Ke Zhen'e stepped onto the creaking wooden ladder, feeling his way down step by step.
Holding his fine steel staff in one hand, he groped through the pitch-black vegetable cellar with the other.
He pinched his coarse, raspy voice as thin as he could, speaking in what he hoped was a gentle tone:
"Children, don't be scared."
"Your mother entrusted this old man to come for you."
These words were supposed to be reassuring.
The problem, however—was the person saying them: Ke Zhen'e.
His hair and beard were stark white, his two blind eyes rolled upward showing only the whites, and he held a dark iron staff in his hand.
Add to that the ghastly white moonlight casting its glow over him.
He looked less like a kindly old grandfather coming to rescue them, and more like an Impermanence straight out of the underworld coming to claim their souls!
Da Wu shielded his younger brother, backing away.
"Y-You stay back!"
Ke Zhen'e stopped in his tracks and said, "This old man is no bad person."
The two brothers backed away even faster:
"That's what all bad people say!"
Ke Zhen'e grew a bit impatient, but remembering Wu Sanniang's deathbed entrustment, he forced his anger down:
"Your mother's name is Wu Sanniang."
"Am I right?"
Da Wu and Xiao Wu froze at the same time.
They exchanged a glance, growing even more terrified.
Da Wu panicked in absolute horror:
"He even knows Mother's name!"
"We're done for! He really is an Impermanence come to claim our lives according to the Book of Life and Death!"
Xiao Wu's lips trembled violently as he cried out, "Brother..."
"Who wrote our names in the Book of Life and Death?!"
Da Wu sobbed, "Shut up already!"
Ke Zhen'e frowned and said:
"You two, cut the nonsense and hurry over."
"This old man will take you out of here..."
Hearing this, the two turned and ran.
The vegetable cellar was only the size of a palm, packed with baskets of vegetables, and dark enough that you couldn't see your own fingers.
Scared out of their wits, the two brothers darted around wildly with their hands over their heads.
Da Wu frantically dove to the left.
Xiao Wu bolted to the right with his eyes shut tight.
Thud!
Their foreheads slammed squarely into each other, the force no different from two rams locking horns.
Stars danced before the two brothers' eyes; they couldn't even manage a proper scream.
Plop!
Both crashed into the rotten mud, their eyes rolling back as they passed out on the spot.
Standing by the ladder, Ke Zhen'e's ears twitched twice.
Leaning on his iron staff, he shuffled forward half a step and gently poked them with the tip.
No response.
He squatted down again, reaching out to check the breath beneath their noses.
They were breathing; they had just fainted.
Ke Zhen'e's weathered face turned as black as the bottom of a pot right then and there:
"This old man has roamed the martial world for decades."
"And this is the first time..."
"Before I even made a move..."
"...the other side knocked themselves out."
He couldn't help raising a rough palm to stroke his craggy, scarred old face.
Although he had been blind for so long that he hadn't seen his own appearance in years, a tiny doubt still nagged at his mind:
"Does this old man's face... really look that terrifying?"
Having no choice, Ke Zhen'e bent down.
Extending a pair of calloused hands, he grabbed each boy by the back of his collar like he was picking up sick chicks at a market, effortlessly slinging them over his left and right shoulders.
Just as he hoisted them up, Ke Zhen'e's nostrils twitched violently.
"Hmm?!"
He took a sniff, and a pungent stench of urine shot straight up his collar to the top of his head!
Ke Zhen'e's face darkened completely.
As he climbed up the ladder, he couldn't stop grumbling under his breath:
"These two kids..."
"Judging by their bone structure, they aren't that young anymore."
"How are their guts even smaller than my Fu'er's?"
At the mention of Guo Fu, the image of that nine-year-old tyrant on Peach Blossom Island immediately popped into Ke Zhen'e's mind.
On the island, Guo Fu spent her days chasing roosters to pluck their feathers, chasing stray dogs all over the beach, and even dared to ride on his neck, pulling his beard like reins.
Back then, when the little girl saw his blind, white-rolled eyes for the first time, she hadn't cried at all.
Instead, she had stretched out a small paw covered in osmanthus syrup, insisting on pulling his eyelids open to see if glass beads were hidden inside.
Ke Zhen'e cracked a smile and chuckled:
"Fu'er is still the one who gives me peace of mind..."
Before the thought could even finish half its turn, the old man's brain suddenly throbbed.
He remembered Guo Fu taking Huang Rong's Dog-Beating Staff to poke bird nests.
Using his wine gourd to hold loaches.
And once while he was asleep...
...she braided three little pigtails into his white beard.
Ke Zhen'e's face darkened again, his lips twitching fiercely as he quickly changed his tune:
"Hmph... then again, she isn't much of a relief either."
...
Climbing out of the cellar, Ke Zhen'e carried the two boys with soaked pants, strides wide as he headed straight for an inn in the east of Jiaxing City.
Over these years, he hadn't lived in Jiaxing permanently.
After the second Mount Hua Sword Contest, Guo Jing and Huang Rong were married on Peach Blossom Island and settled down there.
Huang Yaoshi was eccentric and solitary by nature, disliking noise and crowds.
Besides, he really couldn't stand watching his silly son-in-law and precious daughter clinging to each other all day long.
After staying on the island for a few months, he left a letter, patted his rear, and set sail to wander the seas, never to be heard from again.
Later, after Huang Rong gave birth to Guo Fu, both Huang Yaoshi and Hong Qigong remained completely out of touch, which weighed heavily on Guo Jing and his wife.
Guo Jing was of an honest and filial disposition, always remembering the kindness of his masters.
Though the Eastern Heretic and Northern Beggar were elusive like divine dragons, the eldest master was very easy to find.
Every so often, Guo Jing would come to Jiaxing, pleading with Ke Zhen'e to move to the island and live there, talking about spending his twilight years in comfort.
Every time Ke Zhen'e heard this, he waved his hand off.
He wouldn't go, no matter what.
The scenery on Peach Blossom Island was fine, the living was fine, and the food was even better.
Huang Rong's culinary skills were second to none in the entire martial world.
However, to Ke Zhen'e...
His main complaint was that the place was quiet—damned too quiet.
Aside from the sound of wind, there were only ocean waves on that island.
If he wanted to find someone to drink with—none.
If he wanted to listen to a storyteller—none.
If he wanted to try his luck at a gambling den—even less so.
For someone like Huang Yaoshi who enjoyed cultivating his body and mind, Peach Blossom Island was a peaceful haven.
For Ke Zhen'e, that place was no different from serving time in a water dungeon.
It couldn't compare to Jiaxing in the slightest.
At least here, shouting at the street corner could gather a table of drunkards.
Standing at the entrance of a gambling hall for a little while, he could run into three familiar faces who owed him money.
Only a place like this could be called the mortal world.
...
Yet in the year Guo Fu turned five...
Ke Zhen'e had taken the initiative to go to Peach Blossom Island, without giving any advance notice.
A single boat docked straight at the shore.
When Guo Jing heard the report from the mute servant, he was overjoyed.
He ran out without even slipping his shoes on properly:
"Eldest Master!"
"What brings you here?!"
Ke Zhen'e thumped his iron staff against the ground:
"What?"
"This old man can't come?"
Guo Jing hurriedly shook his head:
"Of course you can!"
"Rong'er!"
"Eldest Master is here!"
Huang Rong came out of the house and saw Ke Zhen'e.
She was delighted at first, but then her eyes narrowed slightly.
With how clever and perceptive she was, she immediately pondered what felt off about this.
In the past, no matter how many times the couple invited him, Ke Zhen'e wouldn't come.
Even when Guo Jing went to pick him up in person, getting him to come once out of ten times was already fortunate, and he rarely stayed more than a few days.
Yet today, he had come to the island on his own initiative.
Guo Jing didn't think much of it, pulling Ke Zhen'e inside:
"Eldest Master."
"Stay a few months longer this time."
"Fu'er talks about you every day."
Ke Zhen'e snorted:
"That girl talks about this old man?"
"She just wants to play with this old man's iron staff again."
Before his words even fell...
...an exclamation echoed from the courtyard:
"Grand Uncle!"
Guo Fu came running out all the way, throwing herself into Ke Zhen'e's arms:
"Grand Uncle!"
"What took you so long to come!"
Ke Zhen'e gently stroked her head:
"Aiya, Fu'er, slow down!"
"What if you fall!"
Guo Fu looked up and asked:
"Did you bring me anything fun?"
Ke Zhen'e was rendered speechless for a moment.
As expected, she wasn't missing him—she was missing presents.
Guo Fu was already digging through his travel bundle:
"Where's the candy?"
"Where are the candied haws?"
"Where are the clay figurines?"
Ke Zhen'e's beard twitched: "I forgot this time. There's nothing."
Guo Fu's face instantly fell: "Grand Uncle doesn't care about Fu'er at all anymore."
Guo Jing barked sternly from the side:
"Fu'er, don't be rude. You're growing more and more impolite."
Standing off to the side, the more Huang Rong watched, the more she felt something was amiss.
On previous visits to the island, the eldest master would always bring Guo Fu some delicious snacks or fun toys.
Coming empty-handed this time was exceedingly rare.
That night, Huang Rong cooked personally, preparing a full table of fine wine and delicious dishes.
Beggar's Chicken, steamed fish, and other mouthwatering dishes filled the table.
She also warmed some top-grade Shaoxing old Huadiao wine.
Ke Zhen'e's nose twitched, and his mood noticeably brightened:
"Rong'er is still the sensible one."
Huang Rong smiled and said:
"If Eldest Master likes it, drink a few more cups."
Guo Jing sat beside him and said earnestly:
"Since Eldest Master has come this time..."
"...stay on the island for half a year."
Ke Zhen'e almost choked: "Half a year?"
Guo Jing thought for a moment, asking in confusion: "Do you think half a year is too long, Master?"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Ke Zhen'e broke into a violent coughing fit.
Huang Rong hastily stepped in to smooth things over:
"Jing-ge."
"Let's eat first."
Guo Jing looked bewildered: "Rong'er, isn't the island good?"
Huang Rong glanced at him:
"It's good, very good. Eat up quickly."
After finishing his meal, Guo Jing went out to practice his martial arts.
Guo Fu ran outside to play as well.
After Ke Zhen'e finished a jar of wine, Huang Rong warmed another jar for him.
With two jars down his gullet, Ke Zhen'e's tongue began to tie in knots.
Seeing the time was right, Huang Rong steered the conversation in a few clever turns and turned his whole story inside out.
Only then did she learn that Ke Zhen'e had been cursed by bad luck recently, losing every time he gambled. The more he lost, the more he wanted to win it back, and the more he tried to turn it around, the more he lost, until he ended up knee-deep in gambling debts.
And so, he had taken the initiative to come to the island to dodge his debts.
Half a year? He thought half a year was far too short!
Rate on N.U.
