Martial Cultivator

Faced with the inquiry from the Xie Family's ancestor, Chen Chao remained silent for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry."

With just these two words, he had already expressed his attitude. Although the Xie Family had helped him a lot, if one day Xie Nandu made a decision, he might not necessarily stop her. So, the failsafe that the Xie Family's ancestor planned might not activate when the time comes.

The old man looked at Chen Chao for a long time before slowly saying, "After planting the seeds, it's not guaranteed that you'll always see the harvest. If you don't like how things are going halfway through, you might just uproot them and throw them away."

"Then wouldn't senior's earlier efforts have been in vain? Would there be any benefit of doing this?" Chen Chao looked at the old man, speaking slowly and firmly, one word at a time.

The old man chuckled, "With a big family and a big business, some things can be discarded at the drop of a hat without regret. After all, there are still many good things left."

Chen Chao fell silent.

The old man was not in a hurry to speak, just looking at Chen Chao, as if he was looking at the crops in his own field.

Chen Chao suddenly lamented, "If one day she doesn't turn out like how you guys imagine, will she be discarded too?"

The old man did not evade the question, he just slowly said, "No one is above the Xie Family."

Chen Chao shook his head, "No way."

The old man suddenly laughed when he heard this sentence, his smile containing a hint of disdain, but more than anything, he just found it simply amusing. "What do you think you can do?"

Chen Chao did not answer, only repeating again, "No way."

No way, why no way? It just meant that he could not do it.

The old man felt a bit of a headache and said, "Why are youngsters like you always a little conceited, thinking that you can achieve anything in the world if you want?"

Chen Chao chuckled at hearing this and said, "Probably because we're young."

It was originally a very ordinary sentence, but after hearing it, the old man fell silent, as if this sentence had a lot of meaning, allowing him to ponder over it for a long time.

The old man pulled out a chair from behind the door and sat down slowly, feeling a bit melancholic. "I'm getting old after all."

Suddenly, Chen Chao asked a question unrelated to the topic, "How long have you lived, Senior?"

"How long?" "I can't quite remember. I only remember that the year I became a court official, Emperor Lingzong was just born. At that time, Emperor Taizong was overjoyed, so the entire Divine Capital was celebrating. Every household hung red lanterns, and the people of the Divine Capital thought that Emperor Lingzong was the eldest son of Emperor Taizong, which was why Emperor Taizong was so happy. But later, people learned that since the day Emperor Lingzong was born, it was destined that he would become the Emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty in the future. He did not experience any struggles among the princes. That throne seemed to have been prepared for him since birth."

"After Emperor Taizong passed away, he ascended the throne. However, looking back now, the decisions of Emperor Taizong were indeed correct. At least during the reign of Emperor Lingzong, the entire Great Liang prospered, and the national strength grew day by day. However, at that time, I had lost interest in being a court official. Before I resigned from my official position, I met a guy once. He was already quite famous at the time, but he was just a chatterbox. He liked to ramble on after drinking too much. I listened to him talk all night, feeling somewhat strange. After that, I never saw him again. Oh yes, I guess I won't be able to see him again in the future. That guy has already passed away."

Chen Chao was taken aback and asked, "Who was that person?"

The old man replied calmly, "Xiao Hezheng."

These three words were actually somewhat unfamiliar to the Great Liang. The words that were more well-known were "Great General."

Chen Chao fell silent, and then inevitably, a sense of sadness welled up in his eyes. He had originally thought that the Great General would live for at least another year or so after leaving the Divine Capital, to enjoy the last moments of his life. But he had not expected that the Great General had already passed away at this time.

Since these were words spoken by this Xie Family's ancestor, Chen Chao would not doubt them, because the Xie Family could not possibly be unaware of these matters.

The old man said, "Returning to his hometown alone, that guy was quite carefree. How many people can do that?"

The old man continued, "I'm indeed old, and I can't live much longer either."

The old man said softly, "That girl is too radical, many things about her are unpredictable. You should know what I'm talking about."

Chen Chao shook his head.

There was a hint of anger on the old man's face as he said softly, "Do you really not want to live?"

Chen Chao said, "I just believe that senior won't choose to kill me so easily."

"The reason?"

The old man was absorbed in thought.

Chen Chao shook his head.

There was no need to give a reason. At least, there was no need to say it now.

The old man said, "You do indeed resemble the late Crown Prince in some ways."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ancestral hall became much quieter. Chen Chao looked at the old man in front of him in silence. The emotions in his eyes dissipated very quickly, like a calm well without any ripples.

His identity was indeed no longer a secret in the eyes of these big shots.

The old man chuckled, "This old man doesn't have much time left, but you are still very young."

Suddenly, Chen Chao said, "Senior, this junior will be taking my leave."

The old man did not mind and simply asked, "Are you unwilling to choose, or do you not want to tell me?"

Chen Chao did not say anything and turned to leave.

Watching his back view, the old man sighed, "Do you really think that the Xie Family is a place where you can come and go as you please?"

Sure enough, just as Chen Chao was about to step out of the ancestral hall, an invisible qi completely sealed the door in front of him. Chen Chao could not see it, but he could clearly feel it. His saber at his waist was unsheathed in an instant, and then a slash was sent out. However, only some ripples appeared in front of him, and then everything returned to calmness.

The old man sat calmly in his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Since he could become the head of the Xie Family, how could he possibly be an ordinary old man?

Chen Chao gripped his saber and said, "The Divine Capital is truly a place where dragons and tigers lurk."

The old man chuckled, "If the world could be seen through at a glance by a young man like you, what would be the point?"

Chen Chao returned his saber to its sheath without saying a word. The old man praised, "It's a fine saber, but it's a pity it's broken."

"Sword Qi Mountain is mostly inhabited by old relics. Even if you have some connections, they may not necessarily help you reforge the saber in your hand. However, there seems to be a weirdo who should be interested in what you have. I even suspect that this broken saber might have been forged by him back then. It's just that who knows whether he's still alive or not."

People like this old man who had lived long enough and stood high enough, naturally knew a lot of things.

Chen Chao was just about to speak, but after some thought, he decided to hold it in.

The old man smiled, "The more you receive from the Xie Family, the greater the favor you owe too. When the time comes, if you just stand by and do nothing, you might feel guilty, won't you?"

The old man waved his hand, dispersing the invisible force, and said, "Go on."

Chen Chao thought for a moment, bowed slightly, then turned and left.

Watching the back view of this young man, the old man slowly stood up, and walked out of the ancestral hall. Looking at his old companion sitting in the chair, he asked, "How is he?"

Only then, did the old man open his eyes and let out a sigh, "Your probing is really troublesome in my opinion."

The old man just gave a self-deprecating smile when he heard him, "Haven't I been dealing with one problem after another all these years?"

"It's been hard on you." The old man shook his head and said softly, "Who else knows that you were once a scholar?"

……

……

Walking out of that long corridor, it was still that same steward who was waiting for Chen Chao. He smiled at the young man in front of him and said, "Please come with me, Commander Chen."

Chen Chao nodded.

Following the steward, he soon walked out of the Xie Family and arrived at the side gate. They boarded the waiting carriage and slowly departed.

Returning once again to the courtyard from earlier the carriage gradually came to a stop. Chen Chao stepped out, but the steward handed him something.

Chen Chao glanced at it and shook his head.

The steward smiled and said, "The Ancestor said, sometimes it's okay to be a bit greedy. As for the future, no one knows what it holds. But if you cower in fear because of the future, it'll be troublesome too."

After some thought, Chen Chao still shook his head.

The steward did not insist, took back the item, and then turned to leave.

Watching the departing carriage, Chen Chao muttered to himself, "I'm freaking regretting it now!"

……

……

In the twilight, Chen Chao walked into the small courtyard by the South Lake, holding a bag of preserved fruits.

The pale-faced Xie Nandu stood under the eaves reading a book on military strategy. Books like this were everywhere in the academy, and the library housed a vast and diverse collection. The military book Xie Nandu was currently perusing was written by a famous general during the reign of Emperor Taizong. This general had been physically weak and his cultivation realm had always been low, so he had never held the position of Great General of the Northern Frontier. However, he had spent his entire life in the Northern Frontier, providing strategic counsel to successive generations of Great Generals and contributing significantly to the achievements of the Great Liang Dynasty. He eventually passed away in the Northern Frontier and his portrait was enshrined in the palace's forbidden grounds by Emperor Taizong. It was said that he was a renowned general of his generation, and this was undoubtedly true.

Chen Chao glanced at Xie Nandu and then handed a large bag of preserved fruits to Liu Ye who was next to her. He then sat down straightforwardly and said, "I'm leaving."

Xie Nandu kept her head down, reading the book without lifting her gaze. But when she heard this, she coincidentally turned a page.

Chen Chao did not mind whether she acknowledged him or not, he just continued on his own, "Your injury hasn't fully healed yet, but you should be safe in the academy. No one dares to bully you here, so I can rest assured."

Chen Chao spat out a turbid breath and said softly, "I don't know when I'll be able to return."

Xie Nandu replied, "As long as you can come back, it's fine."

Chen Chao suddenly said, "You looked much prettier the last time I came back. Is it going to be the same this time?"

Xie Nandu shook her head, "I'll be uglier."

Chen Chao shook his head and said with a smile, "No way. Unless you lose your mind and slash your own face a couple of times."

Xie Nandu said softly, "I'm not stupid."

Chen Chao looked at this young girl's side profile. After looking for a long time, he said softly, "Why do I feel that you're pretty dumb."

Xie Nandu ignored him, but she raised her head. Looking at the sky, she said softly, "Spring thunder startles a hundred bugs."

Chen Chao subconsciously said, "Waking from hibernation."