Chapter 29: Are These Tears of Parting?

“What... what?!”

Xia Lianxue could feel the heat of the man’s palm, scorching to the point of alarm.

No, perhaps it was her own cheeks that were burning.

The man’s warmth, both familiar and foreign, left Xia Lianxue somewhat at a loss.

Lu Changyuan looked at the Immortal Fairy with amusement: “I said, do you trust me?”

“I... I do! I do!”

“Then come with me. Let’s go eat something.” Lu Changyuan plucked a leaf of the Luohan Pine from the Immortal Fairy’s hair and waved it before Xia Lianxue’s eyes.

“One must be full to have the strength to run. As for the rest of those cultivators, let the people of the Grass-Sword Sect rescue them.”

He glanced again at the white scar in the sky.

That white scar remained as striking as if the heavens had been torn apart.

The Immortal Fairy continued to hold the umbrella, and the two of them went straight to the noodle shop at the city gates.

At this time, it was the only place still open.

The sky showed no trace of light.

The noodle shop was lit by several oil lamps.

Its signboard had been beaten down by the rain.

The dim, flickering shop looked somewhat frightening.

Noodle Granny sat beneath the canopy, watching the rain.

It was as if she had already known Lu Changyuan would come, for two bowls of noodles were already set on the table, steam still rising from them.

This time, they truly were two bowls of plain noodles in clear broth.

“Have you seen my family’s third son’s little daughter?”

Lu Changyuan waved his hand: “I saw her, I saw her. She looks fine enough, but not quite normal. Perhaps following the Cihang Palace in cultivation has made her foolish. She covers her eyes with a piece of white cloth and thinks it means she’s secluded from the world.”

With that, Lu Changyuan picked up his chopsticks and put the noodles into his mouth.

He ate the tasteless plain noodles with great patience.

Xia Lianxue quietly sat beside him.

She wasn’t hungry, but still ate a few bites with Lu Changyuan.

Young Master then told her to look for herself.

She had no idea what she was supposed to look for.

Noodle Granny said: “Young Master must be more forgiving. She has been spoiled since childhood.”

Lu Changyuan suddenly said impatiently: “Don’t speak as though you’re entrusting a child. If she needs teaching, you do it yourself.”

Xia Lianxue watched Lu Changyuan’s expression.

It was her first time seeing Lu Changyuan look like this.

She felt he was a little angry.

Noodle Granny was silent for a while: “I had thought you would stop me.”

Lu Changyuan set down his chopsticks, his gaze icy cold: “You really calculated well. You wouldn’t speak frankly when you saw me. And now, how am I to stop you? The dragon vein is broken. He is bound to come out!”

Noodle Granny lowered her head, guilt in her tone: “I... I will kill him with my own hands. He will not harm anyone.”

Su Luo Qiu hid not far away, listening to their conversation, silently crying bitter tears.

He seemed to know a little too much.

People who knew too much rarely lived long.

So he tried to curl himself up into a ball, hoping no one would notice him.

Noodle Granny did not dare meet Lu Changyuan’s eyes: “This matter is also my selfish desire. I leaked the news to the Blood Demon Palace’s Lord. I never thought you would come... Brother Lu, I do not have much time left. I am too old.”

The wrinkles on her aged face were carved by merciless years.

Cultivators retained their youth, but only when one’s lifespan neared its end did they grow truly old.

“Brother Lu, he fell into demonic ways and devoured three thousand people. He has been suppressed for one thousand five hundred years. It is time he was released.”

Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes, ignoring Noodle Granny.

Noodle Granny said sorrowfully: “Even the child I had with him has turned to dust. I have nothing left, Brother Lu.”

She repeated: “Moreover... rather than wait until I die and he emerges to wreak havoc on the world, it is better that while I still have one last sword, I end it completely.”

Suddenly, thunder rumbled from the horizon.

Layers of black clouds flew in from afar, covering the sky and blotting out the sun.

From the distance, someone shouted loudly: “With me here, you shall not run rampant!”

It was Li Qingcao’s voice.

Something had changed at the Lake of Retained Affection.

Lu Changyuan looked toward the lake in the distance, where green sword intent surged at the shore.

Soon.

A sword light pierced the clouds, yet was swallowed by them, leaving no trace of brilliance.

The heavens seemed to go black at once.

Noodle Granny slowly walked to the table, drew out a piece of iron from beneath it, and melded it in her hands.

It became a sword.

The Noodle Granny, who had been withered and near death, suddenly changed appearance.

Time flowed backward.

A face as beautiful as the moon returned silently to her features.

Such a striking beauty.

This once Immortal Fairy of the Iron Sword Sect once again held her sword and regained her former self.

The power of the Sixth Realm Dawning Sun burst forth without reservation.

The rolling mortal dust surged forth.

The firmament split open abruptly, and light descended.

The Iron Sword Sect’s Sect Master, Luan Rumeng, who had cultivated for over one thousand six hundred years—her heart like glazed dreams, her sword named the Grand Profound—yet with guilt in her heart, had been unable to obtain Jade Radiance for a thousand years.

Her voice was as ethereal as the primordial spirit: “Brother Lu.”

Lu Changyuan looked toward the Lake of Retained Affection and said heavily: “Wu Xiang is already dead! What remains is a demon! Not him!”

“But I want to see him.”

Without cause, memories surged from deep within.

It had also been a rainy night.

The person before him had been as stubborn as Luan Rumeng.

He had said: “Changyuan, I must see the scenery of Jade Radiance, even if it means death.”

Lu Changyuan had been unable to stop him.

Just like today.

So he turned his head away, refusing to look at Noodle Granny.

He said: “Go! You two truly are a pair—both so eager to seek death! I cannot stop you!”

Luan Rumeng bowed with her sword: “Thank you, Brother Lu.”

Radiance like rainbow clouds, her sword like a rainbow, she soared into the heavens.

When she could no longer be seen, Lu Changyuan sighed: “A foolish guest of mortal love.”

Xia Lianxue, who had remained quiet all this while, finally spoke: “Young Master.”

“Let me tell you another story.

That Iron Sword Sect youth’s true name was Su Wu Xiang.

He killed the genius of the Iron Sword Sect, married his Senior Sister, and left behind descendants.

But because of demonic cultivation, he grew increasingly disinterested in the world.

So he took up his sword and left for the Black Domain.”

Xia Lianxue poured a cup of wine for Lu Changyuan, and he downed it in one gulp.

“Three years later, Su Wu Xiang fought his way through the Black Domain, meeting gods and killing Buddhas. But on one day, he encountered two strange people—a man and a woman, fleeing. They mistook him for a pursuer and struck first. Su Wu Xiang lost to the man in one sword strike.”

Lu Changyuan said: “When the misunderstanding was resolved, they fought no more and instead became acquainted. Su Wu Xiang helped the two escape their pursuers. The three became inseparable friends and even founded a sect together.”

Xia Lianxue said softly: “Such an enviable fate, a friendship born from battle.”

“Yes. But good times never last. A year later, Su Wu Xiang learned that the Iron Sword Sect of the White Domain was oppressed by a great sect, and so he hurried back.”

“Those two must have come to help as well, right?”

Lu Changyuan shook his head: “Only the man came, but that was enough. By then, both he and Su Wu Xiang had reached the Sixth Realm. They could go anywhere in this world. They easily killed the invaders. But they had not come early. Few of the Iron Sword Sect survived. I advised him that, since he had a wife and child, he ought to remain.”

Xia Lianxue looked at Lu Changyuan, suddenly finding him quite handsome.

She said: “Surely Su Wu Xiang did not remain?”

“He did remain, and thus the Glazed Dynasty was founded. But later, he became obsessed with breaking realms. No matter how I painstakingly persuaded him, he paid no heed. In the end, he was devoured by the Desire Demon and fell into demonic ways.”

Xia Lianxue suddenly understood: “Su Wu Xiang was the founding emperor, and Noodle Granny was the empress. So what was sealed beneath Upper Jade Capital was actually their ancestor? Then Noodle Granny guarded the seal of her beloved for one thousand five hundred years all alone?!”

Lu Changyuan remained silent.

Su Luo Qiu stared in shock as Lu Changyuan spoke of his own ancestor.

He only learned today that Noodle Granny’s identity was so extraordinary.

For one thousand five hundred years, Luan Rumeng and Su Wu Xiang’s child had long since died.

Everything of the past had changed.

Yet Luan Rumeng still guarded Upper Jade Capital, thinking every day of Su Wu Xiang beneath the Lake of Retained Affection.

Lu Changyuan drained the last of his wine in one gulp, muttering dreamily: “The poplar flowers are blooming again.”

Xia Lianxue shook her head: “Young Master, it is summer now. Poplar flowers bloom in the third month.”

So she looked carefully.

It was not drifting poplar blossoms.

They were tears of parting.

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