First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 897 – The Night Watchman

What You Xue found unbelievable was that a Profound Serenity Emperor had requested that a Spiritual Revolution cultivator temper his sword. This obviously defied common sense.

She couldn’t help but look at the freshly quenched black flying sword.

However, before she could get a good look at it, the man in dark robes beckoned to it. The black flying sword blurred into a streak of flowing light and slipped into his sleeves, disappearing from view.

The stalwart young man flashed him a straightforward smile. “Dear customer, you needn’t be so polite. My master said that anyone carrying a Fengdu Medallion is our guest, and that I ought to treat them well.”

The man in dark robes smiled. “Young friend, remember this: my Daoist name is Yun Songzi, and I’m from Yellow Springs Palace. If your master asks, please greet him on my behalf.”

With that, he clasped his fist, turned, and left.

So, he’s from Yellow Springs Palace, thought You Xue.

Su Yi, meanwhile, arrived at the smithy.

The stalwart young man scratched his head and said apologetically, “Sir, it’s already dark out, and we’re about to close up shop.”

Su Yi shook his head. “I’m not here to refine a treasure. Tell your master that an old friend is here to see him.”

The stalwart young man froze. “Customer, you know my master?”

The man in dark robes hadn’t gotten far. When he heard this, he instantly stopped in his tracks.

A young man called himself an old friend of the blacksmith’s owner. He couldn’t help but find this unbelievable.

“If I didn’t, why would I come?” laughed Su Yi.

The stalwart young man was still hesitant. “Do you have proof?”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Repeat the sentence I’m about to tell you, and he’s sure to come see me.”

You Xue pricked up her ears, ready to listen. Not far away, the dark-robed man’s curiosity was piqued, too.

“If you please, sir.” The stalwart young man still seemed confused.

“Evening approaches, and the skies look like it’s about to snow,” said Su Yi.

The stalwart young man was flabbergasted. “That’s… that’s the sentence?”

You Xue, however, was certain that this was a riddle. Only the blacksmith would understand what it meant.

The man in dark robes couldn’t help but be stunned. He felt entirely at a loss. What’s that supposed to mean?

“Go tell your master,” said Su Yi. “He’ll understand.”

The stalwart young man took a deep breath, then grumbled, “Sir, you’d best not be lying to me. If I discover that you’re trying to trick me, I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!”

Su Yi laughed. “Be quick about it.”

Only then did the stalwart young man turn around and dash into the workshop.

……

There was a crude courtyard built behind the smithy.

Lanterns hung from the eaves, casting yellow light on the ground.

A thin middle-aged man sat upright beside the wooden table in the center of the courtyard.

His temples were flecked with gray, and he was dressed in worn, undyed cloth robes. His features were firm and handsome but cold. He seemed as reserved and grim as iron. Even sitting there, his posture was as straight as a ruler.

A decrepit old monk in black sat across from him. His eyes were turbid, and his face was covered in wrinkles.

“The populace is ignorant and foolish. They have no idea that if not for you, the Night Watchman, standing guard over the years, the lively, prosperous Snowy Skies City would likely have long since been wiped from the face of the Netherworld,” said the monk, his voice raspy with age.

The man in simple cloth remained calm, and he neither spoke nor smiled.

However, the old monk in black seemed accustomed to this, and he said warmly, “No matter how you feel about it, the situation is going to change in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, and the direction of the world will change with it. Those who adapt will flourish, while those who resist will perish. Fellow Daoist, no matter how far-reaching your abilities are, the the face of these changes, you’ll ultimately be no more than a mantis trying to block a chariot.”

The man in simple cloth robes said expressionlessly, “What makes you say that?”

The monk’s turbid eyes stared intently at him for a moment. “When I left to visit you, Fellow Daoist, the Esteemed Black Crow enlightened me. I finally understand why you’ve silently watched over the city from your workshop for all this time.”

The simply-dressed man’s frown gradually deepened.

The old monk, however, smiled. “Simply put, you’ve effectively imprisoned yourself here. You might well be able to protect the city, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to protect its inhabitants. When Snowy Skies City is devoid of people, how will it be any different from a city of the dead?”

The man in simple cloth robes said nothing. He was clearly a man of few words.

The monk’s smile gradually receded, and he said gravely, “The Esteemed Black Crow said that, so long as you agreed to move the tombstone safeguarding the City of the Wrongfully Dead, the God of the Netherworld would naturally help you escape confinement after descending upon this world!”

But the man in simple cloth didn’t react at all. He just gazed coldly at the monk. “Are you done?”

The monk was stunned, and he was just about to say something when the simply-dressed man said flatly, “You can leave.”

The monk frowned in apparent displeasure, but ultimately, he held back.

Then, he rose and said, “Fellow Daoist, tomorrow night, the blood-red moon will appear once more. This time, I’m afraid… even more people will die.”

The man in undyed cloth stood there, not moving in the slightest, as if he were deaf.

The old monk in black shook his head and was just about to leave when a stalwart young man walked into the courtyard.

The old monk in black was momentarily stunned, but a moment later, he smiled warmly. “Fellow Daoist, this disciple of yours is quite impressive! He has a natural Dao Bone, and his brilliance is understated. He might seem like a piece of uncut jade, but in truth, he’s a rare good seedling for cultivating the Grand Dao!”

The stalwart young man hurriedly bowed and smiled straightforwardly. “You exaggerate, Senior.”

Next to the wooden table, the man in simple cloth robes frowned. “Who told you to come in?”

The stalwart youth quivered, then lowered his head. “There’s a guest outside the workshop. He said he’s an old friend of yours, Master, and he insists on seeing you.”

An old friend? The monk looked thoughtfully.

The man in simple cloth said flatly, “Over the years, numerous scammers have come professing to be my old friends. You ought to have learned to just send them packing by now. Don’t come here and ask me every time.”

The stalwart young man said hurriedly, “But that person said that, if I passed on a certain sentence, you’d know who he was.”

The man in undyed cloth robes couldn’t help but be surprised.

A moment later, he gazed calmly at the elderly monk in black. “You ought to leave.”

After a moment’s silence, the elderly monk nodded, then walked outside.

It was only after he’d disappeared from view that the man in undyed robes said, “A’Cheng, come here.”

The stalwart young man hurried over.

The man in simple cloth brushed his hand through the air, and an invisible power of the Grand Dao silently enveloped the courtyard.

He then looked at the stalwart young man. “What did that person say?”

The stalwart young man said, “It doesn’t make any sense, but he said, ‘Evening approaches, and the skies look like it’s about to snow.’”

“‘Evening approaches, and the skies look like it’s about to snow….’” the man in undyed robes muttered to himself.

This sentence seemed to contain numerous mysteries. The man in simple cloth sank into silence.

“You don’t get it either, Master?” The stalwart young man said angrily. “I just knew that guy was a liar! I’ll go kick him out!”

“Wait,” said the man in simple cloth, breaking his silence. “Invite that customer inside.”

“Ah?” The stalwart young man was stunned. 𝐞𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The man in simple cloth added, “Remember to be respectful.”

“Err…” The stalwart young man instantly realized that something was strange here, and he said carefully, “Master, that person looks like he’s in his late teens at most…”

The man in simple cloth looked at him. “Be quick about it. If you bump into that old monk, you’re not to say even a single word more to him.”

His tone was casual and understated, but the young man stiffened, then dashed off.

Meanwhile, the man in simple cloth sat in the courtyard, a rare, dazed look on his boulder-like features.

‘Evening approaches, and the skies look like it’s about to snow. Might you share a drink with me?’

That guy has finally come back….

……

Outside the smithy.

When the old monk stepped outside, he immediately saw the young man in blue and young woman in white waiting outside.

Especially when he saw the young woman, surprise flashed through the old monk’s turbid eyes.

A moment later, he smiled warmly and said to the young woman, “Miss, might I ask if you’re the one here to see the owner of this workshop?”

You Xue was briefly stunned, but she quickly realized that the old monk assumed she was the one who’d called herself the blacksmith’s old friend. You Xue couldn’t help but find this funny.

However, she ignored the monk’s question. She’d never liked talking to strangers, especially not strangers as shrouded in evil energies as the old monk. He was obviously a heretical cultivator.

Her disregard made the old monk frown, but a moment later, he smiled at Su Yi. “Or is it you, my young friend?”

Su Yi glanced coolly at the old monk. “What does that have to do with you?”

The old monk was stunned. He wouldn’t have guessed that each of these two young people was more domineering than the one before!

It was then that the stalwart young man dashed outside, clasped his fist, and smiled earnestly at Su Yi. “Sir, my master has invited you two inside.”

The old monk’s eyes silently narrowed, and his heart shook. This unquestionably implied that one of these two young people really was the blacksmith’s old friend!

Just who were those two? And where did they come from? The monk’s eyes flashed.

But before he could wrap his head around it, Su Yi led You Xue into the workshop.

“Young friend…” The old monk in black calmed himself, then smiled at the tall, stalwart young man.

However, the young man averted his gaze and walked away. His master had told him not to say so much as a single word to the old monk.

The monk’s smile froze, and his eyelids twitched. An inexplicable rage coursed through his heart.

When the woman in white ignored him, he endured it.

When the young man in blue rebuked him, he endured it.

Now, even the blacksmith’s apprentice was disregarding him. The old monk felt as if he had no face left.

He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, I have to get to the bottom of this!

Suddenly, the old monk gazed further down the deserted streets.

A man in dark robes stood with his hands behind his back in front of a store that had already closed up shop for the night.

The monk recognized the man at a glance. He was a high elder of Yellow Springs Palace, Yun Songzi!

The monk in black recalled that, when he called upon the workshop’s owner, his disciple, A’Cheng, was working on a sword for Yun Songzi.

“Fellow Daoist, I hope your operation in the City of the Wrongfully Dead tomorrow goes smoothly.” The old monk put his palms together, smiled warmly, and bowed.

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he silently transformed into black smoke and disappeared.

“Who was that old monk? And why was his aura so strange and terrifying…?” Yun Songzi’s expression shifted erratically, and his heart was full of questions.

Everything he’d seen at the workshop tonight seemed unbelievable.