"Master is a very interesting person." Su Baiyi thought for a long time and finally used this sentence as his opening remark.
Nangong Xier ate the rice in small bites, her expression calm: "Yeah."
"He opened a private school in Xinghua Village to support the two of us, but the money was only enough for us to eat steamed buns, not enough for drinking, so he sold calligraphy. The master's handwriting was very good, but he was lazy, so he taught me to write. Every Chinese New Year, I would write for the wealthy families in the city, and in that short half month, we could earn enough to cover half a year's expenses. The master said that whatever was left over would be given to me, but he spent it just right every year, without leaving a penny." Su Baiyi spoke carefully at first while observing Nangong Xier's expression, and then saw that Nangong Xier was always calm, so he began to speak freely, "Then I learned to be smart, and I would secretly keep some for myself every time, but the money was not enough, so the master taught me to listen to the dice, and then let me go to the casino to make some money, but I had to deliberately lose some every time for fear of attracting attention."
"Listen to the dice?" Nangong Xier took a sip of soup.
"Yes, my hearing is very good now. When I close my eyes, I can hear a few petals falling when my master swings the sword at the apricot tree." Su Baiyi said proudly.
"No wonder, this is to train your ability to listen to the wind and identify the location." Nangong Xier nodded, "But, does your master like to drink so much?"
"He likes drinking very much. He said that he stayed here because of the good wine in Xinghua Village. But it's strange. Sometimes he doesn't feel drunk at all after drinking jar after jar of Xinghua wine. Instead, his eyes become brighter and brighter. But sometimes he gets drunk after just a few sips." Su Baiyi smiled and shook his head. "Master, he smiles every day, treats people gently and likes to joke. Everyone in the village likes him. But I think, Master, he is actually very sad every day."
"Sad?" Nangong Xier's eyelashes moved slightly.
"Master would behave in many strange ways after getting drunk. Sometimes he would dance with the sword in the yard all night without saying a word, sometimes he would lie on the apricot tree and look at the stars in the sky all night, and sometimes he would pull me aside to tell stories about his time when he was a leader in the martial arts world. There were very few times when he would suddenly hug me and cry like a child, saying that he was useless and that he was not Xie Kanhua, the number one swordsman, but just a weak and useless man." Su Baiyi smiled and saw that Nangong Xier's expression had finally changed significantly. In fact, he had many, many things to tell about Xie Kanhua, and he could not finish telling them even if he talked for a day and a night, but he knew very well which stories Nangong Xier wanted to hear.
"When he gets drunk, he often recites that little song." Su Baiyi picked up a chopstick and tapped the porcelain bowl in front of him gently. "I am preparing firewood and three stars are in the sky. What night is it tonight, that I meet this good person? My dear, what good person is this? I am preparing grass and three stars are in the corner. What night is it tonight, that I meet this chance meeting? My dear, what is this chance meeting? I am preparing grass and three stars are in the door. What night is it tonight, that I meet this charming person? My dear, what charming person is this?"
Nangong Xier also hummed along, and when the song was over, the two of them suddenly stopped talking and ate in silence. The meal was finished in a quiet and strange atmosphere. After eating, Su Baiyi put the food on the table back into the lunch box, and then poured a glass of wine for himself and Nangong Xier.
"Some things are more interesting when talked about with wine." Su Baiyi suddenly sat up straight and placed the sword in his hand on the table.
"I heard from my mother that my father was a very talented man. He had read a lot of books and had been to many places, but only—" Nangong Xier hesitated to speak.
"But he only loved one person." Su Baiyi drank a glass of wine. "Master also told me this. He is indeed very talented. He can quote classics at will. He can write ten poems by looking at an apricot blossom. He has indeed been to many places. The northernmost city he has been to is a city called Suiye, and the southernmost islands he has been to are the islands in the South China Sea. As for the last one he said he only loved one person. Master said that he once promised that woman that he would take three hundred white-clothed disciples and ride a thousand miles from Weilong Mountain to Yunhuang. Each horse would have a flag on it, which read: Swordsman Xie Kanhua will marry the fairy Nangong Yuwen, and welcome heroes from all over the world to congratulate. But he did not do it. When he arrived at Tianmen Holy Sect alone with a sword, Yunhuang had once again become a wasteland."
Nangong Xier took a sip of wine and said nothing.
"Master said that he has three regrets in his life. The first is that he wanted to be a person without any sect or school, but because he couldn't beat Su Han, he was forced to join Shanglin Tiangong and had to live somewhere. The second is that he wanted to be free from all worries and forget about his family, but because those children were cheated too badly by him since they were young, although those old men were hated, these children really couldn't bear to let go, so they had to go back to Jiangnan from time to time to shock those old men. The third is that he wanted to live a life without love and emotion, but because he met that girl, his heart was shackled and he could never be free again, because no matter what he did, he always thought of that person in his mind, but what was even more hateful was that he liked this kind of inability to be free, and he always smiled involuntarily. The maple leaves in Suiye City are beautiful, and the sea on the coast of the South China Sea can see thousands of weather. Yunhuang has nothing, but as long as he stands with that girl, everything is fine."
"Just now I said that Master can write ten poems facing an apricot blossom. Most of what Master writes are love poems. I will read you a few at random..."
"Master also told me the story of him and that woman exploring the desert of Yunhuang..."
"He also said that he had a beautiful daughter, but she disappeared later and he has been looking for her all these years."
“… … ”
Nangong Xier didn't say anything either, she just kept drinking the wine, occasionally laughing or asking a few questions. After listening to Su Baiyi talking incessantly for more than an hour, she finally got a little drunk, lay on the table, and fell asleep in a daze.
"Senior sister, senior sister..." Su Baiyi called softly, but Nangong Xier did not respond. He sighed softly, walked over and hugged Nangong Xier, "How could you fall asleep like this? But it's a good thing you fell asleep. I really can't say any more."
"You are lying." Nangong Xier said faintly, a little drunkenly, and it was unclear whether she was still awake or talking in her sleep.
"ah?"
"I let it slip. Xie Kanhua never saw my mother again after leaving Yunhuang, so how could she know about a delicate little girl like me?"
"I guess I remembered it wrong..."
"Also, there is no desert in Yunhuang, only hundreds of thousands of mountains that stretch as far as the eye can see."
"It seems that I really don't know the way..."
"It's hard for you. You have been making up stories since those three things. You have been lying to people. But I really like these lies." Nangong Xier shook her head and finally fell into a deep sleep.