Harlot's Style

Qu Feiyan pointed at Li Zhuoguang and complained to Qu Yang, "Grandpa, he promised you he'd take good care of me, but all he does is make me wash his clothes every day."

Wang Jingyuan rolled his eyes. Did she think tattling to an elder would make him feel guilty or ashamed? I once stole the Demon God Veil's pet Babas, and I never had any intention of giving him back.

When he'd walked Babas past Veil's statue, had he felt awkward? He'd simply pretended not to see it and kept walking the dog. Hearing his granddaughter's complaint, Qu Yang only smiled. "You're not a little girl anymore. It's time you learned how to do chores and look after yourself."

As soon as Wang Jingyuan heard that, he knew Qu Yang hadn't come to kill anyone in revenge. He walked over and nodded toward Qu Feiyan. "Adults are talking. Go do the laundry, kid."

Qu Feiyan was just about to talk back when Qu Yang said, "Feifei, I have a few things to discuss with Young Hero Wang."

Qu Feiyan's lips jutted out as far as they could. She glared at Wang Jingyuan, then left. Only after she was gone did Qu Yang explain why he'd come. "I recently went to see Brother Liu. Though he had some reservations about your recent actions... he still approves of your plan, so he's been keeping an eye on your movements.

"Brother Liu noticed that ever since you arrived in Hengyang City, you've been rushing around constantly. And just now, you outwitted Tian Boguang. None of it looks like a coincidence.

"Brother Liu is injured and can't go out, so he asked me to tell you that he owes you a favor. If there's anything you want to do, he still has some strength left and can lend you a hand."

Wang Jingyuan smiled. He hadn't expected Liu Zhengfeng to know that a calamity was about to befall him, yet instead of thinking about how to marshal his resources, Liu Zhengfeng was thinking about repaying a favor.

Still, that worked out. In a way, Wang Jingyuan's activity around Hengyang City had been helping Liu Zhengfeng complete the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony without a hitch.

Wang Jingyuan didn't stand on ceremony. "There are two things I do need him to do. First, since he's planning to leave the martial world, he'll surely sell off some assets he can't take with him. That means the Liu residence should be quite well-funded right now. I need him to give me as much silver as he can. I have a use for it.

"Second, he needs to write a letter at once and contact Sect Leader Mo. He should ask him to come to Hengyang City and meet before the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony. When he gets here, the two of you should tell Sect Leader Mo everything and ask for his help."

Qu Yang frowned. "This..."

He could understand the first request, but the second seemed like courting death.

Wang Jingyuan saw his misgivings but didn't explain. He only said, "I've always thought Third Master Liu was an extraordinary man. He's an orthodox disciple who managed to become friends through music with an elder of the Demonic Cult.

"But he also somehow managed to grow apart from the senior brother he'd studied under since childhood until they were practically strangers. After all these decades, he still doesn't truly understand what kind of person his senior brother is."

Qu Yang was even more confused, but he decided to pass the message along to Liu Zhengfeng and let him decide. After exchanging a few words with Qu Feiyan, Qu Yang left.

Once her protector was gone, Qu Feiyan obediently returned to the courtyard and started scrubbing clothes. Wang Jingyuan shook his head and called her over. "Even if it's only pretend, you do call me Master. So I might as well teach you a few things."

Two short swords were tucked behind Qu Feiyan's waist. As he spoke, Wang Jingyuan drew one of them.

Holding the short sword in both hands, Wang Jingyuan raised it above his head, with the blade hanging behind his back, as if preparing to swing down with all his strength. But he twisted at the waist, sending the blade out from his side in a horizontal slash. "This feint is called the Noblewoman's Stance. It's extremely deceptive, and it's a sword technique from the west.

"But to have any power, this move needs a sword that's big and heavy enough. Years ago, a friend of mine dragged me to a historical fencing club for a few days. I mainly practiced with a saber, so I couldn't bring out the Noblewoman's Stance's full potential either.

"But I really liked this extremely misleading feint, so I made a few small changes to it."

As he spoke, Wang Jingyuan brought the short sword in front of his chest, taking a stance as if he were about to thrust straight ahead. Suddenly, he lowered his body and lunged forward with a long stride. But instead of thrusting the sword, he reversed his grip and slashed upward, cutting forward and up.

Wang Jingyuan continued his explanation. "The Noblewoman's Stance uses your back to conceal the sword and the movements of your hand, catching the opponent off guard. My move does the same thing by using your body to conceal the sword in the instant you lower yourself and lean forward. The whole point is to catch them by surprise.

"This move is extremely unfriendly to men, and particularly underhanded, so I call it the Harlot's Style. You're short, so it'll work even better for you. Practice it well."

Qu Feiyan gave him a look of disgust. "That name is awful. I'm not learning it."

"Dummy. Once the move is yours, you can call it whatever you like. I don't care."

Only then did Qu Feiyan reluctantly agree. "The key to this move is lowering your body to hide the sword. Then I'll call it the Butterfly Pounce Stance."

Wang Jingyuan waved a hand. "Whatever you like. And hiding the sword isn't even the key to the move. When you're fighting for your life, you use whatever works.

"When you use this move, remember to bring some lime powder. Even if they block the sword, they can't block the lime powder. And since you fight with two swords, you can pretend to thrust with both, then randomly use the Harlot's Style with one of them."

Qu Feiyan shook her head. "Using lime powder is too low. I won't use it."

"You're a Demonic Cult witch, and you think that's too low? You're turning your back on your own roots!"

"I'll use poison powder."

"That works too."

It wasn't until evening that Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze returned. At dinner, they brought up on their own that they'd gone to visit Liu Zhengfeng. Only then did Wang Jingyuan understand why Qu Yang had chosen to see him that day.

After practicing the Zixia Divine Skill, Wang Jingyuan had discovered that although it consumed a great deal of Internal Energy and couldn't be used too often, it could actually sharpen a person's senses.

Thinking it over, he remembered that when the original story described Yue Buqun eavesdropping on Lin Pingzhi and Lao De Nuo, it said, "Yue Buqun knew that if the two men spoke, they would keep their voices low. He immediately activated the Zixia Divine Skill, and his hearing and eyesight grew several times sharper, allowing him to hear and see much farther."

From Qu Yang's earlier words, it was clear he'd been in Hengyang City these past few days. The most likely place was the Liu residence. With someone like Yue Buqun, a walking radar, coming to visit, Qu Yang had naturally gone out to avoid any complications.

At dinner, Yue Buqun explained where he'd been that day, and also made a point of mentioning that he'd heard at the Liu residence that his own disciple had cleverly captured Tian Boguang. He praised the feat at length.

He was even more lavish in his praise of Wang Jingyuan, the one responsible for it, singing his praises for a full quarter of an hour. The disciples at the table who knew Yue Buqun better felt rather uncomfortable. Since when did their master praise people like this?

And some of his word choices even sounded a little... obsequious?