novellhall Chapter 800 Lu Xueqi and Biyao
Chapter 800 Lu Xueqi and Biyao
The red-robed elder paused, then sighed, "Most of the houses are destroyed, and the fields are ruined. But everyone is alive, and no one is missing. Reconstruction is underway. For the past three months, my Fire Cloud Valley disciples have been helping repair houses and reclaim wasteland; we haven't done anything else."
A warm feeling stirred within Su Han's heart again. He put down his wine cup and said earnestly, "Elder, after things are settled here, I'd like to visit Fire Cloud Valley."
"What are you looking at?"
"Look at those people. See how well they are doing."
The red-robed elder paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Excellent! Young friend Su is indeed extraordinary! Others, after accumulating merit, would love to shut themselves away to cultivate and consolidate their realm, but you, on the other hand, are thinking of running off to the mortal world! Fine! I'll wait for you! I'll take you to taste the rice wine of my Fire Cloud Valley then. That wine is strong; your little body would probably be knocked out after just one bowl—"
The people at the table burst into laughter. Su Han laughed along, his eyes sweeping across the room's lights, the relaxed expressions on the cultivators' faces, and the stars dotting the dark blue night sky outside the window. He suddenly felt that this world was truly wonderful. So many people were talking, drinking, and laughing together; so many lights were on; and so many lights flickered in everyone's hearts.
It was quite late when the banquet ended. Su Han helped the slightly tipsy red-robed elder back to the guest courtyard, and then escorted Xuanjizi to the mountain gate. The old man stood in the moonlight for a while, then suddenly turned around, took out a jade slip from his sleeve, and handed it to him.
"This is a communication jade slip from my Northern Darkness Sword Sect. It allows communication within a range of ten thousand miles." Xuanjizi placed the jade slip into his hand. "Young man, I've lived for over three hundred years and seen countless geniuses. But someone like you…" He paused, "I've never seen anything like it before. There's something inexplicable about you, and I'd like to see more of you."
Su Han held the warm jade slip and nodded: "Take care, senior."
Xuanjizi waved his hand and descended the mountain under the moonlight. His back was hunched and slow, but every step was steady, like someone who knew where he was going.
Su Han stood before the mountain gate, watching the figure disappear around the bend in the mountain path. He stood there for a while before turning back. As he passed the guest courtyard, he heard the sounds of snoring rising and falling. As he passed the martial arts training ground, he saw several young disciples still practicing swordsmanship under the moonlight, their swords drawing silver arcs in the night. He walked through the long corridor, around the lotus pond, and across the winding stone bridge, finally returning to the small courtyard at the back of the mountain.
The peach tree in the courtyard stood silently in the moonlight, its petals carpeting the ground in a pinkish-white blanket. Su Han didn't go inside; instead, she sat under the peach tree, leaning against the trunk and gazing up at the moon.
The moon was large and round, with a pale golden halo around its edge. Su Han squinted at the halo, and as he looked, he suddenly realized—the moon itself also had light. Before, when he looked at the moon, he saw a cold, silvery-white light; but tonight, the moon he saw was wrapped in a very faint, soft, warm yellow light, as if someone was standing behind the moon carrying a lantern, illuminating its outline.
Everything was glowing. He remembered the wild azaleas he had seen by the stream that day, the lights that filled the main hall, the fleeting bluish-white light that shone on Shen Qingdai, and the almost pleading light in Xuanjizi's eyes as he left. Each light was different, but all the lights combined constituted the entire world he could see.
He closed his eyes and placed his palms out on his knees. His palms were empty, but he knew that the light could shine at any time if he wanted to. Because that light wasn't in his hands, but in his heart. That warm feeling in his heart had always been there, like a piece of charcoal buried in ashes, neither extinguished nor burned, quietly warming him.
"Uncle Su?" A Yuan's voice came from outside the courtyard. The little girl peeked in and clung to the doorframe. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Su Han opened her eyes: "Why aren't you asleep either?"
"I can't sleep! So many people came to the main hall today, I'm so excited!" A-Yuan skipped in, plopped down next to Su Han, and looked up at him. "Uncle Su, all those people came to see you today! You're so amazing!" "I'm not amazing at all."
"Liar!" A-Yuan pouted. "They all call you 'Master Su'! They even say you're the reincarnation of Buddha!"
Su Han sighed and reached out to ruffle A Yuan's hair. "Those are all lies spread by outsiders. Remember, I'm just a Uncle Su who lives in the back mountains, practices swordsmanship and meditation every day, and occasionally wipes the rice grains from the corner of your mouth. Nothing more."
A-Yuan blinked, seemingly understanding but not quite, then suddenly remembered something and held up her small wrist to Su Han: "Uncle Su, look! The Bodhi seed is still in my hand!"
The string of bodhi beads was a size larger than A-Yuan's wrist, dangling precariously and gleaming faintly in the moonlight. Su Han looked at the beads, a thought striking him: "You're still wearing it?"
“Of course! You said it reminds you to be a person with light in your heart. I wear it to remind myself to be a person with light in my heart!” A-Yuan said earnestly, her little face tense, as if she were announcing something important.
Su Han looked at her, at the moon and starlight reflected in her eyes, and suddenly felt a sting in his own eyes. He gently took A Yuan's hand and turned the dangling string of Bodhi seeds around her wrist twice, adjusting it to a position where it wouldn't easily slip off.
“Okay,” he said. “Then you wear it carefully for me. If one day I forget how to be a person with light in their heart, just raise your hand and show it to me, and I’ll remember.”
"Pinky promise!" A-Yuan extended her little finger.
Su Han smiled and extended her little finger, hooking it with hers. Moonlight shone on their fingers, casting a small, overlapping shadow on the ground.
…………
On the day of Grain Rain, the Lingxiao Immortal Sect held a grand celebration banquet.
Ninety-nine red lanterns hung before the mountain gate, stretching from the foot of the mountain to its summit. At night, the entire mountain resembled a coiled fire dragon when viewed from afar. Three hundred tables were set up in the martial arts arena for a continuous feast, with meat and vegetable dishes served in a constant stream. Cultivators, regardless of sect or rank, drank and played drinking games at the same tables, abandoning all their usual airs. Even the sect leader, his face flushed with drink, held Su Han's hand and rambled on about how he found Su Han as a child, how he taught him swordsmanship, and how he watched him grow from a tiny child into the person he was today. As he spoke, tears streamed down his face, soaking a large patch of Su Han's sleeve.
Su Han stood at the edge of the martial arts arena, holding a wine glass, watching the lively scene unfold. The torchlight illuminated everyone's faces, revealing a variety of expressions—some laughing, some crying, some blushing and playing drinking games, some snoring on the table. He saw two sect elders who had previously been at odds with each other embracing and singing folk songs, a usually stern swordsman squatting on the ground playing cat's cradle with a few junior disciples, and the chubby cook from the kitchen jumping onto the table and performing a folk dance after being forced to drink three large bowls of wine.
All of these people had fought on the front lines of the human realm three months ago. Some lost arms, some went blind, and some could no longer gather their true energy. (End of Chapter)