Don't Go to Da Liang, Don't Meet Pang Juan

Sun Boling bowed to Verdant Green Maiden and shook his head. "This disciple is still far from matching you, Master! How could I possibly leave the valley?"

"Why are you so intense about this?"

Verdant Green Maiden muttered under her breath. Sun Boling gave a confused "Huh?" She looked up, but Verdant Green Maiden had already sprung to her feet and hurried away. As she ran, she called, "Boling, stop that bird, and I'll let you stay!"

Sun Boling froze for a moment, then his body moved before his mind caught up. He hurriedly grabbed Hong Luan out of the air.

"Whoa! Stupid Snake, you have no honor!"

Hong Luan struggled in Sun Boling's grasp, but could only watch helplessly as Verdant Green Maiden swallowed the fruit whole.

"Waaaah... That was such a good seed! I finally found it, and if I planted it, it would surely bear even better fruit next year. And now you've eaten it!"

Sun Boling looked awkward and could only try to console Hong Luan.

"Immortal Envoy, please don't cry. There are plenty of fruits in the world better than this one. You and Master will live forever, so you're sure to find one."

At his words, Verdant Green Maiden raised a hand from the side and gave him a thumbs-up. "Mm, good point!"

But Hong Luan wasn't one to be reasonable.

After Verdant Green Maiden devoured the fruit, Hong Luan didn't speak to the snake for a whole month.

Without Hong Luan's constant chatter, Verdant Green Maiden felt out of sorts. So, on a dark and stormy night, she slipped out of Ghost Valley and vanished for more than half a month. Hong Luan had just begun to wonder if she'd really abandoned her without a shred of conscience when Verdant Green Maiden finally returned to the valley, weary and travel-stained.

"Bird Sister, look at this!"

The snake girl opened her hand. A fruit lay safely in her palm.

Its color and fullness were both far superior to the fruit she'd eaten!

Hong Luan stared in surprise. "Did you go looking for fruit?"

Verdant Green Maiden nodded. "Yeah!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qing Ying flung herself into her arms. Hong Luan sobbed and scolded, "Stupid Snake, I thought you didn't want me anymore! It was only a fruit. You ate it, so you ate it. I'm generous—I'll just think of it as feeding a snake!"

"Hehe."

Verdant Green Maiden scratched her head.

Behind them, Sun Boling smiled too.

He cupped his hands to Verdant Green Maiden and said, "Master, I'd like to test my Temple Calculation against yours again. Please guide me."

"No problem!"

Verdant Green Maiden waved her hand grandly and led him to the Quiet Room. Each commanded the power of a state, and they vied through diplomacy and war. Compared with their last Temple Calculation, Sun Boling had improved greatly, but he still couldn't defeat Verdant Green Maiden. He always felt he was falling just a little short, but where exactly?

He clearly did everything as well as he could at every turn, yet he could only draw with Verdant Green Maiden.

Sun Boling couldn't figure it out.

One year, two years, three years!

By the time Pang Juan had risen to prominence in the Wei State and been appointed a general, and Gui Gu Zi's name had spread far and wide on the back of Pang Juan's rise, visitors from outside the valley had grown ever more frequent. Yet Sun Boling remained in the valley, seeming determined not to give up until he could defeat Verdant Green Maiden!

Whenever she saw him studying Military Strategy, Verdant Green Maiden felt a thousand emotions.

Could he please stop pushing himself so hard?

Still, though that was what she thought, having a disciple like him filled her with pride.

After losing to Verdant Green Maiden in another Temple Calculation, Sun Boling looked utterly dejected.

He lowered his head and bowed deeply to her, reproaching himself. "Master, I'm afraid I'll never surpass you in this lifetime! Master, you truly are a Banished Immortal!"

Verdant Green Maiden tossed a fruit in the air and glanced at Sun Boling. She simply had more experience and knowledge. When it came to the true art of arranging troops and formations, a genius was always a genius. She took a bite of the fruit and said, "You're only imitating me! But you shouldn't be doing that."

"I'm your disciple, Master. If I don't learn from you, who should I learn from?"

Sun Boling was puzzled.

Verdant Green Maiden tapped him on the head and walked away. Sun Boling stood rooted there for a long time. Only after night fell and the moon rose above the treetops did he come to himself as if struck by lightning. He sighed softly. "I see now. Thank you for enlightening me, Master! I understand!"

When one thing clicked, everything else followed. That was exactly how it worked.

After that night, Sun Boling secluded himself for over a month. When he emerged, his face was full of confidence.

"Master, please test your Temple Calculation against mine again!"

Verdant Green Maiden agreed readily. "All right!"

And this time, Sun Boling won.

When his army stormed into Verdant Green Maiden's capital, he still felt as though he were dreaming! His opponent was Master, after all! The Master who had never made a mistake, whose skill at arranging troops and formations and whose strategic judgment were both outstanding!

And yet he had won!

Sun Boling took a deep breath and bowed profoundly to Verdant Green Maiden.

"Master, it's time for me to leave the valley!"

Verdant Green Maiden's gaze rested on him. After a long silence, she asked, "Where do you intend to go?"

"To find my senior brother. He's in Da Liang. We promised each other we would meet there."

Sun Boling replied.

Verdant Green Maiden opened her mouth, then hesitated. A few days later, she saw Sun Boling off at the valley entrance. Before he left, she finally called after him. "You! There's something I need to tell you."

Sun Boling looked at Verdant Green Maiden in confusion and cupped his hands. "Please speak, Master."

"Don't go to Da Liang. Don't meet Pang Juan."

After leaving him with those eight words, Verdant Green Maiden waved him away. "Go on, then. Ghost Valley doesn't keep idlers!"

Sun Boling didn't understand what Verdant Green Maiden meant. As soon as Pang Juan learned that he had left the valley, he sent someone to invite him to Da Liang! Sun Boling hesitated for a moment, torn between Verdant Green Maiden's warning and Pang Juan's invitation, but in the end he chose to accept.

When Hong Luan reported this to Verdant Green Maiden, she only sighed.

"Just as I thought. I can't change history."

Seeing her sigh, Hong Luan asked, "Will something happen to Sun Boling in Da Liang?"

Verdant Green Maiden nodded. Hong Luan continued, "Then you could've just kept him in Ghost Valley and made sure he never went to Da Liang! You have that power."

"Those who come to Ghost Valley to study all yearn for the world beyond. I can't keep him here."

Verdant Green Maiden shook her head and stopped dwelling on it. She waved a hand and called to Hong Luan, "Come on, Hong Luan. Join me in hunting a few wild boars today."

Hong Luan couldn't help shaking her head. When the snake girl was in a bad mood, those wild boars were in for it.

Wei Du, Da Liang.

Pang Juan, now a general, welcomed Sun Boling's arrival with great ceremony.

He grabbed Sun Boling by the hand and led him toward his General's Mansion. As they walked, he said, "Junior Brother, it's been years! You've finally come. Your senior brother is now a general of the great Wei. Why not become my retainer?"

"I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother."

Sun Boling was a little ill at ease and left everything to Pang Juan to arrange.

After the banquet, in the rear courtyard of the General's Mansion, Pang Juan dismissed everyone else and met with Sun Boling alone.

His eyes gleamed. The hawk-and-wolf gaze he'd honed in the Imperial Court fixed intently on Sun Boling as he lowered his voice and asked, "Junior Brother, you've stayed in the valley these past few years. Did Master teach you any new Military Strategy, or... any other arts?"

Sun Boling didn't understand what Pang Juan meant. He shook his head honestly. "Nothing else. I've been studying the Military Strategy I already learned."

"Is that all?"

Pang Juan frowned. Sun Boling nodded lightly. "Yes, that's all."