Wuxia: Drinking with Spring Breeze

In a daze, Yang Ge suddenly felt a brightness before his eyes.

He was bewildered for a few seconds, but his befuddled consciousness finally caught up and he turned his head toward the source of the light.

There, in the pitch-dark room, sat a young man in his thirties at the dining table, earnestly flipping through an antique book by the light of a solitary lamp.

The man was dressed in black but did not wear a mask to cover his face, his long hair neatly combed and secured on top of his head with a white jade hairpin, his layers of clothing meticulously arranged without a single wrinkle, his skin unmarked by the rough traces of wind and sun... A glance was enough to know he was either rich or noble!

"Awake?"

The young man asked softly without looking away, his tone gentle and casual, as though chatting with an old friend.

Yang Ge sat up straight and reached under his pillow... Sure enough, it was empty!

"Not even giving me a chance to catch my breath, huh?"

He sighed softly, slipped on his cloth shoes, and looked around, "Where's my dog?"

Without looking back, the young man pointed at the shut door: "In the yard."

Yang Ge: ...

If he remembered correctly, he had brought Huang into the room before going to sleep.

Which meant that this person, without waking him up, not only took the secret manual of the "Chaotic Wind Leg" from under his pillow but also managed to let Huang out into the yard.

He pondered as he flared his nostrils, sniffing seriously around the room, and after a moment said helplessly, "You even used drugs, isn't that a bit too much credit for me?"

Upon hearing this, the young man finally turned his head to look at Yang Ge, laughing softly, "A life is always more precious than some drugs, right?"

Yang Ge thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "That is true."

After saying that, he stood up, walked to the dining table, picked up the teapot with one hand, flipped an empty bowl with the other, poured a bowl of cold water, and slid it in front of the young man, "Please forgive the humble reception at my modest home, pardon the lack of hospitality!"

Only when he got closer did he notice that the young man's clothing was not a night suit, but rather a fine garment with a subtle pattern woven into it.

Such attire, he had not seen in his half a year's stay at Yuelai Inn.

"No trouble at all."

The young man gently tapped the table to express his thanks, "You just moved in today, so some hastiness is understandable."

At these words, Yang Ge couldn't help but sigh again, pulled over a stool, and sat opposite the young man, "Why can't you just ask openly for it? It's not like I would refuse to give it!"

Immersed in the secret manual, the young man kept flipping through its pages, smiling without raising his head, "Why we can't ask openly, don't you have an idea in your mind already?"

Yang Ge wondered aloud, "The people of martial arts circles dare not demand openly, but do you officials also dare not to?"

The young man uttered a 'tsk' sound, "I thought you were clever, but how quickly you've turned foolish. Are you supposed to talk about that?"

Yang Ge, overcome with fatigue, rested on the table and said softly, "You haven't been hiding it either!"

Just then, the young man finished flipping through the last page of the secret manual. He closed the book and suddenly asked, "Where is your family?"

Yang Ge: "They... they are very far away!"

The young man spoke with a double meaning, "How far? As far as the grasslands?"

Yang Ge, seemingly oblivious to the deeper meaning in his words, closed his eyes and murmured softly, "Much farther... many worlds apart!"

The young man uttered another 'tsk', "No wonder you're so young yet don't want to live!"

Yang Ge opened his eyes and looked at him, laughing, "You really are an official sir, to notice such a thing."

The young man, looking resigned, said, "You haven't been hiding it either!"

Yang Ge: "Is there a need to?"

Young man: "Is there really a need for that?"

Yang Ge: "You've already seen the stuff. If you like it, feel free to take it. If you think I can't keep my mouth shut, then give me a swift end—that's fine. But please, I ask you to find a good home for that little dog outside!"

The young man stared intently at him: "You cannot let go of even a stray dog, so how can you let go of your own life so easily?"

Yang Ge: "I have no family left; I can't let it have no family as well."

The young man fell silent, and after a long time, he gently pushed the martial arts manuscript on the table back to Yang Ge: "I've looked at this, and there's nothing wrong with it. Although it's not a supreme divine art, it's definitely an internal martial art that can help one achieve great Inner Strength. It's more than enough to form a solid foundation!"

"Given your natural talent, if you're willing to put in the effort, you could achieve great success in no more than half a year!"

"You don't need to worry about the trouble outside either. I will pin this matter on the old bastard who troubled you last night!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Ge said speechlessly: "You're supposed to be a dignified man who lives off the government, how come you're just like Jiang with his crude ways, so ready to lay hands on people?"

The young man chuckled: "I need to figure out why Jiang Kui would treat a mere inn servant like you differently, don't I?"

Yang Ge asked curiously: "So have you figured it out?"

He knew there was something wrong with his body.

Anyone who "wakes up" to find themselves suddenly seventeen or eighteen years younger, with all the chronic injuries and old wounds fully healed, and is able to easily throw a two-hundred-pound millstone like tossing a Frisbee... would know there's something off with their body!

He had always felt that perhaps this was a "side effect" of traveling through a space-time tunnel.

The young man nodded: "A body as flawless as jade, all meridians unblocked!"

Yang Ge pondered these words: "That's a good thing?"

The young man couldn't help rolling his eyes, speaking with a tone that was indistinguishable between envy and jealousy: "Your natural talent is known in the history of martial arts as the 'Body of a Petite Grandmaster'!"

Yang Ge responded indifferently: "Grandmaster? Is that very impressive?"

The young man's eyes almost rolled back into his head at that, but seeing Yang Ge yawning uncontrollably, he still patiently explained: "The path of martial arts is complex and ever-changing, with distinctions between Buddhism and Taoism, internal and external arts, and further branches such as swordplay, spearmanship, saber techniques, and so on. Each school has its own method of practice, differing in speed and strength."

"But as the saying goes, 'All roads lead to Rome, all arts lead to the same end.' Even though the path of martial arts is as varied as a blooming garden, it can ultimately be condensed into five major realms: 'Solidifying the Body and Cultivating the Origin', 'Opening the Qi Sea and Absorbing Qi', 'Accumulating Qi and Transforming Peaks', 'Pushing Aside the Clouds to See the Moon', 'Transforming the Rainbow and Ascending to the Heavens'."

"In the vast world of martial arts in the land of Shenzhou, there are countless practitioners, yet ninety-nine percent of them will only ever linger in the 'Solidifying the Body and Cultivating the Origin' stage for their whole lives!"

"Those who reach 'Opening the Qi Sea and Absorbing Qi' and cultivate Inner Qi are already considered masters, free to wander the land without worry for food and drink."

"Those who reach 'Accumulating Qi and Transforming Peaks' and cultivate True Qi are invariably renowned figures in the martial community, extravagance and riches coming easily to them!"

"Those who penetrate the Two Bridges between Heaven and Earth and achieve 'Pushing Aside the Clouds to See the Moon' are considered the Mount Tai and Polaris of the martial community, capable of founding sects and leaving a legacy after their death!"

"You were born with a body as flawless as jade, all meridians unblocked. There are no barriers for you before achieving 'Transforming Peaks and Returning to True Essence', and it's easier for you to go further once you reach 'True Essence' compared to others. Hence, martial artists call it the 'Body of a Petite Grandmaster'."

"Hmm, to my knowledge, those martial artists born with your kind of talent have at the least reached the realm of 'True Essence' and become great figures of the martial world."

"Now tell me if that's impressive or not?"

Yang Ge, having stayed up all of the previous night and also sustaining some internal injuries, was fighting off sleep, his eyelids battling each other. Hearing the explanation, he could only muster up the energy to respond nonsensically: "What you're saying is, reaching the Qi Sea is guaranteed, and seeing the Moon is to be expected, right?"

The young man corrected: "Those who reach the 'Pushing Aside the Clouds to See the Moon' realm are known as 'singular existences' in the martial world."

Yang Ge forcefully opened his sore eyes: "Please advise, sir, what realm does Jiang rank in?"

After a moment of thought, the young man spoke steadily, one sentence at a time: "Jiang Kui, the 'Star of Doom' of Yan Yun, second in command of the Five Ghosts, banded together with his brothers in a sworn fraternity, rallying in the mountains, gathering over ten thousand followers, once led them to rob and kill..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Yang Ge hastily gestured with his hands: "Are you even allowed to speak of such things? I simply wish to know what realm Jiang is in."

The young man looked at him with a half-smile, serious in his reply: "You are a smart man, do you really think you have a choice?"