Chapter 312: The Next Day (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Thousands of kilometers away, in the Cloud Dream Swamp…
It was early in the morning, and the weather was gray. More than ten small fishing boats were bobbing up and down in the water with the wind.
There were few people in the old town. There were only a few fishermen sitting on thresholds, smoking tobacco pipes and watching Jianghu people pass by on the old street.
Clack, clack..
The crisp sound of horse hooves became the only sound on the old street.
Qiu Tianhe held the reins and looked at the small town he had visited when he was young. He felt as if a lifetime had passed.
More than 30 years ago, Qiu Tianhe was about 20 years old, about the same age as Ye Jingtang. He had just come out of seclusion, possessing a good saber technique and full of ambition. He had come to the Cloud Dream Swamp, known as the holy land of saber users in the world.
It was called a holy land not because rhe Cloud Dream Swamp had any special meaning but simply because the strongest saber user in rhe world was here.
Back then, Qiu Tianhe was like all young people. He thought that on the day he left Cloud Dream Swamp, he could take away the title of Saber Chief and return to his hometown in glory like a new top scholar of the imperial examination.
Unfortunately, when he left this place in the end, although he had become a true saberman, he couldn’t fulfill his wish and took away the affection and hatred that he had yet to settle.
He remembered that the beginning of everything was in Yellow Springs Town.
Just like now, Qiu Tianhe was walking on this old street with a saber and a horse.
Back then, a handsome Jianghu young man had walked over. He was dressed in black and had a Hornless Dragon Saber at his waist. He was not as sharp as Ye Jingtang, but he was much more arrogant.
The two of them brushed past each other. He glanced at the other party’s Hornless Dragon Saber, and the young man looked at his Heaven Equaling Saber.
Then there was the crisp sound of sabers being drawn. The Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade was very fast, but his Heaven Equaling Saber was even faster.
From then on, he had a brother called Zheng Feng. They drank together, practiced the saber together, and went to Jun Mountain Terrace to see like-minded saber users and heroines together.
That period of time was the most carefree time in Qiu Tianhe’s life. It was likely also Zheng Feng s most carefree time.
If not for the concubine incident later, the two of them might still be walking around Cloud Dream Swamp, drinking and sparring, fantasizing about the day they would replace Old Man Xuanyuan as the Saber Chief.
Unfortunately, the world made fools of people. After a storm, he had finally gotten rid of his identity as a rebel and obtained freedom. As for Zheng Feng, he didn’t even have the chance to turn things around. His soul had already returned to the earth, and he had become a person of the past.
On the other hand, Old Man Xuanyuan was still sitting in the Saber Chief1 s position. He hadn’t changed much from before.
Good people didn’t live long, and a scourge lived for a thousand years. This was likely the meaning…
Qiu Tianhe led his horse through the old street, recalling all the details of the past. When he arrived outside an old wine shop, he stopped.
The wine shop was called the Yellow Springs Saber Tomb. In the past, an old saberman had opened it. When Qiu Tianhe first came to Ze Province, he had often come here with Zheng Feng to listen to the shopkeeper brag.
But now, things had changed. The old shopkeeper had long been buried, and his beautiful and adorable daughter had become a charming middle-aged woman.
Qiu Tianhe stopped his horse at the door and took a few glances inside. He could see that the four tables were full of young Jianghu people with sabers. Just like him back then, they were chatting in full swing about Jianghu with their friends.
However, the person they were talking about had changed from the peak saber users 30 years ago to him, who had experienced this before.
“… Hero Qiu will definitely come here. He shouted so loudly at Jasper Pavilion in the capital. If he doesn’t come here and fight with Old Man Xuanyuan, wouldn’t it become all bark and no bite…”
“More than three thousand people have arrived at Jun Mountain Terrace. They’re all waiting eagerly. Speaking of which, Jun Mountain Terrace is really black-hearted. Not to mention sitting on the island, just a standing position on a ferry costs two taels of silver…11
“There are bets in the prefecture capital. The odds are one to ten for Hero Qiu to lose. How much did you bet?”
“I bet thirty taels of silver on Old Man Xuanyuan. Although 1 support Hero Qiu,
1 can’t give money to the bankers for free…”
“Tsk…”
Qiu Tianhe took a deep breath. The emotions he had painstakingly brewed were completely destroyed by these little brats. He didn’t even have the mood to go in and drink.
In the wine shop, the lady boss lifted the curtain with some side dishes. When she saw Qiu Tianhe outside the door, she was stunned for a moment before turning around. “Gang’zi, your friend is here.”
Seeing this, Qiu Tianhe was rather surprised. He tied the horse to the door and entered the old wine shop. “Little Sister Lan, 1 haven’t seen you for more than ten years, but you can still recognize me. It’s really not easy.”
“You’re already in your fifties, yet you still call me little sister. Shameless.”
“He he…” Qiu Tianhe greeted her and lifted the curtain of the wine shop to the backyard.
The backyard was not big. There were many ropes hanging in it, and the saberfish caught from the lake were drying on them. People could smell the thick fishy smell when they entered.
In the kitchen, a middle-aged man dressed as a shopkeeper was stir-frying some dishes in a pot with a ladle in one hand. When he saw Qiu Tianhe enter, he said calmly, “Have a seat. 1’11 finish cooking these two dishes.”
Qiu Tianhe went to the window and stood with his hands behind his back. He looked at Xuanyuan Tiangang, who was no different from a common man in the market. He thought for a moment and sighed. “Zheng Feng left at the beginning of the year.”
The cooking stopped.
Xuanyuan Tiangang fell silent for a moment before asking, “How did he leave?”
“He died at rhe wine table. It should be because his internal injuries from back then hadn’t healed.”
Xuanyuan Tiangang frowned. Back then, he had always been helping Zheng Feng and his sister. After that storm, he had even broken off ties with his family and left Jianghu, giving up his bright future.
However, his former friend had ended up like this because of the Xuanyuan family’s scheme. As long as his surname was Xuanyuan, the guilt in his heart couldn’t be erased..
