Chapter 80: My Heart Yearns for Peace—How Can Things Always Go as Desired?

Liu Yi stood up, gripping his sword in his left hand and his right hand behind his back. Watching July disappear, he felt an indescribable sorrow, but it was only a fleeting moment. He had more important things to do now—he needed to find that reclusive master of weapon crafting. But… here came the problem: who was this person in Lotus Town? And where?
Liu Yi’s mind raced. Right… blacksmiths. He would start by asking the blacksmiths in the town who could craft magical weapons. So, he began asking around in every blacksmith shop in Lotus Town. Yet, two hours passed, and by noon, he had visited every blacksmith shop in town with no results.
Liu Yi wandered aimlessly through the streets of Lotus Town when suddenly, a sign caught his eye. It bore golden characters reading “Xinxi Yue Restaurant.” Ten years ago, it was here he met July. It was here that Jilier cut her wrist to save his life with her own blood. So many things had happened here. Unconsciously, Liu Yi went up to the second floor and found a quiet spot by the corner to sit.
Ten years later, the place had become even more prosperous. Although the second floor was reserved for private rooms, business was booming. Liu Yi felt around himself. Fortunately, he still had the two ingots of gold that July had given him earlier. He placed his long sword on the table, gently removed his mask, and ordered a pot of high-quality “New Moon Wine” and two pounds of chopped cooked beef from the waiter.
Taking a sip of the strong liquor, he felt both unfamiliarity and familiarity. Having been away from the world for ten years, he seemed to have forgotten what wine tasted like. He picked up a piece of beef, put it in his mouth, and chewed. It was really good. How wonderful life in the world could be. If Jilier were still here, perhaps the two of them would already be living in that small hut, leading a life of “picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, leisurely gazing at the southern mountains.” But how could things always go as desired? In the blink of an eye, he and Jilier were separated by vast distances, and he himself had embarked on a path of damnation with no way back.
As Liu Yi was lost in thought, someone suddenly sat down across from him. Under normal circumstances, he would have noticed, but his mind was cluttered with thoughts of Jilier and the hardships of life, so he didn’t even realize someone had sat down across from him.
Still, Liu Yi quickly regained his senses. Looking at the person across from him, he was initially shocked before calmly saying, “It’s you.”
Sitting across from him was a woman in white. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but her eyes were extraordinary. Her petite frame seemed to always need a strong man to protect her. This woman was none other than the talented one whom Liu Yi had mistaken for Jilier back in the Snowflake Sea.
Behind her were still those four guards, but now they no longer had the audacity to speak in front of Liu Yi, for they saw that the person before them was extremely young, seemingly around the same age as them, yet his cultivation had already reached the level of an immortal. Clearly, their wounds had been bandaged, as there was no blood on their clothes anymore.

Tianjiao looked at Liu Yi and said, “Your eyes are very special. It seems they hide a very deep story—one that seems quite sad, with a sense of vicissitudes reflected in that sadness.”
Liu Yi glanced at Tianjiao but quickly lowered his head to drink, then replied, “Are we that familiar? It seems we’ve only met once.”
Tianjiao giggled and said, “What, one meeting isn’t enough? Isn’t there an old saying that goes, ‘Five hundred encounters in past lives are needed to achieve just a passing glance in this life’? Isn’t that enough?”
Liu Yi continued pouring wine without looking at Tianjiao and said, “What a sharp tongue you have.”
Tianjiao stared at Liu Yi and asked, “Don’t you dare look at me? Are you afraid it will stir up the pain in your heart?”
Liu Yi suddenly turned his head, a red glow flashing in his eyes. The four guards stepped back upon seeing that red light in Liu Yi’s eyes—those weren’t human eyes at all… they told themselves, using their years of experience in the martial world.
But Tianjiao showed no reaction. Instead, she continued, “You’re scared. You’re afraid to see what I look like.” Saying this, she tapped her temples with two fingers, and a yellow light instantly gathered around them. Then, she extended her fingers toward Liu Yi’s chest.
Having spent ten years with the souls of the Nier people, Liu Yi already had some understanding of martial arts in the world—swordsmanship was just one of them. There were also other spells, Dao arts, dark arts, curses, alchemy arts… many of them. So Liu Yi knew that Tianjiao was using “mind-reading,” a type of Dao art.
The moment Tianjiao touched Liu Yi’s chest, her body jerked suddenly, then she closed her eyes and quietly poured her soul into this stranger’s heart…
Suddenly, Liu Yi stood up and said, “Enough. You can’t read my mind.”
Tianjiao gently opened her eyes and said, “Perhaps, yes.”
Liu Yi stretched out his right hand, and a powerful suction force drew the “wandering soul” into his palm. Wearing his mask, he picked up the “Sorrowful Dream” sword, placed a gold ingot down, and turned to walk downstairs.
Watching Liu Yi leave, the four guards anxiously asked, “Princess, who is he?”
A tear rolled down Tianjiao’s cheek as she said, “A heartbroken man… His heart seems shattered. I can’t read anything. All I can feel is endless sorrow and boundless hatred.”
The four remained silent, not understanding what the princess meant by a “heartbroken man.”
As for Liu Yi, as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a drunk strongman shouting, “What, are you afraid I can’t afford to pay for your drinks? My master can create a simple artifact that’s enough to buy ten or eight of your restaurants.”
These words piqued Liu Yi’s great interest. He quickly turned to look at the man—tall and imposing, those four words were enough to describe him. With dark skin, a vest on top and thick pants below, his muscular arms were clearly visible.
Liu Yi moved his feet, and a gentle breeze swept through as he stood in front of the strongman and the waiter. Taking out a silver ingot, he said, “Waiter, I’ll pay for his drinks.”
Seeing the gold ingot, the waiter immediately lost any intention of arguing and hurried away, bowing repeatedly.

Upon seeing someone pay for the drinks, the burly man immediately turned to the man in black with white hair with a smile, grabbed Liu Yi by the collar, and said, “Hehe, bro, it’s not that I don’t have money. I just can’t stand the arrogance of that waiter. But now that you’ve paid for the drinks, I don’t even want to argue with them.”
Liu Yi looked at the burly man and asked, “What’s your name?”
The burly man swayed, nearly falling, and said, “Just call me A’Niu. That’s how everyone in Lianhua Town calls me. What’s your name, bro?”
Liu Yi didn’t answer A’Niu’s question and instead said, “Your master knows how to craft weapons, right?”
At these words, A’Niu quickly regained his senses and said, “I was just guessing. It’s not true.”
Liu Yi stared into A’Niu’s eyes, but A’Niu dared not look back. After a pause, Liu Yi said, “Take me to see your master.”
A’Niu hurriedly said, “Really, bro. I was just making things up…”
A red glow flashed in Liu Yi’s eyes as he said coldly, “I’m telling you one more time—I want to see your master. Whether he knows how to craft weapons or not. If you don’t obey, you won’t see the sun tomorrow.”
Although A’Niu was tall and strong, he didn’t seem very brave. Facing Liu Yi’s gaze and hearing his harsh words, he wavered. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Okay, I can take you to my master. But don’t say I told you he knows how to craft weapons.”
Liu Yi nodded silently, and A’Niu said, “Let’s go. My master is at the blacksmith shop ahead…”