Chapter 383: Peach Blossoms in Full Bloom, As If an Old Friend Has Returned

Young Hero Chu?

When and where had he heard this before?

Chu Liang held his forehead, unable to recall any memory of this title, yet it felt strangely familiar.

“Mr. Chu, what’s wrong?” Su Qingyu asked.

“Nothing, it’s just… I seem to have forgotten something.”

“Mr. Chu doesn’t seem like a forgetful person.”

“Indeed.”

Chu Liang was also puzzled. What had he forgotten?

His life had only been a short ten-odd years, not even twenty. There wasn’t much to forget.

Whenever he thought of the title “Young Hero Chu,” a strange feeling stirred within him. But when he tried to delve deeper, that peculiar sensation vanished, as if veiled by a hazy mist, always eluding his grasp.

“Forget it, I won’t think about it.”

Chu Liang shook his head, focusing on the present.

He poured a bowl of medicinal soup, carefully blew on it until the steam dissipated, then brought the wooden spoon to Su Qingyu’s lips. “Miss Su, try this soup. If it’s still too hot, I’ll let it cool a bit longer.”

“Alright, let me try…”

Su Qingyu tasted it, then smiled sweetly. “It’s fine now, thank you, Mr. Chu.”

“It’s nothing, just a small effort.”

Chu Liang smiled in response, feeding her the soup spoonful by spoonful.

A few more days passed, and Su Qingyu could finally get out of bed with some difficulty. Her complexion had improved significantly compared to the first few days.

She went to the courtyard, squinted her eyes, and felt the long-lost sunshine. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, as if she was particularly comfortable.

Chu Liang was also in the courtyard, practicing a messy set of sword techniques.

“Swish, swish, swish…”

The long sword swung back and forth, appearing chaotic and disorganized.

Su Qingyu smiled faintly, her eyes like pools of water, watching silently without interrupting him.

“Miss Su, how is my swordsmanship?” Chu Liang sheathed his sword, turned to her, and asked earnestly.

“Not bound by fixed forms, each move is unexpected, surpassing the level of a beginner. Mr. Chu already has the air of an expert,” Su Qingyu replied with a smile.

Chu Liang felt a little embarrassed, understanding the implied meaning.

He asked, “Miss Su, once you’ve recovered, could you teach me swordsmanship?”

Su Qingyu nodded gently. “Of course, Mr. Chu has shown me great kindness, it’s the least I can do.”

Her recovery was faster than Chu Liang had expected.

After another three days, she could move around normally, and the scabs on her wounds had begun to fall off.

From that day on, Chu Liang began to learn swordsmanship under her guidance.

In this life, his martial arts talent was mediocre, and he learned slowly.

“Swish!”

In the courtyard, Chu Liang held a wooden sword and thrust it upwards.

He turned his head and asked, “Miss Su, is this move correct?”

Su Qingyu shook her head slightly. “Mr. Chu, the angle of this thrust is incorrect, and your posture is also wrong. Don’t just rely on your arm strength; you need to combine the power of your waist and legs.”

As she spoke, she stepped forward, gently grasped Chu Liang’s hand holding the sword, corrected his posture, and then, with a slight exertion, guided him through the thrust.

With a swish.

The wooden sword turned into a blur, instantly flashing past Chu Liang’s eyes, several times faster than his own thrust.

Chu Liang was surprised. The same move could have such a vast difference.

“Mr. Chu, try again.”

Su Qingyu’s voice was soft as she released his hand and took two steps back.

Chu Liang nodded, trying to replicate the feeling from before, and thrust again. This time it was noticeably better, but still not up to standard.

Su Qingyu was very patient, stepping forward again to teach him hand-to-hand, letting him continuously experience the feeling.

“Mr. Chu, there’s no need to burst with full force. Retracting strength is just as important as exerting it. Watch this move of mine…”

After several days, Chu Liang finally learned seven sword moves, completing two-tenths of the most basic section.

Although still not quite standard, he could perform them with a decent semblance, truly embodying a bit of a swordsman’s air, at least enough to fool the uninitiated.

Su Qingyu’s body had almost fully recovered, even the scars on her body had faded.

Early one morning, she expressed her desire to go out for a walk.

Chu Liang took her through the mountains to the nearest town. They first went to a theater to watch a play, and then to a restaurant, where they drank wine while listening to a storyteller recount tales of heroic martial artists.

“Miss Su, what do you think of these stories?” Chu Liang was curious, wanting to hear the opinion of a true heroine.

“Fair, slightly exaggerated,” Su Qingyu commented softly. “But the wine is mediocre, which makes the stories seem bland.”

“Miss Su, this is the best wine in the restaurant.”

Chu Liang was surprised. He usually couldn’t afford such fine wine.

Su Qingyu smiled gently. “Mr. Chu, this wine can only be considered inferior. When I get back, I’ll brew a few jars of truly fine wine for you.”

“Miss Su knows how to brew wine?”

“A little.”

Upon returning, Su Qingyu went to the peach grove on the back mountain and picked some peach blossoms.

The wine she was going to brew was called Peach Blossom Wine, a sweet and fragrant superior wine.

“Peach Blossom Wine?”

Chu Liang was startled again, dazed for a long time.

This name, he seemed to have heard it somewhere before.

“Strange…”

Chu Liang rubbed his temples, as if something was about to surface from the depths of his memory, yet it remained hazy and unclear.

Why did he have this feeling?

He couldn’t understand.

After some time, the wine was brewed.

Su Qingyu had also fully recovered. She packed her things and bid farewell to Chu Liang.

“Mr. Chu, it’s best to seal this wine for a year. Open it next year when the peach blossoms bloom, that’s when it will be the most fragrant,” Su Qingyu explained earnestly.

“When the peach blossoms bloom…”

Chu Liang suddenly felt a moment of disorientation. A blurry figure suddenly appeared in his mind.

It seemed to be a woman, someone he felt very familiar with, but he couldn’t remember where he had met her.

He silently looked at the jars of peach blossom wine in front of him, and after a long while, he came back to his senses and asked, “Miss Su, are you leaving?”

Su Qingyu nodded, holding her sword. “There are still a few enemies. After I’ve dealt with them, I’ll come back to see you, Mr. Chu.”

“Miss Su, do you have a great feud with these enemies?”

“There is no feud.”

◈◈◈

Su Qingyu replied, “But they commit many evils, their sins are numerous. I cannot allow them to continue their wicked deeds.”

Chu Liang asked again, “How strong are they?”

“About the same as me.”

“Isn’t this trip very dangerous then?”

Chu Liang was worried and said, “Miss Su, you have great talent, why not cultivate for a few more years?”

Su Qingyu shook her head gently. “I don’t have much time left, not even a few years.”

“Why is that?”

Chu Liang was surprised. She was so young, how could she not have much time left?

With this question, he learned…

It turned out that when Su Qingyu was still in her mother’s womb, her mother was attacked by an enemy, causing her to be born with a congenital weakness.

Later, she was diagnosed by a physician with a terminal illness, and would not live past twenty.

The illness was called “Leaf Withering Disease,” and there was no cure. Once afflicted, the internal organs would gradually wither like leaves, eventually leading to death.

What was even more terrifying was that the afflicted person would clearly feel their organs failing little by little, living each day in pain and torment.

“Mr. Chu, I am nineteen this year.”

“Miss Su, you…”

Chu Liang opened his mouth, looking at Su Qingyu’s calm and pretty face. He felt a sense of reluctance and a strange emotion, not knowing what to say.

Su Qingyu smiled gently. “All life ends in death. Whether long or short, it is still a life. As long as there are no regrets.”

Chu Liang sighed. “Miss Su is so open-minded, I am not your equal.”

“Farewell, Mr. Chu. Take care!”

Su Qingyu turned and left, holding her sword. Her figure gradually disappeared into the peach grove.

Chu Liang gazed at the direction of her departure, standing there for a long time. The blurry figure in his mind suddenly became a little clearer.

The figure somewhat resembled Su Qingyu, but he still couldn’t remember who it was.

Plants withered and flourished, time flowed on.

Su Qingyu never returned, her fate unknown.

Unknowingly, a year passed, and the peach blossoms in the grove bloomed once again.

“Whoosh…”

The mountain wind blew, carrying countless peach blossoms into the air.

On this day, Chu Liang went to gather herbs as usual.

As he passed through the peach grove, his steps suddenly halted, and his gaze changed as he looked at a peach tree.

A young woman in a blue dress stood beneath the peach tree, holding a long sword, a smile on her face, her beautiful eyes gentle. She had been waiting for who knows how long, with a few peach blossoms having fallen on her hair.

“Mr. Chu, it’s been a while,” Su Qingyu smiled sweetly.

“Miss Su!”

Chu Liang immediately quickened his pace and hurried over. “I thought something had happened to you. I can’t believe we meet again.”

A year had passed, and neither of them had changed much.

Meeting again now, everything from the past was vivid, as if it had happened just yesterday.

Chu Liang was delighted, but also worried.

Su Qingyu was terminally ill and didn’t have much time left. But she didn’t mention it, always smiling, as if the pain and torment of her failing organs didn’t exist.

In the following days, Chu Liang sometimes learned swordsmanship under Su Qingyu’s guidance, and sometimes listened to her stories of the martial world.

Life returned to how it was before, as if it would never change.

Until this day.

Su Qingyu suddenly spoke, “Mr. Chu, are those jars of peach blossom wine still there?”

Chu Liang nodded. “They are.”

“The peach blossoms are in full bloom. How about we go to the peach grove and drink?”

“Alright.”

Chu Liang felt heavy-hearted as he brought the jars of peach blossom wine.

On the back mountain, the fragrance of flowers filled the air. Peach blossoms were in full bloom, countless petals dancing in the wind, covering the ground.

The two sat on the ground, unsealed the jars, and the sweet aroma of wine immediately wafted out.

They drank and chatted, talking for a long time amidst the swirling peach blossoms.

Time passed, and it was gradually approaching evening.

Su Qingyu looked at the crimson setting sun in the distance, put down the wine jar in her hand, and smiled softly. “Mr. Chu, my time has come. The physician’s diagnosis was correct. I really won’t live past twenty.”

“Miss Su, you…”

“There’s no need for sorrow, it’s just a farewell.”

Su Qingyu’s voice was gentle, her life force gradually weakening. She slowly leaned back, resting against a peach tree.

Her life was short, but she didn’t mind.

As she had said before, as long as there were no regrets.

“Mr. Chu, when there is a gathering, there is also a parting. Perhaps you and I will meet again in the next life.” She slowly closed her eyes, and with these words, her life force completely vanished.

A gentle evening breeze blew, carrying countless petals, slowly burying her body.

“The next life?”

Chu Liang suddenly trembled.

In his mind, the figure that had always been blurry finally became clear at this moment.

That was also a woman, an old friend. Before she died, she had told Chu Liang that if he remembered her next year when the peach blossoms bloomed, he should place a pot of peach blossom wine by her grave.

At this moment, Chu Liang remembered.

He not only remembered her, but he also remembered everything.

“I am Chu Liang. I was fighting with Grand Dream Sovereign. The lives I’ve experienced are just illusions created by the laws of reincarnation…”

He slowly closed his eyes, a mysterious and profound aura emanating from his body.

No one knows how long it took, but when he opened his eyes, the surrounding peach blossoms dissipated, and the entire world of this life vanished with them.

He had awakened.

There was no next life.