17: Chapter 17 Young Master Liu, We're Not Acquainted

[You said nothing, simply pulling a piece of paper from your robes. On it were written the essentials of the first three forms of the Frost Moon Sword Technique. You only wrote the first three forms—this was the rule; give someone a glimpse of the beginning, and if they are interested, then you talk.]

[Sun Boyan took the paper, glancing at it nonchalantly.]

[Then, his expression changed.]

[The content on the paper caused his originally lazy posture to slowly straighten. His brows went from furrowed to relaxed, then from relaxed to locked, and then from locked to raised.]

[He flipped the paper over to look at the back, confirmed there was nothing else, and then raised his head to stare at you.]

["Did you really create this yourself?"]

["Yes."]

["The Fusion path of five martial arts..." Sun Boyan muttered to himself, his fingers tracing a certain line on the paper repeatedly. "The design of this True Qi conversion node is..." He suddenly shut his mouth, carefully folded the paper, and tucked it into his robes.]

["Trade." He spat out the word succinctly. "After the banquet ends tonight, come to the Feiyun Martial Arts Hall to find me, and I will give you the Complete Manual of the Youlong Step. Write the remaining six forms for me at that time."]

[You nodded: "Deal."]

[The transaction between the two was completed quietly in the corner, without attracting much attention.]

[But one person did notice.]

[At the main table, Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue held his wine cup, his gaze sweeping across the venue—this was a habit, the instinctual observation of an Innate Martial Artist regarding their surroundings. He noticed your interaction with Sun Boyan in the corner, and that Sun Boyan, that old man with a strange temper, would actually show such an expression to a young woman at the Post-Heaven Peak.]

[He turned his head and asked the person beside him in a low voice: "Who is that veiled woman?"]

[Sitting next to him was the master of the 'Iron Fist Martial Arts Hall', Zhong Hao, a burly man. Hearing this, he followed his gaze and took a look.]

["Oh, that?" Zhong Hao downed a mouthful of wine and pointed in your direction with his chopsticks. "The master of the Shuangyue Martial Arts Hall in the south of the city, her name is Senior Sister Lin Shuang, Post-Heaven Peak."]

["A woman running a martial arts hall?" Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue was somewhat surprised.]

["Yes, she's been here for over two years. Her teaching is not sloppy; those Disciples of hers are all progressing quite fast." Zhong Hao chuckled. "But this woman is a martial arts fanatic. Every day, aside from practicing sword, she just practices sword. She doesn't socialize, doesn't attend banquets, and doesn't marry. A few who wanted to pursue her before were scared off by her—I heard that once she crushed a wooden chopping block in front of someone, and another time she crushed a stone. Several matchmakers who came to propose were sent away; now, no one in Qingyang County dares to play matchmaker for her."]

[Zhong Hao shook his head as he said this, his tone carrying a bit of regret: "It's a pity. With that figure and those eyes, the face under the veil must be pretty good. It's just a shame her temperament is too hard, like a stone. Heh, but then again, who knows, maybe she looks like a disaster under that veil and is intentionally not letting people see."]

[Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue smiled but said nothing more. His gaze rested on you for a moment, then he withdrew it and turned elsewhere.]

[The banquet dispersed; it was already nighttime.]

[You rose from the corner, preparing to go to the Feiyun Martial Arts Hall to complete the transaction with Sun Boyan. Passing through the crowd, you did not stop, walking decisively.]

[At the entrance, Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue was standing on the steps, cupping his hands to bid farewell to the Martial Forest comrades who had come to the banquet. He exchanged pleasantries round after round, handling it unhurriedly.]

[You walked out the door.]

[The night wind arrived suddenly.]

[A draft of wind blowing from the end of the corridor of Wangjiang Tower, carrying the chill of early autumn, brushed against your cheek.]

[The veil was lifted by the wind.]

[It was just for an instant.]

[When you reached out to hold the veil, it had already fallen back into place.]

[But in that instant, Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue, who was seeing off guests on the steps, happened to look up.]

[His gaze collided with the moment the veil was lifted.]

[The warm light of the lantern reflected on the side of your face; it was only half a face, and only for an instant. But it was enough.]

[Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue's hand, which was seeing off guests, stopped in mid-air.]

[You did not notice his gaze and had already walked down the steps, disappearing into the night.]

[Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue's hand slowly lowered.]

[The attendant beside him called him twice before he came back to his senses.]

["Young Master?"]

["Hm." He responded and continued to see off guests.]

[But his gaze looked once more in the direction you had disappeared.]

[The next day.]

[You went to the Feiyun Martial Arts Hall as promised, obtained the Complete Manual of the Youlong Step, and handed over the essentials of the remaining six forms of the Frost Moon Sword Technique to Sun Boyan. After the old man finished reading it, he was silent for a long time, and finally said, "The younger generation is formidable," before kicking you out the door.]

[System notification: Congratulations on learning the Martial Skill 'Youlong Step' (Beginner).]

[Returning to the martial arts hall, you began to Cultivate the Youlong Step. Three months later, Perfection. You then integrated it into your own martial arts System.]

[Everything was moving in a good direction.]

[The only thing that surprised you a little was—Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue began to appear frequently near your martial arts hall.]

[At first, it was not deliberate. Sometimes when he passed by the south of the city, he would sit for a while at the tea stall opposite your martial arts hall. You were teaching Disciples in the training grounds, and he was drinking tea across the street, separated by the distance of a street. You caught a glimpse of him a few times, but he had no intention of talking, just sitting there quietly, reading books, drinking tea, and leaving after a while.]

[You didn't say anything. He didn't barge into your martial arts hall, nor did he harass your students; you couldn't control him sitting in a public area drinking a cup of tea. If you took the initiative to go over and say "Stop coming," and it turned out he wasn't even there for you, how embarrassing would that be.]

[But the frequency of these "chance encounters" became higher and higher.]

[From once a week to once every three days, and then to every other day. The tea stall owner recognized him, and as soon as he saw him coming, he automatically brewed a pot of Biluochun and served it.]

[And the way he looked at you changed.]

[At first, it was just curiosity, as if observing an interesting object. Later, the curiosity was mixed with a bit of appreciation. Then later, the appreciation was mixed with something else. You had seen that kind of gaze too many times—in Yunjin City, in Qinghe County, in this martial arts hall, countless men's gazes towards you started this way.]

[The difference was, those people's gazes were mostly filled with desire.]

[Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue's was not.]

[There was something in his gaze that you couldn't quite describe—it was like looking at a painting, reluctant to look away, but not daring to get too close.]

[Finally, one day, he walked into your martial arts hall.]

[That day, you were demonstrating the third form of the Frost Moon Sword Technique to Disciples in the training grounds. The sword light drew a light blue arc under the afternoon sun, so beautiful that the Disciples forgot to blink.]

[You sheathed your sword and turned around, only to see Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue standing at the entrance of the training grounds.]

[He was wearing indigo-colored casual clothes, holding a food box in his hand.]

["Hall Master Lin." He cupped his hands, his tone calm, "Passing by your place, I brought you a box of pastries from Wangjiang Tower."]

[The Disciples started whispering, you gripped the sword hilt and looked at him for two seconds, without taking the food box.]

["Young Master Liu, we are not close."]

["That is why I wanted to get to know you." He placed the food box on the stone platform by the training grounds and smiled, "Sorry for the disturbance, farewell."]

[After speaking, he really turned and left. Succinctly and neatly, without entanglement.]

[The Disciples swarmed toward the food box.]

["Instructor! Instructor! Osmanthus cakes from Wangjiang Tower!"]

["Is this the magistrate's son, Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue? So handsome..."]

["Instructor, are you not eating? Can we eat it then?"]

[You glanced at the food box, didn't eat it, and turned to continue teaching.]

[But from then on, Chief Constable Liu Jiangyue became a regular visitor to your martial arts hall.]