Urbaner Blumentraum - Kapitel 15
"Damn it! Even a zombie should at least say something!" the boy cursed inwardly. But staring at this "living zombie" all the time wasn't going to work! Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he kicked the pig's rear end: "Flower, let's go!"
Thinking to myself: If this zombie doesn't chase us, then we can just leave; if it does chase us—at least we can see what kind of tricks it's up to.
After walking a few feet, he stole a glance at the snow-covered maple leaves. The people were still standing leisurely in the trees, pretending to be innocent. He took a deep breath and quickened his pace.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air behind me.
The boy turned around abruptly, only to see a bolt of lightning pierce the darkness, heading straight for the back of his head.
Even in the deep of night, the sword in Fengxuese's hand still shone with a light like snow.
The boy was so frightened that he didn't have time to think and sprinted forward.
The sword followed him like a shadow, gleaming like snow. Wherever its energy reached, the boy's disheveled hair was instantly severed.
The boy leaped and ducked, desperately trying to escape, but no matter how he ran, the sword was always just three inches behind his head. Clearly, killing him would be easy for the other man; it was just a game of cat and mouse—damn it! That bastard pretends to be a gentleman, but his methods are even more despicable than his own!
He was panting heavily, and when he was really pushed to the limit, he simply lay down on the ground, rolled around on the ground, and shouted, "I'm not running away anymore! Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"
This trick was learned from street thugs. When they used it, they would first smash a brick on their own head until it bled, and then they would provoke and howl. Originally, they would say something like, "If you don't dare to kill me, you're a coward." But the boy didn't dare to use it—these gangsters treated human life worse than dogs, and they were determined not to be cowards.
Feng Xuese stared coldly at him, the tip of her sword touching the ground, the blade pointing outwards.
As the boy rolled around on the ground, he was caught off guard and nearly put his neck on the sword's edge. He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and lay on the ground, no longer daring to act up.
What a coward!
Maple-colored lips curled slightly as she calmly asked, "Are you a disciple of the Qixia Baiyue Can Sect?"
"What is Bai Yuecan? I don't know!"
“I never expected that the successor of ‘The Regret of Flowing Light’ would be someone like you…” Feng Xuese looked regretful, but he was very polite and did not want to say anything bad even though he was talking to a scoundrel.
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter Five (1)
The boy understood the implication in his words and was quite dissatisfied, but he didn't dare to argue back loudly. He just muttered softly, "What's wrong with me? I'm happy, what's it to you!"
He complained incessantly, and Feng Xuese heard it all clearly. This time, however, she didn't draw her sword to scare him; she simply sighed softly.
"Lingering Regret" is a top-tier lightness skill in the martial arts world, which, according to legend, was created by a woman of extraordinary talent and beauty.
This woman, in her youth, roamed the martial arts world and fell deeply in love with a man from a prestigious family. Later, this man traveled overseas in search of the ultimate martial arts, while she returned to Qixia to live in seclusion, never marrying. For decades, she waited patiently, never leaving her home, and to pass the time, she devoted herself to martial arts, eventually mastering unparalleled skills. Later, the man finally returned home. Although he hadn't found the so-called ultimate martial arts, he gained a beautiful wife, concubines, and many children.
Seeing her own gray hair in the mirror, the woman, while lamenting the complexities of human nature, also felt deeply aggrieved of her own worth. In a fit of rage, she slaughtered the entire man's family, young and old. Her cruelty angered several top martial arts masters, who joined forces to hunt her down, but she always managed to escape unscathed. Atop Mount Huangshan, she encountered her pursuers. After a fierce battle, all the masters perished, and the woman vanished without a trace.
This woman is Bai Yuecan.
Her original name is no longer known. The name Bai Yuecan comes from her beautiful eyebrows, which resembled a crescent moon, but who turned cold-hearted and cruel after her love affair ended.
Back then, Bai Yuecan lamented the fleeting nature of time and the irretrievable regrets of life, so she created the phrase "The Regret of Fleeting Time," which allowed her to escape calmly from the siege of many masters countless times.
At Yanhe Tower, while Feng Xuese was arranging for the troops from Jietianshui Island to clean up the mess, she didn't relax her surveillance on the mischievous youth for a moment. He had barely slipped away when Feng Xuese discovered him. She wanted to teach him a lesson, but then she noticed that although the youth's steps were unsteady, his footwork was surprisingly skillful—
Actually, at Peach Blossom Ferry, this rogue, carrying a wooden bucket, easily leaped across the several-meter-wide river to board and alight from the boat, which was already a small display of his lightness skill. However, in the eyes of these martial arts experts, his skill was extremely rudimentary, not much better than that of an ordinary person. Moreover, at that time, everyone was only concerned with covering their noses and running away, and no one had the mind to look at him.
I just scared him with my sword, forcing him to run away with all his might, only to find that the half-baked lightness skill he used was actually Qixia Baiyuecan's "Flowing Light Regret", which was quite unexpected for Fengxuese.
It's a pity that such a graceful and unrestrained martial art was used by that rogue to the point of tumbling and crawling in a sorry state. If Bai Yuecan saw it, he would be furious!
Alas! It seems that the Qixia Sect is losing its talent. Otherwise, how could there be such a scoundrel and such a low level of martial arts among its disciples? Not only low level, but even worse than the ninth-rate martial arts practitioners! He knows a set of top-level lightness skills, but he doesn't even know the most basic method of regulating internal energy. He can only run a few steps and he is panting more heavily than an ox. It is extremely shameful!
With his skill level, he could easily take on one ordinary thug in a street fight, one against one, two against one, and even hold his own for a while. But against three, he'd have no choice but to run away. This "Lingering Regret" is at least a top-notch lightness skill, so at the very least, he could escape—provided, of course, that his opponent's "martial arts" are on par with his. If the opponent's skill is slightly superior, he'd be at their mercy.
I really don't understand what kind of extraordinary encounter this scoundrel had that allowed him to learn "The Regret of Fleeting Time"—well, perhaps he not only had an extraordinary encounter but also a miracle, otherwise, given his insidious ways, he would have been killed long ago.
The boy glanced blankly at Feng Xuese, not understanding what he was thinking. But seeing that the other was no longer holding a sword to his neck, he relaxed and slowly got up while keeping an eye on him.
Feng Xuese looked up at the sky; a sliver of dawn was breaking in the east. He sheathed his longsword and said, "Let's go!"
Where to?
Feng Xuese didn't answer, but gently pressed a pressure point on the back of his shoulder with the scabbard.
The boy felt a chill penetrate his acupoints, followed by a tingling, numb, and swollen feeling in half of his arm, causing him unbearable pain. He involuntarily shivered and cried out in pain, "Just leave! Why did you hit me again!"
He rubbed his shoulder with a sullen expression as he walked forward.
The spotted pig wiggled its four chubby little legs and followed the boy around.
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter 5 (2)
As dawn broke but the sun had not yet risen, the world remained a pale, cool gray-blue.
On the official road from Qingyang to Jingzhou, there were already people who got up early to travel.
On one side of the official road is a large bamboo forest. In the open space in front of the bamboo forest is a tea and snack shop with a simple shed. Under the shed are several benches and long tables. There are two large stoves at the entrance, with steaming baskets on the stoves.
The shop owner, Lao Lin, yawned, squatted down to add two handfuls of firewood to the stove, and when he stood up again, he couldn't help but rub his eyes.
On the other side of the official road, a group of people appeared like phantoms at some unknown time.
It was a group of burly men, about a hundred or so, dressed in red tight-fitting clothes, with knives hanging from their black belts, their right shoulders exposed. They were all spirited and fierce.
In the middle of the procession were four carriages, each pulled by four magnificent red horses. The carriages were completely covered with tarpaulins, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.
Old Lin, who had run a shop along the official road for many years, was a man of wide experience. He could tell at a glance that although the group was disciplined, their unruly demeanor suggested they were not soldiers or servants, but rather subordinates of some powerful gang in the martial arts world. However, these martial arts figures generally wouldn't bully small business owners like him, so when he saw the men in red stop in front of him, although surprised, he wasn't too afraid.
The burly men in red ignored Old Lin and drove their carriages off the main road, stopping in front of the bamboo grove. Some of them took axes from the carriages and began cutting bamboo, quickly clearing a space in the grove. Others unloaded various items from the carriages and distributed them. The men were clearly well-trained; despite the numerous tasks, they worked methodically, and before long, a magnificent tent was erected in the bamboo grove.