Ren Yijue did not stay angry for very long.
Hadn’t he known before coming what sort of response he would receive? Hadn’t he always known that this man was an ill-fated scourge?
Was today really the first day he had discovered how thoroughly the Jade Beauty could spoil a pleasant moment?
Back in the little courtyard, Ren Yijue could have found any number of ways to talk himself out of it. Yet he had insisted on doing this one thing. He had wanted Qian Xuelang to see that crabapple branch.
Hadn’t he known perfectly well what he was getting into?
What was the difference between a blossom destined to wither and a parting bound to come? Both were equally capable of spoiling the mood. Why should he take the latter so personally when the Jade Beauty had only spoken an ordinary truth about the world?
Flowers withered, people parted. The only difference was how long it took.
Anyone wishing to befriend such an unfeeling person should prepare to be hurt by his lack of feeling. Yet despite understanding this perfectly well, Ren Yijue did not visit Bright Moon Mist Tower again for the next several days.
Cui Jingchun, meanwhile, returned to the City Lord’s Manor the very next day. His departure and return had been hurried and discreet, causing no great disturbance. No one knew how many people in the manor had noticed anything unusual in recent days.
Naturally, Ren Yijue did not go to see him either.
Whether in offering help or guidance, he had already done enough for the young man. To become too closely involved would be inappropriate.
Several more days passed before Cui Xuanchan finally finished his work and invited Qian Xuelang and Ren Yijue to meet him in the reception hall.
Plenty of people could enter the reception hall of the City Lord’s Manor in Dongxun City, but few merited Cui Xuanchan’s personal company. No servants attended the hall. Fragrant tea and pastries had already been arranged, ready for the guests.
Cui Xuanchan was waiting inside, holding up his tea and blowing away the heat. When Ren Yijue entered, he stretched his neck to look behind him and suddenly chuckled. “Hmm? The little Jade Beauty hasn’t come with you? What’s this, did you two have a quarrel?”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Ren Yijue brushed the remark aside with an airy chill. “The Jade Beauty and Ren need not spend every moment together.”
Just then Qian Xuelang entered, perfectly composed. No one knew whether he had heard the remark, or how much of it.
No one could hope to read a thing from that tranquil, impassive face.
Cui Xuanchan had only been teasing them. Seeing the two in such a state, he could not tell what Qian Xuelang was thinking, but Ren Yijue had clearly taken offense over something. The discovery delighted the old city lord.
Cui Xuanchan was about to tease them further when Qian Xuelang looked directly at him. “You’ve kept us here until now. What exactly did you want?”
Well, now! If Cui Xuanchan gave the wrong answer, Ren Yijue would not be the only one who entered this hall unhappy. Cui Xuanchan himself might leave in a foul mood.
He sipped his hot tea, set down the cup, and stroked his long beard with theatrical gravity. “If it were just Ren Yijue and me, we could talk all sorts of nonsense and let me exercise this tongue of mine, which has had so little practice these past years. But I suspect that after only a few sentences of polite official talk, the little Jade Beauty would get up and leave. Inviting you back would be such a nuisance that I might as well spare us the effort.”
Qian Xuelang’s expression did not change.
Ren Yijue nearly burst out laughing. Cui Xuanchan has such an entertaining temperament. He knows perfectly well that the Jade Beauty can’t stand this sort of thing, yet he insists on provoking him. If he truly had to exchange official pleasantries, he’d probably run away faster than the Jade Beauty.
Cui Xuanchan was disappointed by Qian Xuelang’s lack of reaction, but any more talk would only make him impatient. He went straight to the point. “Sixty years ago, after the Demon-Extermination War ended, I personally saw Immortal Lord He perish together with the Heavenly Demon. We thought the Heavenly Demon dead and the calamity over. But now that I think about it, if he could come back once, why couldn’t he come back twice?”
“This time we have an even bigger problem,” Cui Xuanchan said with a bitter smile. “Killing the Heavenly Demon isn’t enough. We have to discover a way to kill him for good. Otherwise, if he returns every sixty years, who knows how many more lives will be sacrificed?”
After a moment’s thought, Qian Xuelang asked, “Do you have a way?”
Cui Xuanchan shook his head decisively. “I’d love to tell you yes, but I don’t. This time he chose to strike Dongxun City first and sent demon thralls to cause trouble. After thinking it over, I can only imagine he means to take revenge on the righteous-path cultivators who participated in the war.”
In fact, Yin Wuchen and Ling Baiyao had come for Ren Yijue. But no one knew what the Heavenly Demon wanted from him, or whether he had also instructed Yin Wuchen and Ling Baiyao to inflict a devastating blow upon Cui Xuanchan.
They might once have interrogated Yin Wuchen, but now he was as dead as dead could be. There was no point dwelling on it.
“Some of those who survived back then have since died. Others, like me, inherited substantial estates and made them flourish. Still others retreated into the mountains, as the great forgemaster did.” Cui Xuanchan considered the matter. “I’ve sent letters to all the major sects that still carry any weight. Those who know me will believe me; those who don’t can believe what they please. I’ve done the courtesy I owe them.”
Qian Xuelang listened without saying a word.
Ren Yijue, however, shifted his gaze and smiled. “It seems the City Lord kept us here because of the comrades who retired into the mountains.”
“Exactly. Your wits are sharp, boy.” Cui Xuanchan nodded approvingly before sighing. “For the people I can find, I’ll send disciples myself. The real difficulty is the few whose whereabouts even I don’t know. Whether the Heavenly Demon can find them is anyone’s guess, but I can’t simply leave them to their fate.”
After sixty years, do these old ties still weigh so heavily on him?
Ren Yijue could not help glancing at Qian Xuelang. The latter’s head was bowed in thought. A crabapple blossom drooped gently in his hair, its spring colors fully developed into pink and white.
Something stirred in Ren Yijue’s heart.
“When we parted back then, we exchanged keepsakes. I nearly emptied everything I had on me,” Cui Xuanchan said. “But in truth there aren’t many of us left. Since the little Jade Beauty knows the great forgemaster, I needn’t give you a token to prove my identity. There are only two others I want you to seek out.”
Ren Yijue asked, “May we know who these two seniors are?”
Cui Xuanchan reached into his sleeve and withdrew a strip of merfolk silk. Light flowed across it like rippling waves, as though he held a length of water ready to spill from his hands. “The first is the owner of this silk. Come to think of it, boy, she shares your surname. You both bear the surname Ren.”
“Indeed?” Ren Yijue asked in surprise.
“Ah… I wonder how she’s doing now…” Cui Xuanchan’s unfinished words held a wealth of recollection and feeling. He stroked the merfolk silk gently. “In truth, I’m not too worried about her. She was the greatest swordswoman of her age, second only to Immortal Lord He. Finding her would be wonderful, but there’s no need to force matters if you cannot.”
“Who?” Qian Xuelang asked.
“Sword Venerable Ren Cangming.”
Ren Yijue’s hand went rigid.
“So it’s her,” Qian Xuelang said. “I crossed paths with her fifty years ago at Bishui Pool. Her sword intent was indeed astonishing.”
“To think you two had such a connection. Unfortunately, forty-six years ago, the Sword Venerable disappeared at Yunwaitian, and no one has heard from her since.” Cui Xuanchan sighed. “Given her abilities, perhaps she encountered some marvelous opportunity, or suddenly comprehended a sword technique and went into seclusion. It wouldn’t be strange.”
“But I have one more clue. Six months after the incident at Yunwaitian, someone claimed to have seen her sword light at Banyuan Residence. They went to request an audience but found corpses scattered everywhere. The Sword Venerable herself was nowhere to be found. I don’t know whether the story is true, and very few people have even heard of it.”
Ren Yijue’s teacup suddenly trembled against the table with a clatter. Both men looked at him. He quickly set it down and frowned. “My apologies. The tea was too hot.”
Clearly that was not the real answer, but it was a serviceable excuse.
Ren Yijue asked with seeming casualness, “I’ve heard a little about Yunwaitian, but what sort of place is Banyuan Residence?”
“No wonder youngsters like you wouldn’t know it. Banyuan Residence is the home of Lord Jiyun, You Pingsheng. He and the Sword Venerable once studied under Mister Butong.”
Mister Butong, on the other hand, was a remarkably eccentric cultivator known to almost everyone. He cared little for combat or debates about the Dao. What he loved were drawing talismans, reading faces, refining pills, and divination. He had studied a vast range of miscellaneous arts, which was why people called him Mister Butong, the Gentleman Who Did Not Understand.
Tong, to understand; butong, not to understand. He understood everything and understood nothing. Thus he became Mister Butong.
“In that case, they shared a bond as fellow disciples,” Ren Yijue said.
“One might say so. Not many people know much about the Sword Venerable, and even fewer know about Lord Jiyun. His temperament is tranquil and detached. You know the saying: the swan soars high, traveling a thousand li in one flight, unfettered by worldly troubles. He took the name Jiyun from that idea, meaning, well… you can’t find the fellow.” Cui Xuanchan thought for a moment. “Never mind finding him. There probably aren’t many people who’ve even met him.”
Qian Xuelang accepted the merfolk silk. “If the Sword Venerable really appeared at Banyuan Residence, she must have been with Lord Jiyun at the time. Since they studied under the same teacher, their abilities should not differ too greatly. Tell us about the other person.”
“The second is the owner of this piece of blood mica.” Cui Xuanchan moved his lips, looking rather conflicted. “He’s a great demon. This blood mica was formed from his blood. Finding him is easy enough: whenever the mica stirs, he’ll be nearby. This demon has a poor memory and often changes his identity and name. I don’t even know whether he’ll remember me. You’ll have to leave it to fate.”
Three people, then. Leaving Wei Wenfeng aside, both Sword Venerable Ren Cangming and this nameless great demon would have to be found by chance.
Even Cui Xuanchan was embarrassed by the arrangement. He simply thrust the blood mica into Qian Xuelang’s hand.
“If fortune smiles on us, we old fellows can settle this without passing the burden to you youngsters. If fortune doesn’t, I’m afraid we’ll have to leave it to you.”
Qian Xuelang nodded. “I’ll look for Wei Wenfeng first.”
“Good. If you can persuade the great forgemaster to leave seclusion, our chances will improve considerably.”
Both men were straightforward by nature and spoke briskly. With only a little discussion, they settled the itinerary. Nothing further remained.
Qian Xuelang was about to rise when he remembered that Ren Yijue might have plans of his own. “Or did you have something else in mind?”
“Hmm?” Ren Yijue finally came back to himself. He shook his head and smiled faintly. “No. The Jade Beauty’s arrangements are excellent. Let’s seek Senior Wei first.”
Just then, both of them felt a sudden chill crawl up their spines. Turning, they saw Cui Xuanchan smiling without showing his teeth, like a crafty old cat, his eyes glittering with wicked intent.
Before he could say a word, they both rose and took their leave as though by tacit agreement.