This line was sung by Wen Kexing over and over with a hint of self-deprecation. His eyes curved, as if he found it entertaining.

What was he seeking, really?

After a good while, no one spoke. Wen Kexing’s humming died down; Zhang Chengling was already asleep, body tilted to one side, the tree branch he took passing now enveloped in his arms like a treasured sword. Something in his dream made his lips curve up and his brows furrow profoundly.

Zhou Zishu stood up, shedding his outer robes and using it to gently cover the child. His head hung low as he sighed, “Your father’s Dazzling Fall’s Eighteen Patterns was said to have taken jianghu by storm. Out of the three moves you have taught the boy, none of them seemed to belong to the Patterns; but when I thought about it, the Eighteen patterns and its ever-changing nature all originated from those three moves. What excellent… successor you are, Brother Wen, to have surpassed your father.”

Wen Kexing’s voice also lowered when he replied calmly. “His swordsmanship is definitely not as good as mine, but he was good at medicine while I completely suck at it. The most I can do is bandaging wounds or battling a cold.”

Then he turned to face Zhou Zishu. “Since you possess such keen apprehension of the old man’s sword skills, what else do you know?”

Zhou Zishu joined him by the fire. He pulled up his collar and hid half of his hands under the sleeves while warming himself up. He spoke slowly. “In jianghu there is the elusive Shaman Medicine Valley whose medication is almost indistinguishable from poison and vice versa; and there is also the Divine Medicine Valley whose practice is solely to help people. It’s said that though the latter is not well-versed in martial arts, no one dare cross them. Your mother Madame Gu was the closed-door disciple of the Valley Master and rumored to be the most beautiful woman when she was a maiden. Some times after there was news about her marriage, causing many hearts to break.”

Wen Kexing laughed softly at that, teasing, “How does a grown man like you know so much gossip? Do you have nothing better to do with your life?”

Zhou Zishu smiled back, “Not really, that’s why you’re hearing all this.”

The two went quiet for a brief moment. Wen Kexing then muttered, “Those are all stories from so long ago…”