A Little Maid Could Be of Great Use

Strictly speaking, the Lin Family Fort was a martial arts household. Although Lin Tiannan's business was doing quite well and he could be considered one of the wealthiest men around, martial arts remained their most important inheritance. That was why he used a martial contest to select a live-in son-in-law.

Lin Yueru had practiced martial arts since childhood and was skilled in archery and horsemanship. As her personal maid, how could Dongmei possibly lack a few tricks of her own?

During the Tang and Song era of Chinese Paladin, sword dances were in vogue. The most famous of them was naturally Gongsun Daniang, whose "sword dance shook the four corners of the world."

Dongmei had not reached the realm of "coming like thunder to quell raging fury, ending like rivers and seas congealing azure light," but her movements still flowed like a long rainbow or a roaming dragon, linked from beginning to end. They were like drifting clouds and running water, balanced yet resilient. What moved Gao Xu even more was that Dongmei's foundation in swordsmanship was quite solid. This was no flowery display with no real substance!

What Gao Xu did not know was that the martial contest for marriage was a public spectacle held once every year. Even during ordinary times, outstanding martial artists often came to seek Lin Yueru's hand. Whenever that happened, the four maids—Chunlan, Xiazhu, Qiuju, and Dongmei—became the first obstacle. If they could not even defeat the servants, did they still dare dream of meeting Miss Lin?

At this moment, Dongmei's sword dance was also intended as a test. After all, some young masters from prominent families could not simply be met with blades drawn. Performing a dance to test the visitor's eye for martial arts was an elegant affair as well.

If Gao Xu had truly been a newcomer who had just entered the space, he probably would not even have noticed the pretty maid's probing intent. He would only have found the sword dance before him pleasing to the eye.

Fortunately, Gao Xu had already lived one lifetime and had struggled through the space for a full three years. He was well versed in swordsmanship and had seen every kind of stance imaginable. Dongmei had only learned a little of the Lin Family Swordplay, so naturally she could not hide anything from his eyes.

"Clap! Clap! Clap! What a magnificent Yunshang Sword Dance, enough to captivate a city. Miss Dongmei, you have truly broadened my horizons! However..." After offering his praise, Gao Xu began giving a tactful critique. Dongmei quickly focused and listened. Gradually, her expression could not help but change.

Gao Xu had once been fortunate enough to read the general outline of the Lin Family Swordplay from Li Yiru in Chinese Paladin 2. It was divided into seven arts: Lianyue, Fuliu, Benhui, Ningqi, Panlong, Wulang, and Liefeng. Ordinary sword moves were all derived from variations of these seven arts, while the Seven Absolute Sword Qi encompassed their entire essence. With sword qi sweeping in every direction, none could withstand it. It was the ultimate art that had made Lin Tiannan renowned throughout the land.

Dongmei's sword dance had only grasped the three arts of Lianyue, Fuliu, and Benhui.

The Lianyue stance required the left hand to guard one's opening, the left foot to draw back lightly while the right foot remained planted, and the body to turn slightly sideways toward the enemy. It earned its name from the inwardly drawn posture. This was the art Lin Yueru most liked to use when wielding her whip. The coordination of her feet and waist allowed her to advance and attack with ease, while the long whip's range made it even more powerful. (For details, see the battle stances of the game characters; the same applies below.)

Unfortunately, Dongmei's sword dance focused too much on minimizing defensive openings, causing her center of gravity to sink slightly too low. This turned what should have been an attack-oriented art into a defensive move. It had thus fallen short without her realizing it, failing to capture its true essence.

The Fuliu Art was mostly used when turning to attack. The sword was held in the right hand while the left hand lightly supported the blade, as though gently brushing a willow branch. When attacking, one stepped forward to serve as the pivot for the body's rotation, using the force of the turn to deliver a faster and fiercer strike.

Dongmei's waist strength was exceptionally well developed. The only flaw was that the misalignment of her footwork in this art was a little too great, leaving her center of gravity unstable and her openings wide. As a result, this art, which balanced offense and defense, revealed an obvious weakness that an enemy could exploit.

As for the Benhui Art, its full name should have been the Moon-Chasing Returning Sword. One faced the enemy sideways, with the right leg slightly bent and the left foot held lightly. It drew upon Chang'e flying to the moon, turning back with sword in hand. This art was essentially a fusion of the previous two, discarding the dross and preserving the essence, with almost no flaws to speak of.

Yet precisely because of this, its demands on the user were even more exacting. Dongmei had merely turned her head back half a breath too quickly and drawn her sword a moment too slowly, but the entire flow of the move had been thrown into chaos. It was still pleasing to watch, yet it no longer carried any force at all.

After Gao Xu finished his critique, Dongmei was left dumbfounded. Even Gao Xu himself fell into deep thought.

With Gao Xu's former strength, he had not thought much of sword moves that were so constrained by bodily motions. After all, the inheritance he had received was the Five Heavenly Blaze Swords of the Heavenly Profound Sect, a supreme sword-control art passed down from the Heaven Realm and possessed of boundless power. Only the latter four arts of the Lin Family Swordplay were true sword-qi techniques capable of displaying the true subtleties of sword qi. By comparison, these earlier moves naturally paled in significance.

However, the current Gao Xu could not use even the D-rank Three Talents Sword Technique, much less the S-rank Five Heavenly Blaze Swords. He was completely the sort who had lofty ambitions but insufficient ability.

Yet his extraordinary experiences, along with his Wisdom of 12 points, allowed him to comprehend something from low-level swordsmanship that he would never have cared about before: the flaws Dongmei revealed were not because she had failed to learn properly. Rather, her internal energy cultivation and personal attributes were holding back her sword moves. In other words, unless her overall strength improved, it would be impossible to correct her errors through sword technique alone.

A question thus flashed through Gao Xu's mind: were higher-ranked skills always better?

This question, which had once been nearly equivalent to nonsense, now occupied all of Gao Xu's thoughts. He did not hear a single word Dongmei said, and he even ignored several notifications transmitted through the Emblem.

"Number 1897 observed the sword dance of story character Dongmei and gained extraordinary insight, independently comprehending the D-rank basic skill: Basic Sword Proficiency."

"Number 1897 observed the sword dance of story character Dongmei and gained extraordinary insight. The D-rank basic skill Basic Sword Proficiency has advanced into the C-rank basic skill: Sword Familiarity."

"Number 1897 observed the sword dance of story character Dongmei and gained extraordinary insight, independently comprehending the C-rank passive skill: Insight."

Basic Sword Proficiency: D-rank basic skill, low tier. Permanently increases the attack speed of longsword-type weapons by 5% and damage by 7%. Also applies to skills, but only to inferior gold, blue, and white-quality longsword-type weapons.

Sword Familiarity: C-rank basic skill, low tier. Permanently increases the attack speed of longsword-type weapons by 10% and damage by 14%. Also applies to skills, but only to inferior gold, blue, and white-quality longsword-type weapons.

Insight: C-rank passive skill, low tier. In battle, there is a 20% chance of detecting a weakness in an enemy's skill. If the opportunity is seized and an immediate attack is launched, the skill will be broken, and the user will suffer backlash damage equal to 20% of the skill's original power. Only effective against low-tier C-rank skills and below. This skill can be upgraded. Status: Activated.

Note: Passive skills likewise do not occupy skill slots, but each Reincarnator may only activate three passive skills at the same time.

"Young Master Gao, you're truly amazing, exactly as Miss said! And you didn't even understand our Lin Family Swordplay, yet you were still able to... Oh my, you're really incredible!" Dongmei had truly been stunned by Gao Xu. As she babbled out praise, her beautiful eyes sparkled with little stars as she looked at him, finally pulling him from his thoughts.

After checking the information, delight appeared in Gao Xu's eyes. He temporarily buried his realization deep inside. At the moment, he had obtained far too little information. Thinking too much would only do more harm than good. He should first finish the plan before him.

Once Gao Xu's image as a man accomplished in both literary and martial arts was established in Dongmei's heart, her favorability toward him immediately soared again, reaching 80 points.

Furthermore, when Gao Xu mentioned the Snake Demon they were about to subdue, Dongmei's eyes reddened. She unexpectedly dropped to her knees and made a request.

"Number 1897 has triggered the C-rank side quest: News and Safety of the Young Girl Xiaohui. Story character Dongmei requests that you enter Hidden Dragon Cave and search for the whereabouts of her cousin Xiaohui, who was abducted a year ago. If Xiaohui is still alive, she hopes that you will escort her safely out. Upon completion, receive 500 points. Dongmei will also be deeply grateful and utterly devoted to you, and will surely speak well of you before story character Lin Yueru in the future. No penalty for failure. This quest is highly difficult. Please consider carefully."

This side quest overlapped somewhat with Optional Quest Two. If Gao Xu could complete it, he would receive the rewards from both quests. Most importantly, there was no penalty for failure. Why would anyone refuse such a good deal?

Gao Xu then looked at the little maid who had proven so useful, smiled faintly, and delivered the words he had prepared long ago.

"What? Such a thing happened? Then I must quickly report it to Master!"

"You say you aren't certain and don't want to make wild accusations or wrong good people? That's true. If something like this gets out, it would be a serious blow to this demon-slaying operation. If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, Master's reputation would suffer. What should we do?"

"Mm, I have an idea. Rest assured, Young Master. I will make sure this matter is handled properly!"

When the two parted at last, Dongmei clenched her little fists and spoke with complete confidence.

P.S. Dongmei was the maid in the game who saw Zhao Ling'er transform into a snake demon. I thought she held quite a grudge against snake demons, so I expanded on that and created this side quest. Hehe, even minor characters have rights, don't they?