"Hehe, not just you. Matters of beauty and love are a hurdle we scholars cannot avoid in our cultivation."
Tao Yuan chuckled softly, and something like nostalgia seemed to surface in his eyes.
Presumably, when he had still been young, some fated romance had once thrown him into disarray as well.
Shen Yue gently shook his head. "In the end, my cultivation is still lacking, Master. I no longer have the heart to read those books of sages. I only wish to go out and see the world."
"Of course you may. The ancients said, 'Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles.' To walk, to see, to feel—these too are irreplaceable forms of cultivation."
Tao Yuan slowly nodded, then watched Shen Yue's figure depart into the distance until he vanished beyond the eastern horizon.
A moment later, a figure descended soundlessly upon the place. Seeing him, Tao Yuan saluted. "Greetings, Commander Jia."
Jia Huarai waved a hand, signaling that he need not stand on ceremony, then asked, "He's gone?"
"He's gone."
"You really are broad-minded. Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I could at least have left him some life-saving Sword Qi."
Jia Huarai shook his head. "It's not too late even now. Does he need such a measure?"
"Hehe, thank you for your concern, Commander Jia. Naturally, the more such methods, the better. One is not too few, two are not too many, and three or four are more than welcome."
"Well now, you sly old scholar really aren't polite. The beads on your abacus are practically bouncing onto my head."
Jia Huarai laughed and cursed lightly. Then he summoned the Lone Swan Void Sword, removed five strands of Sword Qi from it, and sent them flying in the direction Shen Yue had gone.
Before long, Shen Yue,