Why do I have so many masters?

"Him?"

Wang Anfeng paused slightly, although it was his first encounter with Qiu Ruoshui, he could tell that by nature she was aloof and detached. However, just hearing about the Taoist from Liuti caused such a strong reaction, sparking curiosity. Qin Fei nodded, gestured for Wang Anfeng to follow, and walked slowly, saying,

"He was a Taoist."

"Certainly, a Taoist should have a Taoist name, but he didn't. In his youthful willfulness, he assumed the emptiness and purity of the Taoist Sect's intents, striving for the noblest aspirations, and called himself Kong Taoist."

As the group walked leisurely along the road, Qin Fei quietly began to recount an old legal case from several decades ago.

The main character's name was unknown, and those who did know had passed away. Thus, he was simply called Kong Taoist.

The story was straightforward; a free-spirited young Taoist met the most outstanding disciple of the Music Bureau of that time—a martial artist of great skill and youthful zeal, the other a beauty of divine grace whose sword dance captivated the city—and naturally, it was love at first sight.

The young man's Sect was one of asceticism, where one must not be entangled in romantic love. Kong Taoist, for her sake, returned to the Sect's fold to proactively confess his sins to his Master, abandoned his sword over the cliff, shed his Taoist robe, forsook all of his past, and adopted a new name, Li Xuan Yi.

The Mysterious Sect was vast, yet he forsook it for her.

Li Xuan Yi waited at the place they had agreed upon. He waited and waited, but the girl never appeared.

The girl disappeared...

She vanished during an ordinary Sect excursion, and even the people of the Music Bureau could not find any trace of her. Li Xuan Yi frantically searched everywhere for that familiar figure, daringly breaking into the territories of notorious Sects, only to find nothing in the end. Dragging his heavily wounded body, he waited at the appointed place with his last hope.

He waited a full thirty years.

He watched the girls of the Music Bureau change one after another, watched the sun rise and set again, watched streams of boats flow, the broken bridge lingering, high buildings rise, then crumble, human sentiments come and go, the playful girls' hair grow slightly white.

After thirty years, he finally sighed softly, forgiving himself and stepped out of the place that had imprisoned him for half his life.

Back then, some factions challenged the Taoist Sects, arranging a thousand fighting stages in Wangxian County, where bright candles illuminated the night, shining as bright as day.

Li Xuan Yi, who had restrained himself from all worldly concerns, broke off a willow branch and quenched the ten-mile stretch of red candles.

Emptiness reveals form; form gives rise to feelings. Having left the Taoist Sect for love and then unable to fulfill that love, he passed emotions into the form, severed form to realize emptiness, and returned to the state of purity and void.

He resumed the name Kong Taoist.

From that day to now, another thirty years passed, and what realm his cultivation had reached was unknown to all; those who had crossed hands with him were no longer alive.

As he spoke, Qin Fei's eyes showed a trace of longing, while Qiu Ruoshui's expression grew complicated. Regardless, the Music Bureau's role in this martial arts world myth from Wangxian County was anything but joyous... If it hadn't been for that accident back then, perhaps things wouldn't be so regrettable.

Wang Anfeng's heart was filled with admiration for the elegance of his seniors, but he remarked,

"With such a senior, I'm afraid it won't be easy for us to meet him."

Qin Fei nodded and said,

"But after all, the senior is human, and that invitation is a chance to meet."

As he spoke, his face betrayed some confusion, "It's just that this senior seems to have become quite agreeable lately..."

"In the past, it was just a direct snub."

The two young men conversed, while behind them, the old Madame Wang's heart was already surging with shock. They might not have had any concept of the legend, but she had personally lived through that era.

That era when numerous legends were suppressed by five individuals.

Kong Taoist was always an insurmountable obstacle.

Could they actually come into contact with such a legend?

During their walk, Wang Anfeng and the others paused slightly. The old woman was puzzled, not understanding why they suddenly stopped on this street.

But in Wang Anfeng's field of vision, he could already see a willow embankment ahead. It was the harsh cold of deep winter, and everywhere else was barren, but that willow embankment remained evergreen. Surrounded by snow, yet flourishing with blooming flowers, the willow branches danced lightly.

The sight was exquisitely beautiful, enough to make the whole world stop, yet people still hurried by as if the willow embankment was somehow separated from this mundane world.

It was there, but it seemed that ordinary people couldn't see it at all.

Wang Anfeng and Qin Fei themselves did not realize that the auspicious clouds at the bottom of the invitation they held faintly radiated light, emitting a unique frequency that allowed them to see the unusual phenomenon ahead amid the mundane world.

Wang Anfeng and Qin Fei exchanged glances and stepped forward, and before the old woman understood what was happening, the two young men and Qin Xiao had already vanished. Shocked and at a loss, the old Madame Wang stood there, while Qiu Ruoshui, too, looked astonished, reaching out to touch the air in front of her, only to feel the cold breeze slip through her fingertips, just as usual.

Passersby coming and going did not react at all to the sudden disappearance of the three, as if there should have been only three people there from the start.

The old Madame Wang, being of an older age, realized that this must be the work of a distinguished Taoist master's techniques.

The Taoist Sect values karmic connections; without them, a meeting is not granted.

Knowing this yet still feeling regret, she couldn't behold the young Taoist from the storybooks of yesteryears who had caused countless maidens to lose sleep out of heartache. She let out a sigh.

But at that moment, Zhang Tingyun stretched out her right hand, gently tapped the void in front of her as though she discovered something extremely interesting, her eyes sparkled, took a light step, and also disappeared from both Qiu Ruoshui's and the old woman's vision.

The old Madame Wang's expression changed dramatically. She stepped forward, but where was the young girl's figure to be seen?

.....................

In the midst of harsh winter, there was a place like early spring, where young grass sprouted and willow catkins flew softly in the void air, almost like a dream.

Wang Anfeng was stunned for a moment before suddenly sensing something was amiss. He whipped around, but the small figure was nowhere to be seen. His expression shifted slightly, yet at that moment, faint ripples appeared in the air, and subsequently, Zhang Tingyun materialized in that very spot, her demeanor calm.

Only upon seeing Wang Anfeng did a trace of joy, incredibly faint, flicker across her features.

Wang Anfeng let out a long sigh of relief. Suddenly, an object flew out from his embrace, and from beside him, something also flew from the arms of Qin Xiao and Qin Fei — it was the name card, which arranged itself in the emptiness, surrounded by twinkling auspicious clouds, and then slowly dissipated, turning into fine dust.

"Today was meant to settle a past affair. I hadn't expected to meet such a young Taoist friend."

With a peaceful laugh, an elder in a Taoist robe squatted before a wooden hut by a willow tree, holding a bowl of steaming millet porridge. He took a sip of the porridge, smacked his lips, looked up and casually wiped away the grains of millet that had stuck to his beard, and said:

"Come, come, come, everyone take a seat..."

"I've simmered some porridge, using millet from Qin State. I've stewed it for quite some time until a layer of oil formed on the surface. You won't be able to find this in any other place, not even in the Imperial Palace."

Clothed in a humble Taoist robe with white hair done up into a topknot using a grass twig, his face kind and ruddy, the old Taoist looked as ordinary as those fortune-telling Taoists you would find in any Taoist Temple. He waved them over, and as Wang Anfeng and the others approached, he enthusiastically ladled a bowl of porridge for each of them.

When it was Zhang Tingyun's turn, he seemed particularly fond of her, and chucklingly said:

"Little Taoist friend, take care with this."

Qin Xiao's eyes darted around, noticing the elder's lack of imposing aura, and couldn't help but interject, "Senior, she's only four years old, even younger than me. I've never heard her speak; she might not even recognize the characters, so how can she be called a little Taoist friend?"

Qin Fei frowned, about to scold him, when the Kong Taoist waved his hand and said:

"It's all right, it's all right."

Looking down at the little girl's clear eyes, the old man smiled and said:

"Those who are illiterate but possess a poetic air, grasp the true essence of poetry; those who are unlearned yet understand the Taoist essence, comprehend the mysteries of the Taoist Sect, born with divine hearing and a clear Taoist heart, surely deserve the title of a little Taoist friend."

He then looked up, studied Qin Xiao's unconvinced face, nodded in understanding, and suddenly asked:

"Is your name Qin Xiao?"

"Yes, I am Qin Xiao."

"From the Qin family of Tianhe County?"

"Yes, precisely from Tianhe County's Qin family."

"Do you like this little Taoist friend?"

"Yes...?!"

Qin Xiao was struck dumb as if by thunder, with a blush spreading up from his neck at a terrifying speed. He suddenly stood up, nearly tipping over the porcelain bowl, and while righting the bowl, his fingers accidentally dipped into the porridge, turning his palm red with the scald, tears shimmering in his eyes. Yet he was preoccupied with waving his hands and stammering out:

"I-I-I-I, I don't like her at all!"

"How could I possibly... like someone with such poor taste and an awful-sounding name who can't even speak properly."

"Senior, you're mistaken!"

Watching him flail, the Kong Taoist chuckled and said:

"Just admit it if you like her. You haven't taken vows to pursue Taoism, so what's wrong with liking someone? You seem mature enough, but why are you acting so childish?"

"Just a little brat trying to draw attention by teasing."

He then curled his lip in a snort, expressing contempt that one would expect from a senior:

"Fancy that, liking indeed. You like nothing but trouble."

Qin Xiao opened his mouth, his hidden intentions laid bare by the elder, his face flushed. He sneakily glanced at Zhang Tingyun, only to find her earnestly cradling her bowl of millet porridge, eating delicately and with focused attention, her beautiful eyes unrippled, leaving his face alternating between red and green.

Feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, he let out a grievous howl that seemed to shake the heavens and threw himself onto Qin Fei, burying his face in the youth's chest, allowing the latter to console him but stubbornly refusing to come out again.

The elder laughed softly, took another sip of millet porridge, and appeared to deliberately smack his lips. The humiliated child was comforted for a long time before he reluctantly lifted his head, only to see Wang Anfeng with a solemn expression, guiding the girl to sit down next to him.

Noticing his gaze, Wang Anfeng turned back and gave him a warm smile. With his right hand, he pushed the little girl's bowl of porridge gently to the side, hesitated for a moment, then pushed it slightly further by an inch. Qin Xiao's face fell, and lying in Qin Fei's arms, he shouted indignantly at the Kong Taoist:

"You're laughing at me! You spent your whole life pining over a woman too!"

Qin Fei felt troubled and quickly got up, bowing with his hands cupped and said:

"Senior, please forgive him, my younger brother is just a child... He meant to say that the beauty that captured senior's heart was so ethereal and unparalleled that it ensnared you for a lifetime."

"Xiao, apologize for your offense!"

Even though he tried to clarify, the smile on the Kong Taoist's face began to fade, his expression growing serious, his gaze becoming inscrutable as if it were a deep pond, causing the atmosphere of the world to immediately darken. As Qin Fei gritted his teeth, preparing to apologize again, the elder suddenly slapped his knee and exclaimed:

"Oh dear, now that you mention it, it's been so long that I've even forgotten what she looked like."

PS: There's been some issue with the cover, the author is searching for images... The cover will change after some time, please bear with us~

There will be a long chapter tomorrow~