Chapter 199

However, Seeing Pei Ye didn't listen to what the woman was saying. He turned his head to look and saw that Bai Zhu of the Seven Serpents had also taken his seat. Unlike the hidden sorrow and casual chatter of the Green Feather Sect, the low-pressure atmosphere on the Seven Serpents' side was practically visible to the naked eye; worry, confusion, ferocity, and blankness—their expressions could not be hidden at all.

Bai Zhu's side was the most normal; some disciples were watching the Green Feather Sect and the Seven Serpents, whispering and speculating—they didn't yet know that their own sect had a hand in what happened that day.

Looking toward the scholars, Fang Jidao had also taken his seat. Zhang Dingyun beside him seemed to have given up on persuading him, holding his teacup and taking small sips with a sour expression.

And looking further ahead, a familiar figure caught Seeing Pei Ye's gaze.

The black cloak was draped in his arms; the man's body was as upright as a pine, and he was chatting calmly and gracefully with several scholars. If one only looked at this appearance, the words "refined and broad-minded" sent by the Sword Academy were truly precise.

The Seven Serpents had just lost five pillars and now only had one old man and one young man left. Outside the Bowang Garden, the Green Feather Sect was launching an all-out counterattack. Just as he was chatting and laughing here, everything the Seven Serpents controlled was vanishing rapidly, like snow before a fire.

The identity of a true disciple of the Seven Serpents' cave, which supported him in moving among high officials and nobles and receiving endless flattery, was already in jeopardy.

But one could not see any of this precariousness on the man's face, as if the Seven Serpents disciples below with their ashen faces had nothing to do with him at all.

The scholar in front of him said something, and Qijiao Shang Huaitong laughed heartily. Then his gaze shifted, sweeping casually across the field, and made contact with Seeing Pei Ye's eyes for an instant.

That gaze contained no particular expression and moved away carelessly, but Seeing Pei Ye still saw in it the spirit he had seen before.

—As long as it was the path he intended to take, it would always be a smooth journey.

Seeing Pei Ye also had no expression. While scanning the area, he reopened the book in his hands and lowered his head to continue reading.

—

Qi Zhaohua's opening was very brief. After the courtesies were finished, she left the center of the field and headed toward the scholars. No one on the Heron-Watching Terrace failed to recognize her, and for a long time, the woman had been trying hard to downplay her presence in various settings; even at the Luzhou Poetry Society, she would only compose one mediocre poem at the very end each time.

Many people had long wanted to see the talented Qi compose a poem in earnest.

However, Qi Zhaohua did not seem to have that intention for now. After she went down, the martial arts instructor of the Bowang Garden went up first to throw out a brick to attract jade.

Many martial artists had already gripped their swords, and the scholars to the north also cast their gazes over.

Speaking of which, the difference between literature and martial arts is like mountains and rivers; at most, one might have some involvement with the other side, but very few people can be proficient in both.

Scholars look at swords only for the lively patterns, and many martial artists read poetry only for the rhythm, not to mention those who are not very literate and find it difficult to read a whole piece.

The Luzhou Poetry Society gathers people from both sides and requires interaction, so it is inevitable that effort must be spent on designing it.

The woman hosting this gathering saw it very clearly: the reason practitioners are willing to sit here is definitely not for a few pedantic words, but for the response their own skills elicit—how do those scholars who don't understand martial principles view this move of mine? What kind of acclaim can so-and-so's technique receive?

A martial art performed, a clever move executed—there must be sufficiently intuitive feedback to make everyone excited, expectant, and eager to try.

This can of course be felt intuitively from cheers and applause, but even out of politeness, no one will be met with a cold reception, so there must be something more "professional" that can distinguish the superior from the inferior to stir everyone's interest.

"Dangling Herons" exists for this purpose.

On the martial arts side, everyone has a ribbon by their hand, each connected to a silk ball hanging above the Heron-Watching Terrace. If someone's skill is outstanding, they only need to pull the ribbon, and a long silk strip will fall from the silk ball into the martial arts field. On the literary side, there are many cages of white herons. Everyone has pushed thirteen people with high literary reputations to sit smiling in front of the cages; whichever poem they think is well-composed, they release a white heron for it.

Therefore, besides watching the fancy patterns of the martial arts, scholars also love to watch the long silk strips hanging down—what I think is a powerful or unimpressive martial art, how is it viewed in the eyes of an expert?

Martial artists don't look at the copied poetry slips, but at the number of white herons released from the cages—Whoa! That poem just now didn't sound smooth, I didn't expect it to be quite lively when it flew!

And in order not to turn the relaxed poetry society into a competition, the woman did not set any order or regulations. Martial artists can test their swords and spar at will; whoever has an itchy hand can have a match. Scholars are also free; it is not necessary for a round of poetry to be composed every time a martial artist comes up.

However, the first martial arts instructor to come up did receive a response from both sides. There were over eighty martial artists, and nearly fifty silk strips hung down from the field, fluttering in the wind and shining in the sun, which was quite beautiful. Poems were also composed on the scholar's side; three were read, and three, four, and six white herons were released in succession.

As laughter arose, a Bai Zhu Pavilion disciple leaped up to seek advice, and this meeting of literature and martial arts proceeded in a lively manner.

Under the tree on the Green Feather Sect's side.

Many disciples' emotions had already been stirred. They gripped their swords and stood straight, watching the sword shadows on the field and listening to the shouts from both sides, also feeling a bit itchy to try. However, the Seven Serpents were nearby, so they were not allowed to act rashly for the time being.

Several people cast hopeful glances at Li Piaoqing, but the young girl only sat upright, chatting and laughing with Shen Yao and Chu Nian on her left and right, truly having the demeanor of a sect leader who remains unmoved.

Seeing Pei Ye remained immersed in the book until the young girl finished chatting and moved over. Only then did he raise his head. He glanced at the girl and smiled, "Do you want to read together?"

"Is that okay?" The girl tilted her head.

Seeing Pei Ye was actually stunned for a moment and looked at the book in his hand: "I suppose... it should be."

Miss Ming shouldn't mind this, and it wasn't some precious secret manual; he was already planning to leave a copy at the martial arts hall.

"It's just that it might be a bit hard to read." Seeing Pei Ye hesitated and spread the book out between the two of them.

This introductory book on sword theory, praised by both Ming and Zhu, had not spread to all the sects in the Jianghu, and it was not because the major sects were monopolizing it. This book was not unique to any one family, nor did it involve any martial arts secrets; as long as one was willing to print it, there were as many copies as one wanted.

The reason many people hadn't heard of it was simple: it really couldn't spread.

It was truly too lofty and the concept was too high.

No one read it.

People like Ming and Zhu naturally considered it the best introduction. After reading it, one could establish a cognition of the entire mountain of sword path, knowing where the sword in one's hand was positioned, how it flowed and differentiated, what the sword above was, what the sword below was, and so on.

But for most ordinary practitioners, after reading it in a daze and then lowering their heads to look at the sword in their hands, they would truly not know what they were doing.

Before learning the sword, you insist on counting the pros and cons of the Dongting sword for me, and then talk about the brilliance of the Yunlang sword. After finally learning it with such difficulty, I look down and see that the sword technique in my hand is called "Willow-Supporting Sword," which is already the best one in the martial arts hall, and given my aptitude, I'd be lucky to master it in five years.

I'm truly flattered, but next time, please tell a storybook tale instead.

Therefore, in reality, only a very small portion of people who have the opportunity to ascend to the upper half of the sword path mountain can use it as an introductory book.

In the circles of young sword path geniuses at some high places, if you say your first book on sword theory was "General Theory of Six Dynasties Sword Arts," you will immediately receive a different look.

Seeing Pei Ye didn't know that the book Miss Ming called "an introduction" had such a status, but as he read on, he did notice its "lack of being grounded," so he hesitated whether it was suitable for the girl to read.

But Li Piaoqing had already lowered her head to look. The young man was currently at one-third of the book, and she didn't ask to start from the beginning. Contrary to the young man, she recognized every character, and the meaning of the sentences was clear—not to mention it had been annotated in detail by a dashing handwriting—but the meaning within left her stunned for a moment.

However, she wasn't completely lost. After reading half a page, the girl's eyebrows wrinkled involuntarily, and she stopped with a solemn expression, then went back to reread that paragraph.

This was definitely not some obscure, filler material from a street stall as she had guessed. The girl clearly felt that some profound and brilliant things were revealing the tip of the iceberg to her, but it would be very difficult for her to touch it.

Seeing Pei Ye didn't expect her to become absorbed so quickly, but that was actually quite good. The young man smiled and lowered his head as well. The two read quietly together, and the girl's fragrance was right at the tip of his nose. Honestly, this feeling was better than struggling through it alone; any thoughts that popped up could be shared with the person beside him at any time.

But this "quite good" feeling disappeared when Seeing Pei Ye prepared to turn the page.

The young man, who had already finished this section, tilted his head, only to see the girl still staring at the first paragraph, her brows tightly furrowed and muttering to herself.

So slow.

Seeing Pei Ye weighed the remaining pages to be read and somewhat wanted to pull the book back.

Watching the girl's wholehearted struggle, he finally couldn't help but point: "This is talking about the 'Intent' sword."

Li Piaoqing raised her brows, looked up at him without speaking, with a look that seemed to understand yet also seemed not to.

"Sigh, only the Intent sword can involve emotion, so conversely, emotion can also influence the sword. Thus, once the sword is controlled by emotion, naturally cultivating emotion is considered cultivating the sword. This is the path it's talking about!"

Li Piaoqing's mouth formed an "O" shape. Although her expression was still blank, the "understanding" on it truly outweighed the "not understanding."

However, she came back to her senses, and soon her brows furrowed. She tilted her head and stared at him: "Why are you being so fierce? I haven't studied the Intent sword before."

"I—" Seeing Pei Ye stared.

The girl had already lowered her head again, her gaze fixed on the second paragraph, and then she pointed with surprise: "Ah! Yunlang Mountain!"

"Mm."

Li Piaoqing smiled happily, frowned as she read through this paragraph, pondered for a moment, and simply stopped trying to figure it out. She held the book in front of the young man and pointed: "Tell me quickly, what good things does this paragraph say about Yunlang Mountain?"

Seeing Pei Ye was silent for a moment, then suddenly snatched the book back: "Stop reading."

Li Piaoqing looked at him in astonishment.

"Because I'm in a hurry to read this." Seeing Pei Ye explained, "You read too slowly, I don't have time to wait for you. After I finish reading, I'll answer your questions."

"... You're the one who asked me to read it with you!"

"I'm not asking anymore."

The girl truly had to take a deep breath to maintain her image, then slapped him on the shoulder: "You're really annoying!"

Seeing Pei Ye hugged the book and didn't look back—annoying or not, if I don't finish reading this, I'm just a mortal before the Heavenly Law.

Unfortunately, the time he gained by offending the girl didn't last long. After turning only two pages, a slender figure stood before him again. Seeing Pei Ye raised his head, and Qi Zhaohua's smiling face entered his field of vision.

"What is Young Hero Pei reading?" She looked curiously at the book in Seeing Pei Ye's hand.

"A book on sword theory." Seeing Pei Ye smiled and showed the cover to the woman, "Is there something, Miss Qi?"

"Oh, I don't understand that." Qi Zhaohua tilted her head and smiled, "Young Hero Pei, please step aside. May I ask you about something?"

"Oh, sure."

Seeing Pei Ye nodded, and Qi Zhaohua turned and walked away first. As Seeing Pei Ye stood up, his sleeve was tugged. He turned back to see the girl's solemn face and a whisper: "She has been very intimate with Qijiao Shang Huaitong these days."

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned: "I know."

He turned back and caught up in two steps, walking side by side with the woman toward the outside of the Heron-Watching Terrace. Seeing Pei Ye said first: "I heard from a friend that the Catching Moon Lake project can't start this year?"

"..." Qi Zhaohua shook her head and laughed, "You ask every time we meet. Young Hero certainly keeps this matter in mind."

Seeing Pei Ye smiled. That day, the woman stood by the railing, cutting the great lake in two with her arm, and described the grand vision of "using this as a boundary, leaving the north and taking the south" in a calm voice, which indeed left a deep impression on him.

"I hope Miss Qi hasn't forgotten either." The young man smiled.

Qi Zhaohua sighed lightly: "There's really not much hope this year."

"Not much hope?" Seeing Pei Ye looked at the woman, his eyes rolled, and he suddenly laughed.

"... What is Young Hero laughing at?"

"In the eyes of outsiders, this matter is already impossible this year."

"... That's also correct. This matter indeed involves too much, and it's too difficult to push forward."

"Isn't the biggest difficulty because it blocks the Seven Serpents' financial path?" Seeing Pei Ye said directly.

"..."

"That day at the Catching Moon Tower, I heard people say that the Five Lakes Gang's livelihood comes from the Catching Moon Lake, and these five gangs are the backbone of the Seven Serpents' Bai Shui Cave." Seeing Pei Ye looked at the woman quietly.

"..." Qi Zhaohua smiled helplessly, "How did it become Young Hero interrogating me?"

"Miss Qi can't always get something for nothing from me." Seeing Pei Ye smiled, "We can be considered irreconcilable now, so we should distinguish things clearly."

Qi Zhaohua raised her brows: "Is Young Hero Pei working for the Young Li Li Zhangmen already?"

"Miss Qi's words aren't pleasant today." Seeing Pei Ye smiled, "Between friends, going through fire and water, what's strange about that?"

"Oh, so Young Hero Pei only recognizes friends surnamed Li, and not friends surnamed Qi?"

"Friends also have closeness and distance, which is also very normal."

"So it's still Li Piaoqing who has Young Hero completely infatuated."

"Don't sow discord anymore." Seeing Pei Ye warned with a smile, "But speaking of which, Miss Qi is indeed more of a failure for not having Qijiao Shang Huaitong infatuated."

"... Where does this come from?"

"Otherwise, why would the Seven Serpents refuse to make things convenient for the Catching Moon Lake?" Seeing Pei Ye looked at her, "For someone like Qijiao Shang Huaitong, Miss Qi can't 'make him do whatever she wants,' can she?"

"..."

These words must have uncovered something.

Because the woman was silent for a long time, until she raised her head to look at Seeing Pei Ye, with genuine pain buried in her autumn-water-like eyes, two things twisting within them.

"... I'm very troubled, Young Hero Pei." She said in a low voice, "I always thought... I could make a decisive choice between 'emotion' and 'affairs'."

(End of chapter)