Chapter 7: Swallow Return Secret Steps
“Swallow Chasing Wind Saber” Zhang Erquan is of the same age as Han Ba. Though his spirit is vigorous and his eyes are bright, his hair has turned quite gray. At this moment, he is drinking tea in the side courtyard of Ning Manor.
Good tea.
Suddenly, he hears the sound of someone walking in a rush, and then he sees his “closed-door disciple” whom he accepted for the sake of Ning Lao.
This disciple hasn’t visited in a long time.
“Master Zhang, I want to continue learning ‘Swallow Chasing Wind Saber,'” Ning Xuan said.
Previously, he had learned three moves of “Swallow Chasing Wind Saber,” but he did not continue to learn its core footwork—Swallow Return—and only learned the basic footwork.
Why?
Because when he saw Master Zhang demonstrate the core footwork and glanced at the training method, he gave up.
The training method was too difficult and exhausting, and even if he succeeded, it wouldn’t make him the kind of peerless expert in lightness he imagined.
After all, he was the young master of the Ning family; why would he toil so hard to learn this?
But now, he needed to improve himself.
He was too weak, with both his vitality and life only at 1 point.
Zhang Erquan was surprised to hear this.
But being a man of few words, he didn’t ask anything and just said, “Follow me.”
He didn’t ask because he already had answers in his heart.
Young men are easily swayed; maybe today Ning Xuan wanted to train, but in a few days he might find it too苦 and stop.
In fact, he didn’t think Ning Xuan needed to endure such hardship to practice the core footwork of “Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.”
After all, even if he mastered it, would Ning Xuan really become a lone hero who roams the world, dancing on the edge of a blade?
As the young master wanted to practice martial arts, the servants of Ning Manor got busy.
By evening, the servants finally finished their work.
Eighty-one Plum Blossom Piles were set up by the small river behind Ning Manor.
The openings of the Plum Blossom Piles were not large, just enough for half a foot.
By the riverside, there were sandbags of various sizes.
Zhang Erquan tossed a specially made heavy wooden sword over.
Ning Xuan caught it with one hand.
Zhang Erquan said, “You have already practiced the Swallow Dwelling Step from before, so now you need to stand on the piles.
Remember, once you’re on the piles, do not let your shoes get wet.
Once you can stand steadily on the piles for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, you can begin with the sandbags, starting at ten pounds and gradually increasing to half your body weight.
Once you can stand still on the piles, you must then practice moving: take three steps forward, three steps back, holding the heavy sword to maintain your balance, and once you can swiftly move between the eighty-one piles at a running speed, you can coat the piles with Tung Oil and repeat your practice.
When you can bear the weight of the sandbag and walk gracefully on the Tung Oil-coated Plum Blossom Piles without wetting your shoes, then you will have completely mastered the core footwork of ‘Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.’
If you master this Swallow Return Secret Step along with those three moves, you can be said to have achieved Swallow Return Three Blades.
With these three moves mastered, in terms of technique, you would not be considered weak in a frontal battle in the martial world.
But the world is dangerous; who would fight you head-on?”
Zhang Erquan appeared to recollect something and sighed lightly before adding seriously: “Remember: your knees should be slightly bent like a swallow resting on a branch, your center of gravity should flow with the sword’s momentum. Your form should be as solid as a mountain while your spirit soars like the wind across water.
You must stand actively on the piles, not rigidly!
At first, you will feel pain, but I have a secret medicinal brew. Since you’ve started your training, I’ll have someone prepare it for you daily for your baths.”
“I understand, Master Zhang.”
Ning Xuan gripped the heavy wooden sword and carefully stepped onto the nearest pile to the riverbank.
That night.
The bright moon hung in the sky.
In the backyard of the Ning family.
“Young master~”
“Young master~”
“My young master’s left leg is mine, no one is allowed to take it!”
“Young master, hurry and eat my grapes, quick~”
“I’ll massage your shoulders, young master.”
Ning Xuan sat in the bath, feeling sore all over, wrapped only in a towel around his waist to cover essential areas, while three young maidservants crowded beside him, attending to him.
The maidservants wore smooth silk garments and inadvertently exposed their fair skin.
Who among them didn’t want to climb into the young master’s bed?
That clever little fox, Xiaojie, was certainly crafty, but couldn’t the young master enjoy something fresh?
The fingers of the maidservants were rather mischievous.
But Ning Xuan didn’t wish to complicate matters.
He could easily have whoever he wanted; even all three at once wouldn’t be an issue. However, knowing his mother, after he was done, she would surely give these maidservants some “minor status” or promote them to serve him personally, easing Xiaojie’s burden. Alternatively, they might be assigned to lighter duties within the family business and stay out of sight.
What the maidservants were doing was not merely attending to him; they were testing for promotion.
Ning Xuan didn’t engage with any of them.
Today, practicing this Swallow Return Secret Step left him bruised and sore all over.
Despite having battled the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon in his nightmares and climbed like a monkey in a hanging basket on sheer cliffs, all that was due to him having absorbed considerable strength from the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon.
That was not the strength of his own body.
The Heavenly Demon Scroll is powerful, but he also had to put in the effort.
Only then could he maintain his comfortable lifestyle.
After bathing and changing, Ning Xuan lay down on his bed.
He wanted to sleep early and rise early; tomorrow he still needed to stand on the piles.
Suddenly, the bedding rustled, and a little sprite emerged from within like a magic trick.
Her petite body was light as a feather.
With her elbows propped on Ning Xuan’s chest, her waist twisted slightly, teasingly provoking him to take action.
“Why did you let other maidservants bathe me today?” Ning Xuan casually asked.
Xiaojie giggled, “I will eventually have to go far away, so I need to let the young master get used to other maidservants earlier.”
Her smile gradually faded, her head tilting slightly to reveal a sad and vulnerable look in the candlelight, evoking a sense of pity and tenderness.
Ning Xuan replied, “Are you worried that I’ll get tired of being with you and thus intentionally allow maidservants who can’t compete with you to approach me?”
Xiaojie, caught in her thoughts, calmly nestled against Ning Xuan’s chest, her tone soft and gentle as she replied, “The young master understands everything; you’re truly amazing.”
She had a plan.
As long as the young master didn’t elevate her status to “concubine” from “primary maidservant,” she would frequently hint at leaving.
She truly wished to become the little concubine of the young master of the Ning family.
Ning Xuan had practiced standing on the piles for three consecutive days.
He was almost exhausted.
And today, he finally received peace of mind from Ning Family Villa.
“Why did it take so long for it to arrive?” Ning Xuan asked.
The guard delivering the message replied, “The boss took us for training, so we were delayed by two days. Anyway, the villa has always been peaceful, and the area around has been cleared, so there isn’t a single flesh-eating beast within twenty miles.”
Ning Xuan inquired, “Boss?”
The guard explained, “That would be Old Han. We all follow him in the martial world, so we just call him boss.”
Ning Xuan asked, “Which boss?”
The guard stammered, “Uh, just the boss of the martial sects in the mountains. We are all decent folks, and calling him boss is just because we have a good relationship. Uh, big young master, this peace of mind notice has been delivered, so I’ll leave now.”
Ning Xuan waved his hand.
The guard immediately took off.
Ning Xuan leaned back in his chair, with Xiaojie sitting on his left leg.
The petite girl seemed to possess some kind of magic, as though resting on Ning Xuan’s left leg, she was as light as a flying bird, not at all weighing him down like a heavy sandbag.
Just this point made her incomparable to the other maidservants.
When Ning Xuan looked at Xiaojie, she giggled and then teasingly said, “How amusing that we are all decent people.”
Ning Xuan chuckled as well.
You could never get out of a den of two types of people.
Xiaojie was a crafty fox spirit.
He was too.
But he was curious as to why nothing had happened at the villa.
He glanced at the vision board.
[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Observe the impending arrival of the Heavenly Demon, examine the root of its life; forcibly refining the scroll risks death and loss of the way, while successful refinement allows it to be utilized by oneself.]
“Observe the impending arrival of the Heavenly Demon” meant that the Heavenly Demon wasn’t here yet but would be arriving soon.
Originally, he thought it would arrive that very night, but five days had passed with nothing happening.
He needed to figure out what was going on.
Just then, Xiaojie suddenly leaned in close, whispering into his ear, then said, “The ladies from the Floating Fragrance Pavilion visited here last night for inspiration; they won’t be leaving for a few days. I’ll go look for them tonight to bathe the young master; how does that sound?”
The Floating Fragrance Pavilion was a brothel, yet one of high standing.
The courtesans there were required to possess various skills.
Gathering inspiration was mere cover.
Outsiders weren’t aware, but Ning Xuan understood well.
The term “collecting inspiration” actually indicated that the brothel’s proprietress had already prepared new tunes in advance. Now, she let the courtesans go out for inspiration and later made them perform the tunes, passing it off as if it were their own creations.
With such talents, naturally, their value would skyrocket.
With soaring prices, the proprietress would certainly make a fortune.
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
Xiaojie was curious about what the young master was thinking right now.
After a long while,
Ning Xuan finally spoke.
“Go tell Master Zhang that I won’t be training today. There needs to be balance in martial arts practice; I need to rest a bit. Since the Floating Fragrance Pavilion is gathering inspiration, I should also go to seek some inspiration.”
He wanted to try a different method to practice martial arts.
“Swallow Return” was quite challenging to master.
But if he first summoned the Heavenly Demon Scroll to enhance his physical condition and then practiced, would it be easier? Would it give him the feeling of “already becoming the best in the world, and now re-learning certain techniques”?
If so, then naturally, his training speed would increase significantly.
However, the Heavenly Demon Scroll was his greatest secret; he wouldn’t tell anyone.
Xiaojie responded with an “Oh,” then shifted to ready herself for the outing.
Just then, a voice came from behind her.
“Don’t go today; I’ll wander alone.”
“Yes,”
Xiaojie acknowledged.
The young master’s decisions were never questioned for their reasons by her.
(End of Chapter)
