Supreme Emperor of Swords

He finally knelt in front of Qi Qingshan’s tomb, tears rolling down his cheeks.

He had avenged him.

But it was impossible to bring back the dead.

Even with Ding Hao’s great power, he was unable to resurrect the long-haired old man who carried a wine gourd all day long.

He had been extremely busy during those days. It was partly because he wanted to do his best to revive the sect. The other reason was that he hoped to ease the pain by burying himself in work.

Ding Hao didn’t shed a single tear when he learned about the death of Qi Qingshan and the others.

Since everything had been settled, he was able to leave Snow Province the next day for a long journey. Once he defeated the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, their biggest enemy, Ding Hao would meet up with Golden Cicada, the eminent monk of the Big Leiyin Temple, and go to the Southern Region to find his sister, Ding Ke’er.

Ding Hao decided to go there before his departure.

Tears rolled down from his eyes. Ding Hao leaned against the tombstone and muttered, “Master, has Senior Brother Tang told you about everything that happened in the sect? I didn’t embarrass you…”

The old man resting peacefully underground was the first person who sincerely supported and helped him after his time-travel.

If he hadn’t been secretly watching and protecting him, he might have died under Mu Tianyang’s sword in the primeval forest, let alone become the Saber and Sword Addict.

For Ding Hao, that old man had always been like family to him although he seldom expressed it. He quietly watched him and supported him without asking for anything in return. If Li Jianyi and Tang Folei had cared for him because of his outstanding martial arts talent, Qi Qingshan did so without any design in mind.

From the first day he entered the sect, they formed a special bond based on a commitment: “I love the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.”

“Master, I’m really sorry that you didn’t see me take revenge nor my exceptional achievements… Tomorrow, I will leave the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect temporarily. I don’t know what I will experience, how long it will take for me to come back, or when I can come to see you again. So let’s drink to our hearts’ content tonight…”

Ding Hao poured some liquor onto the ground and then raised his head to take a big sip.

The air was filled with the scent of liquor.

Ding Hao was slightly drunk, his vision blurred.

At this moment, under the silver moonlight, a beautiful and refined figure slowly walked over like a moon fairy.

“Why drink so much? Bad mood?” The beautiful figure sat beside Ding Hao. She lifted the hem of her skirt, hugged her knees, and looked at him with curious eyes.

Ding Hao smiled and took another sip. He opened his mouth and said with the smell of alcohol, “Hey? Xiao Lan, aren’t you obsessed with cleanliness? Why are you sitting on the mud tonight?”

Li Lan didn’t say anything. She snatched the wine bottle from Ding Hao’s hand, raised her fair, swan-like neck, and gulped down the bottle’s content with big mouthfuls.

She rarely drank without moderation. The green liquor was overflowing, running down her delicate lower jaw, along her fair skin and exquisite collarbone, into the collar of her dress and her chest.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh…” Li Lan suddenly coughed violently. “This liquor sure tastes bad.”

Ding Hao reeked of alcohol as he replied using her opening words. “Why drink so much? Bad mood?”

Li Lan didn’t answer.

She sat quietly in front of the tombstone. Looking up at the bright moonlight, she slowly said, “Ding Hao, do you know? I was born a girl. It was unfortunate, since my father wanted a boy to inherit his legacy and succeed him as the head of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. On the day of my birth, my father went to the sword cliff alone and got drunk for the first time in many years…”

Ding Hao burped, handed over the bottle, and muttered, “Head Jianyi favored sons over daughters? Even though you’re a girl, you can still become a martial arts master and take charge of the sect.”

She took a big swig of the bottle. This time, she didn’t cough but sighed with misty eyes, “When has there ever been a female master in the Snow Province? Except for a declining sect like the Heavenly Sound Valley, it’s been men who have dominated this land for thousands of years.”

Ding Hao didn’t say anything.

He knew that what Li Lan said was true. In the history of the Snow Province, there had rarely been any female superiors in charge.

“Hehe, my father later learned a set of arcane tricks from somewhere and changed my gender. Of course, it was just a superficial change. He wanted me to be a boy so that he could realize his dream. He was thrilled when I showed my exceptional martial arts talent. However, my mother fell out with my father because of this. They almost broke up…”

Li Lan took another sip while speaking.

While she felt the hot and spicy liquid gushing down her throat, Li Lan had never been so eager to talk.

“Very few people knew that I was actually a girl. I was raised as a boy since the day after my birth. My father was very harsh with me and had high expectations of me. I rarely appeared in public because of my special identity. My father himself taught me martial arts since day one. At that time, there were many things I didn’t understand. Why would my father leave when my mother went to see me? Why did I have to dress up and behave like a boy when I clearly knew I was a girl…?

“Later, when I grew up a little bit, I began to understand things…

“Every night, when I took off my clothes and soaked myself in hot water, I would cry quietly. That arcane trick gave me an Adam’s apple and made me speak in a rough voice. I was as thin and flat as a man. But I know that I’m a girl. Even though I look like a boy with clothes on, I’m clearly aware that I’m a girl…

“Sometimes I feel that my life is a nightmare. I’m playing a role that doesn’t belong to me.

“But I still respect my father deeply. I know the price he paid for the revival of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. I know he loved me dearly, deep down, but he loved the sect even more… So all these years, I’ve been living up to his expectation. Many times, I told myself that since I can’t dress like a woman, I should forget that I am one and focus on helping my father realize his dream…

“That is, until I met you, after I became a nominal disciple of the sect with a different identity… Hehe, Ding Hao, you may not believe it. When I saw you for the first time, I knew would probably not be able to become the top disciple of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect’s younger generation as my father had expected. I wasn’t as talented as you were, although my strength was much greater than yours at that time.

“At first, I was hostile towards you, but later… How annoying it was. I gradually wanted to become friends with you!

“Later, you were like a sharp awl hidden in a cloth bag. You shocked the whole sect with your extraordinary talent and got support from Master Qi Qingshan… I guess my father also noticed that, so he no longer placed all his hopes on me and began to pay attention to you. Maybe he believed that you could realize his dream.

“I hated you a lot for a time. My existence seemed to have lost its meaning because of you. I gave up my feminity to act like a man in the past 15 years… I paid such a big price for what I wanted to achieve. And then my efforts became meaningless because of you. You replaced me as a more suitable candidate in my father’s eyes. What am I? What do my efforts mean? I have become a man, a woman, and a monster. All for what?

“It’s so annoying. I wanted to hate you, but I can’t.

“Later, I thought that if my existence had lost its meaning, I might as well take the chance to be a woman again. I wouldn’t have to bear the burden, living for others…

“I loved my father but I love my mother more. She didn’t care for me because of my responsibilities nor she had any expectations. She did so because she was a mother. Every time I felt lost, she would immediately appear in front of me and comfort me with the gentlest words. Always…”

By this time, Li Lan had almost drunk all the liquor in the bottle.

The bottle was brewed by Ding Hao. It was a fruity kind of liquor, mild and with a soft taste, but even those with high tolerance to alcohol would get drunk after drinking so much in one go.

At this time, Li Lan already looked tipsy, but her mind was very clear.

“It is not enough… alcohol. Hehe, fortunately, I also prepared a bottle…” As she spoke, she took out a wine gourd from her storage space. Ding Hao’s eyes lit up because it was the wine gourd that Qi Qingshan had always carried with him.

Li Lan took a big sip, threw the wine gourd to Ding Hao, and continued to talk to herself.

“My mother must have loved my father very much. Although they broke up, I noticed the way my mother looked at my father’s back. How tender she was… With my mother’s persuasion, I suddenly felt that maybe you were sent by heaven. God knows that even if I were a boy, I could have failed to achieve my father’s dream, so he let you replace me. And I seem to finally get the freedom that I’ve always been looking forward to…”

She seemed drunk. While she was speaking, Li Lan slowly tilted her body to one side and leaned on Ding Hao’s shoulder.