  Madam Lü replied:

  "Thirty years."

  Ma Huan's eyes widened slightly at her words.

  "After meeting you, he stopped practicing?"

  Madam Lü said:

  "Or maybe he just doesn't need to practice anymore."

  Ma Huan shook his head, clicking his tongue:

  "Every thirty years, the Sword Pavilion sends out a swordsman to roam the world, challenging renowned strongmen in the Four Kingdoms and the Martial World, regardless of their age or experience, to hone their skills and reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship, vying for the title of the world's best. Looking back at the past swordsmen from the Sword Pavilion, those who survived are usually among the top in the world. And in three hundred years, only the st swordsman sent by the Sword Pavilion, Lü Zhiming, was such a young d. It's said he defeated 'Xiang Si,' 'Bai Lu,' and 'Wuji' with just a loquat branch during a mission with you."

  "Such talent is unprecedented. If he hadn't fallen into the mundane world and had honed his sword for another thirty years, he might have truly defeated Old Man Xuan Yuan, who could sever rivers with a single finger, and cimed the title of the world's best."

  "But thirty years ago, a word from the spring breeze made Wangchuan's most feared assassin y down his bde and willingly retire, and made a promising young swordsman y down his sword and return to the fields... Fate, indeed, is wonderfully inexplicable."

  Madam Lü sighed softly and said:

  "Perhaps I never wanted to be an assassin, and he never wanted to be the world's best."

  "After thirty years of knowing each other, my husband has never mentioned it. He's genuinely not interested."

  "Whoever wants to be the world's best can have it. Isn't Old Man Xuan Yuan, who guards the withered monument for a hundred and eighty years, lonely?"

  With that, she looked at the sky and said:

  "It's about time. I need to go back and cook... Did you really clean up st night's matter?"

  "At your age, don't get yourself into trouble."

  Ma Huan ughed:

  "Is there anything more handy for us than killing?"

  "Not many people saw that young man's tracks st night, and they didn't guard against me. I killed them, and who would care about a few insignificant outws?"

  Madam Lü was silent for a moment, then turned and walked back along the riverbank with her basket.

  "About your matter, I want to discuss it with my husband and get back to you ter."

  "After all, you've waited this long, a few more days won't hurt."

  kant202323