Chapter 257 (2): Summit of Osmanthus Island
Back on the Dragon Scaling Platform, City Lord Fu Qi had departed to see what was happening above the sea of clouds, and he was still yet to return. The Golden Core Tier guest elder cultivating in the thatch hut had then emerged from his hut to arrive by Fu Nanhua's side, and only then did Fu Nanhua realize that something wasn't quite right.
He could see that the guest elder was intently scrutinizing a man slowly approaching from afar. The man had a sword slung across his back and was walking along in a casual manner, looking like an outsider who had come here for sightseeing. Fu Nanhua was unable to glean the man's cultivation base, and he asked in a low voice, "Is his cultivation base really high?"
The guest elder had been assigned with the task of overseeing the Dragon Scaling Platform on his own, so he was naturally a very formidable cultivator. He possessed two treasures that enhanced both his offensive and defensive capabilities, making him one of the most powerful figures in the entirety of Old Dragon City, but at this moment, there was a solemn look on his face as he replied, "I presume so."
Fu Nanhua was stunned to hear this. It was a very brief response, but it was one that was very much worth mulling over. The fact that the guest elder was forced to make presumptions indicated that even as a Golden Core Tier cultivator, he was unable to glean the man's true cultivation base, which meant that the latter definitely had a superior cultivation base.
What was most alarming about him was the sword on his back. Even if he was only at the Nascent Tier, if he was a swordsman, then he would still pose a major threat to the entire city.
"Is he an enemy?" Fu Nanhua asked.
"I don't think so," the guest elder replied.
The man continued to casually walk over from afar, completely disregarding the fact that this was a restricted area stipulated by the Fu Clan. He passed straight through the invisible restrictions in the area, then made his way over to Fu Nanhua and the guest elder before smiling as he gave a self-introduction. "My name is Xu Ruo. I come from the Great Li Empire, and I'm currently staying at your clan's manor."
An enlightened look instantly appeared on Fu Nanhua's face. Back when the ship from the Great Li Empire had descended upon the Fu City, only a select few members of the Fu Clan had been granted the honor of welcoming the esteemed guests of the Great Li Empire, and Fu Nanhua hadn't been among that select group.
He knew that his father must have his reasons for not including him in that group, so he pretended to be oblivious to all of this. However, he was well aware of who Xu Ruo was. He wasn't Xu Ruo of the Great Li Empire, he was Xu Ruo of Mohism, and after hearing this self-introduction, Fu Nanhua hurriedly suppressed his excitement as he cupped his fist in a salute, "Fu Nanhua pays his respects to Senior Xu Ruo!"
Xuo Ruo returned his salute with a smile, following which Fu Nanhua turned to the guest elder with a reassuring smile.
To his surprise, there was a stunned look on the guest elder's face, and he seemed to be even more reverent toward Xu Ruo than Fu Nanhua was, extending a deep bow as he said, "I am Chu Yang, a member of Middle Earth Divine Continent's Cuiwei Chu Clan. Please allow me to express the utmost gratitude to you on behalf of my clan, Senior Xu!"
Xu Ruo was rather amused. While it was true that he had saved the Chu Clan from the harassment of an immortal sect, he had only done so on a spur of the moment decision as he just so happened to be passing through the area. He waved a dismissive hand as he said, "There's no need to thank me, I was only acting in accordance with the teachings of Mohism."
The guest elder remained in a deep bow as he insisted in a trembling voice, "Even so, you have still done our Chu Clan a great kindness. If you hadn't stepped in, then I would've been without a home to return to on Middle Earth Divine Continent! Given your immense powers and generosity, this is naturally not something significant in your eyes, but I'll never forget what you've done for our Chu Clan for as long as I live!"
"Alright, I appreciate the thought, but you can't just keep bowing to me forever," Xu Ruo sighed in an exasperated manner. In terms of physical appearances, it looked as if the guest elder was old enough to be Xu Ruo's father.
He finally stood up straight again as he smiled and said, "I never thought that I would get to meet you on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Senior Xu. I'll admit that I was growing quite discontent toward the Fu Clan after cultivating in this thatch hut for the past few decades, but it seems like it was all worth it!"
Fu Nanhua didn't know how to react to this.
As expected of the most powerful Golden Core Tier cultivator in Old Dragon City, his temper was still just as foul as ever!
At the same time, a myriad of emotions welled up in Fu Nanhua's heart. Back when Chu Yang first arrived in Old Dragon City, he had been extremely domineering, making an enemy out of a major clan in Old Dragon City over what was really nothing more than a trivial matter. A fierce battle had ensued with Chu Yang managing to hold his own against the entire clan, and in the end, Fu Qi had to step in to mediate the conflict.
First, he personally fought Chu Yang in a battle, then offered him an enormous amount of wealth. To sweeten the deal even further, he even allowed Chu Yang to cultivate on the revered Dragon Scaling Platform, and only then did Chu Yang reluctantly agree to serve as a guest elder for the Fu Clan.
Despite Fu Qi's sincerity, Chu Yang had made it clear that he wouldn't be offering the Fu Clan any assistance unless the livelihood of the entire clan was under threat. Furthermore, if anyone from the Fu Clan dared to extort him or try and force him to do anything against his will, then he would leave immediately. Ultimately, the Fu Clan was forced to agree to these terms.
However, at this moment, Chu Yang was regarding Xu Ruo with the same level of awe and veneration as Fu Nanhua felt toward Chu Yang.
With that in mind, a wild thought suddenly occurred to Fu Nanhua. Did Xu Ruo also have someone that he revered from the bottom of his heart? If he were to meet that person, would he also look up to them in admiration and willingly refer to himself as a junior in their presence?
Despite his best efforts, Fu Nanhua couldn't imagine such a scene.
Xu Ruo didn't bother to exchange any small talk with the guest elder as he made his way directly toward the Dragon Scaling Platform.
Chu Yang displayed no intention of informing Xu Ruo that the platform was a restricted area, and Fu Nanhua wanted to speak up, but ultimately decided against it.
Following the sudden descent of the sea of clouds above Old Dragon City, Fu Qi quickly returned to the Dragon Slaying Platform and appeared beside Fu Nanhua. Looking up at Xu Ruo, who was making his way up to the platform, Fu Qi wasn't displeased in the slightest. Instead, returned straight to the city with Fu Nanhua. As for the Golden Core Tier guest elder, he gave Fu Qi a slight nod, then also returned to his seaside thatch hut to continue his cultivation.
Fu Qi was very content to leave Xu Ruo with Zhi Gui not just because he knew that he couldn't stand in Xu Ruo's way even if he wanted to, but also because of Xu Ruo's identity as a Mohist.
Traveling Mohist heroes had always had an immaculate reputation across the land.
By the time Xu Ruo was most of the way up the staircase, Zhi Gui had already begun coming down from the Dragon Scaling Platform. She was dressed in clean and refreshing maidservant garbs, and there was no longer any blood flowing out of her eyes.
While waiting for the ship to the island, the two boys sat in a carriage prepared by the Fan Clan, and Fan Er sneakily pulled out a money pouch before handing to Chen Ping'an as he said in a quiet voice, "My parents are really strict with my finances, so I don't have much money. This is all I have. I'm not being stingy or lying to you, I swear!
“These golden ingots were all given to me as lucky money for new years, and my parents only turned a blind eye to them as they had been given to me in secret by some close seniors, and they weren't immortal currencies like snowflake coins or lesser heat coins. Also, I've snuck out two flagons of osmanthus wine for you to drink during the journey.
“The coach driver, Grandpa Ma, hid them for me in his pocket treasure, and he'll give them to you once you reach Osmanthus Island. Of course, given how close you are with me and Mr. Zheng, you'll be able to drink as much wine as you like on Osmanthus Island, but this is a private gift from me, so it's not the same thing."
Chen Ping'an shook his head as he said, "I'll accept the wine, but you can keep the money."
Fan Er was a little saddened to hear this. "Why? Surely you're not the type of person who would be offended because the amount I'm offering you is too little! Isn't it always the thought that counts between friends like us? I've been saving up lucky money for five or six years, and honestly, I was pretty sad to part with all this money."
Chen Ping'an gently bumped Fan Er on the shoulder, then lowered his voice as he asked, "Is there any flower wine to be drunk in Old Dragon City? Once we're a little older..."
Fan Er's eyes immediately lit up, and a knowing look appeared on his face as he assured, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to save up some more gold ingots before your next visit!"
A serious look appeared on Chen Ping'an's face as he said, "A very good friend of mine told me that flower wine is the best-tasting wine under the heavens, and that it would be a massive waste not to taste it at least once in one's lifetime. But when the time comes, we'll only be drinking wine, understood?"
"For sure!" Fan Er replied as he mirrored Chen Ping'an's serious expression.
As it turned out, beyond the large island blocking the view of Old Dragon City was another island, one that was riddled with fragrant osmanthus trees, as well as elegant and intricate pagodas and pavilions.
The two islands were connected by a wide road that spanned over the sea, and all of the other carriages were forced to draw to a halt on one end of the road, but this carriage was able to travel straight to Osmanthus Island. In doing so, it attracted much attention from the surrounding bystanders, but after they identified the old coach driver, none of them dared to raise any complaints.
The carriage slowly drew to a halt, and Chen Ping'an and Fan Er disembarked, following which the latter said with a sullen expression, "I won't accompany you onto the ship, Chen Ping'an. I've stolen quite a few flagons of my father's osmanthus wine of late. I've exhausted the stash that he's been painstakingly keeping secret from my sister's mother, so I'm definitely going to be sent to the ancestral hall as punishment tonight..."
"Don't eat any clay!" Chen Ping'an hurriedly said. "I was joking when I told you that you could eat clay in the place of food!"
Fan Er was astonished, following which he became even more depressed as he wailed, "I dug up so much clay last night to stash under my bed! Was that a waste of time?"
Chen Ping'an burst into laughter upon hearing this, then accepted the two flagons of wine from the benevolent-looking old coach driver. He began walking backward toward Osmanthus Island while still facing Fan Er as he waved him farewell.
Fan Er also began waving at him as he yelled, "I think you have a really good name, Chen Ping'an. Just like my name, you can really tell that your parents put a lot of thought into your name!"
Chen Ping'an's expression immediately darkened slightly as he turned around and began rushing toward Osmanthus Island.
"That's what you get for lying to me about eating clay!" Fan Er mused to himself in a triumphant voice, then turned around to face the old coach driver as he smiled and said, "Take me straight to the ancestral hall, Grandpa Ma!"
In this moment, Fan Er was feeling very proud of himself. It seemed that from stealing and drinking his father's wine, he had grown a lot more courageous!
The old coach driver was suppressing his amusement as he replied, "Your father says that you don't have to go to the ancestral hall this time."
Fan Er clasped his fingers together behind the back of his head upon hearing this, and he didn't know whether he should be glad or annoyed.
The old coach driver took a glance at Fan Er, then turned his gaze to Chen Ping'an, who had already stepped onto Osmanthus Island, and suddenly felt like the weather was particularly good on this day.
Chen Ping'an began to make his way up the mountain, and he felt like with each step that he took, he was a step closer to Ning Yao.
Encouraged by that thought, he began to scale the mountain faster and faster, all the way until he reached the summit of Osmanthus Island. From there, he inspected his surroundings before suddenly taking a deep breath and holding it.
He suddenly recalled something that Cui Chan's grandfather had told him.
"When this breath is exhaled, it should force heaven and earth to change colors! It should force immortals to kneel and kowtow! It should force all of the martial artists in the world to feel as if you are the paramount heavens!"
He then thought of something that Song Yushao had once said to him.
"Chen Ping'an, if a girl ever tells you that you're a good person, that means you have no chance with her anymore!"
Chen Ping'an was instantly feeling a little deflated, and was left scratching his own head.
In the end, he recalled something that he himself had said: "My father's surname is Chen, and my mother's surname is also Chen, so... my name is Chen Ping'an!"
He then squatted down and began chugging down wine in a frustrated manner as he murmured to himself, "You're a real idiot, Chen Ping'an!"
