Chapter 97: Not Wanting to Return (Extra Chapter for Patron

Xiaoyu realized she had underestimated Aunt Liu.

The five elements of Immortal Martial Arts are heart, spirit, intention, qi, and body—and Aunt Liu’s greatest strength was “qi.”

At first, Aunt Liu used her newly mastered “Flowering Splendor” sword intent to oppose Madam Huo.

But Madam Huo’s sword techniques were seasoned and her sword intent intense; within just two strikes, “Magnificent Splendor” shattered “Flowering Splendor.”

When the peony blooms, all other flowers fade.

All that remained in the courtyard was the opulent peony in full bloom, while the azaleas were squeezed into the corners, crushed and reduced to mere roadside dogtail grass.

At that moment, Xiaoyu felt Aunt Liu was about to be defeated immediately.

Then Aunt Liu exhaled sharply, “Ha!”

An invisible yet tangible force erupted from her body like a storm, ravaging the noble peonies in full bloom; like the scorching midsummer sun, it drained the peonies of their splendor and glory, causing their petals to wither and lose their luster.

At the heart of this immense force, clusters of azaleas bloomed anew, turning the courtyard into a sea of crimson.

When “internal qi” leaves the body and interacts with the surrounding elemental energy, it is no longer “internal qi,” but “true qi.”

Clearly, Aunt Liu was a master of the True Origin Realm!

“Good!” Madam Huo muttered lowly and began unleashing her true qi to its full potential.

Aunt Liu’s true qi surged endlessly like ocean waves; Madam Huo’s true qi was thick and solid, like a reef standing firm amid the tide.

Whether wave or reef, both were imbued with the soul of noble flowers.

The ocean’s waves seemed like countless flourishing azaleas, while the unyielding reef embodied the noble, opulent peony.

Of course, all this was Xiaoyu’s spiritual perception.

To the servants and young ladies watching from afar, though they could glimpse faint shadows of peonies and azaleas, what they mostly saw were dazzling, swift movements, fleeting glimmers of sword light, and swirling dust and rolling pebbles stirred by roaring true qi.

After half a stick of incense, Aunt Liu’s sword techniques grew chaotic, while Madam Huo began to blush and gasp for breath; they exchanged a glance and, with perfect unspoken understanding, stepped back several paces each, sheathing their swords and ending the duel.

“Jin Tong, your peony essence is truly formidable.”

“Your ‘Flowering Splendor’ is also quite impressive,” said Madam Huo.

Aunt Liu shook her head lightly, “I’m merely relying on sheer true qi to hold on.”

“Qi is the foundation of Immortal Martial Arts. To overwhelm others with true qi is upright and honorable—not at all shameful,” said Madam Huo.

Aunt Liu laughed, “I’ve never heard you say that before.”

“You’ve never drawn even with me before,” Madam Huo replied with a complex expression.

For over forty years of her life, she had always surpassed Liu San—even after Liu San became the mistress of the Heavenly Gate Society and learned the supreme breathing technique “Hunyuan Wuliang,” Madam Huo still suppressed her with sword intent.

Now Liu San has also mastered the “Nine Flower Essence,” and one day she will reach the pinnacle of sword intent—then…

“Looks like I’ll be hearing your compliments more often from now on. How delightful,” Aunt Liu laughed with radiant confidence.

Madam Huo pursed her lips. “Not necessarily.”

—Even that old hussy Liu San can advance further; I, Huo Jintong, am not only more gifted but also possess greater advantages in cultivating the Nine Flower Sword—I am now a noble lady, steeped in opulence, while she still lingers in brothels, reeking of vulgarity, now merely tinged with fortune. I will surely grasp the second “Nine Flower Essence” far more easily than she ever could.

Madam Huo instantly swept away her discouragement and felt once more the long-lost surge of passion.

“How many moves of that old widow’s ‘Peony Sword’ did you memorize?”

Without even eating or drinking a cup of tea, Aunt Liu left the “Pingnan General’s Mansion.”

Only after the carriage had left Yong’an Street, where the general’s mansion stood, did Aunt Liu finally speak.

“I didn’t memorize a single move,” Xiaoyu said.

“What?!” Aunt Liu nearly jumped up—had the carriage ceiling not been so low, she would have.

Xiaoyu smiled faintly. “I remembered them all at first, but by the time I left the mansion, I’d forgotten them all.”

Aunt Liu reached out to pinch her cheek. “Don’t you know how hard it is to even see that old widow?”

Xiaoyu quickly dodged, exclaiming, “Auntie, don’t rush—forgetting the moves is how you truly grasp the sword intent!”

“You’ve already grasped it?” Aunt Liu was startled, then skeptical. “Are you sure you ‘grasped’ it, and not just understood it?”

Xiaoyu replied, “I’ve barely begun to grasp it—just barely entered the threshold.”

Aunt Liu stared at her as if she were a monster, murmuring, “This is absurd—just one glance…”

Xiaoyu sighed. “For any other sword manual, even if you taught me a hundred times by hand, I might never enter its door. But the Nine Flower Sword is different.”

“Mastering the essence of the Nine Flower Sword will be even harder,” said Aunt Liu.

“It depends on the person,” Xiaoyu mused. “Yesterday, I only said a few words—why did you immediately attain ‘Flowering Splendor’?”

“Before you spoke those words yesterday, I had trained the Nine Flower Sword for over thirty years and visited hundreds of noble gardens,” Aunt Liu replied.

Xiaoyu nodded. “Exactly—you had deep foundations, and your sudden enlightenment was the result of accumulated experience.”

“But you have deep foundations too—I have them as well!”

“What foundations? You’ve never even seen properly cultivated noble flowers,” Aunt Liu said.

“I’ve never seen the imperial gardens’ noble flowers, so I couldn’t enter the door—but I possess the complete insights of the Nine Flower Sword at its pinnacle,” Xiaoyu replied with a complex expression.

“Where did you get these insights?” Aunt Liu asked, puzzled.

“I saw a shadow-spirit painting blessed by the Master Painter,” Xiaoyu replied vaguely.

The “immortal spirit” imbued by the Master Painter into the “Painting of the Noblewoman Sword Dancing” contained an essence more majestic and splendid than even the perfected Nine Flower Sword.

Before Aunt Liu’s enlightenment, Xiaoyu hadn’t thought of the shadow-spirit painting.

But when she witnessed Aunt Liu’s “Flowering Splendor” firsthand, she immediately felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Back at Xiao Jing Xuan, she suddenly had a revelation.

All the feelings and insights from viewing the shadow-spirit painting came rushing back.

The experience of observing the painting had been unpleasant—she felt deeply uncomfortable; the spirit essence of the immortal in the painting was not what she desired.

She instinctively rejected it.

But to be honest, the “imperial concubine” envisioned by the great painter of the Central Kingdom was far more noble and magnificent than the foreign noblewoman who created the Nine Flower Sword.

Aunt Liu’s expression grew thoughtful. “Since you have such deep foundations, let’s press on—we’ll visit the next master who has mastered the Nine Flower Sword.”

She lifted the curtain and called to the driver, “Change course—we’re going to ‘Bu Si Gui.’”

“Should we enter through the front gate or sneak in through the back?” the driver asked.

Aunt Liu snapped, “Do I look like someone who can’t be seen in public? We went through the back gate of the Pingnan General’s Mansion—do you think we’ll go through the back of Bu Si Gui too?”

She didn’t enter the Pingnan General’s Mansion through the back out of humility or feeling unworthy.

She did it purely to spare her old friend Madam Huo embarrassment.

Madam Huo is now the general’s wife, managing a household full of servants and young ladies—but she too came from the Red Sleeve Brothel.

If she appeared at the front gate of the mansion, others would recall and gossip that Madam Huo had once been a courtesan.

“No, no, I was just worried the gamblers at Bu Si Gui might offend you,” the driver quickly explained.

Aunt Liu scoffed. “We’re courtesans ourselves—what do we have to fear from men bumping into us?”

The driver fell silent, silently driving the carriage.

Xiaoyu also grimaced slightly. “Perhaps Auntie could constantly maintain the ‘Full Mountain Red’ intent, like Madam Huo—always in training mode, until it becomes your natural bearing.”

“That’s why, ever since she attained the Peony Essence at age fifteen, decades have passed and she’s half-dead already—still hasn’t mastered a second flower essence,” Aunt Liu said.

Xiaoyu had nothing more to say.

“Bu Si Gui” was a gambling den.

There weren’t many patrons inside—perhaps because it was morning, or perhaps due to the recent crackdown triggered by the Thousand-Handed Thief Saint.

The number of “Ah Fei” lounging by the entrance, snacking on sunflower seeds and chatting, outnumbered the gamblers.

“Ah! It’s Aunt Liu! Aunt Liu has arrived!”

As soon as Aunt Liu entered the main hall, one of the “Ah Fei” recognized her.

“Aunt Liu is such a rare guest! Truly a rare guest!”

The leader of the “Ah Fei” was a young man in his mid-twenties, dressed in a warrior’s robe, a short sword at his waist, of average height and sturdy build, with a neat black goatee that looked surprisingly handsome on his face.

He was currently gambling with a silk-robed young nobleman and immediately apologized, “Master Xu, you’ve seen it—Aunt Liu has arrived. May I step away for a moment?”

“Go ahead, go ahead!” Master Xu, absorbed in his dominoes, didn’t even turn to look at Aunt Liu.

“Auntie? What brings you here?”

“Xiao Hu, is Master Liao around?” Aunt Liu asked.

“In the back courtyard,” the goateed youth replied without delay and immediately led the way.

“Master Liao, please, just give me a few more days—or lend me two more strings of coins so I can recover my losses—I only have one daughter, Hui!”

“Old Xu, don’t blame me for being heartless—‘Bu Si Gui’ has already lent you nearly thirty strings of coins, no interest, and instead of taking your daughter Hui as payment, we even gave you two taels of silver back—that’s more than fair!”

Master Liao was a stout, round man, his face as plump as freshly fermented dough, with tiny eyes, nose, and mouth nearly swallowed by his fat.

At this moment, he was feeding birds in a cage beneath the corridor.

A middle-aged man in a blue cotton tunic knelt before him, pleading.

“Master, Aunt Liu is here,” the goateed youth called out.

“Oh! Aunt Liu! I heard magpies chirping this morning—I knew it was a good omen for you!”

Master Liao immediately walked toward Aunt Liu, but his robe hem was tugged by Old Xu.

“Master Liao, please, twenty-five taels is too little—Hui is my only daughter!”

Master Liao sneered. “Aunt Liu is an expert in buying daughters—ask her how much a plain-looking, scrawny girl is worth.”

Old Xu turned his hopeful gaze toward Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu replied coolly, “If you want to sell your daughter, go to Qing Shui Bay—we at the Teaching Bureau don’t buy virtuous girls to turn them into courtesans.”

Master Liao signaled the goateed youth to drag Old Xu away.

He then rehung the birdcage under the eaves and led Aunt Liu to a small pavilion in the back courtyard, offering her a cup of fragrant tea.

“What brings you here, Aunt Liu?”

“Is the Grand Boss and the two patrons available?” Aunt Liu asked.

Master Liao chuckled bitterly. “Chen Taiping entered the town with the Feathered Forest Guard, and the Thousand-Handed Thief Saint is hiding somewhere unknown—storm clouds are gathering! The Grand Boss told us all to stay put lately; we’re all resting in the back courtyard.”

He then asked, “Would you like to see the Grand Boss?”

Aunt Liu said, “Since he’s resting, I won’t disturb him.”

“Just take me to the Plum Garden to see Master Lan—he still lives there, doesn’t he?”

“Of course. Master Lan loves plum blossoms so much he’d rather eat, drink tea, and sleep right in the plum grove.”

The plum grove was truly large—over an acre, entirely planted with plum trees.

Now, in this late spring, the winter plum petals had fallen, new branches and leaves were sprouting, yet some blossoms still bloomed brilliantly.

A handsome scholar in his early thirties, his long hair flowing loose, wore a wide-sleeved white robe that trailed on the ground. In his left hand he held a flask of wine; in his right, a green jade brush, painting plum blossoms before the grove.

He painted a stroke, then lifted his head to drink a sip of wine, gazed at the blooming plum blossoms, then bent low to paint another stroke.

Xiao Yu had to admit, his first impression—wild, unrestrained, and carefree—had serious aura, like a true master.

Especially in Tianmen Town, where every inch of land was priceless, he’d hidden such a vast plum grove. Damn, he’s rich!

“Master Lan—”

“Liu San, you don’t need to say anything,” Master Lan interrupted as soon as she opened her mouth.

He continued tilting his head back to pour wine down his throat; clear liquor spilled from his lips, soaking his robe, exuding utter nonchalance.

After a sip, he bent back to paint, never turning to look at Aunt Liu.

“The little girl beside you—that’s Sha Man Yu, the one born with innate wisdom and sword-bone spiritual power, right?”

“Heh, I know exactly what you’re after.”

“You want me to demonstrate the Nine-Flower Sword to help her secretly learn the Plum-Lan essence? How sweet of you to think so.”

Three more chapters remain; wait a moment—I’ll go eat and come back to proofread. Though the published chapters have many typos, which embarrasses me, I do proofread carefully every day. Three chapters take nearly an hour to fix; my brain’s CPU is slow, and my reading efficiency is poor. Please forgive me.