Chapter 30: Loquat Fruit (Part 4)

Xu Qianyu initially wanted to try her senior brother’s method. She roughly drew a grid on the ground with the tip of her sword, closed her eyes, and attempted to swing her whip. However, before she could make a second swing, she suddenly stumbled forward and was fortunately caught by contemptous mother-in-law.

contemptous mother-in-law asked her why she had closed her eyes.

Xu Qianyu explained her senior brother’s words. contemptous mother-in-law said, “Silly child, every practitioner’s five senses are irreplaceable. You’re applying so much force with your right hand that your body is already out of balance. When your eyes are open, you subconsciously adjust for that; you just don’t realize it. If you close your eyes, you lose balance entirely, and even walking in a straight line becomes difficult. This method may seem quick, but it’s bound to lead to falls.”

Xu Qianyu tried it, and indeed, every time she closed her eyes, she would become disoriented and lose control over herself.

How many times would she have to fall while practicing blindfolded? Was her senior brother also like this when he was learning?

She abandoned this method and decided to cultivate her “tactile sense” instead, spending her day swinging the whip to strike the top of the spinning top a thousand times, in groups of ten. At first, she could only hit once or twice in every ten attempts, but later she managed three or four, and eventually five.

contemptous mother-in-law was nearby, continuously striking tops in the courtyard. Whenever Xu Qianyu successfully struck her top, contemptous mother-in-law would skillfully use the tip of her whip to stop it and then encourage her to continue.

Although Xu Qianyu was hitting the tops more often now, she still struggled to fully master the technique. Before swinging the whip, she couldn’t even judge whether she had struck the target; she only felt it when the tip of the whip connected with the top, but by then, the outcome had already been decided.

She was essentially leaving it all to fate.

Thus, while this game of chance attracted her to swing her whip day and night in the small courtyard, even in the scorching heat, sweat soaking her hair as she focused intently, her mood would become quite irritable when she continued to miss.

Whenever that happened, she would pick up her sword and chop at the restrictions set by Xu Binglai.

It should be known that striking the top requires concentration, strength, and careful control to keep the whip’s tip gentle, so as not to damage the top. Each swing would leave her mentally and physically fatigued, while chopping at the restrictions was purely a form of venting and relaxation.

Xu Binglai noticed fluctuations in the restrictions for the tenth time, and he couldn’t help but wonder.

Didn’t he tell Xu Qianyu to stay quietly in the courtyard? Why was she still trying to chop at the barriers? The spiritual energy behind her strikes was stronger than in previous days, but it didn’t seem to have any intent to destroy. Occasionally, she would make a cut in different places, striking dozens of times a day without any particular pattern.

Though these fluctuations were nothing more than a mosquito biting an elephant’s leg to his spiritual awareness, it was still annoying when that mosquito kept biting the same leg.

However, this was also due to the elephant’s overly sharp senses.

Since his youth, he had preferred quiet over noise; when it got noisy, he would feel a bit tense and easily distracted.

He also found it hard to think about two things at the same time. For instance, at this moment, as he considered this, his half-finished words naturally came to a stop.

The several elders in the inner room fell silent for a moment, and someone finally spoke up: “Sect Master…”

“Hmm…” Xu Binglai lowered his eyes and silently sipped his tea, struggling to recall what he had just been saying. His thoughts abruptly shifted, and he coldly scolded, “Fang Zheng, are you speaking human language?”

Elder Fang Zheng, who had been in the weapon vault, was suddenly startled.

He had indeed just suggested that there were too many old artifacts and offered some recommendations for organizing them, but when the sect master suddenly scolded him, he immediately questioned whether his proposal was too wasteful, flushing with embarrassment and falling into self-reflection.

The other elders began to discuss among themselves.

While they whispered, Xu Binglai took the opportunity to think again, but still couldn’t remember the half-sentence he had yet to finish, so he had to give up, feeling annoyed as he set down his teacup.

After a moment, Xu Binglai closed his eyes and reinforced the restrictions again with his spiritual awareness, adding a line of spiritual attack formula.

Xu Qianyu, her face flushed from striking the top, took a sip of water, and when she swung her sword again—suddenly, the restrictions flashed with golden light, catching her off guard and causing her to fall backward. contemptous mother-in-law was taken aback and rushed over to catch her, but Xu Qianyu had already stumbled back a few steps and sat down on the ground.

contemptous mother-in-law helped her up and said, “Why put yourself through this? The sect master’s restrictions can’t be shattered by you; why bother getting angry with him? Come, let’s go to the front yard and strike the top instead.”

Xu Qianyu frowned; it was painful, but she had anticipated this outcome, so she wasn’t very angry. She patted her skirt and said coldly, “I only want to strike at it because I know I can’t break it.”

She couldn’t cut the tables and chairs with her sword; she still needed to use them. Striking the ground with her sword would damage the blade, and this was a wooden sword, not very hard. She was particularly fond of the sword her grandfather had given her. The only thing she could chop at was this restriction; not only would it not damage the sword, but the abundant spiritual energy would also help nourish it.

“Besides, if I manage to split it open, the sect master will only reinforce it. Just a few days ago, I couldn’t leave a single mark on it, but today I can strike a crack; this shows I’ve made progress in these few days. Today, hasn’t he reinforced it again? On the day I can strike another crack, that will be my day of progress.”

Contemptuous Mother-in-law paused at this, turning to look at the colorless, formless restriction and smiled. “So that’s how you’re using it.”

Xu Binglai was indeed troubled by something.

From what he knew, Xu Qianqian led a very regular life, turning off the lights and going to bed at sunset. Xu Jiansu and Xu Baopu had long since passed their teenage years, and he had somewhat forgotten what their daily routines were like, but he vaguely remembered they weren’t like Xu Qianyu.

That day, he finally finished his day’s work, lay down on the bed with his clothes on, and, with everything quiet around him, began to meditate and clear his mind.

Then, suddenly, a mosquito bit his leg.

Xu Binglai frowned, his heart rate picking up slightly.

Wasn’t Xu Qianyu an ordinary person? Why wasn’t she resting? Why was she attacking the restriction in the middle of the night?

Moreover, it seemed she had grasped the pattern of attacking the restriction; after striking once, she suddenly jumped back, avoiding the retaliatory attack from the restriction.

Then came silence.

After a moment, Xu Binglai thought she had finally fallen asleep and closed his long eyelashes. But just as the golden light faded, she struck at the restriction again.

Xu Binglai felt a wave of confusion wash over him.

He sat up suddenly, propping himself on his hands, feeling a throbbing pain at his temples, his head dizzy with anger. He couldn’t understand why the dignified sect master was in such a difficult position.

But upon reflection, he realized it might also be due to his overly sensitive state of mind. When he was young, he often secluded himself in the snow-covered plains, becoming accustomed to silence, so that after emerging, the world seemed unbearably noisy. In subsequent duels, he would kill anyone who talked too much first. But it also had its benefits; it was because of this that he could perceive the slightest angles of a sword blade and distinguish the subtle sounds of gold and jade clashing.

If it had been an ordinary powerful being, detached from the world and serene, such a trivial disturbance would hardly disrupt their concentration. He was not one of them.

But such matters were a shame for a cultivator; they should never be shared with outsiders. Thus, the entire sect remained oblivious, and Xu Qianyu could never know.

With this thought in mind, he endured the discomfort, quietly tidying his clothes before lying back down.

Xu Binglai felt it unjust to bear this pain alone, yet he couldn’t entrust it to others. If he severed the connection between the restriction and his consciousness, he wouldn’t feel at ease. After thinking it over, he sent a message to Shen Suwei, asking him to keep an eye on the restriction during the day so that he could sever the link between his consciousness and the restriction. At least in front of the elders, he wouldn’t have to face any more awkward situations.

Shen Suwei replied: “Understood.”

Xu Binglai felt a bit relieved. He noticed that the restriction had quieted down for a long time.

As night fell, Xu Qianyu was probably really asleep.

However, Xu Binglai felt uneasy, afraid she might suddenly strike again. Sitting on the bed, illusions swirled in his mind, and his emotions were restless, making it hard for him to meditate.

It was incredibly frustrating.

He suddenly understood Shen Suwei’s words; he had once said: “Xu Qianyu is young and restless; she should be given some books or toys to play with. Don’t let her have idle time.”

Now, Xu Binglai felt that although Shen Suwei usually spoke little, everything he said carried weight. He shouldn’t have scoffed at it back then.

After thinking for a while, he reached out and summoned a book from the shelf, letting it land in his palm.

As he held it, he felt it was too thin, and he was quite dissatisfied. If Xu Qianyu finished it quickly, she might cause more trouble, which would be even more annoying. But this was already the thickest book in his collection. He didn’t enjoy reading.

After pondering for a long time, he reached out again and retrieved a book of inner sect heart methods, flipping to the third chapter and tearing that page out.

That chapter was obscure and difficult to understand, with twisted sentences. He remembered almost tearing the book apart when he was memorizing it back then, and even after a hundred years, the impression remained vivid.

He sent that page to Xu Qianyu and sighed with relief, lying down once more.

Let her figure it out slowly.

Xu Qianyu was adding sections to the whip; today she had reached seventeen sections. The long whip danced with endless power but was also more exhausting. The weather was very hot today, and after a while of spinning the top without success, she wiped the sweat off her face with her sleeve, becoming impatient, and picked up her sword to chop at the restriction a few times.

As the golden light flashed, she quickly ran and jumped away. Once the golden light faded, she walked back to her spot, only to suddenly see ripples spreading through the restriction, like a stone thrown into water.

She immediately became alert and ran far away, suspecting Xu Binglai had added new attacks to the restriction.

But from those ripples, a piece of paper floated in, and soon the ripples flattened out, returning to normal.

Xu Qianyu picked up the paper and read the words on it.

“Everything does not… possess its form; it… assumes form in the heart, later acquiring its form. Not to emphasize its form, but to emphasize… its way, to have some understanding…”

Reading halfway through, she instantly became irritated, feeling a surge of fiery frustration rising within her, almost wanting to tear the page apart.

Was this even human language?

Why did she recognize every word, yet couldn’t make sense of the sentence? The meaning was so vague and difficult to discern.

She immediately took the paper to find Contemptuous mother-in-law. “Mother-in-law, look at this. What is this?”

Contemptuous mother-in-law waved her hand as soon as she saw the words; she couldn’t read.

“Why don’t you check the very top, the very first word?”

Xu Qianyu read aloud, “Inner Sect Heart Method.”

Contemptuous mother-in-law suddenly became excited. “It’s a heart method! An inner sect one at that. You… you must memorize it well!”

It sounds impressive.

Contemptuous mother-in-law has said before that even if they practice whips and swords like they do, it’s just hand skills—this belongs to “body training.” To truly cultivate oneself, one must also focus on internal skills and mental techniques, integrating all three aspects. Only then can one achieve genuine cultivation.

But Xu Qianyu still wore a cold expression. Why is there only one page? Why isn’t there a part one or two, but only this part three?

She felt the urge to chop the restrictions again.

And so she did.

She swung her sword twice more, but did not obtain parts one and two.

Xu Qianyu was very puzzled.

What did Xu Binglai mean by giving her this?

“All things do not inherently possess their form; they take shape in the heart before acquiring a form. It is not the form that is important, but the principle, which one must comprehend… understanding stillness within movement, understanding the way within stillness…”

Xu Qianyu placed the page by her pillow, pondering day and night, yet still could not comprehend it.

Finally, she simply memorized it directly.

In the past, when dealing with the coursework from the scholars, she sometimes did the same.

If she didn’t understand, she would just memorize the original text. After reciting a passage, the scholars would be surprised at how familiar she was with the original text, thinking she must have put in hard work, which would earn her some impression points.

As she got dressed, she muttered to herself.

System: “Is this some kind of spell?”

It had been dormant for a long time, watching Xu Qianyu happily practicing with her whip in the courtyard all day. It felt like she had taken the wrong script, and it had entered the wrong set.

She shouldn’t be busy conquering various characters at this moment; why was she instead focused on training her body in the courtyard all day…

Xu Qianyu looked at the mirror on her bedside: “Do you have a way to get out?”

For convenience, she had even bound her chest a bit, but that area felt like it was hiding seeds, swelling day and night, painfully tight and oppressive, making it hard to breathe. She had to loosen it slightly.

The girl in the mirror had changed slightly from when she first arrived; she had lost some weight and grown taller. She had tanned a bit, but her skin looked smooth and beautiful. The misty look in her eyes had faded, and her gaze seemed steadier and brighter.

System: “I can’t do anything, sob, I’m so useless.”

Xu Qianyu replied, “Isn’t this fine?”

Suddenly, the system heard her take a sharp breath.

The system quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Qianyu pulled down her collar and looked at her thin shoulders in the mirror, noticing that the right one seemed to be a bit higher than the left.

No wonder; she had been swinging her right hand daily, and naturally, the muscle in that arm had become more toned.

“No way.” Xu Qianyu shook her head as she looked at her shoulders. “I don’t want it to be like this.”

Today, as she stepped outside, Xu Qianyu deliberately observed, and Contemptuous mother-in-law was the same; both shoulders were at different heights.

As soon as Contemptuous mother-in-law arrived, she dropped her backpack and ran over, inviting Xu Qianyu to play with the top. She had just made a new double-layer top. After hearing her speak, Mother-in-law was quite surprised: “You want to practice with your left hand?”

It was rare to find someone who could wield a whip with both hands. It was simply because training one hand was already quite challenging.

Now, Xu Qianyu could wield a nineteen-section whip, hitting the top seven or eight times out of ten, and occasionally striking the spinning top. With a bit more practice, she could spar with Contemptuous mother-in-law, which would be very fun.

But practicing with her left hand now would mean starting all over again. Contemptuous mother-in-law couldn’t help but feel disappointed, but since Xu Qianyu was determined to practice, Old Lady Mei supported her. It was unclear whether Xu Qianyu was just joking or truly intended to do it, but it was good to have dreams.

“If you really manage to do it and can wield two whips, just think how cool that would be.”