Chapter 7 - Western Mountain Sword Garden
Qin Yun walked to the entrance of the mansion and took a look. A bald man with a huge beard was waiting at the entrance while holding onto the reins of a horse.
"Brother Yun." The man quickly smiled. His voice was very loud as he gave an excited cry.
Qin Yun widened his eyes and observed carefully. The person had a bald head and a bushy large beard. It was only possible to recognize the key features on his face. "You are Little Bobo? How is that possible? That shy and handsome young man has actually turned into this rough-looking huge man?"
Tian Bo was one of his best friends in his youth and was one year younger than him.
When they were young, Tian Bo was handsome and fair. Moreover, he was extremely shy.
But now, he was… bald? Large bushy beard? Stocky?
"Brother Yun, how can you say that of me?" Tian Bo hurriedly said. "This is too hurtful. Even my heart is aching!"
"Stop the act." Qin Yun joked.
Tian Bo chuckled.
They gave each other a bear hug.
"Brother Yun, it has been a while!" Tian Bo said.
"Indeed, it has." Qin Yun released his good friend and immediately laughed. "However, Little Bobo, I wouldn"t dare say I recognize you with you undergoing such a drastic change in appearance."
"How would I know? My hair began falling at eighteen. It was pointless hoping to prevent it." Tian Bo helplessly rubbed his head. "There was nothing I could do. Both my father and grandfather are bald, so I guess it"s the same for me. Moreover, this beard of mine is also growing at a crazy rate. Nevertheless, I do appear a little domineering, don"t I?"
"Yes, yes you do." Qin Yun laughed.
The playmate from his youth had also grown up!
"Seriously, why didn"t you inform me of your return? I only caught wind of rumors of your return on the street. Our Western Mountain Sword Garden"s Young Master Wufeng has already summoned for everyone to give you a warm welcome at noon today." Tian Bo laughed and said, "As for me, I volunteered to rush here and bring you there."
"A welcoming party?" Qin Yun was startled. "All of you really have good news sources."
"Word spreads quickly." Tian Bo hurriedly replied. "Let"s go. Hurry. There are many old friends waiting for you."
Qin An, who was standing by the door, also laughed and said, "Second Brother, since so many of your friends are waiting for you, make haste and go."
"Alright. Brother, there is no need to wait for me. I"ll probably be back late today." Qin Yun said.
Subsequently, Qin Yun got on a horse that the servants had prepared for him. He rode off with his good friend, Tian Bo.
…
The Western Mountain Sword Garden was located at the foot of the western mountain outside Grand Dominance City.
The duo rode their horses leisurely and chatted on their journey there.
"In my youth. I wanted to roam the world like you but with that little ability of mine, I would turn limp from just seeing a few b.l.o.o.d.y bouts. I decided that it was better I took over the family business. Now, I am in charge of a portion of the food and beverage business that is run by my father." Tian Bo shook his head and said. "By the way, I recently took in a concubine recently. This year, I am being forced by my father to quickly marry a wife."
"You got a concubine before a wife?" Qin Yun was startled.
"There was no choice since she was pregnant." Tian Bo shook his head. "However, my father is rather happy. It"s because the child is a boy."
"You are the only son of tyc.o.o.n Tian. He is simply waiting for you to continue the family line." Qin Yun teased.
As they conversed, they reached a lake at the foot of the western mountain. The lake was calm, appearing like a huge emerald that reflected the western mountain. And on the other end of the lake was a pavilion. One could vaguely make out several figures.
There were some servants waiting at the lakeside. They were waiting eagerly and hurriedly stepped forward to receive the horseback duo.
"Young Master Tian, is this Young Master Qin?" A steward asked enthusiastically. "Follow me quickly. My master and the other young masters are already waiting for you."
Qin Yun and Tian Bo dismounted from their horses and handed the reins of the horses to the waiting servants by the side.
As for the two, they were led onto a tiny boat by the steward.
Although the boat was small, it was elegantly decorated. The boatman was a beautiful young lady. The boat floated over the rippleless lake that resembled an immortal"s paradise.
"I recall that the boatman back then was an old man. Now, he has been replaced by a young lady." Qin Yun sighed.
"Young Master Wufeng is the best when it comes to enjoyment." Tian Bo remarked.
Western Mountain Sword Garden was the property of the first young master of the Li family, Li Wufeng. He enjoyed swordsmans.h.i.+p and had established the "Western Mountain Sword Garden" when he was young. Only those younger than sixteen could join. Qin Yun was only ten back when he was invited to join. Western Mountain Sword Garden was something that Young Master Wufeng had created because he wished to find peers that shared the same interests in swordsmans.h.i.+p as him. However, as the youths grew up, Western Mountain Sword Garden began having some influence in the Grand Dominance City.
There were some youths drinking and chatting heartily under a pavilion on the other side of the lake. They had also noticed the small boat on the other side.
""Hahaha…"
A loud laughter was heard from afar. "The G.o.d of swords is back. The G.o.d of swords is back. Our Sword Garden’s G.o.d of swords is back."
"Make haste! Brother Qin Yun, hurry over. Don"t dilly-dally." Everyone laughed out loud as they urged him.
"Brother Yun, let’s go." Tian Bo immediately took a stride from the small boat and traversed across the water. He flew over the surface of the lake for about two hundred feet before landing on the distant dock.
Qin Yun laughed as well. He too traversed across the water. However, he did not deliberately show off. His paces merely caused ripples to appear on the lake"s surface. There weren"t any splashes while he slowly walked to the dock.
"Brother Yun, long time no see."
"It has been six years. Let’s drink. I was really afraid that you would die outside. You sure are lucky. Finally, you have returned."
The group of young men took a wine jug over and handed it directly to Qin Yun.
Qin Yun received it. He smiled and said, "Alright, alright. Let’s drink."
It was far more relaxing to be with the playmates from his youth.
…
There were more than twenty people gathered as they drank merrily.
"Second Brother, let"s have a compet.i.tion. I lost to you in the previous sword sparring match we had. Let"s compete again."
"Sure. Do you think I"m afraid of you?"
The two of them placed their wine jugs to the side and immediately leaped forward. Over the surface of the water, they began sparring in the scenic mountains covered in greenery.
Instantly, sword beams flashed as the two figures that were sparring above the lake"s surface underwent a myriad of changes.
"Great."
"Second Brother"s technique can only be described as great art that conceals itself. Its disposition is becoming even more extraordinary."
"Phew, what an odd strike. It gave me a fright."
Everyone by the side commented as they drank the wine and watched the battle.
The battle finally came to an end when one party was completely drenched after being sent flying into the lake.
"Brother Ming, let"s also give it a try."
"Let"s spar."
In an instant, people paired up and began sparring with their swords over the waters.
A sword sparring was a common sight at Western Mountain Sword Garden! Back then, Western Mountain Sword Garden had extended many youths an invitation to join it. Anyone who joined had to have certain accomplishments in swordsmans.h.i.+p. That batch of youngsters could be considered a representation of the best swordsmen of Grand Dominance City"s younger generation.
Drinking, chatting, and sword sparring…
Now, with all of them grown up, their lives were shackled under layers of chains. It also led to them preferring to go to Western Mountain Sword Garden. There, they could drink merrily, spar enjoyably and ignore all the mundane matters of life.
Qin Yun also grabbed the wine jug and drank with his good friends. At the same time, they engaged in idle banter.
"Where is Lunatic Zhang? He has always challenged me at sparring in the past. Why don"t I see him here?" Qin Yun asked.
"Lunatic Zhang had spent all of his family"s fortunes to embark on the cultivation path of an immortal. He has even joined the ‘Familial Mountain Sect’. Unfortunately, he failed to knock open the gate of immortality before he turned twenty. He ended up roaming the world…"
"I really admire Lunatic Zhang. When I was young, I was focused on practicing my swordsmans.h.i.+p and also wished to cultivate into an immortal. However, I gradually lost this desire. Sigh, there were no other options. My father is older now. My family clan requires me to support it, so I cannot do as I please anymore."
"Layers after layers of shackles. One cannot be free."
Everyone sighed wistfully.
Everyone present was skillful experts in swordsmans.h.i.+p. Typically, they had reached the seventh stage of Qi Refinement and had some desire towards the path of cultivation.
They were high-spirited in their youths and each of them had their own pursuits.
However, after growing up, they began being shackled by layers of restraint. Moreover, only after reaching the ninth stage of Qi Refinement was one qualified to have a chance at opening the gate of immortality. Among those present, only three or four of them had reached the ninth stage of Qi Refinement. Moreover, attempting to join a cultivation sect was also an extremely difficult matter.
"What about Sister Yuqing?" Qin Yun asked again. She was the only female that was a part of the Western Mountain Sword Garden.
"Her father has been posted to the Southbright Prefecture and she left with him. It will be difficult to see her again in the future."
"I heard that Sister Yuqing is married as well. The other party is the sickly young master of the wealthy "Guihai Family" in Southbright Prefecture."
"The Guihai family is one of the richest clans in the Southbright Prefecture. However, I have also heard about that sickly young master. It is rumored that he is in terrible condition and will unlikely live beyond the next few years."
…
"Why isn"t Brother Luobing here?" Qin Yun asked.
"Luobing is dead. He was returning home with a good friend after visiting from a brothel late at night one day. He was drunk and ended up being murdered. That"s how he lost his life. It"s still a mystery who the murderer is to this day."
Qin Yun was slightly startled.
That proud young man was dead, just like that?
…
"Jiawu is dead as well. There"s even more injustice circling his death. He had encountered a demon while returning from Jia Manor to the city. His entire party was killed."
…
Qin Yun faltered when he heard that.
Some of his good friends from Western Mountain Sword Garden had left their homes while others had already died.
Although the relations.h.i.+ps between the friends of the Sword Garden were not bad, there was a total of forty of them back then. Naturally, there were some who had better or worse relations among the group. They met once every few days. After a couple of years, some of them grew so distant that they did not even talk much with each other. Qin Yun had joined the Western Mountain Sword Garden when he was ten. Back then, his father, Qin Liehu was only an ordinary constable and the group of youths was still extremely unfamiliar with each other. They were more accustomed to considering the background of the other. For a son of an ordinary constable, some of the sons of slightly wealthy merchants had looked down on him.
Qin Yun was a fanatic when it came to sword training. He also had the nickname of "Lunatic Yun". The only ones who were very close to him were "Little Bobo" or Tian Bo, and "Madman" or Xie Lei, who had similar backgrounds as him.
Although a few of his peers had pa.s.sed away, in this era where demons wrecked havoc, death was commonplace. In addition, their friends.h.i.+p was not deep, so all Qin Yun did was let out a sigh.
"By the way, where is Madman? Why didn"t he come?" Qin Yun asked Tian Bo, who was drinking wine by his side. "Is he on an armed escort mission?"