Chapter 129
Chapter 129
Shen Lang and Mulan were on their way back to the Count's estate. It was the first time the two had spent such a long time alone together outside, and Mulan felt incredibly sweet. It felt like they were courting, and Shen Lang's excessive physical contact had quickly heated up their feelings for each other.
At this moment, a full moon hung in the sky like a platter, and the stars twinkled brightly. A beautiful curtain stretched across the heavens, blanketing the earth. By the tranquil waterside, only the chirping of birds and the cries of insects could be heard. Occasionally, a fish would leap from the surface, creating ripples in the calm pond.
Shen Lang lay with his head on Mulan's lap, inhaling her captivating scent as he told her the story of Chang'e living on the moon. The scent of her body wasn't exactly fragrant, but it was enchanting. After finishing the tales of Chang'e, the Jade Rabbit, and Wu Gang, Shen Lang suddenly asked Mulan a question.
"My lady, on the moon live only Wu Gang and Chang'e. Wu Gang is strong and smitten with Chang'e, so do you know how she was able to preserve her chastity?"
"It must be because Wu Gang truly loved her and didn't want to force himself on her."
"The answer is in his name."
Mulan didn't answer. She knew that whenever Shen Lang asked this kind of question, the answer was always crude.
"My lady, do you know why Chang'e always kept a rabbit?"
Mulan sensed Shen Lang was about to tell another vulgar joke, but her curiosity got the better of her.
"Why?"
"Do you know what rabbits love to eat most?"
In an instant, Mulan understood the lewd joke, and the romantic atmosphere she had been feeling shattered. She twisted Shen Lang's ear.
"Is your mind always filled with such things, my lord?"
Her face beet red, Mulan pushed Shen Lang off her lap. Shen Lang deeply regretted running his mouth. He had just lost such a wonderful service. But a few minutes later, after desperately clinging and pleading, he managed to rest his head on Mulan's lap once more. The two fell silent again. It wasn't because Shen Lang had stopped making crude jokes, but because the sweet atmosphere in the air had grown even thicker. Shen Lang knew he had to focus on the current mood. Mulan placed her hands on Shen Lang's temples and gently massaged them, her touch soft yet firm.
"My lady, the Starfall Sword Style is truly incredible."
Shen Lang spoke up suddenly. Mulan felt relieved that the conversation had finally turned to a proper topic. Yet, subconsciously, she felt a little disappointed. The feeling of being teased by her husband, her heart pounding and her ears turning red, had been quite thrilling.
"That sword style has never been broken to this day. Nearly every young master has challenged Tang Yan, but without exception, they have all failed, defeated in a single blow. Do you know the principle behind it?"
"Please tell me."
On their way north back to the Count's estate, aside from teasing Mulan, Shen Lang had spent nearly all his time studying the *Starfall Sword Style* manual. The manual, hundreds of pages long, was now entirely stored in his mind. After studying it, Shen Lang was utterly amazed and couldn't help but marvel. The creator of this sword style was truly extraordinary. Shen Lang continued enthusiastically.
"Those who practice this sword style must ingest a special metal powder every day. This metal is dust from meteorites that have fallen from beyond the heavens. By doing so, a large amount of this special metal accumulates in their blood and body, forming a kind of magnetic field within them. So when a practitioner of this art releases their internal energy and true qi, it carries a natural magnetic force."
Mulan was stunned. It was no wonder the previous Count of Xuanwu, Jin Zhuo, had written that practicing this sword style could easily lead to infertility.
"Of course, if the metal accumulated in the practitioner's body exceeds the proper amount, the magnetic force within the true qi also becomes weak."
"If the magnetic force is weak, why is it invincible?"
"My lady, do you know of tornadoes?"
"Yes."
"Wind is simply the flow of air. The force of air is normally very weak, but when its speed increases, it can become a hurricane or a tornado, capable of destroying everything."
"Put that way, I think I understand a little."
"The sword Tang Yan uses is forged from meteoric iron. It resonates with the magnetic force emitted by the special metal in his body. When he executes a move from the Starfall Sword Style, he instantly stirs the magnetic force in the opposite direction, creating a tornado."
Mulan listened to his words, captivated.
"The power of a tornado is immense because its strong centripetal force can pull anything in. However, the Starfall Sword Style generates a powerful centrifugal force, so anyone who enters its range is immediately flung away. The more forcefully you charge in, the more violently you are thrown back. That's why this sword style has been impossible to break."
Shen Lang took a hat in his hand, spun it quickly, and tossed a small pebble into it. The moment the pebble touched the hat, it was flung out. It was a very simple experiment, but it explained the principle at a glance.
"Most martial artists only understand internal energy and true qi; they know nothing of magnetic force. They only know how to use brute strength, trying to break Tang Yan's sword style with powerful internal energy. They don't realize that unless their body's mass changes, the more internal energy they use and the faster they charge in, the more fiercely they will be repelled. This is why all those young masters, even those with stronger internal energy than Tang Yan, were defeated."
"It truly is an unparalleled and ingenious sword style. So, my lord, have you found a way to break it?"
"I have!"
"The dispute over Golden Mountain Island is about to begin. I'll have to face Tang Yan soon. Will it be too late to start training now?"
Mulan's concern was valid. The more mysterious and powerful a sword style, the more time it required to master. Tang Yan had practiced a single move of the Starfall Sword Style for fourteen years. In comparison, the time Mulan had was incredibly short.
"It's not too late. Even if you were to fight him tomorrow, you would not lose."
Mulan was puzzled.
"It took Tang Yan over a decade to master a single move, yet the time to learn the art to break it is so short?"
"That's right. Everything is harder to create than to destroy. The more invincible a sword style is said to be, the more quickly it can be dismantled once its weakness is found."
"Please teach me."
"Then let me eat your little tongue."
Mulan's brow furrowed, and even the tip of her beautiful nose wrinkled in displeasure.
"A joke, just a joke. How could I want something you dislike? A tornado is incredibly powerful, but its center, the eye of the storm, is the safest place. The Starfall Sword Style follows the same principle. The storm it creates also has an eye, and if you can find that eye, you can destroy it in an instant. Of course, the eye of this storm shifts randomly, so finding it is as difficult as finding a needle in the ocean; you can't find it in a short amount of time."
"You said the *Starfall Sword Style* manual is divided into a front and a back, yin and yang. The front is the sword style itself, and the back is the method to break it. Is the way to find the eye of the storm written in the manual?"
"That's right. The manual has two hundred and thirty pages on the front, but only three pages on the back. I will teach it to you in a moment, and I guarantee you'll learn it within four hours. But what's important is that when you duel Tang Yan, you must use a wooden sword, not a metal one. Tang Yan's Starfall Sword Style possesses not only a powerful centrifugal force but also a magnetic one, so a metal sword could be caught by the magnetic force."
"So perhaps the Sword King of this generation, Li Qianqiu, killed his wife because if the method to break the sword style were ever revealed, the supremacy of the South Sea Sword Sect would crumble in an instant."
To remain forever invincible, Li Qianqiu had no choice but to kill his wife. Shen Lang continued, pained.
"I've found the way to break it, but I'm not the least bit happy."
"Why not?"
"If I had just used my head a little, I could have figured out how to break it on my own, and there would have been no need to come to the South Sea Pavilion to find the manual. Knowing it only after seeing the manual makes me seem incompetent."
Shen Lang said this sincerely, but it was a way of showing off how exceptionally brilliant he was. His behavior was like a top student sighing after getting their test results and saying, "Ah, I bombed this test. I only got a 99."
A struggling student next to him, looking at their own score of 30, would want to drag that top student to the bathroom for a beating. But Mulan, who was beside him, instead soothed him with a gentle voice.
"My lord, you are already amazing. The most amazing person in the world. Even if you hadn't found the manual, you would have figured out how to break it in two or three days. Can't we just consider this a fun outing we took together from the estate?"
Then, Mulan suddenly stuck out the tip of her tongue and lightly licked Shen Lang's lips.
"Is that better now? My amazing husband, please hurry and teach me."
* * *
By the time Shen Lang and Mulan arrived home, Mulan had already mastered the method to break the Starfall Sword Style. At the same time, Mulan's delightful and sweet romantic journey came to a close. Overall, Mulan had been completely immersed in the past few days. Except, that is, for having to bathe three times a day. Her perverted husband wouldn't even touch her hand if six hours had passed since her last bath. Every time Shen Lang's actions felt too forward, Mulan would swat his demonic hands away. She worried when his hands didn't come, and she worried when they came and roamed freely. A woman's heart was truly complex.
After returning to the Count's estate, Shen Lang heard the news that Xu Guangyun and Xu Qianqian were dead.
"Zhang Chong truly never disappoints me."
This man was not only vicious but also knew how to put on such a performance in front of others. He was truly remarkable.
"Zhang Chong is like a wolf, and also like a tiger. If he can be so ruthless to his own side, what would he be like to his enemies? It's chilling to have such a person as a foe."
Unfortunately, no one understood the meaning behind Shen Lang's words, and he felt very lonely.
* * *
On the night after Xu Guangyun and Xu Qianqian's funeral procession. A bright moon hung high in the sky, but suddenly, dark clouds gathered and obscured its light. The sky over Xuanwu City was instantly bound by darkness. It was as if a giant beast had been trapped in a black snare. It was the calm before the storm. Even before the sky had fully darkened, a formal curfew was imposed on Xuanwu City. No one was allowed outside their doors or on the streets. Anyone who violated this order would be killed without mercy.
"Curfew! Curfew!"
The guards of the Xuanwu City Lord's Manor, and most of the private soldiers from the Yanshan, Xuanwu, and Nanshan Chiliarchies, were fully mobilized. All the houses in Xuanwu City were bolted shut, and martial law was declared at every city gate and on every street. Squadrons of cavalry galloped through the city one after another. The entire city of Xuanwu was filled with a desolate and solemn air. It felt like a prelude to the arrival of a very important figure. Something big was about to happen.
* * *
*Thud, thud, thud, thud.*
The urgent sound of horse hooves tore through the dark silence, and the entire ground thundered. Elite cavalry clad in black armor surged toward the Count of Xuanwu's estate like a tidal wave. The earth trembled wherever they passed. In the center of these cavalrymen was a massive black carriage bearing the flag of the State of Yue. The entire army passed through Xuanwu City. Countless commoners hid in their rooms, trembling, not daring to even peek out their doors.
Two hours later.
The black-armored cavalry charged straight to the base of the Count of Xuanwu's fortress walls and began to form ranks. They stood in orderly lines, exuding a murderous aura. Their strict military discipline showed that they were the finest elite soldiers. A eunuch dismounted from his horse and shouted.
"The King's envoy has arrived! The Count of Xuanwu, Jin Zhuo, will kneel and receive him."