Chapter 428: Nine-Turn Linked Blades (9/5, Autumn Subscription)

Yingzhong Cun.

"We'll part ways here."

Fang Yue waved goodbye to the dancers from Deyun Cun, lingering a moment longer on the blind dancer before leading his group away.

Lord Han had basically finished studying the manual of 【Nine-Turn Linked Blades (Damaged)】, and said he'd start teaching the theory that evening.

This made Fang Yue very excited.

He'd been using his Spark Blade Technique for ages now—from the newbie stage all the way to the present—and still hadn't found a suitable blade technique to switch to.

Seeing this Innate Martial Technique, Nine-Turn Linked Blades, was decent, so naturally he was eager to learn it quickly.

The journey from Deyun Cun to Yingzhong Cun was uneventful.

They only ran into a single Black-Grade Initial Weird, which Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu took care of with a single strike—he didn't even need to step in himself.

Perhaps because they were getting closer to Qingsi County, Fang Yue felt the surroundings had become much safer, and the thought crossed his mind again: he wanted to go cultivate a Heart Method.

"By the way, Lord Han, why did you insist on having them leave the group at the next village? They seemed harmless enough, staying with us didn't cause any trouble, and they were even heading the same way—wouldn't it be the same to escort them all the way to Qingsi County?"

This was a question Fang Yue had wanted to ask for a long time; Lord Han's inexplicable insistence struck him as rather odd.

It was just that the Deyun Cun dancers were still with the group back then, so it wasn't appropriate to ask about something like that.

Now that the dancers had been let go and were about to leave, Fang Yue finally asked.

"Because they aren't the same kind of people."

Lord Han's gaze drifted into the distance as he continued: "They're survivors from Deyun Cun—unarmed, all weak women who've never trained in martial arts. Their most effective weapons are their bodies, their gender.

If they had no ambition, that would be fine. But they're people with dreams too—they're planning to rebuild their home.

So they will definitely do something, use their advantages to obtain something. The people we have frequent contact with, the ones escorting them all this way, will be their first targets.

If I hadn't insisted on sending them off here, by the time we reached Qingsi County our mission wouldn't just be rebuilding Gu Yue Cun—it would also include rebuilding Deyun Cun. The people in our ranks whose minds they'd swayed would split off, and in the end we'd part on bad terms.

And those of our own people they'd exploited would become the solid foundation for rebuilding Deyun Cun. How they'd fare in the future is unknown, but from the angle of a village rebuild fraught with difficulties, it's hard to see them meeting a good end."

Fang Yue:???

"Um… Lord Han, aren't you overthinking this, looking too far ahead? From what I saw, those dancers were just ordinary girls."

"It has nothing to do with whether they're ordinary girls—it's about purpose and mindset. Xiao Ye, strip away these surface things and you'll see further. You may not understand now, but you will in the future."

I won't understand in the future either, okay…

Fang Yue was starting to wonder if Lord Han had become overly sensitive after losing his body.

But after he walked a lap around the group, he found quite a few people already missing the Deyun Cun girls terribly, some even harboring budding feelings—and he suddenly froze.

It seemed… things really might develop in the direction Lord Han had described?

"Xiao Ye, come here. Let's begin learning the Nine-Turn Linked Blades technique."

While Fang Yue was still dazed, Lord Han suddenly spoke.

Fang Yue's spirits immediately lifted; stripping away surfaces, reading minds and purposes—all of it was tossed from his mind.

As long as you're strong enough, your worldview follows your fist!

……

After Fang Yue's group departed, the Deyun Cun dancers who had watched them leave gradually let their smiles fade.

"That head was so annoying—give me just one or two more days and I could have recruited a martial artist to fight for us!"

"Me too… I was already at the hand-holding stage with him."

"Enough. They did save our lives after all—I never agreed with the plan to split them up in the first place."

"Hindsight!"

"We all swore together to rebuild Deyun Cun's glory at any cost—so what's a little discarded conscience?"

The dancers chattered among themselves, and just then, the blind girl suddenly raised her head.

"Everyone shut up!"

The chatter stopped dead.

The dancers fell silent at once, looking at the blind girl with nervous, uneasy expressions.

"Sister Ming, calm yourself—w-we'll be quiet…"

Ming, with her sightless eyes, glanced at the dancer who'd spoken as though she could see, and crooked a finger.

That dancer stiffened, trembling as she slowly drew closer.

*Slap!! *

The moment the dancer reached Ming, Ming's palm had already struck her face.

The slap, crisp and ringing.

Red swelling rose on her cheek.

"I said, shut up."

The cold voice rang out again, and this time, no one answered.

"Find suitable targets, then take us to Qingsi County. I hear there's a 【Thousand-Silk Sword - You Sisi】 in Qingsi County—I'll take her down and make her serve me."

"…"

"A response?"

"Y-yes! Everything will follow Sister Ming's arrangements!"

"Mm. Get lost and get to work."

"Yes!!"

The dancers scattered, melting into various spots in Yingzhong Cun, seeping into every corner like screws.

They would select suitable targets and turn them into their puppets.

This is how dancers fight; this is how the weak fight.

Despicable, pitiful, but effective!

Being weak is no disqualification — if you can command those stronger than yourself, then you yourself are also strong!

Ming resumed the appearance of the blind girl, sickly and weak, lying in a corner of the village.

People came and went; everyone merely glanced at her once more, yet no one truly cared.

One day passed. Ming grew even weaker.

Two days passed. Ming's lips turned pale, as if she might die at any moment.

Three days passed. Ming curled up into a ball, like a pitiful little cat, waiting for a destined person to rescue her.

Finally, after three days of fishing, the fish took the bait.

A wide, thick coat was laid over her frail body.

"Little girl, I've never seen you before — are you from outside?"

The broad, warm voice of the Chief Captain of Yingzhong Cun slowly rang out.

Beneath the coat, Ming, who was nearly starved to death, slowly revealed a smile.

The human heart — so simple.

……

On the village road.

"Nine-Turn Linked Blades!!"

Fang Yue let out a great shout; the Fire Blade in his hand swept forward, a light breeze breaking free from the blade and gently pressing down the wild grass ahead.

"Lord Han, is my posture correct?"

"…It has nothing to do with posture. It's the airflow."

Lord Han, feeling vexed, repeated the knowledge points he had taught before to Fang Yue once again.

Lord Han felt very strange.

Extremely strange.

He felt that Fang Yue was a walking contradiction.

When Fang Yue studied the incomplete Innate-grade Blade Technique, the Nine-Turn Linked Blades, the circulation of his Internal Breath and the sequence of the blade moves could all be learned with ease — his Comprehension was extraordinarily high.

But… when it came to actual execution, no matter how Lord Han explained it, Fang Yue simply couldn't understand.

It was as if his brain and his body were two independent entities.

(End of this chapter)