Chapter 53

“Xiao Gu, don't be rude.”
A young man in his thirties, dressed in an indigo, blue robe, emerged from the rice shop.
If the little boy's face bore only a fifty percent resemblance to Jiandi Yue, then this young man before them was eighty percent similar.
His eyebrows and eyes were as if carved from the same mold as Jiandi Yue's.
The blue, robed young man quickly walked up to the group, picked up the little boy from the ground, and repeatedly bowed his head to apologize to Jiandi Yue.
“Elder, I'm sorry. My son is mischievous and has disturbed you.”
Holding the child in his arms, the young man apologized to Jiandi Yue while raising his eyes to look at him.
Jiandi Yue was also looking at him.
When their eyes met, both froze simultaneously.
The young man said in a daze, “How do you look so much like my.”
Yun Pianpian stood dumbfounded, never expecting to see two people in the world who looked so alike.
Jiandi Yue snapped out of his daze.
He asked hesitantly, “.Are you a descendant of the Jiandi family from Jinzhou?”
Jiandi Yue himself was born into the Jian family of Jinzhou. Back then, after he divorced A'Rou and retreated to the mountains, his parents were utterly disappointed in him and severed their ties with him. His two elder brothers would visit him in the bamboo grove during holidays, but he would always respond indifferently. Over time, his brothers grew disheartened. Later, as they married, had children, and built their own lives, their visits dwindled from once a year to once every two or three years.
Gradually, Jiandi Yue lost contact with the Jiandi family of Jinzhou.
After his parents passed away, his connection with his brothers was completely severed.
Jiandi Yue initially thought the young man was his elder brother's child.
Upon hearing Jiandi Yue's words, the young man shook his head. “I have lived in Xuzhou since childhood and have never been to Jinzhou. However.”
Jiandi Yue asked, “However what?”
The young man looked up at Jiandi Yue, hesitating slightly as he spoke. “However, my grandmother was from Jinzhou. She later married into Xuzhou.”
Jiandi Yue froze, his fingers trembling slightly, his voice beginning to shake.
“What is your grandmother's name?”
Seeing the expression on Jiandi Yue's face, the young man's expression turned serious, as if he had remembered something.
His gaze toward Jiandi Yue gradually grew solemn.
“My grandmother's surname is Yang, and her given name is Rou.”
Jiandi Yue's pupils contracted, his expression stunned, frozen on his aged face.
He stared blankly at the young man.
“A'Rou.”
The delicate and graceful woman from his memories.
She had once been his wife, but he had divorced her with his own hands, driven her out of their home.
He had wronged her.
Jiandi Yue lifted his aged eyes, his gaze dazed as he looked at the blue, robed young man before him.
Why did A'Rou's grandson look so much like him?
Yun Pianpian had spent three months with Jiandi Yue and had once heard this name from him. On the day Jiandi Yue competed with Xiao Changyuan in drinking, Jiandi Yue's tolerance was even worse than Xiao Changyuan's. He collapsed after just a few cups, and before passing out, he called out A'Rou's name.
“A'Rou, bring more wine. Today, we won't stop until we're drunk.”
At the time, Yun Pianpian guessed that A'Rou might be her master's wife.
But Jiandi Yue never spoke of his wife to them, so Yun Pianpian never asked him about it, fearing it would stir up painful memories.
Unexpectedly, she would hear the name of her master's wife from someone else today.
Yun Pianpian had watched countless dramas.
Experience told her that this young man before her was very likely the grandson of her master and his wife.
The young man seemed to notice the shock and doubt in Jiandi Yue's eyes. He glanced around, the street was filled with customers waiting in line. This was, after all, a private family matter, and the young man did not want outsiders to overhear. So, he said to Jiandi Yue, “Could we speak in private, elder?”
Jiandi Yue nodded. “Very well.”
Everyone followed the young man into Daoji. The waiter addressed the young man as the shopkeeper, and Yun Pianpian realized that this young man was the owner of Daoji. They passed through the shop and entered a courtyard. The courtyard was serene, with a garden that appeared meticulously maintained. The young man, carrying the child, led everyone to the main hall at the back of the courtyard. He had the maids serve tea and water and sent them to fetch the old shopkeeper.
The young man said to Jiandi Yue, “I know very little about what happened back then. It would be better for my father to speak with you.”
Not long after, a middle, aged man in his fifties or sixties entered. When he saw Jiandi Yue’s face, he froze momentarily.
Yun Pianpiao felt slightly disappointed upon seeing the middle, aged man’s appearance, as he did not resemble Jiandi Yue. But then it occurred to her that both looks and intelligence could skip a generation, perhaps only the young man and the little boy had inherited Jiandi Yue’s features.
After sitting down, the middle, aged man stared blankly at Jiandi Yue for a long while without speaking.
Jiandi Yue, though reclusive and taciturn by nature, took the initiative to ask, “Is A’Rou here?”
Hearing that name, the middle, aged man replied sorrowfully, “Mother passed away the year before last.”
Jiandi Yue froze, his aged eyes instantly reddening.
“A’Rou is dead?”
The middle, aged man said softly, “Not long after Father passed away, Mother followed him.”
Jiandi Yue stared blankly at the middle, aged man before him.
“Father?”
The middle, aged man lifted his gaze to Jiandi Yue and slowly began to recount the untold story.
“Mother fled to Xuzhou while pregnant with me. She didn’t dare let anyone know she was with child, she had been divorced by her husband and feared her family would force her to abort. So she kept everything hidden. My father was a street vendor selling pastries back then. After Mother escaped to Xuzhou, they became neighbors. Father took pity on her circumstances and offered to care for her. He didn’t mind that she had been married before or that the child wasn’t his. Mother was initially unwilling to remarry, but she worried that I would face scorn growing up without a father, so she married him.”
As Jiandi Yue listened, he suddenly recalled the last time he had seen A’Rou. That delicate woman had tried to tell him something with red, rimmed eyes, but he had coldly cut her off: “You will only hinder my swordsmanship.”
It turned out that A’Rou had been pregnant with his child at the time.
The thought filled Jiandi Yue with regret and remorse, his aged eyes growing moist and red.
The middle, aged man continued calmly, “I was rebellious from a young age, obsessed with swordsmanship, and never listened to my father. We argued constantly. I always believed I was his biological son until one day, during a fight, I accidentally broke his hand, the hand he used to make pastries. It was the first time Mother ever yelled at me. She said I couldn’t treat Father that way because he had been kind to us, and because I wasn’t his child. It was only then that I learned the truth of my origins. But Mother told me my birth father was dead and made me give up any thought of searching for him.”
Jiandi Yue gazed at the middle, aged man with reddened eyes.
So this was his child.
He had a child and he had never known.
The middle, aged man went on calmly, “After Father’s arm was broken, I gave up swordsmanship and took over his business. To repay him, I worked day and night, studying pastries and dreaming up new desserts. Under my care, Daoji gradually grew. After decades of effort, I turned that small street stall in Xuzhou into the renowned Daoji known far and wide.”
Jiandi Yue wanted to praise his child, to tell him he had done well.
But he didn’t know how to say it.
The middle, aged man whispered, “Although my mother told me my biological father had died, I always felt she was lying to me. My intuition told me he was still alive. After Daoji became famous, I searched everywhere for news of my biological father and finally learned that he was from the Jiandi clan of Jinzhou. He had a renowned reputation in the martial world as the number one swordsman, but later, he disappeared without a trace. It was only then that I understood why my mother looked so heartbroken every time she saw me playing with a sword.”
Jiandi Yue's gaze gradually dimmed upon hearing this.
He had no right to be his father, no right to praise him.
Jiandi Yue's voice was hoarse as he asked, “How did your father treat you and A’Rou?”
The middle, aged man replied, “Father treated my mother and me very well. When my mother gave birth to me, she suffered a massive hemorrhage and was on the brink of death. To spare her any further hardship, Father never once asked her to bear him a child. He always treated me as his own.”
Jiandi Yue's heart ached faintly upon hearing about A’Rou's hemorrhage.
The middle, aged man continued, “Father passed away peacefully two years ago. After that, Mother grew increasingly frail and eventually fell ill. She said Father had taken care of her all her life, and without him, she didn't know how to take care of herself. She felt she owed him a great debt and wanted to join him in the afterlife. When Mother passed, her expression was serene. She said her life had been full of ups and downs, but she was fortunate to have met Father, making her life worthwhile.”
Jiandi Yue lowered his head and sat on the stool, remaining silent for a long while.
No one could see the expression on his face.
After a long time, he murmured, as if lost in thought.
“That's good.”
If her life was worthwhile, then that's good.
The middle, aged man lifted his gaze to Jiandi Yue, took a deep breath, and mustered the courage to ask, “We've spoken so much about my parents. Now, it's time to hear your story, old sir. Are you from the Jiandi clan of Jinzhou?”
Jiandi Yue slowly raised his head, his aged eyes fixed on the middle, aged man for a long moment.
Finally, he nodded slowly.
“I am Jiandi Yue.”
The middle, aged man's eyes reddened instantly.
He reached out and embraced Jiandi Yue, his voice trembling as he called out.
“Father, your son has found you.”
Tears welled up in Jiandi Yue's eyes and finally rolled down.
They scalded the back of his hand.
After Jiandi Yue and the old proprietor of Daoji recognized each other as father and son, Jiandi Yue decided to stay at Daoji.
Yun Pianpian teased deliberately, “Master, aren't you coming back to Jiangjia Village to farm with your disciple?”
Jiandi Yue replied, “What farming? This old man now has a son, grandchildren, and great, grandchildren. I'm no longer interested in your family's fields.”
For so many years, Jiandi Yue had always been like a mountain stream, reflecting the unreachable moon in the sky. He had spent his entire life pursuing the endless path of swordsmanship, and only now did he realize that the most important thing was not the moon in the sky, but the life within the stream.
He would use the rest of his life to make amends for these lives: his son, his grandson, and his little great-grandson.
He would impart all of his martial skills to this great, grandson who loved playing with wooden swords.
Thanks to Jiandi Yue's influence, Yun Pianpian finally got to taste the world, famous plum blossom pastries. The pastries were elegantly crafted, with a delicate, soft texture that was sweet but not cloying. To enjoy a few more of these treats, Yun Pianpian deliberately stayed in Xuzhou City for two extra days.
When it was time to leave, she packed several boxes to bring back for Jiang Cuicui.
After a moment's thought, she said to Jiandi Yue, “Master, if you ever meet someone named Chu Yi in the future, please don't teach him any martial arts.”
Yun Pianpian still felt somewhat wary of Chu Yi's protagonist aura.
She was worried that even after Jiandi Yue moved to Xuzhou, Chu Yi might still manage to find him through his protagonist luck.
Jiandi Yue asked, “Who is Chu Yi?”
Yun Pianpian replied, “He is an enemy of mine and Shitou's.”
Jiandi Yue immediately said, “If he is your enemy, I naturally won't teach him any martial arts. Don't worry, girl.”
Hearing this, Yun Pianpian felt relieved.
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly and silently committed Chu Yi's name to memory.
The two bid farewell to Jiandi Yue and his family, boarded the carriage with Buling Buling, and set off for Jiangjia Village.
After a day of travel and a night spent in the wilderness, they finally reached the county near Jiangjia Village by noon the next day.
Yun Pianpian paid the coachman, then took Xiao Changyuan straight to the market to buy an ox cart. She browsed several markets and eventually spent thirty, five taels of silver to purchase an ox and a cart.
Xiao Changyuan drove the newly bought ox cart, his pale, slender hands holding the reins, while Yun Pianpian sat beside him.
In the distance, the sun set over Yuyuan, casting a radiant glow across the landscape.
The two finally returned to the familiar Jiangjia Village before dark.