The eleventh day of the eighth month. Auspicious for marriage, inauspicious for consecration.
An autumn wind stirred. A maple leaf drifted down, but suddenly froze in mid-air before splitting cleanly in two along its center.
Only after the silence did a sudden, explosive sound ring out, shaking the maple forest. Leaves rustled down in a shower as the light of a blade flashed.
"Damn it! What am I missing?"
Zhao Lan sheathed his blade, his brow deeply furrowed.
He had perfected the third level of the Eight Desolation Blade Scripture, so why couldn't he break through to the fourth?
Xiao Bo had said that cultivators who reached the third level were a dime a dozen. Only by breaking through to the fourth realm could one be called a blade genius in the whole of the Great Jin.
He had once asked Xiao Bo with a mischievous grin if he had ever mastered it. Xiao Bo had replied that he had been fortunate enough to achieve it at the age of thirty.
No matter what, he had to surpass his master. He had four years left; he had to master this fourth level!
Zhao Lan made a silent vow.
Suddenly, a carrier pigeon fluttered to the ground. Zhao Lan stepped forward, took the letter from its leg, and his face lit up with excitement the moment he read it—
"Miss Liu wants me to go to Qingsong Pavilion!"
He slung the blade over his back and, with feet as light as the wind, quickly departed.
******
Qingsong Pavilion, located east of the Lin'an County suburbs, was a secluded and long-abandoned pavilion.
It was surrounded by an untrodden wilderness overgrown with weeds. One might not see a soul here for weeks on end.
It was the eighth month, and two green pines stood tall outside the pavilion. Beside the pine grove was a small lake, but it was murky and neglected.
Just as Zhao Lan arrived, he saw a woman sitting in the pavilion.
Overjoyed, he called out, "Miss!"
"What took you so long?"
Liu Zhi frowned, and Zhao Lan immediately apologized.
"Sit down. I have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?" Zhao Lan's expression was one of pleasant surprise. His dear Liu had actually used the word "favor" with him.
"I heard your adoptive father is a blacksmith. As it happens, the blade of my sword has gotten a bit nicked. How about you ask him to repair it for me?"
Liu Zhi drew a jade-green longsword from her waist and brandished it at Zhao Lan.
"Well..." Zhao Lan looked troubled.
"What? You won't even help me with this?"
"No! That's not it at all, Miss! It's just that I discovered this morning that Xiao Bo has already left the smithy. I don't know where he is now."
"What! Hmph, I think you're just making excuses. And after I've been so good to you! I'm done with you!"
Liu Zhi flew into a rage, turned her head away, and stood up to leave.
"Don't, Miss! I... I'll go find Xiao Bo, then. Please don't be angry." Find the original chapter at g.com.
As he spoke, Zhao Lan reached for the sword, but she deftly moved it out of his grasp.
"You're full of lies. Didn't you just say you didn't know where he was?"
"I really don't know, Miss. I just have a rough idea of where he might be..."
"Hmph. I'm going with you, to make sure you don't try to pull any tricks."
Zhao Lan looked distressed.
"Miss, my adoptive father is very stubborn and fierce. If he finds out I brought an outsider there, he'll definitely beat me black and blue..."
Liu Zhi cut him off angrily, "You consider me an outsider?"
Zhao Lan froze, seemingly catching the hidden meaning in her words, and his heart leaped with joy.
He gave an awkward smile. "No, no, how could you be an outsider, Miss! I'll take you. But you must promise to keep it a secret for me."
Liu Zhi crossed her arms. "Lead the way."
Not daring to delay, Zhao Lan quickly got up and led Liu Zhi away.
The thought of traveling with his dear Liu for a while filled his heart with sweetness, as if it were filled with honey.
Before long, the two had left the bustling county seat far behind and arrived at the remote Dry Canyon. Though still within the bounds of Lin'an County, the area was completely deserted.
"Why is it so far!"
Liu Zhi complained. She felt a little scared, but the thought of the person following them in secret put her at ease again.
"You were the one who insisted on coming, Miss."
Zhao Lan chuckled to himself. Alone with a woman in these deep mountains, his mind began to wander.
He continued to lead her along a winding path, crossing several more canyons before squeezing through an extremely narrow crevice in the rock. Finally, he stopped.
"This is it?" Liu Zhi stared at the scene before her, utterly stunned.
She had never imagined that a place so much like the fabled Peach Blossom Land could be hidden within Lin'an County.
Just moments ago, they had been in a dark, gloomy canyon. She never expected that passing through that sliver of a crack in the cliff would reveal such a wide, open view, with a hidden peach grove.
No, it was more than that!
In the distance, green mountains encircled the area, a stream gurgled, and its banks were lined with green bamboo and more peach blossoms. The canyon walls were nowhere in sight, as if this were a small world unto itself.
"Never expected this, did you? A whole new world hidden inside a tiny canyon!"
Seeing the shock on Liu Zhi's face, Zhao Lan felt a secret thrill. He spread his arms and shouted with joy.
"This is—Peach Blossom Land!"
Liu Zhi was still too stunned to speak, breathing heavily.
"Xiao Bo! Are you here, Xiao Bo!"
"Don't be angry! I brought Miss Liu with me, but she's not a bad person! She'll definitely keep our secret!"
After shouting for a while, Zhao Lan returned to Liu Zhi's side.
"Don't worry, Miss. Xiao Bo is definitely here. He's probably just shy. He's always been like that, a bit afraid of strangers..."
As Zhao Lan was speaking, he suddenly stopped. He looked up towards the path they had come from, his eyes widening.
His left hand crept silently to the sheath of his blade as he said in a low voice—
"Miss, step back. I think we were followed..."
Just as he said this, a figure appeared on the path ahead.
When he saw the person's face, Zhao Lan's pupils trembled. "The... Heir of the Northern Marquis?!"
******
"What a surprise. To think such a place was hidden here..."
Pei Su smiled.
He'd had his suspicions, but he had never expected... a peach garden like this.
The entrance was so well-hidden that an ordinary person could pass by for a hundred years and never find it. But what surprised Pei Su even more was what lay within...
The peach grove concealed some kind of extremely profound formation, and in the far distance, there lingered an ancient, mysterious aura.
The entire space was masked by a certain energy; even a master of the Heavenly Palace Realm standing just beyond the walls would never discover it.
This place was far from simple, and certainly not something Xiao Lin could have created. He had likely just stumbled upon it and was using it as a temporary hiding spot.
Pei Su withdrew his gaze, no longer lost in thought, and instead sized up the young man before him, Zhao Lan.
"Heir of the Northern Marquis! What do you want? You dare to secretly follow me and the Miss!"
Zhao Lan's neck was red as he roared in fury.
Pei Su smiled faintly and said only, "Come here, Miss Liu. Don't let this crazed ruffian hurt you."
What?
Zhao Lan's mind felt as if it had been stuffed with mud, completely unable to function. He could only watch, wide-eyed, as Liu Zhi, who was right beside him...
...ran with surprising speed to hide behind Pei Su, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"I was so scared, Your Highness!"
Liu Zhi's voice was full of feigned grievance, almost a pout.
Zhao Lan couldn't believe what he was seeing. His mind felt like it was about to explode.
He pointed a trembling finger at Liu Zhi, his pupils constricting and dilating like those of a beast about to go berserk.
"Liu... You..."
Proofreader: Peter Pan