Chapter 92: Six-Pulse Divine Sword? The Lotus Emerging from Clear Water

The brush falls to form a poem, the fragrance of ink fills the paper.

When Luo Zijun came out of the room, Shui Shui was reluctant to let him go: "Young Master Luo, come back later, Shui Shui will be waiting for you, I'll put on your favorite little bellyband, okay?"

"No."

This time, Luo Zijun did not lie to her again.

Today should be his last time coming here, so he would not string her along anymore.

"Young Master Luo..."

Shui Shui chased him out the door again, her eyes like water, gazing at him tenderly as she said: "No matter when you come in the future, Shui Shui will wear the bellyband waiting for you, always free of charge."

"Many thanks."

Luo Zijun went straight to the third floor.

At this moment, a Young Maid came to report: "Mama, Sister Liu has already left with her zither, saying she is going to the Inner City to perform."

Upon hearing this, Liu Mama immediately slapped her thigh: "A step too late!"

She then said with a face full of apology: "Young Master Luo, this... how about you go play with Shui Shui for a while? Or, going to Ziwei's place is fine too."

Luo Zijun politely declined upon hearing this, cupped his hands and said: "Since Liu has already gone out, then I shall come again tomorrow morning."

As for the evening, it would likely be inconvenient.

He was afraid his sister would find out.

Moreover, that Liu would likely be very exhausted after going out to perform, and would sleep quite early at night.

Liu Mama had no choice but to accompany him with a smile: "I am truly sorry for letting Young Master Luo make a wasted trip. Rest assured, Young Master Luo, once Liu returns tonight, I will give her instructions to wait for you in her room tomorrow morning."

Luo Zijun thanked her and took his leave, not lingering any longer.

He thought for a moment.

He went straight to Bao'an Hall.

Thinking that he was about to leave, there were always some things in his heart he could not let go of.

The morning streets were exceptionally busy.

The hawking of vendors, the weaving of pedestrians, the running of children.

The scolding of matrons, the laughter of young girls.

The orderly market, the antique houses, the breeze gently brushing against his face, and the brilliant sunlight of the morning.

Everything here, in his eyes at this moment, felt like a dream.

After all, he was already prepared to "go home."

"Go home?"

He suddenly mocked himself inwardly.

What is home?

A pitch-black and lonely house, a room full of the smell of medicine, stagnant air, a dim sky, or, indifferent and distant relatives, or, those cold gazes?

His head began to ache again.

Suddenly, some strange yet familiar memories surged into his mind.

"Zijun, come, come to sister... walk slowly, don't rush, you can do it!"

"Zijun, brother-in-law will teach you how to box, don't tell your sister."

"Luo Zijun, don't you dare play with Qin Keqing, do you believe I'll pinch that part of you and turn you into a little eunuch! Tell me, are you still going to play with her?"

"Zijun, did that girl Ling'er pinch your pee-pee again? Don't cry, Grandpa will go back and beat her."

"Brother Zijun, I'm moving to the Inner City, I'll come find you to play when I have time, don't let Sister Ling'er know, watch out or she'll pinch you again."

"..."

"Sister, I had a dream, in the dream I went to a very fun place, the houses there were so strange, so tall, and there were elevators, do you know what an elevator is? There were no horse-drawn carriages on the ground there, they were cars... but, I wasn't happy there, I had a terminal illness, no one liked me, I was in so much pain..."

Luo Zijun clutched his splitting, painful head and squatted on the ground.

A middle-aged man selling vegetables nearby hurried over to help him up, asking with a face full of concern: "This young gentleman, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Luo Zijun shook his head forcefully, his eyes somewhat dazed.

He froze for a moment.

His pupils finally regained focus, and he said: "I'm fine, thank you."

He continued walking forward.

Those fragmented images in his mind slowly receded, and the pain receded along with them.

Looking at the busy street, he suddenly began to feel some doubt.

Which side, exactly, was the dream?

He arrived at Bao'an Hall.

Su Qingling, who was daydreaming behind the counter, looked up at him but did not speak.

The sound of Master's snoring drifted down from upstairs.

"Master hasn't gotten up yet?"

Luo Zijun asked.

Su Qingling said indifferently: "He didn't sleep last night."

Luo Zijun said: "Why?"

Su Qingling looked at him coldly with her beautiful eyes and said: "His own granddaughter was kissed by someone yesterday, yet she didn't kiss back, and his heart ached so much he couldn't sleep."

Luo Zijun ignored her, went to the backyard to fetch water, came back to wipe down the tables and chairs, then poured a cup of tea and sat down on the rocking chair.

"Senior Sister, I'm going to sleep for a while, call me if there are customers."

He suddenly felt somewhat exhausted, mentally exhausted.

The rocking chair swayed slowly.

He closed his eyes and soon drifted into dreamland.

Sunlight filtered through the embroidered window lattice, spilling in and landing on his delicate and handsome cheeks.

The young girl behind the counter watched quietly.

This nap actually lasted until the afternoon.

When Luo Zijun woke up, he discovered he was covered by a thin, snow-white blanket, which still carried a faint, girlish fragrance.

He was stunned for a moment, then looked toward the girl behind the counter.

Su Qingling was looking down, fiddling with an abacus, her pretty face indifferent, wearing a cold and aloof expression.

"Senior Sister, is this your blanket?"

Luo Zijun asked.

Su Qingling continued clicking the abacus, ignoring him.

Luo Zijun glanced at her again, rose from the rocking chair, carefully folded the blanket, and placed it on the chair.

"Has Master gone out?"

There was no longer any snoring from upstairs.

At this moment.

The sun slanted to the west; it was already afternoon.

Luo Zijun had not expected to be able to sleep so soundly. He stretched his arms, loosened up his body, and seeing that no one was paying him any mind and there were no customers, he felt a bit bored.

After some thought.

He took the book "Liehuo Finger" out of his Storage Bag, sat down on the chair, and began to flip through it.

"This technique cannot be practiced by those without profound Internal Energy."

"It cannot be practiced by those without a fire-attribute constitution."

"It cannot be practiced by those without thick meridians..."

Brother-in-law said the requirements for practicing this technique were too numerous, and most martial artists did not meet the conditions; just the requirement of a fire-attribute constitution alone blocked most people.

"Open the Dantian Sea, store Internal Energy, use Internal Energy to clear the acupoints and meridians, starting from Zhongfu and ending at Shaoshang, channel power into the fingertips, and erupt in an instant..."

"Huh?"

Luo Zijun was secretly surprised.

The first stage of this Liehuo Finger, the Shaoshang Liehuo Finger, seemed somewhat similar to the legendary Six Meridian Divine Sword. The path the Internal Energy traveled was entirely within the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, only it had seven extra acupoints along the way where one needed to store power before continuing forward.

He looked at the diagrams in the book carefully once more.

After hesitating for a moment, feeling a bit tempted, he decided to give it a try.

Although he did not know if he met those conditions, it did not matter; he could already easily control the Internal Energy in his Dantian Sea, and even if it did not work, he could withdraw at any time.

Moreover, that voice in his mind once said it would give him a special constitution.

He wondered if it would also be different when it came to practicing techniques.

He closed his eyes and began to urge the Internal Energy in his Dantian Sea.

In his mind, a human body clearly emerged, along with every meridian and every acupoint upon it.

The Internal Energy began to slowly travel upward.

Zhongfu... Yunmen... Tianfu... Xiabai... Chize...

Hmm?

Before he knew it, the Internal Energy had actually wound its way upward and reached Chize.

However, it was clear that the Internal Energy was insufficient.

After reaching Chize, it lacked the strength to continue and began to wane; after wriggling and lingering in place for a moment, it slowly retreated.

In the end, it returned to the Dantian Sea.

Luo Zijun opened his eyes, feeling that the meridians and acupoints the Internal Energy had just passed through were slightly warm and exceptionally comfortable.

He was secretly delighted.

It seemed he might be able to practice this set of techniques.

As long as there was enough Internal Energy, he should be able to successfully pass through those meridians and acupoints to reach the thumb.

Although he would be leaving here soon, perhaps he could take these memories back and try them in that world.

Of course, the two worlds were very different.

Perhaps, once he returned to that world, he would not even be able to cultivate Internal Energy, let alone these techniques.

"Sigh..."

Thinking of his departure in a few days, and then thinking of the memories that had surfaced in his mind on the way here, he could not help but sigh secretly.

His heart felt melancholy, conflicted, struggling, and empty.

"Do you want to help me brush my shoes?"

At this moment, Su Qingling's cold voice rang out behind him. Luo Zijun came back to his senses, did not respond, put away the book, stood up, and said, "I'm going to wash my face."

He went to the backyard and drew a bucket of cold water from the well.

Then, he buried his entire face into the basin.

The icy well water instantly enveloped his entire face, making his head clear.

Just as he was soaking his face in the backyard with his rear end stuck out, a slender, jade-like hand suddenly reached out from behind him, two long, delicate fingers pinched his rear end, and then gave it a fierce twist.

"Splash!"

He lifted his head from the basin in pain, kicked his right leg out behind him, but kicked at empty air.

"Hiss..."

He grimaced in pain, turning around with his face covered in water droplets.

However, there was no one behind him.

!

He immediately wiped the water from his face with his sleeve and walked quickly into the room.

"Senior Sister!"

Behind the counter, a cold and aloof young girl dressed in a plain white dress was standing there prettily, head lowered, her beautiful face cold, as she diligently clicked away on an abacus.

Hearing this, she raised her head to look at him, cold and aloof, and said solemnly, "What is it?"

Luo Zijun rubbed his aching buttocks as he stepped behind the counter.

Su Qingling immediately picked up the thick Rolling Pin from under the counter, her beautiful eyes icy, staring at him with a threatening expression.

"Senior Sister, it really hurt just now."

"How about this, you let me pinch you lightly, anywhere is fine, and I'll forgive you."

Luo Zijun looked at her cold, beautiful face and her icy, moving eyes, and thinking that he would be leaving here soon, he decided to be lenient with this girl.

"Hands, arms, shoulders, back, legs... feet, or whatever, anything is fine, I'll just pinch lightly."

Luo Zijun rubbed his buttocks and said magnanimously.

Su Qingling narrowed her eyes, still gripping the thick Rolling Pin tightly in her hand, stared at him for a moment, and said, "You want to pinch my feet, don't you?"

Luo Zijun denied it: "No, I said, pinching anywhere is fine."

Su Qingling narrowed her eyes at him again for a moment, then suddenly raised a jade hand, picked up a strand of her long black hair from behind her, and held it out in front of him.

"..."

Luo Zijun was so angry he laughed, raised his fist, and said, "Flesh! I want to pinch flesh!"

Su Qingling thought about it again, blinked her eyes, raised a slender, jade-white finger, pointed at her own proudly upright chest, and said, "Here?"

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Senior Sister, you are such a rogue!"

Luo Zijun was completely defeated.

"Today's grudge, another day... forget it, let it go with the wind. I am a real man, I won't lower myself to the level of Senior Sister. If I was pinched, so be it, I didn't lose a piece of flesh."

He retreated from behind the counter, being generous for once.

Since he was leaving anyway, he might as well let Senior Sister take advantage of him.

"I'm going to wash the bathtub."

He went to the backyard, moved the bathtub out of the woodshed, and dragged it to the well.

Then he scrubbed it carefully.

He probably wouldn't need it anymore.

So he would scrub it clean and leave it here for Master or Senior Sister to use.

Sunlight spilled over the small courtyard.

The peach blossoms that had covered the trees just a few days ago had now all withered.

The faint fragrance was also gone.

Luo Zijun squatted by the well, diligently scrubbing the bathtub.

At this moment, his heart was unexpectedly peaceful.

Su Qingling appeared at the doorway at some point, watching him quietly, a trace of suspicion appearing between her brows.

At dusk.

Luo Zijun prepared to go home. When he reached the door, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at the cold, aloof young girl behind the counter, watched her for a moment, and suddenly said, "Senior Sister, you can use my bathtub in the future, but you are forbidden from peeing in it."

After saying this, he waved his hand and left.

That tall, slender back soon disappeared into the sunset outside and along the street.

Su Qingling stood behind the counter for a while longer.

Then she left the counter, went to the backyard, and looked at the bathtub.

The bathtub was washed clean, spotless.

At this moment, she suddenly discovered that inside the bathtub, someone had used a Dagger to carve a few lines of elegant small characters; if one didn't look closely, it would be hard to notice.

However, one could see them while bathing inside.

She was stunned, and stared at them.

Those few lines of small characters read: "Clear water brings forth the lotus, natural beauty needs no adornment. The sinking fish and falling geese, the eclipsed moon and shamed flowers, how could they compare to the flower-like face and moon-like beauty of my Ling'er Senior Sister, whose chest dominates the world?"

The sunset filled the small courtyard.

The beautiful figure by the bathtub, in a white dress, clear and elegant, stood there quietly for a long, long time.

When Su Dafang returned from outside carrying his Medicine Chest, the bathtub in the backyard was nowhere to be found.

The young girl in the shop had also hidden in her room.

Outside the house, the night curtain fell quietly.

When Luo Zijun returned home, his sister had already prepared dinner.

While eating.

His sister said happily, "The neighbors have all been notified, the chef has been found, and everyone says Zijun is lucky to get a 'buy one get one'—ahem, everyone is very envious. Especially Wang Shen, who gave me a lot of fruit to bring back for Bai'er and Qingqing to eat. Wang Shen also said she hopes Zijun can introduce one to her nephew as well."

Li Zhengshan also laughed and said, "Datou and the others have all been notified. Those guys are all very curious about how my Zijun used sweet talk to trick someone into coming back."

Luo Jiaorong rolled her eyes at him and said, "Does my Zijun need to trick anyone? Look at this appearance, look at this talent, how many young ladies... ahem, Bai'er, Qingqing, don't you agree?"

Bai Bai nodded shyly, stealing a glance at someone.

Qingqing still kept her young, delicate face tight, saying nothing, like a silly little loli pretending to be mature.

Luo Zijun ate his meal in silence, saying nothing.

The happier his sister and brother-in-law were, the heavier and more conflicted his heart felt.

Luo Jiaorong glanced at him, the smile on her face fading slightly; she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Zijun, you went to Bao'an Hall today—did you tell Ling'er and your master?"

Luo Zijun paused and said, "Not yet."

Luo Jiaorong and Li Zhengshan exchanged a look, fell silent for a moment, and she said, "That girl Ling'er... she grew up with you since you were little. She's a good person, but... she's a bit fierce. When you were small, she was very bossy and often hit you. She would also often come to the house to peek at you bathing. Sometimes when you were napping at noon, she would sneak over and sleep beside you, and she even liked to reach her hand into your... Sigh, actually, your sister likes her very much, but..."

Li Zhengshan took over, saying, "Ling'er and her grandfather, their ancestral home is not here. Your brother-in-law checked, but couldn't find anything. Of course, that's nothing, but the main thing is, her grandfather revealed that they will eventually leave this place and won't be staying here for long."

Luo Jiaorong asked cautiously again, "Zijun, you and Ling'er..."

Luo Zijun said with a calm face, "Sister, there is no need to overthink it. I have always regarded her as my senior sister. You don't need to worry about this matter; in a few days, I will go tell her myself."

Luo Jiaorong nodded and said no more.

Bai Bai suddenly blinked her large eyes and asked curiously, "Brother Zijun, who is Ling'er?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

Luo Zijun finished his meal and left directly.

Bai Bai was stunned for a moment, then immediately pouted, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

Seeing this, Luo Jiaorong hurriedly comforted her well.

Luo Zijun came to the backyard, looked at the bright moon in the night sky, and was lost in thought for a while. He slowly extended his palm, touching the cold moonlight and the breeze, his five fingers closing slowly as if trying to grasp something.

But his palm was empty; he had grasped nothing, and his heart felt equally empty.

The next day.

After finishing breakfast, he took the new manuscript and went out, arriving at Tianxian Pavilion.

In the alley nearby, a maid was already waiting.

But it was not Bi'er.

When the maid saw him, she hurriedly said respectfully, "Young Master Luo, the Madam had this servant wait here specifically for you. Sister Chujian is already up."

"Many thanks."

Luo Zijun followed behind her and entered Tianxian Pavilion through the back door.

When Liu Mama saw him, she hurriedly abandoned other guests, came over with a face full of smiles, greeted him obsequiously, and then swayed her waist as she personally escorted him to the third floor.

"Young Master Luo, the poem you gave to Shui Shui yesterday, I have already let the old gentlemen see it, and they all praised it endlessly. If it weren't for the fact that you, Young Master Luo, do not wish to reveal your identity, those old gentlemen would likely have already gone to find you. You don't know, those few old gentlemen were so excited..."

Luo Zijun listened quietly. When they reached the third floor, he suddenly said, "Liu Mama, for the poems I gave to Miss Shui Shui and Miss Ziwei, if they are set to music in the future, write the author's name as 'Jun Chujian'."

"'Jun Chujian'?"

Liu Mama was stunned for a moment, repeated it a few times in her mouth, then immediately gave a meaningful smile and said, "Young Master Luo truly has a special fondness for our Chujian. Very well, I understand. Young Master Luo, rest assured, I would never dare to write someone else's name on those poems. You are a scholar, so you naturally know that a Talent Gem can distinguish the true from the false. Also, regarding what I promised you, Gongzi, rest assured—after the Four Great Brothel Literary Gathering ends in a few days, I will release her immediately."

"Many thanks, Liu Mama."

Luo Zijun cupped his hands in thanks.

Liu Mama smiled and patted his hand, saying, "Alright, Young Master Luo, I won't disturb you any further. Chujian heard last night that you were coming this morning, and she got up very early; she is waiting for you in her room. Go on."

After saying this, she gave another obsequious smile and swayed her waist as she left.

"Young Master Luo, please."

The maid led the way in front.

Even though he had been here many times before.

Luo Zijun took the stack of new manuscripts from his sleeve and followed.

And at this moment.

In the room, Liu Chujian was wearing a pink dress, sitting quietly in front of the vanity, looking at herself in the mirror in a daze.

On the table not far away, there sat a bag of silver.

(End of chapter)