Those remaining were all of the younger generation.

Song Yuzhi raised a long eyebrow. "Three years ago, when Heroine Cai passed away, my father brought my elder brother to offer condolences." The implication was, why are you pretending you've never met Father Song.

Cai Zhao said seriously, "When my aunt passed away, I had a recurring high fever and was bedridden for over half a month. I didn't even make it to her funeral, nor did I see any of the guests who came to offer condolences."

Song Yuzhi was surprisingly honest. He thought for a moment and said, "Back then, Heroine Cai turned the tide and saved the Wulin from peril. To think she passed away in her prime is truly a pity."

Cai Zhao said nothing, turning her head away.

Song Maozhi grew impatient. "My father is the Sect Leader of the Vast Heaven Sect! For someone so young, you have no manners. I wonder who taught you!" He didn't care how great a sacrifice Cai Pingshu had made for the Wulin.

"My aunt taught me," Cai Zhao said. "She raised me since I was born. She said there are too many rules in this world, and having a conscience is more important than having rules. As long as you have a conscience, whether you have manners is just a minor detail."

Song Maozhi was furious. "Are you saying I have no conscience!"

Cai Zhao feigned surprise. "No, no, how could that be? I just think Young Master Song the second has no manners."

Everyone: ...

Song Maozhi was enraged. "What did you say?!"

Cai Zhao pointed to a small stone tablet half-hidden in the grass. "The tablet clearly says, 'Upon reaching this point, all guests please dismount and stop your vehicles.' Even Sect Leader Song disembarked from his palanquin early, yet the second young master is still on horseback."

Song Maozhi was taken aback and roared, "My father and Sect Master Qi are like brothers, they don't care about these tedious formalities..."

"My aunt and Sect Master Qi were sworn siblings, and even my parents wouldn't dare to put on airs," Cai Zhao cut him off.

Because several successive generations of Sect Masters of the Qingque Sect had been bold and unconstrained, not caring for minor details, the rule on the stone tablet had not been strictly enforced for decades. However, Song Maozhi couldn't say this out loud.

"...Sect Master Qi is magnanimous, how could he fuss over such a trivial matter!"

"You can't say that. If the second young master enters a shop and the shopkeeper says, 'Seeing you has brought light to my humble home, it is a fortune of three lifetimes,' would you take it as truth and not pay? My future master is just being polite. When the host is polite, how can the guest take advantage? How can one deceive a gentleman with propriety?" Cai Zhao felt that the second young master was a bit less than upright.

Song Yuzhi, standing to the side, did not chime in. He only narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up Cai Zhao.

The young girl was fifteen, with raven hair and skin as white as snow, vibrant and beautiful. Yet she deliberately put on an old-fashioned, self-righteous demeanor, creating a strange sense of comedy.

"What's it to you!" Song Maozhi began to speak recklessly.

Cai Zhao felt that not only was the second young master unkind, but his brain wasn't working too well either. "The second young master is confused. In two or three days, I will be formally accepted as a disciple—my future sect, my future sect rules, my future master, how is that none of my business?"

"Which means you're not a disciple of the Qingque Sect yet!"

"The second young master is speaking nonsense again. If you saw your fiancée frequenting a brothel, would you think, 'Well, we're not married yet, so it's none of my business'?"

"The status is set, only the wedding ceremony is lacking. How can that be the same?!"

"My status as a disciple is also set. The elders on both sides have been corresponding for years, everything has been arranged properly. All that's missing is the discipleship ceremony. What's the difference?"

"You, you..." Song Maozhi trembled with rage in his saddle, on the verge of going mad.

Little Cai Han raised an objection with great academic spirit, "Big Sis, how can a woman frequent a brothel? I heard from Uncle Scar behind the mountain that only men can visit brothels and drink with the courtesans."

Cai Zhao lovingly patted his head. "Uncle Scar from behind the mountain is an honest man. Back when he roamed the Jianghu, he only knew how to kill a few people, commit a few robberies, and occasionally slaughter an entire family. He's actually a very honest and simple person. There are many things in this world he doesn't understand. The truth is, as long as one wants to frequent a brothel, it doesn't matter if they are male, female, neither male nor female, or even half-male and half-female."

Little Cai Han said, "Oh," as if he had learned a great deal.

Honest and simple...

and simple...

simple...

...

A cool breeze swept up a few leaves that drifted by. The disciples left behind: ...

Song Maozhi's eyes looked like they were about to crack. "Your Cai Family actually harbors filth and shelters evildoers..."

"Second Brother!" Song Yuzhi quickly stopped his brother from further embarrassing himself. "Junior Sister Cai must be talking about the Purple-faced Scarred Guest Who Settles Heaven and Earth with One Palm, Sun Dingzhou. Although this man robs, he only robs ill-gotten gains. Although he kills, he only ever kills the most heinous of criminals."

Cai Zhao continued to lecture while patting her younger brother's head, "Xiaohan, you must remember this in the future. If you don't understand the whole story, don't be so quick to get worked up. You'll just make a fool of yourself."

Cai Han cooperatively agreed. Song Maozhi was so angry he was about to erupt again, so Song Yuzhi quickly changed the subject.

"The family Junior Sister Cai mentioned that was wiped out should be the Qiu Clan of Shichuan. That incident caused a great sensation back then. The five Qiu Family brothers and their followers were thoroughly evil, committing rape and plunder, and harming the local populace. To ensure their fortress was impregnable, they kept no women or children inside. The women they abducted for their lewd entertainment never survived more than two days."

As Song Yuzhi spoke, the surrounding sect disciples all listened quietly.

Song Yuzhi continued, "At that time, the former master of the Demonic Cult was in a standoff with our Beichen Lineage. Neither side dared to make a rash move. If not for Great Hero Sun desperately breaking into the fortress to exterminate the villains, who knows how much more the local people would have suffered... Second Brother, you should dismount."

Song Maozhi was dumbfounded. He unconsciously slid off his saddle.

Song Yuzhi turned his head and stared at Cai Zhao. "The Purple-faced Scarred Guest disappeared from the Jianghu nearly ten years ago. No one knew his whereabouts. So he was hiding in Falling Blossoms Valley."

Cai Zhao sighed. "Uncle Scar killed so many wicked people, he naturally had many enemies. When Dad brought him back to Falling Blossoms Valley, he was covered in injuries and on the verge of death. I was only five or six at the time and would often go to him for idle chatter."

Song Xiuzhi, who had been silent all this time, said in a low voice, "I often hear people mention Great Hero Sun. I never thought he had already withdrawn from the Jianghu. His old friends must miss him."

Cai Zhao said faintly, "Once, when Uncle Scar was drunk, he told me that now, he has no wife or children, no parents, and no enemies. As for friends, it's the same whether he has them or not."

The desolation hidden behind those words was immense.

For once, Song Maozhi didn't argue. He silently handed his jewel-encrusted riding crop to an attendant and stood to the side with his neck stiff, saying nothing. Song Xiuzhi's eyes showed pity, and he dared not interject.

"Since Great Hero Sun intended to retire from the Jianghu and hide in Falling Blossoms Valley, is it really alright for you to reveal it like this?" Song Yuzhi took a few steps closer, his handsome eyes like a cold moon in a clear sky.

Cai Zhao said faintly, "There's nothing wrong with it. Two years ago, Uncle Scar's old injuries relapsed, and he passed away."

This was the Jianghu. Whether you met a good end, whether you could die peacefully, had little to do with whether you did good or evil. That was why Cai Zhao had not the slightest interest in the Jianghu.

Song Yuzhi listened with a blank expression, while discreetly sizing up Cai Zhao.

A jade hairpin, a side pin, a small half-moon silver comb, a half-sleeved jacket, a ruqun skirt, a sheer silk shawl, and long, flowing sleeves. A small and exquisite pink jade pendant weighted the hem of her gossamer-like skirt. Looking at its shape, it seemed to be a round, tiny... fat cat? It was actually dozing off?

'Very good, very good. So this is the little disciple his master has been longing for, the legendary diligent and well-behaved junior sister. As expected, one can only believe half of what elders say.'

Just then, a noise came from the cliff. Zeng Dalou announced loudly, "Will the martial brothers from the Song and Cai families please get ready? You can cross the cliff now."

At some point, several more thick iron chains had been shot over from the opposite cliff. Cai Zhao saw sect disciples, as light as swallows, leaping and moving across the several chains, quickly laying down rectangular, pitch-black iron plates. Each plate had hidden clasps on its sides and bottom. The side clasps linked with the adjacent plates, while the bottom ones locked firmly onto the iron chains, preventing them from sliding.

With a series of clicking sounds from the locks, a flat suspension bridge appeared before the cliff. Cai Zhao had been wondering how a horse carriage could cross, even if martial artists could walk on the iron chains. Now she knew.

"Just now when it was just us, only four iron chains were shot over. Now that Sect Leader Song has arrived, not only did they shoot another four, but they also laid down iron plates for the carriage. Dad, Mom, is Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff looking down on Falling Blossoms Valley? Maybe we should just go back," Cai Zhao said, sincerely trying to stir up trouble.

Cai Pingchun and Ning Xiaofeng couldn't even be bothered to respond to her.

The carriage moved slowly across the ten-thousand-zhang-high cliff. The abyss below was said to be filled with traps, poisonous fog, and miasma left behind from the Great War of Demons. No one who fell had ever climbed back up.

The carriage wheels rolled over the cold iron plates, making a horrifying, ear-piercing scraping sound, like fingernails scratching on a steel plate. It made Cai Zhao and her brother scratch their arms where their hairs were standing on end. Ning Xiaofeng said, displeased, "It's a crossing that could be made in a few steps on the iron chains, but that Song fellow just had to put on a show."

Cai Han was very surprised. "Mom, is your lightness skill that good?"

For a rare moment, Ning Xiaofeng blushed. "Isn't your dad here? Your dad would carry me across." Her martial arts had been mediocre since childhood, and she had no intention of striving to improve.

"My lightness skill isn't good either," Cai Xiaohan sighed maturely. "Dad will have to carry me across too."

Cai Zhao scoffed, "Your lightness skill isn't good? Do you even have a lightness skill?"

The little bean sprout continued to sigh. "I know Big Sis is unhappy, so I won't argue with her. But Dad, does Big Sis really have to stay here for three years? In the future, when Ah Hei and Ah Gou bully me, who will scare them away for me?"

These words made Cai Zhao feel quite sad, and she too sighed.

Ning Xiaofeng said angrily, "Your father is the Valley Master of Falling Blossoms Valley, yet you're being chased all over the place by the children in the valley. Aren't you ashamed of yourself!"

Cai Zhao quickly wrapped her arms around her little brother's head. "This just shows that our Xiaohan is approachable and never puts on the airs of the Valley Master's son. That's why those kids are willing to play with him. Auntie said Dad was also this simple and easygoing when he was young, and look how reliable he turned out to be!"

"If Xiaohan is even half as good as your father, I'll thank the heavens!" Ning Xiaofeng casually praised her husband.

Cai Xiaohan leaned affectionately against his sister. Cai Zhao hugged the little fatty and then said sorrowfully, "Dad, do I really have to become Sect Master Qi's disciple? I don't want to be a heroine..."

Ning Xiaofeng cut in, "Who's expecting you to become a heroine? It's to prevent you from becoming a demoness!"

Cai Zhao furrowed her delicate brows. "Dad, Mom, you saw the town at the foot of the mountain yesterday. The shopkeepers all put on more airs than the leader of the Wulin Alliance. If you knew, you'd know it was a perfume shop. If you didn't, you'd think it was a coffin shop. Oh, that's not right. In our Falling Blossoms Town, even the coffin sellers greet customers as if they're celebrating a wedding."

Ning Xiaofeng snorted with laughter.

Cai Pingchun said helplessly, "...That's probably not necessarily a good thing either." A coffin shop owner being so cheerful and welcoming is also quite horrifying to see.

Cai Zhao linked her arms with her parents. "If the town is like this, I can't imagine how hard life on Jiuli Mountain must be. It's nothing like our town, where you can get whatever you want. Walking west from the blind fortune-teller's stall at the town entrance, there are pan-fried buns, swallow-skin wontons, crispy sugar rolls, stewed meat buns, pickled vegetable shaobing, crystal shrimp soup dumplings, lamb potstickers, soy sauce pork belly zongzi, rice sugar soup... I could go a month without eating the same thing for breakfast. I can even get a midnight snack in the dead of night. It's nothing like here..."

She nearly made Cai Xiaohan drool.

Cai Zhao wore a look of disgust. "Unlike here, even if I were skilled and bold enough to sneak down the mountain on the iron chains, at most I could only get a bowl of bland noodle soup from that tall, pockmarked fellow! He didn't even add a single spring onion!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cai Xiaohan was also indignant.

"Wontons without chopped spring onions! That such an absurd thing could exist in this world is truly outrageous." The young girl Cai Zhao's face was full of disbelief, as if she would be no more surprised if the sun rose from the west.

Ning Xiaofeng laughed so hard she had to turn away. Valley Master Cai said helplessly, "Zhaozhao, think about Uncle Scar from behind the mountain. Qingque Town is actually quite similar. That perfume seller, the noodle stall owner, and the quiet innkeeper where we stayed—they were all once great heroes who roamed the Jianghu. When they had nowhere else to turn, they received the grace of the Qingque Residence. Now they live in the town, serving as gatekeepers for Jiuli Mountain."

"If they're gatekeepers, then they're gatekeepers. Why do they have to run businesses? There's an etiquette to commerce; it's not good to horn in on other people's trades." Cai Zhao sighed like an adult. "Of course, I know the Jianghu is a tough place to get by. Auntie said that many great heroes are magnificent in their youth, but once they're injured, disabled, old, and decrepit, their later years are bleak. It's just as the saying goes: since ancient times, heroes are like beauties, not allowed to have white hair."

Ning Xiaofeng's shoulders shook with laughter.

Just then, a sect disciple outside the carriage shouted, "We've arrived!" The four members of the Cai Family hurriedly disembarked, discovering that the carriage had moved from the iron plates onto a stone-paved ground. Cai Zhao touched her temples, straightened her skirt, looking every bit the part of a well-bred young lady, and then looked up...

With that one look, she was caught completely off guard and stared, stunned. Her mouth hung open for a long time, and she didn't even notice when her parents and brother had walked away.