Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tie Linglong was no fool. She might have fallen for it but she wouldnât be moved by just a good word or two. âWhy would you want to teach me the secret arts? I am a âfailureâ of the Waning Moon Hall.â
The expression of any man, even the Dragon King who had a strong endurance, would change if the chain piercing through their ankles was pulled, but Han Wuxianâs did not. Although she fell to the ground, she seemed to not have felt any pain and continued to wear a smile that looked even tender than before. âI donât know how long I can live, so Iâm always thinking of a way to pass down the most advanced secret arts of the Waning Moon Hall.â
âEven so, itâs not my place to learn them. Iâve only joined the Waning Moon Hall for over a year and now Iâm trying to escape. Whereâre the guards? They must all be qualified disciples.â
âThey are too qualified to defy Lotus in any way, and even without that, they are afraid of my Psychotic Divine Drain and dare not to approach me.â
Tie Linglong vigilantly circled around Han Wuxian and also didnât want to walk closer to this Hall Leader. âLotus hasnât been a part of the Waning Moon Hall for too many years, has she? Why do all your disciples all listen to her instead of you?â
Han Wuxian tried to stand up but failed so she simply sat on the ground and supported herself with her right hand, her hair touching the ground. âThese guards are all new disciples. They used to be semi-finished products and wouldnât have qualified to graduate. More than half of them should have been eliminated but Lotus said that they were valuable people. Not only did she let them keep their lives, but she also taught them the higher level secret arts. So they all treat Lotus as a savior and naturally all listen to her.â
Tie Linglong frowned. According to her standards, Lotus was right to do so anyway. âYou are a bad person,â she said.
âWhat is a bad person?â
Tie Linglong was stunned. She had never carefully thought about this question. âBad people are bad people. They kill the innocent for no reason, rob other peopleâs things, and bully the weak.â
âWhatâs bad about being a bad person?â
âUh, no one should be a bad person either way. If everyone becomes a bad guy, then the world will go to chaos.â
âA lot of things that shouldnât have happened happened. You are an orphan, arenât you? Your parents shouldnât have died but they died; you should have avenged them but you couldnât. And not everyone is qualified to be a bad person. With your current kung fu skills, Iâm afraid you canât even do so if you want to kill people wantonly.â Han Wuxian had sharp eyes, and she had quickly figured out the general situation of the little girl.
Tie Linglong took several steps back, âI canât win in an argument against you, but I wonât learn your secret techniques.â
âOnce you master this set of secret arts, you will be invincible and can kill whoever you want. Itâll be as easy as winking for you to seek revenge.â
âHee, do you think Iâm still a young kid? If it is really so formidable, how were you defeated and imprisoned by Lotus?â
âThe secret arts are like kung fu skills. Learning them doesnât mean that you can automatically make use of them after you master it. I am powerful and so is she. It depends on who can seize the moment and strike first. I was careless and Lotus seized the chance, and that was all. But if you are not powerful enough, it will be useless even if I give you the chance, isnât it?â
Tie Linglong suddenly found herself being led by the nose again. âLotus is very kind to me, so why would I sneak attack her?â
âSheâs kind to you now but that doesnât mean that she will be kind to you forever. Whatâs the harm in mastering a secret technique? After all, Itâs up to you to use it or not.â
Tie Linglong was convinced. Perhaps she had been tempted from the very beginning but it felt a bit strange to her that a good thing would suddenly fall on her head. âI can not save you and I do not want to save you.â
âItâs not a swap. Iâll teach you the secret arts of my own accord.â
âAll right.â Tie Linglong revealed a childlike smile, seeing no danger in this at all.
If the Dragon King were here, he would tell her that a lot of martial arts could do harm if slightly changed; for example, a modified internal energy manual. Tie Linglong didnât know about the old scores of the Dragon King and Lotus so she naturally knew nothing about the possible pitfalls.
âI only have one small request.â Han Wuxian was well versed in the art of negotiation and had thus patiently waited for the other sideâs consent before offering terms.
âEhh, you just said it wasnât a swap.â
âIâll pass the secret arts to you regardless if you agree to this or not.â
âWell ⦠Go ahead.â
âTell me more about â the Dragon King.â
When the name had first reached her ears, Han Wuxian was a bit confused but after a little thinking, she realized that this âDragon Kingâ must have an unusual relationship with Lotus.
This was a request that Tie Linglong could accept. So she spent more than two hours retelling the deeds of the Dragon King, some of which she had been personally involved in and some of which was hearsay. She was elated at first but gradually became full of resentment as she talked. But she knew little about the relationship between the Dragon King and Lotus, so she could not speak anymore on it.
Han Wuxian learned more from her talking than just the information Tie Linglong had provided. âNo wonder,â she said. âLotus is particularly interested in records of Qi deviation because sheâs not just collecting the information for herself. Unfortunately, the Waning Moon Hall has little experience in this area.â Han Wuxian wore a faint smile even when she was lost in thought.
âBut Lotus is with the Dragon King again. But to tell you the truth, I think that Sister Ru and the Dragon King are a bit more compatible â¦â
âIs the Dragon King a womanizer?â
âOf course notâ¦â Tie Linglong let out a long sigh that did not match her age. âBut thereâs still some things he canât decide for himself, like marrying the princess of the Stone Kingdom.â
âOnce youâve learned my secret arts, you will be as powerful as Lotus, or even better than her. Then the Dragon King will accept you and listen to your advice.â
Tie Linglong nodded in earnest.
âYouâve heard of the Manual of Seven Secret Techniques, havenât you?â
âOf course, this is the most profound secret manual of the Waning Moon Hall. The Master Trainer has learned one of these techniques and always shows it off in front of us.â
âShe learned the Seven Magical Tones, the weakest and the most useless of them all.â
âThe Seven Rotations skill is the most powerful, isnât it?â
âIt is very powerful but I didnât practice it and Iâm guessing you also donât want to practice it.â
There was no need for any other reason except that Tie Linglong would never want to practice a secret art that Han Wuxian hadnât practiced.
âWhat do you want to teach me?â
âThere are actually more than a dozen secret techniques in the Manual of Seven Secret Techniques. Only the top disciples of the Waning Moon Hall are qualified to learn one or two of them. Of course, that was before. Now that Lotus is in charge, Iâm afraid more people are learning them now.â
âThen teach me one that no one else knows.â Tie Linglong became interested but she still stayed vigilant and didnât approach Han Wuxian at all.
âIâll teach you a set of Jueyin Finger Technique.â
âJueyin Finger Technique? This is the most common finger technique in the Waning Moon Hall, and Iâve already learned it.â Tie Linglong couldnât help but be disappointed.
âThen give me a poke and let me have a look.â
âHeehee, Iâm not falling for it.â
âThereâs nothing I can do about you as long as youâre holding onto the chain in the ground.â
Tie Linglong slowly approached and carefully grabbed the chain on the ground, trying not to have it affect Han Wuxianâs ankle before she quickly poked the other side.
Han Wuxianâs smile grew bigger. âYouâve only achieved the first level and you said that youâve learned it?â
Tie Linglong was surprised and said, âNo one told me there was a higher level of the Jueyin Finger Technique.â
âOf course there is. There are nine levels of the Jueyin Finger Technique, and itâs already quite impressive if someone can reach the fifth level. This is because it can restrain most kung fu skills in the world and is especially effective for those who practice the Manual of Seven Secret Techniques.â
âWhich level are you at now?â
âThe seventh level.â
Although not yet aware of the power of this set of finger technique, Tie Linglong was still awed.
âJueyin means extreme yin. Forming a small amount of frosty Qi and making people itchy is only the most elementary stage. After the first three levels, you will be able to control the internal energy and secretly plant it in any acupoint of the enemy, even the most inconspicuous acupoints. And at the fifth level, you can control the onset of the internal Qi, and the types of the internal Qi increases to ten after you reach the seventh level. You can then make your enemy feel painful, itchy, mad, dizzy or nauseous.â
Tie Linglong thought it was a really fun secret technique. âDoesnât it have nine levels? What if you reach the ninth level?â
âThe pure yin energy will turn into yang energy. Youâll become invincible but will also burst apart and die.â
âThe seventh level is fine.â Tie Linglong was startled.
During the rest of the night, Han Wuxian passed on the second level of the Jueyin Finger Technique to Tie Linglong and attentively instructed her. âYou can master it in seven to fifteen days if you do it fast. Come back to me on the last day of the month.â
Tie Linglong cleared the scattered footprints on the ground and hid in the bushes. She saw four disciples of the Waning Moon Hall come in the early morning. Two of them carried a long stick with Han Wuxian sitting in the middle while the other two held the iron chain. Together they escorted the Hall Leader back to the prison, each of them maintaining a distance of at least five steps away from her.
Tie Linglong felt a bit sorry for the Hall Leader and her impression of Lotus fell slightly.
Tie Linglong then found her way back to the headquarter of the Waning Moon Hall. The Master Trainer didnât reprimand her. Instead, she coldly reminded her, âThereâs still half a month left.â
She had come back just to find a place to live, still refusing to undergo the training with her body. In less than ten days, she tried to escape for the second time, but this time she encountered an obstacle.
The Master Trainer had acted herself. âFive days from now, youâll have to leave your life here.â
Tie Linglong still ran away. She poked the Master Trainer and paralyzed an expert of the Waning Moon Hall for more than one hour with the second level of the Jueyin Finger Technique.
Tie Linglong seized the moment. The Master Trainer had been caught unprepared.
With plenty of water and dried food, Tie Linglong wandered in the desert for several days and completed the appointment with Han Wuxian on the last day of the month. âPlease teach me the rest of the levels. Iâll escape from the desert and never come back.â
âOkay.â Han Wuxian was very easygoing. She taught the levels little by little but stopped after teaching the sixth level.
Tie Linglong, however, was already obsessed with it. She bit her lips and said, âI know it, you want something in return. Say it. As long as I can do it, I wonât refuse.â
âI have a daughter.â Han Wuxianâs voice was as sweet as syrup. âIf you bring her to me, Iâll teach you the seventh level.â
âDeal.â Tie Linglong readily agreed. This condition was much easier than she had imagined. The most important thing was that it didnât violate any of her principles. âIâll bring her here for sure.â
âHer name is Han Xuan and she lives in the Gulping Wind Gorge of Xiaoyao Lake.â
âDo you have any token or something?â
âNo, and she doesnât know about me. I used to send people to see her.â
Tie Linglong felt that Han Wuxian was not like a disciple of the Waning Moon Hall at all. She suddenly felt an urge to save her but held back in the end. Han Wuxian wasnât an ordinary disciple. Her disappearance would attract crowds of Waning Moon Hall disciples. But Tie Linglong secretly vowed that she would definitely bring Han Xuan here.
âBy the way, my name is Tie Linglong.â
âYou are a very good little girl.â
The smile on Han Wuxianâs face was like an unrealistic aesthetic fantasy, which haunted Tie Linglongâs mind from then on. Tie Linglong went to the Xiaoyao Lake and found that Han Xuan had already left with the Dragon Army to go to the Norland. So she also went deep into the grassland and wandered around the camp of the Dragon Army. She wasnât able to find Han Xuan but had been discovered by Chu Nanping.
She didnât know that Han Wuxian had already been rescued by the Dragon King so she didnât tell the others anything. During the days she had reunited with the Dragon King, she never mentioned Han Wuxian of the Waning Moon Hall in front of anyone.
Lotus didnât mind her escaping from headquarters, but Tie Linglongâs feelings towards this sister-like Master Commander had changed. She was in awe of her now, and as soon as the order to kill Chu Nanping came out, she instinctively revealed the steel thorns in her sleeves.