Chapter 22

The Armored Warrior had an incomparably violent temper. With a ripping sound, he drew the saber at his waist and sneered. "A reason—does this count as a reason?" As he spoke, the long blade in his hand slashed at Chang'an.

Chang'an leaned his upper body back, dodging the strike, but from the corner of his eye he caught a crafty glint flashing through the Armored Warrior's eyes. The saber suddenly swung toward Chasing Lightning's head.

This sudden turn of events filled Chang'an with uncontrollable fury.

Liu Ruyan's prized horse—was it going to be cut down like this?!

Chasing Lightning let out a shrill neigh and reared up. In that instant, its front hooves kicked out. Before the Armored Warrior's saber could land, there was a boom—the entire body of the Armored Warrior, clad in Cloud Pattern Steel armor, was flung through the air and rolled three zhang away. It was simply something never seen or heard of before, and even Chang'an's eyes were opened wide.

The Armored Warrior's heavy armor protected him. He looked bedraggled, but he was not injured. He sprang upright from the ground, gripped his saber, and was about to charge forward again, his savage nature completely aroused.

"Stop!"

A sharp shout rang out. The Armored Warrior abruptly froze, stopping as swiftly as though he were a machine.

The speaker was the white-clad man who had just emerged from Spring Breeze Tower, the master of these Armored Warriors.

The Armored Warrior hurriedly retreated, sheathed his saber, and silently returned to his original position.

The white-clad man strode toward Chang'an with an imposing bearing, applauding as he walked. "Good, good! This truly is a rare and peerless steed. This must be Miss Ruyan's Chasing Lightning, yes?!"

Chang'an swung down from the horse. "You have a sharp eye, sir."

The white-clad man frowned and demanded, "How did Miss Ruyan's prized mount end up in your hands?"

Chang'an said, "Naturally, I borrowed it."

The white-clad man said heavily, "Borrowed it?"

Chang'an said, "That's right."

The white-clad man slowly said, "What is your relationship with Miss Ruyan? As far as I know, Miss Ruyan has never lent her mount to anyone, and Chasing Lightning refuses to be driven by anyone else. She loves this horse dearly. How could she possibly lend it to you?"

Chang'an said, "We're good friends. As for how she came to lend it to me, that's my own ability. It's none of your business!" Chang'an had already sensed intense hostility, so he gave no quarter in his words.

The white-clad man snorted coldly. "A mere nobody like you thinks you deserve to call Miss Ruyan a friend?! Tell me honestly—who exactly are you?"

Chang'an laughed. "Whether I deserve it is not for you to decide! I have nothing to explain to you."

The white-clad man's expression turned cold. "What I say most certainly counts. You will have to explain yourself clearly to me." The moment his words fell, all twenty Armored Warriors drew their sabers, their chilling killing intent locking onto Chang'an.

An icy chill swept through the front of Spring Breeze Tower, and killing intent blazed fiercely.

At some unknown moment, Liu Ruyan had emerged with graceful steps. She said lazily, "Young Master Tang, why make unnecessary trouble before Spring Breeze Tower?!"

Hearing her voice, the white-clad man's anger turned to laughter. He laughed loudly three times. "Since Miss Ruyan has said so, how could I refuse to listen? Let's go!" An extravagantly luxurious carriage rolled out. Young Master Tang climbed aboard, while the twenty Armored Warriors guarded both sides as they departed in a solemn formation.

Chang'an looked toward Liu Ruyan before Spring Breeze Tower and smiled. "Sister Ruyan, is this the refuge you spoke of?!" He knew his smile must have been forced.

Liu Ruyan's colorful robes fluttered as she drifted back into Spring Breeze Tower like a butterfly. The stable hand led Chasing Lightning away, but Chang'an remained rooted where he stood, watching Liu Ruyan's retreating figure.

After leisurely walking more than a zhang ahead, Liu Ruyan suddenly looked back. "When you're willing to call me Ruyan, I'll tell you."

Her voice was not gentle in the least. She was quite annoyed. Her mood must have been terrible.

Chang'an said, "Liu Ruyan, who exactly is that man?"

The moment that man appeared, Chang'an had felt that he had come with ill intent. Before women—especially breathtaking beauties capable of toppling kingdoms like Liu Ruyan—men always felt a strange competitiveness and a ghostly selfishness toward other men. They refused to yield and refused to let go. What was more, Chang'an had known Liu Ruyan for years and had long regarded her as a confidante of the opposite sex.

Liu Ruyan said softly, "Why are you still standing there? Come upstairs, and your sister will apply medicine for you!" She already knew that making this fool gather the courage to call her "Ruyan" would be difficult. She could not force it.

The more she cared about someone, the less willing she was to force them. She would instead become as gentle as a modest young lady in an inner chamber. She had never been stingy with her tenderness toward such people.

But in the eyes of those she did not care about, she would forever be a cold Banished Immortal beyond reach, visible but unattainable.

Chang'an stopped being stubborn and walked into the building. Liu Ruyan waited for him to approach, then looked at him with a face full of heartache. "Did you have to risk your life like this?" This was not the first time she had seen Chang'an covered in blood from head to toe, yet each time her heart ached just the same.

Chang'an grinned. "As long as I'm not dead, it's fine. If someone is willing to risk their life for me, why can't I do the same!"

Liu Ruyan said unhappily, "Aren't you afraid someone might be deceiving you?"

Chang'an said, "I trust my judgment. Besides, if someone deceives me, they only get one chance. If I don't die, the person who deceived me will eventually pay the price. I'll beat him until he regrets ever deceiving me."

Liu Ruyan sighed. "Must everything be settled by fighting and killing? Can't you use your brain a little?" She knew Chang'an could not tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes, and that he was proud and competitive at heart.

Chang'an said, "I'm not stupid!"

Liu Ruyan could only fall silent. On this point, she had to agree.

Miao Suyi had already left. At this moment, apart from the cooks, attendants, servants, and laborers, there was no one else in all of Spring Breeze Tower.

Liu Ruyan's boudoir was elegant and fresh, imbued with a spiritual air.

Needless to say, the room was neat and spotless, with everything arranged in perfect order. The true distinguishing feature of Liu Ruyan's boudoir was the six pieces of calligraphy and painting hanging upon its four walls. These four paintings and two calligraphic works were all by famous masters; in the eyes of anyone who truly knew their worth, they were priceless treasures.

Luo Gaoyang's Autumn Farewell, Ancient Road, Western Wind, and Drinking Beneath the Moon were her favorites.

Liu Ruyan loved ancient paintings and calligraphy, and she herself was a master of brushwork. She was both talented and beautiful, accomplished in both the literary and martial arts. She adored the works of the great painter Luo Gaoyang, saying that his paintings carried the intent of immortals and emotions as deep as the sea. Whenever she mentioned them, she praised them without end.

No one was allowed to touch Luo Gaoyang's three authentic works.

Chang'an was no stranger to this place, nor was he unfamiliar with Luo Gaoyang. Luo Gaoyang was not only a great painter, but also a great swordsman. His brushwork and swordsmanship had both reached an unfathomable realm. His attainments were extraordinarily high, and he was hailed as an unmatched genius of the age—Luo the Banished Immortal.

Even the mud-legged peasants and the most boorish men could see the bearing in his paintings and feel that they stood apart from all others. His paintings revealed an indescribable solitude and compassion, much like his life itself. Whether richly inked and brightly colored or lightly brushed, they always seemed misty and ethereal, like immortal traces and divine miracles. That feeling of loneliness at the summit could only belong to a Banished Immortal wandering the mortal world. Thus, he was called Luo the Banished Immortal.

No one had seen his sword for nearly thirty years.

And those fortunate enough to have seen it would all sigh the same words: "The master is lonely!"

Luo Gaoyang's loneliness was no longer a loneliness the world could understand. He had lost before, but everyone who defeated him claimed that they had not won at all, because the solitude within Luo Gaoyang's sword had already pierced through their souls. Perhaps they had won by half a move or a single move, yet in their hearts, they had already suffered utter defeat.

Chang'an could not imagine what sort of man he was, what sort of sword he wielded, or what sort of solitude he bore.

Liu Ruyan said that one could glimpse some of it from his paintings.

Chang'an did not understand paintings. He only felt that if he looked at them for too long, his vision would blur. Those paintings seemed like a dream, a broken dream. Perhaps that dream had once been beautiful, but in the fragment Luo Gaoyang left behind, Chang'an saw only haziness that made his heart sink and sink—not the beautiful parts, but countless regrets.

Chang'an understood this feeling as the immortal intent Liu Ruyan spoke of, yet he could not tell from these paintings what kind of man Luo Gaoyang was, nor could he experience that solitude. He felt that a person could not have only one side, and these paintings merely expressed Luo Gaoyang's lonely side. A painting that represented a person could only represent one aspect of that person. Even Luo Gaoyang could not paint a work that represented a person in their entirety.

Therefore, Chang'an felt that it was not right to describe Luo Gaoyang with loneliness at the summit alone.

One could not insist that he was such a person simply because that was the side he showed to the world.

Such a practice was one-sided and laughable.

Chang'an glanced over the calligraphy and paintings in the room, then sat down beside the table.

Liu Ruyan had already brought gauze, medicinal liquid, and wound medicine.

Yet Chang'an was deeply drawn to a painting on the table. It was one Liu Ruyan had just completed, and the ink had only recently dried.

Liu Ruyan smiled lightly. "I painted it last night."

Chang'an was already utterly engrossed.

In the painting was a fierce tiger in a mountain ravine, with a waterfall flowing through it.

A fierce tiger sniffing an orchid.

In a quiet corner beneath the waterfall, a secluded orchid gently released its fragrance.

The fierce tiger crouched low with its front claws planted on the ground, stretching out its head to sniff that quiet orchid. The orchid was tiny, yet flawlessly white and richly fragrant. The tiger was enormous, shaking the mountains and forests as king of all beasts, but Chang'an saw only the conspicuous character for king upon its forehead and those focused, entranced eyes.

Chang'an's body began to tremble. He was beside himself with excitement.

Liu Ruyan looked at Chang'an, her face filled with surprise.

Suddenly, Chang'an burst into laughter and sprang to his feet. He seized Liu Ruyan by the shoulders and said excitedly, "Ruyan, I understand! I finally understand!"

Liu Ruyan froze. A flush rose to her face as she looked at Chang'an with shining eyes. "What do you understand?"

She had not expected Chang'an to suddenly call her "Ruyan," without the word "sister." It had caught her completely off guard. Though it was unlike anything she had imagined, her heart still trembled.

Chang'an suddenly pulled Liu Ruyan into his arms. Inhaling the delicate fragrance in her hair, he laughed in boundless excitement. "Tiger Aspect Nine Moves—I've finally attained enlightenment! Sister Ruyan, I truly have to thank you!"

Overwhelmed with excitement, he lifted his arms and raised Liu Ruyan by her slender waist, spinning in place. Looking at Liu Ruyan, he laughed heartily. "Sister Ruyan, I've finally comprehended it... It's all thanks to this painting of yours, Sister Ruyan. It's all thanks to you..."

Liu Ruyan's skirts and hair fluttered lightly. Looking at Chang'an's face, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

A wave of disappointment rose in her heart, yet she smiled softly. "Then how are you going to thank me?"

Chang'an said, "Any way you want." Then his expression stiffened and turned pale. The sudden exertion had torn open all the wounds on his body, and blood poured forth like a stream.