Su Baiyi scratched his head. “Senior sister, why is your conversation so mysterious…”
The lady in red smiled and turned her head to look at the people from the Clear Sky Courtyard. “Has Bai Jile arrived?”
No one answered.
“Has Helian Xiyue arrived?”
Still, no one answered.
“Since they haven’t come, then get lost,” the woman in red said dismissively. “In the entire Shanglin Heavenly Palace, only those two are worthy of my blade.”
Crouching Tiger let out a long sigh, steadying his breath. “Jimo Sword City, do you intend to oppose the Shanglin Heavenly Palace?”
The lady in red suddenly turned around, and the Liangren Sword that had been hovering beside her abruptly flew forward. Everyone turned in alarm to see a masked man with an umbrella standing behind them, his arrival unnoticed. As the long sword shot toward him, the man quickly unfurled his dark green umbrella, yet the Liangren Sword came to an abrupt stop, one foot away from its target.
The lady in red slightly lowered her head. “You’re not bad.”
The man chuckled softly, “To earn a ‘not bad’ from the esteemed City Lord of Jimo is praise enough to boast about in the Shanglin Heavenly Palace for years to come.Today’s matter is an internal affair of Shanglin Heavenly Palace and has nothing to do with Jimo City; I kindly ask the lord not to intervene.”
“You are not without skill,” the lady in red said slowly, “but you are not worthy of my blade. Nor are you in a position to bargain with me.” As soon as she finished speaking, the Liangren Sword returned to her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the sword settled back into Nangong Xi’er’s scabbard.
With a “bang,” a crack appeared on the masked man’s mask, and half of it slid off his face. He forced a smile and said, “Lord of Jimo, your reputation is indeed well deserved.”
Upon seeing that half-exposed face, Su Baiyi was taken aback. This was a man he had seen before, one of those who had come to Apricot Blossom Village to capture his master. According to his master, this man was Wen Xi, the vice-chair of the Courtyard of Thousand Inventions. It seemed that to capture him, Shanglin Heavenly Palace had spared no effort, even dispatching two vice-chairs from both the Thousand Inventions Courtyard and the Clear Sky Courtyard. However, these two vice-chairs were no match for the woman in red, and they didn’t even have the right to make her draw her sword.
This woman… Su Baiyi recalled a conversation he had with his master years ago.
“Master, oh master, how many times must a swordsman swing his sword to become a sword immortal…?”
“Well, I’m not a sword immortal, how would I know the answer to that?”
“Then who should I ask?”
“Well, you should ask a sword immortal, of course. The red-clad sword immortal in Jimo City, she’s the only sword immortal left in the world today. Only she is qualified to answer this question.”
“The red-clad sword immortal? Is she that powerful?”
“Not only is she powerful, but she’s also beautiful. Her sword is beautiful, and she’s even more so. Watching her wield a sword is like witnessing snow falling in winter or flowers blooming in spring—it’s one of the most stunning sights in the world. But she’s very stingy. It’s really hard to get her to draw her sword.”
“What’s her name?”
“Oh, her name is also beautiful. Her surname is Jimo, and her given name is Huaxue. Jimo Huaxue.”
Su Baiyi gulped as he looked at the woman in red, “So this is a sword immortal.”
Jimo Huaxue didn’t look at him at all; she kept her gaze fixed on Nangong Xi’er. She walked slowly toward them and smiled gently, “I often hear him mention you. He said you’re the junior sister he must protect for the rest of his life. I was a bit jealous at the time, because in his heart, you’re the most important person in the entire academy—more important than his senior brother, than Confucian Sage or even himself. But he reassured me, saying you’re just a delicate little doll, completely different from me. His love for you is the love one has for a child, not for a woman. Thinking back now, he was lying to me. You are clearly very beautiful—the type of woman he likes most, with long legs, a slim waist, and big breasts.”
Everyone present was stunned. This Sword Immortal had not even drawn her sword, yet she had already subdued two vice-chairs of Shanglin Heavenly Palace along with their disciples. Coupled with her exquisite beauty, she truly seemed like a celestial being. But when she opened her mouth, she started talking about something as trivial as someone’s chest size.
Nangong Xi’er simply shook her head. “When Second Senior Brother left the mountain, I was still just a child. He didn’t lie to you.”
“Oh… it has been many years.” The woman in red lowered her head and smiled. “Yes, he has been gone for many years now, but I forgot, always feeling as if those events were just yesterday.”
“Young Master, we’re almost ashore,” Manager Yan said in a low voice.
Mu Nianhua nodded. The situation in front of him was indeed a bit tricky, and he didn’t know how to deal with it for a while.
Jimo Huaxue suddenly glanced at him. Mu Nianhua blushed and quickly lowered his head, “Lord of Jimo.”
“The boat is about to dock, so I will take my leave first. Please pass on a message to Master Mu for me,” Jimo Huaxue suddenly clasped her fists together in a gesture of respect. “I am very satisfied with the proceedings. For the next three years, all iron swords for Jimo Sword City will be purchased from the Mu family.”
Mu Nianhua was greatly surprised, and even Manager Yan showed an expression of disbelief. Mu Nianhua hurriedly said, “Thank you for your kindness, Lord of Jimo…” Mu Nianhua wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, momentarily speechless and unable to continue.
“Let’s go. I’m so glad to see you here. I have so much to tell you.” Jimo Huaxue pulled Nangong Xi’er from Su Baiyi’s grasp and then leapt into the air, the long sword at her waist suddenly unsheathed. Stepping onto the blade, she glided across the water’s surface towards the shore.
“She truly is… a sword immortal…” Mu Nianhua said with emotion.
Only Su Baiyi was left looking bewildered. He pointed to himself and asked, “What about me?”
The group of Shanglin Heavenly Palace disciples had long since given up hope, but upon seeing this scene, they immediately picked up their long swords again.
“Senior Sister!” Su Baiyi wailed.
On the river’s surface, Nangong Xi’er hurriedly exclaimed, “Lord of Jimo, my junior brother is still on the boat!”
“Don’t call me Lord of Jimo, call me Second Sister-in-law,” Jimo Huaxue said seriously.
Nangong Xier hesitated for a moment. She had never heard that her Second Senior Brother had ever been married, but she couldn’t care less at the moment. She hurriedly said, “Second Sister-in-law, save my junior brother! He’s still on the boat!”
“What did you call me?”
“Second Sister-in-law!”
“Second Sister-in-law is on it!”
A gentle breeze blew past.
Jimo Huaxue landed back beside Su Baiyi. “This junior brother of yours, I’ve never heard him mention him before.”
The assassins, who had just picked up their swords, immediately dropped them to the ground.
Su Baiyi held his sword horizontally and said, “I’m a new addition to the academy. My name is Su Baiyi, and I’m Xie Kanhua’s disciple!”
“Junyu Sword.” Jimo Huaxue lifted Su Baiyi up, then tossed the Junyu Sword onto the river and jumped onto the blade, landing steadily. “As Xie Kanhua’s disciple, why are your martial arts so poor?”
Su Baiyi stood on the sword, swaying from side to side. “I almost used seeing flowers in the mist just now…”
“Seeing flowers in the mist, it’s not even worth mentioning.” Jimo Huaxue put her hands behind her back, exuding the aura of a master. “Brother Xie, only his sword intent is decent.”
Thank you very much
Appreciate the work.