On his way back to the compound, Shi Feizhe saw several disciples of the Sun Moon Radiance Sect brawling. As they fought, they shouted strange words like "Yeh," "Gua," "Ah," and "Hee."
Damn it, they were just fighting—why were they making such weird noises?
Weren't they embarrassed?
With his head full of questions, Shi Feizhe went to Fan Jianqiang's room and knocked on the door.
Only the two of them were left in the compound now. After the Sun Moon Radiance Sect descended into infighting, everyone else had vanished overnight.
"Come in!" Fan Jianqiang called.
Shi Feizhe entered and saw Fan Jianqiang lying on the bed with one leg crossed over the other, frowning as he read a copy of the Sun Moon United Heart Art.
Why?
Why did practicing this technique make one's power increase so outrageously?
"What is it, Brother Fan? You've never been interested in the United Heart Art. Why are you reading it today? Would you like me to explain it to you again?" Shi Feizhe said. Naturally, he had explained the Sun Moon United Heart Art to Fan Jianqiang during this time.
"Could it be that you've recently had some new insight?" Fan Jianqiang asked, watching Shi Feizhe with interest.
"What new insight?" Shi Feizhe said indignantly. "Elder Hua taught us all this back then! A weakling like me from the martial world could never have some new insight!"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. You're absolutely right!" Fan Jianqiang said, rolling his eyes.
This guy was still playing dumb with him!
"Brother Fan! Something's wrong with the Sun Moon Radiance Sect!" Shi Feizhe said, voicing his doubts. "The sect suddenly descended into infighting. Shouldn't we leave, too?"
"Why leave?" Fan Jianqiang said. "There's food and drink here, and it doesn't cost a thing. What could be better?"
"Hmm..." Shi Feizhe thought it over. He did have a point!
They could just treat the place like a free inn!
"Fair enough! Besides, I don't have anywhere to stay in Qiu Yang City," Shi Feizhe said with a nod. He thought Fan Jianqiang was the more carefree of the two.
"I'm going out to buy some medicinal ingredients for a medicinal bath. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back, Brother Fan?" Shi Feizhe asked.
"Hmm..." Fan Jianqiang glanced at Shi Feizhe. "Given your current physical condition, you can indeed start taking medicinal baths."
"The city's unsettled right now, so be careful when you go out," Fan Jianqiang said casually, then went back to reading the Sun Moon United Heart Art in his hands.
"I know, I know! I've heard the chanting and recitation in the middle of the night, too!" Shi Feizhe said as he left.
"Shut the door behind you!" Fan Jianqiang called after him.
After closing the door, Shi Feizhe left the rather deserted compound. He had been practicing the Reward Good Fist for some time now; he wasn't the weakling he'd been when he first started learning to box.
His physical fitness had improved tremendously, and he was ready to start practicing the Punish Evil Leg. Before he began, he needed to prepare the ingredients for a medicinal bath. Otherwise, he could easily injure himself.
Shi Feizhe walked down the streets of Qiu Yang City. Strictly speaking, this was his first time exploring the city. As soon as he'd arrived, the Sun Moon Radiance Sect had taken him to the compound to become a reserve disciple.
For more than half a month, he'd barely ventured beyond the courtyards around the compound. He really hadn't seen any other part of Qiu Yang City.
The Sun Moon Radiance Sect was probably a huge pit!
Years of experience as a corporate wage slave had taught him that the Sun Moon Radiance Sect seemed like a lousy company. The boss painted a dazzling picture of the future and delivered one brainwashing lecture after another, but in reality, wages were always more than a month late.
He'd heard that some sects in the martial world secretly found people to test out secret manuals after obtaining them, to make sure the techniques wouldn't cause problems.
The Sun Moon United Heart Art was probably no different!
But the Sun Moon United Heart Art was so profound that perhaps only a Martial Arts Genius like him could master it! Even if he explained it to the others, they wouldn't understand.
Alas, who could understand the loneliness of a Martial Arts Genius?
It was truly hard for people at the bottom of this world to practice martial arts! Before they knew it, they might end up as someone else's test subjects!
He just didn't know why the Sun Moon Radiance Sect had suddenly gone mad and started brawling. Judging by what Fan Jianqiang had said, if someone lacked the talent to practice the Sun Moon United Heart Art but tried to force it anyway, they would go mad just like Leng Qingqiu and Leng Qianye!
Surely the entire sect hadn't practiced the Sun Moon United Heart Art without a single person succeeding, only for everyone to go mad instead?
That was absurd!
Were they all idiots?
Unlike Shi Feizhe, they weren't living in this dangerous martial world, where they had to play dumb to protect themselves.
And Fan Jianqiang was far too mysterious. He knew about the True Person Realm, so he had to be a powerful expert hiding his cultivation. Shi Feizhe just didn't know what his purpose was in hiding in Qiu Yang City.
As for the brawling in Qiu Yang City, it had been going on for over a month with no winner in sight. Even buying medicine had become a nerve-racking affair!
As he was thinking about all these random things, Shi Feizhe suddenly heard the sound of a zither.
The notes rippled and lingered, delicate and long-drawn. At times, they sounded like human speech, as though the music could answer him; at others, they were like the shifting, elusive stirrings of the human heart.
The ethereal, elegant music seemed to make him forget his troubles all at once.
The music put Shi Feizhe in such a good mood that he followed its drifting melody to a tall residence. The sound of the zither floated down from one of its pavilions.
There happened to be a tea stall nearby, so Shi Feizhe sat down and ordered a pot of cheap tea. The stall was packed with people listening to the music. Shi Feizhe shared a table with a blind man wearing a shabby black robe that covered his eyes.
The melody shifted, flowing like a trickling stream, a babbling brook, a waterfall cascading from high mountains. It wound and turned, playing a piece called "Flowing Water."
Shi Feizhe wanted to keep listening, but then everyone in the tea stall surged toward the pavilion's entrance.
"Miao Miao Fairy, come out!"
"I've been listening to the zither for days. At last, I'll get to see Miao Miao Fairy!"
From the commotion, it seemed the woman playing the zither was called Miao Miao Fairy. These were all nosy onlookers, eager to see whether Miao Miao Fairy was as beautiful as a celestial maiden.
Shi Feizhe found it pointless, so he stood up, ready to continue looking for medicine.
"Young man, aren't you going to see what Miao Miao Fairy looks like?" the blind man sharing Shi Feizhe's table suddenly asked.
"Why aren't you going?" Shi Feizhe countered.
"I'm blind. How am I supposed to see?" the blind man said, as if it were only natural.
"...That makes sense!" Shi Feizhe suddenly found the blind man rather amusing. He sat back down at the table, poured himself another cup of tea, and said, "What difference would it make if I went to look?"
"According to the rumors, Miao Miao Fairy is breathtakingly beautiful, a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms. She founded the Miao Miao Troupe and tours the Nine Provinces. Many people fall for her the moment they lay eyes on her," the blind man said.
"And then?" Shi Feizhe asked.
"Then perhaps Miao Miao Fairy would take a liking to you. The rumors say she comes from a wealthy family and has riches beyond counting. Young man, wouldn't a beautiful woman in your arms and a lifetime of wealth be the very stuff of dreams?" the blind man continued, trying to tempt him.
"And then?" Shi Feizhe asked again.
"What do you mean, 'and then'? By then you'd already be living a shamelessly carefree life. What more could there be?" the blind man said.
"Alas!" Shi Feizhe shook his head. "Looks like you're a lonely bachelor, too!"
Guess who this blind man is?
Before you continue