A Laugh by the Clear Stream

His current realm was still too low. If he misjudged it, there might be some trouble.

He fixed his eyes on the streak of fire, swung his sword, and smashed it down.

Thud!

His sword once again struck the very tip of the streak of fire with perfect accuracy.

Sparks scattered everywhere. Gu Qing's sword was knocked away and fell slantwise into the stream, scarcely any different from what had happened before.

With a series of hisses, the stream water around the blade turned to white mist.

Jing Jiu glanced at the sword in his hand and thought, Not bad. Broad and thick indeed, sturdy and comfortable to wield.

However, he did not intend to give his opponent many more chances to attack. Stepping over the stones in the stream, he walked toward Gu Qing.

The spectators were stunned into silence.

If Gu Qing had underestimated his opponent the first time and held back, then what about this time?

This time, Gu Qing had used no ordinary swordplay from the Sword Scripture, but the true sword of Shiyue Peak, bearing the might of thunder and fire. Why had it still ended like this?

"How is this possible?"

Watching Jing Jiu approach, Gu Qing muttered, his face pale.

Beside the stream, Xue Yongge thought, At last, I'm not the one saying that.

The outcome had not yet been decided, so naturally the sword duel had to continue. With tremendous willpower, Gu Qing calmed his mind again, formed a Sword Arts hand seal to recall his flying sword, and slashed at Jing Jiu once more.

There were still no surprises. With a clear ring, his flying sword was struck down hard and fell into the stream again.

Gu Qing shouted, poured out all the Sword Essence in his body, summoned his flying sword, and launched his wildest attack yet.

Jing Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly.

Seeing this, Zhao Layue knew he was getting a little annoyed.

Jing Jiu's left hand settled on the hilt, changing his stance to a two-handed grip.

Boom!

It was as though someone had struck that famous cracked bell behind Fruitful Accomplishment Temple again.

Gu Qing's sword flew high into the air, out of control, tumbling endlessly and making a whimpering sound that resembled someone crying.

Finally, the sword traced an arc, dwindled to a black speck, and fell into the mountain woods hundreds of yards away.

Countless astonished gazes followed it.

Dark shapes darted through the woods, dust rose again, and the excited cries of apes rang out.

Jing Jiu walked up to Gu Qing.

The distance between them was no longer the dozens of yards it had been at the start, but less than three feet.

Jing Jiu held his sword.

Gu Qing's sword was off on the horizon.

The scene was rather awkward.

Did this count as a decided outcome?

Jing Jiu did not offer the customary "Thank you for yielding."

Naturally, Gu Qing could not bring himself to say "I concede" unprompted either.

"Turn around."

Jing Jiu said to him.

Gu Qing's mind was somewhat scattered at that moment, and he instinctively turned around as instructed.

Smack, smack, smack!

Jing Jiu lifted his sword and struck his back three times, then drew it back.

While doing this, he did not look toward a certain spot on the cliff.

"Enough!"

Gu Han's furious rebuke came from the cliff. "Are you trying to humiliate our Twofold Forgetting Peak?"

Jing Jiu had already turned to leave. Hearing this reprimand, he looked up toward the cliff.

He looked at Gu Han, then exchanged a glance with Guo Nanshan.

Then he turned around, lifted his sword, and struck Gu Qing on the back once more.

"Thank you for yielding."

Those who knew about certain entanglements had already guessed, when Jing Jiu first struck Gu Qing, that he was doing it for Twofold Forgetting Peak to see, though he had not made it explicit.

This time, Gu Han had already spoken, yet he had deliberately turned back and struck Gu Qing again. That laid the whole matter bare.

Yes, I'm doing this for you to see. What of it?

Gu Han's face turned livid.

Ma Hua narrowed his eyes, finding it utterly sickening.

Only Guo Nanshan remained calm, his thoughts unknown.

"How did you do it?"

Hearing the voice, Jing Jiu looked over and discovered that the speaker was Gu Qing.

There was no resentment in Gu Qing's eyes, only dejection, and, more than anything, bewilderment.

He could not understand. He had clearly perfected Mind Bearing, while Jing Jiu was only in the Shouyi Realm. Why had he been the one to suffer a crushing defeat?

However talented and hardworking he might be, Gu Qing was ultimately still just a youth. If he did not free himself from these feelings soon, his Sword Heart was very likely to suffer damage.

Jing Jiu considered how he should explain.

"Your sword isn't fast enough, so I can see it clearly."

He continued, "And my sword is faster."

Gu Qing was still thoroughly confused.

"In the Sword Dao, you only need to take two things to their utmost: speed and strength. Nothing else matters. Oh, and the sword. You should have a good sword."

"Your sword is good, better than mine," Jing Jiu said. "That's why I didn't clash blades with you, but smashed it with the flat of mine."

Thinking back over the sword duel, Gu Qing realized that this was indeed the case.

Whether described as swinging or smashing, Jing Jiu's methods seemed crude, even inelegant, but in truth they represented the most meticulous control over his sword.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"It's that simple?"

Gu Qing's bewilderment had still not entirely faded.

"A sword is the simplest thing to begin with. It isn't anything else. It's just a sword."

Jing Jiu looked at him and said, "Flying in the sky, it's a sword. Held in your hand, it's still a sword. Do you understand?"

Gu Qing seemed to ponder this, bowed earnestly, and withdrew to the stream bank.

Jing Jiu looked toward the cliff, extended his right index finger, and wagged it.

He was signaling the apes to stop fooling around and hurry up and bring the youth's sword back.

But to many people, he appeared to be wagging his finger at the people of Twofold Forgetting Peak.

Many disciples knew that Senior Brother Gu Han of Twofold Forgetting Peak had always disliked Jing Jiu and had tried to humiliate him, only to be stopped by Martial Aunt Mei Li and Immortal Master Lin Wuzhi.

In their minds, Jing Jiu's successive actions today were naturally a show of defiance toward Twofold Forgetting Peak, a deliberate slap in Gu Han's face.

Amid the clouds and mist, Lin Wuzhi glanced at Liu S sui beside him and asked with a smile, "Is he venting your anger for you?"

He knew Jing Jiu's temperament. More than anything, he disliked trouble.

Having won the sword duel, why would Jing Jiu do something unnecessary and lift his sword to strike Gu Qing's back three times?

This was not humiliation, merely repayment.

A year earlier, when Jing Jiu had first entered the inner sect, he had reunited with Liu S sui beneath Sword Peak.

Overjoyed, Liu S sui had run over to see him. Displeased, Gu Han had struck Liu S sui several times according to the rules of Twofold Forgetting Peak.

Later, Liu S sui had secretly gone to see Jing Jiu and been beaten twice more.

Those things had happened a long time ago.

Jing Jiu had never said anything about them.

It turned out he had never forgotten.

Watching the figure beside the stream, Liu S sui remained expressionless, looking very solemn.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

Then he hurriedly composed himself and resumed his air of utter indifference.

Looking at Jing Jiu standing on a stone in the stream, everyone was stunned into silence.

The guests from the various sects who had come to observe the ceremony all approached the cliff's edge, looking down at the scene below and discussing something in low voices.

Both the girls from Water-Moon Convent and the unsmiling envoy from the Wind Saber Sect had been deeply shaken by the sword duel.

The realm Jing Jiu had displayed clearly was not high, so why had he been able to defeat Gu Qing? Just what swordplay had he used?

(Spreads hands. What can I do? I'm very pleased with myself too...)