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Chapter 281: The Legend of the Berries

Nevertheless, as a seventh-realm Eminent One, Di Nufeng could create a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood just by raising her hand. This meant the pressure of that glare wasn\'t something Zhang Xiaohan, who had a low cultivation level, could withstand.

Zhang Xiaohan trembled, overwhelmed by the fear that washed over her.

She had long known of Di Nufeng, the peak master of Silver Sword Peak. However, as she had grown up in the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, everything she knew about Di Nufeng had been from The Seven Stars Gazette.

It had described Di Nufeng as a savage and barbaric scourge of Mount Shu, so Zhang Xiaohan had imagined Di Nufeng as a hideous and ferocious fiend-like existence. Who would associate that image with the tall and gorgeous woman standing in front of Zhang Xiaohan?

When Zhang Xiaohan was done crying, she reflected deeply on the matter.

I didn\'t recognize Di Nufeng because, although her name was well-known, I\'ve never seen her in person or even a painting of her before. Compared to using words, using a painting would certainly have been a more accurate way of informing readers about Di Nufeng.

In The Seven Stars Gazette, there were usually only paintings included for the items in the "Catalog of the Mortal World\'s Ten Thousand Treasures," providing its readers with a rough idea of what the legendary artifacts looked like. The articles and tales in the "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces" and the "Uncommon Tales of the Martial World" were never presented with illustrations.

Zhang Xiaohan began to wonder, Should I include some illustrations with my future news articles?

That way, she could convey her observations better and allow readers to have a better understanding of the nine provinces\' influential figures.

It just so happened that she had some talent and a bit of experience in painting. Thinking of that, Zhang Xiaohan\'s sadness turned into joy.

I\'ll become the first person in the Celestial Pivot Pavilion to publish illustrated articles! I might even start a new trend with this!

Let\'s begin by making an account of the scene at the Mount Shu Summit tomorrow!

That\'s right. Zhang Xiaohan had experienced something traumatic, but she had no intention of going home. The finals of the Mount Shu Summit would be held the next day, and it would have the attention of everyone in the nine provinces. As a professional disciple of the Wind-Catching Hall, how could she possibly miss it?

Zhang Xiaohan was staying in the accommodation the Foreign Affairs Hall had arranged for her. It was in the same place as where the other visiting disciples from the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten were staying.

After she rested there for just a short while, a knock came at her room door.

"Miss Xiaohan?" someone called out softly.

Zhang Xiaohan was surprised to hear that voice.

It sounds like Chu Liang...?

She opened the door, and just as she\'d expected, it was indeed Chu Liang.

Chu Liang stood at the door with an innocent smile, looking as if he wouldn\'t hurt a fly. He was carrying many boxes of various sizes.

Zhang Xiaohan welcomed Chu Liang in and then asked, "What brings you here, Young Hero Chu?"

"My teacher was quite discourteous to you earlier. She probably gave you a fright. I\'m here to apologize on behalf of Silver Sword Peak as well as check how you\'re doing," Chu Liang said warmly. "I\'ve brought some small gifts for you as a token of apology. Please accept them."

"Oh, no. How could I?" Zhang Xiaohan hurriedly waved off the apology. "I was rude to your teacher first. How could I let you apologize to me?"

"Oh, but we must. You\'re a guest here. Besides, you came here to interview me. How could we mistreat you?" Chu Liang sat down and laid out the items he\'d brought. "This is a gift box of Silver Sword Peak\'s specialty—Golden Vein Berries. And this is a Blackwater Calming Lotus, which can dispel fear and calm the mind... It can also be used for concocting high-grade Golden Pills..."

"Eh?" Zhang Xiaohan uttered, taken aback.

She had heard about Silver Sword Peak\'s berry gift box when she first got to Mount Shu, but she hadn\'t asked around for more information on it. Zhang Xiaohan had assumed that it wouldn\'t be that valuable since Silver Sword Peak had produced it.

However, the Blackwater Calming Lotus was an important ingredient for concocting Golden Pills, as it could improve the quality of a Golden Pill and make it high-grade. It was equivalent to the Sword-Leaf Dark Sunflower that Chu Liang had sought out and used for his Golden Pills. The Blackwater Calming Lotus was incredibly valuable!

In fact, it was especially valuable for Zhang Xiaohan, as she was currently at the Spiritual Awareness Realm. She would need this Blackwater Calming Lotus pretty soon. That meant this gift wasn\'t just valuable; it would save her a lot of effort too. It was a very thoughtful gift.

Zhang Xiaohan was astonished that Chu Liang would give the Blackwater Calming Lotus as a gift.

After staying silent for a moment, she ultimately forced herself to shake her head. "Young Hero Chu, this gift is truly too valuable. I can accept the berry gift box, but I really can\'t accept the Blackwater Calming Lotus."

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohan was a disciple of the Wind-Catching Hall. The Wind-Catching Hall was quite well-off and raised its disciples in wealth. If she hadn\'t grown up in such an environment, it might have been hard for her to refuse the gift.

"Hehe, Miss Xiaohan, you don\'t need to refuse it so quickly. This is just a small token of appreciation from my peak to show that we want to be friends with you." Chu Liang said with a smile. "Aside from this, I have a really small request to ask of you."

Oh, so it\'s because he wants me to help him with something.

Zhang Xiaohan finally felt more at ease.

"Young Hero Chu, please feel free to tell me what it is."

"It has to do with the berry gift box," Chu Liang explained. "I was selling these berries during the summit... and I\'ve got some interesting stories to tell you about what happened during that time..."

He recounted the story of the Eminent Ones stealing berries from Mount Shu\'s visitors.

This was Zhang Xiaohan\'s first time hearing about it.

Blinking in surprise, she remarked, "This is indeed rather strange. It could be included in the \'Uncommon Tales of the Martial World.\'"

"That\'s right. So, I came to you to ask if you could write about these berries in The Seven Stars Gazette," Chu Liang said slowly. "Additionally, don\'t you want to know why that Eminent One stole the berries? I can tell you in detail about the berries\' origin and effects as well as the interesting backstory behind their discovery."

Zhang Xiaohan was stunned. "Backstory?"

It\'s just a fruit. What kind of backstory could it have?

"Oh, yes. You have no idea what a tale[1] it is." Chu Liang smiled. "In the previous dynasty, there was a man in Jiangnan named Xu Xian. He was handsome and refined, and his family ran a medicinal herb shop...

"One day, he went on a boat ride on a lake and encountered two young women, one dressed in green and the other in white. Right then, it started to rain.

"...[2] Shopkeeper Xu believed the monk\'s words and gave his wife some realgar wine[8] to drink. Suddenly...[3]

"... The white and green snakes then broke into the Mountain of Immortals and stole the legendary Celestial Fruit, which can resurrect the dead and restore flesh and bone. They returned with the fruit and forcefully fed it to Xu Xian, shoving pieces of the fruit down Xu Xian\'s throat and into his stomach. And like that, he was resurrected. The name of this story is Stealing Fruit From the Mountain of Immortals."

Chu Liang\'s vivid narration of Stealing Fruit From the Mountain of Immortals left Zhang Xiaohan entranced.

The young lady asked eagerly, "What happened next? What happened to Xu Xian and his wife, Madam Bai?"

Chu Liang smiled and said, "Miss Xiaohan, if you agree to write these tales and publish them in the gazette, I\'ll continue telling you the story."

Zhang Xiaohan agreed to Chu Liang\'s request without hesitation. "This story is quite extraordinary. It can definitely be included in The Seven Stars Gazette."

Consequently, Chu Liang made good on his promise and continued narrating the tale of Stealing Fruit From the Mountain of Immortals.

"After that, Madam Bai and Xu Xian planted the seed of the Celestial Fruit in the ground, and it bore new fruits. Those new fruits are our Golden Vein Berries...

"Then Lady Bai got pregnant. Pregnant women shouldn\'t get agitated, but Xu Xian just had to...

"... Jinshan was flooded with stormy waves that never seemed to end! Nevertheless, old Fahai[4] was not an easy opponent...

"... Xu Hanlin[5] saved his mother, and his family lived happily together," Chu Liang said, finally bringing the tale to an end.

"That\'s wonderful!" Zhang Xiaohan exclaimed. "Madam Bai\'s family finally reunited."

"That\'s right. In celebration of Madam Bai\'s courage, unwavering determination, and great willpower to fight the world to be in a relationship with Xu Xian, this tale is called..." Chu Liang said slowly word by word, "The Berry Legend."

"It\'s also known as The Legend of the Golden Vein Berries. Miss Xiaohan, you can use this title when you write the story down later," Chu Liang suggested, gently guiding Zhang Xiaohan to fulfill his wishes.

Zhang Xiaohan furrowed her brows slightly. "Huh?"

...

Early the next morning, Mount Shu was extremely noisy.

The beats of gongs and drums[6] filled the air, played in harmony with the music of immortals. As red flags fluttered in the wind, a sea of people flooded Mount Shu!

They consisted of many disciples from various immortal sects located all over the nine provinces as well as numerous unconventional cultivators. Even though they hadn\'t watched the previous competitions held during the Mount Shu Summit, they weren\'t going to miss the final match of the main competition. They wanted to see which handsome young man or beautiful young woman would become the next head disciple of the Mount Shu Sect and the representative disciple of this top-tier immortal sect.

However, the final match of this year\'s Mount Shu Summit had gathered more visitors than ever before. All kinds of cultivators rushed over to Heaven-Reaching Peak.

During the Mount Shu Summit, Mount Shu was made accessible to all, and its visitors could roam freely on Heaven-Reaching Peak. There were some important locations, which were guarded by disciples, but visitors were free to explore everywhere else.

Amidst the bustling crowd, there was a long-haired woman dressed in a veil and a high-waisted dress[7], giving off a rather ethereal vibe. She was wandering around while holding the hand of a little boy who looked rather strong.

At this time, the final match had not yet begun, and they were casually looking around like the other visitors.

The woman in the high-waisted dress whispered, "Today, I\'ll teach you a phrase: \'Rather than stealing someone\'s fish, it is better to steal their fishing net.\'"

"La... La..." the child stammered.

He seemed to have difficulty pronouncing the words.

The woman continued with her lesson. "And what does this phrase mean? It means that if you steal someone\'s fish, you\'ll finish eating all of them at some point. But if you steal their net, you can catch your own fish, so you\'ll always be able to eat fish."

The child clearly repeated, "Always be able to eat."

"Ha! Why is it that you always learn so quickly whenever the word \'eat\' is mentioned?" The woman couldn\'t help but laugh. "You little rascal, there\'s really nothing else in your mind, is there?"

1. This tale that Chu Liang is telling is the Legend of the White Snake, which is focused on the romance between Xu Xian and a female white snake demon. Yes, Chu Liang is shamelessly using this for the berries\' backstory lol. ☜

2. Author skipped a whole bunch of stuff, so this narration doesn\'t really make much sense read as is. I added these “... ” to indicate he omitted some stuff, and I added refs to fill in the gaps as best I could, so make sure to read them or check out the link in the previous ref. ☜

3. In the legend, the monk told Xu Xian that his wife is a snake. When the wife drank the wine, it revealed her true form. Xu Xian died of shock from seeing his wife as a snake. ☜

4. The Buddhist monk from before. The antagonist in the legend. ☜

5. This seems to be based on the TV series adaptation (China) of the original legend, in which Xu Xian\'s son is named Xu Hanlin. The monk trapped Xu Hanlin\'s mother (who is a snake demon) under a pagoda(kinda like the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda in that it traps demons), but Xu Hanlin ultimately saved his mother. ☜

6. Chinese percussion instruments ☜

7. You can go here to see what it looks like. ☜

8. It\'s a wine that\'s traditionally consumed as part of the Dragon Boat Festival and has been used as a repellent against snakes since ancient times. See here for more info. ☜