Chapter Twenty-Five: Learning Swordsmanship

  In the moonlight, Xiao Qian sat alone under the tree, and occasionally, Xu Xian's eyes still floated before her.

  An old face suddenly appeared in front of Xiao Qian and asked in a hoarse voice: "What are you thinking about?"

  Xiao Qian hastily bowed and said: "Grandma, Xiao Qian didn't think of anything."

  "How's tonight?"

  "Neither of the two people was tempted by Xiao Qian, and according to our rules, we cannot harm them."

  "Is it? You've worked hard, go back and rest."

  Xiao Qian secretly let out a sigh of relief. Since becoming a ghost, she had been following her grandmother, cultivating and helping her kill people to seize their vital energy. Now it had also been several decades, the time was so long that even she didn't know where else to go, if there weren't any bottlenecks in her cultivation, perhaps she would have continued like this forever.

  In fact, there is another very simple way to get yang energy, that is, to be with people, but how can a clean body easily defile itself? This is also the reason why she was excluded from many female ghosts. The feeling of standing out from the crowd is not necessarily pleasant, let alone being just a small crane.

  Xiao Qian had originally planned to find someone worthy of entrusting her life to, with a strong yang energy, and marry him. She would slowly accumulate yang energy without harming his body, although it was slow, but it was pure and not affected by fate. However, seeing Xu Xian today made her see a new path, she didn't need to tarnish her purity, just staying by his side could get her the yang energy. The only problem was that he would eventually leave, so what should she do then?

  The night grew darker, and Xu Xian wondered: what had become of Nie Xiaoqian? What had become of Ning Caichen? How was Pan Yu doing in Hangzhou? And how would Bai Suzhen be in the future? And what about himself, what would become of him?

  He declined the beautiful Shifu's invitation, because he couldn't let go of this mundane world, not just a white lady. But he also didn't give up on his Taoist practice, not out of greed, but because practicing had become a habit, even if it wouldn't lead to any great achievements, it could still cultivate his character and nurture his nature, anyway, practicing at night didn't waste any time, so even if nothing came of it, there was no regret.

  The next morning, Xu Xian got up early to wash and dress. His daily routine was very close to the time of raising the national flag at Tiananmen Square, both based on sunrise. He took a deep breath of the cool and refreshing air as he pushed open the window. The sky was just beginning to dawn, and everything from last night seemed like a dream. Only Yan Chi Xia's greeting made him realize that it wasn't all just his own dream.

  Xu Xian leaned on the windowsill, smiling and waving: "Yan brother, you're up really early!" Xu Xian looked at him with his back to the long sword, and suddenly said: "Are you going to practice sword?"

  Yan Chixia said: "Exactly, Brother Xu, are you interested in trying it out?" He was also surprised, the power he felt last night had almost completely disappeared now, and the Xu Xian in front of him was no different from ordinary people. Secretly admiring Xu Xian's magical Dao method.

  Xu Xian immediately said: "Great, I've admired you for a long time!" Sword Immortal, how amazing! If we follow the plot of Liaozhai, this Yan Chixia is actually stronger than any Black Mountain Old Monster BOSS-level character! Although it seems like there's no mention of Black Mountain Old Monster in the book. But he casually gave Ning Caichen a sword bag and was able to subdue the demon, making it turn into clear water.

  Yan Chixia, who was originally just exchanging pleasantries, felt a bit depressed looking at the excited Xuxian standing in front of her. She wondered: We only met last night, how can you have admired me for so long?

  "Master brother, how's my talent? Am I a rare martial arts genius that only appears once in a hundred years?" Xu Xian made a pose, barely showing some small muscles.

  Yan Chi Xia shook her head very sincerely: "Absolutely not."

  Xu Xian didn't get discouraged and said, "Fine, just teach me a couple of moves then. Either the Dugu Nine Swords or the Tathagata Palm will do."

  Yan Chixia said with a hint of embarrassment: "You mentioned those two things, but I've never heard of them before. I don't know what kind of advanced techniques they are. I only practiced ordinary swordsmanship and understand some ordinary sword techniques."

  Xu Xian made a long bow: "Please, Yan brother, don't hesitate to give me guidance."

  Yan Chixia was unable to resist him, and sighed: "Forget it, forget it." He went back into the house, brought out a book, and handed it to Xu Xian: "This 'Ape King Strikes Sword Chart' is also something I often practice. You take it!"

  Xu Xian felt somewhat disappointed after hearing such an earthy name, but suddenly remembered a character from the ancient swordsmen's chronicles.

  Yue girl skilled with sword, Yue king summoned her. On the way, she met an old man and compared swords with him. After three rounds, she was no match for him and jumped onto a tree, transformed into a white ape and left with a long whistle. Later generations called her White Ape Master.

  Xu Xian opened the book and took a look, and indeed, it was all about white apes dancing with swords. He couldn't help but feel extremely surprised and delighted, and he quickly thanked Yan Chi Xia. The hot blood of a martial arts enthusiast in Xu Xian's heart suddenly boiled up. This was the kind of martial arts manual he had imagined, completely different from the Tao Te Ching. Xu Xian's face was filled with "love" as he stroked the cover of the book, fully immersed in the happiness of obtaining the martial arts manual. As for whether or not he would become a supreme master, it wasn't even on his mind.

  Yan Chi Xia saw that he was genuinely interested and felt delighted, so she took off the long sword on her back and handed it to Xu Xian Dao: "I see that brother is a wealthy and noble person, but you are also open-minded and straightforward. If you really have a heart for this path in the future, you can take this sword to Qingcheng Mountain to find me."

  Xu Xian took it and looked at it, the blue light was shining brightly, and it was indeed a good sword. The hilt of the sword was engraved with the two characters "Qing Hong". He exclaimed in surprise: "Is this the Qing Hong sword of Cao Mengde?" The Yitian Sword and the Qing Hong Sword were two treasured swords of Cao Cao. The Qing Hong Sword was famous throughout the world because of its performance at the Battle of Changban Slope, where it cut through iron like mud, with unparalleled sharpness. It was not only a precious sword but also an antique, and if valued, it would be worth thousands of gold.

  Yan Chi Xia said with a sigh, "It's that Green Rainbow Sword, which I used when I first started learning swordsmanship. Now that my sword energy has taken shape, I no longer need this ordinary sword." Seeing that Xu Xian was also a cultivator, he didn't hide it anymore and spoke frankly about being a practitioner.

  Xu Xian was impressed by the swordsman's generosity, and although they had only met once, he didn't mind giving away something worth a thousand gold coins. Xu Xian didn't say much either, just made a fist to thank him, and at this time, being polite would be petty.

  Yan Chixia also liked his free and easy style. The two of them chatted for a while, when suddenly they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the east wing.

  Originally a candidate brought his book boy to Jinhua for the Tongsheng exam, and the county official served as the examiner. The examination was naturally also in the county. At this time, the house prices in Jinhua City were very high, so they temporarily stayed at Lanruo Temple.

  Xu Xian's face changed, and he suddenly remembered that these two people might be in mortal danger today. Although it was because of their own greed for wealth and lust, Xu Xian couldn't bring himself to condone this "fishing" method of killing, and so he had the thought of "saving a life".

  A young man with a round face dressed as a scholar is standing under the corridor looking at the scenery, while a small book boy is tidying up the room inside.

  "May I ask where you are from?" asked Xu Xian.

  The scholar frowned and said: "Who are you?" However, his expression was not very welcoming, and he still thought that Xu Xian had also come to take the exam.

  Xu Xian said: "I am Xu Xian, a student of Jin Tian Shu Yuan, and I have been sent to Jinhua on official business."

  "What! The Imperial Academy? My elder brother is above, I offer you a bow." The scholar immediately lost all his arrogance and bowed. He addressed Xian who was obviously several years younger than himself as "elder brother".

  Xu Xian said: I knew you'd fall for this. What do scholars value most? Official titles? Wrong, it's academic credentials. At informal gatherings, officials would take their seats according to their academic background rather than official rank. Even a lowly xiucai outranked a tongsheng by one level, and couldn't be treated with disrespect.

  Xu Xian calmly accepted his courtesy and said: "Do you know that you are in danger every morning?"

  The young scholar replied with a hint of displeasure: "What are you talking about, brother? I'm fine, how could I be in danger?"

  Xu Xian told him that there were ghosts and monsters in the temple, harming people's lives, and also told him about what happened last night. But the scholar's eyes flickered, as if he had other thoughts. Xu Xian knew that he was half-believing and half-doubting, but also knew that such things were indeed hard to convince with just words.

  At this time, Ning Caichen walked in, glanced at the scholar and knew his identity. He nodded slightly, which was considered a polite greeting, then turned to Xu Xian and said: "Let's go now! We don't need to pack our things, after delivering the invitations, we will pass by here again. At this time, I'm afraid there won't be any empty rooms left for us at Jinhua Academy either. Let's stay overnight again tonight and head to my place tomorrow to rest for a couple of days!"

  Xu Xian hastily asked: "Ning brother, did a woman come to your room last night?"

  Ning Caichen was surprised at how Xu Xian knew, but didn't pretend, saying: "There is one, but I drove him away after saying two sentences."

  "It's probably a ghost!"

  "What kind of ghost are we, we also read the books of saints and sages, haven't you heard: 'The Master does not speak of strange powers or gods.' And even if it is a ghost, what's there to fear?" Ning Caichen's words were spoken with conviction, and he felt relieved in his heart, finally having said what he wanted to say.

  Xu Xian sighed and stood up, saying to the scholar: "The matter has come to this, please make your own decision. It's best to leave quickly, if you can't, then learn from me not to have evil thoughts, only then can you ensure your life is worry-free." After finishing speaking, he bowed his head and left.

  The scholar nodded and thanked him repeatedly.

  Shu Tong had long been afraid of ghosts and asked Shu Sheng, "Sir, shall we leave?"

  "Leave? Don't be ridiculous, I don't believe in ghosts in broad daylight! They themselves won't leave, yet they advise others to leave. Do they think I'm a fool? Just because it's the Jin Tian Shuyuan doesn't mean it's all that impressive!" Some things he didn't say to Shu Tong, if it was really a ghost, it would be a seductive one, and those two fools wouldn't know how to enjoy themselves. Moreover, he suspected that they had probably seduced some of the local women, and were afraid that outsiders would spread the word, so they deceived him into leaving. If that's really what happened, he definitely wanted a share of the spoils.