Chapter 114: Penmanship Travels the Green Snake

Xu Fengnian returned to the inn. Having nothing to do, he went to Jiang Ni's room and saw an old man and a young girl scribbling on the table. Two small white porcelain bowls were placed there, one filled with water, the other with wine. Both dipped their fingers into the liquid and wrote spiritedly on the table. It seemed the little girl, Jiang Ni, disliked how the old sword god's writing crossed the line, encroaching on her territory. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. The old sword god had no choice but to rein in his hard-won enthusiasm, lowered his head, and sucked all the liquid from the table into his mouth.

Seeing Xu Fengnian enter the room, Jiang Ni quickly wiped her sleeve across the table, erasing all the water-written characters. Xu Fengnian teased her, "Practicing calligraphy with the old master? You might as well secretly follow him to practice sword fighting instead. That divine talisman can't be lent out for nothing. If the old master teaches you a few secret techniques, wouldn't you leave me ten streets behind? If you master the 'Two Sleeves of Green Gallbladder' technique, tsk-tsk, the martial world will definitely crown you a 'Female Sword Immortal.' How magnificent! Wang Xianzhi and Deng Tai'a would even greet you warmly. When that happens, remember to tell all those masters, 'I, Sword Immortal Jiang, once served that good-for-nothing Xu Fengnian as a maid!' Heh, just thinking about it makes me feel powerful."

Jiang Ni retorted angrily, "Who needs you to tell me what to do about calligraphy?! Who's going to be your maid! And who wants to practice sword fighting just to bring you glory?!"

Xu Fengnian plopped down and mischievously asked, "Afraid of the hardships of sword practice?"

Jiang Ni reached for the water bowl to throw it, but the anticipating Prince, Xu Fengnian, pinned her small hand and the porcelain bowl down with his Embroidery Winter Saber. He chuckled, "Don't get violent. I don't have time to squabble with you today. I came to learn from the old master. If you want to listen, sit aside and relax. If not, please take a few steps outside."

Jiang Ni gritted her teeth, "This is my room!"

Xu Fengnian ignored the little wildcat whose tail had been stepped on. He succinctly described a dozen martial techniques he had extracted from a vast collection of secret manuals to the old sword god. At first, Li Chungang seemed impatient, digging at his earwax and flicking it away. As Xu Fengnian continued, the old man, though still cross-legged, stopped digging at his earwax to annoy him. He picked up the porcelain bowl with only half a bowl of wine left, drinking and listening without nodding or shaking his head, his expression as still as an ancient well. After Xu Fengnian finished, seeing the old sword god's drowsy expression, he reluctantly broke down the techniques in more detail, mentioning the names of the source books for each of the dozen forms and explaining how he thought they should be connected and integrated. Yet, the old sword god merely squinted and drank his wine. Xu Fengnian felt a bit disheartened, so he reached for the small bowl Jiang Ni used for calligraphy practice and gulped down the plain water, which made the little girl quite vexed that she hadn't put half a pound of arsenic in it earlier.

Having talked himself hoarse, Xu Fengnian drank half a bowl of water and stared intently at the old sword god, who had remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Ni, who hadn't understood any of it anyway, gloated, "A dabbler, just a dabbler. Unworthy, so unworthy."

That "unworthy" remark, of course, came from the White-Clad Guanyin's comment outside Xiangfan City that Xu Fengnian was "unworthy of dual cultivation." Lately, Jiang Ni often used it to mock the Prince, finding it very satisfying. The old sword god, whose mind had been wandering far away, finally focused his gaze, glanced at Xu Fengnian, and spoke, "When I first heard your rambling, I found it noisy. Your opportunistic approach is the lowest form of martial arts. I was about to scold you, but then I inexplicably remembered an old acquaintance and a story. Wang Xianzhi's age is actually similar to mine and Qi Xuanzhen's, but he became famous much later. Back then, he, like you, picked up scraps from others, following the inferior path of 'using another's stone to polish one's own jade.' Whenever I and some other masters of the time engaged in combat, we would always see that fellow observing from afar. Unlike me, who was stuck between the Heavenly Phenomenon and Divine Immortal realms for a long time, that old fellow grew stronger with each battle. Looking back now, the world says Wang Xianzhi had unmatched comprehension because he could instantly memorize any martial art after just one observation, which led to his peerless cultivation of breaking all swords barehanded. That's not entirely accurate. Wang Xianzhi was like a master alchemist who, grabbing any elixir stone around him, didn't just use the stone itself but threw them all into his cauldron, melting them into one. My 'Two Sleeves of Green Snakes' became 'One Sleeve of Green Dragon' in his hands. So, when masters in the world fought Wang Xianzhi, they all viewed him as the best whetstone to sharpen their own cultivation. This was a good thing. However, after being sharpened, while their skills improved, they could never quite catch up to that eccentric Wang Xianzhi, leading countless masters to spontaneously grumble, 'Why was I born if Wang Xianzhi was also born?' Xu boy, do you want to be the second Wang Xianzhi?"

Xu Fengnian was astonished into silence.

The old sword god sneered disdainfully, "If you truly wish to practice martial arts, yet lack even the ambition to unseat Wang Xianzhi from the throne of the world's second-best, then what's the point of you practicing a damn saber?"

Xu Fengnian helplessly replied, "Wang Xianzhi calls himself second, but who doesn't consider him the number one martial artist?"

The old sword god shook his head and chuckled faintly, "First? I don't think so. When Wang Xianzhi says he's second, only half of it is arrogance; the other half is his self-awareness. There are always one or two freaks in the world who defy common sense. As for whether these freaks come from Buddhism, Taoism, or from rivers, seas, or mountains, only Heaven knows, and Wang Xianzhi, who challenges the world from Martial Emperor City, knows. After Qi Xuanzhen died, I thought Wang Xianzhi would finally have his moment of glory, but he remains the world's second-best to this day. There must have been a Land Immortal whom even Wang Xianzhi fears after Qi Xuanzhen's death, otherwise, with Wang Xianzhi's temperament, he wouldn't act like this. I find this current martial arts ranking's main assessment quite rubbish, but the subsidiary assessment is rather remarkable. The four people on that list all have the potential to surprise the martial world before Wang Xianzhi dies of old age. Especially the new Wudang Sect Master, who just had a fight on Mount Wudang and almost demolished the True Martial Emperor, and Qi Xianxia of Dragon-Tiger Mountain. The latter has my style from back in the day, while the 'cow rider' you mentioned is like Qi Xuanzhen, who usually says nothing but when he farts, the whole world has to hold its nose. As for you, kid, you're quite similar to Wang Xianzhi, but unfortunately, no matter how late Wang Xianzhi matured, at your age, he could easily kill dozens of Xu Fengnians with a single raise of his hand."

Jiang Ni, standing by, chuckled, "How impressive, similar to Wang Xianzhi! By the time you reach Wang Xianzhi's age, perhaps you'll rank among the world's two-hundredth best masters?"

Xu Fengnian burst into laughter at the little girl's remark, then turned and said, "I'll take your blessing! This Prince will definitely live to a hundred, and even live to Wang Xianzhi's age."

Jiang Ni was vexed and remained silent.

Xu Fengnian laughed heartily, "From now on, whenever this Prince encounters an unpleasant master while adventuring in the martial world, the first thing I'll ask him is if he's the two-hundredth highest-ranked master in the world!"

The old sword god waved his hand, "Go on, go on. I still need to practice calligraphy with Jiang girl."

Xu Fengnian was thus shooed out of the room. As he closed the door, he didn't forget to extend both hands towards Jiang Ni: one hand held up a single finger, signifying "living to a hundred," and the other held up two fingers, meaning "the two-hundredth best master in the world." Jiang Ni was furious. After the door closed, she declared in a huff, "I'm not practicing calligraphy anymore!"

The old sword god, caught off guard by this unexpected wrath, asked in surprise, "Why aren't you practicing calligraphy?"

Jiang Ni huffed, "I'm not in the mood."

The old man, with a sly look on his face, quietly coaxed, "Jiang girl, try imagining this tabletop is that smiling face of young Xu."

Jiang Ni hesitated for a moment, then her eyes lit up. She scurried to quickly pour another bowl of water. From then on, her calligraphy practice was remarkably strong, each stroke firm and deeply etched.

The old sword god now somewhat understood why young Xu enjoyed teasing the girl in front of him so much.

Li Chungang raised his bowl and took a big gulp of wine, further solidifying his resolve to make a certain deal with young Xu.

Watching Jiang Ni practice calligraphy again, he murmured softly, kindly reminding her, "Sword and calligraphy are one; the most important thing is a single, continuous flow. Little girl, come, come. I'll write, and you read."

Jiang Ni assented with an "Oh," watching the old man's finger, and recited silently, "In the morning I roam the East Sea, by dusk the West Mountains. In my sleeve, the green snake, with bold courage. When injustice is met, I set down my cup, and draw my sword against the empty clouds. Three drinks I take in haste, then see heads fall in the void. The world says I am ascending steps, having long passed the grand eighteen towers..."

As the old sword god wrote with carefree elegance, he noticed that Jiang Ni was not only reading but also unconsciously moving her finger to write on the table, her strokes resembling his poetic lines not just in form but in spirit.

I do not practice the sword, yet my sword intent is naturally abundant. Though no sword is in my sleeves, the green snake's courage is bold.

For the first time since the old sword god re-entered the world with his severed arm, he drank little yet became thoroughly intoxicated.

Within the room, sword intent filled the air, so potent it was impossible to discern its origin.

Yu Youwei lay lazily on the table, a white cat curled up in front of her, resembling a ball of snow.

Yu Youwei extended a finger, and Wu Meiniang, the cat, adorably hugged it with both paws.

The woman, no longer Liangzhou's top courtesan, chuckled, "My Meiniang is the best. All she does is eat and sleep, carefree. When I want to see you, you're always here; when I don't, I don't see you, and you don't hold grudges."

She was no longer the girl once called Yu Xuanji. Her cheek rested on the cool tabletop as she reached out to stroke her pet's fluffy head, murmuring to herself, "Do you want to live by yourself, away from me?"

Since Wu Meiniang clearly couldn't speak, she answered her own question, "Even if you thought about it at first, once you got used to it, you wouldn't anymore, right? You know it's not good or right, but you just can't leave or escape, can you?"

"You're just a pretty vase, and not even a particularly attractive one. As long as you're alive, what more could you be dissatisfied with?"

"You can't compare to the maids in the courtyard, or to those female knights-errant who travel the martial world alone. You can't compare to a child brave enough to wield a dagger with hatred. You can't compare to anyone. You've even forgotten your parents, forgotten your name. Who could you possibly compare to? What makes you, like this, worth anyone's extra words?"

"You will eventually grow old."

Outside, the Prince leaned silently against the door.