Chapter 42: Sword Shadows Discuss Bamboo, Untying the Knots of the Heart

"I wonder what instruction the Qingwei Peak Master has for me?" Seeing Lingxiang call to him, Chengkai hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

Lingxiang paced back and forth with her hands behind her back, smiling.

"What, can I not seek you out unless I am teaching you something?"

Chengkai looked at her bright, radiant smile and was momentarily stunned: he felt he had seen this face somewhere before, but it was too blurry to recall clearly.

"Naturally not," Chengkai replied after a moment of coming to his senses, and he began to smile as well, "it is just that I could not imagine what business a person like the Peak Master could have with a mere Outer Disciple like me."

"What kind of person?" Lingxiang asked playfully. "We are all born human, our ages are similar, and we are fellow disciples; what is wrong with exchanging ideas on the Dao?"

"That... that is not it..." Chengkai had never dealt with a woman of such an age; although there were two female Escorts in his escort agency, they were both much older than him, and that was back in his childhood.

Seeing Chengkai look so cramped despite his stature, Lingxiang could not help but find it extremely amusing.

But she had not come here to tease him today; never mind, she would let him off the hook!

"The wind is getting a bit cold here; let us walk and talk." Lingxiang turned to leave with a smile, but was stopped by Chengkai.

"If the Peak Master does not mind, please come sit in my courtyard."

Lingxiang thought for a moment, felt it was a good idea, and nodded as she followed Chengkai.

"I shall speak plainly; I have come today to fulfill a request," Lingxiang said, taking a sip of the hot tea Chengkai had offered. "To tell you the truth, the Elders are currently paying great attention to you Outer Disciples. You may not be aware of it, but some Elders already have the intention to take on disciples."

Chengkai listened, his expression quite calm—what did this have to do with him?

Seeing him like this, Lingxiang praised him inwardly—he was not one to be greedy for quick success.

"Cultivating the Dao is, at its core, cultivating the body, the heart, and the mind." Lingxiang stood up and walked toward the back courtyard. Seeing this, Chengkai hurried to follow, only to see her find a large rock and sit upon it.

"Although I should not interfere with another's path, since I have accepted a task, I shall be meddlesome once more." Lingxiang stared at Chengkai and asked, "Why do you seek the Dao?"

Chengkai was stunned by the question—at first, it was only to see that person again, but now he was lost. Not to mention whether he could meet them, even if he could, with his current ability, he feared he would not even be able to speak.

Seeing him like this, Lingxiang smiled slightly and patted the stone, signaling him to sit over.

Chengkai hesitated for a moment, but seeing her insistence, he leaned against the side, though he still maintained a distance of one foot.

Lingxiang did not force the issue—despite Chengkai's burly frame, he was a man who was hard on the outside but soft on the inside; there were many things he had likely not yet experienced.

"With my ability, I cannot yet know the cultivation paths of those with profound attainments, but when one first seeks the Dao, there is always something one desires. Since there is desire, one must pay a price. Although it will not always be returned to you in full, you will surely be grateful at some point in the future for your persistence at that time." As she spoke, Lingxiang looked up and sighed.

Hearing the sigh beside him, Chengkai did not understand why, so he turned to look at Lingxiang, only to see her face filled with melancholy, as if that sentence were also meant to persuade herself.

"People are different; there is no need to rush for success. Do you know of the bamboo that scholars and poets revere for its high integrity? Among bamboos, there is the Nanzhu Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo; it buries its roots for a long time without growing, but once its roots are deep and firm, it shoots straight up to the sky."

Hearing this, Chengkai lowered his head in thought.

"But even so," Lingxiang continued, "there will still be those who say it is hollow inside and of no great use. But what of it? I remain as verdant as jade, let others criticize as they please. There are two most difficult things in the world: one is the wishes of others, and the other is the desires of one's own heart. If everyone could be perfect, where would the Three Realms and Five Elements be?"

When Long Qi arrived and saw this, he felt the two were nearly touching; his stomach immediately soured with jealousy, ignoring the one-foot distance between them.

He had never been like this with Lingxiang; what right did Chengkai have to be this close!

"Lingxiang! Chengkai! What are you two, a man and a woman alone, doing here!"

Could it be that this Lingxiang really wanted to bring him into Qingwei Peak?

Hearing this, Chengkai and Lingxiang turned to look, only to see Long Qi standing aggressively at the courtyard gate, with Liu Xia looking embarrassed behind him.

When Xinyi Zhao Wuyang found them, they saw Long Qi and Chengkai at daggers drawn, each standing on opposite sides of the courtyard, as if about to spar.

The two did not understand what was happening and hurriedly asked Liu Xia, who was standing to the side, only to see him shrug helplessly.

"Brother Long insisted on sparring with Chengkai..."

Sparring? That was truly strange; even during the incident at the Public Kitchen, Long Qi had never confronted Chengkai head-on, so why was he so irritable now?

Xinyi was just wondering when a clear sound rang out from the corner.

"For this match, only use Sword Techniques, no extra methods, and stop at the first sign of contact. Is that clear to you both?"

It was Lingxiang. Today she was wearing a dark green padded jacket, even her inner lining was green; standing there, she blended in with the green bamboo, and he had not noticed her at first.

When it came down to it, Long Qi was being so impatient because of her, no... Xinyi thought this and could not help but shake his head.

Yet the person who was the cause of it all seemed unconcerned, and she did not know where she had pulled out a handful of pine nuts to crack.

Xinyi could not help but think of what Lingxiang had said to him yesterday; being so heartless, she had probably just said it casually...

As soon as Lingxiang announced the start of the match, Long Qi and Chengkai immediately charged at each other.

Long Qi used a heavy sword, while Chengkai used the Soft Sword issued by the sect; he was already at a disadvantage, so in this match, he could only rely on clever force to have any hope of winning.

Chengkai understood this principle well. Just as the two were about to clash, he sidestepped and slid past Long Qi. After passing him, he turned around and thrust his sword at Long Qi's back.

Long Qi felt the danger approaching from behind, immediately crouched down, and rolled on the ground to put distance between himself and Chengkai.

This fellow was large, yet his movements were agile. If it were not for the fact that his internal Qi could already blend with the nature around him, he would have likely lost in that last move.

Long Qi used his scabbard to block the sword and crouched halfway, striking a pose—it would not be bad to use this fellow to test his Sword Techniques.

Lingxiang watched with interest, her hands and mouth never stopping; the crisp sound of shells cracking made Zhao Wuyang look over repeatedly.

Seeing this, Chengkai braced himself with full focus: this move looked a bit strange, the posture resembled a crouching sheep, yet it seemed to possess a fierce momentum.

Just as he was pondering, Long Qi kicked off the ground and lunged at him, the speed of his approach like an arrow leaving the string.

This move was bound to be powerful; if he met it head-on, his sword would be destroyed and he would be injured.

In the blink of an eye, Chengkai dropped into a bow stance. Just as Long Qi's Sword Technique was about to strike his face, he turned to dodge it again. But before he could stand firm, Long Qi turned around and swung his sword with a flick of his wrist.

Seeing the blade edge approaching, Chengkai twisted his waist, kicked off the ground, and spun in mid-air to dodge it.

Seeing his move miss, Long Qi hurriedly gripped his sword backhanded, swept his right leg toward Chengkai's lower body, and attacked his waist with the sword in his hand.

Having just dodged one move and not yet stood firm, another came; looking at this, it seemed Chengkai would be unable to dodge.

Just as Liu Xia thought Long Qi was about to win, Chengkai tapped his sword against the ground and used the force to spring away.

Not waiting for Chengkai to stand firm, Long Qi followed with a dash and thrust his sword forward.

Chengkai saw this and hurriedly used his sword scabbard to block, but the force of Long Qi's strike was so great that it pierced straight through the scabbard.

Just as the scabbard was about to split in two, Chengkai rotated it half a turn, unexpectedly deflecting most of the force.

Long Qi was spun around and did a somersault; he hurriedly steadied his stance and pulled his sword out with force.

Just as the two were about to make another move, they heard Lingxiang shout out:

"How spectacular!"