Chapter 50: Chapter 50
Shen Xiuhan pulled the door shut behind him, stepped forward two paces, and cupped his fists in a solemn bow:
“This junior, Shen Xiuhan, greets Steward Ji.”
Ji Zhong gave an easy smile and raised a hand toward the several rows of shelves on the right, coming straight to the point:
“That’s enough — no need to stand on these empty courtesies. Since you’ve come, let’s begin directly.”
“The four shelves to your right hold martial techniques and stance arts of the Manifest and Hidden Strength phases, accumulated by our Ji clan over many years. Look through them as you please and pick the one most to your liking.”
At that, Ji Zhong picked up the tea cup by his side and blew the foam from its surface:
“Your time limit is one hour.”
Shen Xiuhan’s heart gave a little clench. He cupped his fists at once, then strode toward the shelves on the right.
Volume by volume, slip by slip, he took down books and bamboo scrolls and began to read.
『Tiger-Subduing Stance』, 『Crane-Seizing Hand』, 『Iron Sand Palm』, 『Twelve Paths of Buddha-Heart Palm』, 『Zhao Clan Stone-Shattering Finger』, 『Coiled Silk Force』, 『Grass-Skimming Flight』…
After turning through two shelves in succession, Shen Xiuhan found that most of the methods were basic stance arts and crude martial techniques.
In sophistication, not one of them came close to Mei Hall’s Dark Eagle Stance.
Even when he occasionally turned up a Hidden Strength manual and read a few pages of its core outline, it was undistinguished, even riddled with holes.
Shen Xiuhan understood at once.
The manuals on these shelves had long since been sifted through by the Ji clan before being put out as a chip for winning over hearts.
The truly superior arts would surely be hidden away in some more secret place.
Still, he wasn’t too bothered.
With 『Deduction』 in hand, any method could bloom into brilliance in his grasp.
Pressing down the stray thoughts, Shen Xiuhan shifted his feet and moved on to the third shelf.
Most of what this shelf housed were techniques for bladed arms and weaponry:
『Rock-Shattering Spear』, 『Bandit-Clearing Cudgel』, 『Jade-Shattering Swordplay』, 『Wind-Breaking Saber』…
Scanning ten lines at a glance, in the end only 『Willow-Brushing Swordplay』 and 『Gate-Severing Saber』 seemed worth considering.
And these two weapon arts were precisely the ones his master, Mei Shuangfeng, had mentioned to him before.
As for the other three martial techniques she had named — 『River-Treading Torrent Step』, 『Wind-Splitting Kick』, and 『Jade-Shattering Returning-Wind Palm』 — Shen Xiuhan saw those as well.
‘Bite off more than you can chew and you can’t swallow it.’
‘I’ll set weapon arts aside for now. What I lack most at present is a close-combat leg-and-foot art.’
So Shen Xiuhan silently decided.
If he couldn’t find a martial technique that struck his fancy, he would pick the 『Wind-Splitting Kick』 to shore up the gap.
The reason…
was simply that Gao Nian’s set of sweeping, savage leg-work had left a deep impression on him.
Mid-thought, he came to the fourth shelf.
Compared with the first three, this shelf had a thin layer of dust over it, and the books and bamboo scrolls on it carried an air of antiquity.
Shen Xiuhan drew out a small booklet with corners yellowed at the edges and opened it idly.
The next instant, his gaze fixed; a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes:
“Hm?”
Hearing the stir, Ji Zhong — reclining on the soft-couch — glanced over, lifting his tea for a small sip:
“Brother Shen, that shelf holds fragments and solitary editions gathered from various places. A good many are renowned and profound methods, but they’re too heavily broken — lines that don’t follow, passages that don’t join. Forcing oneself to cultivate them invites qi deviation.”
“Many thanks for the steward’s reminder.”
Shen Xiuhan drew a deep breath; his heart pounded despite himself.
The booklet he had just picked up at random — its descriptions of qi-blood flow and meridian paths were vastly more profound and intricate than anything he’d seen on the earlier shelves.
Now, confirmed by Ji Zhong, the heap stored here were indeed fragments of profound arts!
Then the question became:
Could a fragment be 『Deduced』?
‘Whether it works or not, one try and I’ll know!’
Shen Xiuhan pressed his lips together, casually picked out a tattered ancient bamboo scroll, and stirred a thought:
【Detected cultivable martial art: 『Flying Star, Chasing Moon Swordplay — Fragment』. Deduce?】
‘Yes.’
【Insufficient Intelligence accumulated. Fifteen days required before Deduction may be opened.】
It worked!
Excitement surged in Shen Xiuhan’s heart.
A pity his 『Intelligence』 was insufficient — otherwise he could have 『Deduced』 seven or eight arts right here…
Still, he could pick one — it wouldn’t be entering a treasure mountain and coming out empty-handed.
With his decision set, Shen Xiuhan sped up his reading, preparing to choose out the fragment most to his liking.
But the more he read, the more his heart pounded with alarm.
『Big Dipper Stance — Fragment』: from the foundation stance art of the great sect ‘Beidou Zong’ that rose in Cangzhou a hundred years ago. If cultivated to Transforming Strength, it becomes a natural path into Beidou Zong’s sect-guarding method 『Tiangang Big Dipper Force』, which may break through the great barrier of Astral Strength!
『Cloud Dragon Shadow-Leaving Step — Fragment』: from the ultimate movement art of the great sect ‘Cloud Dragon Mountain’ in Yuzhou…
『Compassion Crossing Tribulation True Scripture — Fragment』: only a few scattered pages remain, from a method of ‘Cibei Dao,’ one of the two great Buddhist holy grounds of the former dynasty…
Shen Xiuhan was nearly dazzled into paralysis — unable, for a moment, to decide what to choose.
Just then, his hand fell upon a scroll of a strangely textured hide — he didn’t know what kind of beast-skin had been tanned to make it.
At the head of the scroll were written a few archaic, vigorous characters —
『Stream-Side Elder’s Divine Power — Fragment』.
Annotation: Drawn from the inheritance of Diaohailou’s divine powers. Only the upper half of the core outline of this scroll remains. Of this divine power, before Transforming Strength, one may cultivate the method 『Thousand Lakes Fishing』; past Astral Strength, the secret art 『Dragon Gate Pulling』; at the Divine Presence realm, the divine power 『Stream-Side Elder』 itself…
Diaohailou!!
Shen Xiuhan’s hand froze; his pupils instantly contracted.
He had — in the Ji clan’s Scripture Library — actually come upon word of Diaohailou!
Could it be…
this sect had some tie to the Ji clan?
Shen Xiuhan’s gaze flickered. Pressing down the shock in his heart, he stood up and asked:
“Steward… might this junior dare ask — what is the origin of this 『Stream-Side Elder’s Divine Power — Fragment』?”
“Oh, no special origin.”
Ji Zhong, hearing this, set down his tea and answered off-handedly:
“Once, water bandits waylaid our family’s merchant convoy. After the men beneath us had killed them all, this was taken off the body of one of the fallen water bandits…”
Shen Xiuhan’s heart sank.
He had finally picked up word of Diaohailou — and this was all it was?
Unwilling to give up, he pressed on:
“Then does the steward know… the ‘Diaohailou’ mentioned in this annotation — what manner of sect is it?”
“Diaohailou…”
Ji Zhong knitted his brow and thought for a moment, then decisively shook his head: “Never heard of it.”
Not giving Shen Xiuhan room to probe further, he offered a kindly reminder:
“Time is getting short, Brother Shen — best hurry now!”
Shen Xiuhan drew a deep breath, steadied himself, and said:
“I’ve made my choice. I’ll take this one — 『Stream-Side Elder’s Divine Power — Fragment』.”
“Are you certain?”
Ji Zhong was evidently a little surprised; his brow lifted slightly:
“Brother Shen, this old one offers you one word of warning. Clansmen of our Ji clan have tried cultivating these fragments too, but in the end none of them ever cultivated anything of substance out of them. A broken method has no path forward — consider it carefully.”
“I am certain.”
Shen Xiuhan deliberately put on a mild, detached manner and shook his head with a smile:
“The steward may not know — I have yet to even fully digest the methods of my own Mei Hall. Bite off more than you can chew, you can’t swallow it. For now, I have no intention of cultivating other methods.”
He paused, then added:
“And besides, the steward knows I come of fishing stock. This 『Stream-Side Elder — Fragment』 seems to record quite a few techniques for catching fish — it might well be of use to me…”
“Hahaha!”
At this, Ji Zhong broke into loud laughter, and the last thread of suspicion in his heart dispelled in an instant:
“So that’s the way of it! I had forgotten — you lad come from fishing stock…”
He stroked his beard, pondered a moment:
“Very well, then. When you report for duty at Yunyi Island at the start of next month, you’ll be assigned a black-canopied boat. By rules, it isn’t to be used outside patrol duty… but I’ll make the call and allow it — in your idle hours, you may take it out to catch fish. Whether you eat the catch yourself or sell it to help the household — that’s entirely up to you!”
At these words, Shen Xiuhan’s eyes brightened. He cupped his fists deeply: “Many thanks to the steward!”
“Hahaha — that’s enough. You’ve made your pick, go on now.”
Ji Zhong waved a hand and picked up his tea cup:
“When the day for departure next month comes, someone will give you a day’s notice in advance.”