Chapter 126

“Do you dare come down?”

Old Tian thought to himself, Tch, stay up there if you want. What does that have to do with my young master coming down?

But the very next moment, his heart suddenly lurched.

On the river,

walking the river?

The old man staggered, retreating several steps in a row. Then he remembered the young master and the others were right behind him, so he hurriedly tapped the ground with his toe and pulled off a smooth in-place spin.

Only after he was facing the other party did he feel at ease enough to keep staggering backward.

With a thump, his calf hit the step and he dropped onto the ground on his backside.

The old man’s eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open, his whole expression trembling. Even the bandaged wrists that had only just been wrapped began seeping blood again without him noticing.

Other than his absolute loyalty, Old Tian was a bit slow in most other respects. But no matter how slow he was, he still knew exactly what the words “walking the river” meant in the martial world, and how much weight they carried.

In ordinary sects and family lines, when disciples or heirs reached a certain age, they would leave home and their sect. Some called it worldly travel, some called it passing through mortal tribulation, some called it watching clouds and listening to the waves, and some simply called it training, wandering, or traveling.

Many old records and ancient texts described such journeys. The Yin Clan genealogy, for example, recorded the travels of nearly every generation of Yin family members. But nowhere in it did the words “walking the river” appear.

Strictly speaking, only the heirs of a Dragon King clan could call it that after lighting the lamp.

Because this river was one their forebears had already walked many times. Along the way, there were likely still plenty of “old friends” and “familiar faces” left from back then. So it was not called venturing forth or blazing a trail. It was simply walking once more along the path their ancestors had taken. While achieving oneself, one also announced to the rivers, lakes, and seas that their lineage still endured, and that the old rules should continue to be obeyed.

Back in the Qing dynasty, the Zhao Family of Jiujiang did produce a Dragon King. But in the end, he had never truly broken through to that rank, and the martial world did not recognize him as Dragon King Zhao. Within the family, they called it “walking the river,” but if one really wanted to be strict about it... it was admittedly a bit like gilding their own faces.

After all, your family had only ever produced a single Dragon King, and that was so many years ago. What “old relatives and acquaintances” would you still have left to visit?

The loyal old servant was slow to catch on. His young master had been probing all day, yet only now did he finally realize the possible identity behind this group of youths.

“Dragon... from a Dragon King clan?”

Good thing they had not started fighting while roasting sweet potatoes by the river. If they really had torn things open, the family would not have been able to shelter them in the end.

Up on the roof, Zhao Yi, having gotten a definite answer, actually calmed down.

The Yellow River Spade was proof of identity. Officers of the Command Banner was an acceptable variable. But to put it plainly, those were secondary. The most important thing was that Zhao Yi had gradually discovered that the youth before him was younger than he was, and even more frightening.

As the family’s designated future candidate for walking the river, when he encountered someone like this, there was only one way to place him in his mind.

“Your Excellency, to think you are already so young and yet so eager to walk the river.”

Seeing that the other party had dodged his earlier question, Li Zhuiyuan lost interest in him and did not bother answering.

His second lamp had ignited on its own.

Before he had even formally decided to walk this river, the river water had already risen past his ankles.

When Zhao Yi saw the other party ignore him, he did not feel slighted. He lowered his head and shouted down below, “Grandpa Tian, toss me a dagger.”

Old Tian’s mind was a little muddled at the moment. Since it was his young master asking, he did not even think before throwing the dagger upward.

Only after he had thrown it did he realize what he’d done, and hurriedly asked, “Young master, what are you doing?”

Zhao Yi caught the dagger in his right hand and tore off the cloth around his forehead with his left.

He had probed and tested his opponent again and again, and now the other side had finally given him a clear reply, even throwing back a question in return. It meant he had forced himself into a corner.

I’m already on the river. Do you dare come down?

This was no simple question. If he dodged it, talked around it, or answered without enough force or conviction, then he would already have lost before he had even begun to walk the river.

Without that drive, without that confidence, what river was there to walk? What Dragon King could he possibly become?

A smile appeared on Zhao Yi’s face. Still smiling, he drove the dagger into the center of his brow and began digging.

Blood poured out continuously, flowing from his brow down the bridge of his nose, then along to the corner of his lips, to his chin, and finally dripping down onto Old Tian below.

Old Tian stared upward in disbelief and cried out, “Young master, no! Young master, no!”

Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, lifted his head again and once more looked toward Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi’s face was covered in blood. In his hand, he weighed a chunk of flesh. In the center of his brow was a large, dark, ghastly wound that still bled.

He straightened up and casually tossed aside that fragment of flesh that symbolized his specialness and exceptional fate, the Gate of Life.

With it, he was a genius.

To cure it, he had to walk the river. Otherwise, he could not even walk steadily.

But without it, he could walk now. And he could finally go have a look at the surface of this river.

Zhao Yi leaped forward. His body curved downward in midair, bounced again before landing, then stretched out and shed the force with ease, landing steadily.

He spread his arms and let out a soft groan.

“Ohhh, that feels good.”

Without that damned thing, his physical senses had returned as well.

“Young master, young master, young master, you fool, you fool!”

Old Tian crawled to Zhao Yi’s feet, clutching his young master’s leg and weeping bitterly.

Nominally, they were master and servant, but in truth they were more like family. Seeing his young master destroy his heaven-given future with his own hands, Old Tian was truly heartsick.

Zhao Yi patted Old Tian on the shoulder. “All right, all right, Grandpa Tian. This way neither of us is all that smart anymore. It’s good. We match better.”

After briefly soothing Old Tian, Zhao Yi looked at Li Zhuiyuan. Tilting his head slightly, he smiled and said:

“You just asked whether I dared come down.

Honestly, I didn’t absolutely have to walk this river. But since you’re already standing on it, then I really do have to come join the fun.

No special reason. I just don’t want you feeling lonely and bored.

Put another way, if you weren’t on this river, I truly wouldn’t care to walk it at all!”

The weak shrink back when frustrated. The strong only grow stronger when faced with strength.

Zhao Yi knew clearly that someday in the future, he and the youth before him would collide again. They would definitely meet again. They might cooperate, they might ally, they might guard against each other, but in the end there would surely be a winner and a loser. It might even come down to... life and death.

For ordinary families and sects, if they could not keep walking, they turned back, sat down, and conceded defeat.

But for those determined to carry on a Dragon King clan’s lineage, losing was even harder to accept than dying.

Among those old established Dragon King families, each could recognize plenty of blood enemies from the ancestral tablets on the others’ offering tables.

Walking the river was a bloody arena. One either submitted or died. In the end, only one king could walk out standing.

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing.

Zhao Yi complained, “Hey, Your Excellency, give me something here. I worked hard to heat things up and get my blood pumping. At least help prop up the atmosphere a little.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and said, “Once you light the lamp and formally begin walking the river, if we meet again and the conditions are right, I’ll seriously consider how to kill you.”

Old Tian’s eyes went wide at that. This was straight to a life-and-death threat?

But Zhao Yi’s face filled with emotion.

Sometimes, “I’ll seriously consider how to kill you,” coming from a rival you acknowledged, was the highest recognition and praise of all.

Zhao Yi spread his arms, wanting to hug Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan took half a step back and refused the overly intimate gesture.

Zhao Yi withdrew his hands, but leaned his face close to Li Zhuiyuan’s. His lips trembled. Even from this close, he used only lip movements and a mosquito-soft whisper, so faint it was almost impossible to hear.

The others nearby could hear nothing, but Zhao Yi knew the youth before him had excellent hearing.

Zhao Yi said, “Since you’ve already walked the river, that means you really are a person. But I can tell there’s a monster hidden inside you. You’re sick, aren’t you?”

Li Zhuiyuan remained silent.

Zhao Yi continued, “When I go back, I’ll study it carefully and figure out how to completely trigger your illness. I don’t need to pursue killing you. I only need to help tear off the human skin you’re wearing.

That way, even if you win in the end, you’ll still be the one who loses most completely.”

At last, a glimmer appeared in Li Zhuiyuan’s eyes as he looked at Zhao Yi.

This young master of the Zhao family really had become interesting to him.

Satisfied, Zhao Yi drew his neck back and waved a hand.

“The river is vast, with a hundred boats racing upon it. No matter how many times we meet again in the future, the last time won’t be at your grave or before my tomb. Don’t offer liquor, I’m not into that. Offer a cup of tea instead. I like Biluochun.”

Tan Wenbin immediately pulled out a pen and notebook from his clothes. Writing as he spoke aloud, he said, “Got it. Young Master Zhao of Jiujiang likes Biluochun. Be sure to prepare some before visiting his grave in the future.”

Seeing that, Zhao Yi immediately turned his head to look at Old Tian, who was still hugging his thigh and crying.

Old Tian wiped away his tears and snot, looking utterly blank.

Zhao Yi sighed helplessly. It seemed that before lighting the lamp and walking the river, he would have to carefully select the attendants who would follow his Dragon King. As for Grandpa Tian, should he bring him along or not?

But even if his men failed him, he himself could not lose face. So he asked on his own, “And you, Your Excellency? When I visit your grave in the future, what would you like me to offer?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Jianlibao.”

Zhao Yi froze for a moment, then laughed. “Nice. You’ve got style.”

With that, Zhao Yi pulled Old Tian to his feet and prepared to leave.

Li Zhuiyuan spoke. “Wait.”

“Hm?” Zhao Yi turned around. “Don’t tell me you want to start fighting now. We both came under the bright banner of enforcing justice on Heaven’s behalf. It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just worry that if you kill me now, it won’t be good for your walking the river.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Stone Table Zhao is gone, but there are still lonely old people and orphans in the front courtyard.”

Zhao Yi replied, “So what? Do you think this family took them in because they really meant to provide for them in old age and raise them to adulthood?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “People may die without clarity, but matters cannot begin and end without a proper conclusion.”

Mainly, if this affair was not settled cleanly and this karmic connection was not handled, it might spread more trouble later.

Zhao Yi had not yet walked the river, so his sense of this was not very deep.

Of course, Li Zhuiyuan felt that even after Zhao Yi did walk the river, he would probably still have a hard time reaching Li Zhuiyuan’s level of sensitivity in this regard.

Zhao Yi asked, “And what does Your Excellency mean?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Your family should fund the building of a nursing home and an orphanage here. Donate some money too, and take this matter on yourselves.”

“Why should we?”

“Stone Table Zhao is also surnamed Zhao.”

“We split from them ages ago. There are plenty of people in the world with the same surname. Do they all have to bear responsibility for it?”

“Weren’t you just dropping by to visit your relatives?”

Zhao Yi: “...”

“Are you taking this on or not?”

“Fine. The mess here, my Zhao Family of Jiujiang will take it on. Anything else?”

“Nothing else. You can leave now.” Li Zhuiyuan then looked at Runsheng. “Flag markers.”

Runsheng took the flag markers out of his hiking backpack.

When Zhao Yi saw the formation flags, each made of metal rods, he became extremely dissatisfied. “Why didn’t you tell me this afternoon, when I was carving wood, that you already had ready-made formation flags in your bag?”

Before dark, Zhao Yi had ordered Old Tian to buy several bundles of firewood from nearby villagers. Old Tian had been chopping wood from afar while Zhao Yi sat before Li Zhuiyuan carving away.

The Dragon Head Stake still burning outside now had been carved by him stroke by stroke. The dozen or so wooden sticks planted around it had also all been sharpened by his own hand.

He had rushed to finish the whole set, and both hands had been so tired they nearly cramped.

And now he was being told that he had never needed to make them on the spot at all. They had carried this kind of equipment on them the whole time, and of even better quality.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “You looked pretty pleased with your carving, so I didn’t want to ruin your mood.”

Zhao Yi let out a dry laugh. “Heh... heh heh.”

Li Zhuiyuan inserted the small formation flags one by one into the cracks in the ground, starting from the northwest corner and moving to the southeast. The final one in his hand he planted in the exact center.

Old Tian looked around suspiciously. It did not seem like anything had changed.

Zhao Yi’s fingers began moving in calculation. He confirmed it: this was a very simple yet very unusual formation. What made it unusual was that it was far too simple.

Tan Wenbin reopened the cigarette pack, pulled out one, and clenched it between his teeth.

He had seen this formation before. It had been hard on Brother Yuan, always having to turn profound things into simple doodles just so Tan Wenbin could memorize them.

He took out a lighter and lit the cigarette. Wenbin inhaled deeply, then pinched the cigarette in his fingers and flicked his thumb upward from below.

Snap!

The lit cigarette flew forward. When it landed, weak sparks scattered outward.

In an instant, the entire back courtyard filled with sparks. They sought out everything nearby that could catch fire, and the blaze surged up all at once.

Stone Table Zhao, and every trace connected to Stone Table Zhao, ought to be erased.

Zhao Yi’s mouth fell open, and he blurted, “The fire will burn to—”

He stopped halfway through.

Because the flames did not spread outward. They remained confined entirely within the back courtyard.

Zhao Yi immediately understood and looked at Li Zhuiyuan. “You secretly altered the formation after I altered it?”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. “You made your later changes on top of the formation I had already altered.”

The exchange sounded a little tongue-twisting, but it concealed a contest beneath the surface.

Li Zhuiyuan would never casually walk into a formation controlled by someone else. He had first altered the formation here and taken the lead. But he had also left space for Zhao Yi, predicting the path Zhao Yi would take in changing it, allowing him to finish the job.

Realizing clearly that he had once again been outdone, Zhao Yi gritted his teeth and pointed at Li Zhuiyuan. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Regretting it now?”

Zhao Yi shrugged. “This young master is even more excited now. Heh heh.”

Once the fire was fully going, everyone left the back courtyard.

Outside the wall, they could no longer see the firelight inside. They could only occasionally catch scattered sparks drifting out, soon swallowed by the deep night.

As the place burned, the coughing of the elderly and children in the front courtyard also eased. A little brightness returned to the eyes of the intellectually disabled children, and a touch of color came back to the faces of the lonely old people.

By the next morning, when the villagers woke, they would see that the back courtyard of Old Zhao’s house had been burned to ashes, while the front courtyard had not been harmed in the slightest.

Zhao Yi and Old Tian left.

Li Zhuiyuan and the others stayed where they were for a little while longer.

This was Lin Shuyou’s first time taking part in a full-team operation, and this time the ending was not him being carried off to the infirmary for emergency treatment.

So now he was in the mood to sigh and say, “If they know doing these things is against the will of Heaven, why do they still do them?”

Tan Wenbin reached out and patted the back of Ah You’s head. “The law is right there. If everyone could know the law and obey it, then what would we need police for?”

Lin Shuyou turned to look at Tan Wenbin. “Brother Bin, the way you said that... it feels kind of advanced.”

Tan Wenbin had read the books and notes Brother Yuan had written, and combining them with his own family background, he spoke with feeling:

“The Heavenly Dao is vague and distant, but the law can be written in books and carved on monuments. You can see it and touch it. Yet even so, it still can’t stop some people from breaking the law out of ignorance and fearlessness, breaking it knowingly, acting as protectors, or constantly probing at the edges of the law. There’s nothing new under the sun... or under the Heavenly Dao.”

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and looked toward a distant slope, then said, “Let’s go. Back to school.”

On the distant slope, Zhao Yi was wrapping the wound on his own brow by himself.

Old Tian could only hang his hands uselessly at his sides, sighing nonstop like a sorrowful kangaroo.

“I say, Grandpa Tian, if you want the white-haired to bury the black-haired, do you really have to start rehearsing that this early?”

“Pah, pah, pah! Young master, your blessings reach the heavens. Don’t say such unlucky things.”

“They don’t reach the heavens anymore. You’ve no idea how terrifying that person really is.”

“Then why did you still...”

“But to have someone like that as an opponent, to fight him for the position of Dragon King, that’s what truly makes it worthwhile.

He has the better odds, but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to win.

In the notes left by that Dragon King ancestor of my Zhao family, he also recorded his admiration and praise for many outstanding heroes. But in that era, he was still the one who ultimately succeeded in walking the river.

There are many hidden currents beneath the river. No matter how many geniuses there are, they still can’t seal every opening.”

“Young master, it seems you forgot to ask which Dragon King clan he comes from.”

“It’s not that I forgot to ask. He deliberately didn’t say. What kind of team calls each other little brother and big brother internally like that?”

“I see.”

Zhao Yi touched his freshly bandaged wound and clenched his fist.

“Let’s go.

Back home to light the lamp!”

...

The first rays of morning sunlight spilled through the window into the dorm room, and Li Zhuiyuan woke up in bed.

To his surprise, Tan Wenbin was awake too.

Wenbin had slept, but he clearly had not slept well. On and off, broken and restless.

At the moment, he was lying there with both hands behind his head, an unlit cigarette in his mouth, staring at the dorm ceiling.

“If you want to smoke, go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“Ah, Brother Yuan, you’re awake?” Tan Wenbin took the cigarette out of his mouth. “Smoke what? I already quit.”

“It’s fine. Just open the window afterward.”

Tan Wenbin froze for a moment, then smiled. “Thanks, Brother Yuan.”

Li Zhuiyuan got up, washed, then packed up his schoolbag and slung it over his shoulder.

“I’m going to Granny Liu’s house.”

“All right, Brother Yuan.”

“Zhou Yunyun is being discharged from the hospital today, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Granny Liu’s place is empty too.”

“Mm-hmm, I know.”

Li Zhuiyuan did not leave right away. He stood there, looking at Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze and slowly stood up. “Brother Yuan, I can sort myself out. With our relationship, you really don’t need to put yourself out for my sake.”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

But he said nothing more and left the dorm room.

“Hoo...”

Tan Wenbin let out a long breath. It was rare for Brother Yuan to speak this much to him so early in the morning. He picked up a mirror and looked at his own face, muttering to himself:

“Are all my feelings written on my face? Tsk. Still too young. My face is still too soft.”

Tan Wenbin leaned back onto the bed, put the cigarette back between his lips, and lit it with the lighter.

Last night he had a whole string of dreams, all of them scenes of himself killing Zhao Mengyao.

He did not regret it. That Stone Table Zhao family were practically beasts. Even being hacked into a thousand pieces would not have been too much for them. In fact, only getting to die once was letting them off too lightly.

But things that reason could process quickly often lagged behind emotionally.

Tan Wenbin suspected that Zhao Mengyao had simply acted too stupidly before she died, stupid enough to leave a deep impression, and that had indirectly affected his mood. She had practically been stupid enough to injure him by sheer stupidity.

Creak...

The dorm door opened, and Lin Shuyou walked in.

“Brother Bin, why are you smoking in the dorm?”

“Brother Yuan said it was okay.”

“Then I’ll have one too.” Lin Shuyou walked over, pulled a cigarette from the pack, clenched it in his mouth, lit it, took one drag, and then—

“Bleurgh... cough cough cough cough!”

Tan Wenbin rolled his eyes helplessly, got up, took the cigarette from Ah You’s hand, and stubbed it out together with the one in his own hand.

“Smoking’s no good. If you don’t know how, don’t force it.”

“I just thought that night, when you had a cigarette between your fingers and said, ‘Sorry, did I disturb everyone?’ you looked really cool.”

“If you pick up this habit just for the sake of looking cool, later on you’ll feel like your brain was full of water.”

“Brother Bin, how do you know so much about this?”

“My dad says that about himself all the time.”

“Oh.”

“But speaking of looking cool, I think if I’d been holding a can of Jianlibao at the time, taken a swig, then let out a burp, the image would’ve looked pretty good too.”

Lin Shuyou thought about it carefully, then nodded. “That’s true.”

“So you drink soda instead. At least it gives you sugar. Wait, why are you here so early?”

“I get up early every day. I saw Brother Yuan go out, so I came in to read.”

“Then read your book. I’m going to lie down a bit longer.”

“Brother Bin, you look really low on energy.”

“I’m fine. I just need to adjust a little.”

“Is it because of those two on your shoulders...”

“They’re very well-behaved. They’ve been sleeping the whole time, not making any trouble at all.”

Still, that did remind Tan Wenbin of something.

Maybe it really was because the two lamps on his shoulders had each been occupied by a ghost infant. Even if they were not causing trouble, they still weakened his aura.

People with weakened auras often fell into low moods easily, got stuck in their own heads, exhausted themselves internally, and lost interest in everything they did.

It seemed he really did need to find something to do, something that would lift his spirits and help him recover.

Before, it had been just one person having fun. Now he was supporting a whole family. Heh. Hadn’t even properly held his girl’s hand yet, and he was already hauling around two kids.

Lin Shuyou said, “Brother Bin, I’m really curious. What kind of feeling is this, exactly?”

Tan Wenbin said, “Doesn’t General Zeng come in two forms? Bring him down and have one lean on each side of you, and then you’ll know what it feels like.”

“I still can’t invite General Zeng down.”

“You tried?”

“I did. Before, when I entered spirit medium ritual, I could still get a tiny bit of a response from General Zeng. It felt like in less than two years, I’d be able to summon him successfully.

But now, when I enter spirit medium ritual again, there isn’t even the slightest response anymore.

Maybe it’s because I’m not devout enough, because my heart for slaying demons and defending the Dao has grown slack.”

“I think it’s more that they don’t want to jump into your fire pit.”

“Huh?”

“Enough with the huh. Go read your book.”

Tan Wenbin picked up his washbasin and went out to wash up, then went to the cafeteria to buy breakfast and came back to eat with Lin Shuyou.

Next Chapter >