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    Edict of Peace 6

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    Chapter 6: What is Martial Arts?

    A rainy night, moonlight illuminating a young man wielding a short sword. Blood, still faintly showing his youth, slowly trickled down his face, creating a striking image. Yu Qianfeng’s eyes widened slightly, while Li Guanyi still held the short sword, his gaze fixed on Yu Qianfeng.

    Only the pattering of rain filled the air.

    Li Guanyi’s breathing was steady.

    He hadn’t expected this situation. He had come to find this beggar in the middle of the night for the antidote and the Bronze Tripod, but he had unexpectedly stumbled upon Yunwen Cavalrymen’s nighttime ambush of Yu Qianfeng, and witnessed Yu Qianfeng’s counterattack. He hadn’t even imagined that the cavalrymen would reveal Yu Qianfeng’s alleged conspiracy.

    Although killing the Yunwen Cavalryman placed him on the same side as this imposing man,

    Li Guanyi still wasn’t entirely sure of his safety.

    Even so, his expression remained calm as he stared at the large man. The atmosphere was frigid, almost frozen solid, the rain falling on them until a hearty laugh broke the tension.

    Yu Qianfeng looked at the young man before him, like a tense young tiger. He sheathed his long, narrow blade in the ground, laughing loudly, his eyes full of admiration.

    “Good lad! What a murderous aura! What decisiveness! What ferocity!”

    “What a fine accomplice!”

    “I underestimated you!”

    He praised him repeatedly, then with a sweep of his hand, the short sword in Li Guanyi’s hand landed in Yu Qianfeng’s. Li Guanyi had wrapped a layer around the blade near the hilt, concealing the four inscriptions on both sides, revealing only a wisp of bluish mist-like blade.

    It was this sword that had allowed this untrained youth to pierce the seemingly impenetrable Night-Charging Armor of the Yunwen Cavalry. Even a tiger couldn’t inflict a scratch on the physiques of these martial artists, yet under his sword, they were like tofu.

    Yu Qianfeng relaxed his internal energy defenses, his thumb gently stroking the blade.

    He felt no pain, only a slight tickle. But when Yu Qianfeng lifted his thumb, a drop of crimson blood fell. Yu Qianfeng sighed, “Truly a top-tier blade, no wonder it could pierce the Night-Charging Cavalry’s armor.”

    “It’s almost as good as the ninety-seven heirloom swords of the Murong family, those divine weapons.”

    He tossed the short sword back into Li Guanyi’s scabbard, smiling. “I won’t ask where you got your sword. It’s your secret. Everyone has secrets; it’s nothing unusual.”

    “But a short sword like this isn’t meant for a man to kill with.”

    “Its blade is too thin, the edge too narrow. It’s less a weapon of war than something a noblewoman might use to end her life to avoid dishonor in a moment of crisis. Whoever gave you this sword must value you more than their own life.”

    Li Guanyi gently touched the blade, his sharp eyebrows softening slightly.

    In his eyes, the crimson dragon of fire, bloodshot just moments ago, was fading.

    Yu Qianfeng’s killing intent dissipated. He laughed, “So, accomplice, let’s do what accomplices do.” He gestured towards the fallen cavalrymen. Rain fell, but the bloody air remained heavy. Li Guanyi exhaled, nodding.

    Destroy the evidence.

    Li Guanyi sheathed his sword at his waist, then dragged the body of the Night-Charging Cavalryman who had discovered his identity and died with his eyes wide open, piling up the corpses. The feel of blood and flesh reminded Li Guanyi that he was a fugitive who had survived the Night-Charging Cavalry’s pursuit ten years ago, and still carried a deadly poison.

    He was still just a child, poisoned and dying, lacking strength.

    He was breathless after dragging just one corpse.

    Only then did he feel a delayed aching pain in his wrist, from forcing his hand too hard when stabbing the Night-Charging Cavalryman, injuring his wrist.

    The cold rain washed over him, drawing away his body heat. After a short while, he felt dizzy and nauseous.

    Suddenly, his burden lessened. Yu Qianfeng had effortlessly lifted the Night-Charging Cavalryman’s corpse and tossed it onto the pile. The sight was gruesome, and Li Guanyi felt a wave of nausea. He clutched his thigh, forcing himself to suppress the urge to vomit.

    Yu Qianfeng had been observing Li Guanyi, saying casually, “That’s what first-time killing is like.”

    “Throwing up will make you feel better.”

    After a long pause, Li Guanyi replied, “No.”

    Yu Qianfeng asked, “Why are you holding back?”

    Li Guanyi thought of what he had seen since arriving in this world, and whispered, “I have to get used to it. This is much better than being killed and left here myself, or someone I care about.”

    “So, I need to learn true, superior martial arts.”

    Yu Qianfeng grinned, increasingly pleased with the boy. He nodded. He had initially planned to deal with the bodies without the boy, but now he saw no need. He suddenly remembered something, and walked towards the pile of corpses, rummaging through them. He quickly found some loose items.

    He pointed at the corpses. “Remember to check the sleeve pockets, pouches, these places, they often have things hidden.”

    “You never know what’s useful.”

    He tossed a pouch to Li Guanyi. It was heavy. Opening it, he saw that it contained some wound medicine and pills. Yu Qianfeng casually said, “Find a place to bury these. After a few months, when the dust settles, you can retrieve them and use them.”

    Yu Qianfeng grabbed a waterskin from a fallen Night-Charging Cavalryman, wiped it roughly, leaned against a pillar of the mountain god temple, and drank under the moonlight. Beside him were the piles of corpses, swords thrust into the ground, and crimson blood flowing down the path, seeping into the earth.

    Moonlight bathed the ground, creating a chilling scene resembling a bone forest.

    The imposing man sat cross-legged, drinking heartily, noticing the boy collecting and identifying herbs. He lifted his waterskin and threw it over, without hesitation, saying straightforwardly, “My name is Yu Qianfeng. Thirty days ago, I was a fourth-rank Zhenwei General of Chen Kingdom. What’s your name, boy?”

    Li Guanyi lifted his neck and took a large gulp of wine.

    Moonlight like bones, two men drinking.

    After hesitating for a moment, he replied, “My name is Li Guanyi. I’m just an apprentice pharmacist.”

    The imposing man laughed, “Good courage!”

    “You want to learn martial arts from me to protect yourself, but also to alleviate your poison?”

    “Haha, it’s not hard to guess. Though I don’t understand medicine, I know some things. A small amount of arsenic is medicine, a larger amount is poison. Similarly, tiger balm is deadly poison to mosquitoes, but harmless to humans, because a human’s physique is far stronger than a mosquito’s.”

    “The poison that is deadly to you is harmless to me.”

    “It’s because my qi and blood are strong, my physique robust, far surpassing yours. But if you cultivate martial arts and Qi, you will naturally strengthen your physique and blood. The poison that is deadly to you now will be easily suppressed then, even expelled with strong internal energy.”

    “I promised you, a man’s word is his bond. Come.”

    Yu Qianfeng gestured for Li Guanyi to come closer, and took out a wristguard he had taken from the Night-Charging Cavalry captain, giving it to Li Guanyi. The wristguard was heavy, like iron. Yu Qianfeng smiled, “Hold it tight.”

    Then he struck the wristguard.

    A dull sound of a mechanism activating reverberated. The recoil almost shattered Li Guanyi’s arm. The rain was shattered into mist by a fleeting shadow that pierced the temple’s thick wooden pillar and buried itself deep into the hall. A muffled groan followed, then a man in black fell.

    Underneath his black outer robe was black soft armor, pierced through, blood flowing out, staining the dark clothing crimson. He looked at the two men in disbelief.

    The rain mist gradually dissipated. Yu Qianfeng stood beside Li Guanyi, his hand on his shoulder, saying,

    “Remember this, the spies in this world are not just those in plain sight.”

    “There’s a second group in the shadows, waiting for the target to become complacent and strike, or to relay information.”

    Li Guanyi looked at the man in black kneeling on the ground. Yu Qianfeng had been sitting with his back to him, yet nothing happened. He asked, “Why didn’t he attack you?”

    Yu Qianfeng said calmly, “Because he was afraid.”

    “Because he knows he is not worthy to be my opponent.”

    “Li Guanyi, take up your blade.”

    Under the rain, the blade Yu Qianfeng had previously stuck in the ground hummed. Li Guanyi loosened his fingers, placing them on the hilt. Yu Qianfeng’s large hand covered Li Guanyi’s, guiding his grip on the hilt, then helping him draw the long war blade.

    In that moment, scales and claws appeared on the hand resting on Li Guanyi’s shoulder, emanating intense bloodlust; it was clearly a dragon’s hand. Yu Qianfeng’s instructions were serious, yet laced with chilling killing intent:

    “Martial arts are the art of killing, not something you learn in a classroom.”

    “To learn the martial arts of killing, you must begin with killing.”

    “He is a suitable opponent, his tendons severed by the crossbow just now. Come, accomplice, grip the blade.”

    “I will teach you, what is martial arts!”
    (End of Chapter)

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