Concealment

Concealment

Ning Xuan's father was Old Master Ning.

But even Old Masters had names.

Old Master Ning was no exception.

His name was Ning Taiyi.

But he hadn't originally been called Ning Taiyi. Because he was fond of mysticism, he had changed his name to "Taiyi." By the same reasoning, he had named Ning Xuan "Xuan."

Ning Taiyi was often away from home. Sometimes he'd be gone for just three or four days; other times, he might be gone for three or four months.

Ning Xuan had asked his mother about it.

"Your father has some standing out there. Plenty of people ask him to come and settle things for them," his mother had said. When Ning Xuan asked where he went, what sort of disputes he settled, and whether standing alone was enough to settle them, she'd replied that she didn't know either.

Ning Xuan hadn't pried into the older generation's past. But even without asking, he could roughly guess how his father and mother had met.

Their story was a little better than how he and Xiao Jie had first crossed paths.

The difference was that Xiao Jie had set up a stall selling calligraphy outside the Zen Gate in a neighboring prefectural city, while his mother had accompanied an elderly lady from her family to pray and burn incense inside that same Zen Gate. The Abbot had even personally struck the Brahma Bell nearby.

Xiao Jie came from humble beginnings; his mother came from a wealthy family.

His mother had lived quietly there until Old Master Ning, already in his thirties, came along.

A man in his thirties like Old Master Ning was a hit with both young and old.

His mother had fallen in love with him.

So she hadn't been part of Old Master Ning's life before he came there. She didn't know about it, and she didn't ask.

But Ning Xuan felt that, as his father's son, he ought to inherit his father's mantle instead of merely waiting for his father to make arrangements for him. Yet he hadn't. He didn't even know what "Father's standing" meant.

Sometimes, he even wanted to ask if he was really Old Master Ning's biological son. After all, he'd been born into this world with memories of another life, and the only thing he'd witnessed was his own birth.

But there was no need to ask. Anyone could tell from their looks that he and Old Master Ning were father and son.

Old Master Ning was refined.

Young Master Ning was a pretty boy.

They'd been cut from the same mold.

And Old Master Ning's doting was written all over his face.

Whatever Ning Xuan wanted, his father never denied him!

Not only that, the people Old Master Ning had hired all listened to Ning Xuan, too.

Even though they'd never met him before, just knowing he was Young Master Ning was enough for them to climb out of bed in the middle of the night, ask no questions, and follow him on a long run for half a day without a single complaint.

Last night, when he'd led a group of people back, Old Master Ning had just happened to leave again.

At that moment, Ning Xuan put away the Mountain Crashing Bear Heavenly Demon Record, returned to his usual form, and went out to find the mountain estate's head guard—the old man who looked kind and benevolent but carried a black metal tube of Heavy Rain Pear Blossom Needles.

"What does the young master want with this old man?" the elder asked with a smile.

Ning Xuan bowed respectfully. "May I ask your name, senior?"

The elder hurriedly returned the bow. "This old man is Han Ba. The martial world has given me the nickname Eight-Armed Elder."

Ning Xuan said, "But you don't have eight arms."

The old man named Han Ba smiled. "It just means I move quickly. When I get going, it's as if I have eight arms. It's an exaggeration, nothing more."

Ning Xuan said, "Zhang Erquan, the estate's Martial Master who uses the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber. I wonder how you compare to him?"

Han Ba said, "If we fought to the death, he'd die from ten paces away, and I'd die within ten paces."

Ning Xuan bowed again. "It seems you and my teacher are elders of the same generation in the martial world."

He'd originally been thinking of asking Han Ba to take him as a disciple.

Now, that idea had turned into a desire to sound him out.

Han Ba smiled. "The young master is courteous and humble, but... this old man truly doesn't know why you suddenly left the mountain estate yesterday."

Ning Xuan said, "The yin energy in the mountains was heavy, and I was struck by a chill, so I wanted to leave. But it was pitch-dark, and the mountains were full of ferocious beasts, so I had to trouble you all to escort me."

Han Ba thought it was a little strange.

But then he considered the young man's identity and decided it wasn't entirely unreasonable.

Ning Xuan said seriously, "I want to learn some martial arts."

Han Ba said, "The more you learn, the more danger you face. Without the old master's instructions, this old man wouldn't dare secretly teach you martial arts. Besides, the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber is already quite good."

Ning Xuan said, "But I keep hearing that there are powers in this world that surpass the Martial Way. Have you ever heard of them, sir?"

Han Ba stroked his beard and fell silent for a moment. "Did you hear about that from a storyteller?"

As the words left his mouth, he suddenly froze. He realized the young man across from him was looking at him thoughtfully.

Han Ba hurriedly asked, "Did this old man say something wrong?"

Ning Xuan said, disappointed, "So there really aren't any?"

Han Ba said, "There really aren't."

The air fell quiet.

Ning Xuan nodded. "Ah, I'll go practice my saber."

Han Ba said, "Then this old man will take the guards back to the mountain estate."

Ning Xuan said, "Since you've come all this way to the estate, why not stay a couple more days?"

Han Ba said, "No. Now that we've escorted you here, this old man should return."

Ning Xuan said, "Do as you please, Mr. Han. But once you're back at the mountain estate, please send word that you arrived safely."

Han Ba smiled. "The young master treats others with such courtesy and humility. You truly have the bearing of a master. Go about your business. This old man will send word once he returns to the mountain."

A moment later, the old man watched the young man's back vanish around the corner. Only then did he look utterly frustrated. His fists clenched, his brows knitted, and he raised a hand as if to slap himself.

At last, he slowly lowered his fist and let the anguish drain from his face. Muttering to himself, he said, "I've hunted geese for years and never once had one fly into a ditch—yet today a little gosling pecked me in the eye. Old man, old man... ah."

He'd been tricked into letting something slip.

That little fox was far too clever.

And he'd been too careless.

He hadn't been on his guard around Young Master Ning. But the young master had chatted away with him about this and that in a casual tone, then suddenly tossed out, "But I keep hearing that there are powers in this world that surpass the Martial Way. Have you ever heard of them, sir?"

He hadn't been on his guard at first, but that one question had set off alarm bells. He'd fallen silent for a moment, then made the kind of mistake only a guilty person would make, hurriedly asking, "Did this old man say something wrong?" After that, Young Master Ning had thoughtfully offered him a way out, and he'd hurried right down it, saying, "There really aren't any."

"Ah, ow, ow!"

Han Ba couldn't help smacking his own mouth, his heart full of regret. After all, the old master had told him not to tell the young master about certain things.

But a moment later, he began comforting himself.

Perhaps it was all just the old martial hand imagining things.

Maybe the young master hadn't thought that much about it at all.

After all, the whole exchange sounded like ordinary small talk.

He only thought there was something to it because he was an old hand in the martial world.

"So there really are powers in this world that surpass martial arts."

"Father definitely knows."

"But he didn't tell me."

"Is he keeping these secrets from me on purpose, afraid his children might be drawn into danger? Father doesn't seem like the sort to be so rigid and benighted."

For a moment, Ning Xuan suddenly felt a thin layer of emotional distance forming between him and his father.

Though he'd crossed into this world, he'd been born into it.

His father had raised him, and they had a bond.