System: I Can Open Martial Arts Chests-Chapter 109 - 87: Night Intrusion into Divine Blade Hall (2)
"In a few years, we will surely become the overlords of the Green Forest!"
Lv Zhi had just finished pledging his loyalty, and upon hearing this, he was almost dumbfounded:
"You two... aren’t you lone bandits from some mountain?"
"No, we’re not."
The elder sister smiled and said:
"Since you are now under us, you should know our identities.
"I am the elder sister, Nianxin."
"I am the younger sister, Nian’an."
The two sisters exchanged a glance and spoke simultaneously:
"We hail from Bodhi Temple!"
With a clatter.
The moment the words ’Bodhi Temple’ were uttered, while others in the tavern remained clueless, the piece of bread in Jiang Divine Saber’s hand suddenly fell, toppling a soup bowl.
Chu Qing slightly furrowed his brows; the words ’Bodhi Temple’ were also unfamiliar to him, as he had never heard of it.
He looked thoughtfully at Jiang Divine Saber:
"Senior, do you perhaps know this Bodhi Temple?"
"Huh?"
Jiang Divine Saber shook his head in confusion:
"Never heard of it, I don’t know... Just now, the Acupoint Locking Needle quivered, causing my hand to tremble and drop the bread.
"Oh dear, I’m sorry, I’m sorry."
Chu Qing glanced at him and asked no further.
Meanwhile, the sisters chatted with the Cross-sword Five Tigers for a while longer before they all left in a bustle.
"Bodhi Temple..."
Bian City, with a wine cup in hand, gently rotated it:
"I feel like I’ve heard of it somewhere."
But exactly where, they couldn’t recall.
The few of them casually speculated about the sisters’ identities.
From the name, Bodhi Temple should be a nunnery, but these two sisters didn’t seem like nuns.
After discussing it for a while without reaching a conclusion, they didn’t pay much attention.
After eating and drinking their fill, the group left the tavern and headed to the inn where Mo Duxing and Bian City were lodging.
The inn, called Fuyun Inn, was bustling with people.
This was mainly due to the impending First Grade Conference, drawing crowds from everywhere.
Chu Qing and Gentle were rather lucky, as there happened to be three rooms left, just enough for each of them.
After settling in, the clerk led them upstairs.
In front of the inn, another commotion erupted.
The group stood by the second-floor railing and looked down to see a crowd pouring into the inn, with a woman in their midst.
She was dressed in a purple gown, with a slender waist and curvaceous figure, extremely graceful.
Her specific appearance couldn’t be seen, as she wore a bamboo hat and had her face veiled. The white gauze on her hat swayed gently in the wind, occasionally revealing a sharp, small chin.
The diners in the hall seemed to have known her for a long time; upon seeing her, they all eagerly craned their necks.
But she showed no interest in the surrounding clamor, only halfway through did she suddenly look up.
Her eyes, beneath the bamboo hat, met with Chu Qing’s.
It was a very brief pause, and the woman didn’t halt her steps, moving smoothly from the lobby to the rear courtyard.
Chu Qing slightly frowned and asked softly:
"Who is she?"
Mo Duxing, standing with his hands behind his back, replied elegantly:
"Does the Third Young Master not know her?"
Chu Qing shook his head, with a slight hint of confusion in his eyes.
"She is called Qing Ling."
Bian City smiled and said:
"She is the top courtesan of Rouge Tower, known as one of the Three Wonders of South Ridge, which enthralls all of the Spring Hall."
"She is one of the Three Wonders."
The Three Wonders of South Ridge?
Chu Qing touched his chin and shook his head firmly:
"I’ve never heard of it."
Bian City laughed heartily:
"It seems the Third Young Master really knows nothing about this; one day, when there’s time, I’ll show you the world."
"... Brother Bian wants to take me to visit a pleasure house?"
"Exactly!"
Bian City said as a matter of course:
"Come to think of it, there’s a Celestial Fragrance Tower here in Divine Blade City, shall we go check it out tonight?"
Chu Qing was somewhat tempted.
After all, visiting a pleasure house was something he had only read about in novels or seen in shows in his previous life.
He had never truly experienced it...
Merely going to broaden one’s horizons seemed harmless.
However, he still shook his head, as he had other matters to attend to that night.
Bian City didn’t insist.
Then everyone returned to their rooms and tidied up, and in the afternoon, they began wandering around Divine Blade City.
The more people there are, the livelier it gets.
And with liveliness comes chaos... That afternoon, Chu Qing and his group experienced the local customs of Divine Blade City and bought some miscellaneous trinkets.
They encountered three duels.
Or rather, four...
Yet the last one took place on the roof of Divine Blade Hall, and since the people of Divine Blade Hall didn’t allow them to enter, it remained unresolved.
They also found a suitable blacksmith shop and a doctor to help Jiang Divine Saber remove the lock from his scapula.
The process was somewhat gory, as over the years, flesh had adhered to the lock, and when removed, strands of flesh still hung from it.
Jiang Divine Saber, worthy of being the lord who established Divine Blade Hall, didn’t utter a word throughout the entire process.
That afternoon, Chu Qing also roughly sorted out the layout of Divine Blade City.
He learned from Gentle that the scent of the blade was indeed in Divine Blade Hall.
As night fell, Chu Qing donned night clothes, secured his sword, and untied the bindings on his Cyan Night Sword.
After organizing his Willow Leaf Flying Saber, he put on a white mask and leaped into the night through the window.
He hadn’t intended to kill anyone tonight.
Instead, he planned to first probe the depths of Divine Blade Hall.
Chu Qing actually had suspicions about Jiang Divine Saber, feeling that the old man was hiding something.
This was the perfect opportunity to see if he could probe that fateful presence inside Divine Blade Hall...
During the day, he had already marked his route carefully.
At night, he arrived at the roof of a tavern, about a hundred zhang away from Divine Blade Hall. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to leap from here to the hall.
Yet Chu Qing didn’t hesitate at all.
The Mingyu Scripture circulated within him, first employing the Chasing Star and Moon Step, his body shot forward like an arrow, covering over ten zhang.
As his body hovered mid-air, he switched to the Golden Swan Skill.
Stepping in the void, each step covered over a zhang, as if walking in the void, he continued for forty-two steps, then his figure began to descend.
By then, he was less than ten zhang away from his destination.
He adjusted his stance with the Golden Swan Skill, stepping into the void repeatedly, and his body rose once more, using this momentum again to perform the Chasing Star and Moon Step.
His figure flashed like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he landed steadily on the roof of a small building in Divine Blade Hall.
Looking back at the tavern roof, he couldn’t help but exhale:
"If it weren’t for the Mingyu Scripture... relying solely on the Golden Swan Skill, stepping in the void for forty-two steps would be impossible.
"Which means, thirty-seven steps aren’t the limit of the Golden Swan Skill. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
"But the limit of Inner Power.
"With greater Inner Power... I could take not just forty-two steps, but even eighty-two."
This final transition, using the Golden Swan Skill followed by the Chasing Star and Moon Step, was the result of Chu Qing’s insights into his own lightweight techniques over the past days.
Chu Qing was pleased with his performance, but he didn’t indulge in pride for long.
Standing there, overlooking Divine Blade Hall, although not entirely visible, it gave him a general view.
Within Divine Blade City, Divine Blade Hall was essentially akin to the City Lord’s Mansion in Celestial Dance City.
Except that the Divine Blade Hall covered a larger area and had more personnel.
It was practically like a city within a city.
"Should I search for Qi Guan first, or... Pei Wuji?"
After a moment of deliberation, he decided to look for Qi Guan first.
In this time, he had learned the general layout of Divine Blade Hall from Jiang Divine Saber.
Still, he had lingering doubts about Jiang Divine Saber and didn’t fully trust him, so he remained cautious, moving stealthily and avoiding patrols.
After quite a while, he finally reached the front of a courtyard.
There was a carriage parked at the entrance, and the courtyard was brightly lit.
Clearly, the people in the courtyard weren’t resting at this time.
Hiding on the rooftop, Chu Qing peered inside and saw a middle-aged man lying on a soft couch, eyes closed.
Unsure if he had fainted or just fallen asleep.
A woman in purple clothes was changing beside the bed.
Chu Qing immediately recognized her; it was Qing Ling, whom he had seen earlier at the inn during the day.
This time, he didn’t avert his gaze because Qing Ling was changing into... night clothes!?
