Humans, as emotional creatures, are always prone to making impulsive decisions and then regretting them.
And Liu Yao felt that, having already been out in the world for a long time after freeing herself from the constraints of her martial sect elders, she could no longer be considered a greenhorn. At the very least, she was someone with some experience.
She rarely regretted her actions; at worst, she’d just pay the price for her mistakes.
Things like assassinating An Shanmu or taking on an apprentice while drunk were just a drop of ink in the ledger of her life.
When a knight-errant travels the world, having a clear conscience is what matters most!
Regret? There’s no need for that!
But…
There was one thing she regretted deeply to this day, feeling as if her guts were twisted with remorse.
Liu Yao put down the trowel, turned around, and picked up the last roof tile.
Just this final step, and the young woman’s great roof repair project would finally be complete.
“Phew.”
“Damn it, it’s finally done!”
She plopped down on the roof, twisting her somewhat sore shoulders, and complained.
‘Why did I accept that commission back then? If I hadn’t taken that ‘Peach Forest Immortal’s’ thing when I left, maybe I wouldn’t have turned into this ghostly appearance.’
‘Now I’ve spent days fixing this damn roof, and my arms are about to break.’
Liu Yao sighed, pushed herself up, exerted force with her toes, and lightly floated down to the ground.
Then she walked over and sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, beginning to reminisce about herself before she became a woman.
Back then, when the young woman was still a young man, Liu Yao (then Liu Yao the swordsman) sat just like this in the “Peach Blossom Spring,” chatting idly with that Peach Forest Immortal.
Before meeting the Peach Forest Immortal, Liu Yao did not believe there were immortals in this world.
As a martial artist, he relied on himself for everything and was used to depending on himself.
But when he mistakenly entered that tranquil paradise, when soundless words flowed into his mind like a stream, and even his entire senses could no longer perceive himself, he suddenly felt that perhaps such beings truly existed in this world.
And back then, they hit it off immediately, chatting happily about everything from poetry and songs to Jianghu anecdotes, from the people’s hardships to affairs of state. They were like those literati and scholars in taverns, discussing anything and everything.
But what Liu Yao never expected was that the Peach Forest Immortal would end up tricking him in the end.
Upon leaving, Liu Yao was stuffed with a book into his arms by the Peach Forest Immortal.
“Young friend, we hit it off so well, let me give you a parting gift. Although you didn’t bring me any gifts when you came, I don’t have much to give you either.”
“Here, this book is what I use to prop up a wobbly table leg. I hope you won’t be ungrateful and just take it.”
“Whether you keep it or give it away is up to you. If anything happens, don’t come looking for me.”
“Farewell, young friend.”
Before he could reply, a gentle breeze blew, peach petals danced, blurring his vision. When he regained his senses, Liu Yao had already left the “Peach Blossom Spring.”
When he tried to find it again, there was no trace of the “Peach Blossom Spring” to be found.
‘Thinking about it now, I shouldn’t have kept that damn book. That old bastard definitely pulled some trick in there secretly. Otherwise, how could a man turn into a woman?’
The young woman hammered the table, gritting her teeth slightly.
That old bastard pretended to be refined at first, but in the end, he didn’t even bother keeping up the act.
‘Just wait until I find the “Peach Blossom Spring.” I’ll prune his branches!’
Thinking this, Liu Yao took a sip of tea, trying to calm herself down.
Her recent state had been off; she blamed it all on this body.
‘Stay calm, stay calm…’
Perhaps it was psychological, but the previously somewhat restless young woman now felt a bit more settled.
“Speaking of which, it’s been so long. Why hasn’t my cheap apprentice come back yet?”
Just as Liu Yao was feeling puzzled, hurried footsteps sounded from the courtyard gate.
Tap tap tap
Zhao Yi’an, holding bulging wine jugs and oil-paper packages, hurriedly ran into the courtyard, nearly tripping over the threshold in the process.
Liu Yao stared blankly at the pile of things in his arms, then looked at his flushed face from running, and asked in confusion:
“What’s going on? Did Doctor Niu say the medicine to exchange for is alcohol?”
“N-no, not that!”
Perhaps because he ran too fast, Zhao Yi’an was a bit out of breath.
Seeing this, the young woman stepped forward and gently patted his back, a look of concern on her face. “Alright, alright. Then why did you run so fast? No one’s chasing you.”
After catching his breath slightly, Zhao Yi’an steadied himself and immediately placed the things on the stone table. He took another breath before looking up.
“Master, these are… to show my respect for you.”
“I’ve always been troubling you, making you spend money on me. Now I bought these things specifically to show my respect.”
“Look, this is that specialty wine you ordered before. You drank so much of it then, so you must like it. I bought two jugs. And this…”
Looking at the young man immersed in his introduction, Liu Yao opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but finally smiled and shook her head, not interrupting him.
‘Taking that damn book back then… wasn’t entirely a bad thing…’
“Alright, alright, I get it.” The young woman looked at Zhao Yi’an, who was as excited as a child, patted his head, and said with a smile, “It’s good that you have this thought.”
“With this thought of yours, taking you as my apprentice wasn’t a loss.”
After saying that, she poured herself a cup, took a sip, and out of the corner of her eye saw Zhao Yi’an still standing there grinning foolishly.
A thought suddenly popped into her mind—
‘Come to think of it, I actually still haven’t figured out what to teach him.’
‘I can’t teach him my sect’s martial arts. What I can teach myself is also limited. So what should I teach him…’
‘How about… use that old bastard’s book to teach him?’
Liu Yao raised her wine cup, taking a small sip, hiding her thoughtful expression.
Actually, Liu Yao had already flipped through that book before. Inside was a rather profound sword manual.
It said that practicing to the end could make sword winds sharp as blades, sword shadows formless, striking first to gain the upper hand. Anyway, it was pretty impressive.
If she taught him that, it wouldn’t violate the sect rules. Besides, she herself used a sword, so teaching him would be twice the result with half the effort.
‘Hmm… It’s definitely not because I’m lazy!’
After finishing her thoughts, she put down the wine cup, raised her chin towards Zhao Yi’an, and curled the corner of her mouth.
“Zhao Yi’an…”
“You can just call me Yi’an.”
“Oh… ahem, Yi’an. Your master has thought about it. Although I can’t teach you our sect’s martial arts, I have a very powerful sword manual for you to learn.”
“Plus, your master can be considered quite skilled with a sword, so teaching you will be twice the result with half the effort.”
“You, want to learn?”
Zhao Yi’an stood there stunned, his eyes widening bit by bit.
“M-master… What did you say?”
“I said, I have a sword manual here, very powerful. Do you want to learn it?” Liu Yao shook the wine cup in her hand, the smile at the corner of her mouth impossible to suppress. “If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“Learn learn learn learn learn!”
Zhao Yi’an hurried forward, nodding his head like pounding garlic, his eyes shining.
Liu Yao couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his appearance. She put down the wine cup and reached into her robe—
A crumpled, dog-eared old book was slapped onto the table.
“Here, this one. Take it.”
Zhao Yi’an stared at the book, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He rubbed his hands vigorously on his clothes a few times before carefully picking it up, as if holding some rare treasure.
“Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”
Holding the book, he opened the cover, still muttering, “I’ll study hard, I definitely won’t embarrass you, Master…”
Liu Yao crossed her legs smugly, picked up the wine cup, and took another sip.
Sunlight shone down, illuminating the opened pages of the book.
Silence.
Very quiet.
“Hmm?” Liu Yao put down the wine cup, tilting her head to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
Zhao Yi’an didn’t move. Instead, he turned another page.
Then, he slowly raised his head, a black line on his face, and opened his mouth.
“…Master.”
“Yeah?”
“No matter what, don’t mess with me like this.”
Zhao Yi’an turned the book around, facing the pages towards her, pointed at the densely packed characters, his voice carrying a hint of being torn between laughter and tears.
“This is clearly a diary…”
“What!?”
Liu Yao snatched the book from Zhao Yi’an’s hands, stared at the contents for a few pages, then glared at him.
“Isn’t this still the sword manual? Are you messing with me?”
“Not at all! Look here, there are even dates written here!”
Her eyes glanced over. The book clearly still showed those sword technique diagrams, every stroke and line was the content she had flipped through countless times.
She was sure she wasn’t seeing things.
But Zhao Yi’an’s earnest expression didn’t seem like he was joking either.
A thought suddenly popped into her mind.
Her pupils contracted slightly.
Damn it!
You old bastard!!!