Chapter 2-2

‘So, like this here? And then next is…’

A year had passed. Bai Shixuan was now nine years old. Over the course of that year, Bai Shixuan had grown much more accustomed to the sword. Only now did he began to learn the manual Cao Zhenshi had left behind. There was even an illustration of someone sitting in the lotus position, suggesting that it contained an internal cultivation method as well, but since Bai Shixuan could not read, he had no choice but to imitate only the postures in the drawings of the sword being held.

‘Would this really make me stronger?’

It had been roughly two months since he began practicing the sword art. Yet no matter how much Bai Shixuan practiced it, it was nowhere near as fast as Cao Zhenshi’s sword. It seemed that being unable to wield the sword art with any internal energy only made the difference even greater.

‘What should I do?’

What course should he take? Should he give up on this sword art in the end? Honestly, he did not want that. Whether it worked or not, he wanted to at least try.

‘Hoo. Could I really become stronger?’

Lately, whenever he felt like giving up, that was always the thought that came to mind. He did not know whether Cao Zhenshi had mastered this swordsmanship perfectly, but in any case, Cao Zhenshi had learned this sword art and even possessed internal energy, yet he had still been unable to do anything against Jiang Zhilong. But Bai Shixuan could not even learn internal energy. On top of that, because he could not read, wasn’t he merely skimming the surface of this swordsmanship without truly understanding it?

‘Wouldn’t it be better to just build up my strength instead?’

There was no way he would truly grow strong if he only skimmed the surface. In that case, wouldn’t training only his stamina be more helpful instead? Because of that thought, Bai Shixuan kept agonizing over whether he should continue learning the sword art in his current state, or simply give up.

‘I guess it really would be better to just focus on physical training.’

He could not stop his heart from continually leaning toward physical training. He was not learning martial arts to become a martial artist, but simply to protect himself, so he was not especially attached to powerful martial arts. If he had been able to read, he would naturally have learned it, but since he could not read, he had no reason to become as strong as a martial artist, nor did he want to become a wandering swordsman like Cao Zhenshi, so he was gradually losing interest in Cao Zhenshi’s swordsmanship.

‘All right. Then I just won’t learn it.’

In any case, if his opponent was an ordinary person rather than a martial artist or wandering swordsman, he would be more than capable even without learning this kind of sword art. Besides, there was also the saying that martial artists and wandering swordsmen did not attack people who knew no martial arts. As long as Bai Shixuan did not pick a fight with them, he probably would not need martial arts to live in this world. He would return to the Flower Fragrance Pavilion and work there with the help of Choryeong and Xuelan. Then he would save money, go to some small village, buy a rice field, marry a village maiden there, and spend the rest of his life farming. Of course, he was still a man, so he also had the desire to learn powerful martial arts and make a proud name for himself in the world, but realistically that was impossible, and he thought that what he was planning now was probably the most realistic future.

‘In that case, a manual like this…’

Now that all his thoughts were settled, he felt that he no longer needed this sword art manual lying open on the ground, showing him its drawings. Bai Shixuan picked up the manual and was about to throw it into the valley, but then hesitated.

‘Still, just in case.’

Even if he had no internal energy, if he learned to read later, this sword art might be of great help. Once that thought came to him, Bai Shixuan, who had been about to throw the manual into the valley, instead took it back to his cave and tossed it into a corner.

‘I should fill my stomach first.’

At first, he had filled his belly with fruit alone. Then he had noticed the fish living in the valley, and now he had become capable of catching and eating fish as well. At first, the fish had been so quick and slippery that he could not catch them properly, but after more than a year of effort, he had become able to catch fish easily. And it was not only fish. If he moved around a little, he could see rabbits and deer. Deer were still too much for him, but rabbits could be caught well enough even by throwing stones, so from time to time he could eat rabbit meat as well. Of course, the meat was so tough that it did not taste good.

‘Still, should I be grateful that I never ran into a bear or a tiger?’

As he caught fish, Bai Shixuan felt relieved that he had not encountered any wild beasts until now. He had lived here for a year, yet even the wolves had not come this far, and he had not encountered a bear or a tiger either. He did not know whether bears or tigers even lived on such a small mountain, but in any case, as things stood now, if he met any wild beast, he would surely die, so it was truly a stroke of luck.

‘Then, shall I eat?’

His fish-catching skill was still imperfect, so he had managed to catch only two fish, but he was satisfied even with that much. Bai Shixuan carefully scraped the scales off the fish with Cao Zhenshi’s sword, then gathered some branches. After washing two branches he would use as skewers in the valley stream, he skillfully skewered the fish. Then he lit a fire with the flint he had been carrying for some time and began roasting the fish.

‘Hmm. I wonder if she’s doing well?’

While the fish cooked, the one who came to Bai Shixuan’s mind was the little girl he had met at the Flower Fragrance Pavilion. She was the girl who had held a qin, looked at him with a shy smile, and could not even properly meet his eyes. It had been only a short three days, but the two of them had still grown rather close, and they had even promised to meet again.

‘I wonder if she remembers that promise?’

Only a year had passed, so of course she probably remembered, didn’t she? In any case, she was quite a cute girl. To tell the truth, at first he had found her very bothersome, but after parting from her, he had thought of her often.

‘Anyway, when we meet again, I have to have changed enough that I won’t be ashamed!’

For a moment, Bai Shixuan smiled as he thought of those three days with Xuelan, but soon he noticed black smoke beginning to rise little by little and hurriedly picked up the fish.

‘Haa. It got pretty burnt.’

With the sun already starting to set, there was no way he could go catch fish again. In the end, Bai Shixuan let out a sigh and bit into the fish. Because it had burnt, a bitter taste spread through his mouth. Even so, Bai Shixuan carefully chewed the fish meat and filled his stomach.

Sichuan was currently in a mood of great excitement. This was because it was the seventh birthday of Tang Xianhua, the precious daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan. To celebrate her birthday—or, to be precise, because of the Tang Clan’s great fame—many renowned Murim masters had come to Sichuan. And many martial artists had also flocked to Sichuan to catch even a distant glimpse of their faces. In addition, because Tang Jing, the Tang Clan Head, had opened a feast, the common people too were in high spirits because of it.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Sichuan.”

“Indeed, Young Master.”

A boy who looked as though he had only just turned ten. Even at most, he did not seem older than thirteen. When that boy spoke as he strolled down the street, the man beside him, who looked to be his escort, answered. The boy, who looked at a glance like the scion of a distinguished family, was wearing luxurious clothes and walking while tapping his left hand with the fan in his right. He was none other than Namgung Qi, the second son of the Namgung Clan, the most famous of the Five Great Families Under Heaven. Among the people, rumors were circulating that Namgung Qi suited the position of eldest young master better than Namgung Xiu, the eldest son. Unlike the eldest young master of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Xiu liked books more than martial arts, while his younger brother, Namgung Qi, was a natural-born martial talent. And now, Namgung Qi had set foot in Sichuan at the Tang Clan’s invitation.