Chapter 281: The Legend of the Berries

Chapter 281: The Legend of the Berries

Zhang Xiaohan left Silver Sword Peak in tears.

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohan was a girl, so Di Nufeng hadn't made things too difficult for her. Di Nufeng had merely shot her a dark glare.

Nevertheless, as a seventh-realm Eminent One, Di Nufeng could create a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood just by raising her hand. This meant the pressure of that glare wasn't something Zhang Xiaohan, who had a low cultivation level, could withstand.

Zhang Xiaohan trembled, overwhelmed by the fear that washed over her.

She had long known of Di Nufeng, the peak master of Silver Sword Peak. However, as she had grown up in the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, everything she knew about Di Nufeng had been from The Seven Stars Gazette.

It had described Di Nufeng as a savage and barbaric scourge of Mount Shu, so Zhang Xiaohan had imagined Di Nufeng as a hideous and ferocious fiend-like existence. Who would associate that image with the tall and gorgeous woman standing in front of Zhang Xiaohan?

When Zhang Xiaohan was done crying, she reflected deeply on the matter.

I didn't recognize Di Nufeng because, although her name was well-known, I've never seen her in person or even a painting of her before. Compared to using words, using a painting would certainly have been a more accurate way of informing readers about Di Nufeng.

In The Seven Stars Gazette, there were usually only paintings included for the items in the "Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures," providing its readers with a rough idea of what the legendary artifacts looked like. The articles and tales in the "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces" and the "Uncommon Tales of the Martial World" were never presented with illustrations.

Zhang Xiaohan began to wonder, Should I include some illustrations with my future news articles?

That way, she could convey her observations better and allow readers to have a better understanding of the nine provinces' influential figures.

It just so happened that she had some talent and a bit of experience in painting. Thinking of that, Zhang Xiaohan's sadness turned into joy.

I'll become the first person in the Celestial Pivot Pavilion to publish illustrated articles! I might even start a new trend with this!

Let's begin by making an account of the scene at the Mount Shu Summit tomorrow!

That's right. Zhang Xiaohan had experienced something traumatic, but she had no intention of going home. The finals of the Mount Shu Summit would be held the next day, and it would have the attention of everyone in the nine provinces. As a professional disciple of the Wind-Catching Hall, how could she possibly miss it?

Zhang Xiaohan was staying in the accommodation the Foreign Affairs Hall had arranged for her. It was in the same place as where the other visiting disciples from the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten were staying.

After she rested there for just a short while, a knock came at her room door.

"Miss Xiaohan?" someone called out softly.

Zhang Xiaohan was surprised to hear that voice.

It sounds like Chu Liang...?

She opened the door, and just as she'd expected, it was indeed Chu Liang.

Chu Liang stood at the door with an innocent smile, looking as if he wouldn't hurt a fly. He was carrying many boxes of various sizes.

Zhang Xiaohan welcomed Chu Liang in and then asked, "What brings you here, Young Hero Chu?"

"My teacher was quite discourteous to you earlier. She probably gave you a fright. I'm here to apologize on behalf of Silver Sword Peak as well as check how you're doing," Chu Liang said warmly. "I've brought some small gifts for you as a token of apology. Please accept them."

"Oh, no. How could I?" Zhang Xiaohan hurriedly waved off the apology. "I was rude to your teacher first. How could I let you apologize to me?"

"Oh, but we must. You're a guest here. Besides, you came here to interview me. How could we mistreat you?" Chu Liang sat down and laid out the items he'd brought. "This is a gift box of Silver Sword Peak's specialty—Golden Vein Berries. And this is a Blackwater Calming Lotus, which can dispel fear and calm the mind... It can also be used for concocting high-grade Golden Pills..."

"Eh?" Zhang Xiaohan uttered, taken aback.

"... Jinshan was flooded with stormy waves that never seemed to end! Nevertheless, old Fahai[4] was not an easy opponent...

"... Xu Hanlin[5] saved his mother, and his family lived happily together," Chu Liang said, finally bringing the tale to an end.

"That's wonderful!" Zhang Xiaohan exclaimed. "Madam Bai's family finally reunited."

"That's right. In celebration of Madam Bai's courage, unwavering determination, and great willpower to fight the world to be in a relationship with Xu Xian, this tale is called..." Chu Liang said slowly word by word, "The Berry Legend."

"It's also known as The Legend of the Golden Vein Berries. Miss Xiaohan, you can use this title when you write the story down later," Chu Liang suggested, gently guiding Zhang Xiaohan to fulfill his wishes.

Zhang Xiaohan furrowed her brows slightly. "Huh?"

...

Early the next morning, Mount Shu was extremely noisy.

The beats of gongs and drums[6] filled the air, played in harmony with the music of immortals. As red flags fluttered in the wind, a sea of people flooded Mount Shu!

They consisted of many disciples from various immortal sects located all over the nine provinces as well as numerous unconventional cultivators. Even though they hadn't watched the previous competitions held during the Mount Shu Summit, they weren't going to miss the final match of the main competition. They wanted to see which handsome young man or beautiful young woman would become the next head disciple of the Mount Shu Sect and the representative disciple of this top-tier immortal sect.

However, the final match of this year's Mount Shu Summit had gathered more visitors than ever before. All kinds of cultivators rushed over to Heaven-Reaching Peak.

During the Mount Shu Summit, Mount Shu was made accessible to all, and its visitors could roam freely on Heaven-Reaching Peak. There were some important locations, which were guarded by disciples, but visitors were free to explore everywhere else.

Amidst the bustling crowd, there was a long-haired woman dressed in a veil and a high-waisted dress[7], giving off a rather ethereal vibe. She was wandering around while holding the hand of a little boy who looked rather strong.

At this time, the final match had not yet begun, and they were casually looking around like the other visitors.

The woman in the high-waisted dress whispered, "Today, I'll teach you a phrase: 'Rather than stealing someone's fish, it is better to steal their fishing net.'"

"La... La..." the child stammered.

He seemed to have difficulty pronouncing the words.

The woman continued with her lesson. "And what does this phrase mean? It means that if you steal someone's fish, you'll finish eating all of them at some point. But if you steal their net, you can catch your own fish, so you'll always be able to eat fish."

The child clearly repeated, "Always be able to eat."

"Ha! Why is it that you always learn so quickly whenever the word 'eat' is mentioned?" The woman couldn't help but laugh. "You little rascal, there's really nothing else in your mind, is there?"

1. This tale that Chu Liang is telling is the Legend of the White Snake, which is focused on the romance between Xu Xian and a female white snake demon. Yes, Chu Liang is shamelessly using this for the berries' backstory lol. ☜

2. Author skipped a whole bunch of stuff, so this narration doesn't really make much sense read as is. I added these “... ” to indicate he omitted some stuff, and I added refs to fill in the gaps as best I could, so make sure to read them or check out the link in the previous ref. ☜

3. In the legend, the monk told Xu Xian that his wife is a snake. When the wife drank the wine, it revealed her true form. Xu Xian died of shock from seeing his wife as a snake. ☜

4. The Buddhist monk from before. The antagonist in the legend. ☜

5. This seems to be based on the TV series adaptation (China) of the original legend, in which Xu Xian's son is named Xu Hanlin. The monk trapped Xu Hanlin's mother (who is a snake demon) under a pagoda(kinda like the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda in that it traps demons), but Xu Hanlin ultimately saved his mother. ☜

6. Chinese percussion instruments ☜

7. You can go here to see what it looks like. ☜

8. It's a wine that's traditionally consumed as part of the Dragon Boat Festival and has been used as a repellent against snakes since ancient times. See here for more info. ☜