“Luckily, I have a cool head and a warm heart, not moved by lust or beauty. Senior sister, oh senior sister, you always slumber so peacefully in front of me, you trust me so much.” Su Baiyi laid Nangong Xi’er on the bed, stood up, and whispered, “Feng Zuojun was right… senior sister is really beautiful, and she has it all…” Nangong Xi’er’s legs suddenly twitched. “Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk.” Su Baiyi immediately shook his head, “I am a scholar, how could I think of such filthy things! What does it matter to me what senior sister looks like! Is she not my senior sister if she is not beautiful!” Nangong Xi’er’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. Su Baiyi turned around and walked to the side of the long bench; after hesitating for a moment, he made up his mind and moved a small stool to the bedside. Then he sat down with a thud and muttered to himself, “There’s no harm in taking a peek…” And then Nangong Xi’er turned over. Su Baiyi snapped out of it, sighed lightly, and stood up. He draped the quilt over Nangong Xi’er, then returned to the side of the long bench. After blowing out the candle, he sat cross-legged on the bench and began to circulate his qi and meditate. He had developed this strange problem after practicing the Book of Immortals given by Xie Kanhua for half a year: as soon as he fell asleep, he would lose his consciousness, but gain far more strength than usual. He had almost smashed the…

“What an extraordinary man my master is.” Su Baiyi pondered for a while, and eventually opened the conversation with this remark. Nangong Xi’er ate her rice in small bites, her expression indifferent. “Mhm.” “He opened a school in Apricot Blossom Village to support the two of us, but the money was only enough for us to eat steamed buns, not enough for drinking, so he sold his calligraphy, which was very good, but he was too lazy to write himself, so he taught me how to write. Every New Year, when I wrote for those rich families in the city, we would earn enough for half a year’s expenses in just that half a month. He promised to give me whatever was left, but he never kept his word. He always spent it all, leaving nothing behind.” Su Baiyi watched Nangong Xi’er’s expression carefully as he spoke tentatively at first, but seeing that she remained indifferent, he became more talkative. “Later I learned to be smart, and I would secretly keep some for myself, but then the money was not enough. Master taught me how to listen to the dice, and then he let me go to the casino to make some money back, but I had to lose some on purpose, afraid of attracting attention.” “Listen to the dice?” Nangong Xi’er took a sip of soup. “Yes, I have excellent hearing now. I can close my eyes and hear how many petals fall when Master swings his sword at the apricot tree.” Su Baiyi said proudly. “No wonder, this…

The masked man looked at the woman in front of him and gently tapped his mask with his hand. “It seems that this ship, the Golden Wind, is full of hidden talents.” “It’s all thanks to the poor judgment of the Mu family that we were able to sneak into this section of rooms. If they had discovered earlier that there were distinguished guests from the Shanglin Heavenly Palace  on board, how could we, such insignificant people, have a chance here?” The woman bent her waist slightly, her eyes sparkling, full of charm. “Are you trying to cause me disgust? Murong He, the Buddha of a Thousand Faces.” The man in the mask said slowly. “You guessed wrong, I’m afraid. I’m not Murong He.” The woman smiled behind her hand. “Oh? Could it be the Master of a Thousand Faces, He Xue?” The man in the mask said again. “The Courtyard of Thousand Inventions is well-informed, knowing everything under the heavens, but who I am, you really can’t guess.” The woman made a gesture of “please”. “I’m going back to my room now, sir. Have a good day.” “Fine.” The man in the mask turned around and strode away. At that moment, the door swung open, and the person who entered the room changed back into the fat and wealthy man. He smacked his lips, shook his head, and said, “That was indeed disgusting.” Nangong Xi’er finally breathed a sigh of relief and put down her sword, but she was still puzzled. Who were the people living in the next…

Beneath the apricot tree, a man who had drunk too much wine lifted his sword and spoke to Su Baiyi, “There is no weapon more captivating than the sword, and no one more handsome than the swordsman. Would you like to become a swordsman?” "Yes." “Between heaven and earth, the swordsmen roam with grace. Many envy the one who travels the world with a sword, a white robe, and a pot of wine, enjoying the freedom and joy. But behind every stroke of the sword, there are countless times of forging. It is easy to practice the sword, but to truly become a swordsman, one must pay a price beyond the imagination of ordinary people.” “Master, I’m not used to you being so serious all of a sudden.” "You can play with life, but you have to be serious about swords." Xie Kanhua caressed his long sword and said, “There is a city called Jimo, where everyone practices swordsmanship and calls it the Sword City. They use many ways to judge a swordsman’s skill, such as sword qi, sword intent, sword momentum, sword heart, sword path, sword technique, and so on. They also made a tedious list, in which I ranked third in sword qi, first in sword intent, fifth in sword momentum, fourth in sword heart, ninth in sword path, and three hundred and twenty-sixth in sword technique.” “Master, if you think this list is so boring, why do you remember it so clearly?” “……” “Master, what does sword intent mean, and why are you ranked first?" "Sword intent…