Chapter Fifty-two: The Successor of Peach Blossom Island

  Song Qing shook his head and said, "Hehe, but it's just relying on the prestige of Master Taishi."

  After a pause, Song Qing Shu continued, "May I have the honor of asking for your name, miss?"

  "Hehe, everyone in this world has their own way of doing things. There's no need to be particular." The woman in green clothing said, "My surname is Qin, and my name is Youlan."

  "Youlan, Youlan, empty valley Youlan. What a great name!" Song Qing Shu praised.

  "You're overpraising me," said Youlan, curiously asking at the same time, "How did you end up walking into these deep mountains?"

  "Hehe, originally I was heading west to Kunlun, but halfway through, I lost my horse while saving someone. Luckily, I got a small black donkey." Song Qing Shu explained with a smile, "Since I wasn't in a hurry to rush on the road, and now that there's chaos outside, I decided to take a detour into the deep mountains and ended up with some peace and quiet."

  He paused for a moment, then continued, "Tonight, I was originally going to spend the night in a nearby forest, but unexpectedly heard Miss Youlan's wonderful zither music, so I followed the sound and came here. At first, I thought it was some kind-hearted brother who, like me, was camping deep in the mountains, but I didn't expect it to be Miss Youlan living here."

  "Hehe, aren't you a bit disappointed, young master?" Yulan said with a soft smile.

  "Haha, having heard the wonderful zither sound and seen the elegant and refined girl who is like a rare orchid in an empty valley, if one still feels disappointed, then let others in Jianghu know about it, wouldn't they be envious, jealous and resentful?" Song Qing Shu said.

  "Young master really knows how to joke." Youlan smiled and shook her head.

  "Right." Song Qing suddenly asked as if he had just remembered something, "I still don't know what tune was played by Miss Youlan earlier?"

  "Hehe, 'The Tides of the Azure Sea'!" Youlan said.

  "What, 'Bihai Chao Sheng Qu'?" Song Qing shouted in surprise. He had originally gone to Kunlun to find the ultimate skill of Peach Blossom Island, "Lan Hua Fu Xue Shou", but unexpectedly encountered another skill from Peach Blossom Island, "Bihai Chao Sheng Qu" in the depths of the mountains along the way. It was indeed a coincidence that brought them together!

  "Song Gongzi seems to know 'Bihai Chao Sheng Qu'. Yu Lan saw that Song Qing Shu seemed to have heard of 'Bihai Chao Sheng Qu' and was also very surprised. It's not surprising, considering that even the 'Jiuyin Zhenjing' is not well-known in the Jianghu nowadays. The most famous one is probably the 'Jiuyang Zhenjing', which is divided into three parts, each mastered by Shaolin, Wudang and Emei."

  "Peach blossoms fall, flying god sword, emerald sea tides give birth to jade flute." Song Qing didn't respond, but instead recited a seemingly unrelated couplet.

  "Song Gongzi, indeed knows." Yu Lan had originally sensed something when she heard Song Qingchu's reaction to the Bihai Chao Sheng Qu, but when Song Qingchu actually recited the couplet from Peach Blossom Island, she was still extremely surprised. "Time has passed and circumstances have changed, I didn't think that Song Gongzi would still know, it truly surprises me."

  "Heh heh, although people and things have changed, but thinking back to those days, the Eastern Evil and Western Venom, the Southern Emperor and Northern Beggar, the Central Divine, the Five Greats of the world were what kind of renowned names. How could I not remember?" Song Qing Shu laughed and said, mentioning the Five Greats of the world also made him reveal a nostalgic expression, "It's actually the Young Lady You Lan who is a descendant of Peach Blossom Island, which makes me quite curious."

  "In those years, the ancestors sat down and died one by one: Qu Lingfeng, Chen Xuanfeng, Mei Chaofeng, Lu Chengfeng, Wu Gangfeng, Feng Mofeng. Some were dead, some were crippled. In his later years, he took in Cheng Ying, who was my master's ancestor, and passed down this lineage to me." Youlan spoke of the old affairs of Peach Blossom Island, and couldn't help but feel sorrowful.

  This is also the case, thinking of Huang Yaoshi, the island's master, what a proud and lonely person he was. He was one of the top five in the world, from astronomy to geography, literature and martial arts, everything had its own door, poetry, music, painting, chess, eight trigrams, numerology, all were accomplished, medicine, divination, astrology, yin and yang, five elements, strange gates, all were in his heart. Farming, water conservancy, commerce, military strategy, cooking oil salt, nothing was impossible for him. But such a person, in his later years, his daughter and son-in-law died in Xiangyang, making him send off the dead with white hair. His lifelong martial arts skills ended up without anyone to inherit, what a sad thing it is.

  "Don't be sad, Miss Youlan. Many martial arts have been lost in the vast expanse of time since ancient times. Huang Dao is mainly relieved that there are still people like you who understand, which is comforting." Song Qingyu consoled.

  Yu Lan nodded silently, gazing up at the clear sky and bright moon. The atmosphere was tranquil, with only the evening wind whistling through.

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

  The sun rises from the eastern mountain pass, and the cave flute startles flying birds.

  On the second day, Song Qingchu slept dazedly and heard a pleasant sheng sound. He got up and looked around, only to find that it was already broad daylight.

  Song Qing shook his head, indeed heroes find it hard to pass the beauty barrier. In the deep mountains, he was actually so relaxed and off guard, which is a great taboo for martial artists.

  After washing up, Youlan's solo performance of "Dongxiao" also came to an end.

  "In the depths of the mountains, there's nothing good to entertain a noble guest like you, only some coarse tea and plain food. I hope you can forgive us." Yu Lan said apologetically.

  Looking at the few dishes of wild vegetables and two bowls of clear porridge on the table, Song Qing felt that his appetite had increased greatly, this was much better than eating those dry rations.

  "You're being too modest, Miss Youlan. To be able to eat breakfast made by such a beautiful woman as yourself in the depths of the mountains is a blessing I've accumulated over three lifetimes. What's there to complain about?" Song Qing Shu smiled and shook his head, "Besides, we Jianghu children have suffered all sorts of hardships on our travels, what's a little discomfort when faced with such a delicious breakfast."

  Although she knew it was Song Qingchu flattering herself, Youlan couldn't help but feel delighted. After all, having one's hard work recognized by others is always a pleasant thing.

  After finishing breakfast, Song Qingyu began a day of uninterrupted sword practice. Although she couldn't see any immediate improvement, practicing martial arts is all about diligence, and accumulating effort day by day will eventually lead to a breakthrough. As the saying goes, "Heaven rewards those who are diligent."

  As for You Lan, she also started cultivating on the other side. You Lan was only one or two years older than Song Qingchu, but she was able to cultivate to a level that surpassed Song Qingchu at such a young age. Although there were other reasons, her diligence was undeniable.

  Two people did not disturb each other, and were both deeply absorbed in their own martial arts.

  On one side, the sword was like a white snake spitting letter, hissing and breaking through the wind, and also like a swimming dragon shuttling back and forth, moving in all directions. Sometimes it was light and agile as a swallow, rising with a pointed sword, sometimes it was sudden as lightning, and leaves fell in a flurry. It was truly a silver glow that rose from the courtyard, swallowing the blood of the Xiongnu for thousands of miles.

  On the other hand, she had a slender figure and light footsteps. The treasured sword in her hands was like three feet of white silk, soft to the extreme, light to the extreme, yet with a cold glow, like water, extremely gentle, beautiful, and strong.