After returning to the Xu residence, Xu Qi An spent the entire morning practicing integrating the essence of several ultimate techniques into his “Heaven and Earth Single Blade Slash.”
After lunch, he lay on the roof ridge, basking in the sun and taking a light nap.
Last night, to subdue the demon woman, he had used the “Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon Spell,” forcefully suppressing that fox demon under the As-You-Wish Golden Hoop Staff for an entire night.
The demon woman had cried and begged for mercy, but in the end, Great Feng’s Silver Constable Xu emerged victorious.
However, after just this one battle, Silver Constable Xu was also greatly drained, so he needed a short nap to recuperate.
There are thousands of female demons in the world, and righteous warriors must exorcise evil and uphold justice.
Zhong Li sat beside him, hugging her knees. Sister Zhong had a soft figure with plump, fleshy buttocks, but her coarse linen robe constantly concealed her natural gifts.
Only occasionally, when she sat in a posture that accentuated her curves, would she reveal the allure of a mature woman, though it was just a fleeting glimpse.
“Your ‘Intent’ seems to have hit a bottleneck,” Zhong Li said softly.
“As expected of my senior sister. Though you pretend to be pitiful on the surface to gain my sympathy and affection, you’re a reliable senior with keen insight and precise observations,” Xu Qi An remarked with closed eyes, feigning sleep.
“That’s not true, it’s not like what you said,” Zhong Li replied glumly.
Xu Qi An was shocked. He sat up abruptly and interrogated her with burning eyes: “Tell me, who was your first man?”
Zhong Li stared at him blankly: “Huh?”
She explained with a wronged expression: “I wasn’t trying to gain your sympathy and… affection.”
Xu Qi’an relaxed and lay back down: “Oh, so that’s what you meant.”
As long as you’re still the insightful, precise senior sister, we can remain good friends.
Zhong Li tilted her head, pondering in confusion for a moment. Still unable to follow his train of thought, she returned to the main topic:
“Although I’m a sorcerer, I know some things about martial artists. They cultivate Intent, which is a process of understanding one’s true nature. It doesn’t mean that someone who has used a blade for years will necessarily comprehend Blade Intent, or someone who uses a sword will grasp Sword Intent. It’s not that simple.
“To comprehend Intent, you first need to understand why you use a blade, how much you love the blade, and whether you’re willing to be lifelong companions with the blade.”
Xu Qi An shook his head: “I’m not willing to do that. I hope to be lifelong companions with beautiful women. If possible, I hope there’s no limit on the quantity.”
Ignoring him, Zhong Li continued: “Your ‘Intent’ is a fusion of several ultimate techniques. This is the most difficult Intent to cultivate. It’s rooted in the ‘Heaven and Earth Single Blade Slash,’ but that’s not its essence. You need an overarching spirit.”
An overarching spirit? The spirit of the brothel, or the soul of freeloading?
Xu Qi An asked: “How do I do that?”
Zhong Li shook her head: “I don’t know. I’m not a martial artist.”
You’re not a martial artist, yet you talk so much… Xu Qi An got annoyed and raised his hand to pat her soft, bouncy buttocks.
Though he hadn’t used any force in this slap, Zhong Li reacted as if she had been violently pushed. Her bottom slipped, and she slid down from the roof ridge, rolling several times on the tiles before falling heavily to the ground.
“Senior Sister, Senior Sister… I didn’t mean to!!” Xu Qi An exclaimed in shock.
Zhong Li got up, whimpering, and couldn’t help but wrap her linen robe tighter. In this cold world, only the robe could provide a little warmth.
…
After lunch, while playing Go with Xu Ling Yin in the courtyard, Xu Qi An suddenly felt familiar heart palpitations. Without regard for his foolish younger sister beside him, he took out the Earth Book fragment without any psychological barrier.
He checked the message.
[Four: Some situations have arisen on my end. I probably won’t be able to continue investigating the cases of Heng Yuan and Emperor Yuan Jing with you all.]
Xu Qi An’s heart stirred, and he sent a message: [Are you leaving the capital?]
This was a simple deduction. Whether it was finding Heng Yuan or investigating Emperor Yuan Jing, neither was an urgent matter that required immediate attention. There was plenty of time to do other things first.
For Chu Yuan Zhen to say this, there was only one possibility: he would be leaving the capital soon and wouldn’t return for a short while.
[Four: Yes, Jiang Lü Zhong from the Night Watchmen’s Office came to see me this morning. He said Wei Yuan hopes I can accompany the army on the expedition.]
If the Earth Book fragment could display punctuation marks, Xu Qi An would now send a series of question marks!
Chu Yuan Zhen had no experience in leading troops in battle. Which of Wei Gong’s nerves had misfired?
[Two: Is Wei Yuan a god of war? Asking you to accompany the army on an expedition is worse than asking me to go. At least I’ve led troops in Yun Province and suppressed bandits.]
So I’m not the only one with such thoughts… Xu Qi An felt quite relieved.
[Four: Heh, I was the top scholar back then. Although I didn’t major in military strategy, I’ve read many military books and studied numerous large-scale battles, such as the Battle of Shanhai Pass. Whether I should accompany the army on the expedition depends only on whether I want to go, not on whether I’m capable. Even if I knew nothing about military strategy, I could at least match a fourth-grade expert.
[I’ve long since withdrawn from the imperial court and have been wandering the jianghu. Now I’m just a commoner with no interest in becoming an official again. Yet he invites me to accompany the army on an expedition. Don’t you think Wei Yuan is ridiculous?]
Well, Lord Wei’s idea is indeed hard to fathom… Xu Qi An sent a message asking: [So did you agree?]
[Four: I did.]
One: “…”
Two: “…”
Three: “…”
Five: “…”
Chu Yuan Zhen forcefully explained: [Of course, it’s not because I want to become an official again. I just feel that roaming the jianghu with a sword, eliminating evil only deals with minor evils. Being alone, how many evildoers can one eliminate?
[In the end, it’s all for the people of Great Feng. If I can contribute on the battlefield and defeat the Shaman Cult, that would be a great merit.]
I feel like you’re implying something about me… Li Miao Zhen thought to herself.
So you said all that just to save face? Xu Qi An silently criticized.
Seeing that no one had replied for a long time, Chu Yuan Zhen sent another message: [What do you think?]
Xu Qi’an thought for a moment and perfunctorily replied: [Sounds good.]
[Two: Sounds good.]
[One: Sounds good.]
[Five: Sounds good.]
You three are even more perfunctory than me… Xu Qi An rolled his eyes.
Chu Yuan Zhen silently sank and stopped sending messages.
At this moment, Daoist Jin Lian, who had been silent for a long time, finally resurfaced and sent a message:
[I need to seclude myself to digest the lotus seed recently, and I won’t be able to receive your messages for a while. To avoid hindering communication among you, this poor Daoist has decided to grant you partial access rights.
[From now on, you only need to extend your primordial spirit into the Earth Book fragment to choose whom you want to send private messages to. You no longer need to call me.]
After saying this, Daoist Jin Lian also sank and stopped talking.
Daoist, have you finally grown tired of being a tool… Xu Qi An’s thoughts stirred, and he immersed his spiritual energy into the Earth Book fragment.
Once again, he entered the hazy mirror world. Eight rays of light with different colors were arrayed before him. The eight rays were red, black, green, white, and yellow, and four turbid rays whose exact colors were indistinguishable.
Without needing to deliberately identify them, as the holder of the Earth Book fragment, he immediately recognized that the first ray on the right was number one.
Number one is very mysterious. I might as well probe them to clarify their identity… Xu Qi An concentrated his primordial spirit and extended it towards the light representing number one’s Earth Book fragment.
Slap!
Suddenly, number one’s fragment condensed a powerful spiritual force that scattered that wisp of his primordial spirit.
Ouch… Xu Qi An felt like a needle had pricked his brain. It wasn’t a big deal, just a bit painful.
This is the Book of Earth version of The other party doesn’t want to talk to you and slaps your Yuanshen.
“If you don’t want to respond, fine, but why hit me…”
Xu Qi An grumbled as he expanded his Yuanshen, his spiritual power extending like tendrils into the Book of Earth fragment. He re-entered the hazy mirror world, this time attempting to reach out to Number Eight.
Number Eight didn’t reject him.
[Three: I heard you’re in closed-door cultivation. May I ask if you’re male or female, and your esteemed name? I’m Xu Xinnian, a student of the Yunlu Academy and a Hanlin Academy Compiler of the Great Feng.]
Number Eight ignored him.
“It seems this Number Eight hasn’t broken through yet,” Xu Qi An thought, wisely giving up on the conversation. He then extended his tendrils towards Number Seven: [I heard you were being hunted. Are you alive or dead?]
Number Seven also ignored him.
Wishing them well, Xu Qi An then sent a message to Li Miaozheng: [Miaozheng, can you receive my message?]
[Two: Yes!]
Li Miaozheng had accepted the connection as soon as the tendril arrived.
[Three: Let’s test the functionality.]
[Two: How should we test it?]
[Three: Chu Yuanzhen is a hypocrite, ptui! I’m ashamed to associate with him. Lina, I have something delicious here.]
There was no response for a while.
[Three: It seems Daoist Jinlian wasn’t lying. Private chats will be convenient from now on.]
Li Miaozheng: “…”
[Two: Oh, I just remembered something.]
Xu Qi An waited silently for a few seconds before Li Miaozheng’s second message came through:
[I recall now, besides the Astronomical Bureau, the Earth Sect should be most knowledgeable about earth veins. Among the Heaven, Earth, and Human Sects, each has its strengths. The Human Sect excels in sword techniques and alchemy. The Earth Sect cultivates merit and is proficient in feng shui, formations, and such, with earth veins being a part of feng shui. Our Heaven Sect is more adept at weather manipulation and other spells.]
So that’s why her understanding of earth veins was so shallow, even non-existent? Xu Qi An nodded slowly.
It wasn’t surprising, after all, they had different electives.
[Two: Of course, compared to the Ritualists, the Earth Sect’s knowledge of formations and feng shui seems superficial. I suddenly remembered this after entering the Book of Earth fragment.
[The Earth Sect’s achievements in feng shui and formations stem from their understanding of earth veins, which in turn comes from the Book of Earth.
[In ancient times, the Book of Earth symbolized mountains and rivers. In the Heaven Sect’s archives, there’s a book called ‘The Chronicle of the Nine States’ Spirits’, which records that in ancient times, the Nine States were filled with mountain and river spirits. They condensed the power of the Nine States’ mountains, rivers, and earth veins, transforming them into Mountain Spirit Seals and Water Spirit Seals.
[In a certain year, the Dao Venerable eliminated the ‘Nine States’ Spirits’ and melted all the Mountain and Water Spirit Seals of the Nine States into a supreme treasure. This treasure was called the “Book of Earth”.]
The Book of Earth had such a grand origin. When I researched it at the Night Watchmen’s office, it only said the Book of Earth was the Dao Venerable’s magical treasure, with untraceable origins… Were the Nine States’ Spirits powerful figures who emerged after the fall of gods and demons, during the rise of human emperors?
Xu Qi An’s imagination ran wild.
[Three: But why does the Book of Earth feel like just a storage artifact to me, and a Great Feng version of a QQ chat group?]
[Two: Because the Book of Earth is broken, right? Also, what’s a QQ chat group?]
It’s QQ, not 00… Xu Qi An patiently explained the difference to her, then wondered confusedly why he and Li Miaozheng were chatting through fragments when they lived under the same roof.
[Three: I’ll come to your room to talk.]
[Two: No, don’t you find this interesting? As long as we have the Book of Earth fragments, we can communicate privately anytime, anywhere.]
Li Miaozheng had become enamored with the novelty of online private chats.
When everyone was messaging together, she didn’t have this feeling. It was like a group of people discussing a magical artifact. But once they could chat privately anytime, anywhere, this novelty became apparent.
This… This… The strong sense of déjà vu reminded Xu Qi An of the foolish things he’d done in the past: sneaking out of school to chat on QQ; refusing a junior’s date invitation because he had to celebrate his QQ pet’s birthday… Xu Qi An silently covered his face.
At this moment, Lina’s message also came through: [Five: Xu Qi An, Xu Qi An, shall we go to the restaurant to eat monkey brains today?]
[Three: Monkeys are so cute, why eat their brains? You’re only five zhang away from me on the left, you could just call out.]
[Five: Because this is fun, I can communicate with you privately.]
Just then, Chu Yuanzhen initiated a private chat: [Four: Ciju, can you let me take a look at that military book? As they say, last-minute preparation is better than none. Also, I find it quite interesting to be able to message privately anytime, anywhere. No need to worry about others seeing it.]
[Three: How do you know others can’t see it? Have you tested it?]
[Four: Because I’ve been privately messaging with Miaozheng and Lina all along.]
[Three: Lina, have you been privately messaging with Miaozheng and Chu Yuanzhen?]
[Five: Oh, how did you know?]
Enough already!!!
Xu Qi An’s mouth twitched.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached, and Xu Ciju, wearing an official blue robe, entered.
Xu Ciju looked around for a moment as if searching for something. Upon seeing Xu Qi An, he sighed in relief: “Big Brother, Big Brother, there’s an urgent matter…”
Xu Qi An immediately went to meet him. The last time Xu Er Lang had ridden back during the lunch break was for Wang Simu.
“Big Brother, Emperor Yuanjing wants me to join the military expedition,” Xu Ciju said with a serious expression.
“!!!”
Xu Qi An was thunderstruck.
He had personally experienced a large-scale war. During the Chu State investigation, Zhu Jiu led the demon clan troops, while Jili Zhigu led the Qingyan iron cavalry, both forces jointly attacking Chu State City.
That siege didn’t last long, but it was dangerous and intense. Under the assault of bed crossbows and cannons, neither humans nor barbarians were much tougher than grass.
Does this dog emperor want to send Xu Er Lang to war? Isn’t that sending him to his death?
“Feign illness?” Xu Qi An probed.
“His Majesty issued a red-inked edict. Even if I only have one breath left, I’ll be carried there! That’s why I came to consult with you, Big Brother.” Xu Ciju said gloomily.
So there’s no way to refuse? Xu Qi An frowned, irritably saying, “Consult about what? How to defy the imperial edict?”
Xu Ciju choked for a moment, then after a long silence, said, “I mean, discuss how to fight in the war. I… I want to go.”
“Smack!”
Xu Qi An slapped his little brother to the ground with one palm: “Fight? I’ll show you a fight.”
Xu Er Lang got up awkwardly, inwardly criticizing his big brother as a crude brute, but outwardly remaining obedient, not daring to talk back for fear of another slap.
Xu Qi An looked at him for a while, then sighed: “Go tell Aunt yourself.”
Xu Er Lang’s mouth twitched slightly, then he slowly nodded: “Alright.”
…
Shortly after, Aunt’s “waaah” cries could be heard from the inner hall. The beautiful mature woman ran out, looking left and right, then locked her gaze on Xu Qi An.
“Ning Yan—”
Aunt called out loudly, with an expression as if she was about to cry, frantically waving her hand: “Er Lang is going to the battlefield, you, you come quickly and think of a solution.”
Now that Xu Qi An was the only one in the family who could shoulder big responsibilities, Aunt immediately sought her nephew when faced with an unsolvable problem.