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墨書 Inktalez
Several days passed. In the morning, Spirit Sword Destiny went to the academy, and in the afternoon, he went to the Herb Room to memorize his notes.
He had hardly seen Yang Zhen's figure. Yang Zhen was always very busy, occasionally even blowing up a furnace—beneath his indifferent exterior lay a fiery passion for the exploration of Alchemy.
As Spirit Sword Destiny entered the Herb Room and opened the booklet, he saw a strange-looking Azure Bird, as if riding a boat cutting through waves, proudly standing in a large Purple Gold Bowl, flying in.
It flew right up to him and hovered in mid-air. The Azure Bird looked at him with its black bean-like eyes and said, "Two taels of Bing Pian, two taels of Purple Cloud Essence, one tael of Harmonizer that can neutralize the properties of both, and one tael of byproducts collected from Harmonizer."
Its voice was also quite peculiar.
Spirit Sword Destiny realized that this was Yang Zhen assessing his memorization results.
These questions were naturally not difficult for him. He quickly found the four types of herbs Yang Zhen needed from the shelves lining the walls, neatly weighed them on a scale, wrapped them into square tofu-like blocks with oil paper, and placed them into the Purple Gold Bowl.
The Azure Bird hopped onto the paper package and flew out with the bowl.
Before long, Spirit Sword Destiny heard Yang Zhen's voice coming from the Dan Furnace Room: "Very good."
When Xu Xiaofei came to the Herb Room to see him, Spirit Sword Destiny was busy weighing herbs.
After sending off Yang Zhen's messenger Azure Bird, he finally had time to pay attention to him: "How come you have time to see me? Are you slacking off?"
"Not at all," Xu Xiaofei replied. "Han Shixiong taught me the sword flight technique today, allowing me to fly around Xiaoyao Sect a few more times. I just happened to come by to see you. Han Shixiong even praised me for picking it up so quickly, saying it was as if I had learned sword flight in my previous life."
"You're just bragging."
"I'm not bragging! If you don't believe me, tonight I'll take you out for a ride on my sword. It's been a while since we've been down the mountain; what do you say?"
Xu Xiaofei looked at him eagerly.
"...Alright." Since there was nothing to do after nightfall, Spirit Sword Destiny agreed, "Let's hope neither of us breaks a leg."
"How could that happen?" Xu Xiaofei immediately became cheerful.
What else did he want? Suddenly, a loud noise echoed, the ground shook, and it was hard to stand still; bottles and jars clattered all over the place.
"What’s happening? Is the mountain collapsing?" Xu Xiaofei exclaimed, his face changing dramatically as he grabbed Spirit Sword Destiny's shoulder. "Quick, I'll take you out of here!"
In an instant, he summoned a radiant celestial sword.
Spirit Sword Destiny calmly shook his head, not moving his feet at all: "It's fine, no need to panic."
"But..." The force on his shoulder suddenly increased as Xu Xiaofei seemed unable to resist and was about to drag him away.
Spirit Sword Destiny silently removed his hand.
In the span of a few words, the sudden earthquake gradually subsided.
Xu Xiaofei turned to look around and found that even this room remained unchanged; he breathed a sigh of relief. "What just happened?"
"Just the commotion from Master Alchemy."
"Alchemy?" Xu Xiaofei suddenly recalled something. It seemed Han Yue had mentioned the deeds of the elder from their Alchemy Room. "Did the Stove explode again? No, no, that's too dangerous! Are you really going to stay here? Qi Shijie has already changed paths; it's not too late for you to learn swordsmanship with me!"
"I only want to learn Alchemy," Spirit Sword Destiny replied. "Don't worry about me; see? Nothing happened at all."
"Even though nothing happened this time, you can't be sure..." Xu Xiaofei stopped speaking, still looking worried. After thinking for a moment, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of pale yellow Talismans. "Take these; they are protective charms drawn by Han Shixiong. He gave them to me. When you need to use them, just hold one between your fingers and recite the word 'Yu'."
Spirit Sword Destiny did not respond.
"You have learned the sword, so in the future, you must engage in more battles to gain experience. Go down the mountain to slay demons and eliminate evil spirits. These talismans will be very useful for you; you should keep them for yourself."
"No need, I can take care of myself! Even if I can't defeat the demons in the future, won't I be able to escape on my sword?" Xu Xiaofei insisted, stuffing the Talisman into his hands.
"…Alright, then take this." Spirit Sword Destiny did not insist further, accepting the Talisman and reaching into his collar to pull out a delicate White Jade Pendant, which he unfastened.
"What is this?" Xu Xiaofei looked a bit stunned.
"It's a protective treasure, passed down from my ancestors who practiced immortality." Spirit Sword Destiny explained, "It originally contained a trace of spiritual power, but that has gradually dissipated and needs to be re-infused. The more power you infuse into it, the stronger its defensive capabilities will become; it can be said to grow stronger against stronger foes. My spiritual power is far less than yours, so it will be more useful in your hands. By the way, this item is also said to have the ability to gather souls and solidify spirits; I don't know what that means exactly, but it's definitely a good thing. You should make good use of it." He smiled gently.
Every morning, when the two practiced the technique of Xiaoyao You, he could indeed feel that Xu Xiaofei's spiritual power was growing by leaps and bounds. Out of ten thousand people, there might not even be one with such a rapid cultivation speed.
As Spirit Sword Destiny spoke, he stepped closer and reattached the white jade pendant around Xu Xiaofei's neck.
At this distance, they could feel each other's breath.
"I..." Xu Xiaofei seemed to want to decline but somehow turned red before he could finish his sentence.
He grasped the warm white jade that hung from his neck and glanced down, saying, "Don't worry, I... I will definitely use it well."
"Mm." Spirit Sword Destiny replied. Suddenly, he turned his head to look aside.
Yang Zhen's Azure Bird was sitting with its legs crossed in a bowl, suspended in mid-air, seemingly waiting for quite some time.
The Azure Bird cast a cold glance at Xu Xiaofei, clearly displeased that its master's disciple was considering switching allegiances. Without much ado, the Azure Bird addressed Spirit Sword Destiny: "One tael of Nine Turns Dan Sha, half a penny of sagebrush, and one penny each of three herbs that can treat fire spirit burns."
"Yes." Spirit Sword Destiny got busy.
"You should leave too, practice your sword flight a bit more. I don't want to come crashing down like a goose shot with an arrow tonight," he said without looking up at Xu Xiaofei.
"Don't worry, see you tonight!"
After returning from Baopu Peak and having dinner, Xu Xiaofei pulled Spirit Sword Destiny out of the courtyard and summoned his Flying Sword.
Xiaoyao Sect is vast and sparsely populated, with a decent amount of resources. Normally, each new disciple would be assigned a separate house. Xu Xiaofei really wanted to continue living in the courtyard where they were recovering with Spirit Sword Destiny, and Spirit Sword Destiny agreed.
The night breeze was gentle, and the moonlight was bright.
Xu Xiaofei jumped onto the sword's body and reached out his hand to Spirit Sword Destiny: "Come on, stand in front of me."
This scene felt a bit familiar yet somewhat off; Spirit Sword Destiny didn't think too much about it and stepped up. Xu Xiaofei wrapped his arms tightly around his waist, silently reciting the sword control technique. The sword trembled slightly and shot out like an arrow released from a bow.
Xu Xiaofei wasn't bragging; his flying skills were indeed quite proficient.
Had he really learned this before his memory loss? Spirit Sword Destiny couldn't help but wonder.
The Flying Sword accelerated rapidly, crossing the peaks of Xiaoyao Sect in just a few breaths and continuing to fly outward.
"How is it? Am I flying well?" Xu Xiaofei asked close to his ear amidst the whistling wind.
"Not bad."
"Hahaha! I can even do rolls while flying, flying in a figure-eight shape. I'm just afraid you might get dizzy... Oh, is that a village ahead? Let's go take a look."
The lights flickered, emerging from the darkness ahead.
"Good."
Xu Xiaofei manipulated the Flying Sword, gradually descending from the sky.
The scene before his eyes became clearer; it was indeed a village built against the mountains.
"Crack—"
About ten zhang above the ground, a panicked Night Owl collided head-on. Xu Xiaofei quickly dodged, twisting the sword's body sharply, suddenly overturning.
"…"
"How are you?" Xu Xiaofei seemed to have fallen hard, gritting his teeth and inhaling sharply, still asking Spirit Sword Destiny.
"I'm fine."
Xu Xiaofei finally reacted quickly; at a critical moment, he grasped the sword body, bringing Spirit Sword Destiny along as they hung beneath the sword, slowing their fall just in time to avoid a fatal crash.
At this moment, his palm was already bleeding profusely. Upon landing, he first touched the ground; Spirit Sword Destiny seemed to hear a "crack," suggesting that his foot might have twisted as well.
This development felt familiar, reminiscent of a side quest in a game…
Only in the original storyline, Xu Xiaofei had sneaked out alone; now that he had befriended Spirit Sword Destiny, he had brought them along.
"Reach out." Spirit Sword Destiny said.
He tore a piece from his robe and wrapped it around Xu Xiaofei's injury.
"We can't stay in the mountains; there are wild beasts at night, and who knows if there are any monsters lurking about. Let's head to that village first," said Spirit Sword Destiny.
The location where they crashed was on a hillside near the village, where the grass grew thick and many wildflowers bloomed here and there.
Xu Xiaofei leaned against the ground and slowly stood up. As soon as her right foot touched the ground, she gasped in pain.
"Did you hurt your foot too?"
"…Yes."
"Lean on me as we walk."
"Okay." Xu Xiaofei wrapped her arm around his shoulder and limped after Spirit Sword Destiny down the mountain.
"This Head of Household is really kind to take us in for the night," Xu Xiaofei said as she sat on the edge of the bed, letting out a satisfied sigh and smiling.
His condition was indeed not suitable for swordplay anymore. Once they entered the village, they found a family willing to let them stay for the night, planning to leave early the next morning. The family's son was away on business, and they happened to have a clean, empty room available.
"What am I doing? I don't want to fall like a goose shot with an arrow," Spirit Sword Destiny said irritably.
But it wasn't entirely Xu Xiaofei's fault; this was part of the plot—an arrangement by fate.
Spirit Sword Destiny also borrowed a copper basin and a towel from a kindly old woman, filled the basin with some cold well water, and now, under the faint light of a candle, he soaked the towel and wrung it out slowly.
"Everyone makes mistakes; even horses stumble... I won't let this happen again next time," Xu Xiaofei said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"That's right, a horse stumbles, and now your hoof is swollen too," Spirit Sword Destiny said. "You take off your shoes and socks, and I'll give you a cold compress."
Xu Xiaofei obediently removed his shoes and socks, revealing that his right ankle was indeed swollen quite high.
Spirit Sword Destiny placed a towel over it and wrapped it up.
At that moment, a melodious sound of a guqin drifted in through the half-open window with the wind.
It was ethereal, like a dream, almost imperceptible.
Lin Yan Face remained expressionless. After the towel on Xu Xiaofei's ankle became a bit warm, he took it off and soaked it again in cold water.
The guqin music continued softly for quite a while.
As the piece was nearing its end, Spirit Sword Destiny finally couldn't help but ask, "Did you hear the guqin music?"
Xu Xiaofei's hearing should be quite good; why was he acting like a deaf person with no reaction at all?
"Ah, the guqin music?" Xu Xiaofei suddenly came to his senses.
From his expression, it was clear that his thoughts had already drifted to the Java Kingdom.
"What were you daydreaming about?"
"I... I think your eyelashes are really long and beautiful."
Spirit Sword Destiny's hand froze mid-motion.
Xu Xiaofei accidentally spoke the truth and quickly changed the subject, listening carefully and said, "It seems like someone is playing the piano, and they're quite good at it."
Of course, it was very good; Qin Ji's piano skills were unmatched by most people below.
"Don't you want to see who is playing?" Spirit Sword Destiny asked.
"Oh, are you really interested? Well, if you want to go, I'll accompany you," Xu Xiaofei casually replied. He looked down at his ankle and changed his mind, "Uh, if you're in a hurry, you can go by yourself. It seems like she's about to finish."
"…Forget it, I'm not that interested either."
Spirit Sword Destiny wasn't really interested in going to see.
At this moment, Mu Wanchun, who was playing the piano by the stream near the village, was the main character Xu Xiaofei's "fairy sister," one of his potential romantic interests. If Xu Xiaofei didn't go, he would miss this opportunity for romance, but that had nothing to do with him.
By not meeting Mu Wanchun, Xu Xiaofei also missed out on a valuable piano technique.
…Again, that had nothing to do with him.
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