Chapter 417: Starfall

The Sword Maid felt as though her entire understanding of the world had just been overturned again.

And this time her master had personally overturned it for her.

Only now did she truly realize how enormous the gap was between her previous master, Yuan Zhenxing—the Second Sword of Qian—and the Sword Saint of Jin standing before her.

It was not that the Second Sword of Qian had been weak.

Of course he had been powerful.

But the man ranked first could no longer be described merely with the word *powerful*.

Originally, the Sword Maid had always believed that if her former master had not been such an idiot if he had not foolishly tried to break the ice over the Bian River and gotten himself shot dead under Zheng Fan’s order then in a proper duel, even if he could not defeat Baili Feng or the Sword Saint, he should at least have been able to lose with dignity.

But when the Sword Saint drew one thread of sword qi directly from between her brows effectively drawing out her entire Ninth Grade swordsman cultivation she finally understood what sort of realm her current master had actually reached.

“Master...”

“You had only just advanced.

“And it was only Ninth Grade.

“That is why I could still pull it out.

“If your realm had been any higher, or if this new Grade had already stabilized inside you, then even I would have been helpless.”

“Master, what technique did you just use?”

“Most things begin by moving from simplicity into complexity.

“But once you reach a certain height—the road begins turning back from complexity into simplicity.

“There are principles and realizations I could explain to you now.

“But you would not understand them.

“Worse, they might send you onto the wrong path.

“If you start thinking about running before you have even learned how to walk—the result is rarely good.”

“Tell me anyway, Master.

“I know my own limits.”

“Then I’ll speak.

“And you’ll only listen?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Back when the State of Jin still existed, I entered Third Grade.

“When I fought Tian Wujing, Marquis of Jingnan, outside the capital region—in my eyes at that time, all swordsmanship beneath Heaven had already been reduced to only three forms.

“One form:

“**Take Up the Sword.**

“One form:

“**Draw the Sword.**

“One form:

“**Sheathe the Sword.**”

The Sword Saint reached out and snapped a dead branch from a nearby tree.

Holding it like a blade, he continued:

“At the time, I believed the essence of all sword paths beneath Heaven lay within those three forms.

“All the countless variations beyond them were merely extensions.

“Three forms.

“Opening.

“Continuation.

“Closure.

“A beginning and an end.

“A complete cycle.

“There was a profound principle inside it.

“**Take Up the Sword** means sword qi comes softly and enters one’s thought of its own accord.

“**Draw the Sword** means sword qi pours forth, cleaving floods and breaking waterfalls.

“**Sheathe the Sword** means sword qi returns, cycling back through the body, continuous and unending.

“After I fought Tian Wujing—

“I lost.

“Because Tian Wujing was more ruthless than I was.

“More decisive.

“What I imagined—what I pursued—was too round.

“Too complete.

“Only after that defeat did I finally understand something.

“Fighting a man and fighting a war are fundamentally the same.

“The root of both is simple:

“kill the opponent.

“Everything else is detail.

“So the third form became unnecessary.

“If your opponent is already dead, whether you sheathe the sword afterward is entirely up to you.

“More than that—if before the attack has even begun, your mind is already thinking about the retreat—then your momentum and intent have already fallen one level below.”

The Sword Saint reached out and patted the Sword Maid’s head.

Then continued:

“Later, before Snow Sea Pass, I carried the banner for that Zheng Fan.

“At the time, Zheng Fan told me that if I killed the savage general named Gelimu, the savages’ momentum in the siege would immediately lose half its strength.

“When I followed Zheng Fan to the front and saw that Gelimu actually had the face of a Jin man—

“I naturally became furious.

“At that time, my home was gone.

“My state had fallen.

“Everything I tried ended in disgrace.

“To put it plainly—

“I was miserable.

“There was a feeling in my heart of letting everything smash once the jar was already cracked.

“So I thought—if I killed Gelimu, I could at least give myself an explanation.

“Give Jin an explanation.

“In that battle—

“I abandoned the second form.

“**Draw the Sword.**

“Because whether the sword was actually in my hand no longer mattered.

“The so-called sword—was no longer something with a physical shape.

“When I forcibly opened Second Grade—strictly speaking, I was not controlling the sword myself.

“Instead—

“I drew down a power from somewhere beyond perception and let that power wield the sword in my place.

“That was why a single sword could kill Gelimu in an instant.

“When your sword no longer cares whether it has been drawn or not—then so-called distance—so-called length—cease to bind you.”

The Sword Saint led the Sword Maid back toward the front gate of the courtyard.

Then said:

“As for what I did to you just now—drawing your cultivation out in the form of sword qi—that was **Take Up the Sword.**

“The sword is One.

“One contains the myriad things.

“And if I am taking up the sword—why must the thing I take necessarily be a sword?

“My sword—can be the ten thousand arts and ten thousand things.

“And the ten thousand arts and ten thousand things—can all become my sword.”

“Master... when you say it like that—it sounds really simple.”

“The scholars of Qian sit the imperial examination over only a handful of books.

“Yet even the threshold of becoming a Presented Scholar can stop a man for his entire life.”

“Yes, Master.

“I understand.”

“If you understand, then forget it.

“Go back to laying your foundation.

“The sword remains inside the scabbard.

“When it leaves—it should ring.”

The Sword Maid nodded.

Then suddenly asked:

“Master.

“Have you recovered now?”

“I have.

“And I have not.”

“Then what exactly does that mean?”

“At the end of the day—we swordsmen are still far too weak physically compared with Martial Artists.

“My realm has indeed broken through somewhat.

“My state of mind has also risen.

“But this body...

“I can force myself to stand straight for a moment.

“Yet it remains tiring.

“I have the bearing.

“But no matter how grand the bearing looks—right now it is still only duckweed without roots.

“If you ask me whether I can truly fight...

“I do not know myself.”

“You don’t know?”

“Ordinary clowns and small fry cannot even enter Count Pingye Residence.

“That Zheng Fan keeps me here because he wants more from me than guarding his gate.

“As for the sort of people who dare forcibly enter Count Pingye Residence—

“I can still frighten them.

“But if the other side truly has only one thought in mind—forcing their way inside and fighting to the death—then in my current state, I still lack the strength.

“I am much like you.

“Your body is still young.

“Your road is still long.

“Naturally, the best thing is to walk it one step at a time.

“As for this body of mine—

“I intend to repair it properly.

“That cannot be rushed either.

“Slowly condition it.

“Slowly recover.

“Perhaps I can even climb another hundred-foot pole and take one more step.

“But if I hurry—if I force it—if I chase speed—then the hidden injuries left behind will be too severe.

“Go back and rest for now.

“Recover quietly for a few days.

“When you feel well again—come back here and continue practicing the sword.”

“Yes, Master.”

...

After separating from the Sword Saint, the Sword Maid entered Count Pingye Residence.

She did not see Fan Li, who had gone in ahead of her.

Most likely he had gone to the rear kitchens searching for something to eat.

The Sword Maid headed straight for the rear residence.

From far away, she could already hear a child giggling.

She pushed open the door and entered.

The Young Marquis was standing inside.

He could already walk by himself.

He wore a little red padded jacket and a tiger-head cap.

The effect was almost absurdly adorable.

A round stone rested on the ground.

The Young Marquis walked over and kicked it.

The stone rolled away.

A moment later it rolled back on its own.

“Come.

“Let Elder Sister hold you.”

The Sword Maid walked over and picked up the Young Marquis.

In the past, after finishing sword practice with her master, she would often come over and spend some time with the child.

The Young Marquis seemed quite fond of this elder sister with the Natural Sword Embryo.

He voluntarily stretched out his arms and even patted the Sword Maid’s back.

He probably wanted to pat her shoulder.

Unfortunately, he was too short to reach.

So he settled for the next best thing.

A cloud of black mist appeared.

A baby’s face emerged within it.

The Sword Maid had long since stopped finding the Demon Child strange.

Truthfully, the Demon Child was not especially fond of her.

But whenever the Sword Maid came to play with the Young Marquis, he never objected.

This time was an exception.

The Demon Child had exhausted far too much strength earlier and had therefore been left behind by Master.

Normally, whenever his father went out, the Demon Child would certainly go along.

So to prevent little Tian Tian from becoming lonely whenever he was absent having another playmate around was not a bad thing.

After holding the child for a while, the Sword Maid began feeling weak again.

She sat down on the floor.

Then watched the Demon Child and little Tian Tian continue playing kickball.

Their “ball” was the stone containing the Demon Child’s true body.

The two children were having a wonderful time.

Occasionally the “ball” rolled toward the Sword Maid.

She simply tossed it back.

She did not know how long she watched them.

Eventually she fell asleep sitting there.

Little Tian Tian noticed.

He stopped kicking the ball of his own accord and pointed toward the sleeping Sword Maid.

“Mm...

“Sleep...

“Sleepy-sleep...”

The Demon Child controlled his stone body.

It floated beneath the Sword Maid and lifted her up.

Then it carried her over and lowered her into the cradle.

The cradle was large for a baby.

But the Sword Maid was already a young girl, so it was naturally too small for her.

Both arms and both legs hung over the sides.

The sight was rather amusing.

But she had traveled too long.

And her cultivation had only just been extracted.

So once she fell asleep she slept deeply.

Little Tian Tian tiptoed out of the room.

The Demon Child followed.

The two children entered the courtyard together.

There was a slide.

There was a swing.

After little Tian Tian grew enough to walk on his own, Zheng Fan had specifically ordered Xue San to make several children’s toys for him.

Little Tian Tian climbed to the top of the slide.

But he did not slide down.

Instead he sat there.

Moonlight spilled across the courtyard.

It revealed the Demon Child’s figure sitting beside little Tian Tian.

Little Tian Tian raised one hand.

Because he wore too many layers of clothing, lifting his arm was somewhat difficult.

“Mm...

“Star...

“Star...”

The Demon Child sat beside him.

He had no particular interest in looking at stars.

He was merely there to make sure Tian Tian did not fall off the slide.

“Mm...

“Star...

“Star... fall...”

Seeing Tian Tian become more and more excited the Demon Child finally lifted his head in silence.

And looked toward the sky.

The weather was excellent that night.

The heavens were filled with stars.

One star was especially bright.

And it was becoming brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter still.

At last, it drew out a long tail across the night sky.

And fell.

“...”

The Demon Child.

...

Next door—

Liu Dahu sat inside the main room practicing calligraphy carefully by candlelight.

His mother, long accustomed to frugality, sat beside him and used the same candlelight to stitch the sole of a shoe.

The Sword Saint sat in the courtyard chopping firewood with a small axe.

Originally, Madam Wu had not wanted him doing these tasks.

She worked in a workshop during the day and possessed real strength in her arms.

Chopping wood and carrying water had never been difficult for her.

But the Sword Saint insisted that his body needed movement and exercise.

So he still forced himself to do a little.

After splitting several logs the Sword Saint silently picked up one freshly broken piece of wood.

He studied the grain exposed inside it.

Thoughtful.

Then, he laughed at himself.

Truthfully, there was one thing he had not told his disciple that night.

Of his three forms one was connected to Tian Wujing.

One was connected to Gelimu.

One was connected to this little courtyard.

But in truth all three were connected to Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan clearly knew nothing about swordsmanship.

He was a saber-using Martial Artist.

And yet again and again the Sword Saint’s path of the sword had been deeply influenced and illuminated by him.

Perhaps that was simply the impermanence of the world.

Principle revealing itself across the ages.

Just like the grain inside the piece of firewood in his hand.

Before the wood was split open who could know how its lines truly ran within?

Or like the countless stars overhead.

How many stars shone brilliantly today only to fade tomorrow?

With that thought the Sword Saint raised his head.

He looked toward the heavens.

Then, his gaze froze.

This the star really was falling!

————

[End of Chapter 417]