Volume 18: The Third Master's Sword Chapter 435: Under the Cliff
Xiaoyun left, but no one dared to chase him.
With one move, he broke the swords of a group of Hainan swordsmen in a flash. Who couldn't see how powerful he was?
But they just couldn't understand why such a powerful master would come to a small place like Liuquan City to be a cook?
——If a person reaches a very high level, his behavior often cannot be understood by the secular world.
It is already March.
After Xiaoyun smashed the "Eight Treasures Tofu", he returned to Yuelai Inn, removed his identity as chef, and then instructed the scholar and the waiter not to neglect the shopkeeper sent by the Central Plains headquarters if they met him.
Then he removed his makeup, restored his original appearance, arranged everything properly, and then left.
Xiaoyun walked slowly on the street, basking in the spring sun.
He didn't know what to do.
It is spring, and groups of children are running around on the streets, playing happily.
There was a dim sum shop next door. The children looked at the various cakes and pastries in the shop with their mouths watering, but they could only watch helplessly as they had no money to go in and buy any.
When Xiaoyun saw this pastry shop, she suddenly thought of her two old friends, Hahaer and Tu Jiaojiao. They also opened a pastry workshop in the end. She wondered how they were doing.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yun walked in as if inspired.
The lady boss at the counter immediately turned around, smiling, and asked, "What would you like to order? Our signature dish is mung bean cake, which is sweet but not greasy, and has a pleasant fragrance."
"I'm not here to buy cakes."
Xiaoyun smiled and asked softly, "I want to be an apprentice here. Is that possible?"
The boss lady's face suddenly fell, and she said, "Apprentice? You...can you make pastries? We are all very skillful people here."
Xiaoyun said sincerely: "I knew a little bit before, not very proficient, but I can learn and I am willing to learn."
The lady boss snorted calmly, "Can I learn? Then everyone can learn, why do I have to rely on you?"
Xiaoyun gave a bitter smile and was suddenly speechless.
The lady boss waved her hands and said, "Alright, alright, hurry up and leave. You look quite grown up, don't stand in my way and interfere with my business."
Xiaoyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She shook her head and left the pastry shop again.
When the children saw him walk out, they looked frustrated and pointed at him and laughed, "Look at him, he must be someone who wanted to eat free cakes but didn't get any!"
Xiaoyun looked at them, pretending to be angry, and said, "What are you talking about? Aren't you afraid that I will get angry?"
“Hahahahahaha, run, run!”
Xiaoyun pretended to chase after him, and the children scattered and hid in alleys and shops, large and small, and disappeared in a flash.
The stone-paved road, the brisk spring breeze, and the smell of wet but not yet dried mud dissipated far away along with the sound of children playing.
"Hahaha!"
Seeing the children running away because of being scared , Xiaoyun also laughed.
Suddenly he saw the youngest girl who wanted to run but accidentally fell to the ground.
When Xiaoyun saw this, she hurried over to help her, but the little girl thought Xiaoyun was here to bully her.
The little girl held on to the ground with her hands and quickly stood up. Although her body was covered in dust, her pair of crescent-shaped eyes were shining.
She looked at Xiaoyun, trying not to appear scared, and said crisply, "Big brother, don't get angry with children, otherwise you are not a big brother anymore."
Xiaoyun smiled and asked her, "What does it take to be considered a big brother?"
The little girl scratched her head with her slightly dirty hands and thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with any answer.
Xiaoyun asked, "If someone buys you cakes, does that mean he is your big brother?"
The little girl's eyes lit up even more, and she said happily, "Yes, yes, I like eating the green bean cake from that store the most, but it's a pity that I can only eat one piece on the 15th of every month."
Xiaoyun patted her clothes, motioning her to stay where she was, and walked into the pastry shop again.
"Hello, guest. How are you?"
The proprietress was sorting out the cakes with her head down, but when she looked up, she saw the untidy young man again. She frowned and said, "I've already told you, I don't recruit apprentices here, so you should leave now!"
Xiaoyun took out two taels of silver from his pocket, spread it on the table, and said, "I'm not here to be an apprentice. I'm here to buy cakes."
He has worked at Yuelai Inn for so long, so naturally he can afford the money.
When the proprietress saw the silver, she immediately turned from anger to laughter. Although her laughter was not very natural, she still said enthusiastically: "So you are here to buy cakes. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you want me to recommend you some good ones..."
Xiaoyun said, "I want mung bean cake."
The proprietress didn't say anything, but took out a dozen cakes and asked, "Did you bring the wooden box for the cakes?"
"You didn't bring it with you. So, I'll give you this wooden box as well. Your silver will be just enough."
The proprietress quickly packed the pastries into a square box and handed it to Xiaoyun.
"He is indeed a businessman." Xiaoyun didn't care and walked out of the store with the box.
The lady boss smiled and walked us to the door: "Welcome to come again next time!"
Xiaoyun went out and took a quick look. He saw that the little girl was still waiting for him there. A group of children were surrounding her, pulling her arms, as if they wanted to take her away.
But the little girl put her hands on her hips and said, "The big brother just said that he would buy some cakes for me to eat."
At this point, Xiaoyun just happened to arrive.
The little girl said from a distance: "Big brother, big brother, you really bought cakes."
Xiaoyun smiled and opened the box, saying to them, "Yes, big brother will share the cakes with you."
The children were delighted to hear this, and they rushed to grab the cakes, making Xiaoyun very busy.
The little girl finished half a piece of "green bean cake" in just two or three bites. While chewing, she said, "Big brother, you are really the second best person I have ever met in Liuquan City."
Xiao Yun laughed and said, "Then tell me, big brother, who is the best person?"
The little girl said, "It's the gentleman who often tells stories in teahouses and inns. He loves to tell stories and his stories are the most interesting."
"Oh, it's him." Xiaoyun was a little surprised: "Does he tell good stories?"
The little girl answered, "There are so many characters in his stories, including the county magistrate, the boss, the swordsman, the housekeeper, the young lady, the servant, the chef, the hero, the villain, and lots and lots of mung bean cakes."
She told him everything she knew in one breath, until she almost ran out of breath.
Xiaoyun asked casually: "Which swordsmen did he talk about?"
The little girl finished the mung bean cake in her hand and looked at Xiaoyun silently without answering.
Xiaoyun tapped her head and asked, "Why don't you say anything? Do you still want to eat mung bean cake?"
The little girl twisted her fingers and said awkwardly: "No, I just... I only know that those swordsmen are very powerful, but I can't remember their names."
"It seems that recently there was a guy named Su something who had a fight with the best swordsman in the world, and then they...what was that guy's name, Su something?"
"His name is Su something Yun, as I remember."
"Su Yunsu?"
"Su Yungao, it doesn't seem to be the case."
“…”
The group of children thought for a long time and finally looked up at the sky. It was already late and the pastry shop was about to close.
So the little girl said, "Big brother, I want to go home. I'll tell you next time I remember."
"Okay, go ahead."
After the children left, Xiaoyun sat on the ground, wanting to laugh but unable to.
“It turns out that people don’t remember who you are or what your name , but only your identity.”
"The housekeeper has his own identity as a housekeeper, the servant has his own identity as a servant, the young lady has her own identity as a young lady, the manure man has his own identity as a manure man, and even the lady boss just now has her own identity as a lady boss."
Xiaoyun saw the proprietress of the pastry shop closing the door and preparing to go back home, and she gave him a forced smile.
He knew that the reason why the landlady smiled at him was because he had become a "guest" instead of an "apprentice".
It turns out that people communicate based on their identities rather than their sincerity.
It was getting dark.
There was no one on the street, the wind was cool and the fog was rising.
Mist was swirling in the sky, and the moon could not come out, only shedding a little light.
Some houses in Liuquan City have lights on, while others are still dim; some people have high status, while others have low status. People of high status light lamps, while people of low status are not even worthy of light.
These identities and statuses affect people all the time, and people have long been accustomed to living by relying on their own identities and the identities of others.
Even if you have mastered the art of swordsmanship and become the best swordsman in the world, people will at most remember that you are the best swordsman in the world. Who will care about who you really are?
——Yan Nantian, Xie Xiaofeng, Hu Bugui, Old Man Tianji, or Yan Shisan?
People don’t care who you are, they just know that you are “the best swordsman in the world”, and that’s enough.
——If you are no longer the “number one swordsman in the world”, then what is left of you in people’s hearts, or in yourself?
But how unfair is this question to the "World's No. 1 Swordsman"? He worked so hard, perhaps for decades, to achieve this, how could he just throw it away, forget it?
This is the sacredness that the swordsman pursues and persists in, how can he let it go?
Even Mei Changhua understood: "It would be better for me to die than to destroy my swordsmanship."
Throwing this away would be like throwing away decades of hard work.
However, those who have truly reached this position, such as Xiaoyun and Xie Xiaofeng, will know that if they do not get rid of this, they will never be able to find the real "self".
If I cannot find the real "me", it will be even more difficult to establish a sword path that belongs to my real self.
Xiaoyun didn’t know what methods other masters used to practice Zuowang, but after discussing it for seven days and seven nights, he and Xie Xiaofeng unanimously agreed on this point of view.
When he first started working as a dung collector, he wanted to travel thousands of feet in the air and cross the cliff in one fell swoop, but he failed in the end. After all, this level was very difficult to pass.
"I have sat down, but I have not forgotten."
Xiaoyun brushed her butt, stood up, and suddenly sang loudly:
"When you reach the top of the Tianshan Mountain, you will see me still at the foot of the cliff."
"I can leap a thousand feet and fall, even if I am smashed to pieces, I am not afraid."
"Hahahahahaha, how can you not be afraid? How can you not be afraid?"
