Gouge looked back at Sky-Scraping Cliff with lingering affection, seeing only the mountain peak towering into the clouds, thrusting straight up into the mist where it could not be clearly seen. He wondered whether young Master Shi would turn over a new leaf and whether the old man would teach him with sincere dedication.
Just as he was preparing to descend the mountain and leave, a crisp and gentle voice suddenly called out to him, "Hey, Brother Tian, why have you come down?"
The young man turned his gaze toward the sound to see that the speaker was a young woman of eighteen or nineteen, dressed in a pale green gown. She had a delicate, exquisitely beautiful melon-shaped face and pair of clear eyes that gazed directly at him with a smile as she softly asked, "Brother Tian, how did that old immortal show such sudden kindness and let you down?"
Although Shi Potian felt she possessed an indescribable beauty, what filled his mind was Axiu's quiet elegance and the blushing flush on her pretty face whenever she called him big brother. Therefore, even though he had words he wished to say to her, they died on his lips, and he simply stood there.
The woman stepped closer, smiling as she hugged him and planted a kiss on his cheek before speaking, "Brother Tian, have you blamed me for not keeping you company these past few days? I only went down the mountain to buy a few things for you; otherwise, I would have died of boredom up there, facing nothing but rocks all day."
Hearing her words and realizing she had once again mistaken him for that elder brother Shi Zhongyu, Shi Potian smiled bitterly and said, "Hello, Ding Dingdang."
The person was indeed Dingdang. She looked closely at Gouge with a puzzled expression, then suddenly asked in a trembling voice, "You—you're not Brother Tian?"
Gouge shook his head and said, "Ding Dingdang, I told you long ago that I am not your Brother Tian. You and Mr. Bei simply made a mistake."
Dingdang said angrily, "Liar, get away from me! If it weren't for you, how could Brother Tian have been dragged up the cliff? Go on, I don't want to see you."
Gouge cupped his hands in a salute to her and said, "Since you have found the real Brother Tian, I, the fake one, won't stand in the way of your reunion. Farewell." With that, he turned and left without looking back, feeling only that the world was vast and bright, and there was truly no need to linger over romantic attachments.
Ever since Ding Dingdang had conspired with Shi Zhongyu to trick him into joining the Snow Mountain Sect to take the blame for another, Gouge had seen through the fact that she never truly liked him. All those things she had previously said to him—that she would rather die herself than let him suffer even the slightest grievance—were actually just fabricated lies told to save her lover, Shi Zhongyu. Her deep affection and loyalty to him were matters he could only view with a massive question mark.
Dingdang watched as this fake Brother Tian departed without a single glance back, and she remembered the night they had bowed before heaven and earth as bride and groom.
He had asked, "Dingdang, let's get this straight—is this wedding ceremony just a game, or are we taking it seriously?"
Embarrassed, she had replied that such a thing could never be a game, knowing even then that he was deliberately teasing her to take full advantage of her.
And he had said, "Today you mistook your man, but that's no fault of mine. If you regret it later and come twisting my ears and biting my shoulder, that won't do!"
At the time, Dingdang had only found it amusing and told him, "I will never regret it, as long as you treat me sincerely, and naturally I won't beat you."
She and he had truly knocked their heads to the floor, bowing to each other as husband and wife upon the red carpet, drinking cup-to-cup wine, and lifting the bride's red veil.
Thinking of these tender moments, Dingdang could not help blushing to the tips of her ears. How could this have been a fake marriage? Since when was a fake one so complete?
She had half a mind to exchange a few words with him, but seeing him leave without even turning his head, and feeling too bewildered to know what to say, she could only watch him go in a daze, subconsciously beginning to compare the two men in her heart.
If it came to charm, elegance, a tongue sweeter than honey, cleverness, and wit, being able to chat and laugh and fill her heart with joy—possessing supreme intelligence and speaking in a way that brought one endless delightful surprises—then this fake one simply could not compare to the real one.
That dull and foolish fellow possessed not even a fraction of his romantic charm.
Yet if it came to genuine sincerity, earnestness, and murmuring her name even in his sleep—saying that her angry expression was so pretty that even looking at it for a hundred or a thousand days wouldn't be enough, and never forgetting her even in his dreams—this blockheaded Brother Tian, though a literal piece of wood, clumsy in his actions and muddle-headed in his thoughts, was nonetheless entirely consistent in his words and deeds, without an ounce of pretense.
She could ponder these lingering, bittersweet maiden thoughts for ten days or half a month without end. One moment she would smile out loud recalling Shi Zhongyu's sweet words, and the next moment she would find Shi Potian's foolish, earnest devotion utterly comical, a perpetual smile hanging on her face while her heart drifted in gentle waves.
Of course, no one knew of these thoughts; even the most brilliant of men could never guess so much as a tiny fraction of a young woman's mind.
After sitting quietly in thought for a while, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness, accompanied by a vague notion in her heart: if she had chosen this fake Brother Tian, it might not have been entirely devoid of joy. It was just that now, all he felt toward her was a distant, respectful courtesy. Ah.
While one flower blooms, another unfolds elsewhere. While Dingdang was fretting over matters of the heart, Shi Zhongyu's biological parents had made their way to Sky-Scraping Cliff.
"Yuer, where are you?" Min Rou's anxious cries could be heard from afar. Xie Yanke rolled his eyes, thinking to himself that this woman was such a fussbudget; she had ruined his good deed last time, and now she was shouting again to disturb his peace and quiet.
"Stop shouting! That worthless little brat of yours is huddled right here," Xie Yanke projected his internal energy to transmit his voice across the space.
Shi Qing and Min Rou exchanged glances and approached, following the direction of the voice.
Shi Qing walked in the rear. He was not particularly eager to see this cowardly, irresponsible little scoundrel, but in Min Rou's eyes, a son was a son; no matter how grave his offenses, a mother would always forgive him. Seeing the thick beard covering Shi Zhongyu's face, she felt a pang of deep heartache and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Mother, it has been so long! Your child has missed you so much. Mother, you are truly growing younger and more attractive by the day—anyone who sees you would say you are my older sister, and would never believe you are my real mother." Min Rou could only offer a bitter smile, thinking that after all this time, this child was still as glib as ever, and heaven only knew how many young girls' hearts he had captured with that honeyed tongue of his.
Shi Zhongyu stepped into the cave, produced a wreath woven from colorful flowers and grasses, placed it upon Min Rou's head, and looked at her with a mischievous smile.
Min Rou had always loved jewelry and adornments, and seeing that the wreath carried a faint fragrance and vibrant colors, she could not help feeling slightly cheered.
Shi Qing let out a cold snort, showing considerable disdain for his son's little tricks, and spoke first, "Yuer, do you know your wrongs?"
Shi Zhongyu knew very well that while it was easy to fool the endlessly indulgent Min Rou, fooling the experienced Shi Qing was a different matter entirely. With a fluttering heart, he knelt and said, "Your child knows he was wrong. I should not have caused Uncle Bai and the others displeasure, nor should I have brought trouble upon my parents."
Shi Qing's expression softened slightly as he asked how his son had spent these past few months on Sky-Scraping Cliff. Not daring to fabricate stories, Shi Zhongyu reported everything honestly.
When he mentioned that Shi Potian had specially climbed the mountain, spent these several months making air-dried meat, washing clothes, and buying countless snacks, Shi Qing was quite surprised. He thought to himself that although the boy was not his own son, as the leader of the Changle Help of Jiangnan, he had actually been willing to lower his status and demean himself to perform such menial labor; inwardly, he felt a faint gratitude for these actions.
Min Rou's face displayed even greater admiration as she exchanged a glance with Shi Qing and nodded, thoroughly pleased with what Shi Potian had done.
Once he had learned the full story, Shi Qing felt all the more grateful for Xie Yanke's strict discipline toward his son. He thought that if the boy had remained by their side, any minor supervision would have been undermined by Min Rou's protectiveness, likely only making Shi Zhongyu even more reckless and spoiled; only Xie Yanke was capable of maintaining absolute neutrality.
Filled with gratitude, he said to Xie Yanke, "My worthless son is utterly unruly; without a strict teacher to properly hone him, he would never amount to anything. Shi Qing, Master of Xuansu Manor, and his wife Min Rou, thank the hermit of Sky-Scraping Cliff, Mr. Xie, for his gracious rebaptism of strict discipline upon our child. The master of the Black Iron Token is indeed true to his word. No wonder when martial arts heroes speak of the master of the Black Iron Token, every single one of them raises their thumb in praise—truly, he commands universal respect."
Xie Yanke refused to accept his flattery, thinking to himself that this couple had boxed him in with just a few words, scheming for some fine outcome indeed.
With a cold laugh, he replied, "Your noble son possesses rare, peerless talent of ancient times; he has no need for meddlesome people to teach him, he can achieve success all on his own. As for this so-called grace of a second birth, this Xie dares not accept it—I merely helped discipline a couple of parents who knew how to give birth but not how to raise. Hmph, hmph! If I had a son who brought such disgrace to our family's reputation, I'd be better off striking him dead with a single palm to save myself the trouble of being dragged down by that initial request Gou Zazhong made of me."
Shi Qing bowed deeply and said, "Since my unworthy son has been cultivated into a man thanks to Mr. Xie, Shi Qing's gratitude is boundless. From this day forward, my wife and I will burn incense and offer prayers, wishing Mr. Xie a long life of a hundred years." His tone was as profoundly deferential as it was sincere.
He was resorting to veiled insults, so how could Shi Qing and Min Rou fail to understand? Shi Qing smiled bitterly, while Min Rou's eyes reddened and she nearly shed tears.
Xie Yanke was only ever good to Gouge; toward everyone else he remained uniformly cold. With a sneer, he spoke up, "You family of three can go ahead and share your family warmth. As for Xie, this tutor you've hired will no longer disturb you and your obedient, sensible, upright, and filial son as you chat idly."
He deliberately emphasized the four words "upright and filial son" with extra loudness, determined to vent this pent-up anger through his words before leaving.
Shi Qing paid it no mind, reasoning that the more Xie Yanke mocked him, the more bad habits Shi Zhongyu must still possess, making strict discipline all the more necessary.
Min Rou affectionately called for her son to sit down and asked him to recount his experiences over the past few months. Shi Qing even began teaching him how to mend Xie Yanke's and his own torn garments, how to cook, how to hunt, and how to practice martial arts.
These everyday mundane tasks were actually things Min Rou could not do at all; she neither knew how to mend clothes nor cut garments, and could not even stir-fry an egg.
Thus, Shi Qing had to temporarily take on the role of a tender mother to teach this utterly useless son the basic skills of daily living.
Shi Zhongyu listened with unconcealed reluctance, thinking to himself that he had no desire to learn any of this; he needed to find a way to beg his mother to take him away from here. What kind of ghostly existence was this wretched place? He had no wish to spend another moment on Sky-Scraping Cliff with that smelly old man!
While this family of three was reunited and discussing trivial domestic matters, Shi Potian was walking faster and faster, feeling that the world was vast and wide for him to roam, and his spirits were exceptionally light. Ever since mastering the Taixuan Scripture, his lightness skills had reached a whole new level; driven by his internal energy, he ran as swiftly as the wind, shuttling through the mountain forests and effortlessly clearing cliffs and deep ravines that ordinary men could never cross.
After walking for an unknown number of days, he arrived at a small town, intending to buy some shumai, zongzi, and sweet steamed buns to appease his stomach. Suddenly, he noticed a little beggar lying limply by the roadside. Her clothes were torn and filthy, clearly having gone without a bath for quite some time, yet her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on a batch of freshly steamed, piping-hot buns in a daze.
Gouge smiled gently, bought a steamer basket of buns, and shared half of them with the little beggar. A look of astonished wonder flickered in the little beggar's eyes.
Over these past days, whenever the little beggar had approached a bun shop, she was either beaten away with a broom by the shopkeeper or cursed out. Forget eating, her filthy hands weren't even allowed to touch them. At this moment, seeing this tall, slightly dark-skinned young man smilingly offering her buns to eat, she cast aside all regard for the dusty ground, scrambled up, and wolfed them down one by one. She ate too quickly and nearly choked, whereupon Gouge smilingly patted her back to help her catch her breath. Once she finished eating, the little beggar hurriedly dropped to her knees and cried out,
"Thank you, kind sir! Thank you! May the master be blessed with great wealth and high honors in the imperial examinations, and may the master live as long as the Southern Mountains with a household of boundless wealth!"
Gouge smiled bitterly. With his low martial arts and inability to read, he had no destiny of ranking first in the imperial exams. The little beggar had likely just blurted out every single lotus-flower ditty she knew, regardless of who stood before her—anyone who gave her food was a great lord.
"Where are your parents, little brother?"
"I'm not a boy, I'm a girl, great lord."
"Are you... looking for your mother?"
Gouge could not help recalling how he, too, had once gone hungry for days, able only to sit outside a flatbread shop and smell the fragrance while covered in dirt and stench. At that time, he had been busy searching for his mother and Ah Huang, and had nearly starved to death. It was only by a stroke of fate that he met the Black-Clothed Gentleman and the White-Robed Guanyin who gave him silver, and the flatbread he ate happened to contain the Black Iron Token—leading to all the events that followed. Thinking of this, Gouge gently stroked her head and took her hand as they walked away, unconcerned about soiling his clothes.
The little beggar did not understand why this great lord was treating her so well. One small hand let him lead her, while the other tightly clutched her remaining buns, and she even tucked one inside her tunic for fear she might have nothing to eat and go hungry later. After eating half of them, she was terrified stray dogs might snatch the rest.
Having seen his old acquaintances on Sky-Scraping Cliff, the invincible Gouge had finally returned to his loyal Central Plains martial arts world.