Fairies Are Fierce

Chapter 6: So it was you

The night rain continued.

During the day, ferocious beasts ravaged the area, causing several houses along the riverbank to collapse. Even the undamaged houses were uninhabitable, resulting in complete darkness amidst the ruins.

Zuo Lingquan carried his sword silently through the alleyway and arrived at the side of the street where the ferocious beasts had wreaked havoc during the day. He glanced around the corner of a courtyard wall.

The bodies of the beasts and constables had been removed, leaving behind numerous friction marks on the ground and traces of sticky animal blood.

A tall figure dressed in black, holding a black oil-paper umbrella, stood beside the animal blood, carefully examining it under the faint light in the distance.

Zuo Lingquan observed from the shadows and could see that this person was wearing a black martial arts uniform with wrist guards. The fabric was luxurious and of excellent quality. A black scabbard hung from their waist, adorned with cloud patterns and embellished with gold and jade, making it quite exquisite and valuable.

A wealthy young man who came to explore in the middle of the night?

Zuo Lingquan relaxed his vigilance slightly, squinting his eyes to observe carefully, wanting to determine the true intentions of the other person.

The light was too dim to see their face clearly, but judging from their body shape, Zuo Lingquan could see that this person was slim with long and powerful legs, indicating good leg skills. Their waist was slender, without any excess fat due to the constraint of the belt, suggesting agility in their movements. Moving up to the chest...

What well-developed pectoral muscles!

Zuo Lingquan was taken aback, lowering his head to look at himself. He had been practicing martial arts since the age of three, but after more than ten years, he had never developed his muscles to this extent. What kind of martial arts could develop such chest muscles?

Crushing boulders with their chest?

While Zuo Lingquan was pondering, he didn't notice the movement of lowering his head, causing a slight friction sound from the fabric of his clothes.

The sound was small and could be easily ignored in the rainy night.

However, in a place that had just experienced a ferocious beast incident, the person in black on the street remained completely alert.

In that instant, amidst the rain curtain, a clang of a sword rang out, and a flash of sword light shot up from the rainy night, directly pointing towards the corner of the courtyard wall where Zuo Lingquan stood.

Zuo Lingquan knew something was wrong when the other person made a move, quickly revealing his figure and taking two steps back, saying, "Wait, don't be impulsive."

Hearing a voice, the cautious movements of the person in black came to a halt, with the sword pointing towards Zuo Lingquan. Taking a glance under the dim firelight, they asked, "Who are you?"

The voice deliberately sounded deep and heavy, but it still sounded somewhat feminine.

Hearing this voice, Zuo Lingquan understood that the other person was a woman. No wonder her pectoral muscles were so developed...

He hung his sword at his waist and raised his hand to indicate that he meant no harm, then approached and said, "I was just drinking nearby and saw someone here, so I came to check the situation. There was a ferocious beast incident here during the day... Why did you come alone so late at night, brother?"

The woman in black stood in the backlight, clearly seeing Zuo Lingquan's attire and appearance - handsome features, well-dressed, and polite in speech. He didn't seem like a bad person. Seeing this, she sheathed her sword and casually responded.

"I heard about what happened during the day, so I came over to take a look. I apologize for startling you, please go back."

This implies a lack of desire to communicate.

Zuo Lingquan just witnessed the woman's sword technique, which was similar to Cui Shanying's earlier in the day. It seemed like they were from the same school of martial arts and both practitioners.

Zuo Lingquan is skilled in martial arts, but in reality, it is just a set of techniques, vastly different from the practice of cultivation. Despite his privileged background, he has never been able to enter the world of cultivation. Now that he has encountered a fellow practitioner, it is only natural for him to strike up a conversation.

"It's late at night, there's no rush to go back. Your sword just now was truly beautiful. Could it be that you are a master from Qihuang Valley?"

The woman in black didn't want to reveal her identity. Seeing that Zuo Lingquan didn't leave and instead approached her, she couldn't forcefully drive him away, so she responded indifferently.

"Mm."

Zuo Lingquan chuckled lightly. It was raining heavily, so he didn't come closer and instead stood under the eaves, speaking warmly.

"That's a coincidence. I'm also planning to go to Qihuang Valley to seek a master and learn martial arts. Perhaps in the future, I'll have to call you senior. May I ask for your name?"

Upon hearing this, the woman in black seemed a bit puzzled. She looked Zuo Lingquan up and down before saying,

"My surname is Mian. How old are you this year?"

With no light or fire and an umbrella blocking the view, Zuo Lingquan couldn't see the woman's appearance, so he didn't bother looking and instead turned to look at the fishing lights on the river. He replied,

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen?"

The woman in black hesitated for a moment, as if considering her words carefully, before finally speaking,

"The path of cultivation is vast and profound. Although anyone can attempt it, very few can truly enter. Regardless of gender, if you want to embark on the path of cultivation, you must start diligently studying and practicing at the age of six. If you haven't opened your Qi Sea by the age of nine, you won't be able to enter for the rest of your life. You... you don't seem like someone from a poor family. Why did you come so late?"

Zuo Lingquan remained silent for a moment and sighed.

"Not everyone can attempt it. When I was three years old, my family invited a master from Qihuang Valley to examine me. They said my meridians were naturally blocked and I couldn't cultivate. Otherwise, I would have come earlier."

The woman in black was clearly surprised, even more so than when she heard that Zuo Lingquan came to seek a master at the age of seventeen.

Although achieving success in the path of cultivation is rare, the threshold is not high. Even a stray dog on the roadside, under fortuitous circumstances, can stumble upon the path and achieve results, let alone a human.

It's similar to shooting a bow and arrow. Regardless of whether you hit the target or not, as long as you are willing to study and practice diligently, even the most foolish person can eventually pick up the bow, unless they are born disabled.

As the woman in black pondered this, she asked,

"Are you naturally disabled?"

"..."

This statement was particularly harsh.

Zuo Lingquan blinked his eyes, not knowing how to respond.

The woman in black also realized that this description was not very polite, so she immediately said, "In the Qihuang Valley, disciples who do not work hard in their cultivation and do not awaken their potential are described like this. Please don't take offense, brother. Hmm... Although it is rare to have blocked meridians from birth, there is no need to blame yourself for it. By studying and achieving academic success, one can also bring glory to their ancestors and achieve success in their career."

Zuo Lingquan patted the sword at his waist and said, "The world is so big, how can I remain ignorant of the existence of experts? I can't be a frog at the bottom of a well for my whole life."

The woman in black didn't like this statement very much and said, "One should not aim too high and far. Cultivation is not meaningless. If you really go to the Qihuang Valley, you won't think like this. But since you have blocked meridians from birth, you can't go there. Let me give you some advice. Throughout history, there have been many who have given up martial arts for literature and achieved great things. You are still young, so go back and study honestly."

Zuo Lingquan shook his head in response, "You can choose not to cultivate, but how can you give up martial arts? I have been practicing martial arts since the age of three, practicing a thousand sword strikes every day for fourteen years. I have made over five million strikes. There are not many in the martial world who can defeat me."

Upon hearing these arrogant words, the woman in black frowned and said, "Young man, don't be too arrogant. There are many practitioners in the martial world who have achieved a certain level of cultivation. With your blocked meridians, no matter how hard you work, you can only develop brute strength. Human strength has its limits. How can you compete with practitioners who harness the power of heaven and earth?"

Zuo Lingquan turned his head and looked defiantly at her, saying, "Brother, you may be advising me out of goodwill, but I have never been afraid of anyone in my life. Practitioners only borrow the power of heaven and earth to increase their killing power. Most of them lack a solid foundation, at least not as solid as mine. If it comes down to life and death, I have no fear."

What an arrogant kid!

The woman in black had probably never encountered such an ignorant and stubborn young man before. She gripped the hilt of her sword and said, "Why don't you give it a try then?"

Zuo Lingquan shook his head and replied, "You draw your sword too slowly. I won't bully you."

"Huh..." The woman in black couldn't help but laugh in anger. "I'm older than you and have been practicing martial arts for no less time than you. Do you really think that after practicing in seclusion for ten years, you can look down on everyone?"

Zuo Lingquan was not arrogant, but confident. Just from the woman's sword-drawing motion earlier, he knew that there was no one worth fighting against. He spread his hands and said, "I just don't want to ruin your Sword Heart."

The woman in black didn't understand the meaning behind his words, but she could sense the contempt in them. Her eyes turned cold as she said, "Draw your sword, otherwise you won't be able to draw it at all. I won't say that you can defeat me, but as long as you can withstand my sword for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, I will give you whatever you want."

Whatever he wanted?

Zuo Lingquan's interest was piqued. He looked at the woman in black, who had a great figure, and smiled, "I want to enter the Qihuang Valley. Can you help me with that, brother?"

The woman in black's eyes showed her arrogance as she said, "As long as you can withstand my sword for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, I will speak to my master and make an exception to let you enter the Qihuang Valley. I will keep my word."

"Brother, don't try to scare me."

The woman in black snorted disdainfully, "Do you think everyone in the world is as full of nonsense as you?"

Zuo Lingquan nodded. Since there was nothing else to do, there was no harm in trying, whether it was true or not.

"Alright, I'll play with you, brother."

Zuo Lingquan stretched lazily and walked into the rain, standing on the stone street. He raised his hand and clasped his fist, saying, "Zuo Lingquan from Qinghe County, please enlighten me, brother."

Zuo Lingquan... Why does this name sound so familiar?

The woman in black thought for a moment, her expression slightly annoyed, and then lifted her oiled paper umbrella slightly, revealing her crimson lips and white chin.

Zuo Lingquan stood in the rain, waiting, and noticed the woman's strange reaction. He asked, "Brother, have you heard of my name?"

"... So it's you. No wonder you're here."

With blocked meridians from birth, he still killed ferocious beasts. He's really a fool...

The woman in black didn't answer, but snorted with even more contempt. She held up her umbrella and stood ten steps away from Zuo Lingquan, making up a name on the spot, "Longtai of Donghua City. Please enlighten me, brother."

With that, both sides fell silent.

The rain was dense, and the long night was quiet.

Two figures stood on the long street, surrounded by broken walls. There were no lights or fires around, and a somewhat solemn atmosphere began to emerge.

Zuo Lingquan was proud but not arrogant. He might talk big, but he was not careless in his actions.

He unsheathed his long sword, pointing it diagonally at the ground. Raindrops slid down the bright sword edge like snowflakes. His figure seemed frozen, as if even his breath had stopped.

The woman in black squinted her eyes and carefully observed. It was only then that she noticed that Zuo Lingquan's sword was somewhat peculiar. It was a single-edged sword, with only one side sharpened except for the tip. Although it lost some of the killing power of a double-edged sword, it could still perform slashing, chopping, and smashing techniques that a sword with no room for such moves couldn't. It could also pierce through armor without bending, making it suitable for martial artists who relied on strength.

After the woman in black figured out the general idea, she placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword, her expression becoming serious. She lowered her oiled paper umbrella slightly and fixed her gaze on Zuo Lingquan's boots, preparing to strike...

(End of this chapter)