Immortality begins with the Swordsman.

Chapter 29 Long Wind Leaves Behind

The night was deep, the bright moon hung high, and its silvery light bathed Chang'an.

A dim oil lamp flickered gently in the dark alley. A night watchman, carrying a lamp and a gong, walked slowly by. He suddenly stopped and struck the gong forcefully.

"when--!"

"The weather is dry, so be careful with fire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze froze. In the dim moonlight, he saw a man and a woman slowly walking towards him.

The alley was dimly lit, and only a young man in blue and a noblewoman in red could be discerned. The two held long swords, their clothes fluttering, and their steps were steady. It was clear at a glance that they were people from the martial arts world.

Instinctively wanting to avoid it, the young man in blue suddenly spoke:

"Excuse me, sir, could I ring that gong?"

"Ouch!"

The young man in blue had barely finished speaking when the woman in red beside him gave him a hard tap on the head: "Sorry, the child at home is naughty."

After saying this, the woman in red took the boy in blue's hand and strode towards the end of the street.

The night watchman was stunned for a moment, watching the two figures disappear into the distance before he suddenly realized where they had gone:

"That's... the headquarters of the Huashan Sect..."

"It's the middle of the night, they're probably out looking for revenge. It's best to stay away."

He muttered something and walked in the opposite direction of the alley.

As soon as Gu Changfeng and Su Qingxue turned a corner, they saw a large courtyard surrounded by high walls suddenly appear in front of them.

Before your eyes is a heavy, vermilion-lacquered gate. Two lamps in front of the gate flicker slightly, their light illuminating the two gilded characters on the plaque above the gate, making them shine brightly.

"Mount Hua!"

The two Sword Sect disciples guarding the gate were taken aback when they saw Su Qingxue, then bowed respectfully.

"Xiao Lie (Xiao Han) greets Uncle Su."

The two glanced at Gu Changfeng beside them, immediately showing a look of disgust. They snorted, turned their heads away, and didn't even greet him.

Gu Changfeng raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Oh, you two brothers have gotten quite the skills? How about a little spar? You two come at me together..."

These two men, relying on their superior swordsmanship, often bullied Qi Sect disciples on the mountain. He happened to witness this and immediately unleashed a "Bloodshed Disaster," beating them so badly that they couldn't get out of bed for three days. Thus, the resentment had been building for a long time.

Upon hearing the words "sparring," the two fell silent.

Su Qingxue asked calmly, "Is Ouyang here?"

Xiao Lie cupped his hands and replied, "Reporting to Uncle Su, Uncle Ouyang is handling official business in the inner hall."

"Take me there."

"Alright! Uncle Su, please follow me."

Afterwards, Xiao Lie led the two into the courtyard.

The courtyard was brightly lit, but sparsely populated, with the faint sound of metal clanging echoing through the air.

After passing through a long corridor, you can see several children around ten years old practicing swordsmanship in the training ground. They are all sweating profusely and working very hard.

These children are novice disciples of the Sword Sect. After passing the assessment and becoming formal disciples, they will be able to go to Mount Hua to cultivate more advanced martial arts.

Whether they can go further and become direct disciples, thus gaining "seniority," depends on their own destiny.

In contrast, the Qi Sect is relatively casual about accepting disciples.

Adhering to the Taoist idea of ​​doing whatever one pleases, one must find someone pleasing to the eye before accepting them as an initiation disciple, and those particularly favored will be directly accepted as personal disciples.

Therefore, the number of Sword Sect disciples far exceeds that of Qi Sect disciples by a factor of two.

After passing through the training ground, we arrived at the inner courtyard.

But as soon as Gu Changfeng stepped into the inner courtyard, he could sense an unusual aura.

In the inner courtyard, the disciples of the Sword Sect hurried about, their steps quick. Although they greeted Su Qingxue, they quickly left as if they had urgent business to attend to.

Su Qingxue couldn't help but ask, "Are you all usually this busy?"

Xiao Lie hesitated slightly before saying, "It's not that... it's just that I've encountered some minor troubles these past few days, which is why I've been so busy. Usually, I would be resting by this time."

Gu Changfeng and Su Qingxue exchanged a glance, already having some guesses in their hearts.

When the two arrived at the inner hall, they saw Ouyang Qingzhao writing furiously at his desk, his expression focused. Beside him, the burly Cheng Buyou stood at the side, intently grinding ink, like a personal maid.

Ouyang Qingzhao suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise on his face: "Junior Sister Su? Why are you visiting so late at night without telling your brother beforehand?"

"I apologize for disturbing Senior Brother Ouyang!" Su Qingxue said.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries.

Ouyang Qingzhao went straight to the point: "Junior Sister Su, is there something important that brings you here?"

Su Qingxue gave Gu Changfeng a look, and he stepped forward and said, "Uncle-Master Ouyang, it's like this—" He then told him everything that Hu Anmin had said.

Before Ouyang Qingzhao could speak after hearing this, Cheng Buyou suddenly sneered at Gu Changfeng:

"Fool! Utterly stupid."

"If a merchant can find out this information, how could our Sword Sect not know it?"

Cheng Buyou finally found an opportunity and kept mocking, "Hehe, you, Gu Changfeng, are still too naive! But that's normal, after all, you're still young."

Gu Changfeng remained calm and pointed at Su Qingxue: "You even insulted Martial Aunt Su."

Cheng Buyou was taken aback, immediately shut up, and obediently lowered his head to grind ink, acting as if I didn't exist.

Su Qingxue said softly, "It seems that Senior Brother Ouyang already knew what was going on, and I have been overthinking things."

Ouyang Qingzhao smiled and said, "I just found out a little earlier than you."

Su Qingxue asked, "Do you know who the other party is?"

Ouyang Qingzhao sneered, "In this Chang'an city, there are only three families who have such thoughts."

Su Qingxue asked, "I've heard about those three families. But they've lived peacefully for so many years, why would they suddenly attack? Even if they win temporarily, aren't they afraid of your Sword Sect's all-out revenge?"

"That's exactly what I'm most confused about."

Ouyang Qingzhao said in a deep voice, "Therefore, I suspect they have someone backing them. Without support, they would never dare to act rashly. However, I have not yet found out who that person is."

Su Qingxue hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you need any help?"

Ouyang Qingzhao nodded and said, "Yes, we need to!"

Su Qingxue nodded: "Okay, just tell me what you need me to do."

Ouyang Qingzhao's expression turned serious, and he said, "You will return to Mount Hua first thing tomorrow morning."

Su Qingxue's eyes flashed, as if she could see the Ouyang who was so composed and confident back then, and she couldn't help but smile: "Senior brother is indeed very confident."

Ouyang Qingzhao smiled faintly: "Only by feigning weakness can we lure the enemy out of their hole. However, your reputation as the 'Flying Snow Fairy' is too great. If you had stayed in Chang'an, I'm afraid they might not have dared to make a move."

Su Qingxue chuckled and said, "I'll listen to you. I'll go back and pack my things now, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

Ouyang Qingzhao thought for a moment and said, "Let Changfeng stay. He's new to the mountain and hasn't made a name for himself yet, so he'll be of good use."

Seeing that Su Qingxue was a little worried, he added, "Don't worry, if anything happens to him, I'll personally bring my head to meet you."

Su Qingxue said, "Alright, then Changfeng is in your hands."

Gu Changfeng looked at the two of them and gave a wry smile: "Hey, you two senior uncles, have you really made up your minds like this? Didn't you even ask for my opinion? Don't I have any human rights?"