Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 495 - 153 Drinking (2/2)

"Li Bo?"

Wang Anfeng, seeing the elderly man in the courtyard, felt somewhat surprised. He quickened his pace with Zhang Tingyun, reached out to push the door but found that his small courtyard was still firmly locked.

Clearly, the elder had entered through some means forbidden by the Great Qin Ministry of Punishment.

Wang Anfeng, though helpless, had already grown accustomed to this; after all, the key he had provided for Li Bo was never used by the old man. Either he climbed over the wall or banged the door loudly. He then took out the key from his bosom, opened the door, and led the others into the courtyard.

The black bear was still somewhat hesitant, reaching its paw towards the door several times without wanting to stretch it inside. The red horse in front of the group turned back and whinnied. Its mane lifted slightly, almost as if flames were ascending. The large bear blinked fiercely and stepped in.

The bear seemed to be trying to please.

The old Taoist knew his way around and walked directly up to Li Qidao. Without any courtesy, he picked up a small jar of wine, casually broke the seal, and started guzzling it as if his life depended on wine, yet Li Qidao made no move.

Just watching the old Taoist's Adam's apple bob up and down, a small jar of wine was swiftly half-empty. The Taoist set the jar down, breathed out a big sigh of relief, lifted his sleeve to wipe his mouth, then sat down next to Li Qidao, leaving one seat between them, and chuckled,

"How long has it been since we last met?"

"Li General..."

Before he could finish the word "military," Li Qidao turned to look at him.

The old Taoist felt the hair on his neck stand on end, as if he had suddenly fallen into the mundane battlefield.

A menacing aura approached him, but it toppled no power; it was evidently just a warning. Guessing that Li Qidao might be hiding his identity, he laughed out loud and didn't continue but just tilted his head back to drink.

Wang Anfeng, seeing this, was slightly startled but soon speculated, looking at the old man and saying,

"Li Bo?"

Li Qidao nodded at Wang Anfeng, lightly stated,

"This old coot and I met in Jianghu back in the day, and we had our grievances."

"But those are all things of the past now."

He did not elaborate any further.

Wang Anfeng nodded, understanding what Li Qidao meant. He did not disturb the two elderly men anymore. After thinking it over, he took a thin thread from inside the house, tied one end to the black bear's ear and the other to the post of a wooden shelter prepared for this blind bear three years ago.

He then softly warned the red thin horse before leading Zhang Tingyun into the house.

Qin Xiao naturally wouldn't stay in the courtyard, watching the two old fellows boast and chat.

How could two old men, half-dead as dirt compare to young Tingyun?

The youth secretly curled his lips and followed them into the house.

Li Qidao watched the wooden door gently close with a soft sound, retracted his gaze, and picked up a small jar of wine next to him, breaking the seal, drank a big gulp, his expression slightly blurry as he answered the question that the Taoist had just asked casually.

He took this question seriously and thought for a long time before saying,

"Roughly, it's been twenty-one years..."

The old Taoist paused in his movements, setting down the wine jar that was almost empty, and said,

"Twenty-one years, twenty-one years, ah, it seems like just yesterday."

"Turns out, it has also been twenty-one years since the old Taoist left the Tai Qing Palace."

Li Qidao gazed at the ground ahead, said in a deep voice,

"You didn't have to leave."

The old Taoist laughed, leisurely said,

"What can and can't be, are you being naive or lamenting for the Taoist?"

"The circumstances demanded it, the old Taoist had to leave that position. As the Taoist Sect succumbed to imperial power, the chief disciple of the Taoist Sect almost marrying into the Imperial Family as he became the husband of the Commandery Princess of Tianhe County, making two mistakes in succession, no matter what, it was necessary for the old Taoist to leave."

"So even your feathered robe and star crown were removed?"

Li Qidao suppressed a swig of wine, while the old Taoist wore only a coarse Taoist robe beside him.

"They had the audacity? Not afraid you would shatter Heaven with one sword?"

The old Taoist patted his empty waist and laughed,

"Without a sword, what can I say?"

"Besides, anyone could mention this, but coming from you, old Taoist, I am even more wary. Twenty-one years ago, the Divine Martial Mansion used the might of Qin breaking the Seven Kingdoms, with military forces directly targeting Jianghu, and the foremost was our Taoist Sect. "

"The Commandery Princess of Tianhe County's seven thousand 'Fish Dragon Dance' troops surrounded the foot of our Taoist Sect's mountain for seven days and nights, ultimately forcing compliance with a great power, inviting with the Cold Jade's music performance, making our Taoist Sect's contemporary disciple unveil his sword alone down the mountain, and with the vastness of Jianghu, no one came to aid, dare you say Wang Tiance didn't plot behind the scenes?"

"Again, was it not you, Li Qidao, the Great General who, holding the Zhanfeng Blade, stood at the front of the formation defeating seven of my disciples in a row?"

Li Qidao drank his wine and nodded affirmatively,

"It was me."

"But you should also know, whether it was the Former Emperor, or the current Emperor, none is a monarch content with mediocrity. Since the Eighteen Iron Cavalry of Great Qin had already swept across the land, the next step of conquering Jianghu was almost inevitable."

"Twenty-one years ago was the best opportunity."

"Neither Tiance nor the then Lord would have missed this opportunity. Entwined with the military momentum breaking the Seven Kingdoms and pacifying Jianghu was naturally the right thing to do, and our Taoist Sect bowing its head was not a loss."

"If it weren't for Qin Tianyi seeing this point clearly, he wouldn't have descended the mountain in white robes, following the young Commandery Princess out of there."

The old Taoist fell silent for a moment, then sighed, lifted his wrist to drink another mouthful of wine, and said:

"It's just a pity, the effort was wasted at the last step."

Li Qidao didn't speak, just guzzled down his drink.

Yes, the effort was wasted at the last step.

Thus, Wang Tiance died with regrets, thus the Taoist Sect's prestige stumbled irrecoverably, thus the world of Jianghu became even more chaotic towards the Great Qin, more wary. No sect, neither righteous nor evil, wished to see the once sweeping, unrivaled power of the Qin Army reassemble.

Tilting his head back, Li Qidao guzzled down most of the jar of wine in one breath.

He appeared unaffected by the recent conversation, chuckling.

"Let's not talk about this matter."

"Back then, the Commandery Princess had a pact of three wins and three losses with your sect. Foolishly, Qin Tianyi boasted his worldly wisdom but lost all three matches. It was you who personally sent your disciple down the mountain, right? Do you know what that so-called three wins and three losses pact was really about?"

"Actually, I have been curious about it for many years."

The old Taoist shook his head repeatedly and said:

"How could I possibly explain such an embarrassing matter to you?"

"This won't do, this won't do."

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

Li Qidao pressed him several more times, but the old Taoist was particularly tight-lipped about this one thing, completely unwilling to elaborate. Li Qidao had no choice but to give up on continuing to ask, took a big swig of wine, stared out at the view of Heaven and Earth outside, then fell silent, soon bursting into a chuckle:

"Speaking of which, before I visited your Taoist Sect back then, I had just beheaded three thousand heads. Right at the foot of the mountain, I nearly couldn't control my killing instinct and was about to spear the seven defeated Taoists to death. If I had led the troops up, no matter what, I could have stormed your sect."

The old Taoist sneered and said:

"I guess it was Wang Tiance who stopped you."

Li Qidao's lips curved into a smile as he nodded and said:

"Exactly."

"That guy was honestly scared to death. Whenever there was nothing urgent, he would cause a ruckus in my tent, saying if I was about to make a move, he'd mount his horse and flee back, telling me to time my attack just right so that by the time he nearly reached the Capital City, I could strike him from behind."

"Otherwise, he feared that any day he shut his eyes might be the day they wouldn't open again."

"He even said he needed at least a dozen skilled men, day and night, guarding him."

"Really, like a fly, buzzing around all day, unbearably annoying."

Li Qidao smiled and drank.

The old Taoist stayed quiet, also raised his drink and said:

"To tell you the truth, I actually had that thought myself."

"Whether to simply cut down that Tiance General with one sword, yet worried about the repercussions, I couldn't sleep at night thinking over this. Had I known he was such a coward, I would have just found an opportunity to brandish my sword and scare him, wouldn't that have worked?"

Li Qidao shook his head, laughing and said, "Then you definitely wouldn't frighten him."

"How can you be so sure?"

Li Qidao replied:

"Even though he feared death, he committed the most suicidal act in the world."

"Your sword might open the Heavenly Gates, but it still wouldn't scare him; it would only be dishonorable."

The old Taoist fell silent, smiling helplessly:

"It seems that's indeed the case."

"Then it might have indeed been better to just cut him down with one sword."

Li Qidao drank and said in a calm tone:

"Had you had the guts back then, then three days later, the eighteen routes of the Iron Cavalry would have ridden to the Taoist Sect's Dragon and Tiger Springs. I personally would have slain every sword-wielding disciple from top to bottom of your sect, not sparing one, adding a river of blood to the grounds of your ancestral sect."

"You dare?!"

"With Tiance dead, there'd be no need for the Great Qin to continue the existence of the Taoist Sect's traditions."

"Not even a single book on Taoism should be left."

"Ha, such grand words. Aren't you afraid I'll take the True Martial Sword to the Capital City for a visit?"

"If you dare, then go ahead."

Inside the room, Qin Xiao watched Wang Anfeng and Zhang Tingyun converse and realized he couldn't interject at all. The words spoken by the old men outside sounded as if they were veiled by a layer of gauze, murky and indistinct, he couldn't hear them clearly.

He could only make out that the two white-haired old men, nearly halfway in their graves, were raising their voices, each unwilling to be outdone by the other, unconsciously prompting him to curl his lips.

They were surely bragging.

The young boy propped his chin with both hands, looking at Wang Anfeng who wasn't much older than himself, and Zhang Tingyun who was even younger, and heaved a melancholic sigh.

Outside, the two white-haired old men, either laughing or cursing, raised their hands, their wine jars clinking together.

The sound was crisp.

Tilting their necks back, they drowned the past in the wine, drinking it all in one gulp.

PS: Today's second update is served...