Chapter 9: Beneath the Moon

Yang Shifei fell silent.

Establish a sect?

Could it be that this little rich woman had grown tired of making money from restaurants and fabric shops, and had turned her gaze toward the training fees that could be collected by opening a sect?

But looking at her calm, cool expression, Yang Shifei silently swallowed the teasing words back down.

That expression did not look like she was joking.

“Why does Miss Luo wish to do this?”

Yang Shifei looked somewhat puzzled. “Have you developed an interest in martial arts?”

“To be honest, I also practiced martial arts in the past.”

“Huh?” Yang Shifei froze. “But you said before that the Luo family was not a martial arts clan…”

Luo Xian’er tilted her head. “I merely cultivated privately. It cannot be considered mastery.”

“…All right.”

Yang Shifei rubbed his chin. “But even if you practiced martial arts, Miss, what does that have to do with establishing a sect?”

“It is a small wish of mine.” Luo Xian’er considered her words briefly. “If it succeeds, it would also comfort my mother’s spirit in heaven.”

“…”

Yang Shifei’s expression froze.

It seemed there were secrets within the Luo family unknown to outsiders. Could they be related to her identity as a female ghost?

But it was not appropriate for him to dig deeper right now, so he simply changed the subject. “Why entrust this matter to me, Miss?”

“We… had no other choice.”

“Did something happen?”

“We once tried to establish a sect, but it did not go smoothly.”

Luo Xian’er gently tightened her sleeves and lowered her eyes with a soft sigh. “After spreading the news, no one showed any interest for a long time. Even those who came to our door were people with ulterior motives, and Tanxiang urged them all to leave. Before even ten days had passed, the news that we were recruiting disciples disappeared without a trace.”

Got it. A failed startup.

Yang Shifei understood.

“So that’s why you came to me, Miss. You want to try again?”

“Yes.” Luo Xian’er said softly, “I see that Young Master is quick-witted, so I thought you might have another method.”

“Miss Luo overestimates me.”

Yang Shifei smiled. “If I really had any wonderful ideas, why would I be empty-handed now and still need you all to help support me?”

Besides, establishing a sect was not something that could succeed just by talking.

Not only did a sect need to have a unique skill, it also could not lack power, connections, money, and status. Even if the sect was successfully established and disciples were accepted, it would still require enormous effort to manage carefully in the future. It was absolutely no easy task.

“However, although you want to establish a sect, you haven’t set any limit on the number of disciples, have you?”

Yang Shifei’s thoughts stirred. “Since broadly accepting disciples won’t work, why not accept only one disciple and teach that person strictly? One master and one disciple—this may still count as a ‘sect.’ If that disciple has decent talent and makes a name for themselves in the jianghu in the future, the sect’s name can likewise spread everywhere.”

“…”

Luo Xian’er was silent for a long while. A faint light seemed to flicker in her eyes.

Just as Yang Shifei relaxed, he saw her raise her eyes to look at him.

“Young Master, I have an unreasonable request.”

“…Please speak.”

A serious look appeared on Luo Xian’er’s lovely face. “I want to take you as my disciple.”

“?”

Beneath the bright moon, the sky grew darker and darker.

Yang Shifei straightened the training clothes on his body and looked back at the slender, graceful figure walking out of the main hall, his expression strange.

The matter of accepting a disciple had not truly been settled.

After all, the two of them still barely had a “marriage agreement” between them. If they became master and disciple as well, it would not be appropriate.

If the two of them became a couple in the future, wouldn’t that be awkward?

But this young lady had some thought because of it and said they would not address each other as master and disciple for now. She would merely guide him in practicing martial arts. He really could not refuse.

Yang Shifei could not help saying, “I may not necessarily have good talent in martial arts.”

“No matter.”

Luo Xian’er brushed her long skirt and shook her head. “I will not mind.”

“…Since Miss Luo insists, should we hold a ceremony to acknowledge the master?”

Yang Shifei smiled helplessly. “I remember other sects all have this process.”

Luo Xian’er looked at him for a moment and said softly, “No need. Young Master only needs to practice. I will first watch from the side.”

“Then I will trouble Miss Luo.”

Yang Shifei gathered his thoughts, opened the secret manual, and looked through it, feeling slightly relieved.

The Triple-Folding Forest-Piercing Art was an external martial art. It included three forms: fist and palm, movement technique, and blade technique. It emphasized layering force and maintaining a continuous, unbroken offensive. The manual not only contained written descriptions, but also diagrams, making it quite simple and practical.

At the very least, he could understand it.

Even with a breathtaking beauty silently observing nearby, Yang Shifei did not feel awkward at this moment. He placed all his attention on studying the martial art.

He seriously pondered and considered it, occasionally gesturing a few times with one hand, then suddenly nodding.

Although this martial art was not profound, and after flipping through it a few times, he even felt it was simple, the fundamentals described within were still extremely beneficial.

For Yang Shifei, who had never encountered martial arts before and had spent the past few days blindly figuring things out on his own, it was no different from a precious treasure.

He imitated the manual and assumed the proper stance, then recalled the scene of facing his opponent at the time, silently correcting his various movements. His waist, back, arms, legs… every point of exertion had its own subtle use. After trying several times, he found it even more marvelous.

“Here, this is not quite right.”

A soft voice sounded by his ear.

As an intoxicating fragrance brushed his face, a fair jade-like hand quietly reached out and gently tugged his sleeve.

Yang Shifei’s movements abruptly paused. From the corner of his eye, he saw Luo Xian’er walking to his side. Following her guidance, he lowered his arm slightly.

“When exerting force, your body must not be too tense.”

Luo Xian’er’s pink lips moved slightly, her voice light and graceful. “Although it can make your strength fiercer, it causes you to lose a bit of agility. If you face an enemy in the future, it will instead be easier to expose flaws.”

Yang Shifei thought for a moment, then tried running through the Triple-Folding Forest-Piercing Art again. Sure enough, it flowed much more smoothly.

When he had crossed blows with the black-clothed man, the cold air inside his body had circulated on its own, almost allowing his entire body’s strength to release and withdraw freely, as if guiding him to perform the most correct and effective offensive and defensive movements.

This point was the same as Luo Xian’er’s guidance. He had to firmly remember it.

“Young Master has very good comprehension.”

Luo Xian’er lightly clapped. “Although the moves of this martial art are simple, for someone who has only just come into contact with martial arts to understand it so thoroughly in less than half an hour is worthy of praise.”

Yang Shifei lowered his arm and chuckled sheepishly. “Miss Luo exaggerates. Besides—”

He picked up the secret manual beside him again and casually flipped to the latter half. “Although I can understand the descriptions of ‘internal cultivation,’ unfortunately, I still can’t imitate even the slightest bit.”

Although this manual was external, it also recorded a matching internal art.

But no matter how Yang Shifei tried to circulate the cold air inside his body according to the descriptions, it would not move at all, let alone “fill the dantian with internal force.”

“Perhaps Young Master is somewhat special.”

Luo Xian’er said softly, “As far as I know, martial artists begin in the ‘body-tempering realm,’ where they must refine the tendons, bones, flesh, and blood throughout the body. Only once the blood and qi are full and the meridians gradually open can one barely refine a trace of inner breath to circulate through the body. It is then slowly nurtured into internal force gathered in the dantian, finally becoming an internal-cultivation martial artist.”

She pressed her fine lips together. “But Young Master has never come into contact with martial arts, yet possesses a physique surpassing body tempering, and can even defeat an internal-cultivation martial artist. This alone is far beyond what ordinary people can compare with. Perhaps in the matter of refining internal force, you are also different from others.”

Yang Shifei’s expression became subtle as he listened.

He knew very clearly that his powerful body was not innate, nor had it been trained through hard work. It was entirely thanks to the cold air.

But for now, it was not convenient to explain the source of that cold air to her, so he could only silently nod.

Glancing again at the contents of the manual, he thought that he could only continue cultivating according to this method and see whether he could forcefully refine a trace of internal force by relying on his physique.

“Young Master need not be discouraged. Practicing martial arts is hard work to begin with. As long as you keep persevering, there will always be gains.”

Luo Xian’er’s eyes shifted slightly. “Why don’t I demonstrate once, so Young Master may have a reference?”

Yang Shifei was somewhat surprised. “Miss Luo has also learned this martial art?”

“Mm. I have practiced it a little.”

Luo Xian’er raised her delicate hands and began displaying the Triple-Folding Forest-Piercing Art.

Yang Shifei could not help holding his breath, staring in a daze at the moving, enchanting silhouette dancing beneath the moon.

“…”

In his eyes, the scene before him looked less like martial arts and more like a dance.

The black-haired girl’s hands moved like nimble snakes, while the feet beneath her skirt shifted as though in dance steps. Her plain white long skirt was even more like a blooming lotus, fluttering and swaying with her graceful figure. Her already striking waist and hips appeared even more tightly outlined, fully revealing her charm.

But upon closer inspection, beneath that alluring dance-like posture, there was also a trace of fierce swiftness. Her slender jade-like hands struck the surrounding air in succession, force bursting outward with crisp sounds one after another.

Only after completing the entire set of moves did Luo Xian’er stop, exhaling softly.

Yang Shifei woke as if from a dream and quickly clapped in admiration. “Miss Luo’s martial skill is truly excellent!”

“Did you see anything useful?”

“Uh…”

Meeting Luo Xian’er’s gaze, Yang Shifei froze. The image of her swaying, graceful curves instinctively flashed through his mind, and he immediately looked embarrassed. “I saw many of my previous shortcomings. Thank you, Miss Luo, for personally clearing up my confusion.”

Although he still remembered the terrifying scene of her head blooming open, her vivid and fragrant beauty right now still made it easy for one’s thoughts to wander.

Yang Shifei had to admit that he was a shallow man who judged by appearances.

Oh, right. Not only by appearances.

“Young Master.”

Luo Xian’er spoke again, but her tone grew three parts heavier.

Yang Shifei hurriedly answered, only to hear her say coldly, “As far as I know, practicing martial arts cannot be done behind closed doors. Sometimes, sparring with others can better improve one’s martial attainment. Why don’t we give it a try?”

After saying that, Luo Xian’er assumed a stance without allowing him to refuse. “Young Master, there is no need to hold back. Please.”

Looking at her calm, beautiful eyes, Yang Shifei understood and closed his mouth.

In this world, martial artists were not divided by gender.

Since Miss Luo wanted to test his abilities, he had to perform properly and absolutely could not let her look down on him.

Thinking this, he slowly settled into a horse stance, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing in silence.

“…”

Seeing this, Luo Xian’er secretly praised him.

Although he was a little lustful, youthful vigor was normal. Moreover, his talent in martial arts was indeed excellent. Not only was his physical body powerful, his temperament was also quite good.

But at the early stages of cultivation, a little setback was even more necessary. She could not let him become too arrogant.

Without undoing her “restraints,” with the martial cultivation she could currently display, handling him should be more than enough—

Yang Shifei’s figure suddenly moved.

“!”

Luo Xian’er’s pupils abruptly contracted. She saw the tall figure several zhang away shift in an instant and arrive before her, his left arm punching out ferociously.

The terrifying gust of force rushing toward her face scattered her hair. Only when the fist had almost reached her face did she suddenly react and regain her senses. She was about to step aside and dodge, but was shocked to discover that an inexplicable cold air had enveloped her entire body, making her stiffen.

At the critical moment, Yang Shifei hurriedly stopped his steps. His palm almost brushed past her cheek, lifting a curtain of black hair.

“…”

Luo Xian’er’s beautiful eyes widened, and she stumbled back two steps as though startled.

Yang Shifei was terribly embarrassed and carefully supported her shoulder. “Are… are you all right?”

Luo Xian’er slightly raised her face, her gaze complicated.

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a moment before the girl murmured faintly,

“Perhaps you should be my master instead?”

Yang Shifei: “…”

The little rich woman seemed to have lost confidence because of him.

[End of Chapter]