Swallow Return Secret Steps

Chapter 7. Swallow Return Secret Steps

Zhang Erquan, the "Swallow Chasing Wind Saber," was about the same age as Han Ba. He was still spry, and though his eyes shone brightly, his hair had turned mostly white. At that moment, he was drinking tea in a side courtyard of Ning Manor.

Good tea.

Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps. A moment later, he saw the "closed-door disciple" he had accepted out of respect for Old Ning.

The disciple hadn't visited in a long time.

"Master Zhang, I'd like to continue learning the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber."

Ning Xuan said.

He had previously learned three forms of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber, but hadn't continued on to its core footwork—the Swallow Return. He had only learned the basic steps.

Why?

Because after watching Master Zhang demonstrate the core footwork and looking over the method for practicing it, he had given up.

The method was too difficult and exhausting. Even if he succeeded, it wouldn't make him the peerless lightness-skill expert he imagined himself becoming.

He was the young master of the Ning family. Why would he go to all that trouble to learn something like this?

But now, he needed to improve himself.

He was too weak. Both his vitality and his lifespan were only one point.

Zhang Erquan was a little surprised to hear this.

But he was a taciturn man, so he asked nothing and merely said, "Follow me."

He didn't ask because he already knew the answer.

Young men were fickle, their minds prone to change. Young Master Ning wanted to practice today, but for all Zhang knew, he'd find it too hard in a couple of days and quit.

Truth be told, he didn't think Young Master Ning needed to put himself through this to learn the core footwork of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.

After all, so what if he mastered it? Was Young Master Ning really going to become a lone swordsman, licking blood from his blade as he roamed the world?

Once the young master decided to practice martial arts, everyone in Ning Manor got busy.

By dusk, the servants had finally finished.

Eighty-one plum-blossom stakes had been set up in the stream behind Ning Manor.

The stakes were narrow, with room for only half a foot.

A row of sandbags of various sizes lay by the stream.

Zhang Erquan picked up a specially made heavy wooden saber and tossed it over.

Ning Xuan caught it in one hand.

Zhang Erquan said, "You've already practiced the Swallow Perching Steps as part of your basic footwork. Now you must go up on the stakes.

"Remember: once you're on the stakes, don't get your shoes wet. Once you can stand steadily on them for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, move on to the sandbags. Start with ten pounds, then increase the weight until you're carrying half your body weight.

"Once you've mastered standing still on the stakes, you must practice moving on them: three steps forward, three steps back. Hold the heavy saber in your hands and use it to maintain your balance. Once you can run swiftly across all eighty-one stakes, coat them with tung oil and repeat the practice.

"When you can carry the sandbags and move across the tung-oil-coated plum-blossom stakes as smoothly as flowing clouds, without wetting your shoes, you'll have fully mastered the core footwork of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.

"If you master the Swallow Return Secret Steps and combine them with those three moves, you'll have the Swallow Return Three Sabers.

"Master those three sabers, and in a head-on fight, your techniques will be good enough to hold your own in the martial world.

"But the martial world is treacherous. Who would ever fight you head-on?"

Zhang Erquan seemed to remember something and sighed. Then he solemnly said, "Remember: bend your knees slightly, like a swallow perched on a branch. Let your center of gravity flow with the saber's momentum. Your form should be as solid as a mountain, your spirit reaching into the distance; your intent should drift like a light feather skimming over tranquil water.

"Stand on living stakes, not dead ones!

"You'll inevitably suffer aches and injuries at first, but I have a special medicinal bath. Now that you've started training, I'll have someone prepare it for you. Bathe in it every day."

"Understood, Master Zhang."

Ning Xuan gripped the heavy wooden saber and stepped forward, cautiously setting his foot on the stake nearest the riverbank.

Night fell.

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

In the Ning family's rear courtyard.

A bevy of beauties.

"Young Master~"

"Young Master~"

"Young Master's left leg is mine. Nobody else gets to claim it."

"Young Master, hurry and eat my grapes. Come on~ Hurry up~"

"Let me massage your shoulders, Young Master."

Ning Xuan sat in the bathtub, aching all over as he soaked in the medicinal bath. A towel was wrapped around his waist to cover what needed covering, while three young maids crowded around him to attend to his needs.

Their silken clothes clung smoothly to them, and each of them casually revealed a glimpse of pale flesh.

Who here didn't hope to climb into the young master's bed?

That little vixen Xiao Jie was formidable, but couldn't the young master try something fresh for a change?

The maids' fingers weren't exactly well-behaved.

But Ning Xuan didn't want the extra trouble.

He could take whichever of them he wanted—or even all three at once. But with his mother's temperament, afterward she would certainly grant them a "small promotion": either make them bedchamber maids, serving him at his side and easing Xiao Jie's burden, or keep them from appearing in public and transfer them to some easy job at one of the family businesses.

The maids weren't just serving him. They were taking a promotion exam.

Ning Xuan touched none of them.

He'd trained the Swallow Return Secret Steps today and ended up bruised and battered, aching from head to toe.

He might have fought back and forth with the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon in his nightmare, and climbed around in a hanging basket on a sheer cliff like a nimble ape, but that was after he had already absorbed much of the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon's power.

That wasn't the strength of his own body.

The Heavenly Demon Scroll was powerful, but he still had to get his own act together.

Only then could he hold on to his comfortable life.

After bathing and changing, Ning Xuan climbed into bed.

He needed to sleep early and get up early. He still had to practice on the stakes tomorrow.

Suddenly, the covers bulged, and the little vixen slipped out as if by magic.

Her petite body barely weighed anything.

She propped herself up on her elbows against Ning Xuan's chest, gently swaying her waist as she teased him into making a move.

"Why did you let the other maids bathe me today?" Ning Xuan asked casually.

Xiao Jie giggled. "One day, this servant will have to go far away, so I need to help Young Master get used to having other maids around."

Her smile slowly faded. She tilted her head slightly, and in the red candlelight she looked sorrowful and forlorn, as if she needed someone to cherish and comfort her.

Ning Xuan said, "You're afraid I'll get tired of being with you all the time, aren't you? That's why you specially let those maids who can't compete with you get close to me."

Xiao Jie's thoughts had been exposed, but she wasn't the least bit flustered. Instead, she nestled against Ning Xuan's chest and said gently, in a tone that meant "you're right no matter what you say," "Young Master understands everything. You're so clever."

She had a plan.

As long as Young Master didn't promote her from "bedchamber maid" to "concubine," she'd say she was leaving every few days.

She really wanted to become the Ning family's young master's concubine.

Ning Xuan practiced on the stakes for three days straight.

He was practically dead on his feet.

That day, he finally received a message that all was well at Ning Family Manor.

Ning Xuan asked, "Why did it take so long to arrive?"

The guard who had delivered it said, "The boss had us drilling, so we're two days late. The manor's been peaceful the whole time, anyway, and we cleared the area long ago. There isn't a single beast that eats meat within a twenty-li radius."

Ning Xuan asked curiously, "The boss?"

The guard explained, "Old Han. We follow him in the martial world, so we call him the boss."

Ning Xuan asked, "The boss of what?"

The guard stammered, "J-just the boss of a martial world sect, I suppose. We're all respectable folk. We only call him that because we're close. Well... Young Master, I've delivered the all-clear message, so I'll be off."

Ning Xuan waved a hand.

The guard promptly ran off.

Ning Xuan leaned back in his chair. Xiao Jie was sitting on his left leg.

The petite, dainty girl seemed to know some kind of magic. Even perched on Ning Xuan's left leg, she was as light as a bird on a branch, never weighing on him like a great sandbag.

That alone was enough to set her apart from every maid.

When Ning Xuan looked at Xiao Jie, she giggled and said in a soft, sweet voice, "What a fine bunch of respectable folk we are."

Ning Xuan laughed too.

An entire nest couldn't hatch two different kinds of people.

Xiao Jie was a fox spirit.

And he was one too.

Still, he was curious why nothing had happened at the manor.

He glanced at the panel again.

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Perceive the coming of a heavenly demon, observe the roots of its vitality and lifespan, and forcibly refine a scroll. Failure to refine the scroll means death and the annihilation of one's soul; success means making it one's own.]

"Perceive the coming of a heavenly demon" meant the heavenly demon hadn't arrived yet, but was on its way.

He'd originally thought it would arrive that very night, but five days had passed and nothing had happened.

He needed to figure this out.

Just then, Xiao Jie leaned close to his ear, breathed softly, and said, "The ladies from Floating Fragrance Pavilion in the prefectural city came here to gather inspiration last night. They'll be staying for the next few days. Shall I invite them to come bathe Young Master tonight?"

Floating Fragrance Pavilion was a brothel, but an upscale one.

The courtesans there had to be skilled in the arts.

Gathering inspiration was a kind of gimmick.

Outsiders didn't know it, but Ning Xuan did.

What they called "gathering inspiration" was really just a ploy by the pavilion's owner. He had already bought some new compositions, and now he sent the courtesans out to gather inspiration before having them play the pieces. That way, they could claim to have created the music themselves.

With such talent, their prices naturally soared.

And when their prices soared, the owner made a fortune.

The air fell silent.

Xiao Jie was actually curious what Young Master was thinking.

After a long while,

Ning Xuan finally spoke.

"Go tell Master Zhang I'm not practicing today. Martial arts training needs a balance of exertion and rest. I need a break. Since those ladies from Floating Fragrance Pavilion are out gathering inspiration, I'll go gather some inspiration too."

He wanted to try a different way of practicing martial arts.

The Swallow Return was hard to learn.

But if he first summoned the Heavenly Demon Scroll and improved his constitution before practicing, would it go better? Would it feel like mastering a technique anew after already becoming the greatest under heaven?

That would naturally make his training much, much faster.

But the Heavenly Demon Scroll was his biggest secret. He wouldn't tell anyone.

Xiao Jie gave an "oh," then shifted her bottom aside and prepared to get ready for the outing.

A voice suddenly came from behind her.

"You're not going either. I'll take a walk by myself."

"Yes."

Xiao Jie answered.

She never questioned the reasons behind Young Master's decisions.