Chapter 35

"Kan, little Kan!"

Huang Laoliu, who had been slumped in a wooden chair, jumped up and darted in front of Han Manye, his eyes wide as he sized him up and down.

He reached out to pat Han Manye's shoulder and arm, then punched his chest a few times.

"Haha, you little brat, you didn't die!"

"Really didn't die!"

"I was so sad a few times, thinking you were gone!"

Huang Laoliu's weathered face showed joy, and his eyes were a bit moist.

Han Manye also had a smile on his face.

Huang Laoliu seemed to think of something, grinned, and opened a small wooden box, dumping out its contents and counting them one by one.

"Here, these are the pills I'm returning to you."

"And this, these are the spirit stones I collected over the past few days. This portion is for you."

"This is the spirit medicine that the White Shopkeeper sent you."

"This is a letter from that girl Mu Wan."

"This is a token from Inner Sect's Zhao Pu."

...

There were quite a few items, scattered but not few.

Han Manye looked at the pile of items on the table and asked with a smile, "Six Brother, why did you put all these things in this box? What were you planning to do?"

"Burial."

"If you didn't come back, I was going to bury these things and set up a cenotaph for you."

Huang Laoliu turned his head and said solemnly.

Cenotaph...

Han Manye's face twitched.

"Han Manye, come up and see me."

Just as he was about to speak, an elderly voice came from the Sword Pavilion above.

Han Manye's whole body trembled.

This was the voice of the Sword Pavilion elder.

Huang Laoliu and Han Manye exchanged glances.

Huang Laoliu gestured toward the stairs.

Han Manye nodded, placed his sword and Ziyi Qingming on the table, tidied his clothes, and strode up the stairs.

On the second floor, he glanced at the wooden racks holding the long swords, took a deep breath, and continued to the third floor.

The third floor was only about two zhang square, with no wooden racks for swords. The windows were open, letting in bright light.

The Sword Pavilion elder, dressed in a white robe, was sitting cross-legged in front, with a black sheathed long sword on the long table behind him.

"Disciple Han Manye, I pay my respects to the Sword Pavilion elder."

Han Manye bowed and clasped his fists in greeting.

The white-haired Sword Pavilion elder nodded, his gaze scanning over him.

"How did you resolve the crisis of your lifespan?"

Han Manye knew that the issue of his lifespan would certainly be asked about, and he had been thinking about it on the way.

Not just himself, but Huang Laoliu and the Sword Pavilion elder would surely have concerns about the depletion of their lifespans.

The Sword Pavilion observers could not escape this fate.

"In response to the elder, this time I returned home with the first person of the Outer Sect, Mo Yuan. Thanks to his guidance, I dispersed my sword qi, and for the next few years, there will be no crisis of my lifespan," Han Manye replied clearly.

"Dispersed your sword qi?" The Sword Pavilion elder focused his gaze on Han Manye and then nodded.

At this moment, Han Manye's qi sea contained only solidified sword intent, and outsiders could not perceive the presence of dispersed sword qi.

Even a high-ranking figure like the Sword Pavilion elder did not detect any abnormality.

"Then, what do you plan to do in the future?" the Sword Pavilion elder asked again.

Han Manye looked up at the calm-faced Sword Pavilion elder.

He didn't expect the elder to speak so much to him and ask about his future plans.

Didn't this old man not care about his life and death?

But he still answered truthfully, "In response to the elder, I plan to cultivate both my spirit and body, striving to strengthen my physical body to withstand the invasion of sword qi."

This was what Mo Yuan had told him, the most suitable cultivation method for him.

The Sword Pavilion elder nodded and then said indifferently, "The path of cultivation is different for each person."

"If you can't withstand the invasion of sword qi, then your destiny has run its course."

"Since you have withstood it, then you have a connection with the Sword Pavilion."

As he spoke, he looked at Han Manye and lowered his voice, "In the future, come to see me on the first and fifteenth of each month after the pavilion is closed."

Come to see after the pavilion is closed?

Han Manye instantly thought of the story of Patriarch Bodhi teaching Sun Wukong the seventy-two transformations.

Was this really his destiny, to be favored by the Sword Pavilion elder?

"Disciple understands."

Han Manye nodded, bowed to the Sword Pavilion elder, and then left the third floor.

As he walked down the stairs, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the black long sword behind the Sword Pavilion elder.

Was this the Nine Profound Sword that suppressed the fortune of the Nine Profound Sword Sect?

Why did this sword look exactly like the Xuanyang Sword?

Han Manye had never seen this sword, but he had seen it a few times in Qin Yuanhe's sword memory.

Qin Yuanhe was on a sect mission to find a black sheathed long sword named Xuanyang.

Xuanyang, Nine Profound, was there some connection between them?

Shaking his head, Han Manye didn't think about it further.

Let the big shots worry about it. He would enjoy his life in the Sword Pavilion, slowly nurturing his sword qi. Wasn't that a good life?

When he came downstairs, Huang Laoliu put all the items back into the wooden box and handed it to Han Manye.

"Six Brother, the Sword Pavilion elder—"

Before Han Manye could finish his sentence, Huang Laoliu raised his hand and said, "Don't tell me about this matter."

Then he grinned, patted Han Manye's shoulder, and whispered, "Little Kan, I've been in the Sword Pavilion for seven years. In three more years, I'll be a sect steward."

Hearing this, Han Manye also smiled.

He had been worrying too much. The Sword Pavilion elder said that everyone has their own destiny.

Huang Laoliu also has his own destiny.

If he could live in the Sword Pavilion for seven years, why should he worry about him?

"Six Brother, do you still have any wine?" Han Manye asked with a smile.

Huang Laoliu chuckled, turned around, and took out a large gourd, shaking it. "There's still half a gourd left."

Han Manye reached out to take the gourd, uncorked it, and brought it to his nose to smell.

Spicy, fragrant.

The wine was cool and fiery as it went down his throat, spreading a warm heat through his body.

"Whoa—"

"Refreshing..."

Just as he was about to take another sip, Huang Laoliu snatched the gourd and took a small sip himself, then sealed it with a pained expression.

"This wine is expensive."

Han Manye smiled and shook his head, opened the wooden box, took out the pills, and handed them to Huang Laoliu.

"Six Brother, these pills I made myself."

"In the future, we won't lack for these things."

Even after Han Manye returned to his room with the wooden box, Huang Laoliu, holding the jade bottle, was still in a daze.

He looked at the pills in his hand, then at the room.

Seemingly thinking of something, he took out a few spirit stones from his pocket.

He rubbed the spirit stones in his palm, his face showing a complex expression.

"Brat, you're the real tycoon..."

"Well, from now on, I, Huang Laoliu, will have a golden leg to lean on."

As he spoke, he shook his head, took the jade bottle, and walked back with the wine gourd.

——————

In the room, Han Manye took out the various items from the wooden box.

Five spirit stones, which Huang Laoliu had collected from the sword disciples over the past few days.

When Han Manye left Qingmu Town, he had left two high-grade spirit stones with Mo Yuan.

Being able to refine supreme-grade pills, he no longer had to worry about spirit stones.

But he still accepted the five spirit stones, as they were a token of Huang Laoliu's heart.

In the wooden box, there were also two medicine packets, with the names of the medicines written on them.

"Mingyuan Bone, Zhuan Sui Fruit?"

Han Manye was slightly taken aback.