Chapter 355: Sound-Writing Paper

This was the most detailed and organized record since organizing this set of notes.

There was no description of any scene; the long note just accurately and precisely recorded the ripples in that sound-writing paper, drawing everything the man heard while sitting alone in the study that night into the reader's eyes.

The sound-writing paper was hidden in the sword hilt. The sword was stored in the rear building of the Law Enforcement Hall on the fourth floor. For the past half year, evidence of cases had been stored here. Behind this room was a barrier, left and right were storage rooms, and in front was the hall for handling case affairs when on duty.

In this environment, I have recorded what I heard one by one here.

【Chen hour, first quarter】, enabled.

Outside the door, there were mixed human voices, several people walking, asking, checking, and talking, and the sound of wind surging behind the building was incessant.

【Chen hour, third quarter】, a footstep approached, the key entered the hole, and the lock opened crisply. The door opened, the mixed sounds outside were clear for a moment, this footstep entered, called back "Is it the waist tag?", and then left with the object, closed the door and locked it, without touching the sword.

【Chen hour to You hour, end】, the wind sound was slightly weaker, the mixed sounds outside came and went, gradually becoming low and sparse.

【Hai hour】, sounds of people getting up from their seats one after another, totaling five.

A young man smiled: "Elder Gan, we juniors will take our leave first."

The sound of flipping pages stopped, the old man said slowly: "Hmm, go slowly on the road."

The crowd's footsteps left, a heavy "creak," was the opening of the outer hall door, and when it closed, it was extremely light, almost unheard.

Thus the human voices vanished, leaving only the crackling of fire candles, occasional sounds of grinding ink, spreading paper, light coughing, and making tea, with no other mixed sounds.

About eight quarters later, one person got up from the seat.

Put down the pen, closed the book, put the scroll into the tube, extinguished the candle, took the sword, a light cough, and then the footsteps gradually went far and weak. The hall door "creaked" open and closed once.

The sound of the door locking, the owl calling outside the window, the ten thousand sounds were silent.

【Zi hour, beginning】.

(The man's ink strokes became detailed here.)

It was still complete silence. The ripples on the sound-writing paper almost walked into a straight line, with occasional one or two slight undulations, which were the sounds of birds flapping in the trees.

The extreme silence of the deep night continued, time flowed, and nearly an hour passed like this.

【Zi hour, seventh quarter】

A footstep suddenly appeared in the outer hall. I pulled back this section three times, confirming no sound of the door page, no sound of the door lock opening.

The pace was light, steady, and even, heading straight toward the storage room. I think this is not the pace of a cautious and alert person.

Getting closer and closer, the footsteps did not stop... until they had arrived before the long sword.

I confirmed before leaving that the door lock of the storage room had an extra layer of Mystic Qi array compared to the outer hall, but it also did not produce any sound. The entire process also had no breathing or friction of clothing. The sound produced by this person was very abrupt and jumpy.

A very light and very clear "clatter," was the vibration from the sword itself.

And then it was the sound of the sword being unsheathed, slow and short, it should only be unsheathed by an inch, after two breaths of silence, it slowly returned to the sheath.

A very subtle nasal sound seemed to arise. I think if there is no other reason, for a person of this cultivation, it should be considered a light sigh.

Suddenly the wind blew across the face, roaring, clothes hunting, but it only lasted for one and a half breaths, and these sounds softened simultaneously.

The wind sound still existed, but it was no longer the roaring of being pushed open, but sliding smoothly like water.

The night sound was no longer separated by a barrier, but was vast and clear. A sharp and short owl call suddenly sounded very close "under the feet," but it was pulled very far away in an instant.

Before this sharp sound fell, this person had already left the range it could convey.

【Chou hour, first quarter】

The flowing wind sound disappeared, footsteps stepped on the ground, hard and solid, it was the sound of stepping on stone, and there was subtle friction of soil and sand.

The wind sound was extremely weak here, hearing the water sound thick and deep from afar.

The footsteps rang twenty-seven times in a row, paused slightly, a "creak" in front of the body, and a door was pushed open.

The door page was not closed, the wind sound was left behind, the footsteps continued inward, and the room was extremely quiet. A very light voice sounded at this time: "You harmed the talents of my sect, just for such a bead?"

This male voice was somewhat unfamiliar, although light and slow, it was not weak.

It came from about two zhang ahead, but like the sword-carrying person, there was no sound belonging to a "human" flowing out, and the position occupied was only a piece of silence in the world of sound.

"Sword defeat and heart broken, no longer a talent," a steady and even voice came from three feet above.

His speaking speed was also not fast, about seven or eight out of ten of my usual speaking speed, but in front of the previous person, it appeared much "younger." Generally speaking, those in high positions and the elderly like slow speech.

"This is not something I allowed," the person in the room said lightly.

"Very sorry, but as far as this matter is concerned, we have to take out this bead first before we can get your permission," the man's voice was still even. "These years have been talking about 'bones without meat, true body hard to form,' this is the solution I brought out."

Quiet for two breaths.

The man's voice continued: "This bead stores the strongest sword art of that disciple. It is made of Heart Amber, and the material used is consistent with the Sword Academy's 'Sword Heart Reflection.' After reflecting the eyes, there will be three steps: 【Input】, 【Imprint】, and 【Retention】. The person dies but the sword exists, which is 'Soul-Snatching and Sword-Stealing'."

(The ink strokes here became slow and heavy)

Quiet for three breaths.

The person in the room asked: "This kind of sword, how to teach it to him?"

The man said: "It is not 'taught,' but 'empowerment.' As long as this bead is aimed at the 'Heart Mirror,' completing the same reflection. One dragon 'bone,' one sword 'flow'... just a quarter of an hour."

Ten breaths of silence.

"He can learn sword one by one by himself—like now. But the progress of each one is counted in years. When the opportunity is about to come, we don't have time to wait."

"It is you who don't have time to wait."

"Of course," the man said.

"We have been planning for more than twenty years in the shadows, just for that coincidence that doesn't know when it will come," the man's voice was low and indifferent. "So we must ensure that when it comes, we have already made preparations."

"This is also equally important to you."

The person in the room that night colluded with the enemy. I don't recognize his voice, but voices are easy to modify. This person's cultivation is above the Mystic Gate, and he dared to decide to steal fourteen Kongdong sword arts—although Kongdong's peaks are loose, to support a space where outsiders can do such evil, his status must be above the Peak Master level.

"But I remember we talked about it, the amount of 'bones' has not been filled yet."

"It is filled today."

"Oh?"

"We found a way in Xilong. With this bead, in the next five years, we can leave Shaolong and go west. Nine lines are going together there, at least six fruits can be picked," the man stated flatly. "Your sect can get at least fourteen lines. Outside the mountain, 【Gold Jade Studio】, 【Feather Spring Mountain】, and 【Five Sword Blessed Land】 have all completed picking."

"And what about the remaining one?"

"【Liangshan Palace】 has a true disciple who abandoned the sect. Our people have already followed him. In addition..." the man paused slightly, "we also have an insurance—in the extreme north Bowang Prefecture, there is a 【Green Feather Sword Sect】."

"The inheritance of Gu Yufei, as far as I know, has already been broken."

"Yes, the remaining half is just not enough to reach the threshold of 'flow'," the man paused again. "But when I was over there, I had a chat with that Peak Master. He said that the lost half actually took away most of the charm of this half. Although that half of the sword cannot be found, by exhausting the sword principles, some charm can be found. That is the direction he is working hard toward."

"."

"It is still an unsettled matter."

"But this is also the last insurance. If it goes smoothly, Xilong and Kongdong can be completed. Even if Xilong fails and Kongdong misses the time... when it really comes to using it, the other twenty-three 'flows' will definitely have been gathered."

"This bead can let us walk out," the man finally said.

"Many problems will be solved."

Ten breaths of silence.

"But it has to kill people," the person in the room said softly. "Every time one person is killed, one more line is left behind. You can let those who seek revenge not catch this line, but it will not disappear. On some day in the years to come, these lines might strangle back."

"Just a trade-off."

Three breaths of silence.

". Good, I promise," the voice sounded extremely light in the silence.

"But Kongdong must not have its traces appear again," the person in the room continued. "There are many eyes and ears in the mountain. The first seemingly seamless attack was detected by Zhang Meiqing. This was still when most people had not raised their vigilance—once it is made public, you and I will both be destroyed."

The man let out a light laugh, because it was low and hoarse: "Famous sects, indeed, talents are like stars."

"Alright, now prove that it really works."

Seeing Pei Ye pressed his hand here.

Three years after taking the 【West Court Heart】 from the Lake Mountain Sword Sect, Seeing Pei Ye saw his traces once again.

His behavior now was the will of the Joyful Death Pavilion. What were they plotting in Kongdong? And what did all this have to do with 【Daliang】?

Seeing Pei Ye continued to look down, his gaze suddenly freezing, holding his breath before the next paragraph of content.

This paragraph of content appeared very strange, and the man's emotion when writing it almost showed through.

"Please try the sword first," the man said.

This voice sounded while moving away.

There were no footsteps. Of course, it was easy for him to cover his footsteps, but I think it was the sword being handed out.

The sword sound rang out, the clear sound of the blade breaking the wind. This sound is familiar to Kongdong sect members every day, but I want to describe this sword dance.

I don't have the ability to distinguish the origin of sword arts by sound, but I distinguished the frequency and the force of breaking the air—this is the sword of Immortal Bridge Peak, which I often watched Little Feng practice when communicating with him in the past.

And what made me almost unable to breathe was the familiar feeling that was hidden, yet absolutely real, within it.

Among the Kongdong disciples, this should be an excellent level. Every sword sound was clanging and powerful, with moderate lightness and heaviness, and the flow between moves had enough space.

But if examined with a higher gaze, many flaws began to make people uncomfortable—insufficiently vivid explosions, hesitant sword strikes, overly soft killing intent...

This is exactly the problem Little Feng had when practicing "White Rainbow Chapter."

The sword sound stopped.

The person in the room's voice came from the same position as always: "He hasn't learned it yet."

The man said: "Yes."

Yes.

I listened to this section seven times before I believed that what was dancing the sword was indeed not the high-ranking person who "promised."

There was a third person in the room.

He did not speak, nor did he produce any sound. Except for obeying the man's "Please try the sword first," there was no trace of existence.

"Then now, let him learn it," the man said softly.

A long silence that was unbearable for half a quarter of an hour.

The man said in a low voice: "Please try the sword again."

The sword sound started again.

(There was a long pause in the ink strokes here, and a drop of ink soaked a small piece of the paper page)

I cannot describe this sound.

Suddenly, too many sword sounds filled the whole room. I don't know how a person with a sword could dance such sounds. From all directions, I almost suspected that what was not making a sound here was not a person, but ten, a hundred zombie-like things!

Now they are holding swords and dancing. Steady, standard, powerful sword sounds, every sword reaching the end of its power... I don't know how to describe it, but there is no more precise sword strike than this.

Not perfection, but extreme precision.

Every sword practitioner has their own style. After learning those sword moves step by step, unlike the loss of control when first learning, the sword practitioner will intentionally increase or decrease the strength somewhere. Facing different enemies and different moves, the same sword will present thousands of postures with different force directions.

But the sound now was just... playback.

Playback precise to the millimeter—【Building Bridge】, this sword is a long arc, the sound goes from weak to strong and then from strong to weak, and this sound appeared four times in different places... The ripples formed on the sound-writing paper were exactly the same.

These sounds gradually harmonized and unified in the playback, weaving a piece of sword momentum that complemented each other, and then the sword sound gradually weakened, like thin dusk smoke, becoming blurred and unclear.

The clear sword sound in front seemed to pull a straight line to the left, and its uniformity pulled a smooth slope on the sound-writing paper.

A moment of silence.

And then from left to right, a sword sound wrapped in wind suddenly penetrated, the window leaves clattered, the door pages rattled, and the wind Qi swept across the entire room in an instant.

I recognize this sword, 【Sun Penetration】. Within a quarter of an hour, he really learned it.

"Now, we have one more 'flow'," the man said.

Owl call outside.

Seeing Pei Ye's gaze moved down. This was the end of this long note. The back recorded the process of this sword being put back, but there was nothing much to see.

The back of the long section was the man's self-talk, which Seeing Pei Ye hadn't read yet. He held this note in his hand and took out a bead the size of a walnut from under his clothes.

Half iron-cast and half amber-polished, two completely different materials were joined seamlessly, and the weak light overflowed the holes and carvings, lying quietly in his palm.

They had guessed many purposes of the Joyful Death Pavilion's soul-snatching and sword-stealing, and Sui Zaihua had once jokingly asked him to "try it" on himself, but none of them thought that the stolen sword could actually be "taught" out.

This is something even more incredible than soul-snatching, because a person's mind and spirit is not white paper that can be printed. To incorporate a sword art, the mind and spirit must be constructed and adapted accordingly... Without carving it down or branding it on, one could make people learn the principles of a sword art.

Seeing Pei Ye suspected that Zhang Meiqing had entered a misunderstanding. Before saying that the thing dancing the sword in the deep night seven years ago was a person... Seeing Pei Ye would first suspect whether it was a living creature.

But he didn't dare to hold tight to a suspicion without real evidence... Perhaps there is such a demon-like way of learning sword in the world, and he had long known that his knowledge was shallow.

Fortunately, he now really had a Soul-Snatching Bead, recording many scattered sword arts that were not enough to be "flows." Among them, Daliang was the half-style sword of ghostly life that Shang Huaitong had never learned until his death.

Seeing Pei Ye slowly raised the bead in his hand and stopped it squarely before his eyes.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 356 =====

(End of Chapter)