Transition

Wang Jingyuan looked at Qu Yang, then at Lin and Yue. "I thought this NPC was just that smart, but it turns out they deliberately gave them varying levels of intelligence. Hardcore. Seriously hardcore."

Qu Feiyan wouldn't stand for it. "Grandpa!"

Qu Yang reached out and patted Qu Feiyan on the head. "Be good, Feifei. What I have to do is extremely dangerous. This time, I really can't take you with me."

Qu Feiyan was about to argue again when Wang Jingyuan spoke up beside them. "There was once a notorious bandit named Li Sanguang. He ran rampant, was ruthless, and no one could do anything about him.

But then he got saddled with a troublesome burden. His enemies got smart: going after him was difficult, but going after the burden was easy."

That made sense to Qu Feiyan, and she stopped pestering Qu Yang.

Qu Yang turned to Wang Jingyuan again. "Young Hero Wang, is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"With Liu Zhengfeng's martial arts, would being hit by the Black Blood Divine Needle put him in danger?"

"...His life shouldn't be in danger."

"Then make sure he gets hit. You need to believe in your acting for it to look real. Don't go soft on him when the time comes. Help him get into character."

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

Wang Jingyuan stared straight at Qu Yang, his expression grave. "Let me say this again: if we meet again, I'll curse you out. I hope you won't take it personally. We're on opposing sides, after all. We're all just trying to make a living."

"I understand." Seeing that Wang Jingyuan had nothing else to say, Qu Yang took his leave. Qu Feiyan didn't cry or make a scene. She just watched Qu Yang walk away in silence, her eyes red.

Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi watched Qu Yang leave as well. Wang Jingyuan hadn't kept his conversation with Qu Yang from them, but they couldn't get a word in. All they could do was watch as Wang Jingyuan took in a "little witch of the Demonic Cult."

They were still too shocked to speak. Even now, they couldn't tell whether Wang Jingyuan had been playing along with the "Demonic Cult fiend" and cleverly driven him away, or whether he really was conspiring with him.

After Qu Yang left, Wang Jingyuan copied his gesture and patted Qu Feiyan on the head. "You're my temporary baby now, so I'll have to give you a new name. From today on, you're Shinichi."

Qu Feiyan slapped his hand away. "What's with Shinichi and oldichi? That sounds awful. My name is Qu Feiyan."

"Tsk!" Wang Jingyuan shot her a sidelong glance. "Should I hire a whole troupe to bang gongs and drums and announce that you're the granddaughter of a Demonic Cult elder, then escort you into Hengyang City with a parade?

If our fellow martial artists saw us, they'd only praise me for being thoughtful enough to bring a gift to the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony."

Qu Feiyan lowered her head indignantly and muttered, "But Shinichi sounds so awful."

"Then how about Conan?"

"That's even worse. Why can't you pick a girl's name?"

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

Qu Feiyan was delighted. "Yes, yes!"

"Not a chance. Your whole character setup is that you're a poor little orphan I picked up. You want to start off as some kind of Mary Sue? Even our Junior Disciple Sister is just called Lingshan. Can't you keep a low profile?"

Now Yue Lingshan was offended. "My father gave me my name. What's wrong with it?"

"It's great, it's great."

"Are you just humoring me?"

"Yes."

"You!" Yue Lingshan stamped her foot with a huff, then swung herself up onto her horse.

Wang Jingyuan called after her, "Junior Disciple Sister, wait!"

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

"Who said I wanted to apologize?"

"Then why did you call me?"

Wang Jingyuan pointed at the horse beneath Yue Lingshan. "Have you noticed that we only have three horses, but there are four of us now?

All our luggage is on Junior Disciple Brother's horse, and look at my build. If I shared a horse with Shinichi, I'd have to ride in the saddle while she sat on my shoulders. That'd be exhausting. So I'll have to trouble you."

Although Yue Lingshan felt a little uneasy about Qu Feiyan's identity, Qu Feiyan was still just a cute girl of fifteen or sixteen. Yue Lingshan couldn't bring herself to see her as the "Demonic Cult fiend" the adults talked about, so she reached out and pulled Qu Feiyan up onto her horse.

At first, she'd been determined to keep her distance from Qu Feiyan, but before long, the two of them were chatting and laughing together. Yue Lingshan was a sheltered, naive young lady who'd grown up on Mount Hua. She was no match for a young veteran of the martial world like Qu Feiyan.

Yue Lingshan was easy pickings.

Seeing Yue Lingshan and Qu Feiyan chatting away, paying no attention to them, Lin Pingzhi quietly rode closer to Wang Jingyuan. He took a breath and opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

Wang Jingyuan cut straight to the point. "If you have something to say, just say it. There's no one else here."

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

Wang Jingyuan understood. "So you're wondering if I castrated myself?"

Lin Pingzhi shook his head repeatedly. "No. I've seen you shave every few days on this trip, so I figured you hadn't... hadn't..."

"Then you want to know how I learned the Bixie Sword Manual without castrating myself?"

"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother. If it's inconvenient... then forget it."

Wang Jingyuan was perfectly frank. "It's no trouble. I'm just a genius, that's all."

He couldn't think of any other explanation. Should he tell Lin Pingzhi he had cheats—and couldn't turn them off?

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

Wang Jingyuan stopped him at once. "If you want to practice this without castrating yourself, the harder you try, the faster you'll die. To be honest, I'm so talented that I can sneak in a little practice whenever my Internal Energy hasn't reacted yet and I'm not in danger of losing control.

Even that little bit is enough to improve my martial arts. Take the Mount Hua Sword Technique, for example. If you were only allowed to practice for one breath each day, could you guarantee steady improvement without slipping backward?"

Lin Pingzhi hadn't expected Wang Jingyuan's ability to practice the Bixie Sword Manual directly to come down to this. He knew he couldn't do the same, and his spirits sank.

Wang Jingyuan patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be so disappointed. You can still choose to castrate yourself. Don't worry, I won't discriminate against the disabled."

Lin Pingzhi shook his head like a rattle drum. "I'd rather not. I haven't had a son to carry on the family line yet."

Wang Jingyuan thought it over. "You can do it after you've had a son, too. This thing works fast, so there's no harm in waiting."

Lin Pingzhi shrank back. He had no interest in that particular delicacy. Then he remembered a question that had bothered him for a long time. "Senior Brother, since you can practice the Bixie Swordplay directly, why do you shave so often? Aren't you afraid the other Mount Hua Sect disciples will misunderstand?"

Wang Jingyuan glanced at Lin Pingzhi. "It's a habit now. I can't break it. Where I used to live, shaving was very important.

In other places, if you don't shave, people just think you're scruffy. But where I'm from, if you happen to be a big, strong man and happen to like wearing white socks, then not shaving regularly can have serious consequences."

Lin Pingzhi nodded, only half understanding. But Wang Jingyuan looked like he didn't want to say more, so Lin Pingzhi didn't press him.

That night, they stayed at an inn. They were already close to Hengyang City. Wang Jingyuan began making preparations, sitting at the desk and writing furiously:

Everyone has their own misfortunes and their own happiness. Who can say that their misfortune might not turn out to be happiness...

Zuo Lengchan, fifty-six years old. He began learning martial arts from the Songshan Sect in elementary school and is now the sect leader...