Lying in bed, Mu Xueshi could not help pondering Qingyun’s words.
They’re holding a funeral for me… They think I’m dead… Mu Xueshi could not keep the corners of his lips from lifting. This was fine too. In the future, he could simply disguise himself, conceal his name, and roam the jianghu.
When he imagined himself becoming a peerless martial artist and traveling everywhere to uphold justice, Mu Xueshi could not help feeling his blood surge with excitement. That kind of life would be far better than spending every day in the courtyard joking around with the maids.
With this thought, Mu Xueshi silently reviewed the martial-arts forms Yue Lingchai had taught him once more before finally falling asleep at ease.
After Mu Xueshi fell asleep, Yue Lingchai quietly entered his room. The sternness she wore during the day faded from her exquisitely beautiful face, leaving her gentle and moving.
Yue Lingchai lightly stroked Mu Xueshi’s cheek. When she felt his temple tighten, she knew he had already become alert. A faint smile curved her lips. As expected, her son was progressing quickly.
Yue Lingchai struck two of Mu Xueshi’s acupoints, then helped him sit up. While Mu Xueshi remained deep in sleep, she transferred internal energy into him.
Yue Lingchai knew that merely teaching Mu Xueshi martial-arts forms would not be enough if she wanted his abilities to advance by leaps and bounds. His internal energy also had to increase rapidly. Yet internal energy was not something that could be cultivated overnight. Therefore, whenever night grew deep and all was quiet, Yue Lingchai would slip into Mu Xueshi’s room and secretly transfer her internal energy to him, allowing his training to show results quickly the following day.
Only when both of them were drenched in sweat did Yue Lingchai release a long breath and gently lay Mu Xueshi back down on the bed. She gazed at him for a long while before returning to her own room.
When Mu Xueshi awoke the next day, he distinctly felt a burning warmth within his internal organs. Even his breathing felt entirely different from before. In short, the strength of his heart and lungs had improved considerably.
He had not expected martial arts to be so useful. Not only could it protect him at critical moments, but it could also strengthen his body. Every morning when Mu Xueshi awoke, he could feel changes within himself. These changes delighted him greatly, and his enthusiasm for practicing martial arts grew stronger by the day.
“Put this on.” Yue Lingchai handed Mu Xueshi a face covering.
Mu Xueshi could not have been more familiar with such a thing. Ever since arriving here, he had worn one for most of the time.
Mu Xueshi obediently accepted the face covering and put it on, preparing to leave the tomb together with Yue Lingchai.
Qingyun had tied her hair high and wore a long red robe with a thick cord fastened around her waist. She possessed a somewhat rugged beauty without losing her feminine gentleness. She also accepted the face covering Yue Lingchai handed her and put it on.
The moment they left the Crystal Palace, Mu Xueshi still felt somewhat apprehensive. Although he had always believed himself to be fearless now, the thought of passing through those hundreds of dried corpses still made him shudder.
Sure enough, when Mu Xueshi saw the rows of kneeling corpses drawing closer in the distance, his fingers could not help trembling. He repeatedly warned himself inwardly, Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t let your imagination run wild…
Mu Xueshi’s heartbeat accelerated abnormally. Yue Lingchai, who was walking ahead of him, had exceptionally keen senses and immediately detected the unusual pounding of his heart.
“If you are frightened by even this handful of dead bodies, how will you roam the jianghu in the future?”
Mu Xueshi was startled. He had tried so hard to conceal it, yet his aunt had still noticed.
“Qingyun, are you afraid?” Yue Lingchai asked again.
Qingyun answered calmly, “What is there to fear? They are merely corpses that cannot move.” After speaking, Qingyun flicked her sword and sliced two of the kneeling corpses in half. Their heads rolled to her feet, where she split them into several pieces.
“Young Master Xue, you’re not afraid now, are you?!”
Mu Xueshi did not even dare look at the shattered heads. He silently admired Qingyun’s courage. He had not expected her disposition to change so greatly in only a few short months.
Thinking this, Mu Xueshi also felt that the dried corpses were no longer quite so terrifying.
After leaving the tomb and crawling through an opening, they emerged outside the imperial palace. Yue Lingchai quickly brought over three horses, and the three of them galloped away. Before long, they arrived at their training grounds.
It was a limestone cavern carved and shaped by thousands of years of water erosion. All kinds of stalactites and stone pillars formed a breathtaking sight. Yue Lingchai and Qingyun, however, had no interest in admiring it. Only Mu Xueshi silently marveled from the side.
Qingyun and Mu Xueshi sat cross-legged atop a massive boulder while Yue Lingchai stood below, watching them both.
“Ow!”
Mu Xueshi felt a sudden, heavy strike against his chest. Yet Qingyun beside him had kept her eyes closed the entire time and did not appear to have moved. Yue Lingchai was still standing two meters away. How could she possibly have struck him in the blink of an eye and then returned to her original position?
“Aunt…” Mu Xueshi could not help calling out.
Yue Lingchai swept him with a sharp gaze and snapped, “Hurry and focus your mind and calm your breathing. Qingyun has already begun cultivating.”
“Cultivating what?” Mu Xueshi asked, completely bewildered.
Another heavy palm strike landed. This time, Mu Xueshi sensed it clearly. Yue Lingchai had not moved at all, yet the strike had undoubtedly come from her. After realizing that Yue Lingchai possessed such a “superpower,” intense admiration rose within Mu Xueshi. When would he be able to reach her level and teach someone a lesson without even visibly moving?
“As long as you cultivate diligently, you will soon reach this level,” Yue Lingchai said slowly.
Mu Xueshi was startled and exclaimed, “Aunt, you’re incredible! How can you always see what I’m thinking? Can that also be cultivated?”
Yue Lingchai could not help smiling. “Your expression has already exposed everything on your mind. Anyone with eyes can tell what you are thinking.”
Mu Xueshi felt somewhat embarrassed, but after seeing Yue Lingchai smile, he still could not resist saying, “Aunt, you look so beautiful when you smile.”
“Practice!”
“Yes.”
Mu Xueshi obediently crossed his legs properly and closed his eyes.
“The mental technique you will cultivate this time is the ability to keenly perceive sudden changes in your surroundings, an enemy’s approach, and the direction and force of an opponent’s attack. Relying solely on brute force is far from enough. If the other party uses an underhanded scheme, then no matter how capable you are, you could still be killed with ease.”
“You must remove every distracting thought from your mind and carefully sense every movement around you. The fainter the sound, the more attention you must pay to it.”
With his eyes closed, Mu Xueshi quietly listened to the noises around him: the murmuring water, the wind, the cries of birds… Gradually, he could even hear the chirping of insects.
This place was extremely remote and therefore utterly peaceful. Everything Mu Xueshi heard was the purest sound of nature. He found it immensely soothing, as though his entire being were being cleansed.
Slowly, Mu Xueshi felt the birdcalls drawing closer and closer. It did not sound like a single bird, but many birds surrounding his ears. For some reason, Short Legs appeared in Mu Xueshi’s mind, along with an enormous flock of parrots—red, pink, green…
Those parrots chirped noisily beside Mu Xueshi’s ears, while Short Legs kept calling, “Young Master, Young Master…”
Once, the Third Prince had spent an enormous amount of silver gathering every parrot in the imperial capital into the courtyard, all for the sake of making him smile…
Suddenly, a heavy palm strike landed directly in the center of Mu Xueshi’s chest. He could not help spitting a mouthful of blood onto the stone, while tears slid down his cheeks.
“If your mind wanders while practicing, beware of suffering qi deviation.”
Seeing Yue Lingchai’s tightly furrowed brows and sharp gaze, Mu Xueshi drew several forceful breaths and expelled the stifled pressure in his chest before devoting himself wholeheartedly to his training.
That night, while lying in bed, Mu Xueshi recalled what had happened during the day. The unforgettable feeling left his heart unable to settle.
He still could not forget the Third Prince.
No matter how he changed, he could not escape the poison the Third Prince had planted within his heart. As time gradually wore away his hatred, every kindness the Third Prince had shown spread through him like a poison that gnawed at the bones.
Mu Xueshi knew he should not be thinking about such things now. He ought to practice martial arts properly and make plans for his future life.
Yet Mu Xueshi also knew perfectly well why, despite holding the silver coin, he had chosen not to return home and had instead remained here…
Mu Xueshi clenched his fists tightly for a while before finally opening his eyes and sitting up. Long afterward, he found a set of black clothes, put on a black face covering, and quietly headed toward the other end of the tomb.
He did not want to do anything. He only wanted to look—to see him once would be enough…
Yue Lingchai had sensed Mu Xueshi’s movements long ago, yet she did not step forward to stop him. She knew perfectly well what Mu Xueshi intended to do, but could not help indulging him this once. She understood Mu Xueshi. She knew he could not forget the Third Prince, but she was also certain that Mu Xueshi would obediently return here.
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment