He walked out of the Government Office.
Ji Xiu clenched the Household Token in his palm.
After a long moment, he finally heaved a long sigh of relief.
'The past is all just sand in the wind, scattered like smoke.'
Ordinary peasants and people of the lowest class could live their entire lives without ever leaving the five-hundred-li confines of Anning County. If they did, they would be branded as Escapee Slaves. Getting caught meant a life more miserable than that of even a servant.
But he had become a Martial Artist!
From now on, the world was his oyster. The County, the prefecture, the province—this vast, boundless world... he could truly traverse it with his own two feet!
This feeling...
...was completely different from the feeling of having shackles on his feet.
He composed himself, calming his excitement.
Ji Xiu felt the silver in his pocket.
Good fortune puts a spring in one's step.
'Now that I have some money, how can I not treat myself and fill my belly?'
So, he first went to the nearby Cattle and Sheep Market and bought two pounds of pork, a black-footed chicken, and a string of fresh black carp weighing about two pounds.
He also bought rice and flour until his hands were full, and only then did he return to his own dilapidated, drafty little courtyard.
Afterward, he made a special trip out again. He picked up the padded winter clothes he had ordered, bundled them with a new quilt, and brought everything home at once to lay out on the bed.
Then, he took his old, tattered quilt, which had barely any cotton filling left, rolled it up, and tossed it onto a nearby wooden rack. Only then was his work done.
Watching Ji Xiu bustle about,
Ji Wei clasped her small hands and stood innocently behind him. A tiny little thing, her eyes sparkled brightly.
'Meat, rice, flour...'
'And a new quilt! It looks so thick!'
'I haven't seen things like this in so long...'
She counted on her fingers, pursing her lips from time to time.
'But Brother is practicing martial arts. I heard Little Sixth from Uncle Shuanzhi's house next door say that martial artists need to nourish their bodies more than anything.'
'To train their Qi and Blood and strengthen their muscles, they need ginseng chicken soup, beef, and mutton at every meal for nourishment.'
'This winter, I can be more frugal and eat a little less. I'll get through it just fine.'
'But Brother can't!'
'I have to learn to make him herbal broths and nourishing soups. Only then... can he leave this impoverished alley, a place too small for his ambitions.'
'Someone as hardworking as him shouldn't be stuck in a rotten gutter like this.'
Convinced she was right, Ji Wei gave a simple nod to herself. Seeing their lives improving, she couldn't help but smile.
But her frail frame looked as though a single gust of wind could knock her over.
Seeing the little girl amusing herself, Ji Xiu, one hand holding down the thick new quilt, beckoned to her with a wide smile.
"Didn't I say I'd have a surprise for you when I left this morning?"
"Come over here."
The little girl tilted her head and obediently walked over. Before she could say a word,
Ji Xiu whipped back the quilt, revealing two sets of padded clothes—one purple, one green. Ji Wei immediately gasped and covered her mouth, her small frame trembling slightly.
"P-Padded clothes?"
"Brother, why... Why didn't you buy one for yourself!"
Her initial worry quickly gave way to an overwhelming wave of emotion.
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.
Ji Xiu pulled her close, wiped away her tears, and grabbing one of the garments, wrapped her up tightly inside it until only her small head was poking out.
"Warm?"
Ji Wei stared at Ji Xiu with wide, round eyes. For the first time, a puff of white vapor—a sign of warmth—escaped her lips as she nodded her head furiously.
"Good."
Ji Xiu smiled, satisfied, and picked up his Wooden Blade from the side.
"I'm going to practice my sword skills. Tidy up a bit; we'll cook later."
"Today, I won my freedom! I'm happy, so we're celebrating like it's the New Year. We're eating meat!"
With that, he stepped over the threshold and went out.
He left Ji Wei behind, huddled inside the padded coat. She swallowed hard, choked with emotion, clutching the hem of her new clothes and stroking the new quilt again and again.
'That's right.'
'We're celebrating the New Year.'
'She'd never had such a good day in her entire life...'
After a moment,
Ji Wei tiptoed to the door and peeked through the crack, just as she had done every day and every night before. She watched the figure in the late autumn wind, slicing through the air with his Wooden Blade.
Only this time,
she was no longer shivering from the cold.
...
「Two days later.」
Dusk began to fall.
Wisps of cooking smoke rose. Ji Wei lit the stove with a bundle of firewood, then skillfully chopped the meat and fish, blanched them, and put them in the pot. In no time at all,
a plate of pork stir-fried with garlic shoots, a tureen of fish soup, and a whole roasted chicken, its skin glistening with fat, were ready. On top of that, there was a large basin full of brown rice.
It was an incomparably satisfying meal for Ji Xiu.
'This is the life!'
'What a miserable life I was living before!'
'Even at Duan Chenzhou's home, while I could get by, it was never the same as being in my own home.'
'It's just...'
...he looked at his rapidly emptying coin purse.
He thought of Lu Yu, who had pounded his chest two days ago and promised to find him a good job, but had yet to show up.
After the satisfying meal,
Ji Xiu hesitated, wondering if he should go pay Lu Yu a visit.
'But, before that...'
'I can't let my progress in the Sword Dao fall behind.'
'After all, this is the very foundation of my life!'
[Celestial River Saber Technique: (5644/10000)]
[Current: Minor Success]
As Ji Xiu became more and more proficient in his saber practice,
he discovered that the Sword Skill practice he performed with devout effort each day—the one that counted toward his 'advanced' progress...
...had gone from the initial 'Three Hundred Swings Per Day'
to 'Five Hundred Swings Per Day' upon reaching Minor Success,
and now, by pouring in all his effort and sweat for an entire day...
...he had finally reached the level of 'Eight Hundred Swings Per Day'!
'When I 'advanced' my Horse Riding Skill to the realm of Great Success, I obtained a Trait.'
'It was because of that Trait that I could perform the Horse Stance Walking Posture. It made Master Duan see the quality of my foundation and decide to teach me the saber.'
'I drew my saber three thousand times to reach Minor Success and grasp 'Force.''
'And the longer I practice with the saber...'
'I have a distinct feeling!'
'It's as if I'm on the verge of reaching a brand-new realm!'
'It's not an 'attainment' related to my rank as a Martial Artist.'
'It's...'
'...the scenery beyond my current Sword Skill!'
'Perhaps I'm about to reach Great Success!'
It's always better to hold as many chips as possible.
And his own value...
...would depend on the status he could achieve.
Ji Xiu knew that he had only the aptitude of an ordinary person.
Everything he had achieved to this day...
...was thanks to his unrelenting hard work, his tenacious will, and a Primordial Daoist Talisman that let him 'advance' his skills. He had nothing else!
If he wanted to reach the levels of Blood Nourishing and Muscle Forging,
he had to finish 'advancing' the Celestial River Saber Technique.
Even if he obtained a true Pile Skill or Refining Technique, he wouldn't be able to make any real progress with them.
'So, there's no time to waste, young man!'
"Time to practice the saber!"
After his meal had fully digested, he felt his muscles and bones strengthen, his Qi and Blood becoming more robust.
Ji Xiu strode like a dragon and paced like a tiger, gripping his Wooden Blade. With each draw, one of the countless yellow, withered leaves fluttering in the air would be precisely struck and turned to dust.
By this count,
over these long days of practice, he had drawn his blade thousands of times. The autumn leaves he had shattered must have numbered well over ten thousand.
He could practically call himself the Ten-Mile Slope Blade Deity!
[By devout practice of the saber, your advanced progress for the Celestial River Saber Technique has increased by +1!]
[By devout practice of the saber, your advanced progress for the Celestial River Saber Technique has increased by +1!]
Finally, the ground of the fenced yard was blanketed in a fine, golden sand—the pulverized remains of countless withered leaves covering the yellow earth.
A bright moon hung high in the sky.
The moonlight spilled over the young man's back,
yet his silhouette seemed to grow sharper, more solitary and cold.
It was as if...
...he had broken through some kind of threshold!
[After six thousand draws, you have finally made a breakthrough. The Celestial River Saber Technique has reached Great Success!]
[Through thousands upon thousands of swings, you have practiced drawing your saber to part water, comprehending the Sword Skill. You have finally broken through your bottleneck and captured a sliver of Spiritual Light!]
[You have comprehended the Sword Skill Trait: Ten Steps One Kill!]
...
[Tutor: Ji Xiu]
[Current Traits: Waist and Horse Unity, Ten Steps One Kill]
...
[Ten Steps One Kill]
[This is a Secret Technique of assassination. Once unleashed, blood is guaranteed to fall within ten steps!]
[This realm is the starting point of a 'Swordsman'.]
[Of all who wield a blade in this world, those who cannot achieve 'a fated meeting on a narrow path, a kill within ten steps' are unworthy of the blade.]
[They are all... merely dabblers, standing outside the gates!]