Fake Sword Manual
Outside the door lies a pastoral scene.
As soon as Li Wei stepped outside, he ran into an old man driving a mule cart. The old man was wearing the same peasant clothes that Li Wei had previously scorned, along with a straw hat. Upon seeing Li Wei, the old man chuckled and said, "Little Wei, your attire is really strange. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were a chivalrous hero."
Upon glancing at the old farmer, Li Wei immediately recalled a piece of information. The old farmer's surname was Qi, and he was from the same village as him. He had practically watched Li Wei grow up. He was an honest and simple villager who made a living by selling local specialties in nearby counties.
Li Wei thought to himself, judging from Qi Lao's posture, it seemed he was going to a nearby county again. Li Wei had looked at the map before, and if he wanted to get to the Qingcheng Sect in Sichuan, the first stop was that county dozens of miles away. Since Qi Lao had a mule cart, why not ask him to give him a ride?
Li Wei had examined this body as early as when he entered the mission. To be honest, it was just an ordinary physique with nothing outstanding. He believed that if he ran for a few minutes, he would be out of breath and sweating. It would obviously be more convenient to take a mule cart than to reach the nearby counties by foot.
So Li Wei smiled and said, "Grandpa Qi, I need to go to a nearby county on business. I wonder if you could give me a ride?"
The old farmer chuckled and said, "Come on in, we're all from the same village, no need to be so polite."
Li Wei was taken aback, not expecting it to be so easy. He had originally planned to give the other party a small piece of silver if they refused. So he quickly climbed onto the donkey cart, and the old farmer cracked his whip, and the old man, the young man, and the donkey left the village.
"Hey, Xiao Weizi, your clothes are pretty good. Did your old man leave them to you?" Qi Lao kept talking non-stop on the way, and as he spoke, he even pulled out a pipe from the miscellaneous items in the car and started puffing on it.
Li Wei sat on the cart floor and laughed, "Yes, these are my dad's clothes from when he was young. They looked quite new, so I put them on."
After glancing at the contents of the mule cart, Li Wei continued, "What are all these things you're carrying on your cart?"
Qi Lao took a puff of his pipe. "It's just a local specialty of the village, what else could it be?"
Perhaps noticing the broken sword tucked into Li Wei's waist, Qi Lao asked with great interest, "Young Wei, is that the longsword that those great heroes often use? Let this old man take a look."
Li Wei gave a wry smile, thinking to himself that this old man was really curious. He then took down the broken sword and handed it over.
Qi Lao put away his pipe, wiped his two blackened hands on his clothes, then took the sword, rubbed it with his calloused hands for a while, and a strange light appeared in his eyes.
Li Wei was stunned.
He glanced at the calluses on Qi Lao Qi's hands, then pretended nothing had happened, but inwardly he was on high alert, thinking to himself that Qi Lao was no ordinary person. He hadn't noticed at first that the calluses on his hands weren't from farm work.
With a flick of his wrist, Qi Lao grasped the sword hilt, and with a forceful wrist movement, the longsword was drawn from its sheath.
"This sword is only average. Little Wei, was this also left by your old man?" Qi Lao's wrinkled face revealed nothing, but Li Wei was already on guard.
The way Qi Lao held and drew his sword was perfect. Li Wei had also practiced the 'Upper Clear Sword Marrow' before, so he was naturally an expert. As the saying goes, an expert sees the details, while a layman sees the spectacle. As an expert, Li Wei could tell at a glance that Qi Lao must have practiced swordsmanship in the past.
Moreover, he's quite skilled at it.
It seems that in this mission world, one cannot let one's guard down, even with ordinary people encountered on the road.
On the surface, Li Wei nodded, saying with a rather proud expression, "Yes, this sword was left to me by my father. It looks fierce, so I carry it for self-defense."
A hint of disdain flashed in Qi Lao's eyes, but he quickly smiled again, flicked his wrist, sheathed the sword, and returned it to Li Wei.
"Little Weizi, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you're so young. It would be so much better if you stayed in the village, farmed, and got married. Why did you have to run off to the outside world? The outside world isn't as exciting as those storytellers make it out to be." There was even a hint of comfort in his tone.
Li Wei wasn't stupid. Although Qi Lao wasn't an ordinary farmer, he was very kind to him. You could say that his words came from the bottom of his heart.
However, Li Wei was not about to listen to him. He pretended not to understand and continued to enjoy the scenery along the way, chatting with the old man from time to time. In the middle of the day, they arrived at the county.
"Little Wei, we've arrived at the county seat. What are you planning to do?" The old man stopped the mule cart by the roadside and asked with a smile.
"I'll just wander around the county. Qi Lao, you go ahead with your work. I'll head back by myself this afternoon," Li Wei waved his hand and left.
Along the way, he had already determined that Qi Lao was definitely not an ordinary farmer, but with a mission to complete, he didn't have time to delve deeper into Qi Lao's background. If he couldn't reach the Qingcheng Sect within 15 days, he would be eliminated, and that was no joke.
After leaving Qi Lao, Li Wei entered the county alone. He needed to prepare some food for the journey, buy a fast horse, and then head straight for the Qingcheng Sect.
This county is not large, with a population of less than a thousand. However, because it is a place where people from the surrounding area often gather to trade, it is small but complete in every aspect, with inns, taverns, and even horse inns.
After his superpowers were stripped away, Li Wei felt hungry just like an ordinary person. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything for most of the day, so he went straight to a restaurant.
With money in hand, he naturally had no worries about food and drink. After a delicious meal, Li Wei left the restaurant and began searching in the county town.
Upon seeing a shop selling writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, Li Wei smiled slightly and slowly walked inside.
The shop is small, but it is tastefully decorated. The furniture is made of high-quality wood and polished to a shine. The shelves on the walls are filled with various soft brushes, and a large amount of Xuan paper is piled up in one corner of the counter.
A tall, thin middle-aged man was behind the counter, holding a bound booklet in his left hand and a small pen in his right. He was frowning and sketching something. After a few strokes, he was dissatisfied and scribbled something randomly with the pen, muttering something under his breath, but it was hard to hear clearly.
He seemed to have his entire attention focused on the thread-bound booklet, not even noticing Li Wei enter. It wasn't until Li Wei coughed that he looked up, revealing a slight smile.
"Young man, what do you need? Pen or paper? I have everything you need. Within a hundred miles around, my shop has the most authentic paper and pens."
Now he does look somewhat like a businessman.
Li Wei nodded and smiled, "Boss, I'd like a pen, and... a roll of brocade cloth that I can write on."
The middle-aged shopkeeper was taken aback. Generally speaking, scholars and literati would purchase a lot of paper and pens, but he had never heard of anyone buying brocade.
However, it's not that you can't write on this kind of brocade. Generally speaking, writing on brocade is convenient for preservation and carrying, but the presentation is far inferior to that on Xuan paper.
Most importantly, he didn't have that kind of brocade at all.
The middle-aged boss sized Li Wei up and down, his eyes filled with sarcasm.
In those days, scholars were generally from wealthy families. At first, he didn't notice, but now, upon closer inspection, he realized that although the man in front of him was handsome, his attire was far from that of a scholar. Not only was it incredibly rustic, but he was also carrying a sword sheath. However, he lacked the aura of a true martial artist, and even if he were a martial artist, he couldn't compare to a scholar.
As the saying goes, "Of all professions, only studying is noble," and as someone who was quite well-read, he naturally didn't have much interest in this kind of "country bumpkin."
Moreover, this boy in front of me looks to be no more than 17 years old. Could he be here to make fun of me?
Thinking of this, the warmth in his eyes as he looked at Li Wei faded, replaced by a slightly cold expression. "Who is this brat, trying to make fun of me? I only have paper and pen here. If you want brocade, go check the clothing shop next door."
Having said that, he ignored Li Wei and resumed studying the booklet in his hand.
Li Wei was taken aback, but didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He took out a small silver ingot from his pocket and placed it on the table. "Boss, then I'll take a writing brush, ink, and inkstone."
As Li Wei walked out of the shop, he was quite puzzled by the owner's attitude. Little did he know that the owner was a complete bookworm who loved poetry and literature. Therefore, he was very hospitable to scholars, while considering those rough and uncouth villagers to be superior.
However, the shopkeeper wasn't lying; Li Wei did indeed buy the brocade cloth he needed next door. Afterward, Li Wei found an inn, rented a room, and laid out the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones he had purchased.
Since he was going to Mount Qingcheng to become an apprentice, he had to find a way to impress Yu Canghai and get him to accept him as a disciple. Judging from the information about Yu Canghai, he was determined to obtain the Seventy-Two Styles of Evil-Expelling Swordplay passed down in the Fuwei Escort Agency. In that case, why not make some effort to achieve this?
Speaking of the Evil-Expelling Swordplay, one cannot help but mention the Sunflower Manual. Both are extremely profound martial arts, or rather, they are essentially the same martial art. Li Wei once killed a reincarnator in a quest in the Legend of Wulin and obtained the Sunflower Manual.
Therefore, Li Wei had read this martial arts manual. Although he did not study it due to the almost 'harsh' training conditions, Li Wei did memorize a lot of the contents of the Sunflower Manual.
Therefore, what Li Wei needs to do is to fabricate a Seventy-Two Evil-Expelling Swordplay based on the Sunflower Manual, so that when he takes it to Mount Qingcheng, it will surely impress Yu Canghai.
Once he becomes the other party's apprentice, the mission will be complete. If Li Wei remembers correctly, the Evil-Expelling Swordplay was originally written on a scroll of brocade, which is why he purchased these items.
The purpose, of course, is to replicate the 'Evil-Expelling Swordplay'.
Thinking this, Li Wei unfolded the brocade cloth, then dipped his brush in ink and began to write on it.
(Seeking various votes, is that alright?)