Chapter 13: Pulling the Wool Over Long Xiaoyun's Eyes
Chapter 13: Pulling the Wool Over Long Xiaoyun's Eyes
After seeing Tie Chuanjia off, Li Xinhuan was already in a sour mood, and his spirits sank even further after his chat with You Longsheng.
Tie Chuanjia had willingly shouldered the blame, and Li Xinhuan had not been involved in the matter between Weng Tianjie and Tie Chuanjia. How could he ask Tie Chuanjia to reveal the truth? Although Li Xinhuan felt that what Tie Chuanjia had done was a bit foolish, he would never force others against their will.
His only hope now was that Tie Chuanjia would not meekly accept his fate when facing the Seven Heroes of Zhongyuan.
It must be said that Li Xinhuan truly understood Tie Chuanjia.
However, You Longsheng was not worried at all. On his way back to the city after parting with A Fei, he had happened to see a man with a long spear leaving the city, and he had even witnessed that man striking up a conversation with A Fei.
Since that was the case, Tie Chuanjia's life would be spared this time.
As for his next deadly encounter, it would depend on how the subsequent plot unfolded.
At that moment, the sun had risen, shining through the window into the room. The two men had been talking for half the night, and daylight finally broke.
Then, You Longsheng asked one last question, "By the way, what do you think of your big brother? How has he treated you?"
Li Xinhuan furrowed his brows, "My brother has been wholeheartedly devoted to me, taking care of me in every way possible."
"Is that so? I hope so," You Longsheng chuckled, stretching lazily as he stood up. "It's dawn. Time to head back and catch some more sleep."
Even though Li Xinhuan was in a gloomy mood, he couldn't help but smile at You Longsheng's words, "Night owl, are you? Out and about at night, sleeping during the day?"
You Longsheng smiled faintly as he opened the door and walked out, "During the day, everything is a dazzling spectacle, full of people. It gets boring. It's only at night that you get to see the true, fascinating nature of humanity, the transformation from man to ghost."
Li Xinhuan paused in his tracks, surprised that You Longsheng could utter such philosophical words. As he stood there lost in thought, he saw You Longsheng walk out the door.
...
"It's just a heartwarming saying. Back then, there was an endless stream of similar platitudes online, trending for over a decade. Anyone could come up with a couple of those. If I wanted to collect them, I'd have enough to drown you in soup."
You Longsheng silently complained to himself, but he relished the feeling of pretending to be profound in front of Li Xinhuan, the artsy young man.
Then, he caught sight of Long Xiaoyun.
Long Xiaoyun was still dressed in his striking red attire, but his face was pale, and his steps seemed unsteady. It was evident that he was still weak from having his martial arts disabled by Li Xinhuan.
"Xiaoyun," You Longsheng called out.
"You... Big Brother You?" Long Xiaoyun looked up, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the same gentle smile on You Longsheng's face as before.
It was common knowledge that children were sensitive, and Long Xiaoyun was ten times more so. How could he not notice the subtle disdain in the eyes of the servants of Xingyun Manor after his martial arts had been disabled? Not to mention the guests staying at the manor.
They had all expressed sympathy and a desire for vengeance on his behalf, but Long Xiaoyun could clearly see the ridicule and contempt lurking beneath their eyes.
All except for You Longsheng.
Perhaps he hadn't known about Long Xiaoyun's loss of martial arts yet?
"I heard that Li Tanzhi took away your martial arts," You Longsheng said as he approached Long Xiaoyun.
Long Xiaoyun was tongue-tied, "You... you already knew?"
You Longsheng nodded, then shook his head, "Even if I hadn't heard, I would have been able to tell just by looking at you."
Long Xiaoyun calmed down and looked You Longsheng in the eyes, "I was blind and offended Li Tanzhi. It's only right that I lost my martial arts. I deserve it."
"You don't always have to remind me that your martial arts have been disabled." Yu Longsheng said, "I'm not like those other people. When it comes to friends, I don't care whether they have martial arts or not. Whether your martial arts are disabled or not, you still can't beat me."
Long Xiaoyun, "..."
Damn it! It was still the same old Yu Longsheng, looking down on others! But Yu Longsheng's casual conversation made Long Xiaoyun feel a rare sense of comfort that he hadn't felt in days.
"It's not the end of the world just because your martial arts have been disabled. It's not like you're going to die. At most, you can learn something else and still roam the martial arts world, making a name for yourself." Yu Longsheng said.
Long Xiaoyun secretly stuck his tongue out, thinking to himself, was he supposed to learn medicine or fortune-telling to roam the martial arts world? But on the surface, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Yu, for your guidance."
Yu Longsheng patted Long Xiaoyun's shoulder again, "Don't think I'm just trying to comfort you. Among the Four Great Constables of the Shenhou Mansion in the previous dynasty, there was one called Wuqing. Did you know about him?"
Long Xiaoyun was baffled, "No."
"That's right. Xingyun Manor has a short history and lacks depth. Many historical stories and famous masters are not recorded in your manor's archives." Yu Longsheng shook his head.
Long Xiaoyun's cheeks twitched, and he silently clenched his fists before relaxing them.
"This Wuqing, known as 'Legless but Traveling Thousands of Miles, a Thousand Hands Cannot Block', was a master of qinggong and hidden weapons, striking fear into the hearts of the martial arts world." Yu Longsheng said, "But since childhood, he had been disabled with no legs and damaged internal organs, unable to cultivate martial arts. His situation was even worse than yours."
"What?" Long Xiaoyun raised his head in surprise, "How is that possible?"
Yu Longsheng smiled slightly, "Before, you could leap seven feet and jump twenty feet with a single bound. Wouldn't that have seemed impossible to the farmers outside the city?"
Long Xiaoyun remained silent, then asked with great anticipation, "How did he do it?"
"I don't know." Yu Longsheng shook his head decisively.
"You don't know?" Long Xiaoyun's face twisted.
Yu Longsheng shrugged, "It happened hundreds of years ago. How could the records be so detailed? I only know that he combined his delicate technique, internal strength, and mechanical devices to launch and retrieve hidden weapons. His hidden weapons were unique in that they didn't rely on poison, but on his own internal strength. They were so powerful that they were even referred to as 'bright weapons.'"
"At the same time, he used his hands in place of legs, relying on ingenious internal strength and mechanical devices like flying claws to achieve feats such as 'walking on snow without leaving traces' and 'flying across the air.'"
"Although your martial arts are not that impressive, you are actually very smart. If you work hard, even if you can't compare to Wuqing, you won't be a useless person for your entire life. Moreover, in terms of qinggong, you won't need to use your hands in place of legs."
Yu Longsheng continued, "Of course, if you want to reach Wuqing's level of mastery, the amount of bitterness and hardship you'll have to endure will probably be several times more than what you've experienced in your previous martial arts training."
Long Xiaoyun immediately said, "I'm not afraid of hardship."
He had had enough of the days of being looked down upon due to his lack of martial arts, even though it had only been a few days. It felt like years had passed.
"Then you'll have to work hard." Yu Longsheng nodded, then stretched lazily again, "I'm too tired. I need to go catch up on my sleep."
Yu Longsheng waved his hand and turned to leave, leaving Long Xiaoyun with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Of course, Yu Longsheng wouldn't tell Long Xiaoyun that Wuqing was able to achieve his legendary qinggong and hidden weapon skills not only because of his own efforts but also because he inherited his mother's natural talent for hidden weapons and had a master named Zhuge Zhengwo.
Such was the unfairness of the world.
Others had better natural talent, better opportunities, and they still worked hard!
(End of Chapter)
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