Volume 13: Sword Immortal Chapter 16: The Path of a Swordsman

Xia Daoyun entered the vast grassland.

The air on the grassland was very fresh after a heavy rain . A breeze blew by, bringing not only the smell of grass and soil, but also a chill.

She was still wearing the straw hat and raincoat given by the old woman. The raincoat was originally designed to protect against snow, but it was also very good for protecting against rain.

However, Xia Daoyun now has some new equipment.

A pair of straw sandals and a bamboo stick for exploring the way.

The straw sandals were given to her by a herdsman she met on the road, who said that straw sandals were essential for walking on the grassland.

Xia Daoyun picked up the bamboo stick on the road, and no one knew who had thrown it.

After it rains, there are often puddles of unknown depth on the grassland, and you need a bamboo stick to feel the way.

Xia Daoyuan initially refused the offer of the three-piece set of bamboo hat, straw raincoat and straw sandals, but she had no choice but to accept the invitation.

She has always been a very cold person. No one can force her to do something she is not happy about. But for some reason, she can't refuse the enthusiastic old woman and the simple herdsmen.

But as time passed, Xia Daoyun inexplicably developed a deep affection for the three-piece suit.

Because when she put them on and walked on this long road, she unconsciously abandoned her past identity. She was no longer Xia Daoyun, no longer the number one female swordsman in the sky, and even less... It was as if she was really just a mortal in the mortal world, traveling in the wind and rain. She had discarded all the dust and air, and her soul had become purer and purer.

Boom!

At this moment, a dull thunder suddenly came from the sky.

Flashes of lightning arrived in an instant, dancing in the sky like silver snakes.

Not long after, the heavy rain came again, pouring down .

Crash.

Raindrops fell on Xia Daoyun's straw raincoat and bamboo hat, and immediately shattered into pieces, splashing everywhere, and the crisp hitting sounds continued to echo.

In the pouring rain, Xia Daoyun did not stop to look for a place to shelter from the rain, nor did she use her magic power to block the rain. Instead, she let the rain continue to fall. Occasionally, a raindrop fell diagonally and wet her hair.

Not only did she not care, but in the end she even closed her eyes and paced forward in the heavy rain, as if she was one with the world.

Don't listen to the sound of leaves being blown by the wind. Why not sing and walk slowly?

A bamboo stick and straw sandals are lighter than a horse, so who is afraid?

A raincoat and a straw rain hat to protect you from the wind and rain throughout your life.

One step at a time.

In the sound of rain, on this road that the most elegant swordsman in Chang'an had walked, Xia Daoyun continued to move forward, and gradually a kind of understanding he had never had before arose in his heart.

After a day and night of continuous walking, the sound of falling rain finally stopped. Xia Daoyun opened his eyes and felt a bright light.

In such a short period of time, she had walked a path that would take an ordinary person several months to complete, and finally walked out of the grassland and came to a high slope.

Ding ding dong dong.

A wide river flowed past Xia Daoyun's side, down the slope and winding across the plain below.

On the plain, beside the river, there is a human town. It is early in the morning and people who have risen early are working.

Somehow, although it was clearly right in front of her, in Xia Daoyun's eyes, the town, the river, and the people seemed to have become a miniature painting, hazy in the morning mist, like a dream.

She looked back. That was the direction where the light came from, and also the direction she was coming from.

A fiery red sun jumped up from the end of the grassland, dispersing the mist and bringing her back to reality.

In the blink of an eye, the mountains and rivers turned red, all things flourished, and the green seemed to be flowing with juice.

"Looking back at the desolate place, there is neither wind nor rain nor clear sky."

A sense of magnanimity and heroism suddenly surged in Xia Daoyun's heart, and all the distracting and noisy thoughts disappeared.

…

After standing quietly for a while facing the rising sun, Xia Daoyun gathered his raincoat tightly and set off again.

This time, she did not walk on the cold snow-capped mountains or the vast grasslands, but strode towards the bustling town and the noisy world.

The weather on Yangguan Avenue was pleasant and the journey was smooth. In just ten days, they had passed through two states and several countries and entered and exited dozens of cities.

The road also changed from a rugged mountain road to a spacious city road or post road. What he saw and heard along the way was also completely different, giving Xia Daoyuan a completely different experience and state of mind than before.

Merchants driving horse-drawn carriages along the way, scholars who have studied hard for ten years and are hoping to pass the imperial examinations in Beijing, peddlers carrying vegetables and fruits from outside the city, demoted officials... It is bustling but not chaotic. Everyone walking on the road has something to ask for, somewhere to go, and a direction.

So, where is my path heading?

Xia Daoyun asked himself.

Her face was cold and her expression remained unchanged, but the doubts in her heart grew deeper and deeper.

However, her will never wavered.

The heart is as pure as a child and the mind is as strong as steel.

Xie Qingyun's evaluation of Xia Daoyun as the best among flowers and the most talented female sword practitioner was by no means an exaggeration.

Although I have doubts, I am not confused.

She always knew her way.

A few days later, we crossed a hill and saw blue sky and white clouds ahead.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, there is an even more majestic and towering city.

Xia Daoyun knew that he had entered the territory of Chu County. If nothing unexpected happened, the place ahead should be Chu County City.

Her heart moved slightly and she felt anticipation.

Because Xia Zhao told her that he had left some traces in Chujun City, traces that no one knew about.

Chu County City is a big city, and it has the demeanor of a big city. There are no unnecessary interrogations, and there is no so-called entry fee.

Xia Daoyun walked into the city leisurely. The roads in the city were clean and tidy, and the houses were very exquisite.

She randomly found a passerby on the road, asked for directions, and found the Sword Disciple Building, which was famous in Chu County City.

Jiantu Tower, although it is said to be famous, is actually only limited to the city of Chujun. Looking at the entire Chujun and two states, it is just a rather inconspicuous "restaurant".

Jiantu Tower was originally just a restaurant with many peach blossoms planted around it.

Whenever the flowers bloom, there is the beautiful sight of peach blossoms all over the building smiling in the spring breeze. However, what really makes it famous is not the beautiful sight of peach blossoms all over the building, but the owner of the restaurant.

He was a swordsman from another place, not too old, just in middle age. However, it was not known whether he had lost in a sword fight or was ambushed by his enemy, but his right hand holding the sword was broken.

It goes without saying what it means for a swordsman to lose his right hand.

So, he came to Chujun City where no one knew him, and bought a restaurant with the savings he had made from his youth.

In the entire Chu County City, no one knew the name of this swordsman. They only knew that his surname was Li and that he liked crows. So some people called him Shopkeeper Li, while others called him the Crow Swordsman.

Perhaps he still had the dream of being a swordsman, or perhaps he was still thinking about something, or perhaps it was just a "promotional" means to increase business, but this shopkeeper Li established a strange rule: he placed a huge stone tablet at the entrance of the restaurant, stipulating that as long as diners held the sword in their left hand before entering the building and could leave a mark on the tablet, they would be exempted from all fees.

In short, because of this gimmick, Jiantu Building became famous overnight.

Regardless of whether they really have kung fu or just want to fake it, many so-called "swordsmen" come to the Jiantu Building with swords every day.

Many people failed, and many people succeeded.

Jiantu Building has indeed become popular.

Seeing this, some restaurants followed suit, but the results were always unsatisfactory and lukewarm.

Ten years passed like this. One day, the Jiantu Building was suddenly closed. Someone saw Manager Li carrying a newly made iron sword made by a blacksmith in the city and walking straight out of the city. No one knew where he was going.

A month later, Manager Li returned and Jiantu Building reopened, but the rules remained the same.

However, people in the city discovered that the Sword Disciple Building, which used to be the bustling place in the city, now began to attract many swordsmen from far away.

For some reason, these swordsmen would squat at the door and look at the stone tablet covered with mottled sword marks, often looking at it for the entire day, as if there was some mystery hidden in it.

Later, everyone gradually understood the reason.

It turns out that Shopkeeper Li is really an extraordinary swordsman. He came from a grassroots background and had never studied under any famous teacher, but he made a name for himself with sword moves that were considered inferior by famous martial arts masters, and he was gradually gaining the reputation of being the number one swordsman.

But ten years ago, before an extremely important competition for the title of the best swordsman, he was ambushed by his opponent, his right arm was broken, and he retired from the martial arts world in disgrace.

No one expected that ten years later, he would be able to make a comeback, with his left-hand sword skills becoming even better than his right-hand sword skills back then, and to avenge the swordsman family who had plotted against him.

How did he learn to use the left-hand sword?

Everyone was curious.

Shopkeeper Li did not hide anything and told the truth: I learned it from the swordsman in Chujun City.

The sword manual is the stone tablet at the entrance of the Sword Disciple Building, which has created the beautiful scene today.

It was at that time that Li Qiubai passed by Chujun City.

It seemed that he was interested in this ordinary swordsman with the same surname as himself. He came to the Sword Disciple Building specially, handed out a sword, left his own mark on the stone tablet at the door, and then went upstairs to have a free meal.

Fortunately, Li Qiubai was keeping a low profile at the time and did not reveal his name, so no cultivator knew about this.

Otherwise, this Sword Disciple Building would not only be as famous as it is today, but would have long become a holy place for sword practitioners.

…

At the entrance of Jiantu Building.

The stone tablet is old, with dense and mottled sword marks all over it.

These sword marks are unsigned and it is unclear who left them. After a few years, even the swordsmen themselves may not be able to recognize who left them.

But Xia Daoyuan still recognized the traces left by Li Qiubai at a glance.

Some people, like gold among the sand, cannot be concealed.

Even if it's just the traces he left behind, it's still the same.

It was a slanted sword mark, which looked ordinary, but in fact it concealed all the other sword marks on the stone tablet. Apart from that, there was nothing mysterious.

To be honest, all the other sword marks seemed extremely mediocre to Xia Daoyuan.

But it is precisely the sword marks of Li Qiubai, which are composed of these extremely mediocre sword marks, that have a shocking power.

With a trembling heart, Xia Daoyun unconsciously reached out and touched the sword mark.

Touching the sword mark left by Li Qiubai on the stone tablet, an inexplicable spirit filled her heart in an instant.

This is... the sword of the human world.

Xia Daoyun murmured, and after coming to his senses, he put down his hand, moved his eyes away from the stone tablet, and looked towards this restaurant with a long history located in the peach forest.

After looking around, her eyes finally fell on the plaque hanging on the restaurant.

Maybe the original sign was too old, so the restaurant recently made a new plaque, which looks very new.

The sunlight fell on the plaque, making the three big characters on it shine golden.

The moment Xia Daoyun saw those three big words, he became alert.

She suddenly understood why Li Qiubai said, "If you want to become invincible, you must first walk through countless roads."

I understand why Li Qiubai wants to walk in the world like an ordinary person.

I also understood why Li Qiubai stopped at Jiantu Tower and left a trace.

Not because of the same "Li" as this crow swordsman.

But it’s because he shares the same “reason” as the Crow Swordsman.

Her mind suddenly became clear, and the confusion that had been bothering her for a long time disappeared.

…

The plaque is new, but the name is old.