“Worthy Junior Yang.”
Before the fight began, Gongsun Liang beckoned for Yang Yishen to come closer.
Yang Yishen tilted her head slightly and approached.
“Please speak, Lord Gongsun.”
Long hair that fell to her waist, and dark green eyes.
She was tall for a woman, but her slender frame gave her a light, delicate impression.
Her skin was fair, and her features were incomparably beautiful.
The phrase peerless beauty was not wasted on her.
He had grown somewhat used to it by now, but at first, even Gongsun Liang had been so embarrassed before this beautiful woman that he could hardly get a single word out.
Today, since it was Yang Yishen’s day off, she was not wearing official robes.
Instead, she wore a white martial robe embroidered with silver thread, and the image of waves striking a cliff on her back was said to be the symbol of her clan.
The Cangbo Sword Art she used was also a hereditary martial art personally created by her grandfather.
She had not been taught by any renowned master, and the martial art she used was one no one had ever heard of, yet Yang Yishen was strangely strong.
And that fact made the people of the jianghu even more displeased.
“How is it? Your condition today.”
As if she did not understand the meaning of the question, Yang Yishen faintly furrowed her brow.
“It is the same as usual.”
“Then that means it isn’t good, doesn’t it?”
“……”
Yang Yishen stared at Gongsun Liang for a moment with an impassive face, then let out a short sigh.
“I know what you are worried about.”
“If you know, then I hope you will do well accordingly. Don’t make me worry with that lifeless look of yours.”
This was a match she must not lose.
In case his junior had forgotten that fact, Gongsun Liang gave her a blunt reminder.
Yang Yishen glared at him from the corner of her eye.
“From the beginning, this officer requested that the duel be postponed.”
“That won’t do.”
If the duel were postponed even by a single day, rumors would spread throughout the jianghu that the great Yang Yishen had been frightened.
It would be better to fight and lose; being branded a coward was something that had to be avoided at all costs.
At Gongsun Liang’s explanation, Yang Yishen closed her eyes as if fed up.
“This officer understands.”
“Have you heard the other party’s name? He seemed quite strong. In his youth, it appears he had some standing in the jianghu.”
“I do not know him well.”
Yang Yishen dismissed it as though she had no interest at all.
Realizing that her mood had soured, Gongsun Liang quietly stepped back.
“Do well. I’m counting on you.”
Without answering, Yang Yishen walked forward.
Meanwhile, while the two were speaking, Iron Heart Zhenren Yan Yunzhu stood in the middle of the training ground, staring blankly at a large boulder.
Why on earth was this boulder sitting here like an unwelcome guest?
Who had brought it all the way here, and why had they placed it right in the middle, blocking people’s path, instead of putting it off in a corner?
He pondered it alone, but no answer came to him.
He had clearly heard that only that young woman lived in this residence.
“What a splendid boulder.”
Yan Yunzhu smiled and spoke to Yang Yishen as she approached.
What he meant was to ask why the boulder was sitting in the middle of the training ground, but Yang Yishen answered with perfect composure, pretending not to understand the implied meaning.
“Thank you. This officer thinks so as well.”
“……Heh heh.”
Yan Yunzhu narrowed his eyes and studied Yang Yishen.
They said one could tell half a person’s skill merely from the way they stood and walked.
The woman before him had a thin, willowy body like a flower stalk, but the way she stood upon the ground was upright as a green pine.
Her gaze was calm, yet it also seemed melancholy.
Far from being nervous before a duel, her mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
There were few in the vast jianghu who would dare show such an attitude before Iron Heart Zhenren.
Whether her skill was genuine or not, her boldness at least could be called first-rate.
“Lady warrior, it seems you have something weighing on your mind. This old man must have come at an inopportune time.”
“……There is no need for Zhenren to concern himself with it. I will face the duel properly.”
As Yang Yishen said this, she drew her sword and took her stance.
But Yan Yunzhu still stood with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing only a faint smile.
Soon, he turned his head again and looked at the boulder.
A strange silence flowed between them, and Gongsun Liang, watching the two, put on a tense expression, wondering what was happening.
At last, the old man drew his sword and swung it toward the air as swiftly as the wind.
Had the duel finally begun? Gongsun Liang thought so, but Yang Yishen herself did not move an inch from where she stood.
Yang Yishen’s gaze was directed at the boulder.
Gongsun Liang looked that way as well, and saw that words had been carved into the rock.
The old man had carved them just now with the swing of his sword.
Da Chu 大畜, Moon Sets, Crows Cry 月落烏啼.
“……Hm?”
Gongsun Liang groaned aloud without realizing it.
What was this out of nowhere?
He did not know what those words meant, nor why the old man had suddenly carved writing into the boulder.
But Yang Yishen understood at once.
Da Chu indicated the direction of the footwork, and Moon Sets, Crows Cry referred to the technique he would execute.
Instead of fighting directly, the old man had decided to stand here and discuss warfare on paper with Yang Yishen.
Yang Yishen stared fixedly at the words on the boulder for a moment, then turned her head toward the old man.
Yan Yunzhu grinned.
“How will you respond to this old man’s first move, Lady warrior?”
“……”
Yang Yishen seemed to think for a moment, then swung her blade and carved new words into the boulder.
Guai 夬, Peach Blossoms, Flowing Water 桃花流水, Jie 節, Dubi Point 犢鼻穴.
“Like this.”
“……Hm. A soft sword, is it.”
Yan Yunzhu stroked his chin once, then raised his sword again.
Cui 萃, Jian 漸, Heed Not the Forest-Piercing Rain 莫聽穿林.
“If I do this, how will you break through?”
This time, without waiting even an instant, Yang Yishen immediately carved different words.
Lei 雷, A Straw Raincoat in Misty Rain 一蓑烟雨, Lingtai Point 靈台穴, Yunmen Point 雲門穴, Huantiao Point 環跳穴.
“I target three places in one move and force you to retreat.”
“And after you force me to retreat?”
Once more, characters were carved.
“I pursue and give you no chance to correct your stance.”
“You cannot bring this old man down with only that.”
“In that case, Zhenren, please give me your next move.”
At those words, Yan Yunzhu displayed his next technique on the boulder, and Yang Yishen followed right after, carving her reply.
Gongsun Liang, too, now realized what the two were doing, but not to the extent that he could picture their battle in his mind.
Could this truly be called a match?
In the end, it was nothing more than armchair theory.
Discussing it with words and actually clashing swords were surely different things.
Yet the two exchanged techniques for quite some time, as though they could no longer stop the fight they had begun, until at last there was almost no space left to carve more words on the boulder.
A bead of sweat formed on Yan Yunzhu’s forehead.
In this contest of moves, he had been pushed back by Yang Yishen the entire time.
Even though he had been the one to move first.
Yang Yishen’s expression remained impassive from beginning to end, and she never once found herself blocked at any point.
Each time, it was Yan Yunzhu who had to agonize over how to respond.
But now even that was becoming difficult.
He had been driven into a corner, surrounded on all sides.
It was a situation where he could admit defeat.
Yet the old man grew stubborn.
In his haste, he even forgot to carve the words into the boulder and spoke his next technique aloud.
“This old man retreats with Ji Ji 旣濟, blocks Lady warrior’s sword path with Ten Thousand Paths, All Human Traces Gone 萬徑人蹤滅, and at the same time strikes Lady warrior’s Liangqiu Point 梁丘穴 with his left foot. It will not be fatal, but Lady warrior will no longer be able to pursue this old man, and this old man will have no strength left to execute further techniques, so this should be called a draw.”
This was an extremely forced claim.
If he had no strength left, how could he execute such a magnificent technique? And how could he swing his sword while simultaneously striking the opponent’s acupoint with his foot?
At the old man’s words, Gongsun Liang, who had been listening, furrowed his brow, but Yang Yishen did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
As she had done throughout, she spoke again in a dry voice.
“Even if that were to happen, it would not be a draw. This officer still has a means to pursue Zhenren.”
“This old man has rendered one of Lady warrior’s legs useless. How could you possibly pursue further?”
“This officer has not yet shown you the ultimate technique of the Cangbo Sword.”
“That is a technique this old man has never seen with his own eyes, so discussing it aloud would likely be meaningless.”
“Then I shall show you.”
Yang Yishen raised her sword and walked forward.
“Zhenren, please step back.”
As if overwhelmed by her momentum, Yan Yunzhu obediently stepped back as she instructed.
Yang Yishen stood before the boulder covered in carved words, lightly steadied her breath, and raised her sword.
Then she began swinging her sword in succession at a speed difficult to believe, and each time, a sharp sound struck the ear.
A short while later, when Yang Yishen stopped her sword, there was no longer a boulder there.
The boulder had, at some point, been transformed into a small sculpture.
Was it the figure of a young girl?
It was not merely the general shape that resembled one; her expression, even the look in her eyes, had been delicately rendered.
It was a sculpture so intricate that it seemed as though it might come alive and move at any moment.
Yan Yunzhu and Gongsun Liang alike were at a loss for words.
They could not believe it even after seeing it with their own eyes.
This woman had carved a boulder into a sculpture with nothing but a single thin sword.
And in a single technique at that.
With no sign of fatigue on her face, Yang Yishen turned to Yan Yunzhu.
“This is the ultimate technique of the Cangbo Sword Art, Canglang Brushwork 滄浪筆致. With this technique, this officer will aim for Zhenren’s neck. Zhenren, please give me your next move.”
At those words, Yan Yunzhu was dumbfounded and could not speak for a long while.
After a long time passed, the old man bowed his head deeply in admiration.
“This old man has lost.”
*
After the duel ended and Gongsun Liang and Yan Yunzhu had left.
Yang Yishen remained alone in the training ground, standing blankly.
She was staring quietly at the sculpture she had created, her gaze grave, like that of a Daoist on the verge of enlightenment.
“This isn’t it……”
Muttering so, Yang Yishen drew her sword again.
When she swung her sword at a speed invisible to the eye, the surface of the sculpture was shaved away ever so slightly, but at a glance, it was difficult to tell the difference.
“……The cheeks are too plump. I think the eyebrows were lighter than this too……”
Muttering incomprehensible words, she endlessly carved away at the sculpture.
Then, suddenly stopping what she was doing, she pouted as if dissatisfied with something.
‘Those people ruined my work. Today happened to be my day off, so I wanted to spend the entire day devoted to this. I went through all the trouble of finding a usable boulder and bringing it here, only for that old man to go and scratch it up on his own. I was so startled……’
This was the truth Yan Yunzhu had been curious about.
The boulder had been brought there by Yang Yishen herself, and the reason was to make a sculpture.
There had been twists and turns, but in any case, Yang Yishen had made the sculpture as originally planned.
It was simply that, because she had made it in haste during the fight, it still lacked refinement, and for that reason she was now spending time touching it up like this.
Only when the sun was setting did Yang Yishen finally lower her sword with a satisfied expression.
“……Mm. Cute.”
Saying so, she carefully reached out and stroked the sculpture’s head.
It had been carved so well that the girl-shaped sculpture seemed as though it might come alive at any moment and speak to her.
How wonderful would it be if such a thing happened?
“Wu Qiao……”
Yang Yishen called the sculpture’s name in a quiet voice.
The name of the one who had been her only close friend.
—Hey, book fool!
Wu Qiao often called Yang Yishen that.
It meant a fool who did nothing but read books.
No one else dared even think of calling Yang Yishen that.
Not only her colleagues in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but everyone in the world revered Yang Yishen, while also fearing and envying her.
Even those who occasionally approached her in a friendly manner were interested only in her talent or her beauty.
Yang Uisin had been able to read such feelings in people with ease since she was young.
Though she could not see straight through another person’s thoughts, if they were lying or concealing sinister intentions, she could clearly sense it.
Most people did not reveal their true feelings recklessly before others, and there was empty formality in their words and actions.
Since this was also related to etiquette, it could not simply be viewed as bad.
But Yang Uisin was sick to death of such pretenses.
People’s duplicity made her come to loathe humans.
Only that girl was different.
“You know, they call someone who only reads books like you a book-fool. I learned that today.”
That was their first conversation.
As Uisin sat in her office as usual, the girl had suddenly poked her face in through the window and spoken to her out of nowhere.
Yang Uisin was left dumbfounded, and only after a long while did she manage to answer.
“That’s a bad word, so you shouldn’t use it carelessly on others.”
“Really? Then what should I call you?”
Usually, Yang Uisin was called Lady Yang by others, but for some reason, she did not want the girl to call her that.
“My name is Uisin.”
“Uisin.”
“My grandfather called me Sina.”
“Then I’ll call you that too.”
There was not even a word asking whether that was all right.
This girl was truly rude.
But Uisin did not feel offended in the slightest.
Because the girl’s heart was as clear and transparent as a deep lake.
Never once in her life had she seen anyone with such a heart.
Even she, who loathed the pretenses of others, sometimes had no choice but to show a duplicitous face in front of people.
For this girl, there was no distinction between truth and lies.
She was like a field of pure white snow on which not a single footprint had been stamped.
The people of the world regarded this girl as evil.
In truth, the girl was evil.
The girl did not know how to understand another person’s pain, and she had a history of taking countless lives.
But Uisin liked that girl.
She liked that there was no shadow in the girl’s heart.
She liked that the girl treated her like an ordinary person.
For the first time in her life, she thought she wanted to become friends with someone.
“There’s a delicious smell coming from this room.”
“Ah, it’s probably because of this.”
When Uisin took out the mooncakes she had received as a gift from her drawer, the girl’s eyes lit up.
“Sweets!”
“……Do you want some?”
“Obviously. Hand them over!”
When the girl reached through the window to snatch the mooncake away, Uisin laughed and hid it behind her back.
“Come inside. Then I’ll share.”
“People told me I smell, so I’m not allowed inside buildings.”
“You can come into my office.”
At those words, the girl blinked as if a little surprised, but soon climbed through the window in one breath and sat beside her.
The two of them split a mooncake in half and shared it.
“I told you my name, but you’re not going to tell me yours?”
“You know who I am.”
“Simply knowing because you heard it and exchanging names with each other have different meanings.”
With an expression that said she could not understand, the girl sucked the sugar off her fingers.
“I am Ogyo-nim.”
“May I call you that?”
“Do whatever you want. Is there anything else to eat?”
“There is, but……”
Holding the pouch of mooncakes in her hand, Uisin smiled softly.
“In exchange for sharing these, I’d like you to tell me about yourself.”
“As much as you want!”
The girl told her everything without hiding a thing.
When Uisin said that, in exchange for giving her the last mooncake, she wanted the girl to become her friend, the girl nodded without even hesitating.
……Ah.
This child must surely have been deceived by many people in this way.
And I, too, have become one of those bad people.
Judging other people’s hearts as clean or filthy, while I myself cannot stand so proudly at all.
Sina, are you not ashamed?
“I’m sorry, Ogyo, I’m sorry……”
In the middle of the empty training ground.
Holding the motionless statue in her arms, Yang Uisin wept like a child.
Before she knew it, the sun had set, and night was arriving.