Entering the courtyard at night, the tranquility was tinged with a faint sense of desolation. Chen Xiao, though young at heart, didn't particularly like this atmosphere.
Stepping into the courtyard and looking around, I noticed that it wasn't very large, but it had clearly been thoroughly cleaned. Although there were two large trees planted in the courtyard, there wasn't a single fallen leaf on the ground, and even the dust had been swept away.
But at night, everything was quiet, and standing in this ancient courtyard, one couldn't help but feel a little lonely.
Chen Xiao looked around. The walls were mottled, clearly indicating that they hadn't been repaired in a long time. He couldn't help but wonder: since this was the Sword Pavilion where the previous generation of the main family had once lived, how could it have been left in such a state of disrepair?
The building inside consisted of only two rooms with low eaves, but a wind chime hung at one end of the corridor, tinkling in the evening breeze and adding a touch of charm to the courtyard.
Chen Xiao pushed open the door and peeked into the room. There was a clean tatami mat and a soft bedding, but the slightly yellowed walls made it seem like no one had lived there for a long time.
He thought for a moment, but instead of going into the room, he turned around and sat down on the steps by the eaves, gazing at the quiet courtyard in a daze.
Suddenly, Chen Xiao's eyes lit up. He saw a blue stone, more than half a person tall, in the left corner of the courtyard. In the darkness of night, it was easy to overlook if one did not look closely.
Under the faint moonlight, Chen Xiao could vaguely see dense scratches covering the bluestone. A thought struck him, and he got up and walked over.
Upon closer inspection, the once smooth surface of the bluestone was now crisscrossed with hundreds, even thousands, of scratches of varying depths, their jagged lines sending a chill down one's spine.
Chen Xiao frowned slightly, then stretched out his finger and gently traced a scratch. The scratch was fine, yet Chen Xiao felt that its depth varied as it extended, causing a sudden thought to stir within him…
"These are all sword marks."
Suddenly, a faint voice came from the courtyard gate behind them.
Chen Xiao turned around abruptly, his expression slightly stern! He saw that the courtyard gate had been opened at some point, and a woman with long, flowing hair stood in the doorway. Her hair, as long as clouds, was unadorned and simply cascaded down. Her long dress, which should have been a light pink, seemed to be tinged with a moon-white hue under the moonlight.
Her skin, as smooth as cream, was captivating under the moonlight. Her long sleeves were slightly gathered, and a faint smile was blooming on her face. Her eyes were even more beautiful than the moonlight as she looked at Chen Xiao as if it were nothing more than casualness.
She stood there in the moonlight, her hands tucked into her long sleeves, holding a long, narrow box. "Miss Tang Xin?" Chen Xiao asked, slightly surprised.
It's getting late. What is this descendant of the Kamishin Ittō-ryū school doing here at my place?
This woman exuded a calm and serene aura, as she walked step by step, without a trace of worldly concerns.
"The night is long." Tang Xin smiled faintly, as if she had no embarrassment at being disturbed in the middle of the night. It was precisely this calm and composed demeanor that swept away any awkwardness.
It seems that everything this woman does is perfectly natural.
She didn't seem like an unwelcome guest who would disturb him in the middle of the night. Instead, she walked up behind Chen Xiao with a calm and natural demeanor and looked at the blue stone in the corner with him.
"This is a testing stone."
Tang Xin's voice was more melodious than the wind chimes, but her tone carried a loneliness that was not appropriate for someone her age, and contained a faint sadness.
"Oh?" Chen Xiao remained calm.
“In the past, the head of the Kamishin Itto-ryu school, Master Jingu Naoyu, once trained his swordsmanship here and did not leave this sword hut for three years.”
Tang Xin softly recounted, "Back then, there was no Xinjianzhai on this hillside. There was only a sword hall at the foot of the mountain. Master Jingu Naoyu, in pursuit of the profound mysteries of swordsmanship, built this small courtyard on the mountain by himself. He secluded himself here and practiced diligently for three years before achieving mastery of swordsmanship! At that time, he was not yet fifty years old, yet he had already defeated all the opponents in Japan. Someone once asked him, 'Since you are already invincible in Japan, why do you still need to practice so diligently?' He only said one sentence: 'Defeating the enemy is easy, but defeating oneself is difficult.'"
Chen Xiao remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh: "That Mr. Jingu Naoyu is indeed a master."
Tang Xin shook her head, a hint of bitterness in her eyes: "So what if he's a grandmaster? In the end, he still suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of General Tian, his lifelong reputation completely ruined."
Chen Xiao didn't speak, but simply nodded.
"If we're talking about talent, Master Jingu Naoyu is a rare genius since the founding of our Kamishin Itto-ryu school." Tang Xin shook his head slightly: "Back then, he lived here alone for three years. Just imagine, if it weren't for someone with immense perseverance, who could endure the loneliness and hardship of three years in the cold academy?"
As she spoke, she finally took a step forward, freeing one hand to place on the bluestone. She gently stroked along a scratch, her fingers almost touching Chen Xiao's fingertips, but she withdrew them, letting out a soft sigh: "Master Shingu Naoyuki once tested his sword on this stone. There are a total of 2,462 marks on this bluestone, all left by him when he was practicing swordsmanship alone, using the chrysanthemum-leaf patterned sword!"
Chen Xiao was slightly moved by the girl's words!
Two thousand four hundred and sixty-two... The fact that she said such an exact number clearly shows that this girl is not simple either.
"Did you count them?" Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask.
“I’ve counted them.” Tang Xin suddenly smiled slightly at Chen Xiao, a hint of mischief that should be present in a girl her age. Unfortunately, this playfulness was fleeting, and her eyes quickly became serious again. “I haven’t stepped off this mountain since I was born. For nineteen years, I’ve been guarding this hillside alone. When I was little, I lived in this courtyard. I’ve counted the marks on this bluestone at least a hundred times. Two thousand four hundred and sixty-two scratches! I counted them for a whole year.”
"Huh?" Chen Xiao was taken aback for a moment: "Counted for a year?"
Even if there are many scratches on the stone, making it difficult to count them, it shouldn't take a whole year to count them, right?
Tang Xin seemed to have guessed Chen Xiao's doubts. She smiled faintly, her bright eyes and white teeth truly captivating under the moonlight. She then said softly, "Back then, I was locked in this courtyard. My grandfather required me to live here alone for a year, forbidding me from stepping out of the courtyard! During that year, the only thing I could do to pass the time was count the marks on the stones. Although there were many marks, I finished counting them in a few days... After counting them once, I couldn't bear to count them anymore, afraid that if I counted too many, I would have nothing to do for the rest of the year."
These words, spoken with a hint of world-weariness, stirred a sense of pity in Chen Xiao, especially coming from such a young girl.
"Why... are you going to be locked up for a year?" Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask.
Upon hearing Chen Xiao's question, Tang Xin turned her head and gazed into Chen Xiao's eyes. Although her gaze was gentle, it made Chen Xiao feel uneasy, and he subconsciously looked away. But then he heard Tang Xin say softly, "Why? Because my surname is Takeuchi, and I am a member of the Shangchen family."
There seemed to be something else in her tone. Chen Xiao had a vague idea, but he wasn't sure.
Sure enough, Tang Xin continued, "I've lived here for a year. When I came in, my grandfather gave me a bamboo sword, and then he came to see me every three months. The first time he came to see me, I had been sitting here for two days and two nights, counting the marks on this stone. It was springtime then, and I remember I counted for two whole days and two nights. When my grandfather came to see me, I was still holding the sword, lost in thought."
After a pause, Tang Xin's voice gradually turned cold: "After my grandfather left, I sat here counting these sword marks and gradually gained some understanding. When my grandfather came to see me for the second time, he and I tested our swordsmanship for only three rounds before he sighed, took my bamboo sword back, and left me with a real sword."
"By the ninth month, when I sat here again and counted the sword marks on this stone, I was gradually able to understand the sword spirit, power and essence of each sword strike that Master Jingu Naohiro made when he tested his sword in the past! When my grandfather came to see me for the third time, after testing our swordsmanship for three rounds, he said to me that he was relieved."
Chen Xiao didn't know what to feel. Looking at the girl beside him, although her hands were tucked into her sleeves, when he saw her lightly handling the chess pieces during the day, her palms were soft and her fingers were slender. How could she look like a master swordsman?
Even a delicate girl like Tang Ying would inevitably have a few calluses on her hands from practicing swordsmanship.
“Before my grandfather came to see me for the fourth time, I had already figured out all the changes and mysteries of each of the 2,462 inverted marks on this stone! When my grandfather came that time, we tested our swords for three rounds, and then he threw me a sword again.”
As she spoke, Tang Xin looked at Chen Xiao and pointed to the long box in her arms: "This is it."
Chen Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely guessed what it was. He blurted out, "Chrysanthemum leaf tattoo?"