Chapter Fifty-One: Fierce Battle, Memories, Intentional or Unintentional

"What are you planning to do?" the expressionless girl asked.

"Hmm, I intend to awaken the dragon-kind within this city. I want many dragons to appear here." The man pushed aside the body of Anyushi.

"Many people will die."

To this, the man replied cheerfully, "If you don't want to see that, then come and stop me."

The words were spoken. She understood the nature of this man. Qin Ming would not change his mind because of anyone's persuasion. In fact, he did not care for the opinions of others.

"I want to see your progress."

Once again, he initiated an invitation. It was his habit not to force an opponent into battle. He issued invitations to those who interested him, and if refused, he would not compel them. Instead, he would use another method to force them to fight him. Just like now, taking a small detour to reach his goal in the way he loved most.

There was only one way to stop him. Force. Violence. Hard-handed measures. By another means, to achieve his desire—!

"!"

The blade pierced the airflow of the high altitude, emitting an indescribably sharp sound. The distance between the two was about seven meters, and Qin Qianbai swung her blade to the side. She was not aiming at the human figure in the distance, but at the empty air where nothing existed. A deterrent, deceptive air-slash...?

"Hmm." Ming Ke’s eyes held a smile; he saw the girl's movement clearly and admired her creativity.

As the long blade tore through the air, the solid tip softened for an instant. A droplet of water flew up with the strike, detaching from the ink-black blade, flying toward the man's head like a serpent!

Qin Secret Technique: Flash Serpent.

"Not bad."

The man in green held his long blade with only his right hand. He raised his free left hand and pinched his fingers together. The ink-colored droplet rested on his fingertips as easily and comfortably as if he were catching a petal.

The time for one movement was less than half a second. The droplet flew out, Ming Ke caught it, and at the same time... only a blur remained where the girl had stood, and her true form had already reached a position two meters in front of Ming Ke!

"—!"

With the ink-blade reversed and the sharp edge pointing downward, Ming Ke focused his attention above his head, while Qin Qianbai seized the opportunity to attack his lower body! Her black hair danced in the air, and the long blade swept toward Ming Ke's ankles like lightning, using the momentum of her charge to strike with thunderous force. It was a killing move originally meant for swift decapitation, now used by her in an alternative way!

Qin Secret Technique: Swift Slash.

"A beautiful opening move."

In that instant, even she had not seen the man's movement clearly. A cold light flashed. The dim yellow light receded, leaving only the gleaming long blade. The long blade reversed and tapped against the tip of the ink-blade. With a single crisp "clang," the strike was blocked.

In less than a second, the two had already exchanged two rounds. Ming Ke seemed to have no intention of pursuing; he simply flicked his blade, and Qin Qianbai withdrew her weapon early, retreating several meters!

There was no disappointment on Ming Ke's face; instead, he laughed even more heartily. A smooth fissure appeared beside his feet, and the front of the train where they stood trembled slightly. Immediately after...

The incision expanded, turning into a smooth cut. Starting from this unprovoked slash, one-third of the train's front detached from the main body and plummeted from the high altitude! This was the result of the impact from Ming Ke's mere flick. Had the girl been reluctant to retreat, it would have been her body split in two!

"...Whew." Qin Qianbai gasped for a moment; even she felt the tension now.

Ming Ke stepped lightly on the train front, and the detached carriage segment snapped back onto the train of its own accord. Ten large hands sprouted from the front, tossing the ten previously fallen Manifestation Envoys one by one into the carriages behind. The care of an elder faded from his smile, replaced by the curiosity and verve of a martial artist.

The assessment of his junior was over. Qin Qianbai had passed the gentle test. The true duel began now. The dim yellow light ignited on his long blade once more.

"Ming Blade, Ming Ke."

"Imperial Capital Qin Clan, Qin Qianbai."

Both stepped forward and swung their blades. The moment the edges met, memories of her childhood flashed through her mind involuntarily.

Twelve years ago. Qin Qianbai had just turned seven.

In the eyes of the girl at that time, the world was simple and clear. Half of the day was spent at the private school with her playmates. The teachers were strict, but the assignments were not heavy. As a child of the Qin clan, she had something more important to do... Martial arts.

Forging the body, honing the skills. The other half of the day was dedicated to this. Her grandfather said he named her Qianbai not only because her Five Elements lacked wood, but also to express the beautiful wish that, though she was like a delicate blade of grass, she would be as strong as a cypress. Qin Qianbai thought that strength was power, and that her grandfather's meaning was that as long as she was strong enough, it didn't matter that she was a girl.

So she spent more time on martial arts, and the adults praised how sensible she was. Coincidentally, she began learning to please her elders, but as she practiced, she truly found it interesting. She could understand how to perform a technique after watching an elder demonstrate it once and imitating it a few times. Force, footwork, stances—she learned them much faster than the articles the teachers taught. She felt she was smarter than the other playmates in the family because they learned so slowly.

Gradually, more elders came to teach her. Some were uncles and aunts she only saw during festivals, and others were older elders she had never seen before. After some time, even her grandfather, who always chatted and laughed with everyone, came to teach her martial arts personally.

Her playmates said she was amazing, and the elders loved her from the bottom of their hearts. Her uncles and aunts not only taught her martial arts but also talked to her about other things, listening to her daily trivialities. Among the family masters, the one she was closest to was Uncle Ming, of her parents' generation.

The elders called her a genius, and they called Uncle Ming a genius too; even her grandfather said so. But she watched Uncle Ming for a long time and couldn't see a hint of a genius: he often squatted with the children, asking them about televisions and computers; he spoke simply, as if he were the same age as her; he rarely practiced at home, always going out alone and returning with a pile of food; occasionally, he would stand in the courtyard alone, looking at the sky, wondering what he was thinking...

Only when learning martial arts could one see Uncle Ming's genius: the moves he taught were as difficult as her grandfather's, taking quite a while to master. Because learning the moves took a long time, she spent more time with Uncle Ming than with other elders, and their relationship naturally became closer.

Every now and then, Uncle Ming would secretly take her out to play in the bustling areas of the Imperial Capital. At these times, he was always followed by several classmates: a tall, black-clad man with an arrogant face and a cold attitude toward everyone; a round, stout youth who gasped for breath after walking a few steps; and a pale scholar in a high hat who spoke interestingly.

They often argued when they talked, discussing dragon disasters, schools, national affairs, history, and legends... They could argue about anything, saying things she couldn't understand, but before long, they would make up again.

Uncle Ming rarely participated in the arguments. First, he was not good at verbal disputes and was often interrupted by his classmates before he could finish a few sentences, left speechless. Second, he was not interested in many topics. Whenever they started talking about world situations, the current emperor, or the Impermanent Envoys, he would often frown, cover his ears, and take her to the side to buy food or watch the excitement.

Uncle Ming said they thought too much and lived very tiring lives, and she would say, "Indeed, indeed." Uncle Ming said the most important thing in life is to be happy, and she would say, "Exactly, exactly."

She thought these people were all a bit strange, but since they were all nice to her, she didn't mind. Besides, they argued every day, yet Uncle Ming always went out with them, which meant he was happy being with them. Maybe that's just how older friends were?

Peaceful days passed one by one, and she spent every day smiling, rarely unhappy. Qin Qianbai thought these days would last forever. Until the last day of winter that year.

That morning, Uncle Ming was standing alone in the courtyard. She walked over to greet him and stood beside the man in green.

Uncle Ming said he had many things he wanted to do, but after doing them, while he might be happy, others might not be. She suggested he discuss it with her grandfather. Uncle Ming said he was learning the art of dragon-slaying, and in this regard, her grandfather was not as skilled as he was. He was hesitant about whether to do it thoroughly. Her grandfather often said that one should always leave a way out, and she felt this made a lot of sense. So she advised that doing anything too thoroughly easily offends people and might even hurt oneself. Even if doing what he loved, he should still leave a way out.

Uncle Ming thought for a long time and said that leaving a way out keeps one's heart, while doing it thoroughly loses one's heart. How to choose, in the end, depends on the person. Uncle Ming left after saying that, and she thought he had probably been reading profound texts and had not thought deeply about it.

That night, she was startled from her dreams, hearing a commotion outside. She thought everyone was secretly holding some kind of event and slipped out, excited. But what she saw was not the lively scene she imagined, but people lying in pools of blood.

Blood, so much blood, staining the snow in the courtyard. Her parents, uncles, and elders who treated her well—everyone lay in the blood and snow. There was a trail of red footprints on the ground. She followed them, not knowing what she was thinking, only remembering that her mind was blank, wanting to see who had done such a thing. Along the way, she saw more family members, dead or alive. She reached the back mountain and saw her grandfather's back.

Her grandfather was confronting a man, and she had never seen her grandfather's expression so grave. The man was dressed in green, holding two blades, covered in blood. He stood in the bamboo forest on that snowy night and raised his hand to greet her.

"You've come, Qin Qianbai."

"I have always wanted to have a serious fight with everyone."

The man smiled with satisfaction, and smiled with regret.

"I am very happy; I saw many moves. But none were as good as mine; everyone was too weak."

"A family that takes martial arts as its foundation must become stronger."

"What about you, Qin Qianbai?"

"I think you are stronger than them."

The man in green walked closer, step by step, smiling as he did when he took her out to play.

"—Do you want to fight?"

Clang!

The hilt of the ink-blade struck the body of the Ming Blade, using offense as defense to dodge Ming Ke's strike... It should have been like that, but her hand was a split second slow. The dim yellow blade slashed down, just about to sever the ink-blade and the girl's neck together, but it stopped quietly.

"You were distracted."

"Yes, I was thinking about my childhood."

There was nothing to be embarrassed about; it was better to admit it frankly. It would be strange not to have any feelings after meeting this man again more than a decade later. In contrast, he, who had always been composed, seemed extremely abnormal even from the perspective of a martial artist. If his heart were the same as an ordinary person's, he could never have done what he did back then.

Ming Ke muttered in distress, "Do you hate me?"

The expressionless girl shook her head.

"I just think you are a truly wicked adult."

Ming Ke relaxed his brows and laughed, "The most important thing in life is to be happy."