Song of Adolescence

Chapter 240 The Long Road has Come to an End

"It\'s raining."

Xie Xuan was sitting on the steps and he reached out a hand to catch the string of raindrops that fell through the eaves. He raised his head and said the words softly.

Li Fansong and Fei Xuan stood beside him. Fei Xuan led the horse, and leaned his body inwards to avoid the rain. Li Fansong looked at the figure in the distance and asked softly, "Why doesn’t he come in?"

Xie Xuan smiled slightly. "He’s your shifu’s rival in love. Do you want him to come in?"

Li Fansong sighed softly and said, "When the days are long and the nights short, slowly open your eyes, flowers bloom and fall but you grieve alone. Shifu died young after all. No matter how we, as his disciples, favour our shifu, we can’t bear to see shiniang suffer alone for the rest of her life."

"You’re wrong," Xie Xuan said slowly.

Li Fansong stepped back hurriedly and clasped his fists. "Has Fansong said something wrong? Mister, please advise me."

"The poem is wrong. The days are short and the nights long, and not the days are long and the nights short." Xie Xuan twisted his fingers slightly, and wound the string of raindrops into his hand, playing with it with interest.

Li Fansong’s face reddened and he stood to one side, not adding anything else.

In the distance, Lei Hong was still standing at the doorway of this small temple. He looked up into the sky, not saying a word.

Inside the small temple, Li Hanyi sat down facing Wuxin. Li Hanyi\'s complexion was still rather pale, but her eyes were clear and she had recovered her own mind. Wuxin looked at her calmly, unruffled by all that had happened and waited quietly.

"You’re not like your father at all," Li Hanyi spoke first.

Wuxin was used to hearing people say this, and he asked, "Are we really that different?"

Li Hanyi nodded. "Your father was very bold and heroic, both in his looks and his temperament. Back when he led the Demonic Cult Eastern Incursion, those who sided with your Demonic Cult said that Ye Dingzhi was not like a man of the martial world. He had an aura that was like an emperor. But, you’re completely different. You don’t flaunt your true capabilities."

Wuxin shrugged. "Does that mean I’m not manly enough?"

Li Hanyi chuckled. "Ye Dingzhi didn’t like making jokes either."

Wuxin rubbed his brows lightly and gave Li Hanyi a thoughtful look. "So you’ve known my father for a while?"

"When I first knew him, he was still a wanderer in Jiangnan. At the time, he even imparted a few of his sword moves to me. When I met him again later, he was already the Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult and I was representing Snow Moon City to fight against him." Li Hanyi paused and said, "I used to admire him very much."

"But later you killed him," Wuxin added for her.

"Back then, there were seven of us who were given the task of killing him," Li Hanyi said calmly.

Wuxin nodded and said softly, "I know that. Tianshan Sect’s Wang Rensun, Lei Clan Fort’s Lei Qianting, Wen Clan’s Wen Leng, Chaowang Pavilion’s Luo Yelan, Hidden River’s Su Muyu, and Snow Moon City’s Li Hanyi. But the rumors of the martial world said that the one who made the killing move with her sword was you."

"At the time, my shixiong, Baili Dongjun, was already well-known for his martial arts. In his duel with Ye Dingzhi, he won by half a move. Ye Dingzhi was injured and he escaped towards the south. The seven of us joined forces to hunt him down. First, Snow Moon City’s head disciple defeated Ye Dingzhi, then the second disciple went on to kill Ye Dingzhi. The martial world wanted the younger generation to have their own legends. For da-shixiong, his fame followed his merits, so nobody would question the stories about him. As for me, all the stories about me were always appended with a word, allegedly." Li Hanyi smiled bitterly. "So, I didn\'t kill him."

"That day, if the seven of us wanted to kill him, then at least three of us were going to die there."

"So someone else killed him?" Wuxin raised his eyebrows.

"Since you’ve come to ask me, that means you’ve already convinced yourself that it wasn’t me. And even if I did kill him, that was a war between good and evil, and everything we did was justified," Li Hanyi said with a serious face.

Wuxin continued to ask, "So, who else was there that day."

"There was a person who had the opportunity to kill him, although there would have been a price to pay afterwards. Now, his fame is equal to mine, but his skills are far above mine. He’s comparable to my da-shixiong," Li Hanyi said softly.

"Solitary Sword Immortal, Luo Qingyang." Wuxin guessed it at once.

"There was also a woman standing next to him," Li Hanyi continued.

Wuxin didn\'t say anything else. He merely nodded. "I knew it."

"The woman and the Solitary Sword Immortal were one step ahead of us. They were about ten zhang away from Ye Dingzhi in front of us. The seven of us didn\'t know whether they were allies or enemies, so we didn\'t dare to move ahead and decided to watch how the situation unfolded. Then, the woman said something and suddenly, Ye Dingzhi suddenly drew his own sword and killed himself. We would never have thought that Ye Dingzhi, the respected leader of the Demonic Cult, would suddenly kill himself like this, right in front of us," Li Hanyi said.

"What did that person say?" Wuxin\'s tone changed slightly.

Li Hanyi shook her head. "We couldn’t hear clearly. After Ye Dingzhi killed himself, she left with Luo Qingyang. However, several of the elders thought that it was better if this story didn’t get out, so they sent people to spread the word that I was the one who killed Ye Dingzhi. It was also to raise my status. I heard that you have met with Wang Rensun. Didn’t tell you all this?"

Wuxin stood up and brushed off the dust on himself. "He wouldn’t tell me about this, because he knows who that woman is."

Li Hanyi nodded. "I know as well, but I still told you. Because I have a favour to ask of you."

Wuxin felt a twinge in his heart. "Are you referring to… this matter about losing your martial arts?"

Li Hanyi smiled bitterly. "After coming back to myself, my martial arts is less than two-tenths of what it was before. But I don\'t want those people in the doorway to know. You can pretend you’re going to Snow Moon City to see Sikong Changfeng and protect me as we leave."

"In fact, two of those people in the doorway are a lot more reliable." Wuxin smiled.

"No need." Li Hanyi also stood up, and took a flying leap out of the temple. Her movement was extremely fast and in an instant, she was next to Xie Xuan.

Xie Xuan was still sitting on the step, playing with the raindrops. Without turning his head, he said, "You’re done talking."

"Thank you for everything. When you’re free, come visit Snow Moon City for a drink. I won’t kick you out this time," Li Hanyi said evenly.

"Alright," Xie Xuan replied simply.

Li Hanyi got up again, and she’d already flashed to Lei Hong\'s side.

Lei Hong still didn\'t turn around, and Li Hanyi also stood there quietly.

Although they had seen each other earlier, Li Hanyi had completely lost her state of mind, so this was truly the first time they were reunited.

Lei Hong said softly, "It’s been a long time since we last met."

Li Hanyi shook her head. "You’re not turning around, so we still haven’t met."

Lei Hong made a gesture that was reminiscent of his youth, and he scratched his head. "Because I haven\'t become more good-looking in the past few years."

"I\'m not such a superficial person." Li Hanyi\'s tone held a bit of humour.

Lei Hong shook his head. "But I am. So I fell in love with you the first time I saw you."

Li Hanyi thought for a while and said, "If you put it that way, then I am too."

Both of them laughed at the same time.

"I\'m sorry." Li Hanyi suddenly sighed. "Back then, I took out my anger on you and said you had to master a consummate sword move before you could see me again. But, I didn’t expect this pledge of a sword move would waste away so many of the best years of your life."

"Best years?" Lei Hong murmured.

"During those years, you should have met lots of other people, some that you will like and others that you will hate. Maybe someone who could have stayed with you for life…" Li Hanyi continued.

Lei Hong nodded. "I understand."

"I was already in love with him, after all."

"I\'m already married to him."

"If, back then, I was the one you met first," Lei Hong said suddenly, "Would things have been different?"

"No, I would definitely have met him first. Some things are destined," Li Hanyi said decisively.

Lei Hong felt a twinge of pain in his heart. He stopped talking and could only smile with sadness.

"I\'m sorry. The other day, despite my qi deviation, I remember what I said. I didn’t mean to say those words," Li Hanyi said, upset at herself. "Of course I don\'t blame you for what happened. On the contrary, I’m very grateful to you. It\'s just… back to what I said."

"Some things are destined."

"Goodbye."

Li Hanyi leapt up again and swept away in a different direction.

"Mister Xie, Wuxin is going on to Snow Moon City to see the Spear Immortal Sikong Changfeng, so I’ll make a move first." Wuxin, in his white robes, also leaped out of the small temple, and within a few jumps, he’d arrived next to Li Hanyi. Li Hanyi was concealing her injuries by exerting her own internal strength. He surreptitiously passed her his internal strength and it was only thanks to that, that Li Hanyi didn’t exhaust her own qi and collapsed halfway.

Lei Hong suddenly turned around and looked at Li Hanyi as she disappeared into the distance.

Li Hanyi never looked back.

In the end, they didn’t meet each other again.

After a long time, Lei Hong suddenly turned around and with vigorous strides, he left the rest.

"If you turn back, you’ll break your heart. Go and don’t turn back." Xie Xuan stood up and walked forward with the bookcase on his back. He shouted in a loud voice, "Lei Hong, all the best in finding a good sword soon!"

Li Fansong and Fei Xuan stood in place by themselves as they watched the rest leaving, feeling somewhat lost for a moment.

Xie Xuan suddenly turned around after taking over ten steps.

"Your name is Li Fansong?"

"That’s not a good name. You’re a wild pine tree, not ordinary in the least.[4] You have the potential to achieve greatness."

"Previously, you said you wanted to ask me to be your teacher?"

"I only have one request. To be a disciple of the Confucian Sword Immortal, you must never cite poems wrongly ever again."