Chapter 54: Immaculate Essence

Bai Shaoliu returned to the tavern, which stood beside the ever-flowing Anping Canal. Naturally, the water of Anping Canal continued to flow.

He carried a bench outside and placed it by the riverbank, gazing at the flowing water before him.

The tavern’s landlady, Zhou Ling, who still retained her charm, found this young man somewhat odd. Today he seemed even more dazed than usual, far from the half-dead appearance she had expected.

Though the sun still blazed fiercely overhead, burning down on people like fire, his attention was entirely fixed on the river.

The water of Anping Canal did not rush quickly, but it was clear and bright. The sunlight shimmered on the water’s surface, sparkling so brilliantly it almost made one unable to open their eyes. Bai Shaoliu’s eyes gradually grew dry and sore, yet he did not close them; he continued to watch the flowing water.

This continued until evening, when the water was dyed red by the setting sun, more radiant than the most beautiful flowers.

Finally, Zhou Ling could not hold back and walked over to Bai Shaoliu. “What on earth is wrong with you?” she asked.

Bai Shaoliu didn’t move, still staring at the river.

Zhou Ling couldn’t help but kick him lightly.

Only then did Bai Shaoliu slowly come to his senses and suddenly asked, “Landlady, why do you think the river water flows?”

Zhou Ling looked at him as if he were a fool. “Water naturally flows from high to low. The river’s source is higher, and it flows downhill. It’s as simple as that.”

Bai Shaoliu frowned slightly. “Is it really that simple?”

With her hands on her hips, the landlady gave him a sharp look. “You’ve eaten your fill and don’t want to work, so why waste your time thinking about such nonsense?”

Bai Shaoliu had nothing to hide from her. Her kindness toward him was no less than Shen Lian’s. He replied, “Mr. Shen asked me to ponder why water flows.”

Hearing this, Zhou Ling asked, “Which Mr. Shen?”

“The one from the ‘Living Dead’ clinic down the street.”

“You mean that kid made you think about this? Then just take the answer I gave you and tell him,” the landlady said with a half-smile.

Bai Shaoliu knew the answer couldn’t be that simple, but her words carried an irresistible force. Almost involuntarily, he obeyed and went to the ‘Living Dead’ clinic.

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Shen Lian sat beside Ruo Xi, watching her practice calligraphy.

The character ‘Yong’ (eternity) that Ruo Xi wrote had, at first glance, no discernible difference from Shen Lian’s version. Even the spirit of the character seemed almost identical, but on closer inspection, there was a subtle difference.

Shen Lian’s ‘Yong’ seemed alive, as if it were moving, while Ruo Xi’s lacked some vitality.

Bai Shaoliu glanced sideways at Ruo Xi’s practice, then repeated the landlady’s explanation.

Shen Lian listened patiently before calmly asking, “You said water flows naturally from high to low. Then tell me, why doesn’t it flow from low to high?”

Bai Shaoliu was taken aback. He knew the answer was trivial, but he hadn’t thought of this point.

Shen Lian used this question to dismiss him, thinking to himself: if you can figure this out, you’d have to be hit on the head by an apple.

In truth, he wasn’t expecting Bai Shaoliu to grasp the reason why water flows from high to low; the boy’s stubborn nature left him unable to think flexibly. Only by stepping out of this dead end would enlightenment come.

Ruo Xi said, “Brother, I know why you asked him to think about why water flows, and how it relates to the Flowing Water Sword Technique.”

Shen Lian smiled, rubbing her head. “How do you know?”

Ruo Xi answered, “Water is water because it flows. Flowing water never stops, so the sword technique must never stop either. Once you know how to make it flow endlessly like water, it becomes the Flowing Water Sword Technique.”

The power of flowing water is boundless. Even if dams are built, they can only hold it back temporarily. Eventually, it will break through, no longer a trickling stream but a raging flood, capable of destroying everything.

Shen Lian sighed softly, “You’re far too clever.”

For a child to understand this at any time or place is rare, but Shen Lian wasn’t sure if this was a blessing or a curse.

At Ruo Xi’s age, Shen Lian himself probably preferred playing in the mud.

Ruo Xi’s brilliance was partly due to his teaching but also owed much to her innate talent.

Shen Lian thought of the phrase ‘pulling up seedlings to help them grow’ and wondered if what he had done was right—he was uncertain.

Ruo Xi, of course, couldn’t hear the subtle sigh or understand its meaning; she only wondered if she had upset her brother.

Bai Shaoliu returned to “Fortune Overflowing Tower,” the landlady’s tavern.

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The landlady asked him what Shen Lian had said. Bai Shaoliu didn’t quite understand why she, usually only interested in money, suddenly seemed so troubled.

Could it be that she fancied Mr. Shen? He knew that although Shen Lian looked young, he might be in his forties or fifties. He had heard that once one’s martial skill reached a certain level, one could maintain a youthful appearance and even reverse aging.

Though the landlady was beautiful, women inevitably age, and Shen Lian was no ordinary man.

Pursing her sensuous red lips, a flicker of doubt passed through her eyes before dawning realization. She glanced at Bai Shaoliu and said, “If he asks you to think, then think. When you feel you’ll never understand, come to find him again.”

Bai Shaoliu nodded, then heard her say, “And don’t forget to wash the pots and pans for me. I’m going to bathe and sleep. This damned weather makes me want to die from the heat.”

Hearing this, Bai Shaoliu’s face flushed. Then he suddenly realized something: he had never seen the landlady sweat. Even here by the water, where it wasn’t especially hot, ordinary people would sweat easily.

From this, he realized the landlady was unusual.

Everyone has their secrets. The landlady never asked about his, and he was not curious about hers. Besides, he should have known from the start—would an ordinary woman risk saving a stranger covered in blood? No matter how kind-hearted, she wouldn’t be so bold.

The landlady loved bathing; soaking in clean, hot water was her greatest pleasure.

She also liked a saying: “People can dirty the water, but water does not soil people; it flows onward, pure and unsullied.”

When she thought of this phrase, she suddenly heard someone speak it—not herself, but another voice.

Another person appeared in the room, and when those words were spoken by her, they sounded as soft as evening rain and morning clouds.

Naturally, it was none other than Chao Xiaoyu, her pure and ethereal presence unmistakable.

Chao Xiaoyu still wore white, or rather, was draped in pure white silk. If accompanied by some celestial music, she would have looked like a fairy descending to the mortal world.

The landlady’s eyes flickered with a complex emotion upon seeing her, then she said, “I never thought in this lifetime you would come looking for me again.”

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ps: Thanks to Dao De for the reward of 788, to the ferryman of the bitter sea for 588, and to Wu Shui’s Yangtze River for 588.