Water Sword

The sky had barely brightened when people began to gather around Lingfeng Tower.

The crowd grew steadily, a mix of all walks of life, from the refined to the rowdy, converging on the spot.

There were acrobats, candied hawthorn vendors, and performers breaking stones against their chests.

In an instant, the street outside became exceptionally lively; this duel had turned into a grand festival for the Martial Forest.

Lu Bai, sleeping in the main room, was jolted awake by the boisterous shouting outside.

He had finally hoped to sleep in, but he hadn't expected this crowd to be so enthusiastic.

Without a shred of self-awareness as one of the protagonists of the duel, Lu Bai pushed open the window and shouted at the clamoring people below, "Quiet! It's early in the morning, don't you people sleep?"

At this sharp rebuke, the crowd outside fell instantly silent.

Logically, when two experts were set to duel, it was standard practice to bathe, burn incense, and sit in quiet meditation to adjust one's mindset for the final confrontation.

Yet here he was, sleeping soundly in his room, and when disturbed, he actually opened the window to curse at the street.

Where was the demeanor of a master?

Unfortunately, Lu Bai cared nothing for such things.

After closing the window, it wasn't long before Lu Bai opened it once again.

"Hey, you down there, how much for a bun?" Lu Bai asked while brushing his teeth with a willow twig dipped in charcoal and salt, spitting out the charcoal residue after a rinse.

The domestic atmosphere was so thick it left some of the people below feeling rather unsettled.

After catching a bun tossed up from below, Lu Bai weighed it in his hand, then suddenly gripped it tight. His muscles bulged, and with a sharp twist of his torso, he hurled it!

The still-steaming bun transformed into a shooting star, slamming directly into the bun vendor.

The man didn't even have time to react before he was struck; his head lolled to the side as he collapsed to the ground, blood splattering to stain the flour at his stall red.

"Murder!"

No one had expected Lu Bai's methods to be so brutal.

For a moment, the bustling crowd was gripped by panic, fearing that Lu Bai might begin a indiscriminate slaughter from the floor above.

"Don't panic!" Just then, a voice rang out.

Lou Jingren, dressed like a scholar with a sword at his waist, stepped forward. He went to the bun stall, picked up the bun Lu Bai had thrown, and tore it open.

Lou Jingren held the bun to his nose, sniffed it briefly, and then tossed it aside.

"A fishy stench. If I'm not mistaken, this should be laced with a deadly poison."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of those nearby shifted.

The buns had smelled delicious, and many had already bought and eaten them—now they were being told there was poison inside?

"Please, rest assured. This poison was likely intended specifically for one person," Lou Jingren said.

"I suspect it was precisely because he saw you all eating the buns that Brother Lu bought one from him, and the man's subsequent slip-up was caught by Brother Lu."

"The opponent's method of poisoning was quite clever; I hadn't noticed it, but I understand the human heart," Lu Bai explained briefly.

The other party's acting hadn't been up to par; the moment Lu Bai picked up the bun, the expression on the vendor's face practically screamed, "Eat it already."

Scheming against others is a discipline; when practiced directly, it involves all sorts of underhanded tactics, but when practiced in reverse, it becomes a method of self-preservation.

First, one must learn to observe where an opponent has flaws, while simultaneously considering one's own vulnerabilities and where an enemy might strike.

With caution in one's heart, coupled with careful observation of potential threats, the likelihood of falling into a trap drops significantly.

After the farce, the surrounding clamor resumed before long.

As for the bun vendor, he had long since been dragged away, dumped somewhere unknown.

The remaining crowd was thick-skinned, continuing to mill about as they waited for noon.

The wind blew away the clouds in the sky, and the long-absent winter sun revealed its face, casting golden light down and making everything appear sacred.

Lu Bai found something to eat, and just before noon, he climbed to the roof of Lingfeng Tower.

Lingfeng Tower was not particularly tall; many buildings in the vicinity towered over it.

At this moment, the windows and corridors of those surrounding buildings were packed with people.

Lu Bai, one of the protagonists, had arrived early, leaving only the other—the one most highly anticipated—yet to appear.

Lin Haixian arrived right on time. It was only when he emerged from the crowd that people noticed his presence.

He did not show off by using light-footwork to fly onto the roof; instead, he walked up the stairs step by step, his frame appearing somewhat hunched.

Only now did people seem to realize that this Lin Haixian was truly old.

His skin was dark and lined with wrinkles, and though his graying hair was groomed neatly, it still betrayed a sense of fading twilight.

Lin Haixian rarely appeared before the public in such a formal manner anymore; perhaps he simply did not want people to realize he had grown old.

For once Lin Haixian grew old, his deterrent power would wane, and many people and many matters would inevitably resurface.

"So, even an immortal can grow old?"

Someone murmured the words, their expression filled with an inexplicable terror, as if it were not Lin Haixian who was aging, but themselves.

Some of those who revered Lin Haixian felt a vague sense of unease in their hearts at this moment.

Why would Lin Haixian agree to Lu Bai's challenge and expose the fact that he had grown old?

Lin Haixian climbed onto the roof, swept a bit of the accumulated snow to one side, and only then stood up, steadying his stance.

"I used to love climbing onto roofs, but unfortunately, I'm old now and afraid of falling." Lin Haixian had no intention of hiding anything, even chatting with Lu Bai about it.

"That's because experts always like being up high," Lu Bai teased with a smile.

"I hadn't intended to come, but you brat are quite insidious, saying that if I didn't show up, you'd go around spreading rumors that I was dead."

"Back when I followed serialized novels, whenever the author stopped updating, I would tell everyone he was dead."

"Then that author was truly unlucky." Lin Haixian laughed. Although he didn't quite understand what following a serialized novel meant, being targeted by a scoundrel like Lu Bai was definitely not a good thing.

"It's just about noon, isn't it?" Lin Haixian smiled and looked up at the sky. In the winter, even the sunlight seemed to soften when facing this old man.

"Just about." Lu Bai did not look at the sun, but instead kept his eyes on Lin Haixian.

"Then let us begin. I hope you can survive." Lin Haixian did not carry a sword.

He spread his hands slightly, his somewhat cloudy eyes fixed on Lu Bai, before they began to grow increasingly bright.

Visible currents of air surged around his body. The snow that Lin Haixian had swept aside began to melt, and then, like water on a beating drum, it started to vibrate.

Once the vibrations reached their limit, these streams of water suddenly flew upward, converging together as they followed the flow of energy around Lin Haixian's body.

The water flowed slowly, forming a three-foot-long water sword.