Three months ago, by Xun Chun Xu Zhou
Chapter 34: Fate Twists and Turns
Within Lingqiu Mountain.
Daoist Liu, in a sorry state, leaned against a tree.
His chest nearly caved in, mouth agape, continuously spilling bright red blood from the corner of his mouth.
Even his tightly clenched teeth were shattered, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier, like a broken bellows.
Under Daoist Liu's crimson gaze, Yan Jianming bent down, searching something on Master Wang's corpse for quite some time, only to retrieve a Qiankun Pouch.
Opening it directly and rummaging through, soon, several carefully stored elixirs fell to the ground, crashing into the muddy mixture of blood and water.
Following that, layers of neatly wrapped yellowed paper pages emerged from the fragments, fluttering in the wind, hanging on the branches like joss paper.
Lastly, after pocketing an alchemy tool, Yan Jianming stood up, lifted Master Wang's corpse aside, covering it with Master Zhang's body.
Then, a jade bottle was taken out from his bosom, and half a bottle of Corpse-Dissolving Water poured down.
Yan Jianming then clasped his hands, coldly staring at Daoist Liu, who still had a breath left.
"I merely met you by chance on the Dao, even disclosed my identity, and promised to reward you when the time came, asking for your help to search Lingqiu Mountain and find someone."
"But you deceived me like this, humiliating my trust!"
"Treated me like a fool, leading me in circles along the outskirts of Lingqiu Mountain!"
"Just this peeled dead tree, I've seen it twice in half a day!"
"And not just deception, in just this hour, they tried to sneak away four times, and you tried three times! I saw it all clearly!"
"If you didn't want to help, you could have just said so."
"Do you still have elders and children at home? Do you have brothers in the nearby market? Are you not afraid of offending my Court Changshan?"
As Yan Jianming spoke, Daoist Liu's breathing became even more intense, his heavy breaths gradually becoming erratic, with almost no more fresh blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
Perhaps the pain was too much.
Daoist Liu pressed his hand tightly against his heart.
At this moment, their scattered gazes met Yan Jianming's icy stare.
Daoist Liu seemed to want to lift his head, his trembling lips barely forming coherent words.
Seeing this, Yan Jianming stepped forward, pointing a sword finger at Daoist Liu's throat, and a pure force of law flowed through the Ren and Du meridians of Daoist Liu.
In an instant, Daoist Liu gasped for breath as if a drowning man had been saved.
Yan Jianming then slightly lowered his head, bringing his ear close to Daoist Liu's mouth, ready to hear what Daoist Liu intended to say.
"On the Dao, we only added some precautions..."
"A person who turns hostile faster than a dog... even a wild dog would have more patience than you..."
"Such a sarcastic person, dares to mention Court Changshan to intimidate others? Dares to claim to be an old disciple?"
With a grim expression, Yan Jianming was about to get up.
But Daoist Liu, with a sudden burst of strength from somewhere, raised the hand that was pressing on his heart, grabbed Yan Jianming's wrist tightly.
"Spit... out... pee, look..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Daoist Liu's eyes widened, and as he exhaled, his life force completely drained away.
Trembling, Yan Jianming raised his hand to wipe away the blood sprayed on his temple.
For some reason, his dark expression almost turned ferocious.
"Wild dog... hey! Wild dog!"
In the underground palace.
Chu Weiyang stepped forward with a Yu Step and thrust out a sword, suddenly freezing in place.
Indeed, Steward Ma was truly knowledgeable in swordsmanship.
With Chu Weiyang's extraordinary swordsmanship and the changes in his state of mind, as he re-practiced the Thirty-Six Sword Techniques of Spring, the flow of the five sword intents abruptly stopped after the Clear Bright Sword Intent, becoming obscure, completely devoid of any resonance with the Grain Rain Sword Intent.
Repeated practice led to the entire Thirty-Six Sword Techniques of Spring becoming awkward and unsmooth.
Standing still, Chu Weiyang sheathed his sword, furrowing his brows in contemplation.
After a while, the young man turned to Steward Ma.
"So, it seems there's an issue with the swordsmanship practice..."
Steward Ma calmly nodded.
"Talent is a gift from the heavens, but when even the sword techniques of Spring are practiced incorrectly, it means the practice has deviated far from its true essence! Spring Sword, Spring Sword, without the Spring in sight, where does the Grain Rain come from?"
"Of course, even if you don't say half a word, at least with your shoulder out of the mud, you can breathe a sigh of relief. There must be priorities, and it's not a big deal to set aside the swordsmanship practice."
"But I don't know when I'll die. When I'm gone, if you want to pick up the swordsmanship again, you'll have to flip through the manuals yourself, guessing blindly and practicing haphazardly..."
As Steward Ma spoke, Chu Weiyang placed his long sword horizontally in front of him.
Listening to Steward Ma's words, he gently stroked the bright blade of the sword in his hand.
When Steward Ma finished speaking, Chu Weiyang shook his head abruptly.
"No! Swordsmanship... cannot be abandoned!"
"That Startling Awakening Sword, I wielded it from scratch!"
"From that moment on, for me, swordsmanship is not just about the sword itself!"
"That fighting spirit cannot be dispersed. If it dissipates... even if I can regain my swordsmanship in the future, without that spirit, it's all lost!"
"Steward, people like us have never had a place to settle..."
"This trip to the underground palace was an unexpected encounter. I'm thinking, how did that lazy fellow from the Rain-Picking Tower get here?"
"You said that at the Qi Refining stage, many times, killing is not just about the realm."
"Shall we discuss it?"
At these words, Steward Ma nodded.
"Good! It's been many years since I've discussed the art of killing with someone. Let's discuss it..."
At this point, Chu Weiyang suddenly changed his mind.
"Steward, I am a discerning person. I can truly sense your talent in swordsmanship. I just can't fathom how someone like you ended up as a mere steward in the Demon-Sealing Cave..."
This time, a complex smile appeared on Steward Ma's originally calm face.
"You ask this... I've mentioned it fewer times than the sword techniques for killing... I can't remember, it's been too long, I can't recall..."
Before Chu Weiyang could continue questioning.
When the young man looked over, Steward Ma had already propped himself up on the edge of the basket, and with a sudden movement downward, he disappeared from Chu Weiyang's sight.
After a while, a voice suddenly sounded.
"You just said, people like us have never had a place to settle..."
Many books are now hard to find, so cherish what you have.