In the southeastern Wu Kingdom.
The He River meandered onward, like a belt of jade.
A lone skiff sailed downriver, riding the wind and cleaving through the waves.
Du Youqian stood against the wind, steering the boat with one hand, his clothes fluttering loudly.
Waves crashed against the prow, shattering into fine spray.
The mist trickled down his neck and under his collar, bringing a hint of chill.
The green mountains and dense forests on both banks receded at a rapid pace, but Du Youqian had no time to admire the scenery.
A token flipped up and down between his fingertips.
Many times, Long Ruzhen worried that Du Youqian would fumble and drop the token into the river.
But no matter how it flew, the token never left the confines of his hand, which was neither large nor coarse.
The skin on his palm was translucent, fair but not pale, with a jade-like texture. His nails were neatly trimmed.
Staring at that hand, Long Ruzhen found herself becoming mesmerized after a while.
It wasn't until the baby in her arms started crying that she snapped back to reality and looked down to pat him.
Though she was still a bit clumsy and flustered, the gentle, maternal smile at the corner of her mouth and the rhythmic patting were enough to comfort the infant.
The crying gradually subsided.
Du Youqian glanced at her, made a funny face at the baby in her arms, and then turned his attention back to the token.
The token's surface was smooth and mostly black.
It wasn't a matte black, but the glossy black of metal.
Yet, it was remarkably light, weighing no more than an equivalent volume of foam, while also being extremely durable.
Crucially, its ability to conduct True Qi was astonishingly good, with almost no loss.
If a sword were forged from this material, it would likely become a Divine Soldier that would drive the entire Martial World into a frenzy.
Du Youqian had been studying this token for a while, but it had neither special patterns nor any hidden mechanisms.
So he had to give up, put the token away, and focus on steering the boat.
'What's so special about it? Perhaps I'll only find out in eighteen years, when I take it to Soul-shaking Mountain.'
'As for whether the "Lone Goose Saber," Cui Wei, was lying...'
'Did he intentionally use a useless token to trick me out of eighteen years?'
'Based on Cui Wei's rumored personality, that shouldn't be the case.'
Besides, Du Youqian wasn't too concerned.
'After all, as long as I don't die a violent death, I can reincarnate endlessly.'
'Gambling eighteen years for a chance at immortality is still a worthwhile bet.'
'At the very least, the fact that Cultivators appear on Soul-shaking Mountain probably isn't a lie.'
'Worst case, I can just turn Soul-shaking Mountain upside down in my next life.'
"Hey, where are we going?" Long Ruzhen said, annoyed.
Du Youqian smiled but said nothing.
"Hmph, fine, don't tell me. From now on, I'm absolutely, definitely not talking to you anymore!"
A moment later, Long Ruzhen couldn't help but speak again. "Hey, Shopkeeper, do you think Cui Wei can kill all of Liao Yilan's enemies and survive?"
Du Youqian didn't pettily remind her, "Weren't you not talking to me?" He simply smiled. "No."
"Why not? I heard Cui Wei is the foremost saber technique master of the younger generation in the southeastern states."
Du Youqian said softly, "The Liao Family has too many enemies. He's outnumbered. And... those people are despicable. They'll stop at nothing."
Long Ruzhen couldn't help but get a little emotional. "Why don't you go help him? Your martial arts are so good. If you were willing to act..."
Du Youqian shook his head. "This is just who I am. No matter how wonderful you imagine me to be... I've never been some great hero. Even when I'm serving justice, I only do it when I'm absolutely certain of success. The moment I run into a tough opponent and think I might get hurt, I won't make a move."
"It's perfectly normal if you're disappointed in this version of me. But don't blame me, because I've never hidden it from you."
Long Ruzhen bit her lip, gently patting the baby in her arms.
After a long while, she said dejectedly, "You're right. I've always known. I was just holding on to a foolish fantasy. Now... it's time for that fantasy to end. When the boat docks, I'll go home."
~~~~~~~~~~~
When the boat docked at the foot of Celestial Horse Mountain, Du Youqian reached for the baby in Long Ruzhen's arms.
But Long Ruzhen nimbly dodged, holding the baby close, and smiled slyly. "What are you doing?"
A smile touched Du Youqian's lips, but his tone was indifferent. "Didn't you say you were going home?"
"Nope. I suddenly don't want to go back. What're you gonna do about it?"
Du Youqian stared into her watery, almond-shaped eyes, the polite, cold smile still on his face. "Go home. What's the point of following me? I'm not the man you imagine me to be, and I can't give you what you want."
This wasn't a sudden decision for Du Youqian to lay his cards on the table.
He had been planning this for a while.
Long Ruzhen was a good girl.
Her pretty face was one thing, but more importantly, she had a kind nature and a sharp mind—a rare combination.
But Du Youqian's only desire was to step onto the Immortal Dao. He had never considered getting married, having children, and living the life of an ordinary person in this lifetime.
'In that case, I can only apologize.'
Long Ruzhen turned her head away in a huff. "I won't! You think I'll go home just because you tell me to? Do I, Long Ruzhen, have no pride?"
"Be good. There's no future for you with me."
Tears began to fall from her beautiful almond-shaped eyes. "What do you know about what I want? What gives you the right to say there's no future for me with you? What if the future I want is one with you? I forbid you from sending me away! From the first moment I saw you, when you stepped up to save those children and gently comforted them, I knew you were the one!"
It was a perfect example of what it means to say the meekest things in the fiercest tone.
"Pfft." Du Youqian couldn't hold it in anymore. His fake smile turned into a real one.
He realized that if he kept trying to send her away, he would only be hurting her under the guise of doing what was best for her.
'Anyway, I still have to fulfill my promise to raise this child for eighteen years.'
'By then, I'll be in my fifties.'
'Most of my life will be over.'
'What does it matter if I give these eighteen years to her?'
'Ah, forget it. She's been so devoted to me all this time. I might as well give her this much.'
After a pause, Du Youqian said, "Stay if you want. But don't expect me to promise you anything."
"WAAH!" The baby started crying again.
Long Ruzhen wiped her eyes. "He must be hungry. We need to find him something to eat. How about we go to town and find a wet nurse for him?"
"No," Du Youqian said, taking the baby and patting him gently. "If our location is exposed, we'll have no peace. I'm not afraid of a few assassins, but it would be difficult to guarantee this child's safety."
"Then what should we do?"
"We'll just have to work a little harder," Du Youqian said with a frown. "I'll go catch a lactating beast later."
~~~~~~~~
"AWOOO!" The majestic king of the jungle emerged from behind the trees.
It strode toward the small cabin in the clearing with an elegant, aloof gait.
Hearing the tiger's roar, Long Ruzhen, dressed in simple cloth robes and with a wooden hairpin, pushed the door open.
"Leilei..." she murmured, rubbing her eyes as she looked at the cute, beaming infant on the tiger's back.
But on the tiger's back was a handsome young man with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and a lazy smile.
'So, I've gotten old...'
Her sigh was carried away by the breeze. Long Ruzhen smiled, faint crow's feet appearing at the corners of her eyes.
"Mother, I'm back!" Liao Leizhong leaped off the tiger's back, excitedly holding up a deer that had been resting there. "Look what I brought back! We're having meat tonight!"
The tiger also raised its head proudly. 'Half the credit on that scorecard is mine!'
Long Ruzhen's steps were still as light as a young girl's. She walked over and wiped the sweat from Liao Leizhong's brow with her sleeve. "You child. Your father told you to practice your martial arts, but you snuck off to hunt again, didn't you?"
Liao Leizhong stuck out his tongue and argued, "No, I didn't, Mother! I found this deer on my way back. I wasn't slacking off!"
"HUMPH!" A heavy grunt came from inside the wooden cabin, powerful enough to make the leaves on the surrounding trees rustle and fall.
The king of the jungle jumped in fright. After half a second of thought, it decisively abandoned its royal dignity, let out a whimper, and ran into the woods with its tail between its legs, not daring to face the man's anger.
'This isn't cowardice. We beasts have to follow our instincts, not like those humans who suffer for the sake of pride!'
Night fell.
The mouth-watering aroma of roasted venison filled the air.
The great king of the jungle, attracted by the scent, came to the door of the cabin and patted it gently with a paw.
"Give it a share. It is your milk-brother, after all," Du Youqian said without expression.
Liao Leizhong chuckled.
Without any visible effort, he grabbed a greasy, sizzling deer leg seasoned with salt and spices, then performed a backflip, soaring like a giant falcon across the twenty-foot distance. He landed steadily at the doorway and pulled the door open.
He patted his tiger brother's head, scratched it under the chin, and then, under its pitiful gaze, stuffed the deer leg into its mouth. "Go on now. I'll play with you again tomorrow."
As if it understood, the tiger nodded, then retreated into the darkness with the deer leg in its mouth.
Liao Leizhong returned to the table and sat down. Just as he picked up another deer leg, he heard Du Youqian say, "Tomorrow..."
Liao Leizhong looked up. Du Youqian stated expressionlessly, "We're leaving the mountain."
Long Ruzhen's hand trembled. She quickly forced a nonchalant smile and tore off a piece of venison for her husband. "So soon? Brother Ying, let's stay a while longer. Lei'Er still has a few martial arts techniques he hasn't mastered yet."
"It's enough. His current skills are sufficient to establish himself in the Jianghu; he just lacks experience. On the way down the mountain, we can teach him some of the tricks to navigating the Jianghu."
After a brief moment of surprise, Liao Leizhong grew excited.
Mixed in with his excitement was a bit of sadness and reluctance to leave.
But more than that, there was anticipation for the future and curiosity about the outside world.
He knew that his current parents were not his birth parents and that his birth parents were already dead.
He also knew that when he was still a baby, he was being hunted by many factions. His foster father and mother had fled with him into these deep mountains, caught a tigress that had just given birth, and raised him on her milk.
He had always been aware that his foster father taught him martial arts and literacy, making strict demands on him, all to help him grow into a capable man.
His foster father had high hopes for him, wanting him to become a great hero who could stand tall, just like his birth father.
One day in the future, he would leave the mountain, raise his birth father's banner, and avenge his parents.
He understood that this would be the beginning of his journey in the Jianghu, something he had longed for.
At that time... his foster father and mother would also leave him.
Leaving his foster parents would be sad, of course.
But a good man should have ambitions that span the world!
How could he be confined to one small corner?
Long Ruzhen's eyes grew misty.
After raising this child for eighteen years, she had long since come to see Liao Leizhong as her own son.
Especially since Du Youqian was unwilling to have children with her.
Liao Leizhong had become the sole vessel for all her maternal feelings.
She wiped her eyes. "Can't we... can't we stay with Lei'Er a little longer? He has so many enemies, and he still has so much to learn. We haven't even seen him get married or have children... Brother Ying, let's just stay with him for a few more years!"
Du Youqian clenched the token in his hand.
"I have fulfilled my promise. I have lived for him for eighteen years. 'It's rare for a man to live to seventy.' I'm already in my fifties, and I don't have much time left. From now on, I want to live for myself."