Forking Paths

The dusk deepened.

The two groups had already reached the eastern part of the city.

Ahead was the place where their paths diverged.

Song Qinghong solemnly took a book wrapped in brocade from his robes.

He had kept it close to his body, which showed how precious it was.

Song Qinghong gazed at it reluctantly, then handed it to Qi Yu. "This contains the Fundamental Killing Technique Diagram and the Method of Comprehending Penetrating Force passed down through my Spirit Serpent Martial Hall lineage... This is the original manuscript. I obtained it from the sect back when I had yet to come to Mount Wei City. Today, I'm giving it to you."

Seeing that Qi Yu seemed about to refuse, he hurriedly waved his hand. "There are copies of everything. I even personally reproduced a copy of the Fundamental Diagram, so that's enough to use. As for this original manuscript, you should keep it.

"Brother Changshun once did me a kindness, and today even his son has done me a kindness. Nephew, if you refuse again, you'll be looking down on me, Song Qinghong."

With the final battle, Qi Yu had single-handedly dragged the reputation of the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall back from the brink. He had then exposed Zhen Tianshuang's bizarre methods and shown that he could control others to a certain extent, meaning that the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall's disciples had not ambushed anyone but had merely been manipulated...

Among martial artists, the victor had always been king and the defeated, a bandit. They spoke with their fists.

Moreover, Chu Xiao had not been the only one to face Zhen Tianshuang. The Guanghe Gang's young gang leader, Tan Sheng, Cao Jin before him, and many others who had been brutally beaten by Zhen Tianshuang had all spoken up in agreement, supporting Qi Yu's claim.

If Qi Yu had not won, then no matter how hoarse he shouted, he would have been nothing more than a stray dog barking in panic, inviting nothing but ridicule.

It could be said that the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall's crisis of reputation had basically been resolved.

Qi Yu put away the book and said, "Thank you, Uncle Song."

Song Qinghong chuckled, then looked toward his daughter behind him. "You young people chat for a while. I'll slow down and won't hurry..."

With that, he led the other disciples away first.

As for Chu Xiao, he had already been sent back to the Spirit Serpent Martial Hall for treatment.

However, Song Qinghong had examined him right after he was injured. His life might be saved, but disability was unavoidable. In the future, let alone practicing martial arts, he would even have trouble walking normally.

At the thought of this, his heart was filled with conflicting emotions, leaving only a soft sigh.

On the other side, Madam Liu gazed tenderly at her son, her eyes filled with relief and pride. "Yu'er, don't hurry. You two chat."

Then she lowered her voice. "Zhen Tianshuang was inferior in skill, and being crippled was his own fault. You don't need to worry about this matter. Your cousin has gone to deal with it."

After saying that, she also led her people away in the other direction...

On the several-mile-long street, only the young man and young woman remained, standing opposite each other.

The spring breeze stirred the drooping willows.

The girl looked at the spirited young man before her, then suddenly lowered her head. Her heart began to pound, as if a little deer were gamboling beside a golden lake bathed in sunlight.

She had never imagined that Qi Yu would place First Class today.

The title of "First Class" was enough to overturn every unfavorable impression she had of him.

A girl's heart was simply that uncomplicated.

At dusk, the bustling marketplace was at its liveliest.

Pedestrians streamed along both sides.

Yet the young man and young woman stood facing each other. The girl lowered her head and stared at the other's toes, while the young man watched her shyly lowered face. Neither of them spoke, and neither knew what to say.

Amid the wordless silence, the fragrance of flowers suddenly drifted over.

Mount Wei City lay against the mountains. Once spring arrived, the mountain wilds naturally burst into a riot of flowers, brilliant and dazzling.

As soon as the city gates opened, people would go outside the city to pick flowers, carry them into town, and sell them.

Qi Yu's gaze fell on a flower vendor carrying a shoulder pole, and he chose a peach blossom.

Qing Dai understood and stepped forward to pay two copper coins.

Qi Yu gently plucked the most beautiful blossom from the branch. Its shape resembled a hairpin, and he carefully tucked it into the girl's coiffure.

He did not know why he had done it.

He only felt that he and the girl before him had shared too few encounters, too little of a story, and too little understanding.

Far too little.

Aside from their arranged marriage and a few encounters in childhood, he and she had nothing else.

But now, with their marriage almost certain to happen, they naturally needed to make up for their "premarital romance."

Song Xue had never had anyone put flowers in her hair, nor had she ever done it herself, so she asked, "Is it pretty?"

Qi Yu said, "No."

Song Xue abruptly raised her head and stared at him in astonishment. Her face even turned a little pale.

The straightforward martial artist girl had never been teased like this before. How could she know it was called "PUA"?

Qi Yu said, "The flower isn't pretty. The person is pretty—the person is more beautiful than the flower."

At his words, Song Xue's mind instantly seemed to be filled with bees, buzzing loudly.

A blush shot across her cheeks. She stamped her foot, turned around so the young man would not see her flushed face, and then waved boldly. "I'm leaving!"

Qi Yu said, "I'll come find you in a few days."

Song Xue cupped her hands over her cheeks and rubbed them, then took a deep breath. Turning back to look at the young man, she said seriously, "Don't become arrogant or impatient. You've only just begun. The martial path values perseverance. You can't slack off just because you placed First Class!"

Qi Yu smiled. "Why is your face so red?"

Song Xue turned around again. "It isn't red!"

Qi Yu continued smiling. "It's red."

"You saw wrong!"

Song Xue walked farther away as she spoke.

Qi Yu called from a distance, "Hey, you really don't want me to come find you?"

Song Xue shouted back from afar, "You practice. I'll come find you!"

The dusk stained the clouds above the horizon at the end of the road... The clouds were especially beautiful today.

The two figures gradually moved farther apart...

They froze into a beautiful scene.

The tide of people surged back and forth, like waves ceaselessly scouring both sides of the street, until the two of them disappeared completely.

Night fell.

Qi Yu boarded the carriage, and darkness enveloped his body.

He returned to the residence with his mother.

The Provincial Examination still needed to be tallied, and the results would not be posted until the hour of Chen tomorrow.

As was customary, the names on the list were arranged five to a row, with the First, Second, and Third Classes set apart.

First Class stood alone at the head, occupying its own row, while Second Class and Third Class followed side by side, their superior and inferior rankings plain to see.

Leaning against the carriage wall, Qi Yu closed his eyes and recalled his battle with Zhen Tianshuang.

Although Zhen Tianshuang had lost, it was only because his opponent's martial cultivation was too poor and he had never adjusted his methods according to Qi Yu's fighting style. It did not mean that the opponent's soft, drawing force had lost.

His method was very simple—one force to break ten thousand techniques.

He could see other people's combat power, and he could also gather his own strongest strength.

Thus, as long as someone's combat power was lower than his, he could concentrate his strongest force into his fist.

Combat power did not lie.

As long as it was lower than his.

Once he threw a punch...

No matter how fancy the tricks, they would all be defeated.

But that did not mean his tactic could not be broken.

In his battle with Zhen Tianshuang, it had looked to others as though he had crushed his opponent all the way, beating Zhen Tianshuang until he was rolling and scrambling.

Yet only Qi Yu knew that he had won because Zhen Tianshuang was too foolish and did not know how to use that drawing soft force... Otherwise, it would have been a bloody battle.

If Zhen Tianshuang had only comprehended the concept of "deflection," then with that sort of drawing soft force, he might well have been able to use softness to overcome hardness. Like practicing tai chi, he could have drawn Qi Yu slightly to the side, leaving his defenses wide open.

After suffering one setback, Qi Yu would no longer have dared to use his previous tactic so casually...

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

The sound of hooves and wheels rang through the darkness.

Qi Yu continued reminiscing.

Suddenly, an insight flashed through his mind from when Zhen Tianshuang had drawn that soft force into his body: If he could actively guide his body with that soft force instead of being controlled by another, making his own spirit the master and his own body its puppet, then... Could his footwork and techniques not rise to another level?

But a problem arose. How could he obtain such power?

Should he go to the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pavilion again?

Or should he ask his parents?

The Cipher Text Baptism seemed to be another form of blessing.

His family had already become entangled with the Umbrella Sect, and after placing First Class this time, it was impossible for the Umbrella Sect to let him go.

Since that was the case, rather than resist, he might as well consider how to obtain the Umbrella Sect's power more effectively and make himself stronger.