Chapter 139: Meeting Again

"... You truly have a heaven-sent talent."

"Yes, I learn things related to the sword very quickly."

"But it's also too fast," the young girl exclaimed. "Can the young hero demonstrate other moves as well?"

Seeing Pei Ye nodded and followed her instructions, performing the later forms from his hand as well. When 【Clear Resonance】 was performed, the small wooden sword actually vibrated violently as well.

"Hmm!" The young girl couldn't help but clap her hands. "What a powerful sword move."

Then she looked on, somewhat stunned. "I really have a unique feeling about this set of sword moves..."

"How so?" Seeing Pei Ye felt he was a bystander who couldn't see the truth.

The young girl shook her head somewhat blankly. "I can't say for now."

"Then let's communicate slowly in the future," Seeing Pei Ye said. "It's your turn, Miss Li."

"Good." Li Piaoqing nodded. "If the young hero wants to see 'Jade Shadow,' I can demonstrate it myself. What is on my hand now is 'Yellow Jade'."

The young girl adjusted her breathing, her hand lifted lightly, and the copper sword strip balanced on her fingertips. Then she slowly lifted another finger to flick it, as if the wind and clouds were changing, and her palm turned into a flower. Then a small sword "whooshed" out from the bottom of her palm, like a Golden Crow poking its head out.

This was literally a "flying copper shadow," Seeing Pei Ye thought, clapping his hands. "Good sword!"

Li Piaoqing smiled with satisfaction and performed the next three sword moves one by one. Thus, the feeling the young girl described suddenly came to Seeing Pei Ye's heart.

It was indeed subtle and hard to describe.

The young girl finished the demonstration and stopped her fingers.

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned. "Eh? Is that it? Is there... are there still sword moves after this?"

Li Piaoqing was somewhat surprised. "The young hero has such keen eyes. Yes, there are three more forms, but I actually haven't learned them yet. I'm still far from being able to perform them myself, let alone on my hand."

"Hmm." Seeing Pei Ye nodded. "It's fine, I also have a few forms I haven't learned yet. Let's communicate again after we've learned them."

The two found a clean place to sit on the ground and began to fight with their hands as swords.

This kind of "hand-talk" was indeed very interesting and quite restrained. It definitely could not represent true victory or defeat, nor would it reveal too much information about the sword technique, and even the superiority of the moves was not that clear. Therefore, everyone could play with peace of mind, play at will, and play with sword cultivators of different levels.

But it was indeed a projection of a person's sword path level. In this kind of sparring, one could gain true realization and also experience the joy of the game.

It could be called a gentleman's game unique to sword cultivators.

Seeing Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing fought for a while with clinking sounds, and gradually stopped their movements at the same time.

Seeing Pei Ye raised his head, and Li Piaoqing also looked over with a somewhat confused smile.

"Have you noticed that the two sword techniques we know don't seem suitable for fighting each other?"

"Yes."

"But there is indeed some realization," Li Piaoqing pondered.

Seeing Pei Ye agreed.

"Then let's stop here for today," the young girl withdrew her hand and moved her fingers.

She looked at Seeing Pei Ye somewhat curiously. "I wonder, which quota does the young hero hold?"

"Fenghuai." Seeing Pei Ye pointed to the young girl's fingertip sword. "Miss Li, is the shape of this sword of yours the 'Severing Zhan Zhan Xin Liuli'?"

"Ah? Yes!" Li Piaoqing laughed somewhat surprised. "Young hero, you haven't even heard of 'Fingertip Sword,' yet you can recognize the Severing Zhan Zhan Xin Liuli?"

"Ha."

Li Piaoqing lowered her head and rubbed the small sword twice, then said with a soft laugh, "This was cast for me by my senior brother. I like the Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu. When he went to Shaolong Prefecture before, he bought a portrait of the Severing Zhan Zhan Xin Liuli and cast one according to it."

"Hmm! Did you cast it yourself? That's very skillful." Seeing Pei Ye looked at this small sword strip; the details and proportions were all very appropriate.

"Haha, actually, the first one cast was a crooked copper lump that couldn't be polished no matter what. This one now... is after more than a dozen versions."

Seeing Pei Ye widened his eyes slightly. "Your senior brother must have a very good relationship with you."

"Hmm. He is a bit too good to me, which led to me being sixteen or seventeen and not knowing how to do anything," the young girl looked at the starry sky and smiled softly. "We were both born and raised in the Jianmen. Since I was very young, he has taken me to play together."

The young girl tied the yellow copper small sword back to her waist and smiled again. "Actually, I don't know if this shape is correct, but anyway, it cost four or five taels of silver. They said it was drawn by a painter who had seen the true body of the Severing Zhan Zhan Xin Liuli in the Divine Capital, and then copied."

"It is correct." Seeing Pei Ye nodded in affirmation.

Li Piaoqing looked at him somewhat strangely. "I hope so. But actually, it doesn't matter. My senior brother put a lot of thought into it, and I also like its appearance very much. True or false, anyway, it was cast by others, and there is no 'genuine' version in the world certified by the Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu."

Seeing Pei Ye nodded. "That's true. Anyway, it's worn on one's own body, true or false has nothing to do with others."

"Yes, they are all very distant figures—but you shouldn't say that; there was a report in the official gazette earlier saying a person in white came to our prefecture to challenge others to a sword fight, and later there was news that it was the Ming Ming Jianzhu Ming. But thinking about it, it must have been just hearsay." The young girl looked up at the sky, "I really want to see Ming Ming Jianzhu Ming once. She is so good."

"You haven't even met her, how do you know she is good?"

"I—alright, that's true," Li Piaoqing looked at the stars. Her eyes were moist and bright, and the stars fell into them, very dazzling. "Perhaps the Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu also has her own predicament, but at least in my imagination, she should be the kind of person who will never have worries and entanglements."

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned for a moment, but couldn't help but nod.

Then he said, "Next year at the Divine Capital Feather Scale Trial, the Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu will participate. Do you want to go and see?"

"The Bright Ming Ming Jianzhu participating is just a guess... but I do want to go," the young girl lowered her head and withdrew her gaze. Once the stars left, her eyes returned to their normal color.

"But that is a matter for much later," she said softly.

Seeing Pei Ye looked at the young girl. Her gaze was looking at an empty space, as if there was something invisible to others there.

Seeing Pei Ye lowered his head, watching the small wooden sword spinning on his hand.

Beside him, Li Piaoqing noticed and smiled. "This one of yours has nothing special. It was made by a craftsman in our Cuiyu Jianmen. The material is sandalwood, and every disciple was given one."

Seeing Pei Ye flipped it over and looked closely. It was indeed engraved with four beautiful small characters: "Lin Shui Cui Yu."

"Actually, there are many places in the prefecture city that sell Fingertip Swords. If you like playing, you can go and buy a good-looking one to use."

"No need, this one is very good," Seeing Pei Ye said.

This was not entirely polite. As one of the initiation gifts for disciples of the Cuiyu Jianmen, this small sword had few carvings but was polished with effort. The original wood grain was very beautiful, and the weight distribution had also been pondered, possessing quite a kind of simple beauty.

Li Piaoqing leaned back and supported the ground with both hands. "I heard that the styles of Fingertip Swords in the Divine Capital are numerous. There are many strange materials and designs, and some have even been tempered by artifact refiners, with many, many ways to play."

"I will definitely take a look when I get to the Divine Capital," Seeing Pei Ye imagined according to the young girl's words, and suddenly asked, "When will you be able to learn the last three forms?"

"... Learning the sword is not that simple. That has to be counted in years. In the last ten years, only my senior brother has learned the entire 'Jade Collection' before the martial arts competition."

"Then your senior brother's talent is very high."

"Hmm, my senior brother's talent is higher than mine—the young hero's talent is also very high," Li Piaoqing asked somewhat curiously. "By the way, I still don't know the young hero's master."

"I have no master."

"Hmm?" Li Piaoqing smiled. "The young hero has only practiced this half of the 'Cicada-Sparrow Sword' and has already reached the Clumsy Realm?"

"That's not it," Seeing Pei Ye laughed. "I learned it first—"

He suddenly paused, gave a light "ah," and patted his forehead. "Actually, the Cicada-Sparrow Sword is not my most powerful sword technique."

"??" Li Piaoqing widened her eyes and looked at him.

We have already finished exchanging!

"But this is indeed the most powerful sword technique I use in the martial arts competition," Seeing Pei Ye explained hurriedly. "If Miss Li defeats me, I will admit defeat and step down. I will not use a more powerful sword technique against you."

"..." This remark made the young girl's widened eyes retract, but her eyebrows furrowed somewhat. She opened her mouth but didn't say the words.

If you used it... what could you do?

This youth was simple and sincere, and his sword moves also had spiritual light, but he had a point of liking to talk to himself.

Saying he was an opponent of equal strength when he was only in the Second Life, judging her small glass sword, and now... all had a little bit of love for showing off.

But anyway, it was harmless. Li Piaoqing gave a stretch and said, "It's too late today, why don't we verify with each other tomorrow?"

It was indeed very late. The surroundings were already truly silent, and even the chirping of insects in the small courtyard seemed to have disappeared. Outside the courtyard wall, the ventilated windows of those small buildings had all been closed, except for one in the middle of the third floor that had been missed, still revealing a pitch-black hole under the dim blue night sky.

"Good, Miss Li, go and rest early."

"Hmm, see you tomorrow."

Li Piaoqing had just turned around when she heard a "thump" behind her. Turning around, the youth was already lying under the tree with his sword box as a pillow.

"... Young hero, are you not going back to your room to sleep?"

"I have no place to live here. I usually sleep in an inn. It's late today, so I'll just make do."

"How can that be?" The young girl was startled. "There are still empty rooms in my courtyard. Come and live here."

"Ah? No need, no need, it's too presumptuous."

"It won't be. The courtyard is very large, and it's not full even with several senior brothers and sisters living here."

Oh, there are other fellow disciples. Seeing Pei Ye stood up with a smile. "Then I will disturb you for one night."

"Why only one night? Young Hero Pei, you can check out of that inn and just come here to live," Li Piaoqing said sincerely.

Seeing Pei Ye naturally waved his hands hurriedly.

The two walked out of the martial arts field one after the other, and Seeing Pei Ye only then learned that the one living in the west courtyard was this young girl.

The young girl led Seeing Pei Ye to find an empty room and said goodbye. Seeing Pei Ye gave a word to the Chi Shadow in his belly and then went to bed.

The first feeling was that he had never slept on such a soft bed.

—

Early in the morning, when the morning sun spilled down from the clear air, a short, fat man with a five-short stature entered the gate of the martial arts hall.

Zhang Dingyun walked in with a refreshed spirit. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the martial arts field, he heard the side door ring. Turning his head, he saw Seeing Pei Ye walking out of the west courtyard.

"?" Zhang Dingyun stood still and frowned at him.

"I discussed swords with a friend from the Cuiyu Jianmen yesterday, and they let me stay," Seeing Pei Ye smiled.

"The Cuiyu Jianmen lives here?" Zhang Dingyun was surprised. "They came so early this year? —This small courtyard can't hold them either."

"... I don't know, but it seems only four or five people live here," Seeing Pei Ye said.

Zhang Dingyun sighed, "The most brilliant figure of the Cuiyu Jianmen this year is Li Piaoqing, a figure who is sure to take the top four and is also the biggest favorite for second place. I heard she is only seventeen. I really want to see such a figure."

"Ah, she is inside, just woke up."

"Ah?"

"She performed sword moves for us early yesterday morning, and she is a very good person."

"... Sigh, sure enough, you can't have both fish and bear's paw." Zhang Dingyun gave an even heavier sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"That talented woman I told you about yesterday actually patronized our poetry gathering," Zhang Dingyun smiled with satisfaction. "And she even wrote a poem with us."

"Do talented women also watch martial arts competitions?"

"What are you saying! In our Great Tang, the literary and the martial have never been separated. However... there really hasn't been a poem written for the martial competition. She set a new topic, writing about Catching-Moon Lake, and after it ended, she even helped us revise our poems one by one. Everyone took them to the academy to show off."

Seeing Pei Ye didn't understand these things anyway. He changed the topic. "You said Li Piaoqing is the most brilliant of the Cuiyu Jianmen, that doesn't seem right. She has an even more powerful senior brother."

"..." Zhang Dingyun looked at him inexplicably.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Pei Ye looked back. "Oh! Is her senior brother not participating in this year's martial arts competition? Has he participated before?"

"If... you are talking about the senior brother I know, then that is indeed the case. He participated in last year's winter competition," Zhang Dingyun pondered.

"I am talking about the one with very high talent."

"That is him."

"Did he win the championship in the winter competition?"

"Yes."

"No wonder..." Seeing Pei Ye smiled. "It was my misunderstanding—then he should have participated in the Divine Capital Martial Examination this summer, but I don't know what his results were?"

"There were no results. He... did not participate in the Divine Capital Martial Examination," Zhang Dingyun looked at the youth. "He was killed this spring, his head was cut off and thrown in front of the Cuiyu Mountain Gate."

"..."

"Let's go," Zhang Dingyun pulled the stunned Seeing Pei Ye and said in a low voice, "The morning class is about to start."

——

After listening to the morning class, Seeing Pei Ye told the instructor that he planned to visit the Bai Sibing today.

This elder was warm-hearted and kind. Even though they had never met, he had introduced him to the martial arts hall, and he had learned things and made friends here. His cultivation progress had just entered a "slow" period these two days, and it was also the elder's day off. It was reasonable and appropriate to visit him.

When passing by the west courtyard on the way out, Seeing Pei Ye intended to tell Li Piaoqing that he would discuss sword techniques with her after he came back later, but was told that the young girl had also just gone out and had left him a note to spar again at noon or night.

Seeing Pei Ye then left and headed toward the Bai Sibing's residence.

Arriving in the south of the city, following the directions given by the Chang official before, and asking along the way, he finally found this residence that was neither too big nor too small, neither too old nor too new.

Behind it, one could see the Bowang Garden from afar, and in front of the residence, it overlooked the Moon-Catching Lake. Seeing Pei Ye straightened his clothes and was just about to walk over when he saw the door being pushed open from the inside, and a kind-looking old man was sending a young and graceful woman out.

The two talked for a few sentences in front of the door, the woman bowed and left, and the old man closed the door.

Seeing Pei Ye watched the woman come toward his side, but she didn't notice him. She walked to the street by the water and stood still, looking at the Moon-Catching Lake in a daze.

The woman's brows and eyes were like a painting, her emotions deeply hidden, her skirt and shoes stained with some mud, her temperament quiet and beautiful.

It was exactly that Miss Qi he met at the entrance of the casino.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 140 =====