Chapter 150: Proper Trade

Once he carefully pondered and deeply comprehended the Origin Style among these three forms, he even possessed a unique ability to dismantle any saber technique.

In other words, he could break down any saber technique into a combination of the Origin Style.

This opened up a new realm for the path of fusion he had been agonizingly thinking about, yet could never find a way forward.

"Incorporate the Origin Style into the fusion!" Duan Rong thought, his eyes flickering.

Duan Rong started to attempt it as soon as he thought of it!

But upon the first try, Duan Rong suddenly felt dejected; he had thought of fusion too simply. Even if he could dismantle saber techniques, how was he to combine them after dismantling them?

As the saying goes, destruction is easy, but creation is difficult!

No wonder Xiao Lao had spent his whole life agonizing over it, only to obtain three remnant moves!

To start from the level of the Origin Style and create martial arts did not reduce the difficulty; rather, it deepened it.

Once Duan Rong discovered it wouldn't work, he quickly adjusted his train of thought; he still had to return to the crystallization of Xiao Lao's life's work, which were these three remnant moves!

Taking this as the foundation, he would develop the path of fusion!

He would fill the intervals of these three forms with different moves to perform fusion, so as to advance into different saber techniques!

Previously, Duan Rong had only tried the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber he was most familiar with, but now, he wanted to open up his thinking and include the saber moves from the more than ten Small Success saber techniques he had devoured and digested into the scope of fusion.

For example, the circular attack structure of the first form!

Previously, he had used Black Tiger Climbs the Mountain and Leopard Drills the Forest from the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber, but now he decided to fit the Reckless Bull Saber Technique and the Abi Saber Technique into the circular attack structure of the first form.

The Reckless Bull Saber Technique is fierce, and the Abi Saber Technique is sinister and cunning; these two types of saber techniques circling each other could be called unimaginable and would surely have miraculous effects!

It felt great to think about, but when he really wanted to fit two different saber techniques into the first form, Duan Rong failed after trying several times, because the martial art Xiao Zongting was most familiar with in his life was the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber, and he had also put the most effort into this school of saber technique; therefore, the three remnant moves he created were implicitly based on the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber.

Thus, when Duan Rong switched to other saber techniques, he suddenly felt the difficulty increase greatly!

After Duan Rong tried repeatedly, he felt that this "building a cart behind closed doors" wouldn't work. He suddenly remembered the time when Liu Ao had suddenly struck at him while he was on an escort mission; it was during that tempering between life and death that he had suddenly unleashed a saber flourish that was a technique fusing the Reckless Bull Saber Technique and the Abi Saber Technique.

"It seems I have to find someone to spar with!"

"True knowledge can only come from actual combat!"

Duan Rong thought, his eyes flickering.

Speaking of finding someone to spar with, there were experts of the pugilistic world everywhere in the Yuanshun Escort Agency, but apart from the Xiaojia, there was no one he could trust.

But this was also normal; one of the workplace principles from his past life was not to make friends with colleagues.

Duan Rong's eyes brightened; he suddenly thought of a suitable candidate.

Standing in the courtyard, he thought of Ximen Kankan's chubby, fair, and tender face!

With such a childish face, he insisted on putting on an old-fashioned air every day. Duan Rong couldn't help but smile and muttered to himself, "I wonder if Ximen Kankan has found that Dragon Flame Fat for me? I should go ask tomorrow."

Duan Rong looked at the sky and felt the time was about right, so he went to the medicine furnace room to drink his medicine. After drinking the medicine, Duan Rong returned to the courtyard of Liu Lu, where he stood in the Hunyuan Stance until the Hour of the Rat before sleeping.

The next morning, Duan Rong climbed out of the spacious carved wooden bed, feeling his head a bit groggy. He had always been sensitive to new places; arriving in a new environment, he needed a period of time to adapt.

Duan Rong walked into the courtyard with sleepy eyes, used a ladle to scoop cold water from the large water vat at the kitchen entrance, and washed his face.

Duan Rong paced to the willow tree by the wall, tore off a willow branch, bit one end of the willow branch with his teeth until it frayed, then picked up the willow branch and began to brush his teeth with the frayed end.

After Duan Rong finished brushing his teeth, he used the ladle to scoop water and rinsed his mouth with it. Feeling quite refreshed in his mouth, he sighed, "Brushing teeth at Liu Lu is quite convenient!"

After Duan Rong finished washing up, he put on his clothes, left Liu Lu, went to the Middle Courtyard canteen to eat breakfast, and prepared to leave the Escort Agency to head toward the Ximen Mansion.

But just as Duan Rong reached the entrance of the Escort Agency, he was stopped by the gatekeeper, Ma Wentao.

"Escort Duan, my daughter said that tonight you must come to the Back Courtyard for a meal. She wants to cook personally to properly thank Escort Duan!"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Uncle Ma, please tell Madam Chun Ying that there is no need for this. I am just an Intern Escort and cannot afford such an honor!"

"Hey... what are you saying? You saved my little grandson, so you are a benefactor to our whole family; how could you not afford it?" Ma Wentao said, "Escort Duan, do not decline!"

Seeing that he could not decline, Duan Rong had no choice but to nod and agree.

Seeing that Duan Rong had agreed, Ma Wentao walked back into the duty room satisfied.

Duan Rong looked at Ma Wentao's back and shook his head secretly. Although he wanted to focus on cultivation, in any world, this kind of worldly socializing was unavoidable.

Duan Rong walked along West Street toward the Ximen Mansion.

Duan Rong walked to the front of the Ximen Mansion and was just about to step onto the stone steps to knock on the door when a small sedan chair stopped not far away. Duan Rong turned his head to look and saw that it was Ximen Kankan's Personal Attendant, Shi Kang, carrying a food box as he stepped out of the sedan chair.

As soon as Shi Kang got off the sedan chair, he caught sight of Duan Rong standing on the stone steps. His eyes immediately brightened, and he trotted over, saying, "Escort Duan, these past few days, my young master has sent me to the Escort Agency to look for you several times, but you were never there!"

"I haven't been at the Escort Agency lately," Duan Rong smiled, glanced at the food box in Shi Kang's hand, and said, "Are you buying breakfast for that shorty?"

"Shorty?" Shi Kang was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Duan Rong meant for a second.

"Oh," Duan Rong looked at Shi Kang's expression, touched his own nose in some embarrassment, and said, "I mean your young master."

These days, Shi Kang already knew that the relationship between this Escort Duan and his young master was different from ordinary people; Ximen Kankan had referred to Duan Rong as "Big Brother" many times when mentioning him.

Shi Kang thought "shorty" was a nickname between them and didn't dare to get angry, so he replied, "Oh... my young master suddenly said he wanted to eat barbecue. He had me go to the restaurant to buy some ready-made marinated meat!"

Hearing this, Duan Rong shook his head secretly and sighed: This shorty is truly willful! Early in the morning, he insists on eating barbecue!

When Shi Kang and Duan Rong walked to Yanxue Residence together, Ximen Kankan had already started a fire at the entrance. Since it was hot, Ximen Kankan was sweating profusely from starting the fire.

As soon as Shi Kang saw Ximen Kankan starting the fire, he immediately shouted anxiously, "My young master! Why don't you let a servant do this kind of work? Be careful of getting heatstroke; won't the master skin me alive?"

Ximen Kankan turned his head and was just about to say something when he suddenly saw Duan Rong. His round body jumped up with a "whoosh" and he shouted, "Where have you been lately? I've had Shi Kang run to the Escort Agency every other day, and I haven't seen a shadow of you?!"

Duan Rong looked at Ximen Kankan, who had charcoal ash smeared on his face, and smiled, "I'm an Escort! Naturally, I have to go on escort missions! Do you think everyone can be like you, having a father who runs a Raw Medicine Shop!"

Ximen Kankan blinked his eyes and said, "Why don't you come to my house and be a guard? I'll arrange an easy job for you, and we can catch chickens and fight dogs every day; wouldn't that be happy?"

"I have a proper trade; who would catch chickens and fight dogs with you!?" Duan Rong rolled his eyes at Ximen Kankan. Don't look at his status as an Escort as if it were unremarkable; the Yuanshun Escort Agency was, after all, one of the major powers in Xiangu County. With this status, at least no one dared to provoke him for no reason. Moreover, he had a contract with the Yuanshun Escort Agency; it wasn't as if he could leave just because he wanted to.

"Isn't it hard to go on escort missions every day?"

"Hard work is hard work, but I feel at ease!"

Ximen Kankan glanced at Duan Rong, knowing that Duan Rong's mind was made up and wouldn't listen to him, so he didn't say anything more, though he seemed to be able to understand what Duan Rong meant.

Ximen Kankan was naturally cheerful; seeing that Duan Rong had no intention, he had already put the matter aside in his heart.

"Come, keep me company for the barbecue!" Ximen Kankan picked out a large chicken leg and a strip of pork belly from the marinated meat Shi Kang had bought back from the restaurant, squatted down by the fire, and began to grill...

(End of chapter)