Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Qinghai Fisherman
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Qinghai was truly like a blue ocean.
Leaving Gansu Province, blanketed in yellow sand, and arriving in Qinghai Province, one unexpectedly found vast, beautiful grasslands stretching endlessly.
And at the center of those expansive grasslands lay a massive lake named Qinghai.
It stretched so endlessly that the horizon was visible, and its waters were so clear they remained transparent like glass even at depths of over ten zhang.
However, precisely because the water was so pure, there were no scenes of fish schooling in groups, making it a harsh place for fishermen to eke out a living.
Still, small dugout canoes angling for side dishes in idle pastime could occasionally be seen.
“Whoa. This one’s a fine specimen. Heh heh.”
An old man of indeterminable age sat on a small dugout canoe, reeling in a heavily bent fishing rod.
He wore a bamboo rain hat, but it was so threadbare that his gray, tangled hair stuck out in tufts like loofah fibers. The clothes he had on were frayed and tattered in places, on the verge of falling apart.
Yet the forearms clutching the bent rod gleamed with a bronzed sheen, utterly unlike those of an old man.
The old man soon hauled up a single crucian carp with vigorous force.
Slightly over three chi in length, it was a behemoth weighing up to ten jin.
When he placed the massive fish aboard the dugout, it thrashed wildly, rocking the little boat.
The old man raised an oar and smashed down on the fish’s head.
Then he slowly rowed toward the lakeshore.
“Guests have come. No wonder my dreams were so restless last night…”
From the lakeshore, the old man’s thatched hut was visible in the distance, with three horses nearby.
As the old man reached the shore, tied up the boat, and unloaded the fish, they approached.
All had long swords slung across their backs, clad in gray bamboo hats and gray fluttering cloaks.
“Fortunate indeed that guests have arrived. It’s been ages since I caught such a fine one today. I’ll soon gut and boil it, so kindly wait just a bit.”
The old man ran a reed stalk through the fish’s gills, slung it over his shoulder, and stepped ashore.
The three sturdy men simultaneously doffed their hats, knelt right there, clasped their hands together, and bowed in greeting.
“As joyful as reuniting with our parents. Your disciples pay respects to the Supreme Elder.”
Their collars bore an embroidered motif of roaring flames in red thread.
“Enough—rise, all of you. Have a bowl of rice each before you go. Only, it’s been ages since I quit the drink, so there’s not a drop of liquor—my apologies.”
The old man carried the fish straight into the kitchen of his thatched hut.
The three rose and stood motionless in the yard, awaiting the old man.
It was only after a good long while that a modest table was laid out in the hut’s yard.
The massive head had been braised in soy sauce, while the body’s flesh was clear-steamed and doused with soy sauce and boiling oil.
Only after ladling four bowls of coarse rice—more than half millet and beans—did the old man take his seat.
“Took quite a while, didn’t it? You must be famished—dig in.”
But the three men did not stir.
“We’ve come to escort you. Please grant your disciples’ wish.”
The skinniest and tallest among them spoke up.
The old man made no sign of having heard, simply picking up his rice bowl and beginning to pick at the fish flesh with his chopsticks.
“It’s been sixty years already. Will you truly bury your bones in this lake as is, Elder?”
The shortest but most aged-looking man pressed again.
“Ke ke… you lot. It was before any of you were even born. What do you know, yapping on like that?”
“The Cult Leader’s message: the time has now come. And the order to bring you…”
“Pah! Can’t you see an elder eating? You’ll ruin my digestion, you whelps. Eat your rice first, then hash it out—always hated narrow-minded types like you.”
At the old man’s shout, the men fell silent once more and waited.
The old man chewed his rice slowly.
Only after a long while did he set down his rice bowl and chopsticks.
The fish remained untouched. The rice in his bowl had barely diminished.
“Since you’ve come all this way, it seems the cult’s affairs have more or less been settled.”
“Indeed. Under the Cult Leader’s guidance, all the faithful within the cult dwell in peace.”
“Heh heh… yes, I suppose so. Then why seek out this useless old codger?”
“Isn’t it only natural for the Cult Leader to receive the Elder?”
“What you wish to receive isn’t me, but the item I possess. Heh heh… trouble is, I don’t have that item anymore. Go back and tell him that.”
The old man spoke as if chewing each grain of rice.
“The Leader said nothing of any item—only to bring the Elder. Come with us now. We’ll see you there in comfort.”
“Heh heh. You lot. This place is the most comfortable in the world to me—the most peaceful time in my century of life.”
“Will you force us to commit irreverence? Please, spare us that alone.”
The shortest man spoke in a pleading tone.
“Hmm… three of the Seven Divine Wood Messengers have come here, so I suppose I ought to give you a proper send-off.”
“How could we dare lay hands on the Elder? Thus, please accompany us to the headquarters.”
“Hmph. Fine words. If you were just here to pay respects and leave, why the fuss…”
Then, astonishingly, dozens of figures rose one after another from the clear blue waters of the lakeshore and walked out.
Each wore form-fitting blue diving suits, armed with harpoons, pronged forks, and the like.
The apparent leader among those emerging from the water stepped forward.
“The Qinghai Dragon King, Eo Deukgo, humbly pays respects to the Supreme Elder.”
The old man now rose, hands clasped behind his back, and stepped forward.
“Yes. It’s been a long time.”
In an instant, the guise of the aged fisherman vanished, replaced by the aura of a grand master who had once presided over the world’s great affairs.
“So it was your doing. And here I thought I’d hidden my presence well.”
“The lamp’s oil was far too dim. We scoured the Central Plains for over twenty years, yet the Elder was right here, fishing…”
Among the three men, the shortest—the eldest of the Seven Divine Wood Messengers, Gu Daejong—stepped forward in answer.
“Yes. Where else would I go if I left? Away from Qinghai’s blue grasslands and blue waters…”
The old man murmured to himself in a wistful voice.
“The sun will set soon. If we depart before it’s too late, we should reach headquarters by tonight…”
As Gu Daejong urged once more, the old man seemed resolved, raising one hand.
“Very well. You’ve come prepared, no doubt. No more words needed.”
At this, the three Divine Wood Messengers arrayed themselves in a pin formation around the old man, while the dozens from the water encircled them from without.
“I’ve no desire to stain my hands with the blood of fellow disciples. Just injure yourselves lightly and be on your way. Sever or break a limb each— that should suffice.”
“How could we deceive the Cult Leader? We’ll offer what devotion we can, meager as it is.”
Gu Daejong replied in a low voice and gestured.
Then one Divine Wood Messenger, backed by nine experts from the water, formed up in array.
One at the apex, followed by two, three, four in sequence, forming triangles—three such triangles in all.
“Heh heh… it’s been ages since I’ve seen our cult’s North Heaven Triad Formation. Watching my disciples’ progress after so long won’t be so bad. Don’t hold back for this old man’s sake—come on.”
“Forgive our irreverence.”
As Gu Daejong finally drew the long sword from his back, all the experts in the formation drew their own weapons.
The assault from the three Divine Wood Messengers at the triangle apexes began at once.
The old man met their long swords bare-handed.
Astonishingly, a blue sword aura shimmered around both his hands.
Now the red glow of sunset began to spread hypnotically across the western edge of Qinghai Lake.
Three streaks of blue sword qi pierced toward the old man’s vital points, met by two fists likewise infused with blue energy.
The nine arrayed behind the three Divine Wood Messengers did not join the fray directly but solely propelled their comrades’ power forward.
The three in pin formation made no grand movements, delivering heavy sword strokes.
Yet the three sword qi streaks they unleashed were exquisitely synchronized, striking simultaneously at upper-mid-lower or left-right-center.
Compounded by the collective force of twenty-seven experts, it pierced sharply into the formation’s heart, shredding the captive’s defenses.
It was an exquisite formation rare in the world, a deadly assault.
But the old man was utterly at ease.
His weapons were not just his two fists.
Both elbows, both knees, and both feet—all were weapons.
Astonishingly, he met the blue-aura-clad blades with every one of those parts, pressing the close combat.
It was not as if his entire body had achieved diamond indestructibility or that he wielded protective aura over all. A closer look revealed blue energy shimmering precisely where it met the foes’ auras.
But the old man’s defensive responses did not last long.
Within mere dozens of exchanges, a white radiance began to envelop his entire form.
With the sunset now faded and the lakeshore cloaked in early evening gloom, the dazzling white light surging forth seemed no sight of this world.
“Enough.”
As the old man clasped then spread his hands, hundreds of white qi strands exploded outward like arrows.
“Boom!!”
In an instant, the erupting white radiance vanished, leaving the field silent in darkness.
“Cough.”
Gu Daejong lifted his disheveled head and vomited blood.
The remaining two messengers likewise withdrew their forward-clasped hands and spewed blood.
At the moment the white radiance burst, they had reflexively gathered their full power into protective auras.
The long swords in their hands had melted away, leaving only the hilts.
The diving-suited experts positioned behind the three Divine Wood Messengers had all collapsed to the ground, save for the Qinghai Dragon King, Eo Deukgo, who stood tall apart, merely observing.