World of Honor

Outside the town of Maple Bridge.

Apricot Blossom Village.

“Hey, isn’t this Young Master Su? Back from a long journey?” In a simple bamboo shed by the roadside, a waiter tossed the towel in his hand over his shoulder.

Su Baiyi, who was carrying a bookcase, had just appeared at the entrance of the village when he heard the waiter’s call. He immediately jumped towards the bamboo shed and smiled: “Yes. I’ve been away for more than ten days and I’ve missed your apricot blossom wine here. Hurry up and bring me a pot, and a plate of donkey meat in sauce. And pack another one for me to take to my master.”

The waiter smiled and replied, “Alright. Wait a moment.”

Su Baiyi found a corner seat and sat down. He had been afraid of being chased by that woman with amazing martial arts skills on the way, so he didn’t dare to stop for a moment. After all, that sentence “We’ll meet again” was really scary. Now that Su Baiyi had finally stepped into Apricot Blossom Village, he breathed a sigh of relief. He put the bookcase aside and took out the parchment-wrapped scroll from it. He took a deep breath and opened the parchment.

Inside was not a whole book, but only a few pages of fragments. Su Baiyi picked them up and counted: “One page, two pages, three pages, only three pages of fragments and you dare to practice, no wonder you’ve crippled yourself.”

“What are you looking at, young master? The wine and donkey meat are here.” The waiter put a pot of wine, a plate of donkey meat in sauce, and the packed food and wine on the table.

Su Baiyi smiled. “Mind your own business.”

“My little shop doesn’t have much business.” The waiter saw that Su Baiyi didn’t want to talk and didn’t ask any more questions. He turned his head and saw two people passing by the door. He hurriedly greeted them. “The two guests look unfamiliar. Are you passing through our Apricot Blossom Village? Why don’t you come in and have a drink of our village’s specialty apricot blossom wine?”

One of them was a monk, with a sturdy figure, about forty years old, with a string of huge Buddhist beads hanging on his chest, holding a crescent spade in his hand, with a serious expression. He turned his head and glanced at the waiter, making him flinch.

Su Baiyi quietly tucked the fragments into his sleeves.

The other person who accompanied the middle-aged monk was a masked man, with a thin figure and carrying a dark green umbrella on his back. He sounded like a kind young man. “That’s right, since we’re here, we should have a drink of apricot blossom wine. Abbot Jiekong, what do you think?”

“I never drink alcohol.” The middle-aged monk named Jiekong walked straight into the bamboo shed. “Just give me a cup of tea.”

“It’s okay if you don’t drink alcohol. Our shop’s apricot blossom cake is also excellent.” The waiter hurriedly said.

“Just bring us a pot of wine, a pot of tea, and no need for apricot blossom cake.” The masked man and Jiekong found a seat and sat down. The masked man lowered his head and suddenly saw a line of words written on the table.

“In Apricot Blossom Village flows apricot blossom wine, Apricot blossom wine soothes all woes of mine.” The masked man stretched out a finger and touched the line of words, saying softly.

“This was written by Mr. Xie back then.” The waiter put a pot of apricot blossom wine on the table.

“Oh? Mr. Xie.” The masked man chuckled lightly. “Looking at this handwriting, it doesn’t look like it was written with a brush. But rather…”

“Like it was embedded in this table!” The waiter proudly tossed the white cloth over his back. “I’m not bragging, but I saw Mr. Xie wrote these words with my own eyes that day. That day, he and Li Xiucai from the city got drunk. He lay on the table, dipped his hand in some wine from the cup, and wrote this poem. After they left, I wiped the table with cloth to clean up the wine stains. Every time I wiped it, the handwriting sank deeper into the table. Finally, when I wiped the table dry, the handwriting remained there.”

“That’s amazing.” The masked man’s tone had a hint of amusement, but the middle-aged monk’s brows grew tighter.

Su Baiyi put down a piece of silver, got up and carried his bookcase quietly out.

Don’t look at me, don’t look at me, don’t look at me. He repeated in his mind.

“By the way, this is Young Master Su!” The waiter’s shrill voice interrupted his illusion. “He is the proud disciple of Mr. Xie!”

“I have something to do.” Su Baiyi walked out, but stopped again.

The wind blew the masked man’s gray robe. He gently lifted his hand to adjust his mask, with a hint of coldness in his tone, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave, young brother?”

Su Baiyi smiled awkwardly. “You two don’t look like you’re here for the wine. I think you’re either here to rob or to rape. I’d better run away quickly.”

“Oh? Why do you think we’re not here for the wine?” The masked man asked.

“You’re a monk who doesn’t drink.” Su Baiyi pointed a finger at the monk, then at the masked man. “And as for you, how can you drink with a mask on?”

“We’re indeed not here for the wine, we’re here for your master.” The masked man admitted calmly.

“Are you interested in my master’s calligraphy? My master’s writing is very expensive… The rich people in the city come every year to ask for a pair of couplets for the New Year, but…” Su Baiyi stopped halfway, swallowing his saliva.

A curved knife suddenly flew out of the masked man’s hand, stopped at a foot away from Su Baiyi’s forehead, and spun rapidly. The aura of the sharp knife made the young man’s forehead ache slightly.

“My master’s surname is Xie, and his name is Zhize.”

“The two lines of poetry on that table were written by him!”

“He is over forty years old, with a fair face and no beard! He likes wine and donkey meat in sauce! He is very lazy! During the New Year period, those couplets were all written by me on his behalf, but he never gave me a share of the silver he received!”

“Enough.” The masked man pulled his hand lightly, and the knife flew back into his sleeve. He moved aside and let the way open. “Tell your master that Xie Zhize is not a good name, and that there are guests here. We hope he will welcome all guests with open arms.”

“Welcome them?” In the backyard of the calligraphy school, a middle-aged scholar in white clothes threw a piece of donkey meat in sauce into his mouth. He looked like Mr. Xie mentioned by the waiter. “This guy has quite an attitude.”

Su Baiyi bent down and whispered, “Master, ever since I left Twilight City, I felt someone was following me. At first I thought it was that girl, but now I think it was these two people. I felt there were a few more people hiding in the dark, but I thought I was being paranoid. Are they also here for these three pages of fragments?”

“These three pages of fragments are naturally what they want to get, but the purpose of their trip here should be me. Three pages of fragments can’t tempt them that much.” Mr. Xie smiled. “Do you know who they are?”

“I can’t guess.” Su Baiyi shook his head.

“The number one sect in the world, Shanglin Tiangong.” Mr. Xie took a sip of wine.

“Ah?” Su Baiyi opened his mouth wide.

“Shanglin Tiangong is based on Weilong Mountain, with three towers and four courtyards. That monk named Jiekong is the head of the Punishment and Discipline Courtyard, and that masked man is Wen Xi, the deputy head of the Thousand Inventions Courtyard. They have been tracking my traces for more than ten years, and it’s time they found me.” Mr. Xie threw another piece of meat into his mouth.

Su Baiyi quickly got up and opened the cabinet, throwing the silver bills inside into his bookcase.

“What are you doing?” Mr. Xie asked.

Su Baiyi didn’t look back. “Running away!”

“You can’t run away. Since they appeared here, the whole village should be surrounded by Shanglin Tiangong by now.” Mr. Xie said calmly.

Su Baiyi slapped his sword on his waist. “Then we can only fight.”

“Disciple, oh disciple, I’ve taught you for more than ten years. You’ve become more and more handsome, quite like me in my youth, but why is your demeanor so much worse? It’s either fight or run, can’t you have a more refined way?” Mr. Xie sighed.

Su Baiyi quickly sat down cross-legged. “What way?”

“We’ll wait.” Mr. Xie drank another cup of wine.