TDSDE 4

4. Urgent Notice

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuanxiu stiffened, then immediately said, “It’s not really the Left-Hand Sword Technique, just a few moves I’ve practiced; I can barely use it. You see, it’s not good at all.”

He rotated his left wrist, seemingly exhausted after just that one move, as though it had surpassed his body’s limit.

Xiao Qing looked at him for a while, and when Bai Yuanxiu started sweating, he raised the corner of his mouth and said, “So that’s how it is.”

Bai Yuanxiu chuckled and continued talking about past sword training, diverting Xiao Qing’s attention, while his heart raced with relief, thinking to himself that he had almost revealed himself.

The Left-Hand Sword refers to a swordsmanship style where the sword is held in the left hand. Though it sounds simple—just swapping the right hand for the left—it’s a technique practiced by very few in the martial world.

Because of Bai Yuanxiu’s exceptional swordsmanship talent, he became one of the few practitioners, and the youngest one at that.

His talent was so strange that the martial world called him—The Sword Demon.

—

Half a month later, a gray pigeon flew into Liuzhen, located in the Jiangnan region. It passed through buildings adorned with red lanterns and finally landed in a quiet, remote courtyard.

A shadow appeared like a ghost at the corner of the courtyard. He took the small tube tied to the pigeon’s leg, glanced at it, and muttered a curse under his breath.

The pigeon flapped its wings and flew away from the courtyard. As it landed on a red-painted railing, a black figure appeared beside it.

Bai Yuanxiu pushed open the window in front of him, jumped inside, and lay down on the soft couch. “Speak quickly.”

The man sitting at the table gave a teasing sound and looked at him with a playful expression. “What, in a hurry to go back and accompany your little darling?”

“Tsk.” Bai Yuanxiu glanced coldly at the man. “If you keep talking about him like that, I might have to take action.”

The man immediately shut up. After studying Bai Yuanxiu’s expression, he sighed with relief and added, “The leader asked how your task is progressing. It’s been almost three years. He wants you to stop slacking off.”

Bai Yuanxiu was utterly speechless. “Stop making it sound like some martial arts conspiracy. It’s just moving house.”

The man nearly choked on his tea, then asked, “…Fine. So how’s the address chosen?”

Bai Yuanxiu swung his legs lazily and spoke nonchalantly, “Yunhua Sect.”

“Pfft!” The man spat out the tea he had just drunk.

“Don’t overreact.” Bai Yuanxiu sat up and said seriously, “Look, if you want good light, where else can you find a better location than Yunhua Sect? Plus, the environment is beautiful. Hey, it has the number one scenic view in the martial world. Isn’t that perfect?”

The man listened and thought it made some sense, but the problem was that Yunhua Sect was the number one righteous sect! If they wanted to seize territory, they would have to fight!

“Forget it,” the man said with some fear, “I’m getting old. Last month, when I swung the purple gold hammer, I almost hurt my back.”

Every sect member knew that Bai Yuanxiu liked to stir up trouble. So when the leader asked for someone to find a new residence, they all voted to send Bai Yuanxiu out.

There was no choice; those who could handle Bai Yuanxiu avoided getting into a fight, and those who couldn’t only suffered.

The man went on talking for a while. Bai Yuanxiu got tired of listening, scratched his ears, and spread his hands. “Anyway, I’ve only got my eyes on that place. You can tell the leader to decide for himself.”

After saying that, he didn’t bother to notice the man’s conflicted expression and left through the window.

It was bustling outside, and Bai Yuanxiu, dressed in his night clothes, moved lightly along the roof. The passersby didn’t notice anything unusual.

Suddenly, Bai Yuanxiu’s eyes caught a flash of white at the corner.

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared, but recently, because of Xiao Qing’s attack, he had become somewhat overly sensitive. After a moment of hesitation, he lightly tapped his feet and followed.

To his surprise, the other person was also quick, probably equal in lightness to him. He checked the surroundings and found no trace of them, mentally noting the incident. He then bought two skewers of candied fruit, which Xiao Qing liked, carefully wrapped them, and brought them back.

The next morning, when Xiao Qing saw the candied fruit, he curiously asked where they came from. Bai Yuanxiu replied that he had gone out for a walk last night. Xiao Qing nodded and silently ate the candied fruit.

Xiao Qing ate slowly, crunching the sugar coating loudly.

Summer mornings came early. Though it was still a while before noon, the sunlight already filled the room.

A beam of sunlight fell on Xiao Qing, making his hair and eyelashes shimmer with a golden hue. Bai Yuanxiu, sitting next to him, couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but he felt Xiao Qing seemed somewhat uninterested.

Bending over, Bai Yuanxiu bit one of the candied fruits from Xiao Qing’s hand and chewed it. After a few bites, he frowned. “This is too sour.”

Bai Yuanxiu later realized that although Xiao Qing seemed to eat anything, he was actually very picky. He guessed that Xiao Qing didn’t like the candied fruit, which was why he had stayed silent.

He raised an eyebrow. “Ah Qing, how about I tell you a joke?”

Xiao Qing didn’t look at him, just lowered his eyes and fiddled with the sugar-coated stick in his hand. “Sure.”

Bai Yuanxiu was a master of speech. When he wanted to make someone uncomfortable, he could say something that hit right to the core. But when he wanted to please someone, it wasn’t hard either.

At first, Xiao Qing seemed disinterested, but as he continued, Xiao Qing’s expression began to relax.

Bai Yuanxiu observed every small change on Xiao Qing’s face, and when he deliberately teased Xiao Qing into laughing, his worry was finally put to rest.

“I’ll go to the kitchen and make something for you,” Bai Yuanxiu said, wrapping his arms around the table and turning his head to look at the white-clad youth. “How about vegetable and lean meat porridge? Or tangyuan?”

But Xiao Qing simply reached out and grabbed his shirt collar. “I want to go out and eat with you.”

Bai Yuanxiu blinked, not expecting Xiao Qing to say such a thing. He immediately stood up, took Xiao Qing’s hand, and with a face full of expectation, said, “Sure, what do you want to eat?”

Bai Yuanxiu had never felt such emotional fluctuations for someone before. At this moment, he didn’t need to pretend to be the cheerful, sunny hero. His joy was real and unrestrained.

Xiao Qing stared at him for a while, then softly said, “Crab roe puff.”

It wasn’t until much later that Bai Yuanxiu found out that the most famous snack at the flower building he visited yesterday was indeed the crab roe puff.

Bai Yuanxiu was locked in a silent stare-off with the hawk-eyed man in front of him, almost wanting to pull his hair out in despair.

No way, how could the Sect Leader’s speed be this fast? Based on his usual slow, indecisive nature, wasn’t it supposed to take months for him to make a decision?

Just like last time when he sent a message, the Sect Leader’s handwriting was still as concise as ever, just two words: “Come, fight.”

If this had happened before, Bai Yuanxiu would have gladly gone along for the excitement, but now he was a family man!

While it wasn’t uncommon for sects to fight for territory, this was no small matter between the top orthodox and demonic sects. A battle like this could last for months, at best, and at worst, it could escalate into the bloody storms spoken of in rumors.

But either way, a drawn-out fight was inevitable.

Bai Yuanxiu was so anxious he was almost losing his hair. How was he supposed to explain to Xiao Qing that he’d be gone for such a long time?

At dinner, after Xiao Qing finished eating, he quietly started peeling pine nuts. After peeling a small stack, he pushed the plate in front of Bai Yuanxiu so he could easily reach them.

Bai Yuanxiu gazed at the figure in the candlelight, looking so beautiful it could have been a painting, and felt his heart twist, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

As he struggled internally, Xiao Qing suddenly spoke up, “Yuanxiu, I need to go home for a while.”

“Ah?” Bai Yuanxiu immediately responded without thinking, “Then I’ll escort you.”

But Xiao Qing simply shook his head, “No need, someone from home is coming to pick me up. We’ll go back together next time.”

Xiao Qing had mentioned this before, that his family was special and couldn’t easily accept outsiders. Once someone was brought home, it meant they were considered family.

Bai Yuanxiu would have been more than happy to be bound to Xiao Qing for life, but he knew Xiao Qing was slow to make such decisions, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

Bai Yuanxiu was willing to wait.

The matter at Xiao Qing’s home seemed urgent, as the person sent to pick him up knocked on the door the next morning.

Bai Yuanxiu helped him into the carriage and made sure all the pastries and snacks were packed properly. He fussed like a concerned mother, giving endless reminders about staying warm at night.

Xiao Qing listened seriously, occasionally wiping away the sweat that beaded on Bai Yuanxiu’s forehead, never showing any impatience.

In the end, the two guards who had come to pick up Xiao Qing could no longer wait and gently urged them to hurry. As soon as Xiao Qing raised his eyes, the two men immediately fell silent.

Bai Yuanxiu, only thinking about the strictness of Xiao Qing’s family rules, reluctantly let him go, not wanting to cause any delays, and bid him farewell.

As he watched the carriage disappear around the corner, Bai Yuanxiu felt a void in his heart.

Wiping the sweat from his sleeve, he entered the house, picked up the nearly thousand-pound carved bed with one hand, and with his sword in his other hand, slashed at the ground. The floor seemed to open up like a door, revealing a dark hole beneath.

He sheathed his sword and jumped down. The bed hit the ground with a dull thud, the tiles bounced, and the room seemed to return to normal, with no signs of anything unusual.

Moments later, a shadow emerged from the desolate graveyard a few miles outside the town. It was fortunate that it was midday in the middle of summer, or else the person who had seen him would have been scared to death.

One of the perks of martial artists was that, even in heavy clothing, as long as they controlled their inner strength, they could avoid feeling too hot, no matter how scorching the day was.

Bai Yuanxiu maximized his inner energy, though he wasn’t particularly skilled in lightness kung fu. Even though he was practically running for his life, by the time he reached the foot of Yunhua Mountain, the demonic sect’s people had already arrived.

He had forgotten to buy a horse when he left town, and after passing by the small town, he hadn’t encountered any merchants. So, he had no choice but to run on foot like a warrior, and his legs were starting to feel numb from the strain.

Just as he stopped to catch his breath, a scholar in blue clothes flicked open his fan and clicked his tongue twice, “Well, look at that, you’re not late.”

A middle-aged man with a kind smile walked over, handing Bai Yuanxiu an oil-paper wrapped package, “You must be tired. Eat while it’s still warm.”

Bai Yuanxiu could already smell the delicious aroma from the oil-paper package. His eyes filled with tears, “Brother Wei, you’re so kind to me.”

He was indeed a bit hungry, so he eagerly began to munch on the beef cake handed to him. Just as he was enjoying his meal, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Is it delicious?”

That’s when he realized the eerie silence around him.