Inside the Huanhua Rice Shop.
Meng Qi, now dressed as a young scholar in green robes, rubbed his face which felt tired from the transformation, and grinned in a rather annoying way: “Cousin, we really are in perfect telepathic harmony! Before ‘Young Master Tang’ even raised the question of how to deal with the fury of the Huanhua Sword Sect, you volunteered to speak.”
Thinking that a magical weapon would be available for his team during the death mission, Meng Qi felt extremely pleased.
Seeing Meng Qi’s annoying grin, Qi Zhengyan’s face twitched slightly. He spoke in a heavy tone: “With the death mission ahead, we must seize every opportunity to strengthen our team. Although directly asking for help seems to disregard our dignity, if we die, what use is dignity then?”
“You’ve thought deeply,” Meng Qi praised, then looked Qi Zhengyan up and down, letting out a series of “hehe” sounds.
This made Qi Zhengyan feel uneasy: “Cousin, what’s wrong with me?”
“Cousin, with the death mission ahead, have you ever thought about leaving behind an heir to carry on the family line? Tsk, among the unfilial acts, having no offspring is the gravest. Hehe, cousin, you’re not still a virgin, are you? Before you die, you should at least taste the experience, otherwise, it’s a waste to have come to this world!” Meng Qi teased Qi Zhengyan, who always wore a deadpan expression.
Qi Zhengyan’s face twitched twice, nearly showing an expression of grinding his teeth, but finally restrained himself and coldly replied: “A monk has no right to say such things.”
“I’ve already returned to secular life!” Meng Qi emphasized his status.
“If you’ve returned to secular life, then why not go to the pleasure quarters and try the experience?” Qi Zhengyan retorted with a stern face.
Meng Qi pouted: “Those vulgar and faded beauties, what’s there to try? I’m just a person with obsessive cleanliness!”
“Obsessive cleanliness?” It was a strange term, but Qi Zhengyan could understand it literally. Without waiting for Meng Qi to respond, he continued, “You’re only sixteen, a crucial period for growing and cultivating internal martial arts. The pure yang energy of a virgin is extremely beneficial to you. It’s better not to lose it rashly.”
Prominent families and sects advocate that their direct lineage heirs should only engage in relationships after all nine orifices have been opened. Of course, this is merely a suggestion rather than a mandatory requirement, as it is not regarded as an exceptionally crucial benefit—so long as one does not indulge in lust for either gender.
Hearing Qi Zhengyan’s words, Meng Qi’s expression froze, his only thought being: Cousin, I was just joking, you didn’t have to think about it so seriously…
Qi Zhengyan didn’t notice Meng Qi’s expression; his deadpan face was full of contemplation: “There’s no need to rush about having offspring. I have younger siblings at home who can take care of our parents… This year must be devoted entirely to martial arts, without distractions…”
“Hehe…” Meng Qi gave a dry laugh and quickly changed the subject: “Cousin, after I get the Purple Sorrow, I’ll leave Yicheng.”
“You won’t stay here for quiet cultivation anymore?” Qi Zhengyan asked slightly puzzled.
Meng Qi solemnly shook his head: “Surviving an ambush by four experts with magical weapons, my current reputation is quite prominent. Staying here any longer will definitely not be peaceful, which goes against my original intention of hiding and cultivating quietly. Also, with the Purple Sorrow on me, I’m bound to be coveted by others. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can feel at ease.”
Moreover, Meng Qi believed that the identity of the “Gentleman Sword” could not be concealed from the Six Gates Bureau. Once the updated Human Rankings were published, it would become common knowledge that the Gentleman Sword was none other than the Wild Vajra, the Thunder Saber Mad Monk, and the exiled Shaolin disciple Zhen Ding.
This was not a baseless conjecture. Meng Qi was aware that the last time the Six Fan Sect had obtained information about the Thunderbolt Mad Monk’s appearance was during his battle with You Huan Duo. At that time, he had just had his head shaved by his master and was wearing a wig, which matched the current attire of the young scholar. Since then, he had journeyed south through the Three Mountains and Four Waters for over a month, stayed in Zhenwu for several days, spent nearly a month in the Sword Emperor and Demon Queen’s Wheel World, and traveled from Huanzhou to Yicheng in about twenty days—totaling roughly three months from early April to the end of June, the peak of summer.
Even though this was a period of rapid growth and changing appearance, three months wouldn’t cause significant changes in his looks. His hair was still relatively short. With the Six Gates Bureau’s capabilities, if he were merely a local expert with records only in the Three Mountains and Four Waters and Yicheng, he wouldn’t fear being recognized. However, after the Huayuelou battle, he was publicly acknowledged as having the strength of the Human Rankings. Once the Six Gates Bureau headquarters received his information, it wouldn’t be hard to confirm the match, considering there were only fifty people on the Human Rankings.
There was no choice but to leave!
Although Meng Qi felt that with his master still in Shaolin, the Shaolin Disciplinary Monks probably wouldn’t really pursue him, as he had already sworn an oath not to secretly pass on Shaolin martial arts, he still thought it better to be cautious than careless.
“That’s true. Then where do you plan to go?” Qi Zhengyan nodded slightly and asked.
Meng Qi thought for a moment and said: “Maybe I’ll rent a courtyard in Yecheng, stay indoors, and focus on practicing martial arts. Yecheng is the first city in the southwest, densely populated, a place where dragons and snakes mingle, and there are many experts. I can hide there like a needle in the sea.”
He still had a lot of martial arts to practice and digest, such as the “Heavenly Blade Outline,” of which he had yet to grasp even half, his sword techniques foundation which had never been very solid, the Purple Thunder Saber Technique, the sixth level of the Golden Bell Cover and the Eight-Nine Mystical Skill, the Illusory Demon Body Technique, and communicating with the Purple Sorrow. His most pressing need now was not combat experience, but quiet cultivation!
Considering this, and the inconvenience of traveling, Meng Qi abandoned his plan to become a landlord in Jiangdong—he had three land deeds there, but from Huanzhou to Jiangdong would take about two or three months.
Moreover, Yecheng was as prosperous as Jiangdong, with plenty of delicacies and shops, perfectly meeting Meng Qi’s needs. He planned to sell some gems, buy a sharp longsword for daily use. In a small place like Yicheng, it would be hard to find such a weapon even if he wanted to.
Additionally, he wanted to find an opportunity to appraise the “Evil God’s Eye” to see if there were any applications or methods for crafting it. He couldn’t wait until before the next mission to ask the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation, otherwise, what if the necessary materials were missing? There wouldn’t be enough good deeds to exchange for them at the last minute!
“Mm, the great hermit hides in the city, the lesser hermit hides in the wilderness.” Qi Zhengyan had no doubts about Meng Qi’s choice. “When you’re in Yecheng, I can also come find you for sparring anytime, so as not to become rusty from lack of real combat.”
The distance between Yicheng and Yecheng was just about an hour by carriage.
The next day at noon, still inside the Huanhua Rice Shop.
Meng Qi caressed the radiant Purple Sorrow, feeling its sharp aura, savoring the floating seals on the blade.
He extended his spirit, attempting to communicate with the Purple Sorrow, but it seemed to be asleep, ignoring him. If his spirit approached too closely, it would be shredded by the sword’s aura like a whirlwind.
“Huh.” Meng Qi exhaled, knowing that communication couldn’t be rushed. “Cousin, once I settle in Yecheng and find a place, I’ll come back for a visit.”
He couldn’t entrust such matters to others, fearing that the messenger might let slip the information. Anyway, Yecheng and Yicheng were very close.
“Alright, be careful on the road.” Qi Zhengyan, always taciturn.
Early that morning, he had taken Meng Qi, whose face was “pale,” to the Six Gates Bureau’s Yicheng office to retrieve the Purple Sorrow and made a vow to return it.
Meng Qi subtly altered his facial muscles, disguised himself, and blended into the crowd of rice-buying customers leaving the shop. At the carriage rental, he hired a carriage and headed straight for Yecheng.
…
A few days later, Meng Qi settled into a courtyard, a quiet place amidst the hustle and bustle, surrounded mostly by martial arts schools. The people along the road all carried swords or knives, making Meng Qi appear unremarkable.
“I heard the new Human Rankings are out?”
As Meng Qi locked the courtyard gate, planning to go to Yicheng, he overheard several disciples from the opposite martial arts school excitedly discussing the rankings.
They were all quite young, the youngest around eight or nine, the oldest no more than twenty, at an age of naive yearning for the martial arts world.
Yecheng was the capital of Huanzhou, the capital of Zhou County, the foremost city in the southwest, known for its strong martial arts culture, with numerous martial arts schools. Children of commoners could learn martial arts for a small fee, and these schools had backgrounds from various sects and aristocratic families. If students performed well in the schools and had a solid foundation, they might be recommended to the sects for “advanced training” or to aristocratic families as guards, offering one of the paths for commoner children to rise in status.
“Yeah, the master copied it down!” A girl around thirteen or fourteen eagerly looked into the martial arts school.
Yecheng was vast; traveling to the Six Gates Bureau took nearly an hour, so many masters copied the updated rankings as motivational material for their disciples.
Hearing this, Meng Qi also paused, intending to observe the changes in the rankings to see if, after the titles of “Mad Monk” and “Thunder Blade Berserker,” he had now acquired the title of “Gentleman Sword”—by this point, he had already resigned himself to his fate.
Before long, the martial arts school master, a kind old man with silver hair, revised the previous Human Rankings and posted them again.
“Big Luo’s Demon Girl Squad has climbed to second place? She overtook ‘Calculating All Beings’ and ‘Wolf King’!”
“Some exclaimed in astonishment.”
“The Seven Heavenly Maidens of the Su Nü Dao have been removed from the rankings!” Some were shocked by Gu Xiaosang’s latest battle record.
Meng Qi frowned slightly, his main concern being the Human Rankings’ evaluation of Gu Xiaosang:
“All nine orifices opened, nearly reaching the level of a half-step external expert!”
It seems the enchantress also gained much in the reincarnation world… Meng Qi sighed.
“Jian Xianzi Jiang Zhiwei single-handedly swept away the twenty-seven strongholds of Qibei Mountain, killing three nine-orifice bandit leaders, and countless others with seven or more orifices… ranked ninth on the Human Rankings…” The little girl who had spoken earlier read out Jiang Zhiwei’s recent exploits.
Phew, she really is honing her sword skills through bloodshed… Meng Qi felt both concern and admiration.
The subsequent rankings didn’t change much, when suddenly, the three characters “Gentleman Sword” leapt into Meng Qi’s eyes.
“Name: Meng Qi (possibly a pseudonym).”
“Martial Arts: Opened six orifices, sword techniques simplified from complexity, approaching the principles of martial arts, possessing a strange method of deflecting and borrowing force, outstanding lightness skill, as if magical and illusory.”
“Feats: To assist Zeng Xianmen’s Hua Lun, he rushed through mountains at night, none could withstand a single strike, including the Rojiao Sect’s Void Envoy; during the day, he entered a family mansion and publicly beheaded a seven-orifice swordsman before leaving as if entering an unoccupied place; at Yicheng’s Huayue Building, facing four nine-orifice experts, he used their force against them, his swordplay reaching a transcendent level, injuring one and driving another back in a breath, and then escaping with his life under the attack of a magical weapon.”
“Rank: 24th.”
“Nicknames: Gentleman Sword, Wandering Sword.”
“Identity: Western Liang Swordsman (seems false, real identity to be verified).”
What the… Meng Qi couldn’t believe his eyes. What exactly was the Six Gates Bureau thinking?
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