Cao Zhangqing played a game of Weiqi with the emperor, while the grand eunuch bent over holding the go board. The empress noticed the scholar’s cap ribbon was askew, and gently extended her delicate hand to tighten it. The emperor, filled with affection for the elegant scholar beside him, merely smiled at the scene without any anger. This tale was passed down with embellishments, eventually becoming a legend in literary circles where Cao Guanzi was said to have been drunk, gripping go stones, shouting the eunuch’s name and demanding he remove his boots, leaving scholars with endless imagination. But such scholarly elegance could only have occurred in the Western Chu dynasty. The current court, and the majority of the martial world, are far from poetic or picturesque. When great literary figures sing of the mighty Yangtze River with iron clappers and lutes, it is undoubtedly grand and heroic, yet the common folk who make their living along the river inevitably spit into its waters during poor harvests. The corpses before the Fish-Dragon Gang, who died trying to seize secret manuals, surely exemplify the old saying: “One strike of the blade, and the body is gone.” Xu Fengnian quietly dismounted and approached the corpses, rummaging through them in hopes of scavenging valuables. Liu Nicong was already embarrassed by her subordinates’ behavior; seeing Xu so brazenly disregarding martial decorum, she turned away in disdain. As for the verbal taunts from the Chess-Sword Bureau swordsman, aside from the necessary show of indignation for her followers’ sake, she was actually numb inside. Whether it was Zhou Ziran, who killed with impunity, or this Northern Liang swordsman who cleverly seized the manual, weren’t they all of the same despicable ilk? She held a grudge against Xu, but found herself more accepting of his straightforwardness. At least he didn’t hide his villainy behind false pretenses. The rogue from the Chess-Sword Bureau wasn’t foolish either; after satisfying his tongue, he swiftly departed. However, after running only seven or eight zhang, he was intercepted by someone—an old man in gray robes with a hooked nose, who had circled back to the danger willingly. The old man had a naturally fierce appearance, with blackish-purple lips, and cackled, “Wang Weixue, in this game of cat and mouse, you’ve used the most cunning tricks, but in the end, your cleverness has backfired. After I kill you and retrieve the Qingfu manual, I’ll frame these Liang barbarians for it.”
Upon seeing the old man with the hooked nose, Wang Weixue showed no fear. He took out the precious manual from his chest, smiling as he said, “Master Song, you’re joking. Where’s the cat-and-mouse game? It’s more like a cat trying to catch a tiger. Before I left the Chess-Sword Bureau, my masters instructed me to merely borrow this from Master Song, promising to return it afterward. It wasn’t a theft. But if Master Song is unwilling to lend it, I’ll return it without trouble. I don’t need you to lift a finger. However, the martial world says Master Song never forgets a grudge or kindness. I’m young and dare not be certain whether I’ve angered you?”
The gray-robed old man narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “Since you’re this obedient grandson, I won’t bother killing wantonly. Rest assured, return the Qingfu to me, and I won’t hold a grudge against you, a junior. Speaking of which, I’m on the same level as your senior master, Renzi Sword King He Fei. If I’m not mistaken, this Qingfu manual, which originated from the Wu family sword tomb, is actually wanted by your uniquely named master. Don’t worry, kid. Once I master this sword manual, I’ll visit your Chess-Sword Bureau for an exchange. Don’t delay any further—hand it over!”
Seeing the ferocious glare from this notorious villain, Wang Weixue unhesitatingly tossed the precious manual. The gray-robed old man caught it, stuffed it into his sleeve without even glancing at it, and then extended his hand again, grinning maliciously, “Good grandson, don’t test my patience. If you don’t behave, I’ll take your life! Even with those people watching, I’m determined to kill you and leave—it’ll still be easy.”
Wang Weixue smiled innocently, quickly pulling out a page torn from the Qingfu Sword Manual, crumpling it and tossing it to the martial world giant while praising, “Master Song’s foresight is incredible. My trivial tricks indeed can’t escape your divine eyes. I truly admire you.”
The gray-robed old man smoothed out the page, confirmed its authenticity, and his expression darkened as he seemed to ponder whether to kill this young man from the Chess-Sword Bureau. Wang Weixue stood there, looking innocently puzzled and asked, “Master Song, could it be that you want my senior master to come out early for a reunion?”
The gray-robed old man, having regained the manual, stroked his hooked nose, his gloomy expression clearing as he laughed heartily, “Your temperament is indeed quite different from those rotten fellows in the Chess-Sword Bureau. A pity you chose the wrong sect. If I had seen you earlier, I might have taken you under my wing for proper cultivation.”
Wang Weixue, now without the manual, looked even happier and said with a smile, “What a pity for Master Song’s kindness. It seems I don’t have such great fortune.”
The old man turned and leaped away, his figure swift like a hawk, disappearing after a few bounds.
Xu Fengnian searched for quite some time, finding only a few hundred taels of silver notes and several porcelain bottles, but no secret manuals. It seemed these martial artists also knew that seizing manuals was a life-or-death gamble, so they dared not carry truly valuable treasures. The gray-robed old man, who dared to disregard the Chess-Sword Bureau, was clearly no weakling. Judging solely by his lightness skill, he was firmly at the second-grade realm. Snatching something from someone like him required considerable ability. Moreover, the most dangerous part of fighting over manuals was fending off hidden arrows from all sides. During the Spring and Autumn Period, when the martial world elected a leader with both prestige and martial prowess, he led a force of four to five hundred men to confront an old demon at the Heaven’s Will Realm. Killing the demon cost about a hundred lives, but when the unclaimed treasures appeared afterward, the deaths multiplied. The leader himself was chopped into mincemeat by fellow martial artists. The tragedy didn’t end there; the leader’s mansion was reduced to ashes overnight, and nearly a hundred people, including his parents, wife, children, and servants, were all killed. Since then, no one has wanted to become the martial world’s leader, despite the desire for such a title.
Wang Weixue, destined to return empty-handed, slapped himself in front of everyone and then approached the Fish-Dragon Gang, shamelessly saying, “Miss Liu, since we’ve met, it must be fate. I’m heading to Liuxia City—may I borrow a horse to ride along? If there’s no spare horse, we can ride together.”
Liu Nicong was furious.
Xu Fengnian stood up and smiled, “You can borrow my horse.”
Wang Weixue grinned, “You? Are you worthy?”
Xu Fengnian simply smiled, ignoring the swordsman from a noble background, and said to Liu Nicong, “I’ll go chase that old master and see if I can become his apprentice.”
The Fish-Dragon Gang exchanged glances. This Xu fellow’s audacity and boldness were no less than that Wang Weixue scoundrel.
As soon as Xu Fengnian finished speaking, he leisurely walked in the direction the gray-robed old man had gone. Gong Sunyang, sitting in the carriage, gazed at his retreating figure and sighed. Seeing the talented swordsman from the Chess-Sword Bureau hesitate before finally mounting a horse and sticking close to Liu Nicong, Gong Sunyang’s expression became calm.
After passing a hill that blocked the view, Xu Fengnian was about to gather his energy and sprint when he saw the gray-robed old man pinching a tiny flying ant between two fingers. The little creature appeared in an instant and vanished in the next, clearly a translucent Southern barbarian Hex. Seeing Xu Fengnian’s figure, the old man with the hooked nose crushed the small Hex and sneered, “Kid, playing with dual ants in front of grandpa? How ridiculous!”
Another flying ant appeared before Xu Fengnian’s eyes, fell to the ground, struggled for a moment, and died. He had previously used this Hex from Shu Xiu to track Xiao Qiang. Now, looking at the gray-robed old man, Xu Fengnian bowed and smiled, “I’ve heard of the Wu family sword tomb’s Qingfu sword embryo nurturing technique, which is quite profound. I’d like to borrow it for a while—just a quarter of an hour. I’ll return it afterward. If there’s any disrespect, I hope the old master can forgive me.”
After crushing the ant Hex, the gray-robed old man continued rubbing his fingers. Hearing Xu Fengnian’s words, he exclaimed in surprise, “You kid have the skill of memorizing at a glance? What about your lightness skill? If it’s decent, grandpa wouldn’t mind taking you as a servant. We can sneak into forbidden martial arts places together, and you can memorize the suitable manuals and scriptures for me, saving me a lot of trouble.”
Xu Fengnian smiled bitterly, “The old master wants to take Wang Weixue as a disciple, but when it comes to me, it’s just a servant.”
The old man spoke bluntly. A scorpion the size of a fingernail pierced his skin and emerged from the back of his hand, raising its small pincers and hissing. He sneered coldly, “That kid’s father controls the military and political power of the Northern Liang’s Bottle Province. You only know some minor Hex techniques, far from the orthodox Sorcery. Tell me, what are you?”
Xu Fengnian looked down and saw thousands of scorpions swarming toward him, helplessly saying, “But the old master’s scorpion Hex is also a minor art, far from the grandeur of the Jade Pipa among the Six Kingly Hex.”
A tide of scorpions surrounded Xu Fengnian.
The gray-robed old man, whose secret was exposed, did not get angry. He stopped the scorpion tide and exclaimed again, this time genuinely surprised, “You kid know about the Jade Pipa, a great treasure? Even many younger generations skilled in Hex don’t know about the Six Kingly Hex. Grandpa underestimated you. I thought you were just an ordinary rich kid traveling with a caravan, but it turns out you have some knowledge. Tell me, what’s your background? If it’s impressive enough to make grandpa respect it, I might let you take a look at this Qingfu Sword Manual.”
Xu Fengnian smiled, “Still better not say it, for fear that the old master won’t believe me.”
The gray-robed old man, unusually patient, played with the green scorpion on the back of his hand and said, “Tell me. Grandpa is different from others. The more unbelievable the story, the more I believe it.”
Xu Fengnian said, “There’s an old white-haired man named Chu, locked by two chains connected to double sabers. He taught me how to practice the saber.”
The gray-robed old man frowned, “This old fellow has been missing for years. When old man Chu was roaming the martial world, you were still in diapers, urinating in your pants. Don’t fool grandpa!”
Xu Fengnian smiled, looking relieved, “He has re-emerged in the martial world.”
The old man’s expression darkened. After a long time, he silently withdrew the green scorpion, the scorpion tide also dispersing. He took out the manual from his chest, threw it at Xu Fengnian, and grumbled, “Consider yourself lucky, kid. Grandpa has some connection with old man Chu. I owed him a favor back then. Next time I see him, I’ll say we’re even.”
Xu Fengnian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead while reaching out to catch the manual.
The gray-robed old man suddenly appeared, let out a loud laugh, and punched the young, inexperienced martial artist in the chest, “Kid, you’re dead because you’re stupid!”
The next moment, the gray-robed old man suddenly stopped, his eyes shifting, and for the third time, he exclaimed in surprise.
The saber-wielding young man flew backward, his sleeves Summon courage, and that punch was like a stone thrown into a still pond, creating visible ripples on his clothes before dissipating.
The young nobleman-like figure didn’t waste words and began to flip through the Qingfu Sword Manual.
The gray-robed old man, confident in his cultivation, couldn’t determine whether the young man was merely pretending to be unscathed after exhausting his strength or had indeed survived through some strange method. For a moment, he couldn’t decide whether to leave or attack, and the atmosphere became very strange.
Xu Fengnian closed the manual, threw it back to the gray-robed old man, and smiled, “What a set of sword techniques from the sword tomb! Truly profound and mysterious.”
The gray-robed old man, fearing he might “die stupidly,” didn’t dare to reach out. Only after the manual fell to the ground did he realize the young man had no intention of attacking. Though the old man had a thick skin, he felt somewhat embarrassed. Carefully bending down, he picked up the Qingfu Sword Manual but kept his eyes fixed on Xu Fengnian as he said, “Young man, your inner strength is indeed formidable. Grandpa, who has spent years capturing eagles, has finally been pecked by one. Now you’ve only taken a punch and seen this supreme sword manual. In the end, you’ve gained the upper hand. How about we call it quits?”
Xu Fengnian calmly replied, “Either the old master held back his punch without using his full strength, not intending to kill, which shows that you indeed have some connection with the white-haired old master. Or the old master himself isn’t at the second-grade realm, relying only on his lightness skill and Hex arts to intimidate others.”
The gray-robed old man chuckled, “Grandpa just doesn’t have a good saber handy. Otherwise, not only second-grade, but even first-grade experts could be slain.”
Xu Fengnian smiled, “Thank you, senior, for allowing me to read it. I’ll take my leave now.”
The old man nodded, “Alright.”
Xu Fengnian said, “Senior, can’t you put the green scorpion away? It keeps coming in and out of your hand, and you’ve lost quite a bit of blood.”
The gray-robed old man smiled, wiped the blood from the back of his hand, and withdrew the scorpion Hex into his body again.
Xu Fengnian said, “Senior, you go first. I won’t see you off.”
The old man smiled kindly, “You go first. Grandpa has been running day and night for days and is a bit tired. I’ll rest for a while.”
“Senior, you go first. It’s a matter of etiquette.”
“No problem, no problem. You go first.”
“Senior, the scorpion is crawling out again.”
“Oh? It’s mischievous again. Kid, don’t take it to heart. It’s not like grandpa has any intentions.”
“If the senior doesn’t go, I won’t go either.”
“You’re too fussy, kid. Since we’re both martial artists, we should all be good men of the martial world. No need to stick to seniority and etiquette.”
The old man and the young man continued their polite exchanges tirelessly.
Finally, the gray-robed old man simply plopped down on the ground, glaring at the still-sheathed young man, finally showing signs of wanting to curse.
Xu Fengnian smiled and bent down, saying, “This junior will truly leave now.”
The gray-robed old man stared at the tall back figure, restraining himself from attacking from behind, slowly stood up, patted his butt, and muttered, “One Wang Weixue from the Chess-Sword Bureau is enough, but this kid is even more trouble. The martial world is no longer a place to thrive in.”
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