Chapter 7

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.\n

<figure class="wp-block-gallery columns-0 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1"></figure>\n\n

Elder Brother: Chapter 7\n

After he had spoken, he promptly smiled, and raised his head to look at Xu Feng then said, “Saying it like this, Xu Xiong Di really is a bit foolish.”\n

“Does Zhou Xiong also believe I’m overestimating my capabilities?”\n

“It’s not that. It’s just that the study of martial arts is wide-ranging and profound. To only depend on studying diligently, you won’t necessarily improve. I see Xu Xiong Di’s internal martial foundation hasn’t been poorly built, it’s just that the style of swordsmanship you’re practicing…” Zhou Yan spoke with tact to the greatest extent, “Even though there are redeeming qualities to it, honestly, it isn’t very brilliant.”\n

The style of swordsmanship Xu Feng practiced was that which his Master had taught him. Even though he had come from a known righteous sect, his sect didn’t have an extremely prominent reputation in Jiang Hu, they haven’t produced any top-class practitioners, and the sect’s basic martial arts truly had quite a few defects.\n

Did Zhou Yan mean he should cast himself to another sect?\n

Xu Feng contemplated for a moment, then said, “Master was my benefactor[1] , I definitely can’t abandon my sect for the sake of revenge. Not to mention the matter of formally becoming an apprentice to a master to learn skills requires an opportunity, my aptitude is average, I’m afraid that other sects wouldn’t even look at me.”\n

“Xu Xiong Di has misunderstood.” Zhou Yan said, “When one has cultivated to the pinnacle of martial arts, even picking leaves and flying flowers can hurt others^[1], it doesn’t adhere to one sect or school, nor one move or style either. After you have recovered, it would be better to spend more time cultivating your internal strength and wait until you have finished cultivating. Then the weaknesses of the sword moves, just won’t matter much anymore.”\n

Zhou Yan’s experience with learning martial arts far surpassed his, after Xu Feng had listened to him he deeply believed him to be correct, then said, “But because of a matter that had happened before, my skills had fallen into disuse for many years, and I also qi deviated not very long ago…”\n

Zhou Yan immediately said, “I was already planning on staying here to nurse my injuries if Xu Xiong Di isn’t against it, you could practice martial arts with me, two people mutually swapping pointers, perhaps that would allow progress to be a bit faster.”\n

Xu Feng was well aware Zhou Yan’s skills far exceeded his own, where would he find it useful to swap pointers with him? To say he had the heart to give him pointers wasn’t bad. He had good intentions anyway, so Xu Feng didn’t refuse either.\n

From then on Zhou Yan settled down perfectly legitimately.\n

Xu Feng’s room was narrow and small, all in all, having two people living there was a little crowded, so Zhou Yan built another small room next door, then bought some pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, and it could be considered as his next-door neighbor’s house.\n

Taking advantage of the time Xu Feng took to recuperate, Zhou Yan had opened up major acupoints for him in several places and had also taught him methods to circulate his breathing. Xu Feng benefited a great amount, a lot of junctures that he was unable to break through previously, all became clear at once, and after he had recovered, his skills had actually leveled up.\n

When Xu Feng’s body had recovered, the matter of cooking every day had naturally fallen to him. At first, Zhou Yan still praised his workmanship, afterward, he became used to eating it and had eventually even started ordering dishes. Xu Feng followed him in all aspects, they went up the mountain to hunt every few days, then brought what was hunted into town to trade for grains.\n

One month passed quickly.\n

Xu Feng had sparred with Zhou Yan a few times and knew he didn’t use weapons, using a set of palm strike methods. His qinggong was extremely good, using this set of palm strike methods, they were truly unspeakably natural and elegant. If his appearance had been more handsome, he could have been considered an elegant young master. Although Xu Feng held the treasured sword in his grasp, he couldn’t make many moves under his control. Zhou Yan often went easy on him, and would just knock him to the floor then drop it.\n

Zhou Yan never spoke a word about the origins of whom he had studied under, Xu Feng never inquired about it either, instead, he was very honest himself, other than the matters from those three years, he would answer anything that Zhou Yan had asked, it hadn’t even been a month before Zhou Yan had already found out everything about him perfectly clearly, he even knew how many martial brothers he had.\n

The weather this day was very good, Xu Feng practiced the sword outside the door, Zhou Yan cupped his elbows and watched from the side, often pointing out defects in his swordsmanship.\n

Xu Feng received his teachings with an open mind and practiced once more in his presence.\n

Zhou Yan watched attentively, it was unknown as to what he thought of, he spoke to Xu Feng, “Xu Xiong Di, lend your sword to me to use.”\n

Xu Feng quickly threw his sword to him.\n

Zhou Yan caught it in his hand, then walked a few steps to arrive beneath a tree near the front of the door, the sharp end pointed towards the floor, and he immediately drew a circle. The momentum of the sword continued without a stop, following closely there was yet another circle. The large circle overlapped the smaller circle, and after the smaller circle, there was yet another big circle. At first the tempo was extremely slow, but afterward, it became faster and faster, and Xu Feng could only see the cold glint of the sword, it nearly caused his eyes to spin.\n

At this moment, Zhou Yan struck out with the sword.\n

The sword was incomparably fast.\n

Xu Feng couldn’t clearly see how he was striking, and only felt that if he were standing in front of him, he would never be able to evade this sword. Of course, the tree could evade it even less, after being struck by Zhou Yan’s sword, the tree trunk that was as wide as the mouth of a bowl cracked from the center, and fell to the ground with a crash\n

Xu Feng watched and was stunned.\n

Zhou Yan let his hand fall down as if nothing had happened, the tip of the sword was still pointing towards the floor, he turned his head then asked him, “Xu Xiong Di, what about this move did you see?”\n

Xu Feng said, “Zhou Xiong’s sword skills… are exceedingly strong.”\n

“Xu Xiong Di’s character is pure and good, getting better at the sword, yet without a method to kill anyone.” Zhou Yan looked at Xu Feng from that distance, then smiled slightly and said, “You wish to kill your enemy by your own hand, would you want to learn this move from me?”\n

Xu Feng’s heart thumped and leaped.\n

At this moment he realized, the place where Zhou Yan had thrust the sword, could it have been right in the center of the enemy’s heart? To take someone’s life with a sword, this method was a sword skill that could kill someone. In comparison, the stuff he was practicing was merely showy but impractical martial arts, nothing else.\n

His thoughts shifted slightly, but in a moment, he calmed down and said, “Many thanks for Zhou Xiong’s good intentions. Unfortunately, I’m not a person of Zhou Xiong’s sect, and can’t learn such a high-ranking school’s skills.”\n

Zhou Yan couldn’t understand why he would be this inflexible, he thought for a moment, then said, “This was originally a martial art that had been passed down through my family, without any of the rules of those great sects or great schools at all. Besides, I’m only teaching Xu Xiong Di a few sword skills, it’s not a big deal.”\n

Xu Feng was still hesitant, Zhou Yan just spun the sword in his hand and said, “It looks like Xu Xiong Di’s so-called eagerness for revenge, was just all talk.”\n

Xu Feng knew Zhou Yan was using words to incite him, yet he had precisely pinpointed the matters of his heart. He had recently obtained Zhou Yan’s pointers, and his mastery of internal cultivation could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds, but as his field of vision broadened, it became clearer that his own talents were limited. If he immersed himself only with diligent practice, he didn’t even know when he would be able to kill the Palace Master of the Ji Le Palace.\n

Xu Feng thought up to this point, then said in the end as he still cupped his fist, “Then, I must thank Zhou Xiong.”\n

Zhou Yan looked at him calmly, and only spoke one sentence, “If you want to thank me, add a few more dishes for lunch today.”\n

As he spoke, he spun the sword the other way around and returned the sword back to Xu Feng.\n

When Xu Feng received the sword back, he caught sight of some light scars on the tiger’s mouth^[2] of his right hand, the wounds had already scabbed over, and a few teeth marks could vaguely be seen.\n

Xu Feng’s heart moved, and he remembered the time he had qi deviated, he truly had furiously bitten someone’s hand. Only Zhou Yan had kept watch by his side at the time, who else could the bitten person have been? He remembered he tasted the flavor of blood, in all likelihood, he didn’t bite lightly, but Zhou Yan hadn’t even brought it up.\n

Xu Feng had received three years of torture in the Ji Le Palace, he guarded his heart against any other people, never again daring to readily trust another person. Only this person called Zhou Yan had mutually protected him in all aspects, he had saved his life, he had taught him martial arts, even if he were a piece of stone, it would have been hard to avoid having his heart moved.\n

He couldn’t help but ask, “Zhou Xiong, we haven’t been acquainted for very long, why would you care for me like this?”\n

“Haven’t I already said this? You’re around the same age as my lost little brother, I’m simply treating you as if you were my little brother…”\n

Xu Feng’s head heated up, and he blurted out, “Since that is the case, you and I aren’t close friends, would you like to bond as brothers of different surnames?”\n

Zhou Yan definitely hadn’t expected him to say such a thing, he stared blankly for a moment, then after a while had passed, he made a sound and said, “Xu Xiong Di, what did you say?”\n

Xu Feng regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth, he retreated a step, then dropped his gaze and said, “I’ve behaved rudely, Zhou Yan’s martial arts is extremely powerful, and is definitely not a mediocre person in Jiang Hu, why would you become sworn brothers with a nobody such as myself?”\n

Zhou Yan moved a step closer, and couldn’t help but hold his hand and say, “If Xu Xiong Di has thoughts like these, naturally I would… welcome this very much.”\n

“Then, Zhou Da Ge would be willing?”\n

Zhou Yan blanked again and asked, “What did you call me?”\n

Xu Feng smiled and said, “Now that we will be sworn brothers, shouldn’t I call you Da Ge?”\n

Zhou Yan’s face still held an indifferent expression, only his gaze moved slightly, he said, “Indeed, that must be so.”\n

His hands squeezed Xu Feng’s hand deathly tight, but it was only for an instant then he immediately let go, and held both of his hands behind him, then released a long breath of air.\n

Xu Feng couldn’t tell if he was happy or not, but the thought about having gained a sworn brother from now on made him extremely happy inside, and he said, “In the evening, I will go to town and find a blind fortune teller, and ask him to pick an auspicious hour and lucky day^[3]…”\n

“We are from Jiang Hu, what is the need to be particular about these mere formalities? I see today is precisely an enormously auspicious day.”\n

Zhou Yan looked all around, he saw the tree that had fallen in half near the doorway, it really wasn’t that lucky, so he picked another big tree, then scooped up some dirt under the tree to act as incense, and looked to pull Xu Feng down to kowtow.\n

Xu Feng found it laughable and said, “Zhou Da Ge being impatient like this, are you afraid that I will back out?”\n

Zhou Yan’s figure was at attention, but his face was like a block of wood, and he didn’t respond to his words at all.\n

Xu Feng knew inside he was acting strangely, scared of offending this sworn brother, he didn’t dare to laugh anymore.\n

The two people joined hands and knelt down, they sincerely kowtowed eight times, with the heavens and earth as a mirror, from now on they would be considered as having become brothers.\n

Because Xu Feng had such a powerful enemy, he didn’t dare mention the oath about living and dying together, Zhou Yan didn’t know the reason for it, and didn’t bring it up either.\n

The two people had entered into a relationship, Zhou Yan extended his hand to help Xu Feng up from the ground, and called out, “Xu Di.”\n

Xu Feng didn’t expect him to call him so intimately, even though it was a little awkward, he still responded, “Mn, Zhou Da Ge.”\n

Zhou Yan looked him up and down several times, and from his mouth, he said, “Good. Good. Good.” He said the word “good” three times in succession, then lifted his hands, and used his palms to cover [2] Xu Feng’s ears.\n

Xu Feng didn’t understand why, and asked, “Zhou Da Ge?”\n

Zhou Yan looked at him and smiled, then suddenly uttered a long and loud cry. His inner cultivation was profound, the sound of the howl seemed to have suddenly increased steeply, it was drawn-out and clear and melodious, it resonated across the skies, the leaves of the trees that had been shaken directly rustled and fell.\n

Even though he had his ears covered, Xu Feng’s eardrums had still been shaken extremely painfully, even his heart shook in tandem. He was quite confused and didn’t understand what Zhou Yan meant by this, he felt faintly inside that the behavior of this sworn brother of his was unrestrained, and feared he really wasn’t a person of the right path. However, Zhou Yan had saved his life, time and again, and being a chivalrous person himself, since the two had already sworn to be brothers, he shouldn’t necessarily care about his identity or history.\n

Zhou Yan’s breath was long and continuous, after a good while had passed, he finally retracted his hands, and looked at Xu Feng, then called him, “Xu Di.”\n

Xu Feng could only respond with “Zhou Da Ge” again.\n

With this, Zhou Yan was satisfied, he nodded as he said, “Okay, you should hurry and make food now.”\n

“Ah?”\n

“Remember that a couple more dishes should be added today.”\n

He put his hands behind his back after he had finished speaking, then self-satisfyingly walked away.\n

This sort of auspicious day of becoming sworn brothers, shouldn’t they go to a restaurant and order a table of food and drinks? Why was he still cooking? Zhou Yan being this frank to become sworn brothers with him, was it to recognize a younger brother, or was it to find a cook?\n

Xu Feng stood in the same place for a while, and seeing the sun in the middle of the sky, he couldn’t allow his Zhou Da Ge’s stomach to go hungry, and could only accept his fate and start a fire and prepare food, he even added a few specialty dishes.\n

Zhou Yan ate utterly to his heart’s content.\n

The two had established the status of being brothers, and there were no more qualms with Zhou Yan continuing to teach Xu Feng martial arts. Other than the sword technique, he even passed down another type of qinggong to him.\n

Xu Feng was rather talented at qinggong, not many days had passed before he had grasped the key to success, he practiced diligently as well, and actually practiced it more meticulously than the sword move. He wasn’t young to begin with, and in those three years at the Ji Le Palace, due to the situation, he had been forced to repress his natural instincts, nowadays, not only had he escaped that depraved hole, but he had also gained a sworn older brother, and he gradually revealed a little bit of a lively temperament.\n

Once he had finished practicing qinggong, he would run around the mountain forest all across the mountains and plains, he would catch a small rabbit, and small bird to bring back, then let go of them again when he had finished playing with them.\n

Zhou Yan saw this often, and would humph every time with displeasure, then say, “They should be cooked and eaten.”\n

Xu Feng didn’t argue with him either, and just asked, “Zhou Ge, how is my practice of this skill?”\n

Zhou Yan’s gaze swept over his face, then he said dully, “It is so-so, satisfactory enough to run for your life.”\n

Xu Feng obtained this sentence of praise, already delighted beyond measure.\n

Zhou Yan continued and asked him, “When will you practice that sword technique?”\n

Xu Feng said hurriedly, “I will practice in the evening.”\n

It wasn’t that he wasn’t motivated towards this matter, in fact, after he had practiced it several times, he discovered that even though Zhou Yan’s move was powerful without a match, it had to be used with an inner cultivation method, merely storing up the energy took a long time, unless a live target stood in front of him, where would he strike to hit the target? In the future, he would find the Palace Master and enact his revenge, and couldn’t say for certain if the opponent would be knocked down with one move, would he stand still, and allow him to stab a hole through his body?\n

Xu Feng thought about it for a while, and even brought up these apprehensions with Zhou Yan.\n

After Zhou Yan had listened, he just responded with an “mn”, and said, “Therefore this sword technique, it can’t ever be used when facing an ordinarily opponent, only when you encounter your enemy, can you use this.”\n

“Why?”\n

“The more powerful the technique, the more it is used, the less rare it becomes.”\n

“But my enemy’s martial arts are extremely powerful, I’m worried…”\n

He hadn’t finished speaking, when Zhou Yan had already seized the sword in his hand, his eyes looked at the blade of the sword that seemed as thin as a cicada’s wing, and said in a low voice, “This sword technique has its own subtleties, otherwise, I wouldn’t have taught you. Right now, you should only focus on practicing the sword move, as for others… someday you will understand.”\n

He spoke, then tossed the sword back, and said to Xu Feng, “You have been practicing these few days, and should have made some progress, use it once for me to see.”\n

Xu Feng was skeptical of what he had said, but thought about how this was a sword technique that had been passed down from Zhou Yan’s family, of course he should be prideful like this, and he shouldn’t not give him face. It was because of this that he held the treasured sword in his hand, then did as Zhou Yan had taught, and performed the sword move once through.\n

The foundation of his inner cultivation was shallow, while performing the move, he could only match the form, but not the spirit, and was unable to compare to Zhou Yan on that day.\n

Zhou Yan looked from the sidelines and frowned, then said, “Not good enough.”\n

Xu Feng humbly asked for advice, and asked, “What part does Zhou Da Ge feel I haven’t practiced well?”\n

“Not mentioning anything else, for now, the place you thrust the sword is incorrect. If your enemy had been standing in front of you, did you want to stab his liver or his lung? His skill far surpasses yours, if you want to take his life, then you only have one chance to strike, and can only stab towards his heart.”\n

After Zhou Yan had finished speaking, he saw Xu Feng staring blankly at him, he reached out and with one pull, he clutched Xu Feng’s right hand and pressed it against his chest. Xu Feng could still feel with his right hand, and separated by a thin piece of clothing, he was only aware of Zhou Yan’s heart beating in his chest.\n

Zhou Yan asked him, “Did you feel it?”\n

Xu Feng was a little confused, and asked in response, “What?”\n

“His heart is right here.” Zhou Yan pressed his hand closely, and said word-by-word, “Remember, when the moment comes, don’t hesitate to stab right here, do not miss, no matter what.”\n

Except that it was Zhou Yan’s heart pressed beneath his palm.\n

The tips of Xu Feng’s fingers felt numb, unexpectedly, at that moment he had  become absentminded, it wasn’t until Zhou Yan called out to him, that he returned to his senses, and said, “Zhou Da Ge, I remember.”\n

Zhou Yan’s face completely lacked any expression, only the silhouette of Xu Feng was reflected in his ink-black pupils, his expression was so deep that it was unfathomable, it wasn’t until after a while had passed that he slowly let go of his hand.\n

Xu Feng released a breath of air for no reason.\n

Zhou Yan said, “Continue to practice.”\n

Xu Feng picked up the sword and absent-mindedly gestured a few times, previously he had still used it decently, however this time there was no orderly method. He took advantage of Zhou Yan’s inattention, and stealthily massaged his right hand. Ever since he had endured the rape and insults in the Ji Le Palace, he had continuously feared intimacy with another person, he could leave bite marks when he had qi deviated, but now… he had unexpectedly forgotten to struggle free of Zhou Yan’s hand.\n

It was as if that little bit of warmth still lingered in the heart of his palm.\n

Xu Feng brandished the sword absentmindedly, not using any inner strength at all, if the Palace Master was standing in front of him at this moment, not to mention stabbing him in the heart, liver, or lungs, sadly[3] , he couldn’t even have stabbed the corner of his lower hem.\n

It wasn’t until Zhou Yan had coughed a couple of times from the side, that he composed himself, and continued to practice the sword.\n

From then on, Zhou Yan attentively watched Xu Feng practice the sword every day, if he accepted disciples, he would most definitely be the harshest Master on earth. Fortunately, Xu Feng practiced diligently, he practiced and then practiced the sword technique, until he had gradually become more familiar with it. When he thrust the sword, it was both fast and fierce, and even though he couldn’t match up to the might of Zhou Yan’s sword, it could barely be said that he was satisfied.\n

There was no sun or moon in the mountains.^[4]\n

When Xu Feng had escaped the Ji Le Palace, it had been the mid-Autumn festival in the eighth month, but now had already reached the midwinter season, and it would be the new year in another month. In previous years, he had always been in the desolate Cui Zhu Pavilion, with Jin Shu, the two of them had observed the New Year. Now he had gained a sworn brother, and could actually celebrate the New Year with warmth and excitement. He had planned long ago on cooking a few of Zhou Yan’s favorite dishes when celebrating the New Year and had also thought about relying on hunting to make some money, then he could buy a full set of new clothes for Zhou Da Ge.\n

This day, Xu Feng went to the mountains to hunt as usual, because the weather was freezing cold, he couldn’t hunt anything. When he returned, he could see Zhou Yan from far away standing in front of the house with a pure white pigeon perched on his hand.\n

Xu Feng walked over quickly, and asked surprisingly, “Where did Zhou Da Ge catch a pigeon?”\n

Zhou Yan said, “It flew onto my hand by itself.”\n

As he spoke, he pinched the dove’s wing, then handed it over to Xu Feng and said, “Let us eat roasted pigeon in the evening.”\n

Xu Feng was a little at a loss whether to laugh or cry, he took the pigeon and took a look at it, then said, “I see this pigeon is very docile, like a carrier pigeon specially bred to send messages.”\n

Zhou Yan just said, “Oh,” as if indifferent to this, and had only been thinking about how to eat roasted pigeons.\n

Xu Feng examined the pigeon carefully, although he didn’t see a bamboo tube used to send messages, he still said, “Zhou Da Ge, we should still release this pigeon. Many people in Jiang Hu use pigeons to send messages. If we stop it and eat it, it would be hard to say what kind of important matters of others would be held up.”\n

Zhou Yan knitted his brow, and stared at the pigeon for a short while, then said in response, “Whatever you want.”\n

After he finished speaking, he turned around and entered the house.\n

Xu Feng touched the pigeon in his hand that had just escaped calamity, then hurriedly let it go. Immediately after, he ran into the house, and said, “What does Zhou Da Ge want to eat in the evening? I will make a couple more dishes.”\n

He had just entered the house, when he heard Zhou Yan say, “Open your mouth.”\n

Xu Feng obediently opened his mouth.\n

Zhou Yan shoved something into his mouth.\n

Xu Feng tasted the flavor, it was so sweet that his eyes and brows curved upward, he smiled and said, “Ah, it’s malt sugar.”\n

Zhou Yan knocked on his head, then said, “You just ate it without question?”\n

“Ask what? Zhou Da Ge wouldn’t poison me.” Xu Feng held the candy in his mouth, his tone was a little vague, “Why did Zhou Da Ge go and buy candy?”\n

“I saw someone selling it in town, so I bought it while I was there.” Zhou Yan tossed a bag of candy onto the table, then said, “Take it to eat.”\n

Xu Feng collected it happily.\n

Zhou Yan looked from the side, and said, “My younger brother was extremely well-behaved when he was young, Father and Mother were gone, he was in between hunger and fullness with me, and rarely cried. One time, he saw a kid from another family eating candy, and cried about wanting to eat it.”\n

Xu Feng listened and felt his heart soften up, then asked, “Did Zhou Da Ge buy any for him to eat?”\n

“No.” Zhou Yan said, “At the time, we couldn’t even fill our stomachs, where could we have found the money to buy candy to eat?”\n

Xu Feng put away the bag of candy in his hand, then said, “When Zhou Da Ge finds his little brother, you can buy him a bag of candy to eat.”\n

Zhou Yan didn’t continue the conversation, and just looked at Xu Feng quietly.\n

It was already dusk, and the room was especially dark. Xu Feng had been stared at by him until he felt uneasy, then called out, “Zhou Da Ge?”\n

Zhou Yan paused, then gradually withdrew his gaze, and said, “Xu Di, what do you plan on doing in the future?”\n

“Doesn’t Zhou Da Ge know? I will practice my skills, then find my enemy and take revenge.”\n

“And continue to stay in this small town? Have you ever thought about leaving this place?”\n

Xu Feng stared blankly, and just listened to Zhou Yan say, “Today, I asked around and obtained some information, there is a highly-skilled doctor in Lin An City, that could perhaps cure the injury on your right hand.”\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nTranslator: God\n

English Proofreader: Grumpykit\n

QC: Xiao\n\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nTranslator’s Notes: \n

^[1] Picking leaves and flying flowers can even hurt others – 摘叶飞花即可伤人, in Wuxia novels, martial arts masters who have reached a certain level of qi can drive petals or leaves with qi to defeat an enemy\n

^[2] Tiger’s mouth – 虎口, the webbed part between your thumb and forefinger\n

^[3] Auspicious hour and lucky day – 良辰吉日, https://www.chinesecalendaronline.com/auspicious-dates/\n

^[4] There was no sun or moon in the mountains – 山中无日月, refers to the leisure, comfort, and passing of time in seclusion\n

<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nChapter 6 Chapter 8\n

Table of Contents

Like this:Like Loading...