Although the spell used looked bloody and evil, in fact no innocent people were harmed.
So, it should be okay?
……
Xi Heng untied the reins of the brown horse that was previously tied in the forest, sat on the saddle and patted the brown horse's neck, and the horse galloped freely on the official road.
The hooves crushed the snow and threw it behind them.
The senior sister reminded them not to take the main road, so they turned to some smaller roads closer to the mountains.
There was nothing else we encountered along the way. There were already few people going out in this kind of weather, let alone on this kind of mountain path. At most, we would meet some woodcutters and hunters.
They spent three days climbing over mountains and crossing ridges, and only stayed overnight in village inns or deserted temples in the mountains. They did not get close to the official road, let alone the big city. Even if there were experts in the Tianliang army who received the news and came to hunt them down, it would waste a lot of time to follow their trail step by step.
After riding leisurely for more than ten days, Xi Heng bypassed Jinshi City, passed Xiuzhou and Gui'an further north, crossed the Xiujiang River by boat, and arrived at the gate of a prosperous city that was no smaller than Jinshi. The name of the city was Jiangning.
The tall and sturdy city wall has been eroded by rain and snow, and many ancient traces are visible on the surface. When the setting sun shines on the top of the city, the words "Jiangning" on the gate are particularly conspicuous.
There was a long queue under the Sangong City Gate. Most of the people in the queue were victims who had fled from the war in the south. They were carrying packages with their wives, children and the elderly. Their faces were full of vicissitudes of life. Many of them had scars that had not healed and were difficult to cover up, and their expressions were numb.
The Tianliang Uprising marched northward to attack Da Zhao. On the way there, bandits were rampant. The weather was bitterly cold, and food was in short supply and became more expensive. However, the ones who suffered were not the Tianliang officers and Da Zhao officials, but the ordinary people.
Xi Heng paid a few taels of silver to join a more convenient and quick queue to enter the city. He simply said that he was from Jinshi City, and was easily allowed to pass.
As you enter the city, you'll see a prosperous scene.
The sun has been out for the past few days, and the thick layers of snow on the ground have mostly melted away. Only in the shadows of roofs or in street corners are there some piles of snow that are no longer soft.
The streets were filled with people again. The closer one got to the prosperous area in the center of Jiangning City, the more figures one could see, and there was a vague feeling of being crowded.
Xi Heng and his senior sister rode their horses, slowing down on the streets of the city. They first found a jewelry store at the corner of the commercial street and exchanged a jade pendant for two hundred taels of silver.
This time they were lucky. After looking at the jade pendant, the shopkeeper did not directly call out an outrageously low price, but instead quoted a price that Xi Heng could accept.
She was straightforward and delivered the goods at the same time as the money.
The girl took the gold leaves from the two brocade bags and took her senior sister to a larger restaurant in the city, where she booked a private room and ordered some food.
Cherry wine, osmanthus cake and other small breakfasts were served first. Xi Heng filled a small cup for his senior sister and clinked his own cup with hers.
"I'll ask Senior Sister to find a place to live in the city in the next few days."
"What are your requirements?"
"As long as Senior Sister likes it, I'm satisfied with any kind of courtyard."
The girl waved her hand.
She felt that she probably wouldn't live here for long and would leave the city from time to time to travel to other places, so there was no need to consider too many details.
"There has been a war in the south recently, but this place is relatively far north and not threatened by the Heavenly Beam. I don't know whether the housing prices will rise or fall... More than a hundred taels of silver is enough for the two of us to find a house with beautiful windows and misty clouds, but we still have two big horses that need to be taken care of. Maybe we need to buy a small courtyard with a stable and hire a servant to raise the horses." The sister stretched out her fingers and calculated:
"Since I have hired a servant, I will definitely need to hire some maids and servants, as well as cooks..."
"Eh..." Xi Heng had never thought about these things, and just said: "Senior sister, just do as you see fit. If two hundred taels of silver is not enough, I can add a lot more."
She had only sold a slightly larger jade pendant at the jewelry store before, and she still had three on her.
"That's not necessary." Senior Sister shook her head: "One hundred taels should be enough, and I still have a lot of money left."
Xi Heng nodded.
For dark energy warriors like them, as long as they want, money will come rolling in, so she doesn't care about it.
What is more important now is to decipher the fragments of the martial arts technique called the Qimie Sword Technique.
Xi Heng picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and placed it to his lips, then took out the martial arts secret book from the package around his waist.
In fact, while staying overnight on the road and rushing on the journey, Xi Heng had already read the fragments of the Hua Jin martial arts book several times.
I've read about the sword moves, sword techniques, and mental skills, but I haven't fully understood them.
For example, in the fragments of the Hua Jin Sword Technique, the word "Sha" is often mentioned, but she still doesn't know what it is.
When practicing the Qimie Sword Technique, not only the sword technique is needed, but also a "Sha" is needed to accompany the moves. Otherwise, the moves will not be complete and it will not be the real Qimie Sword Technique.
But Xi Heng really found it difficult to guess what the word "Sha" meant, how to refine it, and what role it played in the practice of swordsmanship.
She learned the Red Line Sword Technique, which only required energy and blood to perform the moves, and nothing else needed to be involved.
As long as the Qi, blood and strength are released in a fixed way, a red line will appear in front of the blade. Then, with the participation of hidden strength and multiple changes, all sword moves can unleash sword energy.
The Red Line Sword Technique only has moves and blood, but the Sword of Destruction has an additional layer of "evil".
Xi Heng asked his senior sister about this, but she had never seen other martial arts that could transform your energy, so she didn't quite understand it.
She had read four books on Hua Jin martial arts, but none of the other four books on martial arts in the palace had anything similar to the "Sha" in the Qimie Sword Technique.
The effect of "Sha" will be apparent during the period of "Ming Jin". Other martial arts, whether it is the Gang Qi of Tian Gang Tong or the Zhen Qi of You Long Palm, are gradually condensed after reaching An Jin, which is fundamentally different from "Sha".
Moreover...in the remaining chapters of the Qimie Sword Technique, 'Sha' was not described as a breath of energy.
"Maybe it's because this is a fragment, so it's hard to understand." Staring at the unclear explanation in the secret book, Xi Heng shook his head.
"If I had the opportunity to read the entire book, I might be able to understand it easily... Or, I could find someone who has learned the Qimie Sword Technique to explain it to me."
Unfortunately, almost all the Liang family members in Jianchang City had been killed by her, and there was no one left who practiced the Qimie sword technique.
If he really couldn't understand, Xi Heng planned to go to the Liang family and ask someone to interrogate him in the next life.
"What on earth is Sha?" the girl said to herself.
"Are you still thinking about it?" Hong Miao beside him advised:
"Since I can't figure it out, I'll just put it aside for now. When I get other Huajin martial arts, maybe I can understand it by analogy."
"I've also seen a few books on Hua Jin, and there's no such thing as 'Sha' in them." Xi Heng shook his head.
Maybe because it was her first time seeing Hua Jin martial arts, Senior Sister thought that other Hua Jin martial arts also had this special thing called 'Sha', but in fact, that was not the case.
"How many...books?" Senior sister spoke slowly.
"I once obtained four complete books on the method of transforming energy in the imperial palace."
Xi Heng did not hide it. After all, her senior sister said she would help her deduce the Red Line Sword Technique. Giving those books on Hua Jin martial arts to her senior sister might be of some use.
"Four books? Complete ones?" Senior Sister Hong Miao was stunned again.
"It's right here." Xi Heng turned around, and like a magician, he pulled out a simple-looking book from under his coat and handed it to his senior sister calmly.
There are no words or decorative pictures on the cover of the book.
Hong Miao's fingers trembled a little, and her eyes fell on Xi Heng first, and she asked hesitantly:
"This... is the martial art of Hua Jin?"
Fortunately, she has never seen the real martial arts of Hua Jin.
The so-called Hua Jin, each copy is a rare treasure, and the sects and families that hold it will guard it in the deepest part of the library. Even the Huangmei Mountain Army, who is rumored to be able to obtain martial arts by entering the mountains, must have a certain prestige and status to have the opportunity to enter the Zhutian Martial Arts Pavilion and read the Hua Jin martial arts preserved in it.
But her junior sister actually casually handed over the book containing the four branches of Hua Jin martial arts.
"Well, I memorized it carefully and then copied it down."
This is what Xi Heng worked hard to achieve, and he is quite proud of it.
"Transformation..." Hong Miao slowly reached out and opened the unnamed book on the table.
On the first page, there are three big characters "Youlong Zhang".
There is no introduction or preface, it just starts with the internal energy circulation method.
Hong Miao murmured:
"Take the essence of the three treasures and infuse the whole body with true qi, cleanse the diseased and turbid qi in the body, so as to eliminate evil and eliminate good... Expel the old and take in the new, the true qi will spread throughout the body, store the essence, and refresh the mind, cultivating the true essence of Dantian..."
The senior sister stared at the book in front of her with full concentration, reading it carefully at a glance and turning the pages over and over again.
Time passed by in a daze, and when all the dishes were served, Xi Heng was slowly drinking fruit wine beside him. Half of the meal had been eaten before the senior sister finally finished watching the part about the Swimming Dragon Palm, came to her senses and exhaled a breath.
After reading it, she looked even more confused: "Is this the transformation power...?"
"Yes." Xi Heng picked up a piece of shrimp for his senior sister.
She drank half a pot of wine herself and felt a little dizzy.
Hong Miao's eyes flickered and fell on Xi Heng again:
"But... since there is Hua Jin martial arts in the palace, why did Senior Zhao Qianqiu want to teach you the Red Line Sword?"
"I'm not going." Xi Heng swallowed a piece of vegetable leaf and answered casually.
“……”Hong Miao was becoming more and more confused.
"Don't think too much, Senior Sister." Xi Heng repeated the other party's words of comfort:
"Eat now, or it will get cold."
"But."
"I'll give this book to you for now. I'll read it after I'm done with my work. It should be helpful for my future deduction of the Red Line Sword Technique."
"Hmm..." Hong Miao closed the book in a daze and picked up the chopsticks.
The time she spent with Xi Heng was probably the time in her life when she was most surprised.
This junior sister broke her cognition again and again. She was really too special...
Hong Miao picked up the bamboo chopsticks, picked up the shrimp handed to her by her junior sister, and put it into her mouth.
……
After dinner, Xi Heng saw that it was getting late outside and he was feeling a little sleepy. He yawned, walked to the bed and sat down, then patted the bed with his left hand.
Mm, soft and fluffy.
On her way to the south and back, she had never stayed in a restaurant or inn with such a nice environment.
Today I can take a good rest and relax.
"Junior sister called me?"
When Hong Miao heard the sound of slapping the bed, she thought it was her junior sister asking her to go to the bed.
Xi Heng booked a large single room in the restaurant, which was big enough for two people to sleep together.
She had slept in the same bed with her senior sister when she was injured, and she was already used to it.
Sometimes when we spent a night together and it was too cold outside, I would subconsciously shrink my body towards my senior sister, so that our skin, wearing only thin clothes, could touch each other's body temperature and absorb the warmth from each other's skin.
Most of the time, the senior sister did not resist this, but instead would extend a hand and hug you back.
However, ever since Xi Heng slaughtered many rebel soldiers in front of the other party and set up a strange ritual to drain the corpses, the senior sister's attitude towards her has subtly changed.
So much so that when they slept in the same bed at night, they would always keep a distance between each other - Xi Heng was a little dissatisfied with this.
Therefore, although she just patted the quilt to test its softness and fluffiness, since Senior Sister Hong Miao asked, she changed the subject and said:
"That's right~ Senior Sister, please sleep with me."
Perhaps because he and his senior sister had just drunk many glasses of cherry wine, Xi Heng's tone and consciousness were a little hazy.
"I want to read this book for a while." Hong Miao hesitated.
"You won't be able to learn anything from that kind of stuff in a short time, and the book is already in my senior sister's hands. It's okay to read it when you have free time later." Xi Heng advised.
"Too……"
Hong Miao put down the book in her hand, stood up and walked to the bed, and untied the belt around her waist as usual, allowing the tight-fitting clothes to become loose and slowly fall down with gravity.
A faint smile appeared on Xi Heng's lips. He watched his senior sister's actions, and untied the red belt around his waist with his five fingers, letting the white and red outer garment fall onto the bed.
Speaking of which, Senior Sister's figure is quite slim and well-proportioned. Although her curves are not as obvious as Yan Hongji's, they are also slender and well-proportioned. Looking at her, one always wants to touch her.
Seeing his senior sister walk to the end of the bed and hang clothes on the rack, Xi Heng also casually grabbed his clothes and moved closer.
With a lift of her slender five fingers, the hanger was covered with two pairs of similar coats.
While the senior sister was still adjusting her skirt and was not paying attention, the drunken Miss Xi Heng placed her right hand on the senior sister's waist, and her arm wrapped around her slender waist like a white snake.
It was not until Xi Heng stretched out his left hand and slowly embraced her whole body in his arms that Hong Miao raised her eyelashes and slowly came back to her senses.
"what happened?"
"I want to hug Senior Sister." Xi Heng fulfilled his original wish to hug her. In order to hug her longer, he praised her:
"I didn't expect that as a warrior, Senior Sister's body would feel so good."
