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墨書 Inktalez
As the moon reached its zenith, Xunuo finally shook his head and stood up after a long period of silent contemplation. With no fruitful conclusions, he decided to set the matter aside. Such things relied on chance; overthinking would yield no results.
Xunuo had originally planned to go out to gather Centennial Polygonatum. Discovering such an extraordinary sword technique was an unexpected delight, and with his mind cleared, he resolved to descend the mountain.
This time, he naturally could not wear the Wuhua Sect's attire. He changed his clothes and secured the Azure Wind Sword in a sheath on his back. After some thought, he took out two Heavenly Shadow Spikes and hid them in his house, instead bringing along three bottles of Reattachment Ointment. In Xunuo's view, although Reattachment Ointment was precious, he could still refine more. If he could trade it for Centennial Polygonatum, it would be acceptable. He tucked a Centennial Ginseng into his bosom and set off with silver coins towards the cliff.
This cliff was located on the eastern side of Wuhua Sect; once he passed it, he would be out of Wuhua Sect's territory.
Xunuo dared not venture northward; the further north he went, the weaker Wuhua Sect's influence became while Nanyue Sect's power grew stronger, increasing the dangers. To the south lay the desolate Ten Thousand Great Mountains. There were some herbalists who had previously gathered herbs there, but since he was unfamiliar with herb gathering, going there would be futile. It was better to procure herbs in town.
Thus, Xunuo used both hands and feet to climb up. For an ordinary person, this cliff would be insurmountable; for Xunuo, it felt like flat ground. In no time at all, he scaled the cliff and dashed eastward under the cover of night.
Once off Wuhua Mountain, Xunuo unleashed his Divine Sense and sprinted eastward at full speed. It had been a long time since he had run so vigorously. The last time he exerted himself like this was on his way to join Wuhua Sect. During his escape from Qingyang City, he had been unable to run freely as he was responsible for several younger companions.
Now unrestrained, Xunuo wanted to see just how fast he could run at full strength. After a burst of speed, he felt his True Qi flowing downward involuntarily, making his feet feel lighter and more agile. With a light push from one foot, he shot forward like an arrow.
Eventually, it seemed that he no longer needed to exert force; his feet merely skimmed over the ground. Even lightly touching grass or trees sent him soaring past them without a sound. Without any reference point, Xunuo couldn't determine exactly how fast he was going but knew it was beyond what any horse could achieve.
As he ran, the wind rushed against him so fiercely that he could barely keep his eyes open and had to rely on his Divine Sense to navigate. The cold night wind cut against his face like a knife, chilling him to the bone. Yet this biting cold kept Xunuo alert and clear-headed.
He reveled in this exhilarating sensation of speed. The scenery on either side blurred past him like lightning. His feet felt as if they no longer touched the ground; his entire being seemed to glide over the surface. He found himself in a mysterious realm; were it not for the stinging wind against him, Xunuo might have believed this was all a dream.
This speed was incomparably faster than just a year ago. As he approached a thicket ahead, without even thinking about it—almost instinctively—he lifted his leg and soared up to the treetops. In an instant, like a gust of wind passing through the canopy without leaving a ripple behind, he vanished from sight—faster than any arrow could fly yet covering even greater distance.
Xunuo sprinted through several towns, careful to keep his distance from the Wuhua Sect, fearing detection from within, and wary of spies from the Nanyue Sect. He took a wide detour to avoid any potential encounters. As dawn broke, the silhouette of a large city appeared ahead, prompting Xunuo to slow down and walk along the main road.
He had meticulously planned this journey while on the mountain and marked relevant maps. According to his plan, he intended to travel east for about ten days. At a wellhead, he would turn northeast, reaching Qifang Ancient City in about two days before heading west to Youquan City and then returning south to Wuhua Sect.
This route would take him past ten major cities like Qingyang City and over a hundred smaller towns. The city before him, Wind Valley City, was the first of those ten major cities.
Xunuo was surprised to arrive here in just one night. Initially, he had only planned for these ten cities, but now it seemed that he could also stop by some towns along the way.
Upon entering the city, Xunuo inquired about pharmacies and learned that Wind Valley City had five of them. He visited each one but found only one pharmacy that had half a piece of sixty-year-old Polygonatum. Xunuo had anticipated this outcome and was not discouraged; he had already prepared himself for the possibility of returning empty-handed. He promptly left Wind Valley City and continued eastward.
During the day, he did not run wildly but walked briskly enough that it resembled running to others.
On this day, he passed through three towns without any news of Centennial Polygonatum. Instead, he encountered a rather amusing situation.
As Xunuo exited one town and walked about three to five miles, a burly man with squinting eyes suddenly jumped out from the roadside. The man was in his thirties and quite robust. With a fierce expression, he declared, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. Hand over your belongings if you want to keep your life. Otherwise... hmph..."
The Squinting Brute sneered and pulled out a crude knife from behind him. He added, "I don't care about burying you."
Xunuo was eager to continue his journey and did not take this thief seriously. He retorted, "You ignorant fool! Blocking the road in broad daylight? You must be tired of living. If you don't get lost now, I won't mind doing a good deed for the people."
Enraged by Xunuo's words, the squinting brute let out a furious roar and swung his knife at him. To Xunuo, the attack seemed slow and clumsy, almost laughable. Although he had never practiced swordsmanship formally, his time at Wuhua Sect had given him enough exposure to understand that knife techniques differed from sword techniques; knife techniques relied on power rather than agility. A knife could be slow but should never lack direction; otherwise, it would miss its target.
It was akin to when he first attempted to wield Sword Flower—though it might have looked like he executed it properly, he often missed his mark entirely. That would truly catch an opponent off guard but would sound ridiculous if recounted.
As the knife approached him, Xunuo focused his strength into his middle finger and flicked it against the blade's back. With a sharp snap, the crude knife broke into two pieces.
The Thief stared at the broken knife in his hand, momentarily stunned. He then uttered a statement that made Xunuo break into a sweat: "You need to pay for my knife."
Xunuo felt both angry and amused, kicking him to the side of the road before striding away.
After leaving the next town, Xunuo hired a carriage. This way, at least he could avoid those petty thieves who specialized in robbing lone travelers.
Another thing Xunuo did was inquire about the price of Reattachment Ointment at the apothecary. After all, Xunuo intended to use it in exchange for Centennial Polygonatum. However, when he mentioned Reattachment Ointment, no one seemed to know what it was. Even after explaining its effects, the apothecary staff looked at him as if he were an idiot.
After asking several shops with the same result, Xunuo realized there was no need to pursue this matter further. It seemed that this recipe was not widely known. Next, he focused on gathering information about Centennial Polygonatum.
Thanks to Xunuo's swift legs, he reached Wellhead in just eight days. His next stop was Qifang, with several towns in between. Planning to search along the way, Xunuo hired another carriage in Wellhead and set off toward the next town.
Upon arriving at the apothecary in this town and inquiring about Centennial Polygonatum, he found no leads. So he instructed the coachman to find an inn where they could eat before continuing their journey. As they passed by a martial arts school, two groups of people were engaged in a tense standoff. The Coachman sensed trouble and quickly urged the horses to gallop past.
Through the window, Xunuo caught sight of a familiar face but merely paused for a moment without calling for the carriage to stop; instead, he let it pass by. One of the individuals in the standoff was a disciple from the Iron Fist Sect named Wu Liangfang, with whom Xunuo had exchanged books. However, Xunuo understood that conflicts among martial artists often stemmed from disputes over interests or sometimes even trivial reasons. Occasionally, just a rumor or disrespectful words about their sect could lead to chaos.
For instance, the Wuhua Sword Sect, Nanyue Sword Sect, and Pool Water Sword Sect would engage in fierce battles simply because they all had "Sword" in their names. To Xunuo, such matters seemed utterly ridiculous. Yet being caught up in them was unavoidable; one could easily find themselves trapped in the middle of such turmoil.
Seeing the two factions of martial artists poised for conflict now made him think that it was better to avoid trouble altogether and move on quietly.
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