After sending away the valet sent by Prince Boren, Chen Xiao waited for more than two hours, until it was almost midnight, but did not wait for Tang Xin's arrival.
"That woman couldn't have lied to me." Chen Xiao murmured in his heart. Today I helped the Shangchen family a great favor. If that woman had lied to me, I would tear down the gate of Quanliu Palace tomorrow!
When midnight came, Chen Xiao was sitting on the steps of the other courtyard. At one end of the corridor, the wind chimes swayed gently, making a crisp tinkling sound. The moonlight tonight was surprisingly good. The moonlight fell on the ground without any obstruction, dyeing everything with a faint moonlight. Chen Xiao was looking at the sword test stone in the corner of the yard in trance when he finally heard the sound from the yard. The wooden door creaked and was gently pushed open.
Looking at Tang Xin standing quietly at the door, Chen Xiao sighed deliberately and said with a smile: "I thought you would let me go."
Tang Xin didn't say anything and walked in quietly. She was dressed in white as snow, with a wide band around her waist that tied up her slender waist. Her long black hair was spread softly on her shoulders. Her face was shining in the moonlight. Below, the arc looks extremely soft.
"Chen Xiaojun, let me teach you the art of Heart Sword." Tang Xin walked slowly in front of Chen Xiao, her eyes were surprisingly calm: "First question, what do you think is Heart Sword?"
…
Nishihira Kojiro stood by the river, which was not too far from Senryu Palace. It was already midnight, and there was no one on the riverside. There was only a simple stone bridge across the riverbed. Nishihira Kojiro strolled onto the stone bridge and leaned on the railing to look. The phosphorescence of the river under his feet was the reflection of the moonlight.
The Hidden Moon Clan clan member had a solemn look on his face. He gradually tightened his hands on the railing, took a deep breath, and then exhaled, as if he wanted to expel all the stagnation in his chest.
After leaving Senryu Palace during the day, Nishihira Kojiro simply parted ways with Prince Boren and his party, without even saying hello - although he has always been aloof and arrogant, and usually shows others a cold face, in fact, he understands Boren's character very well in his heart. The other party just wanted to use himself, a great swordsman with great swordsmanship, to overwhelm the Shangchen family. And he was also determined to become stronger, so he hit it off with Boren. If he loses today, then he will naturally have no use value in Boren's heart. Instead of staying there to see Boren's face and being kicked out in the end, he might as well be free and easy and leave first.
Thinking of this, Nishihira Kojiro gently stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist. The wooden hilt of the "Zannamemaru" had been polished and smoothed by him for many years. At this moment, his palm was pressed against the wooden handle, and every trace of the wood grain was familiar. Incomparable.
Nishihira Kojiro gently drew out the Zannai Maru, flicked the blade of the sword, and then suddenly felt a sudden movement in his heart. He shouted violently, held the sword with both hands, and made a vicious blow! !
As he roared loudly, the blade of the sword drew a bright light, extremely sharp!
But just at this moment, I heard a lazy voice from behind the bridge, with a hint of dissatisfaction, as if muttering: "You didn't sleep in the middle of the night, why did you come here and scream?"
The voice was lazy, but it seemed to come from behind Kojiro. Xiping Kojiro's expression changed, and he turned back suddenly, staring behind him in surprise! A figure, who didn't know when he arrived, was already standing quietly at one end of the small stone bridge. Under the moonlight, he had a square face with a strange smile, looking at him with a smile that was not a smile.
"You?! Who!"
The other party spoke Chinese, so Nishihira Kojiro naturally asked in Chinese.
The man took two steps slowly. He looked about forty years old, with a square face and a faint green beard on his chin. He was wearing work clothes that looked like a mechanic's, made of denim. There were black motor oil stains all over his body.
This man walked up to Kojiro Nishihira, took out a cigarette tucked behind his ear, put it in his mouth, then touched his coat pocket, took out a box of matches, lit the cigarette, and slowly After taking a breath, his eyes were hidden in the swirling blue smoke, looking at Nishihira Kojiro, and said with a smile: "You lost to that Chinese boy today, and you are not convinced, are you?"
After saying these words, Nishihira Kojiro's face suddenly changed and he shouted sternly: "Who are you! How do you know!"
The man chuckled and held a cigarette in one hand: "Who am I... I won't answer your question for now. It's just that I ran all the way here because I wanted to watch that kid for fear that he would get into trouble. Today during the day At that time, I hid in the tree outside the yard and watched the fight between you and him... Sigh..." At this point, he shook his head, as if with some regret, and looked at Nishihira Kojiro: "... Actually, you are not bad, very good. "
His eyes fell on the "Zanna Maru" in Nishihira Kojiro's hand, and he smiled: "It doesn't matter whether it's the chrysanthemum leaf pattern or the famous Edo sword. It's all fucking nonsense. No matter how good the sword is, it can't be met." A good swordsman is just a piece of scrap metal. Many people understand this on the surface, but in fact they don’t really understand in their hearts. You are very good, you are a person who really understands."
Xiping Kojiro stared at this man in surprise, his heart filled with turmoil!
During the day, hiding in a tree and peeking
In the Shangchen Family Spring Palace, there are still people who can sneak in quietly and hide next to the Heart Sword Studio on the mountain to peek!
In the yard during the day, among the Eight Great Masters Shangchen, plus the three people on his side, which one is not a famous master in Japan? No one noticed anyone snooping around them? !
"You are familiar with this sword, right?" The man took a puff of his cigarette, and then suddenly asked abruptly: "How many wood grains are there on the hilt?"
"Forty-six, thirteen broken lines, twenty-one diagonal lines, twelve vertical lines..." Nishihira Kojiro didn't know why, when the other party asked, he answered casually and subconsciously.
A look of satisfaction flashed in the man's eyes: "Is there a chip on the blade?"
"Three small ones and one big one, two of them are Shinkou." Nishihira Kojiro answered smoothly without thinking.
"Where's the weight of the sword?"
"Eleven kilograms and seven taels." Nishihira Kojiro hesitated for a moment, and felt a little weird in his heart. Why did he subconsciously answer the other party's question honestly? However, after hesitating, he simply continued: "But now there are only eleven pounds left. It's a pound of weight." His expression was very serious: "This sword has been sharpened many times in daily life, and the front part of the blade has been sharpened too thin in some places. I am also going to find time to find a skilled craftsman to help me sharpen it again. …”
"Hahahaha!" The man laughed a few times, and then his eyes suddenly shrank, staring at Nishihira Kojiro: "Your biggest wish in learning swordsmanship is to surpass Shangchen's Ittōryu?"
This wish in Nishihira Kojiro's heart is not a secret. He is often ridiculed by people from other kendo schools in Japan. Although he is already a famous swordsman in Japan, the Senryu Palace is now in full swing, and there are great Japanese masters like Fumzan Takeuchi. Although Nishihira Kojiro is a very powerful character, everyone thinks that he is just a fanciful person. It is simply a daydream to overtake the Kamichen family.
At this moment, when this person said it to his face, Nishihira Kojiro couldn't help but puff up his chest and said proudly: "That's it, so what! Are you making fun of me too?"
After hearing this, the man just curled his lips and said: "I'm teasing you, why am I teasing you? Shangchen Yida-ryu, what the hell, huh..."
Most of the cigarette in the man's hand was stained. He threw the cigarette butt into the river, then took out a cigarette from his sleeve like a magic trick and lit it. He walked to Kojiro Nishihira and raised his hand to pat his shoulder gently. For a moment.
This action was already too close. Nishihira Kojiro had the intention to dodge sideways, but he had already made a dodge action, but the other party's palm still landed on his shoulder so easily! That clapping action seemed to come naturally!
Nishihira Kojiro's expression suddenly changed again!
"Actually, you don't have to be sad if you lose to that kid today. You and he are not practicing in the same category. Your martial arts attainments are far superior to his, but your strength is much worse than his. He just It's just force that overcomes skill." The man smoked a cigarette and smiled casually: "However, if you want to overpower the Shangchen family, I can give you some advice."
Even if Kojiro Nishihira was an idiot, he knew that he might have met that legendary "master".
He had a strange expression on his face and took two steps back, but looked at the other person warily: "Who...are you?!"
The man glanced at Kojiro Nishihira and said calmly: "The Kamitatsu family... is actually the number one sect in Japan. The kendo of the Kamitatsu family is unique and among the many sects in Japan, it is the most profound. Takeuchi Fumzan Be it Naoo Jingu in the past, they were able to become Japan's top kendo masters not only because of their extraordinary talents, but also because the kendo passed down by the Kamiucha family was indeed extraordinary. Can you? Do you know what the Shangchen family’s strongest swordsmanship is?”
Xiping Kojiro frowned and thought for a while: "I heard that Master Takeuchi Fumzan's 'True Nine Dragons Flash' can be divided into twenty-four variations. The sword energy is so powerful that it has never been seen before! This 'True Nine Dragons Flash' should be Shangchen The best stunt in my family."
Who knew that the man would smile contemptuously after hearing this: "Really Nine Dragons Flash? It's just bullshit!"
Then he smiled softly and said slowly: "The Shangchen family's strongest secret skill is the secret that they have passed down for hundreds of years; the Heart Sword Technique! You are talking about the real Nine Dragon Flash or the fake Nine Dragon Flash. , but they are all moves, the moves are the body, and the mind is the basis! Speaking of which, their Shangchen family's mind sword technique can indeed be regarded as a unique skill."
"Heart Sword Technique? What is that? A superb sword technique?" Nishihira Kojiro's expression changed.
The man smiled lightly: "It's not swordsmanship. To be precise, the swordsmanship of the heart has no direct relationship with the sword. It's just a way to understand the rules of power."
"Rules?" Nishihira Kojiro had already put away his arrogance and asked carefully.
The man nodded, picked up two stones from the ground, and threw one into the river first. With a splash, the stone fell straight into the river, causing only a splash. The man glanced at Kojiro Nishihira, and then threw the second slightly thinner stone. This time, he used his wrist slightly sideways. The stone flew sideways into the river and bounced several times on the water. It made a bunch of splashes before sinking into the water.
Xiping Kojiro frowned: "It's just a waste of time..."
The man shook his head and said seriously: "This is the rule."
He threw the burning cigarette butt in his mouth into the water again. Once it was soaked in the water, the cigarette butt was immediately extinguished with a slight "chi" sound. The man glanced at Kojiro Nishihira and said, "This is also a rule."
…
"The so-called mental swordsmanship is just an understanding of the rules." Tang Xin knelt down in front of Chen Xiao with a calm expression: "When you strike vertically with the sword, the power naturally comes from the top down. If you strike, the power comes from the bottom up. . Cutting horizontally means left and right... This is just the simplest rule. And the secret of my Shangchen family's heart sword technique is to understand the rules of all martial arts in the world, master them all, and become invincible! "
Chen Xiao closed his eyes, thought carefully, and said with a wry smile: "It's easy to say, but it's easier said than done to master all the rules?"
"Use your heart." Tang Xin said calmly: "If you have too many distracting thoughts in your heart, you will naturally not be able to understand it. Only by focusing on one thing can you understand the subtleties."
As she spoke, she pointed back and saw that there happened to be a leaf on the tree in the yard that was gently blown down in the evening wind and fluttered. Tang Xin smiled softly: "When the leaves fall, they are attracted by gravity and will eventually fall to the ground. However, there is also wind in the air as resistance, which causes some changes in its falling point. If the wind goes to the left, the leaves will fall to the ground. The falling point of the leaves is naturally to the left, and if it goes to the right, the falling point of the leaves will naturally be to the right."
Having said this, Tang Xin closed her mouth and listened attentively, as if listening attentively to something. At the same time, she raised her hand and gently picked up a stone. With a flick of her finger, the stone was lightly shot out and landed two feet away. The place where people sit is about five or six steps on the ground. Tang Xin smiled slightly: "This is the falling point of the leaves that I calculated based on the wind force and direction."
After she finished speaking, she smiled. After more than ten seconds, the leaf fluttered and fell to the ground, exactly where the stone was! !
Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes and vaguely seemed to catch something in his heart: "Is this the Heart Sword Technique?"
"That's it!" Tang Xin nodded with a serious expression.