The Cicadas' Song Bids Farewell To The Setting Sun.

Chapter 3 The Unknown Land

Before leaving, Ning Bufan went alone to the village chief, Grandpa Li's house to say goodbye.

"Bufan, are you leaving?" The white-haired, hunched old man squatted on the elm tree stump outside the house, his eyes closed as if dozing.

"Yes, Grandpa Village Chief, I... want to go out and see this prosperous world." Ning Yu lowered his eyes and said softly, "My father suddenly left, saying he was looking for my mother. There must be a reason for this. Although he never told me, I know in my heart that perhaps it was because he didn't want me to bear things I couldn't bear."

After a pause, he continued, "Or perhaps... I'm a little tired of staying in this land and want to see a bigger and wider world. Or perhaps, I want to see my mother."

The white-haired old man opened his eyes, stood up, his hunched body seemingly about to collapse with a breath of wind. He took two steps forward, patted Ning Bufan's shoulder, and carefully examined the slightly youthful face with its sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

"If you've made up your mind, then go. You've grown up now. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye, almost like the changing of the world. It's time to go out and see the world."

...

The July sunset painted the entire sky with brilliance. Under the gentle caress of the evening breeze, Ning Yu, carrying a half-broken carved wooden sword, a few tattered books left by his father, and a grass wolf named Xiao Qi, was led by Princess Jinyun and left the familiar land where he had lived for twenty years.

No one saw him off. "We'll meet again anywhere in the world," he said, turning away without looking back. "Where isn't the world?"

Willow buds drooled, sparrows chirped, and dew condensed in the deep forest. A cool breeze moistened the fine rain, and a lone bridge envied the long pavilion.

Jiang Ge led Ning Bufan out of the village surrounded by deep forests and onto a long bridge called the Bridge of Helplessness. To leave Willow Village, one had to cross this small bridge. Once crossed, one could travel to the ends of the earth and never find Willow Village again.

At this moment, many familiar people and things appeared before his eyes—

Old Wang, who owned a big yellow dog.

Widow Wang, who raised many chicks.

Uncle Zhang, the hunter who brandished a kitchen knife to intimidate Ning Bufan and Chen Ziqi, who had caused trouble.

Aunt Liu, who claimed to have miraculous healing skills but only knew how to use wild yams dug from the mountains as a remedy for common ailments. Aunt Li,

who raised many roosters but whose roosters were always stolen and eaten, searching house to house at the village entrance for the culprit.

The kind village chief, with his white hair and hunched back, always squatting at his doorstep.

Memories were jumbled, fragmented, vast yet blurry…

He couldn't help but glance back, only to see wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys.

Yes, it was time for the villagers to eat dinner. He smiled and sighed.

He wouldn't come back.

The moment he crossed the bridge, a cool breeze brushed his face, and the Bridge of Helplessness vanished without a trace. This strange scene slightly surprised him. There really were extraordinary beings in this world. Could the legendary immortals on White Jade Mountain be…?

He cleared his jumbled thoughts, turned to Jiang Ge, and said, “Your Highness, I am a naive young man you lured away. From now on, you must take care of my food, clothing, and shelter. If I cannot find someone to spend my life with, you must introduce me to a virtuous wife. You must take responsibility for me.”

Jiang Ge blushed slightly, pursed her lips, looked up, blinked, and whispered, “Food, clothing, and shelter are naturally not a problem. Why should I concern myself with your life’s important matters? Although a man can have many women, he can only have one wife. She is the one he will spend his life with. Why need an introduction from someone else?”

“If I hadn’t left Willow Village, Aunt Liu’s Juan’er would have been my wife. You haven’t seen Juan’er; she is absolutely stunning, a peerless beauty, and deeply in love with me. It was only because I left Willow Village with you that I lost my beloved wife.” Ning Bufan wept uncontrollably, overwhelmed with grief. "

Even so, why doesn't Young Master Ning say goodbye to Juan... Juan'er?" Jiang Ge felt it was cruel to separate lovers, sighed, and thought, "Young Master Ning is a man of true feelings.

If I went to Aunt Liu's house and you saw Juan'er as a one-and-a-half-year-old crawling on the ground with a snotty nose, how could I possibly fool you?

" "It is precisely because of my deep love that I cannot see her. I fear that if I see her, I will not be able to leave and will fail my father's trust." Jiang

Ge felt a surge of anxiety and panic. What if Young Master Ning knew that it wasn't his teacher, but his father, who had sent him to use these words to trick Ning Yu into leaving the mountain?

The young man with the wooden sword subtly observed Jiang Ge's expression out of the corner of his eye. He had deliberately brought up the previous statement to elicit the following sentence. When he said "I have failed my father's trust," the Princess of Jinyun's expression changed slightly, and her eyes flickered.

It wasn't his father who had sent him to find him, yet his father had inadvertently mentioned him to His Majesty the Emperor. Wasn't this a way of using His Majesty the Emperor to persuade him to leave the mountain? One option was to give His Majesty the Emperor or Tianfeng Kingdom a choice, and the other was to give Ning Bufan a choice.

Tianfeng Kingdom chose to use Ning Li's influence to "invite" him to leave the mountain, while he chose to "believe" Jiang Ge, go out to find his father, and uncover the truth. If he didn't want to leave the mountain, regardless of whether Tianfeng sent anyone to Liu Village to find him, he could continue to stay in Liu Village, farming, enjoying the breeze, and watching the sunset every day. These things were actually unimportant; the most important thing was his choice.

“Your Highness, I have some doubts. Could you perhaps answer them for me?” Ning Bufan called out to the still flustered princess.

“Ah, what is it? Oh… Go ahead and ask.” She gently stroked her hair, calming herself, and was also curious about what kind of questions this brilliant young man would ask.

“What are these so-called, um, unknowable places in the world?”

“Young Master Ning doesn’t know?” Jiang Ge hadn’t expected Ning Yu to ask this question.

“I’ve only heard my father mention them a few times in my spare time, but not in much detail.”

“Willow Village is ranked number one among the unknowable places in the world. I thought that as a person from another world, Young Master Ning would know more about these strange places.”

“Is that so!” Ning Yu recalled the suddenly vanished Bridge of Helplessness. He hadn't expected Willow Village to be ranked first among the unknowable places. He

also thought of his kind, white-haired village chief.

If Willow Village was the most remarkable place in the world, then this village chief was the most remarkable person on the entire continent.

He chuckled. His grandfather had watched him grow up, always kind and gentle to everyone in the village, a respectable and benevolent old man. Perhaps even he didn't know that Willow Village was so remarkable in the eyes of the world?

"The second most remarkable unknowable place is the Star-Picking Tower. I've heard from the disciples who have come out of there that they live among stars plucked from the sky by their ancestors. In the past few decades, there have been many disciples of the Star-Picking Tower who have emerged from the world, all carrying wooden swords, full of heroic spirit, fond of righting wrongs and upholding justice."

"Are there often worldly disciples in the unknowable places?" Ning Yu shook his half-broken wooden sword, twirling it thoughtfully. "

A hundred years ago, this wasn't common, but in recent decades, disciples from many unknown lands have descended into the world. They call themselves 'worldly wanderers,' while the world calls them 'gifted ones.' Young Master Ning is currently the only young worldly wanderer from the unknown lands. If you encounter another gifted one, you'll likely have to spar—that's the rule of the secluded sects. Hmm… Young Master Ning's attire is quite similar to that of a worldly wanderer from the Star-Picking Pavilion."

Ning Yu pondered for a long time, then nodded, "Your Highness, please continue."

"Third on the list is the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. It's because the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is on the Heavenly Mystery Ranking that you, Young Master, are now world-famous."

"I already know that. Although I don't quite understand why the Heavenly Secrets Ranking has a problem, placing a fool like me at the top. But it doesn't matter. I, Ning Bufan, am born extraordinary. I've become famous throughout the martial world, even the whole world, before I've even entered it. It's not what I wanted. It's all because the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion misled people. In reality, I'm just an ordinary, handsome young man from the mountains."

Jiang Ge's expression was strange. If you're a fool, then there are no smart people in the world. Not to mention that the Heavenly Secrets Ranking observes human nature based on celestial phenomena and has never made a mistake, just from the time I've spent with you, I've vaguely sensed your extraordinary qualities, Ning Yu.

"The fourth-ranked, unknowable place is Tingyu Pavilion. It's inhabited entirely by women, and every disciple who enters the mortal realm is an absolute beauty. They always wear a jade pendant at their waist, carry a flute, and are proficient in all arts and crafts, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose. If Young Master Ning encounters them, he should be extremely cautious. The disciples of Tingyu Pavilion are skilled in seduction; many who have fought them have become infatuated with their voices, feeling as if in a dream, and readily admitting defeat."

"That's quite interesting," Ning Yu clapped his hands and laughed. "If I have the chance, I'll definitely try to marry a woman from Tingyu Pavilion. She's skilled in all arts and crafts, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose—a perfect candidate for a lifelong partner."

Jiang Ge was speechless. Why did this Young Master Ning always keep this matter in mind?

"The fifth-ranked, unknowable place is called Xiaoyao Temple, a sacred site of Taoism. Various Taoist sects revere it as their ancestral home. Occasionally, disciples emerge from this world to perform the deeds, speak the words, and follow the methods of sages, taking it upon themselves to educate the people. Many of the disciples here are renowned scholars. That one at the top of the Heavenly Secrets Ranking… no, currently second on the Heavenly Secrets Ranking, Wu Shizi Yang, is a disciple of Xiaoyao Temple. If Young Master Ning were to encounter him, a battle would be inevitable."