Chapter 45: Broken Sleeves and the Resentment of the Pleasure House

"Yinyu Peak?" The man in white shook his fan and smiled. "It seems that fellow Shangqing is becoming increasingly confident in the Zhaoming array, to actually set the place for the martial exercises there."

These words were exceptionally baffling to the person behind him; what connection could Yinyu Peak possibly have with the Mountain Guarding Array?

The man in white seemed to know what the person behind him was thinking, and began to speak: "Yinyu Peak is at the end of the Jiuque Mountain Range, and it is also a place where spirit beasts gather, so the array's power is relatively weaker than the other peaks. When the Yuanqing Sect suffered a disaster back then, it was the mountain array at that very spot that was broken first. Nowadays, it has been strengthened quite a bit; although it cannot be broken from outside the mountain, if one were to break the array from within the mountain, it would not be impossible."

The man in white fanned himself with his folding fan, pondered for a moment, and then instructed the person behind him:

"You may return now, and seek me out five days from now; I have something I need you to do."

Immediately, he turned around and vanished into the darkness.

Liu Xia had not been coming and going with Long Qi and the others as often lately, especially after Hanyang announced the martial exercises; it was even harder to catch a glimpse of him.

The four of them had eaten and lived together for so long, and their bond had always been good; how had they become so distant now?

Zhao Wuyang was endlessly puzzled by this and hurriedly asked about it, only to hear Long Qi reply:

"Naturally, he's found a new love!"

It was meant to be a joke, but the words were filled with sourness, and the tone was as winding as Lingxiang's, which actually made Xin Yi laugh out loud.

Seeing Xin Yi laugh, Long Qi became exceptionally annoyed and scolded, "What is there to laugh at!"

"Using those words here makes it sound as if he has abandoned you. Hearing you say it like that, you sound a bit like a resentful woman in a deep boudoir. Having spent so much time together, I truly didn't know you two had a 'broken sleeve' romance." Xin Yi wiped the broken sword in his hand without looking up.

"Pah!" Upon hearing this, Long Qi immediately jumped up from his chair. "A fine one you are, Xin Yi! I usually see you as quiet and reserved, but I never thought you were actually a hundred-zhang wild fox!" As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Wuyang's stunned face and spat, "I, your grandfather, am a dignified seven-foot man; how could I have a 'broken sleeve' habit! Don't talk nonsense and corrupt Wuyang!"

However, Zhao Wuyang did not believe his words in the slightest; he actually rolled up his book and sat behind Xin Yi, occasionally lifting his eyes to stare at Long Qi, as if he were guarding against him.

Long Qi was even more displeased now, but he laughed out of extreme anger.

"Yo! ~ So you're even on guard against me now," he said, twisting his waist as he walked toward Xin Yi, pinching his voice and imitating the girls from the pleasure houses he had seen when he was young: "Then today, your grandfather will let you see what it means to be full of charm~"

A howl was heard in the courtyard, and the disciples poked their heads out, but they did not know which pavilion it had come from, and were all completely bewildered.

As for why Liu Xia had been acting this way lately, it was because after seeing Chengkai spar with Long Qi that day, he felt a sense of closeness because Chengkai's personality was similar to his own, and secondly, he greatly admired his swordsmanship.

Although they had once been at odds, wasn't that just "not knowing each other without a fight," and "getting to know each other through a fight"?

It just so happened that his own sword technique had hit a bottleneck and could not progress further, and since Chengkai's swordsmanship was excellent, he often went to seek his advice.

Chengkai truly did not care at all about their previous unpleasantness; whatever Liu Xia asked, he answered, never holding anything back.

And so, now that it was finally a day off, Liu Xia went to find Chengkai again.

"Brother Cheng's sword technique is crisp and decisive, without a hint of dragging; how is that achieved?" Liu Xia asked after watching Chengkai perform a set of sword techniques. "Could it be that you studied under some expert in the past?"

Come to think of it, Liu Xia had started practicing the sword since he was a child, and his Weeping Willow Sword Technique was sharp and fierce, yet he had never managed to achieve what Chengkai had.

"Ha~ how could that be!" Chengkai sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "As for the sword as a weapon, I only started using it after I came up the mountain. In the past, I mostly used a spear-flag, or was bare-handed, and occasionally I would use some hidden weapons."

This left Liu Xia astonished. If that were the case, Chengkai had been using a sword for less than two months, yet he could wield it so deftly; could he be a genius at swordsmanship? Otherwise, how could he have improved so quickly?

Just as Liu Xia was in the midst of his surprise, he heard Chengkai speak again:

"I grew up in an escort agency since I was a child. Escorts mostly live lives of licking blood from the blade, and the most important thing is to adapt quickly. For the sake of survival, even a stone on the road can be used as a weapon. I remember there was a female escort who could just snap a tree branch and beat bandits and mountain robbers until they were crying for their parents."

As Chengkai spoke, he actually picked up a stone and threw it out. A muffled thud was heard, and the pebble actually pierced into the bamboo in front of them.

"You see, it's just like that."

Seeing that the bamboo was still green and yet thicker than a wrist, the fact that Chengkai could achieve this with a pebble left Liu Xia truly dumbfounded.

"My master who taught me how to escort said that ordinary people's techniques always carry some flashy moves. But if we encounter desperate bandits while transporting goods, these flashy things might cost us our lives. Those villains won't care if your moves look good or not; they come up wanting to take your life. So when I practice the sword, any sword move that is unnecessary is removed by me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xia had a sudden realization. No wonder they practiced the same sword technique, yet Chengkai's sword moves were different. The Weeping Willow Sword Technique he had studied since childhood was too ornate; although it looked pleasing to the eye, the moves were actually too cumbersome, and he had been practicing them step-by-step, which was why he could not improve.

While Liu Xia was still reflecting, he heard Chengkai say again:

"I traveled north and south with my father when I was young and encountered many robbery attempts. An escort values trust; every time this happened, my father would definitely be unable to look after me, so I could only protect myself. Perhaps because I experienced so much, now if danger is imminent, I will instinctively either counterattack or dodge."

So that was it. No wonder Chengkai could wield the Light Spirit Sword Technique taught by the Yuanqing Sect so exquisitely; it was because many reasons had combined to create this result.

Liu Xia pondered for a moment, and then bowed to Chengkai with cupped hands.

"Hearing Brother Cheng's words today is like a sudden enlightenment; it has cleared my confusion, and I am truly grateful!"

Seeing this, Chengkai hurriedly helped Liu Xia up: "We are all fellow disciples now, so looking out for one another is only right. Besides, Brother Liu's swordsmanship was already superb; it was just a small bottleneck, and it certainly wouldn't have stumped you."

"Yo yo yo~ so you're finally willing to come back? I thought you were going to move in and sleep with Chengkai, and I was just thinking about bolting the door~" Seeing Liu Xia return to the room, Long Qi imitated Lingxiang's singing voice and said to him from across the bookshelf.

Long Qi had been acting Yin and Yang all day, and Zhao Wuyang felt he was becoming more and more like Lingxiang.

Hearing this, Liu Xia was not annoyed:

"Chengkai is a truly decent person; why do you insist on being at odds with him? It was just that Miss Lingxiang looked for him once, and you've held a grudge ever since. If you really like her, you can just say so directly. I actually think Miss Lingxiang is a woman who dares to love and hate."

As soon as these words were spoken, the tea Xin Yi had just taken into his mouth nearly sprayed out: he had always known Liu Xia was a straightforward person, but he hadn't expected him to be this straightforward, actually encouraging Long Qi to confess his love...

Upon hearing this, Long Qi's face turned red, but he still denied it: "Who... who said I like that mother-tiger!"