Chapter 38
An Yuan’s attitude changed since he lost his memory, and Han Changsheng was extremely dissatisfied with it . Even though the Dog Lord’s personality used to be annoying, just asking for a beating . To be honest, he didn’t hate it so much; it made him easy to fool . In just a few days of pretending, he regarded him as a good brother . When he jumped off a cliff, the Dog Lord had jumped right after him . Such deep feelings of devotion!
Now, how did An Yuan’s personality change into something so much worse? The Dog Lord wouldn’t let him help heal the wound .
What else was it? “Your life and death are in my hands” . How could he talk to a teacher that way?! Had all his senses of propriety, justice, integrity, and honor been fed to the dogs?
An Yuan took a wild fruit for breakfast . Seeing Han Changsheng still sitting in his spot, he was stupefied . Without expression, he said, “My good Shifu, teach me sword skills from today on . ”
Han Changsheng couldn’t breathe . “Do you still want to learn?”
An Yuan insisted, “Naturally . I want to be strong . ”
Han Changsheng rolled his eyes . “Why do you want to get stronger? Do you remember anything?”
An Yuan narrowed his eyes, and Han Changsheng shuddered . “I want to be stronger so I can control everything in my hands and not be bullied again . ”
“Who bullied you . . . ?” Han Changsheng asked . He thought of coaxing the Dog Lord to smile, but then the shocking image of the Dog Lord’s face as he jumped off the cliff crossed his mind . His lips curled upwards . “Don’t you remember?”
An Yuan squinted, but didn’t answer .
After breakfast, Han Changsheng meditated for a while . The mountain air was still very fresh, suitable for practicing . Thanks to An Yuan helping him recuperate the former night; he felt much better .
However, while his body was at peace, his heart was not . He was already in a bad mood from the threats from the underworld’s immortals . Now this fallen immortal Dog Lord dared to threaten him . He was the leader of the Demonic Cult . Could he go on like this?!
Thinking long and hard, Han Changsheng decided not to encourage the Dog Lord’s spirit . He had a few tricks up his sleeve . Didn’t he have a few tactics in hand?
After a while, An Yuan came over and said, “Let’s start practicing . ”
Opening his eyes, Han Changsheng pointed to a pile of dirty clothes beside him, which had been soaked by his sweat the former night . Fortunately, before he went to the mountain, he remembered to buy several more sets of clothes for both of them to change and wash .
An Yuan didn’t even look at them . “No washing . ”
“If you don’t wash,” Han Changsheng insisted, a bitterness in his voice, “You won’t be taught to fight with a sword . ”
An Yuan’s face was indifferent . “Then you conquer your internal strength with just yourself . ”
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Han Changsheng sneered . “If I die, do you think you’ll have a good life? I’ve already poisoned you . If you don’t obey, you’ll suffer each night . ” Was that not a good threat?
An Yuan’s eyebrows moved slightly, and he sneered . “I need not even poison you . I can do a little something that will leave you wishing for death while helping you unblock your meridians . ”
Furious, Han Changsheng took out a bottle of Du Yuefei’s special invigorating pills from his arms . “This is a special Xieling pill made by an expert . If you eat it, you will shit diarrhea nonstop for seven days and seven nights . ”
“I sealed one of your meridians,” An Yuan said, still not in a hurry . “So you cannot shit for seven days and seven nights . ”
Han Changsheng took out another bottle of blood nourishing pills . “This is a Yang impotence pill . Take this medicine, and you will become a living eunuch from now on!”
“I can make you stink to heaven . Everyone will notice it, regardless of if they are people, ghosts, pigs, or dogs . ”
Han Changsheng shivered . An Yuan was so powerful? But, other than the Dog Lord, there are no other people in this valley, not even a single pig . If he did, wouldn’t he . . . Pei, pei! What am I thinking?
“Madness, you’re a fool that will call any man father and any woman mother!”
“I will use true Qi to collide your Lingquan acupoint1, so you won’t know whether you are a man or a crazy dog! It will drive you mad!”
“This is a fragrant and foul scent reversal pill . I’ll make you stink like nobody’s business!”
“I’ll turn your five senses upside down!”
“I, I, I . . . ” Han Changsheng felt around for another bottle of Jinchuang medicine, “This is . . . This is . . . Disfigurement and scattered boils! It turns people hideous after use!”
An Yuan’s mouth drew downwards . “You just applied that on me yesterday . ”
Triumphantly, Han Changsheng said, “That’s right! I’ve drugged you! Go do the laundry and cook . Maybe then I would then consider giving you the antidote . ”
An Yuan sniffed . “Childish . ”
“Fuck!” Han Changsheng said angrily . “You’re the one who’s childish! Ludicrous! There is no cure!”
An Yuan was too lazy to pester Han Changsheng anymore and grabbed the pile of dirty clothes . Seeing that Han Changsheng left his dirty underwear in it, he tossed them aside and said, “Wash these yourself . ”
Han Changsheng rolled his eyes . “I don’t know how . ”
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Disdain written across his face, An Yuan said, “You haven’t washed your underwear in twenty years?”
Han Changsheng: “ . . . ”
Walking to the stream with the clothes in his arms, An Yuan called, “If you’re not afraid of me painting something in it . . . ”
Han Changsheng jumped up . Furiously taking his underwear, he went to the stream, himself .
“Oh, by the way,” An Yuan sneered, “Your poisons . I saw you take one of each last night . ”
Han Changsheng: “ . . . ”
It wasn’t a good day!
That morning, they squatted by the river to wash clothes together .
An Yuan acted quickly, cleaning several articles of clothing in a short time . In the same period, Han Changsheng washed only his underwear, until–
His underwear ripped in half in his hands .
Throwing aside the rags, he shouted, “Sword practice!”
An Yuan’s injury wasn’t healed, so he didn’t practice with high intensity . Han Changsheng asked him to practice stabbing motions toward the bamboo . Drawing a point on a pole, he ordered him to stab only the point every time . If it wasn’t just right, he could damage it .
Elder Lan Fang taught Han Changsheng the essence of sword technique . It wasn’t so mysterious . Those with fancy moves and skills weren’t experts . The most exquisite moves were only composed of the simplest actions . The secret of winning lie buried within three words that everyone recognized: speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy .
But, today’s children were often blind . They were too eager .
An Yuan didn’t understand the plan Han Changsheng made for him, so he only concentrated on practicing . He’d seen Han Changsheng’s sword technique . Simple and sharp, but far from easy . Han Changsheng himself barely learned it in five days while trapped in the underground palace of the Peach Blossom Valley . In the past nineteen years, he was forced to practice by the old master and the hall leaders . If they weren’t as forceful as they were, he wouldn’t always drop everything to escape outside . All Elder Lanfang did was get him to understand .
In the evening, An Yuan helped Han Changsheng guide his Qi to neutralize his internal power .
He didn’t know if An Yuan intended to retaliate .
Han Changsheng’s whole body ached like when he practiced kung fu . Soon, he was soaked with cold sweat . An Yuan worked very hard to keep his internal force in balance . Palms to palms, An Yuan guided his Qi through Han Changsheng’s body . Even the Dog Lord was sweating profusely .
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Han Changsheng could do it alone, without An Yuan’s help . However, An Yuan refused to teach him the meditative chant . He had to fake his strength .
Unable to stand the pain, Han Changsheng reluctantly drew up a smile . “Good apprentice, you are looking too tired, and it pains me . You can tell me the meditative chant . Let your teacher do the hard work, himself . ”
“Shut up, if you don’t want to go to Qi deviation,” An Yuan said, his voice cold .
Han Changsheng scolded the Dog Lord 108 times in his heart . Enduring his anger, he let himself be tormented .
Finally, An Yuan stopped . Sliding down to the ground, he immediately fell asleep . Han Changsheng curled up beside him, not saying another word .
The next day, after An Yuan was done with the laundry, he returned to his practice .
He was about to start stabbing the bamboo again when Han Changsheng stopped him . “Wait a minute . Let’s change the way you’re practicing today . ”
An Yuan stopped, arching an eyebrow .
“Train your muscles today,” Han Changsheng said . Stepping forward, he pinched An Yuan’s arms and legs . His muscles were well proportioned . They weren’t too much, nor too little . His distribution of strength and speed muscles was just right for a swordsman . Because a swordsman didn’t need brute force required for weapons such as a broad ax or a meteor hammer, they needed to focus on dexterity . Therefore, swordsman masters looked thin in broad clothes, hidden under their normal clothes . Their strength wasn’t to be underestimated, though .
Pleased with what he found, Han Changsheng grinned, then pretended to be displeased . “Your muscles are poor . We need to carry out targeted training today to strengthen them . ”
Returning his sword to its scabbard, An Yuan quietly waited for Han Changsheng to arrange his plan .
“Today, we need to strengthen your butt muscles,” Han Changsheng pointed out . “Come, like this!”
Taking An Yuan to a bamboo stalk, he bent it towards the ground, then released . The bamboo bounced back, hitting An Yuan’s ass . In an instant, An Yuan’s murderous aura permeated the area . A passing butterfly fell to the ground .
Fearlessly greeting eyes that could freeze magma, Han Changsheng said, “Like this, practicing a hundred times today would be enough . It is important to know that gluteal muscles are the key part of connecting your waist and lower limb strength . Any swordsman must have strong gluteal muscles . . . Well, that’s it . Practice on your own . ”
Their eyes met, and all the insects and animals started to escape in a hurry .
Han Changsheng sneered in his heart . Ha, ha, ha! Do you think Laozi is easy to bully? Let’s see who gets to trifle with whom!
That night, An Yuan helped Han Changsheng dredge his true Qi . The third morning, Han Changsheng’s buttocks were swollen and painful . His lower back felt as if it will snap at any moment, each step made him grimace in pain .
Since the Black and White Impermanence deities were busy, they opened the illusion and looked at the mortal world . They saw Han Changsheng and An Yuan living in seclusion, deep in the mountains . Each day, they fought like bitches2 .
It worried the Black Impermanence . “You said this mortal was unreliable . Can he help An Yuan transition back to his place?”
The White Impermanence sighed . “Now there is no other way . We can’t interfere with mortals with our immortal power . We can only give them a bit of advice to see how much he can achieve . Is it not Lord’s fate? It’s all their creation . ”
The Black Impermanence connected the mirage to the star pool . Seeing An Yuan’s star of disaster still tirelessly bright, he sighed .
Du Yuefei’s special wound medicine was very effective . After a few days, An Yuan’s injury was all better . Han Changsheng had already developed more targeted training for him .
An Yuan’s basic skills weren’t bad . He had a good nature for martial arts practice . His efforts in one day often bested those who spent three or five days on the same exercises . However, the Yuehua Sect’s intensity training was nothing compared to what Han Changsheng went through as a child, so he was still worse off than Han Changsheng .
Besides his basic sword moves, Han Changsheng began teaching him technique comprehension .
When Han Changsheng was in the same place, Elder Lan Fang threw him into the underground palace of vines . Eager to leave, he unconsciously realized his true lesson . But, he couldn’t provide those conditions for An Yuan . He didn’t have the elder’s wealth of knowledge, and An Yuan was his first apprentice . He was clumsy and could only voice his lessons .
“Close your eyes, treat all the bamboo around you as enemies . Find their weakness, and attack them . ”
“But, the bamboo are all dead things . ” An Yuan said .
“Don’t be so brainless!” Han Changsheng replied . “You can also regard the enemy as a dead thing . As long as you are fast enough or can expect their actions soon enough to find their weakness, aren’t they as good as dead? I taught you to practice with bamboo, flowers, trees, and water so you could understand the extent of your sword . Think of it as a part of your body, like your hand, and close your eyes to strengthen the feeling . Achieve the integration of man and weapon . ”
“Understand that what matters is not the enemy, but your sword . ” Finishing his lecture, Han Changsheng picked his nose and flicked it away . A lot of things could be understood, but not spoken . Han Changsheng couldn’t teach people at all . He wanted to send the dog lord back to Elder Lan Fang for his advice . Luckily, they still had a while before the Wulin conference . He could grind it .
Unexpectedly, the Dog Lord listened . He closed his eyes .
A moment later, An Yuan woke from his epiphany and drew his sword from its scabbard . He danced in the bamboo forest .
Han Changsheng watched his every movement, stunned . Compared to the time he’d spent in the Yuehua Sect, he was advanced . The guy’s talent . . . was unlimited .
Watching An Yuan’s figure as he moved through his dance, Han Changsheng couldn’t hold in his itch to practice and joined him .
There was no end to martial arts . No matter how good you think you are, there is always someone out there that is better . Thus, no matter how powerful they already were, they strove to be stronger . If none could surpass them, then they should attempt to surpass themselves .
That evening, An Yuan again helped Han Changsheng dredge his Qi . After that, when the man fell asleep, An Yuan moved to his side . Looking down at him with his eyebrows creased in the moonlight, he whispered to himself .
“Who are you, really?”