Eternal Swordmaster

"Jianghu old rules!" An Ying quickly called out loudly, then looked uneasily at Lin Xin.

Lin Xin had no experience with such things either, so he just nodded at her, signaling her to handle it herself. The majority of memories lingering in his mind were about how failed challengers to the dojo had to leave behind compensation. However, this was his first time facing this situation, his heart was pounding; he was so nervous he could only leave it all to An Ying to resolve.

In the end, Huo Hengdao left behind all his weapons, along with the more than ten silver taels he had on him, before he finally left.

This was a substantial sum. Lin Xin converted the amount based on the prices he remembered, and the silver was roughly equivalent to over ten thousand Renminbi. Plus, the weapons were outrageously expensive. Although there were only three knives, each one cost no less than seven or eight thousand Renminbi. Especially in an environment where weapons were regulated by the martial arts sects and the government, they were priceless. In total, it was an income of over thirty thousand.

After waiting for Huo Hengdao to leave, An Ying sheathed her sword, and only then did Lin Xin finally heave a huge sigh of relief. At that moment, Lu Yu ran out from the room to start collecting the weapons and silver off the ground, and Lu Yun brought out a bucket of water to start cleaning the bloodstains on the floor.

Lin Xin looked at the innocent-looking An Ying. This fellow was illiterate and not very cultured. Her mentality was better than the Lu siblings, but only slightly. The unabashed adoration on her face revealed that she had deep feelings for his predecessor, Lin Xinru.

Lin Xinru came from a rich family, learned to read and write from a young age, plus he was not bad-looking, and he managed the dojo fairly well, leading a life without any concerns for food and clothing. In an era where literacy was a luxury, that made him truly an elite.

Plus, he was quite handsome, and with a wealthy family background—in modern terms, that would make him a prime example of a rich and handsome man with a high level of education!

"Sigh..." Remembering the words of the old man at his deathbed, Lin Xin realized that now he was in charge of the dojo, and suddenly, he was no longer afraid of the gleaming sword in An Ying's hand, and he let out a long sigh.

"Straighten yourself up, did you get hurt anywhere?" he asked.

An Ying's face immediately turned red, and she began to fidget.

"A little bit hurt..."

"Where? Let me see," Lin Xin, who was half a medical professional, exhaled and moved closer to check on her.

"It's just..." An Ying's face grew even redder.

"Where exactly is it anyway?" Lin Xin was at a loss for words. But after noticing the strange looks in Lu Yun and Lu Yu's eyes, he suddenly remembered, this world was not the same as his previous one, where the boundaries between men and women were much more strict. His actions were clearly inappropriate for the times.

Even for the more unrestrained daughters and sons of Jianghu, such disregard was somewhat presumptuous.

"It's my leg..." An Ying said, lowering her head, her voice as quiet as a mosquito, "I'm troubling you, big senior brother..."

"Where on your leg did you get hurt?" But since he had already spoken, his cheeks flushed slightly, he persisted.

An Ying silently turned around, revealing a thin, yet distinct cut on the back of her thigh. What was strange was that the wound was fine and there wasn't much bleeding.

"Sigh..." Lin Xin sighed again. Suddenly he felt as though he was starting to adapt to the life in this world.

"Lu Yu, go get some medicine to apply to it," he could only arrange for that.

"Medicine... we've run out, need to go down the mountain to buy..." Lu Yu replied softly.

That's when Lin Xin remembered that in this era, medical technology was quite primitive, many medicines were ineffective and didn't have good preservation—they had to be used immediately after being prepared. And some commonly used external medicines were very expensive, with no mass production, making the cost high.

Usually, he would descend the mountain to his family to procure these items, but now... he was no longer Lin Xinru; he was Lin Xin. How could he go back and face his parents there?

"Let's wait on this matter for now..." Lin Xin also roughly recognized a few medicinal herbs that could treat external injuries, such as dandelions for inflammation.

After some busywork, he collected some of the few medicinal herbs he could identify on the mountain, crushed them, and applied them to An Ying's wound.

Lu Yun, as usual, started a fire to cook, An Ying returned to her room to practice, and Lin Xin found himself without much to do.

He found a place to sit, looking out at the fading light of the sky, feeling a sense of confusion washing over him.

Having inexplicably arrived at this place, he didn't even know what he was supposed to do.

Sitting at the entrance of the dojo, he gazed at the grey stone stairs that stretched down from below, desiring nothing more than to just sit quietly and rest.

Smack.

He slapped his neck, dislodging a blood-red mosquito as big as a coin from his palm. The insect had been squished flat, its blood squeezed out.

The blood spot lingered on his neck, feeling somewhat damp.

"Hiss... such a large mosquito..." Lin Xin muttered, feeling his neck already beginning to swell.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure rapidly approaching the dojo from the stone stairs.

The figure moved swiftly up the stairs, his movements graceful but his speed blistering. He had only just come into view and, in the blink of an eye, had reached the gate of the dojo.

The newcomer turned out to be a middle-aged man with a big beard, dressed in black. He had a short knife on his waist and a character for 'Lin' embroidered on his chest. He looked strong and fierce.

"Young master? Why are you sitting here?" The man looked somewhat startled upon seeing Lin Xin.

"You're... Uncle Lin Hao?" Lin Xinru quickly searched his memory for the corresponding person.

Lin Hao, one of the three strongest protectors in the Lin Family, famous for his quick short knife skills in several surrounding cities, was one of the skilled experts recruited by the Lin Family.

The Lin Family was a well-known and influential clan in the vicinity, with many branches and a substantial force to protect their assets. They were much stronger than the Red Pine Sect, with just the protector team boasting over a hundred men, all robust soldiers. With only about a dozen of them, they could prevent a minor expert like An Ying from escaping.

And that was only a weak representation of the Lin Family's strength.

As a wealthy merchant, Lin Xinru's father, Lin Zhiwen, was a well-known and influential figure throughout Red Pine City.

Lin Hao ran up the mountain at this critical moment, which obviously wasn't for no reason.

For Lin Xin, this wasn't good news. He knew that the former Lin Xinru had escaped to the mountain to avoid his family's arrangements.

"Uncle Hao, what are you here for?" Lin Xinru stood up, not minding the mud on his buttocks, simply patted it off, and asked in an indifferent tone. He had almost perfectly adopted the manner of speech of the former Lin Xinru.

Lin Hao let out a sigh.

"The old master sent me to tell you that it's been long enough. It's time to go home."

He glanced at the worn sign of the Red Pine Martial Arts School.

"What's the use of hiding in this dilapidated little school? You have to go back to the Lin Family sooner or later and inherit the old master's wealth."

"Whether I go back or not is my business. The old man doesn't need to worry about it." Lin Xin snorted.

Old Master Lin Zhiwen, as a local tycoon, naturally looked down upon the Red Pine Sect, which was on the brink of closure.

He remembered that every time he went back home, among several siblings, it was he, the eldest brother, who was irresponsible. His brothers and sisters had already begun to manage accounts and personnel for the family, creating income and profit. In contrast, he was still the one who always asked for money, never thrifty with his spending.

With that in mind, he added another sentence.

"I'm here to learn martial arts, aren't I?"

"The family has plenty of people to teach martial arts. Taoist Priest Red Pine, although not weak, is about on par with your second uncle. There's no need to suffer here," Lin Hao said, seeing Lin Xinru's indifferent demeanor, he didn't bother saying more. After all, such words had been said too often and were already useless.

"Well then, I came here this time to inform you. The Shu Family has sent people recently, and the old master might be busy for a while, hosting a few honored guests. It's not very peaceful lately, and we are short on manpower, so try not to go down the mountain too much."

"I understand."

"Alright, this is your allowance for the month." Lin Hao took a small black bundle from behind and handed it to Lin Xin.

Lin Xin took it, feeling the hefty weight of copper coins and broken silver inside.

"Don't worry, there aren't many people up here, and the pickings are slim. Plus, with the junior sister here, even if bandits come, they wouldn't be interested," he casually replied.

Lin Hao nodded, but his expression turned somewhat grave.

"Young master, be careful. Someone might be targeting our Lin Family recently. The old master invited experts from the Shu Family to assist for this very reason." He spoke in a lower voice.

Lin Xin felt a chill in his heart, watching Lin Hao turn and leave with light, agile movements, he felt a pang of envy. And a hint of vigilance crept up on him—this place was not as safe as he had imagined…

If An Ying weren't by his side…

The family didn't have much respect for the Red Pine Sect, and his martial arts training here was naturally looked down upon,

Watching Lin Hao quickly disappearing into the distance, he sat for a while longer before turning to enter the Mountain Gate.

There weren't many people in the courtyard, and voices could faintly be heard from the kitchen area, it seemed like Lu Yun and Lu Yu were dealing with something.

The light of an oil lamp flickered in An Ying's room, seemingly engrossed in her practice.

Although the small Return to Origin Technique of the Red Pine Sect was just the most common Cultivation Technique, not everyone was suited for it, as it required a certain constitution and aptitude.

Shaking his head, Lin Xin stepped towards his room, thinking about the previous visit from the Hengdao Sect, along with today's news, he felt increasingly that the world was becoming unsafe.

"I must learn some self-defense arts," a thought crossed his mind.

"This body already has some fundamentals in swordsmanship, if I refresh them, they should be of some use."

As his mind pondered these things, he recalled the small booklet that his foster master had given him before his death.

"Could it be some Divine Technique Secret Skill?" He had actually been quite envious of his junior sister's small Return to Origin Technique; aside from her, he and the Lu siblings were unable to practice it, seemingly due to incompatible physiques.

His curiosity about Qigong had driven him to attempt it several times in recent days, though without any success.

Recalling the booklet today, he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

"I'll take another look when I get back, maybe there's a hidden secret inside."

Back in his room, he looked around to ensure no one was nearby and listened carefully for any sounds outside, confirming that no one was approaching.

Only then did he crawl under his sleeping quarters where there was a hidden door on the inner side of the wall. He gently pried it open to reveal the yellow booklet and some broken silver.

He took out the booklet and backpedaled as he crawled out from under the bed.

Smack.

Suddenly, a hand slapped down hard on his shoulder.

"Who's there?!"

Lin Xin startled, turned around sharply to see a tall figure standing behind him, sneering at him.

"After waiting for several days, you finally are willing to take out the Secret Technique?" The figure's voice carried a chilling tone.