CH 5.2

Tall courtyard walls, clean stone steps, an ancient plaque hanging over the door was engraved with four large calligraphy characters, “Bai Sheng Shan Village”. There was also a couplet engraved on either side which read, “The vast and chivalrous sentiments of the sun and moon will shine for generations to come, with the sound of Xiao’s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade will conquer the world of martial arts.” Who knew how many hundreds of years old this was. After Xiao Sheng, the ancestor of the Xiao family, helped the 352nd alliance leader pacify the world of martial arts, the alliance leader personally inscribed these plaques as a token of praise to demonstrate his righteousness. It also served as a reminder to the descendants to continue upholding justice. From then on, all the descendants with the surname Xiao took it as their duty to maintain the stability of the world of martial arts and they have never disappointed. Xiao’s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade was famous all over the world, and it was unrivalled.

There were two servants chatting at the door. When they suddenly saw the horses and carriages arriving, they immediately beamed with joy and welcomed everyone in.

There was a huge yard upon entry which faced the reception hall. It was not flashy, and the style of the tables, chairs, doors, and windows were very simple and classically elegant. It was spotless. Turning around the corridor, there was a small door which led straight to the back garden.

There were some flowers and plants in the garden but there were mostly trees. The early autumn season meant it was still lush and green. The clean ground had evidently just been swept, but there were a few scattered fallen leaves. From time to time, she bumped into maids and servants who greeted her. After days of travelling through wind and dust, suddenly seeing so many smiling faces and hearing so many friendly greetings, Lei Lei’s mood lifted a lot.

After taking a shower and having a brief rest, the young master summoned several people in charge into the small hall and began inquiring about the affairs of the village while he had been away. Everyone responded one by one.

Hearing the news that Leader He and Qin Liu Feng went to Jia Kong City to investigate, the young master was troubled and looked at Lei Lei, “Your matter…”

Lei Lei had changed into a clean maid outfit. Hearing this, she shook her head quickly, “It’s okay, it’s okay, matters of the martial arts world are more important, the civilians are more important. Let’s wait for Leader He to return to discuss my issue. I can’t remember anything anyway.”

The young master had gone out for a trip and returned with a girl following him so all the servants were talking about it. It was not until Butler Zhao explained the reason that they became relieved that she was just a weak girl who was hunted down until she lost her memory. Everyone was sympathetic and seeing her so concerned about the overall situation, they busily comforted her, “Young Miss, don’t worry, no one will dare come into Bai Sheng Shan Village to cause trouble.”

The young master nodded, “You can stay here without worries.”

Lei Lei was really not a spineless person so she came up with a story of being hunted in order to rely on others to survive. She may have to stay here for a long time before her identity is revealed, so she could not just live and eat here for free and still be able to face them. Besides, as a newcomer, she wanted to win their favour, so she quickly said, “How could I have the nerve to eat and live here for free? I can help work.”

As a visitor, she was a guest so the young master hesitated, “This…”

Lei Lei said, “Besides, I have nothing to do. Are you lacking in maids to serve you?” It would be best to become his personal maid.

The others did not know of her intentions, so they all had expressions of praise, thinking she was a sensible girl.

“The Young Master doesn’t need a maid.” A portly aunty looked at her for a moment then suddenly said joyfully, “Hey, has Young Master noticed she looks a bit like a certain person?”

The young master looked at her thoughtfully, “There’s a bit of similarity.”

Like which beauty? Lei Lei smiled calmly. Look, a cliche was coming!

Sure enough, the aunty quickly walked over with a few steps and took up both her hands. Then she turned her around a few times and became excited, “She’s really like Little Cui from the kitchen before!”

Lei Lei finally tasted what it was like to suffer a heavy blow. Her smile turned weird, “Is that so…”

“She was a clever girl, but it’s just a pity that she went and got married early which isn’t a bad thing, but now we need a helper in the kitchen. Why don’t you follow along and help?” The aunty let her go, “Although Xiao Cui was more beautiful.”

The young master looked at her hands, “This kind of manual labour, you…”

What was good about being too pretty? Those who were beautiful only got supporting roles. The main thing about being a time traversing woman was personality, personality! Lei Lei comforted herself and decided to maintain her good image until the end and immediately said, “It’s okay, it’s okay, I can do it.”

Seeing her persistence, the young master had to acquiesce, “Then go ahead and help out Aunt Hong in the kitchen when you’re free.”

Lei Lei lowered her head. She was secretly amazed. Xiao Bai, Xiao Cui, Aunt Hong, the girl he married was called Young Miss Hua, Bai Sheng Shan Village sure was colourful.

One strike, two strikes…

Early in the morning, Lei Lei was worrying about the pile of wood in front of her. She had really overestimated herself. No, she had overestimated the ability of this body she was living in. She used to have a lot of strength and it was no problem for her to carry a box and run around. However, this body was very delicate with white and tender skin that could be easily damaged. She did not have much strength, so how could she do such manual labour? In addition, she had never used an axe before so she did not know the right way to use it. After trying to chop one piece, her waist was already sore and her hands were red. If she tried to chop it again, she would probably get blisters.

There were quite a few men in the village, so why should women have to chop firewood? Seriously.

While complaining, she swung the axe again. Aunt Hong had ordered for the firewood to be chopped in the morning so that it could be used throughout the day. She could not leave a bad impression just after she began working.

Just as she was about to endure the pain and continue chopping, her eyes lit up suddenly.

Still in blue and white robes, he looked relaxed and unrestrained but also seemed too old and mature. The wind blew his long hair and his hands were half hidden, half visible under his wide sleeves. He held a long black sword in his left hand.

She had only arrived for one day, but Lei Lei had found out all the information about “Xiao Bai”. His mother had died early, and Shang Guang Qiu Yue of Qian Yue Cave had plotted against his father, Xiao Yuan, five years ago and he had died of poisoning. At age 19, he became the young master of Bai Sheng Shan Village. It was probably due to the fact that his daily attire was too formal and his words and actions were too cautious, so it had never occurred to her that he was just 24 years old.

There was a large bamboo forest in the village. Seeing the young master walking into the forest, Lei Lei came back to her senses, dropped her axe immediately, and followed.

Reaching a glade, the young master stopped.

Lei Lei did not dare to approach and watched from afar.

In fact, the young master never deliberately avoided others when he practised his swordsmanship. Xiao’s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade was a strange and unique skill and without cultivation, it did not matter how many times you watched it because you would not even be able to learn half of it. The people in the village were long used to it. In their eyes, Lei Lei’s secret peeping was, to be expressed in modern language, “old fashioned” and certainly, everyone who was new to the village would inevitably be so “old fashioned” at first.

His perfect side profile showed not the slightest bit of expression. He held the handle of the sword in his right hand and stood still. Then in a single moment, a strong murderous aura spread rapidly and the surrounding green bamboo moved despite the lack of wind, and his blue and white robes fluttered.

Among the fallen leaves, there was a snapping sound and a green bamboo stem broke for no reason.

Simultaneously, the longsword was unsheathed and pierced the air, and a phoenix’s cry could be clearly heard.

As the sword glimmered, bamboo splinters flew.

With just one move, the bamboo stem was divided into countless pieces and scattered onto the ground.

The young master frowned, seemingly dissatisfied. He thought for a moment, then continued to repeat this move.

It turned out that there was really such unrivalled divine skill in this world! Lei Lei was amazed. She was suddenly inspired and turned around to run back.

The young master was seriously studying his sword technique, thinking about how he could make further progress, when suddenly Lei Lei was running over with a few large pieces of firewood in her arms, out of breath. He immediately put away his sword and looked at her suspiciously.

Lei Lei threw the firewood on the ground and brushed off her clothes. She slowly circled around him twice, then raised her face and looked him straight in the eyes. She had a serious expression, “Your sword skills are very good.”

The young master got goosebumps from her gaze and nodded out of politeness.

Lei Lei smiled coldly, “Chopping bamboo is easy, but can you chop each of these logs into eight pieces in one strike?” She reached out and gestured, “There are five logs here to be cut like this. Use the move you just did.”

The young master was startled and frowned. After so many years of practising swordsmanship, he had only tested this move on bamboo. Splitting one piece into 59 fragments was the fastest way. He was really unsure if the desired effect would be achieved when used to split wood. Moreover, she had set such strict restrictions on the chopping method. In order to realise his full potential, he expressed his willingness to try so he nodded, “Let me try.”

Lei Lei stepped aside.

The young master concentrated on his blade, then moved suddenly.

An arc of light swept across the sky and all the wood on the ground flew up into the air. Then his figure disappeared and there was only the shining light of the sword and his shadow. The sword seemed to turn into a dozen swords and a clear cry sounded again, likely coming from that sword.

“Thunk, thunk”, the sound of wood colliding in mid-air reverberated incessantly.

In a flash, all the swords merged back into one and pointed downward. His figure also appeared before her again, his hair slightly messy but his expression very calm and relaxed as if he had not moved at all.

The firewood fell piece by piece.

The young master was obviously satisfied with the effect. He looked at Lei Lei, “40 pieces in total.”

40 pieces, and each piece was cut according to the requirements. So amazing! Lei Lei immediately clapped and exclaimed in wonder, “Xiao’s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade really lives up to its reputation! A reputation well deserved!”

The young master retracted his sword and returned it to its sheath. Then he said in an apologetic voice, “These logs…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll clean it up!”

“Thank you.”

“No problem, it’s no problem at all, you must practise hard!” Lei Lei said repeatedly as she bent down to gather the chopped wood into a heap. She picked it up then ran away.