Chapter 614: Mist Drops (Part 2)

Xu Fengnian took on a poor young boy as his disciple.

Before reaching Wudi City, though already within sight of the East Sea, Xu Fengnian encountered a small band of cross-border bandits. He rescued a family of orphans and elderly, among whom was a seemingly unrelated boy who, in his youthful recklessness, tried to intervene and was nearly killed by a bandit's spear. After casually saving the boy, Xu Fengnian continued his journey towards Wudi City. The boy, spirited and mischievous, somehow fixated on Xu Fengnian, perhaps believing him to be a true hero of the martial world. He clung to the carriage like a burr, running behind it for several days. To save his boots from wearing out, he even took them off and tied them to his belt while running. The boy's stamina was quite good, and Xu Fengnian's carriage traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping frequently, so even when briefly left behind, the boy always managed to catch up.

One night, Xu Fengnian lit a bonfire by the sea. The exhausted boy dared not approach, curling up at a distance to sleep. The next morning, he woke up to find himself inside the carriage. Cautiously, he lifted the curtain, then sat cross-legged against the carriage wall, unsure how to address the young man, debating whether to call him "swordsman" or "sir." The young man initiated the conversation. After asking two questions, to which the boy vigorously shook his head, the third question completely bewildered him: did he want to be his disciple? The boy didn't nod, but his face turned red, and he shyly explained he couldn't afford a master's fee. The man replied it didn't matter.

Thus, the two mysteriously became master and disciple on their journey, though they spoke little. The boy's name was Wang Sheng, a native fisherman's son from the coast. His parents had died at sea, and he had lived with his grandfather. After the old man died of illness, Wang Sheng left his hometown. From a young age, he possessed strength far beyond his peers. He had done almost every copper-earning job, from begging and mourning at funerals to carrying illicit salt, and had never starved.

Young Wang Sheng, still too naive to understand worldly complexities, was overjoyed upon learning that this "lucky" master, who seemed to have dropped from the sky, was heading to Wudi City. She couldn't stop chattering excitedly. The boy was simple and pure-hearted. While she might not discern people's depths like an experienced jianghu veteran, she was remarkably accurate in judging their character. After spending a few days with her master, she knew her master was likely easy-going, and her respect for him far outweighed any fear.

However, she was a little disappointed that her young master, who appeared even more handsome than a woman, didn't much care for conversation. Most of the time, Wang Sheng would chatter to herself, asking and answering her own questions. After exhausting all the hearsay jianghu anecdotes and interesting stories she knew, she could only resort to old sayings and proverbs she'd heard from elders and villagers. Fortunately, her master, though no longer in peace, didn't mind and taught her an obscure incantation and a soft, gentle boxing technique. The incantation was too difficult to remember, giving her a headache, and the boxing form seemed weak and ineffective. Still, she was content, finding satisfaction in finally being able to practice martial arts. The year before last, after leaving her hometown, she saw an old man selling martial arts manuals at a stall in Jianzhou. She handed over all the three taels of broken silver she had painstakingly saved. The old man was amenable, opening his bamboo basket and letting her choose. Wang Sheng was illiterate, but the titles the old man recited sounded like peerless martial arts, giving the impression that mastering even one or two moves from them could bring fame in the jianghu. Wang Sheng ultimately chose a sword manual. Though naive and inexperienced, she wasn't foolish, and soon realized the manual was fake. But she wasn't annoyed; she kept the nonsensical sword manual hidden in her clothes, simply considering it a way to learn a hundred or so characters.

With Wudi City just a day's journey away, the sea breeze blew gently, ebb and flow, easily dispersing the early summer heat. Having grown up by the sea, Wang Sheng didn't find the faint fishy smell of the wind unpleasant; instead, it felt familiar and comforting. Perhaps after several years away from home, she was reminded of her departed relatives, and she fell silent.

The reason Xu Fengnian didn't converse much with his disciple wasn't regret over taking on his first-ever student or disdain for her average aptitude. Rather, it was because he felt a mix of amusement and bewilderment. After interacting with her, he discovered that this seemingly sturdy young man was, in fact, a girl. The strange thing was that her qi and pulse patterns showed no typical female flow. For women, practicing martial arts involved more obstacles and bottlenecks than for men. In Buddhism, women's bodies were not supposed to achieve Buddhahood, and in Taoism, female "true people" were extremely rare; these traditions had their reasons. In the past century, his mother was the only female Sword Immortal. Going back three hundred years further, there was only one other. Even without considering swordplay, the number of women who attained first-rank mastery was still very few. Among the Four Grandmasters of yesteryear, there was Fengdu Green Robe. Today's jianghu, however, seemed to have a slightly stronger "yin" presence, with Luo Yang and Xuanyuan Qingfeng, and also Wang Xianzhi's unseen disciple Lin Ya. A woman with masculine features was akin to the belief that southerners with northern features would have good fortune. His disciple Wang Sheng's aptitude was actually quite decent. However, Xu Fengnian, having seen much of the jianghu's peak before and after his own martial training, knew that while outstanding talent might seem promising in youth, it didn't guarantee success. In martial arts, sustained power and potential were crucial. Ample sustained power combined with many opportunities were both indispensable for one to achieve greatness later in life.

The fundamental reason Xu Fengnian took her as a disciple was very simple.

Wang Sheng carried a wooden sword at her waist.

Initially, Xu Fengnian's first question was whether Wang Sheng would trade her wooden sword for food. Wang Sheng refused. Xu Fengnian then asked if she would trade the wooden sword for silver. Wang Sheng still refused.

Late at night, about thirty to forty li from Wudi City, Xu Fengnian stopped the carriage. He instructed Wang Sheng to gather dry branches and light a large bonfire by the sea. The roaring flames illuminated the faces of master and disciple. Xu Fengnian gave Wang Sheng a piece of dried beef, about the size of a child's palm. The night sky was clear, dotted with stars. Wang Sheng chewed the beef, then looked up to see her master gazing absently at the starry sky. She quietly licked her oily fingers before pointing to the stars and smiling, "Grandpa used to say that's a big lantern up there. Down on earth, when a person dies and their light goes out, they go up there and light up."

"There's a similar saying where I'm from," Xu Fengnian calmly replied.

Wang Sheng waited for a long time. Seeing her master fall silent again, she continued to talk to herself, "Master, besides you, I admire the Martial Arts Alliance Leader from Huishan the most." Wang Sheng smiled and asked, "Master, guess who's next?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head.

Wang Sheng chuckled, "It's Lin Ya, the Grandmaster of Fist Arts from Wudi City!"

Xu Fengnian smiled faintly, "She is the prized disciple of Wang Xianzhi, the foremost figure in the world, and also a beautiful woman on the Rouge Scroll. You are far behind her in both respects."

Wang Sheng wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it. She timidly asked, "Master, you know?"

Xu Fengnian nodded.

Seeing that her master didn't seem angry, Wang Sheng lowered her head and explained, "My parents always wanted a younger brother, but it never happened, so they stopped trying and raised me as a boy. Besides, our family couldn't save up a dowry, and I don't want to get married. Who would want to live with a woman who looks like a man? Just thinking about it is suffocating. Anyone who marries me must have been a villain in their past life, and Heaven is punishing them by making them marry a 'man' in this life." At this point, Wang Sheng, always cheerful and content, amused herself with her own words.

Xu Fengnian tore off a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, saying softly, "When your features mature later, you will certainly look more like a woman."

Wang Sheng suddenly blurted out, "If I were even half as handsome as Master, I wouldn't mind living half a lifetime less."

"Go practice your boxing for an hour," Xu Fengnian calmly said.

Knowing she had misspoken, Wang Sheng took off the wooden sword from her waist and went to the seaside with a distressed expression to practice her boxing. She diligently performed the routine six times, full of mistakes and often forgetting the sequences. However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that her master didn't seem to mind her clumsiness or show any unusual expression.

Wang Sheng practiced for an extra half hour before finally sitting opposite her master, picking up her wooden sword and placing it across her knees.

"Aren't you ashamed to roam the jianghu with a wooden sword?" Xu Fengnian asked.

Wang Sheng was somewhat puzzled and retorted, "What's there to be ashamed of?"

Xu Fengnian remained silent.

Wang Sheng smiled gleefully, "My grandpa made this wooden sword for me. Even if Master wanted it, I wouldn't give it to you."

Xu Fengnian, who rarely referred to himself as "your master," retorted unhappily, "A broken wooden sword? Why would I covet it?"

Wang Sheng chuckled.

"If someone is blind enough to fall for you someday," Xu Fengnian teased, "you might as well use this wooden sword as a token of your affection. Consider it your dowry."

Wang Sheng made a bitter face and said nothing.

Xu Fengnian continued, "You think this wooden sword is precious now because you haven't seen a truly good one. I'm going to Wudi City to retrieve some things, and I can give you one then. But you can only keep one sword. You decide which to choose. Let me be clear: I won't roam the jianghu with a penniless disciple who only carries a wooden sword; it's too embarrassing. Besides, you can't learn any advanced sword techniques with a wooden sword. Wang Sheng, do you want this broken wooden sword and bumble around the jianghu by yourself, getting battered and bruised, never making a name for yourself? Or will you accept a famous sword, one that everyone might covet, and learn profound martial arts from me, making rapid progress in the martial way? Don't rush to answer me. Tell me what's truly in your heart tomorrow morning." After Xu Fengnian finished speaking, he retired to the carriage to rest, leaving behind a disciple who felt as if struck by lightning.

The next morning, at dawn, the fog was heavy. The majestic Wudi City in the distance was shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing, like a perilous place at sea.

Xu Fengnian walked to the seaside and saw Wang Sheng with her eyes closed, holding her wooden sword pointed towards the sea. She had likely held her arm raised with the sword for a long time, as a bead of fog clung to its tip. Before this, Wang Sheng had been single-mindedly determined to practice swordplay, but Xu Fengnian hadn't paid much attention, only teaching her this plain and unremarkable starting stance. Yet, she practiced it tirelessly, treating it as a peerless martial art. Others might find it amusing, but it wasn't funny.

Wang Sheng finally realized her master was beside her. Without putting away her wooden sword, she turned to look at her expressionless master. Suddenly, tears rolled down her cheeks, and she choked out, "Master." A child, when faced with an insurmountable obstacle, naturally thinks of pleading with an elder.

"Let go of the sword," Xu Fengnian said coldly.

Wang Sheng's face was desolate. "Master, I really want to practice swordplay. I want to achieve great things with this wooden sword. Because Grandpa said someone in the jianghu made a name for themselves using a wooden sword. I will definitely follow Master and practice martial arts diligently from now on..."

Xu Fengnian sneered, "Where in the world are there good things that give you the best of both? If you can't even discard a broken wooden sword, how can you pick up the good items everyone desires? Ten thousand taels of gold, jianghu renown, martial rankings, establishing a sect—which of these isn't infinitely more precious than your wooden sword? So what if it's your grandfather's relic? In the jianghu, countless newcomers, for the sake of a secret manual or a martial art, not only squander their fortunes but even disown their parents, dare to kill their masters, and offer up their wives. You are so rigid and inflexible, and you still want to practice swordplay?!" As he spoke, Wang Sheng clearly felt the sternness in her master's voice and demeanor. Although she hadn't been with him long, she knew her master had always been gentle and respectful, someone she felt close to. For some reason, she also knew that if she missed this master, she would never have to think about roaming the jianghu with a sword again.

Her arm trembled. She turned her head away from her master, and as if out of spite, she whimpered softly, "Master, I won't practice martial arts anymore!" Wang Sheng put away her wooden sword and tucked it into her waist. She then knelt down and kowtowed three times deeply to this master she had only known for a few days. As she put away her sword and knelt, Xu Fengnian extended a finger, catching the bead of fog that had fallen from the sword's tip and holding it on his fingertip.

Xu Fengnian gazed at the unyielding bead of fog and said softly, "I also practice swordplay, but I always feel I can't compare to many senior swordsmen, such as Li Chungang's Sword Dao, Deng Tai'a's sword techniques, or Wang Xiaoping's Talisman Sword." Xu Fengnian smiled, "But I feel I've let down not them, but someone named Old Huang, and another nicknamed Wen Busheng." Xu Fengnian continued, "I've always believed that people who are too clever and too calculating, no matter how talented, how skilled in swordplay, or how precious their sword, are not true swordsmen."

Wang Sheng stood up, bewildered, and couldn't understand what this man, who was likely no longer her master, was talking about.

Xu Fengnian flicked his finger lightly, then reached out and gently ruffled Wang Sheng's hair, a warm smile on his face. "These are all my seniors and old acquaintances. They gave up many things, especially that last wanderer who, like you, carried a wooden sword. He happened to have the same desires and the same things he didn't want as you." Xu Fengnian took a step back and said in a deep voice, "I, Xu Fengnian of Beiliang, today accept Wang Sheng of Guihua County as my disciple."

Wang Sheng was dumbfounded.

"What Wen Hua discarded back then, you shall receive," Xu Fengnian said calmly.

Wang Sheng was still completely baffled, but at least she knew her master was still her master, and that was enough. As for the famous names her master mentioned, some of which she'd never even heard of, she didn't dwell on them, simply assuming her master was exaggerating.

The master and disciple headed towards Wudi City.

"Master, are you not angry with me anymore?""Mm.""Master, I've heard of the Peach Blossom Sword God, and I know the Wudang Sword Fanatic; they're both supreme masters, like Sword Immortals. But who are the others?""You'll know naturally later.""Master, there's something I want to say, but I'm not sure if I should?""Then don't say it.""Uh, Master, I can't hold it in. Please don't be angry when I say this, but although you're definitely a master too, aren't you exaggerating a bit? Do you really know those two legendary figures? Could it be you've only seen them from afar?""Master, it's okay. I just think you're the most formidable master in the world.""Master, I heard there are many masters in Beiliang, General Yuan who uses a saber, General Xu who uses a spear, and the new King of Shu who has already left Beiliang. Have you seen them from afar? Oh, and also that young Prince of Beiliang, he's even more amazing. Ah, but he's a prince, so I guess Master hasn't even met him.""Master, I see you don't carry a saber or sword. Are you going to Wudi City to buy a handy weapon to roam the jianghu?"

The horses trod slowly, the carriage moved at a leisurely pace, and finally, they arrived outside Wudi City. The fog inside and outside the city thinned, but hundreds of renowned weapons embedded in the city wall still had beads of fog clinging to them, which then dripped down to the base of the wall, making the ground beneath it heavily waterlogged.

The carriage stopped outside the city. Xu Fengnian finally spoke to his disciple, who was sitting sideways with her legs propped outside the carriage. "Lift the curtain, and remember not to block the carriage entrance." Wang Sheng didn't know why, but she obediently complied, holding up the bottom of the curtain and crouching beside it. Xu Fengnian sat cross-legged, gazing at Wudi City with its wide-open gates. Wang Sheng's eyes suddenly widened. She only saw her master's sleeves fluttering without any wind. The fog over Wudi City instantly vanished. Inside the city, the wall that once symbolized who was the foremost person in the world began to tremble imperceptibly, then the tremors grew stronger.

First, a streak of purple shot out from the city gate and flew into Xu Fengnian's embrace. Next, the renowned sword Huang Lu, impaled high on the city wall, detached itself and flew into a zitan sword case. Eight more swords of varying lengths followed, entering one by one. Xu Fengnian sat holding the case. Wang Sheng, still holding the curtain, gaped in astonishment. What was happening?

On the city wall, hundreds of ownerless renowned weapons vibrated in unison, seemingly struggling and resisting. Xu Fengnian raised his arm and softly said, "Come." Innumerable swords, like the Dusky Sword, the Thrush Sword, the Yujun Jue, the Half-Shoulder Small Tip of the Nanhai Guanyin Sect, Wu Family Sword Mound's Heart's Ease and Earnestness, and the Zibuyu of Sword Immortal Chen Qingming from two hundred years ago, one after another flew out of the city. Sabers like the Dantian Saber, the Jiashu Saber, Gu Jiantang's master's Pecking Blade, the Great Frost Long Saber from four hundred years ago (whoever wielded it was invincible), and many others followed in an endless stream. One saber followed another out of the city. The world's top eighteen types of weapons all left the wall and exited the city, leaving the wall completely bare. They circled around Xu Fengnian, tracing an exquisite arc, and slid into the carriage. No matter how powerful their flight, they suddenly halted after passing the curtain, gently descending. The carriage was filled with weapons. After there was no more space, the subsequent ones impaled themselves into the ground around the carriage. After half an incense stick of time, all four hundred and eighteen weapons from Wudi City's wall, upon leaving the city, became claimed. Wang Sheng stood frozen, her mind completely unable to process what was happening.

Her master was truly a master who knew many other masters, wasn't he?

At this moment, Xu Fengnian was like a jianghu in himself. The new Martial Emperor of the jianghu, the new invincible one.

At this moment, Wudi City, which had only recently received the horrifying news of its city lord's death in Beiliang, finally believed that the young Prince had indeed defeated Wang Xianzhi. After this, the entire world reluctantly had to acknowledge that the son of the Butcher was the new foremost figure in the world.