CHAPTER 45: 43, AN UNSHARPENED KNIFE

Taiping Medical Hall had always been apart from the world’s strife, on Anxi Street, no matter how many merchants came and went, through the changing seasons and the solstices, the Medical Hall stood there, offering a reassuring presence.

But Taiping Medical Hall suddenly bustled with activity.

The Princely Heir and Commandery Princess scaled the walls to enter, Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er sought shelter here, with laughter, cooking fires, and a ceaseless stream of Jianghu Guests...

Chen Ji stood outside the door with a complex expression, looking at Old Yao, "Master, did you do this to have him teach me Sword Skill?"

Old Yao, with his hands clasped behind his back, spoke indifferently outside the door, "The Liang Family’s Saber Technique is unrivaled in Henan Province, there are many in this world who possess skill but few who seek the ’Dao’, learn well."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "What’s the difference between skill and ’Dao’?"

Old Yao answered leisurely, "The ’Dao’ is the intangible direction, while skill is the path at your feet, remember, with ’Dao’ to guide skill, skill will succeed, with skill to control the ’Dao’, skill will wither."

"Then why do you have me learn Sword Skill first?"

"Start with learning it. How to enter the ’Dao’ of Sword from Sword Skill is a secret not passed on by the Liang family. However, as the Liang family now has no descendants, this art may become lost at any moment. What if, on a whim, Liang Gou’er decides to transmit it to you... By the way, you’ve been making quite a bit of money lately, you’ll pay for the food expenses of these two from the Liang family."

Chen Ji became wary, "Are you still thinking about my trifles?"

Old Yao, "Thinking."

Chen Ji, "..."

At this moment, Liang Mao’er’s voice rose from the backyard, "Excuse me... where will we sleep?"

Chen Ji hurried in, "Sleep in the apprentice dormitory, we have a communal room big enough for five."

Liang Mao’er quickly said, "No need, no need, five in a communal room is a bit cramped. My brother can sleep here, I’ll sleep in the kitchen."

Chen Ji laughed, "It’s fine, we can squeeze in, winter is coming and the kitchen could freeze you to death."

"Okay then..."

Liang Gou’er was already fast asleep, and Liang Mao’er gently placed him on the bed, removing his shoes and socks for him.

However, after completing all this, Liang Mao’er himself did not sleep. Instead, he turned to look at Chen Ji and said cautiously, "Um... I can help out with chores, cleaning, cooking, and laundry - I’m not afraid of hard work."

Before Chen Ji could reply, Liang Mao’er grabbed a wooden basin, took away the dirty clothes and socks from the dormitory, fetched some wood ash from under the kitchen stove, and began scrubbing in the courtyard, seemingly fearful that the Medical Hall might reconsider sheltering them.

Wood ash and soap nuts were natural detergents of that era, and if available, some would add mint, Rhubarb, and lotus leaves for a scrub, leaving a faint fragrance on the clothes after washing.

Liang Mao’er, plump and squat, struggled a bit, so Chen Ji thought for a moment and brought over a small chair, "Sit and wash."

Liang Mao’er looked up with a smile, "Thanks... I’m sorry for the trouble."

Chen Ji sized him up, without Liang Gou’er by his side, Liang Mao’er didn’t seem like someone from Jianghu at all, more like a diligent worker from some restaurant.

"You guys don’t have any money left?" Chen Ji wondered.

"Actually, I’ve saved a little secretly, but I can’t let my brother know," Liang Mao’er said with an honest smile, "I’m planning to save enough money to buy a few acres of land in the countryside near Luocheng City. That way, even if my brother doesn’t become a servant for the rich and famous, we can still survive."

"That won’t be enough for your brother’s drinking expenses."

"We’ll see when the time comes..."

By the time Liang Mao’er finished washing all the dirty clothes accumulated by Liu Quxing and She Dengke, his stomach suddenly grumbled.

Liang Mao’er’s face turned embarrassed, "Um... does the Medical Hall have anything to eat? Anything is fine, I’m not picky."

Chen Ji brought Liang Mao’er a large pot of leftover cornmeal porridge from last night, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and four mixed-grain cakes.

But Liang Mao’er ate it all in one go, wiped his mouth, and then silently looked at him.

Chen Ji took a deep breath and fetched another four mixed-grain cakes and a dish of pickled vegetables...

After Liang Mao’er finished eating, Chen Ji said melancholically, "Your brother needs to hurry up and teach me the Sword Skill."

"Ah? Is it so urgent?" Liang Mao’er was startled.

Chen Ji said earnestly, "If your brother doesn’t teach me soon, I’m afraid I might reconsider..."

Liang Mao’er quickly asked, "Have you practiced the sword before?"

"Never."

Liang Mao’er thought for a moment, "Then I can teach you first. I know all the basic Sword Skills."

With that, he swung his plump body twice, "My dad had me learn swordsmanship alongside my brother when he was training, but I just don’t have the talent for it."

Chen Ji, eyeing Liang Mao’er’s clumsy display, changed the subject, "Has your brother always been like this?"

"He wasn’t always like this," Liang Mao’er quickly responded, "My brother didn’t drink before, nor did he frequent places of ill repute. Back then, my brother was the greatest Swordsman in Henan Province, with one long knife, he killed bandits from three mountains, and ordinary Jianghu people coming to Luocheng City would have to pay respects to him first."

Liang Mao’er spoke of his brother’s past glory, his eyes full of reminiscence and longing.

Chen Ji became curious, "What happened after that?"

Liang Mao’er’s tone sank, "Then my sister-in-law appeared - she was very beautiful and gentle, and she treated my brother and me very well. Seeing my brother practicing the sword, she pestered him to teach her, and after she learned, she disappeared. Ever since then, my brother stopped practicing the sword and took to drinking."

The Liang Family’s Saber Technique was not to be passed on, not only because it was a tradition of the Liang family but also because they were well aware that the secret of practice was not to be shared.

Yet Liang Gou’er passing on the Saber Technique led to such an end.

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Has your sister-in-law never appeared again?"

Liang Mao’er pondered for a while, "My brother said, she might have returned to the North, to the Jing Dynasty..."

Before his words had fallen, Liang Gou staggered drunkenly to the doorframe and bellowed, "I said, don’t bring up that matter again!"

Liang Mao’er shrank his neck, "Alright, no more, no more."

Liang Gou squinted at Chen Ji, "You really want to learn the saber?"

"Yes," Chen Ji replied earnestly.

"Then let me ask you, for what purpose do you want to learn the saber?" Liang Gou prodded.

"For self-preservation."

Liang Gou burst out laughing, "Then you should not learn the saber! Saber skill is about bold and expansive movements; those who learn it must first possess the confidence to cleave through mountains, not some nonsense about self-preservation. By the time you think about self-preservation, you’ve already given up your saber!"

Chen Ji thought for a moment, "Then what should I learn?"

Liang Gou tossed his own saber to Chen Ji, pointing toward the kitchen, "Bring a piece of firewood. Once you cut it with one stroke, I’ll know what you should learn."

Chen Ji fetched a piece of firewood and placed it in the courtyard. Drawing the saber, he struck downward, following the grain of the wood.

The long knife stuck on the surface of the firewood, and only then did he realize that Liang Gou’s knife wasn’t sharpened!

How could that be? A dull knife, yet it managed to cleave through Lin Chaoqing’s hat mid-air?

He looked at Liang Gou, "Why isn’t this knife sharpened?"

Liang Gou, with a carefree attitude, replied, "Because there is no need."

Chen Ji was at a loss for words, as Liang Gou chose the most pretentious answer between ’the most serious’ and ’the least serious’.

At that moment, Liu Quxing and She Dengke were also awakened and peeked out from behind the doorframe, curious to see what was happening.

But they saw Liang Gou closely examining the splitting mark made by Chen Ji, though what he was looking at was unclear.

Without a word, he took the long knife from Chen Ji’s hand and, with a casual wave, split the piece of firewood standing in the middle of the courtyard neatly in two, leaving a smooth cut surface.

Liang Gou then turned to Chen Ji with a meaningful look, "The saber is domineering. The Liang Family’s Saber Technique is about facing challenges head-on, never flinching. No matter whether you have faults in your form, with one slash of my saber, your entire body is riddled with flaws. In your hands, the saber doesn’t resemble a saber, but rather a sword that specifically targets faults, one that takes an unexpected path. So, you should not practice the saber but seek someone to teach you swordsmanship instead."

"Does personality determine one’s path?" Chen Ji mused.

"Your heart and intentions must align, for if the path you tread does not match your heart, you will not get far," explained Liang Gou.

Beside them, Liang Mao’er, perplexed, chimed in, "Brother, you said before that the sword is the king of weapons and is similar to our family’s saber technique."

Liang Gou looked at Chen Ji and said profoundly, "The sword I’m talking about isn’t the long sword at your side, but rather the ’sword seed’ within the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple. Thus, you should not seek me out for saber training; you should go to the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple to learn swordsmanship."

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment.

He had once been led by Ice Flow into that ancient battlefield, and in that battlefield, someone had asked him: who dares steal my ’sword seed’?

Could the ’sword seed’ mentioned by that person be related to the ’sword seed’ of the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple?

Chen Ji inquired, "Can I only learn it at the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple?"

Liang Gou pondered awhile, "There should also be someone in the Ning Dynasty who practices it, but that person last made a move over a decade ago, and those who have seen him in action are all dead."

Chen Ji fell into deep thought.

If he really needed to go to the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple to learn, did that mean he would have to establish great accomplishments in the Ning Dynasty and gradually rise through the ranks until he was eventually sent back to the Jing Dynasty?

But when would that be?

Liang Gou looked at him and said, "Don’t practice the saber anymore; practising it now will only lead to you developing bad habits, and correcting them later won’t be easy."

Liang Mao’er muttered under his breath, "But brother, if he doesn’t practice, where will we live? What will we eat..."

Liang Gou changed his tune immediately, "You can start by practicing stances, practicing footwork! As the saying goes, teach the fists but not the feet and you end up fighting your master! Footwork is the foundation of using force throughout the body. Without practicing footwork, when you punch, you’re just using an arm’s strength – and how much power can one arm possess? With footwork, the force comes from the legs to the hips, from the hips to the waist, from the waist to the arms. In this way, the strength of the whole body converges at one point and you can..."

Before he could finish, someone was heard calling at the Medical Hall entrance, "Chen Ji, Chen Ji!"

She Dengke quickly looked up, while Chen Ji frowned; both recognized the voice - it was Chunhua’s.

After hesitating for a long time, She Dengke ultimately did not step out of the room, while Chen Ji went to the entrance of the Medical Hall and curiously asked, "Miss Chunhua, what’s the matter?"

Chunhua’s eyes were still swollen from crying as she produced an invitation and whispered, "My Lady invites everyone from the Medical Hall to attend the Literary Meeting at the Prince Mansion this afternoon; she said she has important matters to discuss with you in detail."

Chen Ji opened the red invitation which read: On the evening of September ten, a banquet will be held, inviting the literati and distinguished persons of Luocheng City. We hope to share in expansive fellowship and would be honored by your presence. Hence, we await your esteemed arrival.

The Literary Meeting was organized by the Princely Heir, and Consort Jing was using this event to discuss matters regarding the Liu Family with him in detail?

Chunhua looked at Chen Ji with hopeful eyes, lightly lifting her sleeve to reveal it was covered in welts from beatings with a cane.

Chen Ji shook his head, "Miss Chunhua, showing me this is pointless. If I don’t wish to go, even if you’re whipped again, it has nothing to do with me."

Chunhua became anxious.

Yet, Chen Ji’s tone shifted, "However, tell Consort Jing that I will attend."

...

Today, one Chapter.

The garden head’s new book "Rebirth: A Daily Income of One Billion U.S. Dollars": When the wheel of fate starts to turn backward.

In this life, Lin Dong is destined to become the one manipulating from behind the scenes, enjoying the life of a top-tier rich second generation.