Chapter 39
Xi Xichang, looking at Agong, saw no sign of him lying.
In the first place, although she had only seen him for a short time, the Agong she had seen was not the type to make such empty jokes.
"When on earth..."
Xi Xichang tried hard to sort out her complicated thoughts.
The fact that the Black Qilin had been living in seclusion in the Hermit's Valley was surprising, but the fact that he had returned was a truly big event.
But in a way, the return of the Black Qilin was not entirely a bad thing for Xi Xichang.
The complacent Sichuan Alliance might feel a sense of crisis if they learned that the Black Qilin had returned to the Black Contemplation Fortress, and the Black Qilin was the uncle of the second prince among the two princes of the Black Contemplation Fortress.
There was a possibility that the succession structure of the Black Contemplation Fortress, which was already in a strange atmosphere, would become even more complicated.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes... thank you. That's great information for me."
In fact, Agong's contribution to the Black Contemplation Fortress finding Wenzhong was significant, but Agong was not foolish enough to tell Xi Xichang even this part.
"I've only talked about myself so far, so please tell me your story too, young hero."
"Yes, me?"
"Since I've told my story, you should tell yours too, young hero."
"I don't have much to say..."
For Agong to tell his story, he had to start with the story of arriving here with the Slender Moon Squad of the Black Contemplation Fortress to bring back Wenzhong.
"What kind of person is your master?"
"Hmm... my first master... is a good person. He is very knowledgeable and there is nothing he doesn't know. It's a pity that I can't introduce him to you because he is not here right now. I'm sure he would know a good way to greatly help with your worries..."
"If you say the first... does that mean there are others?"
"My other two masters are both a bit unpredictable in their personalities..."
Worried that the Taoist Lingbao or Tongtian might hear him speaking ill of them, Agong lowered his voice carefully without realizing it.
"I hope the Ten Thousand Sword Master is also a person like your first master, young hero."
"Are you planning to ask for the remaining sword manual after you meet the person called the Ten Thousand Sword Master?"
"Yes... actually, what I need more than that is the power of the Ten Thousand Sword Master."
No matter how much she obtained the martial arts of a peerless master, it required a long time and an effort comparable to it to practice it.
Xi Xichang did not have that kind of time now.
Finding the complete sword manual was, in the end, a last resort.
What she wanted was not the sword manual of the Ten Thousand Sword Master, but the Ten Thousand Sword Master himself.
"Do you think he will help you?"
At least, the people Agong had experienced in the Hermit's Valley so far were all unpredictable in their nature and also difficult to deal with.
Seeing Xi Xichang's desperate heart, he hoped that she would achieve what she wanted, but Agong did not see her plan as very hopeful.
"I will ask with all my heart. And if his heart is moved, I believe the Ten Thousand Sword Master will surely be of great help."
"Is the situation that difficult?"
"We... need a focal point. A very big one..."
A reputation big enough to unite the Sichuan Alliance.
And a person with the martial prowess to suppress the rise of the Black Contemplation Fortress.
"Then, since it's getting late, please rest for now. The cook is taking a nap, and he hasn't woken up yet... I'll tell him at dinner."
"Yes."
"Just a moment."
Agong went out of the tavern and returned to the spot where Xi Xichang was sitting after about a quarter of an hour.
"I've prepared a bath over there. I've heated the water with firewood, so you can wash up and then tell me."
Xi Xichang stood up and moved with Agong to a remote spot in a corner of the tavern. A large bathtub was placed in a small room.
Seeing the bathtub, the tip of Xi Xichang's nose turned a little red.
"The customers who visit this place are all of a certain age, and they won't peek or anything, but just in case, please be careful."
"You really... are a waiter."
"I told you I'm a waiter. So please stop calling me 'young hero'."
Xi Xichang, watching the back of Agong who was going back to tidy up the tavern, first stretched her stiff body.
It had been a physically and mentally tiring day, perhaps because she had sweated a lot while having a tug-of-war with Agong at the lake.
Agong, unable to understand the reason why he was perking up his ears at the sound of splashing water in the usually dead-quiet tavern, shook his head vigorously until late at night.
* * *
Contrary to Xi Xichang's wish, Old Ancestor Hongjun and Master Gongsun did not return to the tavern for over a week.
In the end, Xi Xichang, who was stuck at the tavern, had no choice but to talk with Agong and wait for Agong's masters to visit.
Cook Li, who was the only one left at the tavern, had not shown any particular reaction after saying that he had picked up something useless when he saw Xi Xichang, and since Xi Xichang also felt uncomfortable with Cook Li, she had no one else to talk to other than Agong.
Xi Xichang asked Agong many questions to get as much information about the Hermit's Valley as possible, and Agong, thinking that Wenzhong had returned to the Black Contemplation Fortress because of him, answered Xi Xichang's questions as sincerely as he could, as far as he knew.
"This brat... he brought a woman in while I wasn't looking?"
The Taoist Lingbao, who had visited the tavern after a long time, at first tilted his head at the sound of a woman's voice coming from the tavern.
And he found a young girl spending time with Agong, chattering, through the window of the tavern.
"Immeasurable Buddha... what a tragedy, what a tragedy! What is the world coming to?"
Since he had never heard that Old Ancestor Hongjun had brought a young girl separately, it meant that she had come here on her own or that Agong had brought her.
One should treat one's master as one's parents.
The Taoist Lingbao, seeing Agong chatting with the young girl, was greatly angered by the fact that he had not even introduced her to him until now.
"But he did a good job of catching a woman. She looks like a young lady from a good family."
It was a truly strange thing.
Looking closely, she clearly looked like a daughter from a well-educated family, but Agong was no different from a country bumpkin.
How did the two, who seemed to have a hard time even getting involved, meet?
The Taoist Lingbao, who had been grinning, was engulfed in thought.
What on earth should he do with those two...
To go in right away and appear, shouting, would not look good, and to wait for the right time to appear, watching those two, was not something a great master should do.
Agong and Xi Xichang, who did not know that the Taoist Lingbao was loitering outside the tavern, were still talking about trivial things.
Even if they were on bad terms, if they were alone, they were bound to develop a grudging affection. Although they were still young, since a man and a woman had been staying alone in a tavern for a long time, it was natural that good feelings would arise and they would become comfortable with each other.
In particular, neither Agong nor Xi Xichang had had many opportunities to talk with someone of their age.
It was natural in a way that they felt joy in the small talk.
"So?"
"What else could there be? I lifted it with the fishing line."
"Now that I see, you're quite good at exaggerating, aren't you?"
"You should have really seen that creature's hide... I was trying to catch it..."
As Agong rolled on the floor of the tavern and imitated the scene of catching the huge sea serpent in the prison, Xi Xichang covered her mouth and let out a small giggle.
Agong soon stood up and walked, imitating a gentleman. Seeing that, Xi Xichang burst into laughter again, as if she would fall over.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
At that sight, the Taoist Lingbao, whose eyes were somewhat sore, stopped thinking and revealed himself, clearing his throat loudly.
"Ah, Master!"
Although he had hoped that Tongtian would appear first in such a matter, seeing the urgent Xi Xichang, it was not a time to be picky about hot or cold rice.
Perhaps, since the Ten Thousand Sword Master was a person of the righteous path, the Taoist Lingbao might know more about the Ten Thousand Sword Master than Tongtian.
Xi Xichang, who had stood up from her seat, startled by Agong's words, hurriedly showed her respect to the Taoist Lingbao.
"I greet the True Man. I am..."
"Stop! There's nothing more to say."
"What?"
The Taoist Lingbao glared at Agong as if he were resentful.
"You brat, let me see you for a moment."
"You mean me?"
Agong, leaving behind the anxious Xi Xichang who was stamping her feet, could not understand what the Taoist Lingbao was trying to say so suddenly.
But since the Taoist Lingbao's expression was so grim, he had no choice but to obediently listen to his words.
"What's the matter?"
The Taoist Lingbao pointed his finger at Agong, who had come to a slightly more remote place to avoid Xi Xichang.
"You speak with such a shameless expression."
"What?"
"Are you saying you don't feel a single prick of conscience?"
Agong, as the Taoist Lingbao was glaring at him so seriously, tried hard to recall what he had done wrong.
But in his opinion, he could not find the fault at all.
"I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Of course, you're at that age, and although others may not know, I have a heart and magnanimity that is wide enough to understand. But this is not right, is it?"
"No... I can understand if you explain it properly."
"In a situation where it's not enough to pour all your mind into practicing the Nine Gates True Scripture, you're distracted by a young girl. As a master, how can I just let it go?"
"I think you're misunderstanding something."
"Oh, of course, I am. But keep this in mind. The ultimate state is eventually completed through a restrained life! Only by staying away from women and devoting yourself to training can you achieve the true state."
"What on earth are you talking about!"
As Agong's voice rose, Xi Xichang, who was far away, glanced this way to see what he was saying.
"She's a young lady who appeared, saying she would enter the Hermit's Valley. Since Old Ancestor Hongjun is not here, she was waiting for you to appear in the first place."
"To the Hermit's Valley?"
It was no ordinary matter for a young girl who seemed to be Agong's age to try to enter the Hermit's Valley.
Judging by her words, since Hongjun had clearly not brought her, it also meant that that child had come here on her own.
The Taoist Lingbao clicked his tongue briefly. He had a feeling that something troublesome would happen.
"You brat, if she was waiting for me, she was waiting in vain. Even I cannot let her enter the Hermit's Valley without Hongjun's permission."
"You took me in before."
"That was possible because you paid some price to Hongjun."
"I've never done that."
"You must have given something corresponding or there must be a reason why you can freely come and go in the Hermit's Valley. But the fact that Hongjun is not here even though that child has come here means that that child will never be able to enter the Hermit's Valley."
"Where is such a law?"
"How would I know?"
According to the Taoist Lingbao, Xi Xichang could never enter the Hermit's Valley until she met Old Ancestor Hongjun and received his permission.
As Agong's expression hardened, the Taoist Lingbao asked Agong with a pitiful face.
"So for what reason did she come here?"
"She said she came to meet a person called the Ten Thousand Sword Master."
"The Ten Thousand Sword Master...?"
The Taoist Lingbao's expression contorted strangely at the words that Xi Xichang had come to meet the Ten Thousand Sword Master.
"She said she brought some sword manual..."
"Don't tell me that child's surname is Xi?"
"Yes, she said her name is Xi Xichang. She said she came from a place called the Qingcheng Sect."
"The sword manual of the Ten Thousand Sword Master!"
The Taoist Lingbao, as if he had made a mistake, struck his forehead with his palm. If she was from the Xi family, had come from the Qingcheng Sect, and was looking for the Ten Thousand Sword Master, it was clear.
"No, it's not like she's coming to collect a debt. She came all this way to find that?"
Although the Taoist Lingbao's overreaction was a little strange, Agong, since he knew Xi Xichang's urgent situation, naturally took her side.
"From what I've heard, the situation has become pitiful. It seems the Black Contemplation Fortress is targeting the Qingcheng Sect, and since there was no way, she came all the way here."
The Taoist Lingbao made a troubled expression.
"You try to send her back somehow. If she stays here like this, won't it just make the situation worse?"
"She's too desperate for that."
The Taoist Lingbao looked at the anxiously standing Xi Xichang and clicked his tongue.
"As expected of that bloodline, her stubbornness is as tough as a cow's sinew."
"What?"
"It means I'm about to get my nose hooked."
The Taoist Lingbao, leaving behind the still-uncomprehending Agong, strode towards Xi Xichang, who was watching him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time, senior. I am Xi Xichang, who is acting as the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect."
"Acting sect leader? Did something happen to the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect?"
"During a bloody battle with the Black Contemplation Fortress, he..."
At Xi Xichang's answer, the Taoist Lingbao's expression became even more mournful.
"I've heard the general situation from my disciple. That you came all this way to find the Ten Thousand Sword Master."
"Yes, senior. Please, for the sake of the Qingcheng Sect and the comrades of the Sichuan martial world, please help me."
The Taoist Lingbao, the more he listened to Xi Xichang's words, the more he could not easily open his mouth and only stroked his beard.
"Senior...?"
"I'm sorry to say something you don't want to hear, but... it's impossible to meet the Ten Thousand Sword Master."
"What do you mean by that..."
"The Ten Thousand Sword Master left this world a long time ago."
(End of Chapter)