Chen Xiao took a couple of steps closer and saw a stone pillar beside the pond with three large characters written on it in a flamboyant style: Sword Tomb Lake.
The dozens of stone tablets stood around the lake, like tombs, with a stone slab several feet long beneath each tablet.
Chen Xiao glanced at it and saw that the stone tablet was covered with densely packed characters, all of which were in standard Chinese!
In ancient Japan, writing Chinese characters was highly valued. Although Japan gradually developed into a powerful Asian nation in modern times, and its national strength once surpassed that of China, these stone tablets look very old and must have been preserved from ancient times. The Chinese characters carved on them can be considered a custom.
What really interested Chen Xiao was the content of the text!
The stone tablet bears the name of a certain person, followed by the number of generations of the family, or the name of a sword master in the Shin-Shino Itto-ryu style. Below, it records in detail the most glorious achievements of this sword master throughout his life, such as defeating a certain master on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, as well as his number of consecutive victories, and so on.
Chen Xiao initially thought it was probably just a tomb, and that the master mentioned in the inscription was buried under the stone tablet. But after looking at it for a while, he realized it didn't seem like it.
After all, burying someone here seemed too casual, and the location wasn't quite right. Then I remembered the three characters "Sword Tomb Lake" on the stone pillar by the lake, and it dawned on me!
It turns out that what's buried beneath this stone tablet isn't a dead person, but rather weapons used by those masters!
Chen Xiao strolled around casually, but it was a deliberate act for the Japanese. There were three or four Japanese samurai following him, but they seemed to lag far behind, not daring to approach, while allowing Chen Xiao to wander around and their expressions became more and more respectful.
Chen Xiao shook his head, feeling equally bored. He walked a few steps and looked around for a while. Then he looked up at the buildings on the hillside and pointed upwards: "What's that place?"
Although he asked the question, none of the young Japanese samurai around him spoke Chinese. Upon hearing Chen Xiao speak, they all bowed and retreated.
Chen Xiao asked a couple of questions, but seeing no one answer, he grew impatient: "I'm here to find someone, not for sightseeing! Is there no one willing to talk?"
Just as he was about to lose his temper, he suddenly heard a pleasant young voice from the side: "Your Excellency need not be angry, these people do not speak Chinese." Chen Xiao turned around and saw a young man dressed in white walking out of the path in the cherry blossom grove.
Chen Xiao recognized the young man; he was the one standing behind the elderly man in the wheelchair who had been pushing the wheelchair.
The young man was thin and, although he appeared tall, was considerably shorter than Chen Xiao upon closer inspection. He had a fair complexion and very handsome features, but his eyes held a hint of youthful arrogance.
However, when he looked at Chen Xiao, all traces of arrogance disappeared, as if the strength Chen Xiao had just displayed had had a considerable shocking effect.
The young man, dressed in white as snow, strolled out from the cherry blossom grove. Even though Chen Xiao had just forcefully broken through the mountain gate and injured many people, the young man's expression remained completely calm and composed, with a faint smile even playing on his lips as he looked at Chen Xiao.
His features were very delicate. If it weren't for his slightly thick eyebrows and the fact that Chen Xiao had seen the Adam's apple on his neck, he would probably have thought that this young man was a woman in disguise.
However, as the other person approached, their steps were light and gentle. Chen Xiao felt that although this person looked quite pleasing to the eye, the way they walked was undeniably effeminate. Their steps were light, but not like a man's, as if they were afraid of stepping on an ant.
Even his arrogant gaze held a hint of femininity.
The young man walked up to Chen Xiao, dressed in a long robe with flowing sleeves. He stretched out his hand, opened a small folding fan with a snap, shook it twice, then folded it up again. He pointed to the distant hillside and smiled, "You ask about that place? That is the sacred ground of my Shangchen One-Sword Style, the location of the Heart Sword!"
After a pause, a hint of longing appeared in the young man's eyes: "Back then, General Tian walked through this cherry blossom grove, climbed the mountain steps, and then defeated the then head of my Kamishin Itto-ryu, Master Jingu Naoyu, with a single vine... Ah, recalling the glory of my predecessors makes one yearn for it."
Chen Xiao couldn't help but feel a little surprised. This guy was clearly a member of the Shangchen Itto-ryu school, but when he mentioned General Tian, his tone was full of respect, without any hostility whatsoever. That was strange.
"You seem to admire General Tian quite a bit? As a member of the Shangchen Itto-ryu school, don't you hate him?"
"Hate?" The young man paused for a moment, then laughed. "Why hate? Because he's Chinese and I'm Japanese? Absolutely not! In this world, the strong rule! Who cares if they're Japanese or Chinese? The strong naturally reign supreme! I won't hate him just because I'm Japanese and General Tian is Chinese. I only hate that I don't have his strength. Hmph… If I had that kind of strength, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to resist wielding my sword alone, traversing mountains and rivers, defeating all the masters in the world, and leaving all heroes helpless! Only such glory would make my life worthwhile!"
As he said this, a barely concealed ambition flashed in his eyes, which had previously been reserved.
But that excitement and fervor vanished in an instant, replaced by a soft, feminine gaze. She looked at Chen Xiao and smiled, saying, "I haven't had the chance to ask your name yet. May I ask..."
"Chen Xiao." A faint sense of hostility arose in Chen Xiao's heart towards this young man, a feeling he didn't know where it came from, and he seemed unwilling to say anything more to him: "I'm not here to challenge them, I am indeed here to find someone..."
"I've already asked around."
The young man smiled slightly, then took out his folding fan and gently shook it: "Just now, my young disciples were unaware that such a big misunderstanding had occurred. The people below did not know that His Highness the Prince was staying here temporarily, and coupled with the fact that some of my disciples have deep prejudices against Chinese people, this misunderstanding has arisen."
"No need to say anything more." Chen Xiao frowned. "I'm just looking for someone. Once I find them, I'll leave immediately."
"When His Highness the Prince came, he did indeed have a strange girl with him, who seemed to be Chinese, but..." The young man gave a bitter smile, "You won't see her now. Because His Highness received an urgent message early this morning and took everyone back to Kyoto. The Chinese girl you're looking for also left with His Highness..."
Hearing this, Chen Xiao became even more impatient.
After all that fuss, the person isn't here. I just had a few matches, but they were all a waste of time.
He didn't want to waste any more time there, so he turned to leave, but just as he turned around, he heard the young man behind him call out to him, "Please wait a moment!"
"Is there anything else?" Chen Xiao turned around and snorted, "We had to fight when we came in, so we have to fight when we leave?"
The young man smiled and said, "No, it's just that, regarding what happened between you and Lord Heihachiro just now, there was another person in my school who watched the whole thing from the pavilion on this hillside using a telescope. Just now, when I took my grandfather back to rest, that person asked me for a favor, saying that he must ask you to come up the mountain to meet him."
"Who? That old man Takeuchi Fumiyama is here?" Chen Xiao was stunned. Among the members of the Kamishin Ittō-ryū school, besides the Takeuchi sisters, he only recognized Takeuchi Fumiyama.
“If Master Takeuchi were here, I'm afraid this misunderstanding wouldn't have happened.” The young man seemed completely unfazed by Chen Xiao's curt attitude: “He is a recluse from my school…”
"No need, I have no interest in seeing anyone." Chen Xiao turned to leave.
Then the young man behind him chuckled and said leisurely, "The man on the mountain said that what you used wasn't the real Nine Dragons Flash at all. This kind of opportunistic trickery to deceive people is really unbecoming of a master in the Central Plains! In the past, General Tian may have been imposing, but he won with integrity! Your opportunistic trickery is not the behavior of a master! Is this the only way that masters in China behave these days?"
After a pause, the young man smiled warmly: "These words were not spoken by me, but were relayed by someone on the mountain who wanted to see you."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao immediately stopped in his tracks.
By leaving like this, have I actually diminished the prestige of the Chinese people?
A mocking smile appeared on his face.
He turned around and stared at the young man: "Come on, I'll go up the mountain with you!"
Chapter 183 [Pavilions as Beautiful as a Painting]
Shi Gaofei sat there with his head down.
The enclosed room was not cramped. Although he was under separate surveillance, which was tantamount to imprisonment, Shi Gaofei's special status and significant influence within the service agency meant he still received considerable preferential treatment.