Chapter 103: Spring Water Sword Technique

Chapter 103: Spring Water Sword Technique

Zhao Changhe hesitated for a moment. He had originally planned to leave Sword Lake City today, but after some thought, he decided to go to that brothel first and find Tang Wanzhuang.

Well, by now he was a regular at the brothel. Even the gatekeeper in the back courtyard recognized him and let him in without a single question.

Zhao Changhe asked, “Is the… Miss Tang still here?”

The gatekeeper replied, “I heard she’s planning to leave today. You’ve come just in time, young master.”

Zhao Changhe couldn’t shake the feeling that he was visiting a familiar girl at the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion. Really, this woman—did she not care at all about what others might whisper behind her back?

When he reached the bamboo tower, the burly men nearby exchanged glances, held back their words, and didn’t stop him. Zhao Changhe went straight up the stairs.

Tang Wanzhuang was still bent over her desk, writing something. A little maid beside her was bustling about, packing things up—it seemed she was indeed preparing to leave.

Zhao Changhe appeared at the doorway. The little maid, clutching a qin, turned and was startled: “You, you, you… why are you here?”

Her face flushed slightly as she muttered, “Frivolous and reckless.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

So you really were spying on me at the inn, weren’t you?

Tang Wanzhuang set down her brush. “Don’t mind Baoqin. We only know that Xia Chichi left your inn late at night. She’s been making wild guesses on her own.”

Zhao Changhe glanced at the maid. So, you’re holding a qin, and your name really is Baoqin (Embrace Qin).

He said aloud, “She’s been making wild guesses. What about you?”

Tang Wanzhuang said, “You two once shared a room for a long time… Isn’t it perfectly normal for her to come out of your room? What’s there to guess?”

“You don’t want to interfere anymore?”

“It’s meaningless.” Tang Wanzhuang didn’t intend to continue this topic. She asked, “I thought you would leave today, but I didn’t expect you to come here. What is your intention, young master?”

Zhao Changhe clasped his fists. “Chief, you rank among the top three on the Earth List, with extraordinary skill. Zhao would like to ask for your guidance in a few moves.”

Tang Wanzhuang was taken aback.

How to put it… She had actually considered giving Zhao Changhe some pointers before, but she had dismissed the idea. Matters of the court were different from the martial world’s mindset. Yue Hongling could freely teach him whatever she liked, but for her, it could easily be seen as overstepping, as if she wanted to be the emperor’s teacher—damned if she did, damned if she didn’t.

Earlier, she hadn’t sensed any intention from Zhao Changhe to seek her advice. It seemed he didn’t want to get too entangled; owing a master-disciple bond would be troublesome… But today…

Zhao Changhe saw her expression and knew she had misunderstood. He said helplessly, “Chief, that was just a polite phrase from the martial world. I meant I wanted to spar, to see how formidable the third on the Earth List really is and how far I fall short. If you think it’s pointless, you could call Brother Wu Weiyang. I reckon he’s close to the Human List in strength, even if he’s not on the Chaos Chronicle. Let me have a match with him.”

Tang Wanzhuang looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. Suddenly, she pressed her fingers together like a sword and pointed at Zhao Changhe’s throat.

Zhao Changhe felt he had never fought such a strange battle since he started martial arts. That delicate, jade-like finger seemed to move so slowly, its trajectory perfectly clear, yet when he instinctively tried to dodge, he realized he was far too slow—countless beats behind. The finger was already pressed against his throat.

From an outsider’s view, it looked like she had merely made a move, and Zhao Changhe hadn’t even reacted before being subdued.

Zhao Changhe exclaimed in surprise, “What is this? Domain? Aura?”

Tang Wanzhuang said slowly, “No. It’s nothing special when explained—just a warning: don’t trust your eyes and ears too much. Sound and images can both deceive you.”

She coughed lightly again and said in a low voice, “What you need is real combat, not practice sparring. Even sparring with Han Wubing would be dull. Yet you suddenly come to the Demon Suppression Division for practice—that doesn’t add up. There must be another reason. You might as well speak frankly. If I can help, I will.”

This woman is so sharp… Zhao Changhe decided to be straightforward. “It’s because I have no one to guide me. I feel like I’ve hit a bottleneck.”

Tang Wanzhuang pondered for a moment, then said, “I’ve inquired about your battle with Vice-Captain Huang of the Northern Mang when you first appeared on the Chaos Chronicle—don’t give me that wide-eyed look. Of course, the Blood God Sect has our Demon Suppression Division’s people. Many things you did in Northern Mang, including all sorts of reliable and unreliable rumors, are piled up in our files… For example, that ‘bandit chief’s wife’ was actually Yue Hongling.”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “Fine.”

“In your battle with Vice-Captain Huang, you used a clever technique. At that time, it might have been a desperate expedient due to your lack of strength. But as your power grew, you favored heavy blades and the domineering approach of overwhelming force. You never used that cleverness again—am I right?”

Zhao Changhe protested, “I still use a broadsword to shave my beard!”

Tang Wanzhuang shook her head. “That’s not the same as the clever, soft techniques in combat. You know it in your heart.”

Zhao Changhe stopped arguing and sighed. “So, balancing hardness and softness is still the way?”

“I know you like that feeling of crushing everything in your path. It’s a matter of personal temperament—it can’t be changed, and it doesn’t need to be. But you must understand that extreme hardness is easily broken, and fullness cannot last long.” Tang Wanzhuang said, “There are many ways to interpret the balance of hardness and softness. Even if you walk the path of ultimate hardness and fierceness, it doesn’t have to exclude softness.”

Zhao Changhe said, “That sounds too metaphysical…”

Tang Wanzhuang said, “Consider a river bursting its banks—it’s naturally devastating. But the river itself is water. No matter what blades, spears, swords, or halberds try to block it, they are meaningless. Hence, it is unstoppable.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred. He seemed to grasp something.

Tang Wanzhuang said, “This is just ordinary martial arts exchange. I haven’t taught you anything.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled. “I understand.”

Tang Wanzhuang tilted her head, thinking, then suddenly said, “If I suggested you read more, write more, even play the qin or paint, would you think I’m being absurd?”

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and replied, “Perhaps it’s the ultimate truth. But now may not be the time… Someday, I will seek your guidance again, Chief.”

Tang Wanzhuang nodded slightly and said no more.

Zhao Changhe’s comprehension and talent were among the best in the world. Otherwise, how could he have made a name for himself without a renowned master or top-tier divine techniques? A hint was enough; he would find his own enlightenment.

Zhao Changhe was about to take his leave, but he thought it would seem strange to come all this way, say a few words, and then turn around and leave. So he found another topic: “What’s the situation with the Maitreya Sect?”

He meant to find something to do.

The Maitreya Sect had tried to kill Chichi. Zhao Changhe had noted that in his little book. It was a perfect opportunity to stir up trouble, and it aligned with Tang Wanzhuang’s earlier directive for him to deal with demonic cults. A gift delivered to his doorstep.

Tang Wanzhuang said, “Most demonic cults preach heretical doctrines to deceive people. Among them, sects like the Four Symbols Sect and the Blood God Sect truly believe in gods; their goal leans more toward divine descent, returning to the ancient heavens, and so on. The Maitreya Sect, however, is just a facade—mostly for gathering wealth or engaging in lewd acts. At some point, both kinds will rebel and cause chaos. To us, there’s no difference, but perhaps there is in your heart?”

“Indeed there is.” Zhao Changhe said, “I spent a long time in Northern Mang but never heard of the Maitreya Sect. I didn’t hear of them in Hebei either… maybe I stayed too short a time? Where is their main area of activity?”

“Jiangnan.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. “Then I’ll head to Jiangnan next. During this Sword Lake incident, I had no dealings with them. They probably haven’t marked me on their list, right?”

“Probably not.”

“Alright. The misty rains of Jiangnan—I’ve long wanted to see them.”

Tang Wanzhuang said, “You have a Demon Suppression Division spy token on you. If you can’t handle something, remember to use it. Also… the Tang family is in Gusu.”

Zhao Changhe glanced at her and suddenly smiled. “I could guess roughly… It takes a water town like that to nurture a beauty like you.”

With that, he turned and fled: “Farewell.”

Tang Wanzhuang watched him leave without a word. Baoqin stammered, “Miss, that last line of his… was he flirting with you?”

“No.” Tang Wanzhuang smiled faintly. “He’s just letting himself live more freely.”

Back at the inn, Zhao Changhe took out the gold leaf.

He had sought Tang Wanzhuang’s guidance precisely to test this thing.

Sure enough, the gold leaf began to repeatedly replay Tang Wanzhuang’s finger strike from just now, proving that this thing could record and replay in real time, not needing a day’s delay. However, with this new recording, the earlier sparring session with Han Wubing appeared much less frequently, only occasionally showing up.

It seemed this thing couldn’t store much; you had to digest it quickly after a fight, or it would be overwritten by new content.

As for that finger strike itself…

Watching the replay in slow motion, his own movements were as slow as a crawling turtle, while that finger still seemed to move at normal speed. The contrast showed it was terrifyingly fast—no slower than Cui Wenjing’s supersonic sword strike back then. Yet at the time, it had seemed so slow to him, as if he could dodge it, but before he could even move, it was already over…

“Don’t trust your eyes and ears too much. Sound and images can both deceive you.”

Like the endless spring water, the shimmering ripples of light. The fish seemed to be right there in the shallow water, but when you tried to catch it, you found it wasn’t there at all.

The top three on the Earth List… Were they already beginning to understand the use of light?