Martial Cultivator

The old man, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly asked, “This old man also has a question. When people first set out to do something, they must have thought about what they would accomplish in the future, and what kind of person they wanted to become. Each of us say one? This old man will go first. When I first learned to brew tea, I wanted to become the one person in this world whom later generations could not avoid mentioning whenever they spoke of brewing tea.”

The scholar seemed to have caught some interest as well, and followed up, saying, “Then I’ll say mine too. Back then, when I studied, I only thought of changing the world, making it a better place.”

Back then there was boundless ambition; later, that same world wounded the heart beyond repair.

Chen Chao asked curiously, “Isn’t that more or less the same as those four sentences of Mister Zhang?”

The scholar laughed and said, “More or less, more or less.”

After saying this, the scholar and the old man both looked at Chen Chao, seemingly eager to know why this young martial artist had begun his cultivation in the first place.

The young martial artist, however, gave an answer that was both laughable and touching: “I started cultivating only to seek revenge and protect my life.”

But the scholar and the old man didn’t feel disappointed at this answer; on the contrary, they smiled with a sense of relief. The answer was honest.

The young martial artist quickly added, “Later, my cultivation was to accomplish something.”

The scholar asked curiously, “Accomplish something?”

Chen Chao took a deep breath and smiled, “At first, it was to prevent martial artists from being looked down upon, and then to allow the common people to live with dignity. Of course, I also wanted to do something for the girl I like. But these two things are roughly the same, they don’t actually conflict.”

The scholar said sincerely, “This is truly a step-by-step process, from nothing to something, progressive and methodical. From this, it’s clear that sir’s martial cultivation must have been built very solidly from the foundation up.”

Chen Chao laughed heartily. “You flatter me.”

The old man said softly, “Drinking tea at this moment isn’t really appropriate. It’s a pity I don’t have any wine here.”

“No matter, talking happily is already a good thing.”

The scholar said, “Though these words are indeed suitable for drinking along with wine.”

Chen Chao asked, “I do have some wine, though it’s not very fine. If you and the old shopkeeper don’t mind, shall I bring it out so we can have some together?”

The scholar said, “Certainly.”

The old man clicked his tongue and smiled, “Alright, this old man hasn’t had wine in many, many years. Drinking some now will probably have its own taste.”

Since both of them agreed, Chen Chao brought out the wine, giving each a jar. He didn’t bother with wine vessels and simply intended to drink straight from the jar.

The scholar seemed to notice something and smiled, “Without proper vessels... why not let the old shopkeeper take out some tea bowls to use?”

Chen Chao hesitated. Though he didn’t fully understand the etiquette in tea preparation, he knew well enough that using tea bowls as wine cups was inappropriate.

But the old man seemed entirely unconcerned. He tossed out a few tea bowls, poured a large bowl of wine for himself, and drank heartily, nodding in satisfaction.

“Years ago, watching Old Yue drink wine, it didn’t seem to have any flavor. But now, somehow, it tastes a bit better. If only I had learned from Old Yue back then how to brew wine. That punk’s skill isn’t something ordinary people can match.”

Drinking, the old man thought of an old friend and felt even more sorrowful.

Old Yue seemed to have passed away many years ago.

Recalling their last meeting, the old man remembered how he and his old friend had argued endlessly over wine and tea, and in the end, neither had yielded an inch.

One drank wine, the other drank tea.

If they could do it over again, they would have just both drunk wine.

Just yield a bit, they were friends either way. After all, it was their final meeting.

Thinking of this, the old man’s eyes glimmered with tears. Some things seemed ordinary at the time, but later, they filled him with regret.

Who would have expected that what seemed like an ordinary meeting would turn out to be the last one?

The scholar looked at the old man, sensing the change in his emotions, and sighed, though he truly did not know what to say.

Back then, the three of them were truly very good friends.

So the young scholar also drank quite a bit, and didn’t try to fight off the drunkenness. He simply let himself get completely drunk, gulp by gulp, pot after pot.

After drinking so much, he began talking more. The young scholar murmured, “Heaven is the progenitor of all things; all things are the children of Heaven.”

“The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is life; the great treasure of a sage is position.”

He chattered on endlessly, without any sense of fatigue.

Chen Chao also reeked of alcohol, but he picked up a fruit, peeled it, and chewed slowly. The old man chuckled and said, “Eating that with alcohol... well, that’s a novelty.”

Chen Chao simply smiled in acknowledgment; by this point, he no longer felt like talking.

The old man smiled gently and said, “Young man, a capable body should be well preserved. Don’t constantly think of throwing your life away in fights. Living is important, because only when you’re alive can you act at critical moments to do the things you want and need to do.”

Chen Chao suddenly asked, “Senior, your tea isn’t ordinary, is it?”

By now, the old man didn’t hold back. He smiled straightforwardly. “Of course it’s not ordinary. That tea is called‘Bittersweet.’ Its taste is ordinary, but it has some effect on healing injuries. Your wounds are serious; it looks like you first suffered a near-fatal battle, then someone intervened to treat you, so your foundation wasn’t damaged, though you weren’t fully healed. Don’t underestimate such injuries, they’re like dripping water wearing through stone. If you’re careless, they can bring endless trouble later.”

Chen Chao nodded; he had sensed as much earlier.

The old man smiled. “But now it’s fine. Your injuries are cleared; you don’t need to worry about them anymore.”

Chen Chao expressed his gratitude. “Thank you, Senior.”

This man was extraordinary, and naturally, the young scholar was extraordinary as well. But traversing the world, encountering many unusual people and things, one need only know, not pry to the very bottom.

But the old man seemed invigorated by the wine. Curious, he asked, “In your life, how many demons have you killed?”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and gave an honest answer: “I can’t really count.”

The old man nodded with a smile, then asked another question: “And how many great demons?”

Chen Chao considered carefully, a bit uncertain: “About ten or so?”

The old man clapped his hands and laughed. “Not bad at all. A promising youth, impressive.”

Since the other asked about this, Chen Chao followed up: “And that set of tea utensils?”

The old man replied solemnly, “It wasn’t gifted by some emperor.”

Chen Chao gave a small nod, feeling a mix of disappointment and relief.

The old man merely smiled. That emperor would naturally not part with the tea set he regarded as a treasure. That set was later retrieved personally from the imperial tomb.

But the record was genuine; it wasn’t inside the tomb itself, but outside. The emperor had left it as a trick for the world, so no one would covet it.

Still, it became a symbolic item. The old man didn’t care much. If the emperor says so, he could just help cover it up; it wasn’t a big deal.

Moreover, that set of tea utensils would be a waste in your hands. Good things should end up with the right people.

This principle doesn’t need much explanation.

The old man glanced at the young scholar over there. The scholar, who didn’t use cultivation to suppress his drunkenness, was already fast asleep. It was unclear whether this was intentional or not.

The old man chuckled, “If there’s nothing else I can help with, and I don’t have that ability anyway, but if one day you happen to pass by this area, you can come in and drink tea, it will be free.”

Chen Chao frowned. “How can that do?”

The old man thought for a moment and nodded. “You’re right. My tea isn’t cheap. To say it has a price but no market would be an insult to it. How about this: in the future, for every great demon you kill, consider it payment for a cup of tea.”

Chen Chao smiled but said nothing.

The old man spoke softly, “Back then, this old man had a friend who brewed excellent wine, but he died at the hands of the demon race. You could say this is my way of avenging him.”

One might have heard of hiring assassins, but it was rare to hear of using tea as payment for a great demon’s life.

The old man rubbed his cheeks and whispered, “It’s a pity he’s gone. Otherwise, after tasting the wine he brewed, you’d find no other wine in the world has any flavor.”

Chen Chao nodded, gaining a rough understanding of this “Old Yue,” though he still couldn’t confirm.

He glanced at the young scholar. By now, he had some guesses about the scholar’s identity.

The old man saw what Chen Chao was thinking and shook his head. “That unfeeling fellow is stubborn as an ox.”

”By the way, you can call him Cao Zhong, which means ’layered mountains and verdant peaks,’ not ’national treasure.’”

Chen Chao understood and nodded.

Finally, the old man laughed heartily. “I find you really agreeable. It’s a shame that this old man has lived my life alone and never thought about taking a wife. If this old man had a daughter now, I’d probably consider marrying her to you. We’d make father-in-law and son-in-law, that would be a fine thing.”

This was truly the old man’s honest thought.

But the young man, who had drunk quite a lot and was already somewhat tipsy, asked in surprise, “If you really had a daughter, wouldn’t she be too old by now?”

The old man was taken aback and rolled his eyes. Good riddance, this punk is being picky. Does he not know how handsome and spirited this old man was in my youth? My daughter wouldn’t be any less!

Besides, only a boy like you would care about young girls. Any man with experience knows that an older woman has far more appeal!

The old man shook his head, thinking this boy was surely a novice, otherwise he wouldn’t be so clueless.

He took a sip of wine and looked at Chen Chao, half-smiling, half-serious. “You’re just a spring chicken, huh?” [means virgin]