Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Fan Xian looked at Sigu Jian. After a brief moment of silence, he moved toward the head of the bed and stretched his hand under the Great Grandmaster’s head and pillow. This action was done very slowly. The skin on the back of his hand and wrist could clearly feel the wheat shells stuffed into the pillow, as well as the thin strands of dry hair scattered messily across the pillow.
The tips of his fingers touched something hard. The pads of Fan Xian’s fingers gently moved against it. He knew it was a small notebook wrapped in rough cloth.
Pulling his hand back and bringing out this little notebook, Fan Xian did not immediately open up the rough cloth. Instead, he stared dazedly at the notebook and matched it to the guess in his heart. This was something Imperial Advisor Ku He had left behind and solemnly given to him by Sigu Jian. Presumably, it was a rarely seen treasure. It was a slim notebook. The true treasure was probably the content recorded on it.
Sigu Jian did not rush him. He only looked calmly and indifferently at that corner of the room. It was as if he was not by his side and hadn’t reached his hand behind his ear earlier.
Fan Xian couldn’t resist such a powerful sense of curiosity. In front of Sigu Jian, he unwrapped the cloth and looked at the contents inside. Unlike what he imagined and Sigu Jian had said, there wasn’t a notebook inside. There were two notebooks.
Fan Xian shook his head with a smile and casually opened up the notebook on top. He looked at the incredibly familiar heart of the Tianyi Dao, which he could recite backward. It was impossible for him to hide his hopeless smile.
Before Sigu Jian died, he personally instructed him on the knowledge of controlling sword intent through intentions. Before Ku He died, he didn’t forget to deliver the Heart of Tianyi Dao to his hands. Fan Xian’s mouth was slightly bitter. It looked like these strange creatures of the elder generation really were strange. They had entrusted their last hope for the destruction of the Qing Emperor to him.
Before the Great Grandmasters left this world, they wanted to leave a sufficiently powerful enemy for the Qing Emperor. However, the enemies outside of the Qing Kingdom were not sufficiently scary, so they had chosen someone from within the Qing Kingdom.
Ku He had his second disciple forcibly extend Chen Pingping’s life and put down pawns in Xiliang Road. He knew that after he died, cracks Northern Qi could make use of would appear between Fan Xian and his convenient father because of what had happened in the past and what was happening now.
Sigu Jian had proffered Dongyi to Fan Xian with both hands but had also given Fan Xian a great burden that was heavy and weighty.
“You really think well of me.” Fan Xian shrugged and drummed his fingers gently against the ultimate technique, which was considered a treasure by the Qing Mountain sect. “Or, perhaps I should say you are all too daring to entrust this illusory and fleeting hope to me.”
“Your mother is a woman of Dongyi. It is natural for me to entrust my hope to you,” Sigu Jian said in a raspy voice. “However, even Ku He, that damn baldy, was willing to give you such a great gift. That was truly out of my expectations.”
Fan Xian stared at the Heart of Tianyi Dao in a daze. He thought that when Ku He died, he probably still thought Fan Xian had only learned the changed version of the Heart of Tianyi Dao from Haitang. He had not known that Haitang had ignored his orders and passed the true Heart of Tianyi Dao to him because she had been worried about his injury.
He didn’t know what Haitang was doing on the grasslands now. The songs of the Hu people had begun to ring out and create internal conflict among the Western Hu. No matter how talented she was, she wouldn’t be able to have much effect being so removed from the borders of Northern Qi.
Before his death, Ku He had delivered the true Heart of Tianyi Dao to Fan Xian. It was because he hoped to gather the strengths of a number of people to create another Great Grandmaster in the world.
“Learning too broadly may not be a good thing,” Fan Xian said.
Sigu Jian slanted his eyes at him. “I knew you had already learned the stuff from Qing Mountain. It looks like Ku He never met you, so he did not know this. The notebooks he gave you are indeed not of much use.”
“However, these notebooks are still of some use to the disciples of the Sword Hut.” Fan Xian watched him calmly. Of the four Great Grandmasters, only Ku He and Sigu Jian widely accepted disciples. Given Sigu Jian’s ability in accepting disciples, how could he not put to great use and pass on to his disciples the secret of Tianyi Dao he had suddenly obtained?
“This is for you and, furthermore, it is the damn baldy’s previous trust in me,” Sigu Jian said proudly. “I won’t disdain to look at his things.”
The corners of Fan Xian’s lips twitched as he nodded. “If I didn’t tell you the matter of Ten Family Village, you wouldn’t have given these notebooks to me, right?”
Perhaps these words had hit on Sigu Jian’s concerns. Sigu Jian had to determine just how loyal Fan Xian was to the Qing Emperor and how much he would look out for Dongyi. Only then could he make up his mind. Passing on Ku He’s legacy was one of the things he had to decide.
This Great Grandmaster did not admit to this. He only coldly said, “You’ve already learned the contents of the notebook, what difference does it make if I give them to you or not?”
“But, there is another notebook underneath.” Fan Xian’s eyes gradually calmed. He lifted the second notebook. Staring at Sigu Jian, he asked, “The four Great Grandmasters have been equal for a long time. You do not disdain to look at the martial method of Tianyi Dao because you are already familiar with Ku He’s style and know that no matter how much it is practiced, it will not cause the Sword Hut to make a huge leap forward. Are you not curious as to what the little notebook with the Heart of Tianyi Dao Ku He had solemnly handed to you is?”
The little notebook was very thin, probably only 20 pages or so. Fan Xian’s palm was pressed on top. He looked at Sigu Jian with a smile waiting for his answer.
“Of course, I am very interested because I don’t know what other abilities Ku He, that old baldy, had other than the lame zhenqi that could be used to plant flowers and trees,” Sigu Jian said in a raspy voice. “You asked earlier what the use of learning a bit of everything is. It is useful to learn broadly. Even if you don’t use it, you can examine it.”
“So, you examined it.”
Sigu Jian did not deny it. Coldly, he said, “If I’m going to be the postman, it’s fine to have a look.”
After a moment of silence, Sigu Jian closed his eyes slightly and said, “It’s a pity that I couldn’t understand.”
When he said these words, Fan Xian had already curiously flipped open the little notebook. He was interested in what was recorded inside. After he curiously opened the thin notebook, he became disappointed.
Fan Xian also could not understand anything. When it came to martial realms and martial comprehension, Fan Xian was far inferior to this Great Grandmaster. He looked disappointedly at the strange collection of words on the page. He stared at it fixedly but could not understand it.
“Pu-rui-si-ma-wei-na, pu-rui-gou…”
“Ti-a-mo…”
“De-wei-xi…”
…
…
The sky above the Sword Hut had darkened completely. Only a faint deep blue light hovered distantly above the sea. By the time it reached land, the dark blue had faded to grey. A great deal of time had passed.
Fan Xian sighed and put down the little notebook. He had hoped he would be able to discuss with Sigu Jian the writings Ku He had left behind if he didn’t understand himself. After all, for strange creatures like Great Grandmasters, each one that died was one less that lived. He would never have an opportunity to ask Sigu Jian for his advice on Ku He’s legacy again. At least, there would never be such an opportunity in this world again.
However, he helplessly realized that it was impossible for him to even raise a question. Every word was strange and joined together illogically.
The youth and elder sat and lay in the room respectively. They were both thinking about the last little notebook Ku He had left behind.
Sigu Jian suddenly opened his eyes. A sliver of confusion flashed through them. Slowly, he said, “Three years ago on the summit, Ku He had made a hand gesture.”
Naturally, it was the summit of Dong Mountain, where the Great Grandmaster battle happened. Hearing these words, Fan Xian’s heart immediately moved. He listened carefully. However, Sigu Jian sank back into silence after coughing a few times.
“What hand gesture?” Fan Xian asked with a frown
“It should be… a Western magic?” It was rare that Sigu Jian wasn’t confident. In his view, in the hearts of all the martial artist practitioners in this world, Western magic and the magicians who practiced them were of the least value. Given Ku He’s martial realm, how could he have used the time to learn this useless thing?
After hearing these words, happiness arrived in Fan Xian’s heart. He slowly closed his eyes in front of his chest as a pleased smile rose to his face. Unable to control himself, he shook his head and sighed with a smile. “I know what is written on here now.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a Western language. However, it has been directly transcribed using the pronunciation of your characters,” Fan Xian said and shrugged. “I used this method when I was about 7. Who would have thought that such an incredible person as Master Ku He would also use such a childish method?”
What made Fan Xian think of this was not just because the strange words gave him the familiar sense of a translated Western novel or because he had once tirelessly practiced san-kuai-ruo-wei-ni-ma-che. The more important reason was that he remembered a novel he had read in his previous life.
Written by Sir Jin, it was about the Nine Yin Manuel and an idiot called Guo Jing, who thought he was so clever.
Sigu Jian furrowed his brows and said, “Western language? Is it some kind of magic? What use is it?”
“Who knows?” Fan Xian’s head hurt slightly. Looking at the two notebooks in his hands, he thought for a moment. He then carefully tucked it into his clothing and said, “Since Master Ku He left it to me, it must be of some use.”
“Don’t put your energy toward useless things,” Sigu Jian said. He still maintained an innate disdain for savage Western things. It was probably a natural feeling of superiority from a civilized nation toward one that lagged behind.
“Put everything together to get ideas,” Fan Xian replied. “Who knows what advantages I will have after learning it?”
“You can understand this gibberish?” For the first time, Sigu Jian furrowed his brows and glanced at Fan Xian with slight shock. The notebook had been in his hands for more than two years. Although he had not taken a peek at the Heart of Tianyi Dao because of his pride as a Great Grandmaster, he had examined the notebook of strange markings for a long time. He also wanted to know what deep meaning Ku He had in leaving behind such a thing. No matter how much he studied it, he could not make any progress. Sigu Jian controlled Dongyi and the officials and commoners in the city often interacted with foreigners. If it was a Western language, he had never heard of those foreigners speaking such a language.
Fan Xian smiled and said, “I also have to slowly guess. I learned some a long time ago, but I’ve forgotten most of it.”
The words in the little notebook Ku He had left behind were Italian. The foreigners the Qing Kingdom and Dongyi came into contact with mostly used a changed form of Spanish or English. Fan Xian had not studied it intently before, but he knew that this was roughly the case.
However, Fan Xian had learned Italian, during the second year of university in his past life. Was this a coincidence or fate?
…
…
Everything had been said. The things Sigu Jian had to explain and hand over to Fan Xian had already been critically examined by both of them.
Fan Xian stood up from the side of the bed. As he was about to leave the room, he suddenly lowered his eyelids and asked seriously, “I still don’t understand why you would choose me.”
Ye Qingmei was indeed half a Dongyi woman, but it was clear that she had given more to the Qing Kingdom. Anyone who had seen the woman in the yellow robe looking at the riverbanks with a frown would think this. Was a reason not necessary for Sigu Jian to place the freedom and existence of Dongyi onto Fan Xian, a young Qing Kingdom noble who had made Dongyi suffer countless blood debts, just because of a household register?
Sigu Jian said, “As they say, one cannot be friends with a man without a hobby. I once determined that you had no intentions toward the world, so would not succeed in much. However, there are only two kinds of people with a hobby. One is a saint, and the other a fake.”
“You are a man without a hobby,” Sigu Jian continued. “After Dong Mountain, I think you suddenly developed some true personality, but it has been deeply hidden. Thus, I think you would head toward the former path.”
“Is there such a person in this world who could disregard their private interests and the selfish interests of their country to only do things for the sake of their own peace of mind?”
Sigu Jian’s cold eyes looked at him coldly. “There had been one in the past. I hope there will be one in the future. If I lose this bet, then I was wrong. I do not care. A man near death is always the bravest gambler.”
Fan Xian was silent for a long time. He then walked out of the quiet room and came to the side of the sword pit. He saw Thirteenth Way, who was crying sorrowfully and using his sleeves to wipe away the tears like a child.
The thousands of swords in the pit were icy cold.
Thirteenth Wang glanced at him and walked into the quiet room. A moment later, all of the disciples of the Sword Hut walked respectfully into the quiet room, including Yun Zhilan. No one made a single side. No one glanced at Fan Xian by the side of the sword pit.
