Transition

Wang Jingyuan looked at Qu Yang, then at Lin and Yue, saying, "I thought NPCs were only this intelligent, but I didn't expect them to be designed with such variation. Hardcore, too hardcore."

At this moment, Qu Feiyan protested, "Grandpa!"

Qu Yang reached out and patted Qu Feiyan's head. "Fei Fei, be good. What Grandpa needs to do is very dangerous. I really can't take you with me this time."

Qu Feiyan was about to argue further when she heard Wang Jingyuan say from the side, "There once was a notorious bandit named Li Sanguang, who was unrestrained and brutal. No one could do anything about him.

But later, a troublesome pear followed him. His enemies grew smart. It was difficult to attack him directly, but it was easy to attack the troublesome pear."

This time, Qu Feiyan understood and stopped pestering Qu Yang.

Qu Yang then looked back at Wang Jingyuan. "Young hero Wang, do you have any other instructions?"

"Do you think Liu Zhengfeng would be in danger if he was hit by the Black Blood Divine Needle, given his martial arts?"

"...He won't be in mortal danger."

"Then arrange it for him. You need conviction when acting to make it seem real. Don't feel bad about it later; help him get into character more."

"...I'll discuss it with Brother Liu first. Anything else?"

Wang Jingyuan looked straight at Qu Yang and said sternly, "I'll emphasize this again: if we meet again, I will speak very harshly. I hope you won't take it to heart then. After all, we're on different sides, just trying to make a living."

"I understand." Seeing that Wang Jingyuan had nothing else to say, Qu Yang bid farewell to everyone and left first. Qu Feiyan didn't cry or make a fuss, just watched Qu Yang walk away with red eyes.

Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi also watched Qu Yang leave. Wang Jingyuan's conversation with Qu Yang hadn't been secret, and since they couldn't interject, they could only watch as Wang Jingyuan took in a "little demoness from the Demonic Cult."

They were still too shocked to speak, and even now, they couldn't confirm whether Wang Jingyuan had been feigning cooperation with the "Demonic Cult fiend" to drive him away, or if he had truly colluded with the "Demonic Cult fiend."

After Qu Yang left, Wang Jingyuan, mimicking Qu Yang, patted Qu Feiyan's head. "Now you're my temporary baby. I need to give you a new name. From today onwards, you'll be called Shinichi."

Qu Feiyan swatted Wang Jingyuan's hand away. "What's Shinichi or Oldichi? It doesn't sound good at all. I'll be called Qu Feiyan."

"Tsk!" Wang Jingyuan glanced at her sideways. "Should I arrange a band to beat gongs and drums and publicize that you're the granddaughter of a Demonic Cult elder as we enter Hengyang City?

When the martial arts community sees us, they'll just praise me for being sensible and knowing not to come to the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony empty-handed."

Qu Feiyan lowered her head indignantly and whispered, "But Shinichi sounds too awful."

"How about Conan then?"

"Even worse. Why can't you give me a girl's name?"

Wang Jingyuan counted on his fingers. "Yachun, Weiqi, Jiexi, Peike, Shengjin?"

Qu Feiyan was pleased. "Okay, okay!"

"Okay, my foot! Your current persona is just a pitiful orphan I found. If you pick a name like that, do you want a Mary Sue start? Didn't you see that our Junior Disciple Sister is just called Lingshan? Can't you be more low-key?"

Now it was Yue Lingshan's turn to be displeased. "My name was given by my father. What's wrong with it?"

"It's very good, very good."

"Are you just placating me?"

"Yes."

"You! Hmph!" Yue Lingshan stomped her foot and mounted her horse.

Wang Jingyuan called out behind her, "Junior Disciple Sister, please wait!"

Yue Lingshan turned back proudly. "If you want to apologize, you'd better say something nice."

"Who said I was going to apologize?"

"Then why did you stop me!"

Wang Jingyuan pointed at the horse Yue Lingshan was riding. "Have you noticed that we only have three horses, but now there are four people.

Our luggage is on Junior Disciple Brother's horse, and given my physique, if I were to ride with Shinichi, I'd be on the horse and she'd be on my neck. That would be too tiring. So, I'll have to trouble you."

Although Yue Lingshan was a bit uncomfortable with Qu Feiyan's identity, Qu Feiyan was, after all, just a cute girl of fifteen or sixteen. Yue Lingshan couldn't bring herself to view her as the "Demonic Cult fiend" mentioned in the elders' conversations, so she reached out and pulled Qu Feiyan onto the horse.

Initially, she was determined to keep her distance from Qu Feiyan, but after a short while, they were chatting and laughing together. After all, a pampered young lady raised on Mount Hua year-round couldn't possibly be a match for a young veteran like Qu Feiyan.

Dealing with Yue Lingshan was a piece of cake.

Seeing Yue Lingshan and Qu Feiyan engrossed in their conversation and unable to pay attention to him, Lin Pingzhi quietly rode his horse closer to Wang Jingyuan, took a breath, and opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know where to start.

Wang Jingyuan was direct. "Just say whatever you have to say. There are no outsiders here."

Lin Pingzhi then said in a low voice, "Senior Brother, when I left the Fuwei Escort Agency, my father told me the secret of the Bixie Sword Manual."

Wang Jingyuan understood. "So you suspect I castrated myself?"

Lin Pingzhi shook his head repeatedly. "No, I saw Senior Brother shaving his beard every few days on our journey, so I don't think you... you..."

"Then are you asking how I practiced the Bixie Sword Manual without castrating myself?"

"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother. If it's inconvenient... then never mind."

Wang Jingyuan was casual. "There's nothing inconvenient about it. It's simply because I'm a genius. That's all."

Wang Jingyuan couldn't think of any other explanation. Could he tell Lin Pingzhi that he had it on, and couldn't turn it off?

Lin Pingzhi thought for a moment. "I believe that if I can rely on my own efforts..."

Wang Jingyuan immediately stopped him, "If you want to practice this thing without self-castration, the harder you try, the faster you'll die. To be honest, I'm only able to secretly practice a little each time because I'm too much of a genius, managing to do so before my Internal Energy reacts and I go mad from qi deviation.

Even this little bit allows my martial arts to improve. If it were you, taking the Mount Hua Sword Technique as an example, if you were only allowed to practice for one breath's time each day, could you guarantee your martial arts would steadily grow without regressing?"

Lin Pingzhi hadn't expected that the reason Wang Jingyuan could directly cultivate the Bixie Sword Manual was due to this. He knew he couldn't do it and felt a bit disheartened.

Wang Jingyuan patted his shoulder, "Don't be so disappointed, you can still choose to self-castrate. Don't worry, I don't discriminate against disabled people."

Lin Pingzhi shook his head like a rattle drum, "I'd rather not. I haven't even passed on my lineage yet."

Wang Jingyuan thought for a moment, "It's fine to wait until after you've passed on your lineage. This thing is fast to learn anyway, good food is worth waiting for."

Lin Pingzhi flinched. He felt he was too unblessed to enjoy such "good food." Then, he remembered a question that had been bothering him for a long time, "Senior Brother, since you can directly cultivate the Bixie Swordplay, why do you shave so frequently? Aren't you afraid the fellow disciples of the Mount Hua Sect will misunderstand?"

Wang Jingyuan glanced at Lin Pingzhi, "It's a habit I've developed, I can't change it. Where I was before, shaving was a very important matter.

In other places, not shaving just makes you look sloppy. But where I was from, if you happened to be a burly man, and if you happened to like wearing white socks, then not shaving diligently had very serious consequences."

Lin Pingzhi nodded as if he understood but didn't quite grasp it. Seeing Wang Jingyuan's secretive look and unwillingness to elaborate, he didn't dare to ask further.

That night, everyone stayed at an inn. They were not far from Hengyang City now. Wang Jingyuan also began to prepare. He sat down at a desk and wrote furiously:

Everyone has their own misfortunes, and everyone has their own happiness. Who can say that their misfortune will not be happiness...

Zuo Lengchan, fifty-six years old this year, began his martial arts training at the Songshan Sect in his youth and is now the Sect Leader of the Songshan Sect