SS CH104

That night, draped in the stars and moon, Chu Xiwei finally returned to Netherworld Valley.

He had departed with a full squad of men but returned with only half. The rest were left with Qin Lanshang to escort Lu Mingyuan to Sanmei Academy.

They say “grown children don’t listen to their mothers.” While not entirely fitting for Qin Lanshang, it’s inevitable that as children grow, they develop a mind of their own. This was true for Chu Xiwei back then, and it was true for Qin Lanshang now.

That night at Zuichun Brothel, after the wine was finished and the crowd dispersed, Chu Xiwei took Lu Mingyuan and the others and immediately left the heavenly capital, with absolutely no intention of lingering. He thought that dispatching men to escort Lu Mingyuan back to Sanmei Academy to handle the Southern Scholar’s funeral affairs and assist the academy masters in reorganizing their internal matters was already fulfilling his utmost duty. He hadn’t expected that the little girl would volunteer to get involved as well.

This time, Chu Xiwei didn’t rush to reprimand her. He merely asked two questions: “Why do you want to go? And if you go, what can you actually do?”

They were standing by the moat under the shade of green willows. The east had just revealed the pale fish-belly white of dawn, and the light was still dim. He couldn’t clearly see the young girl’s lowered eyelashes, but he heard her enunciate every word: “There is no ‘why’. I feel that I should go, so I must go. I absolutely will not give myself a chance to regret it later.

“I don’t know much, and there is very little I can do, but I can’t let others do everything for me forever.”

Chu Xiwei remained silent for a moment before replying, “There are hidden spies from the imperial court’s factions inside Sanmei Academy. The internal struggles are treacherous. If you go, Yifu and I may not be able to guarantee your absolute safety.”

“I have to learn to protect myself, and to protect others.” Qin Lanshang thought for a moment, then took his hand between her small palms. She said softly, “Uncle Ye said, ‘Children will eventually grow up, and adults will eventually grow old’… Uncle, I think he’s right.”

Perhaps when the day comes that they grow old, they will remain just as powerful, but children cannot hide behind adults forever.

Even towering trees will eventually wither and rot; even high mountains and flowing rivers will one day be cut off.

How much more so for people, who face birth, old age, sickness, death, and unpredictable fortunes and disasters?

Chu Xiwei’s other hand rose, pausing in mid-air for a moment, before finally landing on her head to give it a gentle rub.

“I leave you the ‘Soul-Guiding Flute’ and a squad of ‘Ghost Shadows’. Look out for yourself.” Pausing, his gaze shifted to Lu Mingyuan. Condensing his internal energy into a thin line of sound, his voice was freezing cold: “If anything happens to her and you remain unharmed, I will inflict ten times the suffering upon you.”

Lu Mingyuan still kept his face half-hidden behind his folding fan. Hearing this, his eyes curved into a smile, but he nodded solemnly.

With this parting, they went their separate ways, taking charge of their own fortunes and disasters.

The journey there was fraught with danger, and the return was not easy either. By the time Chu Xiwei returned to Netherworld Valley, it was already past midnight.

He led his subordinates past the sentry posts without alarming anyone unnecessarily. After issuing brief orders, he dismissed the men to rest, braving the dust of the journey to return to the Liufeng Residence.

However, inside Liufeng Residence, aside from the cleaning servants and guards, there was one extra person.

Shen Wuduan, draped only in an unlined robe, sat beneath the osmanthus tree. With one hand, he idly tapped a go piece; with the other, he shook a small silver flask filled with liquor. His face carried a hint of tipsiness, but his eyes remained clear.

Seeing him enter the courtyard, Shen Wuduan waved his hand to dismiss the servants, then jutted his chin toward the empty seat across from him. “I started calculating the schedule the moment I received your flying message. You indeed returned tonight. Sit down and have a drink first.”

Chu Xiwei caught the small silver flask tossed at his face, tilted his head back, and took a swig. The liquor tasted bitter upon entering his mouth, but a sweet aftertaste emerged once it passed his throat, filling his mouth with a blend of clear bitterness and sweetness.

He raised an eyebrow. “What kind of wine is this?”

“‘Ten Year Lamp’ from Jialan City.” Shen Wuduan played with a white go piece between his fingers. “Given your trip north to the heavenly capital this time, you must be filled with many emotions. I wonder if this flask of wine can wash away the dust of your journey?”

A cup of wine in the spring breeze amidst peach and plum blossoms; ten years holding a lamp, listening to the night rain of the Jianghu.

In the past, one rode the spring breeze with success, admiring all the peach and plum blossoms; today, wandering the Jianghu, holding a lamp for ten years listening to the wind and rain.

Revisiting old places with everything and everyone changed naturally stirred up a myriad of emotions.

Chu Xiwei closed his eyes, took another sip, and sat down opposite him. “It is enough.”

He spoke those three words casually. The heavy gloom accumulated during his return journey seemed to wash away with the liquor, vanishing into the cool night breeze as he exhaled.

Shen Wuduan exchanged a look with him, took back the flask, and tacitly moved past the topic with a slight smile. “Let’s play a game.”

As the elder, Shen Wuduan played white, and Chu Xiwei took black and played first. Their playing styles shared the same origin—both utilized bizarre and unpredictable strategies. They turned a board of stark black and white into an intricately interlocked trap. In the end, it was Chu Xiwei who secured the crucial spot first, slaying the grand dragon.

Shen Wuduan scrutinized the board carefully for a long moment before letting out a long laugh, tossing a piece down to concede. “You win.”

“You let me win.”

“No, no, no. In this game, both you and I went all out. You won through your own skill, and I lost because I am no longer your match. What is there to ‘let you win’ about?” Shen Wuduan lifted his eyes to look at him. “Xiwei, your Go skills were taught entirely by me. From initially mimicking my style perfectly, to now having your own calculations; from originally losing more than you won, to now surpassing me… Do you know what the reason for this is?”

Chu Xiwei replied, “Ten years of time doesn’t just pass in vain without growth.”

“Hah, the number of people in this world who waste their prime years is innumerable. Ten years can separate life and death boundlessly, and it can also make a person unrecognizable from the inside out.” Shen Wuduan pointed a finger vaguely at Chu Xiwei’s heart, shaking his head. “Xiwei ah, your heart has changed… Good, very good.”

Chu Xiwei remained silent.

“Over these years, I’ve watched you grow from a wolf cub that would bite anyone who came near into what you are today. You look perfectly dignified and capable of holding down the fort, yet I have delayed truly handing power over to you. Do you know why?”

Chu Xiwei answered, “Because I am not yet qualified.”

“Indeed.” Shen Wuduan tapped his fingers against the Go board. “Your natural talent surpasses others. Whether in martial arts or knowledge, you progress incredibly fast. What’s even rarer is your tenacious willpower—unafraid of hardship and unafraid of death. You have vision, and you have ambition… Unfortunately, you are too ruthless.”

Chu Xiwei said nothing as Shen Wuduan continued: “Your style is fierce, your methods are vicious, and you draw absolute, uncrossable lines when dealing with people and affairs. Because you rarely leave any leeway for others, you invisibly cut off many of your own paths of retreat, forcing yourself into a position that looks like high status but is actually the teeth of the storm.”

Pausing, he smiled again. “Furthermore, you have an incredibly stubborn temper and refuse to repent even to the death.”

Chu Xiwei couldn’t help but curl the corners of his lips.

He inherited his mother’s features. From a young age, his facial features were exquisite, and as he grew, his slender brows and almond eyes became even more pronounced. Were it not for his sword-like eyebrows, knife-sharp gaze, and constant unsmiling demeanor, he would certainly look aggressively beautiful.

But now, he curved the lips that usually pressed into a thin blade into crescent moons. The murderous aura completely vanished from his eyes, reflecting the vast, ethereal night sky. A faint smile spilled from his brows and eyes, softening his usually cold and severe expression without making him look feminine in the slightest; instead, it added a touch of relaxed, handsome elegance.

In this moment, it was as if he finally shed the last remnants of youth, truly beginning to mature into a composed, adult man.

Chu Xiwei smiled and asked, “Then am I qualified now?”

Shen Wuduan replied, “That depends on how your skills are now… Your trip to the heavenly capital yielded quite a harvest, didn’t it?”

Chu Xiwei perfectly understood the hidden meaning in his words. After all, despite being the Sect Master, his foundation was still shallow. The true, vast power of the Hundred Ghosts Sect was mostly still in Shen Wuduan’s hands. It was perfectly reasonable for him to know the general outline of Chu Xiwei’s actions.

Neither annoyed nor angered, Chu Xiwei openly recounted his meeting with Chu Xun, laying bare both his true lineage and Chu Xun’s current plans without any reservation.

Regarding his identity, Chu Xun had not mentioned it when making the deal with Shen Wuduan years ago, and Chu Xiwei had never brought it up all these years either. Though Shen Wuduan had a suspicion, he hadn’t actively investigated it. Therefore, hearing him admit it now didn’t surprise him; he only felt the clarity of “it was bound to be so.”

However, after listening to Chu Xiwei’s account, Shen Wuduan remained silent for a long moment before asking: “Since the Grand Ancestor’s time, the notions that ‘martial artists violate bans with force’ and ‘scholars disrupt laws with words’ have indeed spread widely, leading to endless overt and covert undercurrents between the Jianghu and the imperial court today. Ruan Feiyu indeed possessed great foresight to scheme all these escape routes… But, how do you view this matter?”

Chu Xiwei said, “They say ‘the commoners do not fight the officials.’ Furthermore, with an edict from the Son of Heaven, who would dare disobey?”

Shen Wuduan’s face darkened. “So you intend to offer up the Hundred Ghosts Sect to be a puppet in his hands!”

Although he was old, the precious blade was not yet dull, and the tiger’s majesty remained. Stripped of his playful demeanor, his darkened face no longer resembled that of an old mischievous child. A freezing, murderous intent bloomed in his brows and eyes, looking exactly like the King of Hell lifting his brush to strike out a life.

Under such heavy pressure, Chu Xiwei remained as immovable as a mountain, merely offering a soft smile.

“Swords and sabers to people, just like people to those in power, are all merely tools for pursuing fame and profit.” Chu Xiwei poured himself a cup of wine. “However, sharp weapons are double-edged; they injure others, but they injure oneself even more. A reckless brute who licks blood from the blade pays it no mind, but a wise man considers a thousand factors before drawing his sword.”

Pausing, he smiled at Shen Wuduan. “Although a marionette is controlled by the hands of a person, the crisscrossing strings also restrict the person holding them.”

Shen Wuduan narrowed his eyes. The feigned solemnity receded from his face like the tide. His body relaxed, returning to its lazy, boneless posture.

“You really have grown up; you have quite a few calculations in mind.” Shen Wuduan raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead, let me hear them.”

“Heaven inherently created Yin and Yang; the world holds both the clear and the muddy. Although the orthodox and the demonic are as incompatible as fire and water, they fundamentally generate and overcome each other; neither can exist without the other.” Chu Xiwei slightly lowered his brows, unintentionally letting slip a sigh. “Since the founding of Great Chu, it has placed considerable importance on the power of the martial world. From the Grand Ancestor’s period of support and recruitment, to the late Emperor’s era of suspicion and suppression, the current Chu Xun plans to use the facade of relinquishing power to enact true control.”

Shen Wuduan stated, “Blocking is inferior to diverting; killing is inferior to controlling; retreating behind the scenes, turning the overt into the covert… He appears to be severing ties with the Jianghu, but in reality, he is driving a wedge into the most crucial place. A good calculation. Presumably, he hasn’t just had his eye on the Hundred Ghosts Sect for a day or two.”

To control a chess piece, one must first ensure that the piece does not stand on the side of any faction. There are very few powerful yet neutral sects in the Jianghu, and the Hundred Ghosts Sect stands second to none.

Realizing this, he lifted his eyes to look at Chu Xiwei, his meaning unclear. “Taking you in back then truly was bringing trouble upon myself.”

Chu Xiwei wasn’t annoyed. He methodically sorted the go pieces on the board and replied, “Yet, Yifu should be very happy to have this trouble now.”

“With your personality, once you abandon the past, you will never walk the same path backward. And he will no longer allow a fully fanged and clawed you to return to the imperial court. Since this is the case, you are still the adoptive son I raised for ten years, and you are still the new master of the Hundred Ghosts Sect. Of course I am happy about this.” Shen Wuduan reached out to help him sort the pieces, his lips twitching into a smirk. “You are young and full of vigor, possessing soaring ambitions to touch the clouds. Wanting to strike the sky like an eagle is understandable. Naturally, the profound foundation the Hundred Ghosts Sect has accumulated over all these years wasn’t meant for us to be unseen ghosts generation after generation… But whether in the Jianghu or the imperial court, one must always guard against the fate of the bow being stored away once the birds are gone. So you must remember exactly how you won this game of chess today.”

Chu Xiwei’s eyelashes fluttered, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. “Of course… Only by leaving a sliver of leeway when dealing with others can we ensure amicable meetings in the long days ahead.”

Shen Wuduan clapped his hands and laughed loudly, “Good, the child is teachable!”

Having put away the go pieces, Shen Wuduan stood up, hooked a finger at Chu Xiwei, and said, “I’m in high spirits today. Come practice with me and loosen up my bones and muscles.”

Chu Xiwei had wanted to have a serious spar with Shen Wuduan for a very long time. However, aside from his childhood instructions, for the past four years, Shen Wuduan had mostly let him learn through actual combat, rarely offering personal guidance.

Now, Chu Xiwei was stuck at the peak of the sixth level of the Qilu Jing, while Shen Wuduan had already reached the pinnacle of perfection. He desperately wanted to go all out in a fight with Shen Wuduan, as it was the only way he might grasp the crux of his bottleneck.

Hearing this, a rare gleam of battle intent flashed in Chu Xiwei’s eyes. Standing up, he said, “Then, Yifu, please instruct me.”