Yan Chixia's Guidance

"...That was how my father, Xiao Shuimen, the 109th village chief of Muye Dao Village, died protecting me. A traitor had unleashed the rampaging Demon Armor, and it killed him. Before he died, my father paid an enormous price to seal the armor inside me, hoping my flesh and blood could suppress this peerless weapon of evil."

"...My mother died when the Demon Armor was extracted from her. My father had meant to sacrifice himself so I could live on as a hero's son. But who could have expected Yuan Zhanri, the 108th village chief, to be such a vile man? In his struggle for power, he branded me the child of a demon.

The families of the villagers who died in the Demon Armor disaster treated me like a monster from the time I was little. Beatings, discrimination, and insults were commonplace, and many times I couldn't even get enough to eat.

If my teacher, Yin Lu, hadn't cared for and protected me from childhood, and taught me how to circulate Zhenyuan, I might have died on the streets long ago. But that didn't last. Five years ago, my teacher went out to gather herbs and was killed by an Evil Spirit.

From then on, I swore I would kill every Evil Spirit under heaven!

After leaving Muye Dao Village on my own, I stumbled along the way until, by a fortunate twist of fate, I obtained the legacy treasures and Daoist Magic of a Kunlun Daoist Master.

With the help of those treasures, I successfully controlled the Demon Armor and made it serve me. The Demonic Qi you saw just now, Hero Yan, was what it released when I summoned the armor."

With a quiet sigh, Xiao Han turned and looked at Yan Chixia. "Hero Yan, I've said all I have to say. If you still want to kill me, then let's settle this with our hands!"

A strange sound came from Yan Chixia. Xiao Han took a closer look, his face full of astonishment.

Judging by the sniffles, was Yan Chixia crying?

His normally ferocious face looked almost comical as he cried.

Xiao Han had thought Yan Chixia would scold him for making up a story on the spot. He hadn't expected the big-bearded man to be genuinely moved by his tale of a cultivation-world version of Naruto. Yan Chixia even wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

"I never imagined someone so young could have suffered so much. Seeing how you hate evil, I'm reminded of my younger self.

"When I was young, I wanted to kill every corrupt official under heaven. But the world was vast and its ways were chaotic, giving rise to countless evildoers. Though I wanted to fight them, I was powerless to turn the tide."

After wiping away the tears at the corners of his eyes, Yan Chixia looked up at the sky, his gaze tinged with wistfulness. "I was once a Judge renowned throughout the Guandong Guangxi Twenty-Six Provinces. I hated corrupt officials more than anything, but treacherous ministers held power, so I left the martial world and went into seclusion.

"By a strange coincidence, during the time after I resigned from office, I traveled far and wide and came across the legacy of an Ancient Sword Cultivator."

"The great sects turned me away, thinking I was too old. Little did they know that I'd cultivate a whole body of power through the Daoist arts I'd stumbled across. Even the leaders of those great sects are no match for me now!"

Watching Yan Chixia, Xiao Han grumbled inwardly. He hadn't expected this version of Yan Chixia to be such a soft touch—to be moved by a story he'd made up.

But Xiao Han quickly came to terms with it.

In the movie, Yan Chixia had always been a cold-faced but warm-hearted man. Even when he played the villain and put on a stern face, it was only to scare Ning Caichen away and keep him from falling prey to ghosts and monsters.

When Nie Xiaoqian was abducted by the Black Mountain Demon to be his bride, Yan Chixia had planned to stand by and do nothing. But Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian's true love moved him, and he resolutely risked his life to take Ning Caichen into the Yin-Yang Realm, where he fought the unfathomably powerful Black Mountain Demon and his demon soldiers.

Yan Chixia was uninhibited, yet still had a childlike side. His reaction wasn't all that hard to understand.

So it was only natural that Xiao Han's story had stirred up memories for him.

Thinking this, Xiao Han smiled and cupped his hands. "Sorry for the trouble, Hero Yan. My surname is Xiao, and my name is Han. I belong to no sect."

"Xiao Han? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere."

Yan Chixia looked him up and down, then lowered his head in thought, murmuring, "Xiao Han... Xiao Han... Black clothes... carrying a crimson sword... Could it be... are you that junior who's recently made a name for himself, the Black-Clothed Swordsman Xiao Han?"

"Heh, my friends in the martial world are being kind. It's just a nickname they came up with. Nothing worth mentioning."

Xiao Han smiled and cupped his hands.

"It really isn't worth mentioning."

Yan Chixia looked at Xiao Han and sneered for some reason. "You haven't even grasped sword intent, yet you dare call yourself a Swordsman? Anyone can see you've never practiced the sword properly. And if you have, you've practiced it all wrong. What a joke.

"With form alone, but no intent, you could practice your swordsmanship until the end of your days, relying on your own understanding, and you'd still never qualify as a Swordsman!"

Xiao Han frowned. "Hero Yan, what do you mean?"

Clang!

Yan Chixia didn't answer. He sheathed his sword, turned, and walked away, waving a hand without looking back. "How can a few words explain it?"

Xiao Han hurried after him. "Hero Yan, wait for me!"

Ignoring the swath of forest Yan Chixia had blasted bare, Xiao Han carefully stepped over the uneven dirt road, riddled with craters blasted out by either Yan Chixia's sword energy or Palm Thunder.

Walking beside Yan Chixia, Xiao Han lowered his head and asked humbly, "Senior, what did you mean when you said my swordsmanship was all wrong?"

But Yan Chixia didn't answer. He simply kept walking with an expressionless face.

As for Yan Chixia's current attitude toward Xiao Han, the best way to describe it was that he rather liked him.

It was no easy feat for someone so young to have such impressive Martial Path cultivation. One could imagine how much hardship he'd endured to get there.

Yet Xiao Han's words and manner showed not the slightest trace of youthful arrogance or hotheadedness. Instead, he seemed as mature and seasoned as a man in his thirties who'd weathered years of hardship.

To be honest, after the misunderstanding was cleared up, Yan Chixia felt quite guilty toward Xiao Han. He'd called a young man who'd suffered so much because of the Demon Armor a "demon." That was like rubbing salt in a wound.

On top of that, he'd wronged an innocent man for no reason. If someone had chased Yan Chixia down the road and called him a shameless beast or demon, he'd probably have been furious enough to start a full-blown fight with the Xuanyuan Sword.

Xiao Han had been chased and attacked by him for so long, yet hadn't let his pride get the better of him or started a fight over a few angry words. Instead, he'd done his best to explain himself and avoid an unnecessary battle.

Thinking of this, Yan Chixia sighed.

Fine. He'd been the one in the wrong, and the boy was someone he liked. What harm was there in giving him some pointers?

Thinking this, Yan Chixia glanced at the young man beside him. "Boy, if you want to learn the sword, then keep up."

"All... all right."

Xiao Han froze for a moment, then quickly caught up.

Yan Chixia led Xiao Han out of the forest. Their horses were still standing there, grazing.

Xiao Han had used a little Divided Spirit Technique he'd learned from the Compendium of Spells to keep his horse from wandering off. Yan Chixia's horse, accustomed to waiting for its master, had sensibly stayed put.

Come to think of it, was his own horse male or female?

Watching the two horses frolicking in the grass, Xiao Han began to question his life choices.

Damn, it had only been half an hour, hadn't it? They were already getting along? That was fast.

"Good! Draw your sword and demonstrate your swordsmanship so I can see what level you're at."

Xiao Han glanced at the surrounding forest, which looked as if it had been bombarded by a fleet of planes. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead as he pointed around at the devastation and asked, looking doubtful, "Hero Yan, are you sure you want me to practice my sword here?"

Seeing the forest he'd wrecked and the countless craters in the dirt road, Yan Chixia's face turned red. "You have a point. This is no place to linger, and after fighting for so long, I'm getting hungry. How about we head to the town up ahead and find an inn to fill our bellies?

"After we eat, we can discuss sword training!"

"Then I'll do as you say, Hero Yan."

Xiao Han whistled, and the two horses, who had been flirting, were immediately separated like a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Seeing the reproachful look in his horse's eyes, Xiao Han laughed and scolded, "Don't look at me like that. Once we reach our destination, I'll tie you two together. Then you'll have all the time in the world to flirt!"