This villa is built on the south edge of the hillside.
Walking into this courtyard at night, there is a hint of desolation in the silence. Chen Xiao was in a young man's mood, but he didn't like this atmosphere very much.
I walked into the yard and looked around. The area was not very big, but it had obviously been carefully cleaned. Although there were two big trees planted in the yard, there were not even any fallen leaves on the ground, and even the dust was swept away. Clean.
It's just that at night, everything is quiet, and standing in this ancient courtyard feels a little lonely.
Chen Xiao looked around. The walls were mottled and had obviously not been repaired for a long time. He couldn't help but feel curious: Since it was the Jianlu where the previous clan had lived, how could it be left in such a state of neglect
The building inside is just two rooms with low eaves and beams, but there are wind chimes hanging at one end of the corridor. When the evening breeze blows, they make a tinkling sound, adding a bit of aura to the yard.
Chen Xiao pushed the door open and looked at the room inside. There were clean tatami mats and soft quilts, but the slightly yellowish color of the walls showed that no one had lived here for a long time.
He thought for a while, but did not enter the room. Instead, he turned around and sat down on the ground on the steps beside the eaves, looking at the quiet yard and feeling dazed.
Suddenly, Chen Xiao's eyes lit up, and he saw in the left corner of the yard, a piece of bluestone as tall as half a person. In this night, it was piled in the corner of the yard. If you didn't look carefully, it would be easy to see it. was ignored.
Then in the faint moonlight, Chen Xiao faintly saw the dense scratches on the bluestone. He couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, got up and walked over.
When I got closer and looked at it, I saw that the originally smooth surface of the bluestone was criss-crossed with hundreds and thousands of scratches of varying depths. The interlacing was a bit ferocious, but it looked like it made people feel a chill in their hearts! !
Chen Xiao frowned slightly, then stretched out his fingers and gently stroked along a scratch. The scratch was subtle, but Chen Xiao felt that the depth became uneven as it extended, and he couldn't help but feel something in his heart...
"These are sword marks."
Suddenly, a faint voice came from the courtyard door behind him.
Chen Xiao suddenly turned around, his face slightly awe-inspiring! I don't know when I saw the door of the courtyard opened. A woman with long hair like clouds stood at the door. Her long hair like clouds had not been modified, it was just hanging down straight. She was wearing a long dress that should have been light pink. , under the moonlight at night, it seems to be dyed with a layer of moon white.
Her skin, which was like gelatin, looked charming under the moonlight. Her long sleeves were slightly folded, and a faint smile was blooming on her face. Her eyes were softer than the moonlight, and she was looking at Chen Xiao casually.
She just stood there under the moonlight, her hands tucked into her long sleeves, holding a long and narrow box.
"Miss Tang Xin?" Chen Xiao was slightly surprised.
It was getting late at this moment. What was this Dai Zong family member of Shangchen Yida Ryu doing here at his place of residence
This woman, at this moment, makes people feel as calm as water. Even though she is walking step by step, there is no trace of human fireworks.
"The night is long." Tang Xin smiled lightly, as if there was no reason to bother him in the middle of the night, but it was this calm demeanor that swept away the awkward atmosphere.
It seems that no matter what she does, everything seems to be natural.
She didn't seem like a nasty guest who came to disturb him in the middle of the night, but she walked behind Chen Xiao in a calm and natural manner, and looked at the bluestone in the corner with Chen Xiao.
"This is the 'Testing Stone'."
Tang Xin's voice was more beautiful than that of the wind chime, but her tone seemed to have a loneliness she shouldn't have at her age, and even contained a hint of sadness.
"Oh?" Chen Xiao remained calm.
"In the past, I was a master of the Tatsutatsu-Ittōryu clan, Naoo Jingu, and I practiced swordsmanship here. I didn't leave this sword hut for three years."
Tang Xin said softly: "At that time, there was no Heart Sword Hall on this hillside. There was only a sword hall at the bottom of the mountain. Master Naoo Jingu, in order to pursue the secret of swordsmanship, built this small courtyard on the mountain alone. , he practiced hard here alone for three years before he became a master of swordsmanship! At that time, he was not yet fifty years old, but he had already defeated all the invincible opponents in Japan. Someone once asked him, since he was already invincible in Japan, why did he need to fight in Japan? Hard training. He only said one sentence: It is easy to defeat the enemy, but difficult to defeat oneself."
Chen Xiao was silent for a moment and had to sigh: "Mr. Naoo Jingu, he is indeed a master."
Tang Xin shook his head, with a slightly bitter look in his eyes: "So what if he is a grandmaster? In the end, he was defeated miserably by General Tian, and his whole life's fame was destroyed in one fell swoop."
Chen Xiao said nothing and just nodded.
"In terms of talent, Grandmaster Naoio Jingu is a rare genius since I established the Shangchen Itto Style." Tang Xin shook his head slightly: "In the past, he lived here alone for three years. Just imagine, if it weren't for someone Who with great perseverance can endure three years of loneliness and poverty in a cold hospital?"
As she said that, she finally took a step forward, freed up a hand, and pressed it on the bluestone, gently stroking along a scratch. Her fingers almost touched Chen Xiao's fingertips, but she retracted. , sighing faintly: "Master Jingu Naoyu once tested his sword with a stone here in the past. There are a total of 2,462 traces on this bluestone, all of which were practiced by him when he lived alone. At that time, I used that 'chrysanthemum leaf pattern thorn' to leave it on this bluestone!"
Chen Xiao couldn't help but feel slightly moved when he heard what this girl said!
Two thousand four hundred and sixty-two... When this accurate number came out of her mouth, it was obvious that this girl seemed to be a little uneasy.
"Have you counted?" Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask.
"Counted it." Tang Xin suddenly smiled at Chen Xiao, and her smile finally revealed a third of the naughtiness that only a girl of her age should have. Unfortunately, this hint of naughtiness was fleeting, and then her eyes became deep again. He started to laugh: "I have never stepped down this mountain since I was born. For nineteen years, I have been guarding this hillside alone. When I was a child, I lived in this courtyard. I have personally counted at least one trace on this bluestone. A hundred times. Two thousand four hundred and sixty-two scratches! I counted them for a full year."
"Huh?" Chen Xiao couldn't help but be stunned for a moment: "Counting for a year?"
Even if there are more scratches on the stone and it is more difficult to count, it doesn’t have to last as long as a year, right
Tang Xin seemed to have guessed the doubts in Chen Xiao's heart, and smiled slightly. Her bright eyes and white teeth were really moving under the moonlight, but she heard her whisper: "At that time, I was locked up in this yard, and my grandfather asked me to I have been living here alone for a year, and I am not allowed to step out of the door! For a year, the only thing I can do in my spare time is to count the marks on the stones. Although there are many marks, I can only count them in a few days... After the first time, I was reluctant to count more, for fear that if I counted too much, I would have nothing to do for the rest of the year."
These few words actually have a hint of vicissitudes of life. Saying them from the mouth of such a young girl made Chen Xiao feel a little pity in his heart.
"Why... should you be imprisoned for a year?" Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask.
After hearing Chen Xiao's question, Tang Xin turned her head and stared into Chen Xiao's eyes. Although the look was gentle, it made Chen Xiao feel unbearable and she subconsciously avoided looking at him. But I heard Tang Xin say softly: "Why? Just because my surname is Takeuchi, and I am from the Shangchen family."
There seemed to be a hint of something else in her tone. Chen Xiao just vaguely guessed it, but wasn't sure.
Sure enough, Tang Xin had already continued: "I have lived here for a year. When I came in, my grandfather threw me a bamboo sword, and then he came to see me every three months. The first time he came to see me , I have been sitting here for two days and two nights, just counting the marks on this stone. It was spring at that time. I remember that I counted for two days and two nights. When my grandfather came to see me, I was still holding my sword. Going crazy."
After a pause, I heard Tang Xin's voice gradually cool down: "After my grandfather left, I sat here and counted these sword marks, and I gradually understood something in my heart. The second time my grandfather came to see me, He tried swordsmanship with me but couldn't make it three times, so he sighed and took my bamboo sword back, leaving me with a real sword."
"In the ninth month, I sit here again and count the sword marks on this stone, and I can gradually understand the power, strength, and essence of each sword strike when the former Jingu Naooh master Fan was testing the sword! When my grandfather came to see me for the third time, after he tried the Sanhe sword with me, he said to me that he was relieved."
Chen Xiao didn't know what he felt when he heard this. Looking at the girl next to me, although her hands are tucked into her sleeves, when she picks up the chess pieces during the day, her palms are soft and her fingers are slender. How does she look like a master of swordsmanship
Even a delicate little girl like Tang Ying would inevitably have a few calluses left by sword practice on her little hands.
"Before my grandfather came to see me for the fourth time, I could already understand the 2,462 inverted scratches on this stone, the changes of each sword, and the secret of each sword! And when my grandfather came that time, We tried the three swords, and my grandfather threw me a sword again."
After saying that, Tang Xin looked at Chen Xiao and pointed at the long square box in his arms: "This is it."
Chen Xiao's heart moved, he vaguely guessed it, and blurted out: "Chrysanthemum leaf thorn?"
Tang Xin nodded and stared into Chen Xiao's eyes: "Yes, it's the chrysanthemum leaf thorn! It's the famous blade used by Master Naoxiong of the Shrine when he lost to General Tian! I'll go to the Chen family A treasure passed down from generation to generation!”
After saying that, she gently opened the box and opened it. Chen Xiao suddenly felt a flash in front of his eyes, and a sharp edge spilled out of the box!