Chapter 60: Perhaps She Could Truly Become a Sword Master
Pitter-patter…
It had been raining gently for days.
The shallow daylight was broken into pieces, scattered among the continuous curtain of rain.
Through the sound of raindrops hitting the ground, one could glimpse a hint of warmth.
Liu Miao ran into the flower shop, shaking off the raindrops that had fallen on her head.
What bad luck, to have it rain halfway through her journey.
But with the rain comes spring.
Thinking of this, Liu Miao felt a bit happier.
It had been two days since she demonstrated her learning to the flower shop owner.
That day, she remembered what Sister Su Huanhuan had said and didn’t mention Immortal Luohe’s existence.
Though it was strange why the flower shop owner reacted so strongly to this… but she didn’t give Liu Miao much chance to ask questions.
Almost as soon as she said she didn’t know, the shop owner took a broken sword and walked toward the back mountain.
Liu Miao was concerned about this.
She had witnessed the flower shop owner’s skills.
Very impressive.
She worried that the flower shop owner might try to eliminate the evil Luohe… wait, Immortal Luohe seemed very powerful too.
Maybe the result would be the opposite.
But both of these people were important to Liu Miao—couldn’t they avoid fighting each other?
Besides, they were both such impressive sword cultivators… wasn’t this the kind of situation often found in storybooks? Two great masters of the jianghu who are enemies but respect each other and eventually become friends…
Liu Miao crouched at the doorway, looking at the misty rain-filled sky, propping up her head, thinking about this idly.
But suddenly, she saw a vague figure approaching from the end of the street.
The figure held an umbrella, walking with a certain mysterious ethereal quality.
As the figure drew closer, Liu Miao saw he was wearing a long cyan-white robe.
Oh, it wasn’t a human figure, but a ghost’s shadow.
Liu Miao immediately stood up, carefully looked around… good, no one was there.
So she rushed into the rain, running toward the figure.
“Immortal Luohe!”
…
“Flower shop owner? I haven’t met her.”
Luohe held his umbrella, looking at the young woman beside him, denying the name she mentioned.
The A-Jiao umbrella was large enough to shelter both of them from the soft rain.
Of course, Luohe wasn’t afraid of rain; he feared the sunlight beneath the clouds.
As for Liu Miao saying the flower shop owner had gone to the back mountain… he had been helping Su Huanhuan deal with her last few stubborn injuries these past two days, honestly not paying attention to the situation in the bamboo grove.
But it was probably to thank Su Huanhuan, and not meeting her was actually a good thing, saving him trouble.
“I see…”
Liu Miao relaxed a bit.
That was good—it seemed the ghost-eliminating, evil-dispelling scene she feared hadn’t happened.
If the flower shop owner and Immortal Luohe, two great masters, were to fight…
“…”
Thinking of something sad, Liu Miao decided not to continue that line of thought.
Better to switch her attention. Hey, Immortal Luohe’s umbrella looked really nice.
Um…
Liu Miao met Luohe’s gaze.
Noticing Liu Miao looking at him, Luohe smiled.
“What is it?”
But the person under the umbrella looked even nicer.
Liu Miao withdrew her gaze, immediately poking her fingers while staring at her toes, asking softly:
“Immortal Luohe… why did you come to Xianfeng City today?”
“No need to call me Immortal, just call me by my name.”
“Then… Master Luohe?”
“I haven’t taught you anything.”
“Mr. Luohe?”
“Just call me Mr. Luo.”
In the past, he was either called directly by his name or called stupid fox, dead fox, little mute by a certain woman… indeed, none was pleasant to hear.
Mr. Luo sounded quite nice.
Luohe nodded.
“I came today to say goodbye to you. Su Huanhuan and I will be leaving here soon. I was worried I wouldn’t find you, but it seems we have quite a connection.”
“Mmm-hmm!”
Liu Miao really liked the idea of having a connection.
Because connections were powerful things. Having a connection meant having something powerful.
So this was a good thing!
“Although I haven’t actually taught you anything, I’m at least the guide who led you into the path of cultivation, so I thought I should come tell you before leaving.”
“Perhaps someday our paths will cross again, and then we can reminisce about old times and laugh about today.”
“Hmm…”
It sounded like a beautiful scene.
But Liu Miao keenly sensed a touch of sadness.
Mr. Luo was a powerful cultivator, while she…
Would they really have the chance to meet again and laugh about today?
Speaking of which…
Liu Miao gathered her courage.
“Mr. Luo.”
Liu Miao suddenly stepped out from under the umbrella and stood in front of Luohe.
She looked around, took an iron shovel from an abandoned farmhouse nearby, broke off the shovel head, and held the smooth wooden handle.
“I, I have a move that imitates your sword technique… I, I want you to see it.”
Performing her imitation technique in front of the original made Liu Miao very nervous.
But Luohe calmed her with his steady gaze and nodded to her.
“Alright.”
Though he didn’t know what Liu Miao had managed to imitate, Luohe wouldn’t discourage her courage and confidence.
Whatever she wanted to show him, he would…
“?”
The dancing spiritual energy evaporated the raindrops.
In the instant Liu Miao swung her sword and landed, she even dried the ground around her.
This showed that her control over spiritual energy release wasn’t yet as precise as his.
But conversely, it also demonstrated the high quality and density of the spiritual energy within her…
Simply put, it far exceeded what someone at the Qi Condensation stage should have.
And her sword style was clearly different from the confused, naive impression her appearance and behavior gave…
Her sword was quiet, restrained, cold, carrying strong elements of Luohe’s personal style.
This left Luohe himself somewhat stunned.
“Phew…”
Liu Miao looked at the wooden stick in her hand, then at the shovel head, thought for a moment, but still put down the stick and walked back under Luohe’s umbrella.
Seeing Luohe not responding for a long time, she thought her performance wasn’t good and shrank her neck.
“Um, Mr. Luo…”
“…Where did you learn this method of controlling spiritual energy?”
“Hmm… I’m not exactly sure, I just thought it might work this way, and then I could do it.”
“I see…”
Luohe lightly touched Liu Miao’s forehead with one hand.
The strange expression on his face deepened.
“When did you establish your foundation?”
“Establish what? What foundation?”
“The feeling of previously floating spiritual energy settling throughout your body.”
“Oh… maybe two days ago.”
“Hiss…”
You little…
Although he had left the spiritual energy refined during his meridian opening in Liu Miao’s body, essentially saving her the process of accumulating spiritual energy during the Qi Condensation stage.
But how many days had it been?
And you’ve already established your foundation so effortlessly?
This talent…
“Mr. Luo, is foundation establishment very impressive?”
Liu Miao tugged at Luohe’s non-existent sleeve hem.
“Foundation establishment itself isn’t impressive, but for you, it’s very impressive.”
“Oh…”
So it still wasn’t impressive enough.
“…Liu Shuishui.”
“Hmm?”
“If you have the chance in the future, you might go north to the Central Plains. There’s a very impressive sect there called the Tianzhen Sword Sect.”
“There, you might become a very powerful cultivator. Of course, if you want to be free and unfettered, that’s fine too.”
“Mm.”
Liu Miao noted this down for now.
But rather than the somewhat distant Tianzhen Sword Sect, Liu Miao had a more urgent matter at hand.
She rummaged through her small pouch… yes, several pieces of silver, more than enough.
“Mr. Luo… before you leave, could you accompany me somewhere? It’s in the city, won’t take much time.”
“Let’s go.”
…