Chapter 12: 1 Sword Technique

Chapter 12: 1 Sword Technique

Chapter 12: One Sword Technique

Xiao Xia had just rushed out of the city when drums sounded from the top of Jiangdu County and the city gates slowly closed.

It was already dark, and it was very quiet all around, with not a single pedestrian in sight.

Xiao Xia was suddenly a little dumbfounded. Where did he go to sleep at night? And when was the fifth watch?
In later life, he had a cell phone and an alarm clock, so he could always keep track of the time. But now? He didn't even know what time it was.

There was no other choice, so he had to follow the path he took during the day back to the river and found the small bridge.

He simply sat down against the bridge and looked up at the starry sky.

Today is only the seventh day since he came to the Sui Dynasty, but he feels like a long time has passed.

Looking back on everything that happened these days, it all seemed to be a coincidence and very logical.

But if you think about it carefully, you will feel that there is a mysterious force pushing him forward.

It’s a very mysterious feeling, as if God has arranged everything.

Is this what time travel is? Does God predestine every time traveler to be extraordinary?
At this moment, Xiao Xia felt sleepy and yawned. His eyelids began to become tight and he fell asleep unknowingly.

The fifth watch refers to the time from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Both of these hours can be called the fifth watch, so when making an appointment, the time must be accurate to the fifth watch.

Otherwise, you won't be able to figure out whether the five o'clock in the morning the other person is referring to is three o'clock, four o'clock, or five o'clock?
At five o'clock in the morning, a little Taoist nun in white floated over from a distance like a cloud.

She tilted her head and looked at Xiao Xia, who was curled up on the bridge and sleeping, with a look of surprise on her face.

Didn’t this big monkey go home last night?
She was about to wake Xiao Xia up when her eyes suddenly turned and a mischievous smile appeared in her eyes.

She picked a young leaf from a nearby tree, rubbed it gently with her white little finger, rolled it into a tube, and flicked her finger, and the young leaf tube was inserted accurately into Xiao Xia's nostrils.

"Ah chirp!"

Xiao Xia sneezed loudly and woke up suddenly. He looked up and saw the little nun. He quickly got up, scratched his head and said, "Sorry, I overslept."

The little Taoist nun was covering her mouth and laughing, but when she saw Xiao Xia wake up, she quickly put away her smile, put her hands behind her back, and imitated the way her master usually taught her, with a serious face.

"How long have you been practicing martial arts?"

“About a year!”

"You can run that fast after only one year of training? Do you think I'm so easy to fool?"

Seeing her pretending to be serious, Xiao Xia couldn't help but feel angry and amused.

"Little sister, I'm telling the truth!"

"Be serious, who is your little sister?"

"Okay! You are my junior sister!"

"That's more like it. Just remove the small word and call her Senior Sister."

She is the youngest in the Taoist Palace and no one has ever called her senior sister. Although Xiao Xia is older than her, she doesn't care. The master said that when it comes to Taoism, there is no distinction between the old and the young!

She was so happy in her heart that the smile in her eyes almost overflowed, but she still pretended to be serious.

Then he asked in a long voice: "What medicine have you taken?"

Xiao Xia suddenly remembered something, screamed "Ah!" and jumped up.

The little nun was startled, took a step back, and said unhappily, "Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Xiao Xia wanted to slap himself a few times. He patted his forehead and said apologetically: "I didn't mean to scare you. I just remembered that I forgot to take the King Kong Pill tonight!"

Seeing his funny look, the nun couldn't hold back any longer and covered her mouth with her hands, "Puff!" She laughed out loud.

"You still have time to eat now!"

Xiao Xia hurriedly reached into his arms, but found nothing. Then he remembered that he had forgotten the medicine gourd in the dormitory.

"I forgot to bring it out!"

It turned out that the other party had taken Second Uncle’s King Kong Pills. The little nun smiled and said, “My Second Uncle’s medicine is effective at any time. It doesn’t have to be taken at night!”

At this time, a bell sounded faintly from the Taoist temple in the distance. "Dong—" The little Taoist nun's face changed. "Oh no, the temple master called the roll."

She hurriedly took out a roll of white cloth and threw it to Xiao Xia, "There is only one sword technique in it. You have seven days to comprehend it. If you still can't comprehend it, I will tell you. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, the little nun turned around and was about to run. Xiao Xia's eyes widened, "Is this the end?"

The little nun stamped her feet anxiously, "It's time for morning class. If the abbot finds out that I sneaked out, I will be punished."

The little Taoist nun ran away like a gust of wind, and her clear and soft voice was heard from afar, "See you at this time in seven days!" "Goodbye, little senior sister!" Xiao Xia's heart was filled with love for her.

He looked down at the white cloth, on which there was a piece of paper. Xiao Xia opened the paper and saw a line of beautiful handwriting, "This is a relic of our master. Take good care of it and return it to me in seven days!"

Xiao Xia felt warm in his heart that the little nun actually lent him her master's relics.

He slowly turned and walked towards Jiangdu City.

Xiao Xia didn't know that a hundred steps away, Steward Zhang was sitting on a big tree, watching him go away.

Looking at Xiao Xia's tall and thin figure, Manager Zhang's eyes were also filled with complicated expressions.

It was almost dawn when Xiao Xia returned to the dormitory. Xiao Zhurong was not there. He was a professional warrior, so he naturally had plans for his daily life.

Xiao Xia found the medicine gourd under his pillow, poured out a pill, swallowed it in one gulp, and didn't even bother to eat breakfast. He fell headfirst on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, it was already noon and Xiao Zhurong had not returned yet. Xiao Xia was extremely hungry, so he washed his face hastily, ran to the canteen to eat lunch, and soon returned to the dormitory.

Xiao Xia closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed. There was a small table on the bed, which was convenient for him to read and write.

He took out a white cloth and slowly opened it. It was covered with little figures, a total of thirteen little figures holding swords. Of course, it was the same person, performing different sword moves.

"I rely on!"

Xiao Xia then remembered that he didn't have a sword.

He stood up and broke off a bamboo branch from the bamboo broom behind the door and used it as a temporary sword!
He looked at the patterned sword moves carefully again. There were words on each move: stab, pick, cut, dig, chop, charge, spin, cut, twist, block, counter-stab, squat stab, and instant stab.

The key techniques for each move are densely written next to it.

Soon Xiao Xia discovered something strange. There were actually twelve moves in total, and the thirteenth move was exactly the same as the first move. The names were also similar, one was a stab and the other was an instant stab.

Moreover, the last form was listed separately and placed at the bottom, like a summary. Although they were all traditional Chinese characters, fortunately he could barely recognize most of them. Even if he didn't recognize some of them, he could still guess them.

Ordinary warriors might be confused, but Xiao Xia has more knowledge than people of this era, more than a thousand years. He remembered what the little Taoist nun said, that this sword technique only has one move.

He immediately understood that the last move included the above twelve moves.

Integrate the twelve postures into one.

I understand, but how can I possibly do it?
It's like a person trying to run, walk, somersault and do splits at the same time in an instant. No one can do it.

Xiao Xia felt a headache and finally he could only sigh. He could only practice all these moves until he got them perfect and see if he could find any inspiration.
Xiao Xia jumped down and started practicing with a bamboo stick in the room while looking at the pictures and instructions.

Suddenly, a flying knife came from outside and hit the window frame, which scared Xiao Xia. He hurried forward and found a note on the flying knife.

He quickly took down the note, which said, "Come to the martial arts hall immediately!"

The signature is Zhang Zongguan.

Xiao Xia quickly put away the sword manual and rushed to the martial arts hall.
Xiao Xia found Manager Zhang in the martial arts school dormitory.

Manager Zhang sat cross-legged in front of the small table, pointed across the table, and motioned Xiao Xia to sit down.

"Yesterday, a first-level warrior came to your Warrior Academy. His name is Wang Huiming. Did you know that?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "I heard about it."

"This Wang Huiming is a notorious bandit who kills people mercilessly. I don't know why the Xiao family allowed him to enter the Warrior Academy. Your family master has gone to Jiangning these days. I will remind him when he comes back, but you have to be careful of Wang Huiming and don't provoke him."

Xiao Xia suddenly became a little nervous, "Is this Wang Huiming here to deal with me?"

"Probably not. If he wanted to kill you, he wouldn't have entered the Samurai Academy. It's unnecessary. I'm just reminding you that he is very dangerous and you should stay away from him."

At this point, Zhang took out a sword and a purse and put them on the table and pushed them to him. The seriousness on his face softened and he said with a smile: "This is your sword and purse. I got them back from the county government. Return them to their original owners!"

Xiao Xia squeezed his purse and found that there were actually more than ten taels of silver in it.

Xiao Xia knew it well. Maybe the sword was his, but the purse was definitely not. How could the money be left after it passed through the government? In fact, it was just pocket money given to him by Zhang Zongguan.

Manager Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "I may have to go out for a few days. During this time, you should practice sword skills well. If you have anything to say, wait until I come back and talk to you!"

Xiao Xia nodded silently, and suddenly smiled and said, "What's Manager Zhang's name? Can you tell me?"

Manager Zhang looked at him strangely, dipped his finger in water and wrote two words on the table: Zhang Jue.

"That's my name, now you know it."

(End of this chapter)