Naturally, Liu Shan took Jing Wen’s words to be the rambling of a soon to be very broken man. He flicked his wrists and swung the blade once more, creating a perfectly straight line that ran parallel to the ground.
The sword was the same. It still cut through the daylight and wind in an eerily silence. It was fast beyond normal human comprehension.
It was still the Hongmen Cut.
Yet no sword flames came out.
Jing Wen ‘stared’ at the brilliant line that was not close yet not far away from him and threw a nearby tile that had been shattered earlier towards it.
Clink.
The broken and unassuming tile fragment shot at Liu Shan’s hand and the sword was knocked away, falling into the snow, just as it had before.
The snow rapidly melted as the remaining heat from the sword was dissipated.
Liu Shan was completed stunned. Moments ago, Jing Wen was cornered to the wall, his body bearing a number of wounds. In fact, even now, Jing Wen was still sitting within that pile of snow. How could he have been defeated like this?
“How could it be possible?” murmured Liu Shan with a pale face. He watched as Jing Wen walk over, subconsciously taking several steps back as Jing Wen increasingly grew closer to him.
Suddenly, Liu Shan’s steps increased in speed. Nearly fleeing, he retrieved his sword and mounted a furious counter-attack.
Jing Wen’s step continued, unchanging in pace.
Holding the broken sword in his hand in a two-handed grip, he swung at the incoming cut.
Dong!
Perhaps as Jing Wen’s sword was now broken, the sound was not as crisp as before. Instead of two coins clashing, the sound now was more akin to a child accidentally stepping on a copper mirror.
Liu Shan’s sword flew up skyward, losing control, somersaulting nonstop, releasing a weeping sound that resembled someone crying.
At last, the sword drew a curved line and became a black dot, landing over the walls of the Liu manor.
The Liu family was too shocked at the sudden shift of tides, unable to come up with any thoughts or sound as they watched. Zhou Aimin was likewise confused but quickly began cheering as Jing Wen walked infront of Liu Shan.
Jing Wen was still holding that sword, bent beyond use.
Yet it had knocked Liu Shan’s sword to somewhere far away.
The scene was even more humiliating than the first time.
“Thanks for letting me win,” said Jing Wen, raising his right sleeve and using it to wipe away the blood on his jaw.
After a long moment, Liu Shan finally realised the reality. His thick eyebrows twitching uncontrollably as he muttered in a trembling voice, “H-how can I… loss?”
No matter how skilled Jing Wen was, at this moment, he was a mere Qi Manipulation state cultivator, while he was a cultivator at the stage of Heart Purification. The difference between them should be as wide as the ocean… yet he had lost.
It was more of a question directed at Liu Shan himself, but Jing Wen thought for a moment, before answering it.
“Your Qi ran out.” Jing Wen then stated. “From that point on, we were equals.”
---
Heading towards the dinner table, Jing Wen found that the leftover vegetable soup was already cold. Bowing towards Liu Fenfang and Liu Yu, he said politely, “I have embarrassed myself before you.”
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Liu Yu was the first to recover from the shock.
“No… no at all.” He swung his board sleeves as if to wave away the embarrassment he felt as he said, “Marquis, I possess some medicine that can quickly heal wounds. If you wish, I can have the servants deliver them to your manor later.”
Jing Wen found what Liu Yu said to be reasonable; after all, he was injured by Liu Shan and the Liu family should indeed have plentiful herbs from their years of accumulation. He said, “Than I must trouble Minister Liu.”
Liu Yu forced a smile that was uglier than crying. “Not at all.”
Jing Wen then walked towards Liu Fenfang. He said after a moment of hesitation, “Miss Liu, I truly admire an individual of your bearing. I hope that we can remain friends.”
Liu Fenfang had only then recovered from awe. Absentmindedly nodding, she said, “I hope so as well Marquis.”
Finally, Jing Wen gave a polite bow towards the three Liu family members, including the still frozen Liu Shan. Taking Zhou Aimin, who had a foolish grin on his face due to Jing Wen’s victory, Jing Wen quickly departed Liu manor.
Once Jing Wen and Zhou Aimin entered the carriage, Zhou Aimin quickly closed the curtains. By then, his grin has disappeared, causing the little Taoist to appear emotionless, very solemn.
Ha Ha!
Zhou Aimin suddenly laughed out loud.
However, that laughter was then interrupted by the sound of coughing.
After entering the carriage, Jing Wen immediately lied on the recliner and began coughing uncontrollably, evidently in a lot of pain. Following each cough, the sword wounds on his chest would once again split open, overflowing with blood.
On the Xinqingnian, there were only two individuals in the sword division that had reached Qi Manifestation. Still, those behind them were all at the peak of Heart Purification, including Liu Shan. Compared to Hong Fu, whose strength was around the initial stages of Heart Purification, the young master of the Liu family was in an entirely different category altogether.
To defeat Liu Shan, he had to pay an incredibly high price that would be difficult to recover from. Perhaps with the help of the Liu family’s precious medicine, it would be dealt with before Hong Quanfu arrives within the capital, but for the present, Jing Wen was in need of treatment.
Zhou Aimin immediately regained his composure. Calling Yang’er, he helped bandage Jing Wen’s wound in a somewhat flustered manner. When Yang’er arrived, he quickly delegated the job towards her as he began researching for medicine that Jing Wen required.
When the medicine was finally found in one of the chests on the carriage, Zhou Aimin swiftly fed Jing Wen the pill and followed it up with a large quantity of water. Seeing Jing Wen wearily closing his eyes to rest, Zhou Aimin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that Jing Wen’s condition was stable, Yang’er also returned to the carriage driver’s seat and soon, the carriage became moving once more. However, the pace was slightly slower than usual, so that Jing Wen would not be awakened from the journey.
Due to this speed, when they had reached Jing manor, it was already nightfall. Zhou Aimin personally lifted Jing Wen with the help of Mingzhu and brought him towards his bedchambers. After covering Jing Wen’s body with a blanket, Zhou Aimin stretched his body, before departing Jing Wen’s bedchambers.
Some time after Zhou Aimin left, Jing Wen woke up. Leaning his back against the headboards, he said towards Mingzhu, “Summon Ms Wang.”
Mingzhu, who had stayed to look over Jing Wen, nodded her head. Calling out towards the door guard, she passed Jing Wen’s orders to him.
The servant nodded his head dutifully, and after bowing towards Jing Wen, he left as quickly as he entered.
Jing Wen ‘looked’ at Mingzhu and smiled.
Mingzhu was somewhat confused, since Jing Wen seldomly smile, and she had not done any of significance. She asked, “Young Master, what is so amusing?”
Jing Wen answered, “It appears that you are quite respected among the household now.”
Mingzhu blushed slightly as she shook her head. She said, “That is because this servant is now Young Master’s personal servant. Otherwise, how could this servant assume such respect?”
Jing Wen did not wish to argue with Mingzhu, so changed the topic. “While I’m speaking with Ms Wang, I must request you to write a couple of letters to lady Xiahou Jie and lady Lei Li to explain that due to injuries, I must postpone the meeting by a couple of days.”
Mingzhu was surprised to hear that Jing Wen would still want to visit his other marriage candidates. She wanted to speak up, but as her position does not warrant such actions. After holding her mouth open for a while, she eventually closed it.
However, it appears that Jing Wen knew that she would want to dissuade him from meeting lady Xiahou and lady Lei. He said, “Don’t worry, when I’m meeting them, I will bring Gao Shu along. While he is still at Body Supplementation state, his talent can put him on par with Heart Purification cultivators and even initial Qi Manifestation stage experts.
Mingzhu knotted her brows, unsure how Gao Shu could match with cultivators of Qi Manifestation state. Naturally, she was not aware that the individual responsible for diverting Mo Xi from Hongtian Palace on the night of her escape was preciously Gao Shu himself.
Eventually, Wang Zhixin arrived at Jing Wen’s bedchambers, and Mingzhu obediently left the room to begin writing those letters.
Jing Wen stood up from his bed and pulled out a chair for Wang Zhixin. Though her noble status in Hedong was quite pitiful, being a minor noble, and she was even now his servant, Jing Wen still followed the rules of propriety, treating an older senior with respect.
Wang Zhixin was slightly uncomfortable at such treatment, but recovered with her strong willpower. She asked, “What does Young Master Jing require of me?”
“I want to learn some sign language.” Upon saying that, Jing Wen realised that this request was somewhat abrupt and strange, so he quickly added, “In order to communicate with Lady Hong Jingfei.”
---
Some time after Jing Wen departed the Liu manor, another carriage left the gates of the estate and entered Long’an Avenue. The carriage eventually arrived at the Seventh Prince’s residence, before Liu Shan, wearing a new set of robes, emerged from its curtains.
The Liu family was not close to any political factions, but Liu Shan and the Seventh Prince were close friends and frequently visited one another’s household; thus, none of the servants obstructed him as he headed straight for the Seventh Prince’s accomidation.
When he entered the Kunning (坤宁) Palace, he saw the Seventh Prince wearing an informal robe and surrounded by many dancers and singers from Anxi (安息). As a natural admirer of beautiful woman, Liu Shan unabashedly stared at the foreign dancers, and instantly became fascinated; these girls wore skirts made from lotus leaves and covered their privates with lotus flowers, exposing their fair skin. Their movement and postures were graceful and lilith, each motion incredibly entrancing.
Most shocking of all, none of these girls appeared bashful by their attire, nor shy of their erotic dancing. Evidently, they were professionals in the field, capable of competing with even the best courtesans in Lin’an.
Seeing Liu Shan bewitch, the Seventh Prince felt somewhat prideful. He taunted, “Liu Shan, by just stand there? Sit next to this Prince.”
With that, the Seventh Prince swung his robes, and the dancers withdrew as though a wave had swept them away.
Liu Shan swiftly calmed down. Sitting opposite of the Seventh Prince, he asked, “Zhang Ming, when did you learn to enjoy yourself?”
The Seventh Prince gave a rather smug smile as he answered, “Recently, this Prince had acquired a new and capable servant.”