The Cut or Not?

Hengyang City was packed with people carrying swords and knives, all there for Liu Zhengfeng's Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony.

Liu Zhengfeng was a remarkable man. His senior, Mo Da, was the sect leader, but he barely involved himself in sect affairs, acting like a hands-off manager with music as his only concern.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhengfeng had no choice but to step in and take charge, since his sect leader wouldn't. He was practically a deluxe upgrade of Lin Zhennan: affable, sociable, and a decent martial artist to boot.

Thanks to him, Hengshan had stayed in order, and his knack for dealing with people had earned the sect many friends. Just look at the martial heroes who'd come to attend his Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony. They'd nearly filled every inn in Hengyang City to capacity.

Most admirable of all, even though Liu Zhengfeng had more or less taken over Hengshan's affairs, he had no desire for power. Music was what he cared about most.

Even his disagreements with Mo Da weren't because Mo Da had dumped every mess in his lap. They simply had different ideas about music. Hengshan's music academy had certainly earned its reputation.

By the time Wang Jingyuan and his group entered the city, every inn was full. But that didn't concern them. They were all members of the Five Great Sword Sects, and Hengshan had already arranged accommodations for the other four sects.

Hengshan disciples were everywhere, keeping order in the city. Wang Jingyuan stopped one at random and asked where the Mount Hua Sect was staying.

As for why so many Hengshan disciples were on patrol, that had to do with the previous night, when an elder of the Demonic Cult had gone to assassinate Third Master Liu. Third Master Liu had driven off the powerful enemy, but several Songshan disciples staying next door to the Liu residence had been caught in the attack and killed.

Hearing that Qu Yang had begun to make his move, Wang Jingyuan said goodbye to the Hengshan disciple and headed straight for the Mount Hua Sect's lodgings. As soon as he walked in, he ran into Yue Buqun.

The moment Yue Buqun saw him, he fixed him with a meaningful, slightly twisted look, as if he had a thousand things to say but couldn't get them out. With other people around, he couldn't speak freely.

Seeing him like that, Wang Jingyuan sighed and took the initiative. "Master, I have something important to report."

Yue Buqun immediately came over, grabbed Wang Jingyuan by the hand, and turned to lead him to his room. "Jingyuan, you have something important to tell me? Then tell me everything..."

Bang!

Yue Buqun's door slammed shut.

Yue Lingshan stood frozen where she was, one hand raised and her smile still on her face. The word "Dad" caught in her throat. At last, she sighed. "Dad still favors him far too much."

Fortunately, even if her father was gone, she still had her mother. Ning Zhongze came over and carefully looked Yue Lingshan over, checking whether she'd lost weight while away—or perhaps gotten into trouble.

The honest Lin Pingzhi politely greeted her too. "Your disciple Lin Pingzhi pays his respects, Mistress."

Ning Zhongze smiled kindly at him but didn't reply. Then she looked at Qu Feiyan, who had come with them, and asked, "Whose child is this?"

With her mother by her side, Yue Lingshan felt bolder. She was about to tell her mother all about Wang Jingyuan's glorious exploits in recent days, but then she remembered that if she revealed Qu Feiyan's identity, here in Hengyang City...

So she kept the introduction simple. "This is Xinyi. Her parents both died, and Junior Brother Wang felt sorry for her, so he took her in as his disciple. Mother, Junior Brother took a disciple without permission, which goes against the sect rules, but..."

When she heard Ning Zhongze asking about her, Qu Feiyan immediately put on a well-behaved expression. Seeing her pitiful little face, Ning Zhongze took her by the hand and brought her close, then gently stroked her cheek. "From today on, Mount Hua is your home."

Inside Yue Buqun's room, he invited Wang Jingyuan to sit at the table and poured him a cup of tea. Then he sat in silence for a long while, seeming to weigh how to begin.

Wang Jingyuan couldn't be bothered with pleasantries. "From the look of you, the news has already reached you. That's right. I took Lin Pingzhi in for you, and I also took it upon myself to protect Mount Hua from everyone coveting the Bixie Swordplay.

But there was another gain..."

Yue Buqun's eyes lit up. "So you really got the Bixie Swordplay?"

"I did get the Bixie Swordplay, but that isn't important. What matters is..."

At that, Yue Buqun grew even more excited. "Is that true? May I take a look?"

Wang Jingyuan sighed, turned, found paper and a brush in the room, and began writing it out from memory. Before long, a fresh copy of the Bixie Swordplay was ready.

Wang Jingyuan handed it to Yue Buqun. "Everything except the key to the technique and the medicinal recipe needed to practice it is here.

The key shouldn't be shared with outsiders, and I want to keep the recipe secret so I can make money from it. I didn't write those down, in case they leaked. Lean in, and I'll tell you the key."

Yue Buqun leaned closer. Wang Jingyuan whispered in his ear for a while, and Yue Buqun's eyes widened in shock.

"Th-this..."

"It's true. After Lin Yuantu died, Lin Pingzhi's branch of the family was adopted by Lin Yuantu."

Yue Buqun's face fell, and he sank back into his seat. Seeing him like that, Wang Jingyuan spoke up. "The prerequisites are pretty strict, but for a quick way to gain power, it's still worth it.

And with the Sunflower Manual as a follow-up, it covers every stage, early to late. It's a peerless martial art. Take off your pants."

Yue Buqun jolted in alarm. "What are you doing?"

Wang Jingyuan drew his sword. "It's just the two of us. Why are you pretending? Doing this yourself could leave you with a psychological scar. I'll be quick and precise. Just close your eyes and it'll be over."

Yue Buqun waved his hands frantically. "No! I'm not planning to practice it."

In the original story, the Zixia Divine Skill he practiced was the most powerful martial art Mount Hua still possessed. But he worried so much every day that his progress was painfully slow.

He'd turned to the Bixie Swordplay only because he'd been left with no other choice. But now an immortal had descended and was willing to help him. His situation didn't seem so hopeless anymore.

After obtaining the Bixie Swordplay, he'd only read the beginning, but he could tell it was an exceptionally profound art. He still had some doubts, but nowhere near the resolve he'd had in the original story.

Perhaps the slow progress of the Zixia Divine Skill would eventually drive him to steel himself and practice it. But now Wang Jingyuan had drawn his sword and said he was going to castrate him. He absolutely couldn't accept that.

Seeing how firmly Yue Buqun refused, Wang Jingyuan turned the sword around and handed it to him. "Since you don't want to practice it, do me a favor and perform a little surgery for me.

Having this thing in the way makes practicing the Bixie Swordplay such a hassle."

As he spoke, Wang Jingyuan started taking off his pants. Yue Buqun froze for a moment, then hurriedly stopped him. "You mustn't!"

"I'm the one getting cut, not you. What are you so nervous about?"

Yue Buqun lowered his voice. "Immortal Elder, surely it hasn't come to this!"

Wang Jingyuan replied calmly, "This thing's useless to me anyway. If I cut it off, I can keep practicing the Bixie Swordplay without interruption. Each session is quick, so it won't take long to push my martial arts to an exceptionally high level.

Then I can take you and sweep through the martial world. We'll speedrun the 'revitalize Mount Hua' mission, and after that I'll find the final boss and take him out. That'll wrap up the whole dungeon.

Everybody wins. Stop dithering and get over here."