Song of Adolescence

Chapter 303 The Lotus Falls like a Star from the Sky

(Note: Tang Lian’s name means lotus.)

"Although this is the first time I’ve seen such a magical wine, I know that if you drink another cup, you will definitely die," Su Zhan said softly.

"But if I don\'t drink it, will I survive?" Tang Lian looked at Su Zhan.

Su Zhan looked stunned for a moment, then said evenly, "It’s a free road. We can each go our separate ways."

Tang Lian responded in all seriousness, "Some of your men have died, and some are crippled."

"Their skills were inferior. As killers, if we can’t kill our prey and are killed instead, there’s nothing we can complain about," Su Zhan said.

"As expected of Hidden River killers." Tang Lian chuckled. "What you just said was really callous."

"So…" Su Zhan turned sideways, opening a gap in the road.

Tang Lian sighed, raised the cup of Yaoguang, and drank it.

The Seven Cups of Starry Night Wine had all been drunk.

"But just what is your Hidden River worth? To think you can negotiate terms with us, Snow Moon City?"

Tang Lian\'s eyes were instantly as bright as the North Star, and the exhaustion that he’d felt after drinking the sixth cup Kaiyang vanished in an instant. A powerful qi flowed out of his body!

"Attack!" Su Zhan\'s eyes gleamed coldly and he thrust forward with his short blade.

"Break." Tang Lian raised a finger and spoke evenly.

The short blade in Su Zhan\'s hand broke into two halves as if responding to the order.

"Stop!" Tang Lian held out another finger.

A hole appeared immediately in Su Zhan\'s chest. He lowered his head and watched the blood gushing out of his chest, his eyes wide with disbelief. "This… this is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible." Tang Lian waved his hand, and Su Zhan flew out like the line he was tied to had snapped. "Sha Po Lang? Do you think it sounds impressive?"

The remaining six assassins exchanged glances and immediately moved, flashing in a direction away from the tea shop at the same time. Tang Lian had only made one move, but they already knew that even if they were to all attack at the same time, they were not his match.

"Where are you people going?" Tang Lian was already standing at the door of the tea shop, not knowing when he actually moved. He looked up at the sky and said in a low voice, "The rain has stopped. It’s time to get on the road."

A single emotion surged through the hearts of the six assassins at the same time - fear. This was the kind of emotion that they, as hunters, loved to see in their prey. That was a despair that came from the depth of their hearts, the kind of despair that only appeared after one had lost all faith in any chance of survival. But this time, they were no longer the hunters. They were the prey.

"Lianyue always said that even the best of the Tang Clan’s hidden weapons was not considered top rate. The best hidden weapon was to use all things in the world as a hidden weapon. I always wanted to try it, but today is the only time I’ve had the chance." Tang Lian stomped his foot heavily onto the ground. All the fragments of the swords and sabres suddenly flew up. "Fall!"

——————

"Lian\'er, Father and Mother are going on a long trip. You stay in Tang Clan and look after yourself."

"Father, where are you going?"

"A place that’s far away, but after a year, we will return."

"Lian\'er understands." The quiet-faced child bowed respectfully to his parents who were already in the distance.

That year, Tang Lian was only six years old. After his parents left, he followed his parents’ instructions and prepared three meals a day for himself and attended lessons with the Tang Clan Outer School. The year passed like that, ordinary yet full of hardship. During this year, he was sometimes bullied by the older disciples of the Outer School and sometimes had his food deducted by the steward in charge of provisions. But he never cried even once. Yet, his parents still didn’t return, so another year passed.

Two years had passed since that day, and it was snowing heavily like goose feathers coming down. Tang Lian sat on the steps in front of the Tang Clan fortress, looking into the distance.

From dawn to noon, from noon to dusk, and from dusk to night. He continuously brushed off the snow on his body and rubbed his hands repeatedly so that he didn’t freeze. The lanterns in the Tang Clan fortress were already lit up, illuminating the road in front of the Tang Clan fortress.

But those two figures never appeared at the end of the road.

He waited one more year, but the outcome remained unchanged.

Tang Lian finally cried. He felt a burst of grief flood his heart and he knelt onto the ground. He looked at the long and deserted street and wailed loudly, "Father, Mother. Why aren\'t you back yet? Lian\'er can\'t take it anymore."

"Your name is Tang Lian." A gentle voice sounded next to his ear. Tang Lian wiped away his tears and raised his head to see a stranger. The man wore a black feathered coat and he didn’t have an umbrella, yet the snow didn’t fall on him.

"This disciple is Tang Lian." Although Tang Lian didn\'t know the other man, he could tell at a glance that he was someone very important.

"Your parents are never coming back. From now on, you will live with me." The man walked forward after saying this, but stopped after a few steps. Tang Lian didn\'t follow him, still standing in place in a daze. The man turned around, took a look at Tang Lian, and suddenly reached out a hand. "My name is Tang Lianyue, and you can call me shifu from now on."

Nine years later, it was once again a snowy night.

Tang Lian lay in the snow, bleeding from his body. The snow he lay on was slowly being stained with blood.

He wondered if back then, his parents were also like him at this moment, lying on the ground in a place that nobody knew, waiting quietly for death without anyone knowing.

"You are dying." A lazy voice suddenly sounded.

Tang Lian was shocked, but he didn\'t have any strength left in his limbs. He couldn’t even move, and couldn’t see the face of the person who’d spoken.

"Would you like a cup of wine to keep warm? You must be half-frozen, lying here on such a cold day?" The man propped a flask of wine up to his mouth. Tang Lian inhaled a short breath and smelled a strong fragrance of wine.

"Will you drink?" The man shook the flask slightly again.

Tang Lian shook his head. "I won’t drink."

"Why won’t you drink?" The man asked.

Tang Lian turned away. "If you’re here to humiliate me, you can give up on that thought."

"You really are exactly as Tang Lianyue described, a piece of rock." The man sighed. He flicked the wine flask gently and the wine inside flowed into Tang Lian\'s mouth. Tang Lian felt the pain in his body slowly dissipate, and he also started regaining his strength a little.

The man lifted his wine flask, tipped his head back and took a sip before wiping his mouth. He chuckled. "From now on, you will have another shifu. My name is Baili Dongjun."

"Baili Dongjun?" Tang Lian asked in shock. "That Baili Dongjun!"

"Yes, that Baili Dongjun who is more powerful than Tang Lianyue."

Tang Lian was walking slowly on the road as these past events flashed in his mind like a revolving lantern. He walked up to a hillside and saw the waiter from the tea shop sitting there in a daze. He seemed a little scared and was presently drinking his wine, one mouthful at a time, to suppress his fear.

"Don\'t be afraid." Tang Lian sat down beside him and said softly.

The waiter came back to his senses and looked at him. "Young master!"

"Don\'t be afraid, it\'s all over. It\'s just that the tea shop has been destroyed, so it’s best if you don’t go back there." Tang Lian took out a silver ingot from his clothes and placed it into the waiter’s hand. "You take this and go give it to your shop owner. Tell him I apologise."

"Young master, what\'s wrong with you…" The waiter asked as he accepted the silver ingot and calmed himself down.

"It\'s nothing. Just a little tired." Tang Lian looked ahead into the distance. "I want to sit for a while."

The waiter nodded, his body trembling a little, and didn\'t ask further.

"Do you still have wine?" Tang Lian asked suddenly.

"There’s… there’s a little more." The waiter hurriedly handed the wine jug over.

Tang Lian took the jug and said, "Back then, I would never drink a single drop. Now, I’ve become a drunkard." After speaking, he raised his head and drank the remaining wine in the jug at once.

"Who would have thought, the first sip of wine in my life was so ultimate, but the last sip of wine is so mediocre.

"So regretful.

"Shifu, Tang Lian won’t see you again in this life." Tang Lian put down the wine jug and simply closed his eyes.