Chapter 50: Relying on Someone

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Attas Studios

The setting sun hid in the west, and the red glow drew the shadows of two people in the abandoned courtyard.

One of them was straight, while the other was curvy.

Ye Jingtang held the bamboo pole in his hand and stood in the courtyard. He first shook his spear.

Whoosh!

The crisp sound of a whip rang out.

Ye Jingtang had learned sabers, spears, and staves since he was young. He was very experienced in this kind of showy move. Moreover, as a man, his limbs were long and slender, so he looked very handsome.

Pei Xiangjun nodded slightly. “That’s right. However, these fancy moves can only deceive the heroines of Jianghu and are useless in actual combat.”

Ye Jingtang didn’t respond. He focused all his attention and imitated Pei Xiangjun’s actions. He spun the bamboo pole and walked forward slowly. Then he swiped his spear and seriously analyzed the hidden profundities in the move.

Seeing that Ye Jingtang could remember the movements after one display, Pei Xiangjun’s eyes were full of praise. She assumed the posture of an expert and circled around him to explain. “You can imitate it just by looking at it once. Your memory is really good. Regarding the so-called martial arts, the martial is the moves, and the arts is the internal energy… energy…”

When Ye Jingtang heard that there was no more sound, he shook his head secretly and continued to focus on studying the hidden qi circulation methods of the move. Although his speed was slow, every step of progress was instantaneous.

After he practiced back and forth three times, a breeze appeared in the empty space, bringing with it fallen leaves.

Whoosh- Whoosh-

After he went back and forth five times, a strong wind blew in the bamboo forest.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Fallen leaves were flying like a tornado.

(O_O)

Oh my god…

What is this…

Pei Xiangjun stood rooted to the ground. Her red lips were slightly parted, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open.

Ye Jingtang was used to this. He held the green bamboo pole and spun it around his body. His speed became faster and faster. When he felt that it was about time, he suddenly turned around and smashed the spear down with both hands.

Bam!

The ground suddenly shook, and the withered leaves dancing in the wind immediately scattered like a torrential rain, shooting toward the surroundings of the abandoned courtyard.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The two bamboo trees closest to him split open with a crisp sound!

Pei Xiangjun was standing 30 feet away. The impact of the spear caused her feet to go numb. One could imagine how strong the internal energy in this spear strike was.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…

Dead leaves fell from the sky like heavy snow.

Ye Jingtang retracted the green bamboo pole and looked it up. He saw that the ‘spear’ in his hand had been shattered by him and turned into a bamboo brush. He felt slightly ashamed. “I seem to have used too much strength. I’ll do it again.”

Weapons emphasized technique and not brute force. Otherwise, no matter how good the spear was, it wouldn’t be able to withstand the full strength of the Eight Chiefs. It was indeed wrong to shatter the bamboo pole.

But Pei Xiangjun had no intention of blaming or correcting him.

The shock and astonishment in Pei Xiangjun’s eyes were even greater than Luo

Ning’s and Qiu Tianhe’s. She blurted out, “How do you…”

Halfway through her sentence, Pei Xiangjun recalled Ye Jingtang’s prediction and forcefully held it in. She tried her best to maintain the bearing of an expert and asked, “You’ve reached basic mastery in one go? Or did Second Brother teach you in the past?”

Ye Jingtang took the bamboo pole from Pei Xiangjun and continued to practice in the courtyard. “I have a solid foundation, and reaching basic mastery for me is indeed faster than ordinary people. However, it’s only basic mastery. I’ve only figured out two and a half moves of the saber technique taught by Foster Father. I still feel a little stupid.”

Pei Xiangjun blinked her almond-shaped eyes. She didn’t know how to evaluate him. After all, she had seen many people with ‘talent’ that reached as high as the ceiling, but this was the first time she had seen someone so high that it reached the Heavenly Palace.

No wonder there’s such a beautiful heroine throwing herself at him…

If it were me…

Bah!

As the leader of the Red Flower Pavilion, Pei Xiangjun had strong mental fortitude, which she had cultivated by pretending to be calm all year round. She forced herself to suppress the urge to be dumbfounded, but she didn’t know what to say.

Ye Jingtang carried the green bamboo pole. After practicing for a while, he realized that Third Lady was silent and didn’t comment. He stopped and asked in doubt, “Third Lady?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you think?”

Pei Xiangjun was afraid of losing the bearing of a teacher, so she nodded unhurriedly. “Well… your talent isn’t bad, but you only know how to move routinely and can’t control your strength accurately. You can’t use the spear in actual combat yet. Practice well. We’re going to the Juyi Building and the Water Cloud Sword Pool next month. It might come in handy.”

Although her words were calm, Pei Xiangjun was very excited in her heart. She wished she could pick Ye Jingtang up and spin him around a few times.

They were about to go to the Zhou family of the Water Cloud Sword Pool. Her original intention was to lower her attitude and negotiate. But Ye Jingtang’s talent was so exaggerated that he could directly ‘go out of seclusion’ and give the Zhou family a ruthless slap in the face first. Then she would let the Jianghu people present see what the foundation of the Red Flower Pavilion was!

Not to mention the renowned figures of Ze Province’s Jianghu, even the Moon Goddess, whose husband was the number one person among the Eight Chiefs, would be shocked…

Ye Jingtang naturally didn’t know what Pei Xiangjun was thinking. When he heard the praise, he smiled and asked, “How many moves does the Overlord Spear have?”

“The seven basic spear moves combine to form a myriad of changes. How much power you can unleash depends upon yourself.”

“Is ‘Yellow Dragon Crouching’ one of the seven moves?”

“Yes.”

When Ye Jingtang heard that there were only seven moves, he smiled and said, “I thought it was so profound. Third Lady, you can just teach it once. It won’t take a month to learn this spear technique. Third Lady, teach it seriously. I feel that two hours is more than enough.”

?!

Pei Xiangjun blinked her almond-shaped eyes. She really wanted to use the tone of a teacher to scold him, “Don’t be arrogant. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.” But she really couldn’t find any reason.

She only reminded, “1 can teach you, but you have to remember ‘the staff for a month, the saber for a year, and the spear for a lifetime’. No matter how stupid a person is, as long as the teacher seriously teaches the qi circulation methods, they can learn the moves. However, learning them is one thing, and knowing how to use them is another. Do you understand?”

Ye Jingtang naturally understood that actual combat was not like chopping wooden stakes. The strength of the moves depended on the timing of the attacks. Only when one’s proficiency, movement techniques, scheming, and so on were all coordinated flawlessly could one be considered to know a martial arts.

“Understood. I will study hard and strive to become proficient as soon as possible.”

Pei Xiangjun really didn’t expect Ye Jingtang’s talent to be so good. She couldn’t figure out her thoughts. Just as she was about to get into a stance, she reminded, “By the way, the Pei family has taken root in the capital. If the Imperial Court finds out about our identity, we will definitely have to hand over our assets and be controlled by the Imperial Court. We might even be taxed heavily and slaughtered like fat sheep. The Overlord Spear is too famous. So unless you hide your identity, you can’t use this spear technique to fight enemies rashly unless you have no choice.”

“Third Lady, don’t worry. I know what to do.”

“Also, you didn’t acknowledge me as your master. According to the rules of Jianghu, 1 have to hide the last two moves. When our relationship deepens in the future, 1 will teach you again. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hehe, I understand.”

In the blink of an eye, the moon was above the branches.

Pei Xiangjun put on her dress and walked out of the bamboo forest. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and boarded the carriage in satisfaction, leaving behind an exhausted man.

Ye Jingtang had practiced spearmanship for half a day and had consumed a lot of stamina. He watched the carriage leave at the entrance of the alley and rested for a moment before carrying the bird back to the courtyard.

Squeak!

After opening the door, he saw a clean and tidy courtyard. Under the silver moonlight, it was quiet and warm, but there was no one around. It revealed loneliness.

The moment Ye Jingtang opened the door, his eyes were a little dazed. He recalled the scene of him returning home alone in the courtyard that he had grown up in since he was a child after burying his foster father last month. Everything was there, but there was no one who could give the word ‘home’ to the courtyard. It gave him the feeling that, in an instant, he was the only one left in this world.

Ye Jingtang stood outside the empty courtyard. It didn’t feel as empty as last month.

After all, his foster father’s soul had already returned to the earth, but the people in this courtyard could still return here.

Carrying his saber, Ye Jingtang walked into the main room, took out the unfinished strong wine, and sat under the roof with a small stool.

The bird squatted on the steps and looked at the empty kitchen, depressed.

“Chirp chirp chirp-”

“She’ll be back.”

“Chirp chirp!”

“If she doesn’t return to the capital and 1 meet her outside, I won’t be polite. It will be she who doesn’t keep her word first, so she can’t scold me for not being chivalrous… What did you say? Make it a done deal? Alright… This is your idea…”

“Chirp?” The bird raised its head in confusion and spread its wings to indicate that it was hungry: Hurry up and cook. What nonsense are you talking about?

Ye Jingtang looked up at the bright moon and took a big gulp of wine as if he didn’t see it…

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