“Decades ago, the Meridian-Breaking Palm was a coveted secret manual among external martial artists. Now, no one cares about it,” said Curator Sheng, his eyes drooping as if half-asleep.
“Why?” An Jiu asked.
Leaning on the armrest, Curator Sheng yawned. “The manual has long been lost. More importantly, pure external cultivators are rare now. Though it’s a formidable technique, the process of tempering the body for external cultivation is too cruel and arduous. In the end, after enduring such hardship, one might not even master the Meridian-Breaking Palm.”
“Moreover, as external cultivators advance, the connection between their spirit and body strengthens, making it increasingly difficult to discard the physical form. Thus, no matter how hard they train, they can’t reach the Transformation State. Very few have the resolve to abandon inner energy and focus solely on this technique.” He smirked, “Those who choose external cultivation are usually martial artists destined to never have inner energy. They have no other choice…”
Curator Sheng turned, pointing to several rows of small drawers marked with red ribbons behind him. He casually discouraged her, “Those are all external martial artists, at most ninth rank. They all died on missions. The Konghe Institute no longer trains external martial artists.”
An Jiu remained undeterred. “Thank you. Then… do you know how the Konghe Supervisorate will deal with Lord Chu?”
“Oh?” Curator Sheng leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, squinting at her. “I’m just a lowly curator. Why do you think I’d know about Supervisorate affairs?”
“Intuition,” An Jiu sat even straighter.
“I see…” he drawled, maintaining his faint smile, resembling a white fox. “I don’t know the true story, but I can guess… Lord Chu’s sudden advancement to the Transformation State has made some envious. They might use this opportunity to force him to reveal his secret technique. He’ll likely suffer. But he’s a Transformation State expert now, and the Konghe Army still needs him. His life shouldn’t be in danger.”
“Besides,” he paused, “I don’t think that Lord Chu is a pushover. Young lady, don’t be fooled.”
An Jiu felt some resistance to his words, yet also found them reasonable. She didn’t believe anyone would be unconditionally kind to her, but she couldn’t think of anything she had that he might covet.
“I understand. Thank you for the advice,” An Jiu stood and bowed to him.
As soon as An Jiu left, someone hurried in. “Sir!”
“Come in and speak,” Curator Sheng said, twirling his brush thoughtfully, splattering ink drops on a paper.
The person spoke urgently, “Sir, you’re ordered to personally receive Divine Doctor Mo immediately.”
An Jiu halted abruptly, listening to what followed.
“Mo Sigui?” Curator Sheng asked.
“Yes, Divine Doctor Mo is sitting on the main street now. Konghe Army personnel approached him, but after some conversation, he insisted on coming to the Konghe Institute.”
“Let’s go quickly.”
Curator Sheng immediately set down his brush. Mo Sigui was someone the Konghe Army had long wanted. Whether he entered the Institute or the Army directly didn’t matter, but he’d heard this man was capricious. If he suddenly changed his mind, Sheng couldn’t bear the responsibility.
Curator Sheng rushed out, his gaze briefly passing over An Jiu without stopping.
At that moment, on Vermilion Bird Street in Bianjing, Mo Sigui sat on his medicine box. Beside him stood a blue cloth banner with flamboyant characters: “I want to enter the Konghe Institute. Come pick me up quick!”
“Brother Mo, Sister abandoned me. Please don’t abandon me too,” Lou Xiaowu pouted, on the verge of tears.
However, she had maintained this expression for three days without shedding a single tear.
Hua Rongjian sat in a nearby tavern, smiling brightly at him. “Divine Doctor Mo, care to come up for a drink?”
Onlookers looked up, captivated by his beauty.
Mo Sigui opened his fan, his peach blossom eyes exuding charm. “No, I have important business. Who’d want to associate with a profligate like you?”
“Eh, Divine Doctor Mo just yesterday praised my little male companion as heavenly. Today you pretend not to know me. How heartbreaking,” Hua Rongjian leaned by the window, sipping wine with a smile, showing no signs of heartbreak.
“If you can’t bear to part with him, just say so. No need to drag the poor boy into this,” Mo Sigui said with a smile. “Rongjian, with your soft waist, long legs, and pretty face, I truly like you. But I promised my master to save lives and help the injured. I’m destined to wander the four seas. Young man, you’d better find someone else!”
Hua Rongjian, equally shameless, sighed, “Please don’t be stubborn. If you insist on being on top, I’ll agree!”
In an instant, a tale of passionate male love unfolded!
Hua Rongjian had been quite restless lately. Not long ago, rumors spread about him marrying, then faded. Then he was seen frequenting brothels. Now he was in a deep, unregretful love with Divine Doctor Mo, facing life and death separation. Each story was more sensational than the last, living a life full of flavor and drama! He didn’t care at all, but poor Madam Hua was constantly emotional, fainting several times from anger.
“Make way, make way!”
A group of yamen runners parted the dazed crowd.
Curator Sheng quickly approached, bowing to Mo Sigui at the bottom of the steps. “I am Curator Sheng of the Konghe Institute. Greetings, Divine Doctor Mo.”
Mo Sigui looked him over. The man wore jade-green official robes with a silver half-mask, revealing only unremarkable thin lips. His snow-white skin, contrasting with the silver mask, left a striking impression.
Meanwhile, Curator Sheng observed Mo Sigui. He wore a reddish-brown robe, his long hair half-tied with a peach wood hairpin. The open fan bones reflected a deep purple in the sunlight, matching his smiling peach blossom eyes. The light and shadows, as he gently swayed, created an illusion of a distant rainbow, beautiful and mysterious.
He closed his fan, shouldered his medicine box, and approached Sheng familiarly, “Let’s go quickly.”
Before leaving, he bid farewell to Hua Rongjian, “If you’re reborn as a woman in the next life, we’ll continue our fate. I do prefer women!”
“So do I. You must be reborn as a woman too!” Hua Rongjian responded affectionately.
The crowd felt fooled by this nonsensical exchange.
Lou Xiaowu’s long-held tears finally fell. Mo Sigui had completely ignored her, not even acknowledging her as a friend.
Hua Rongjian watched Mo Sigui’s departing figure, playing with an empty wine cup. Looking at the Jun kiln porcelain, as brilliant as the sunset, he suddenly thought of Mei Fourteen’s face, poised between innocence and allure.
“What a pity…” It was rare for him to take interest in a woman, yet they were destined for different paths.
After walking a distance with Curator Sheng, Mo Sigui finally sighed, fanning himself vigorously. “I can’t stand drawn-out goodbyes.”
Even Elder Qi’s farewell at death had been quick and clean, painfully so.
Mo Sigui’s mood darkened again.
Curator Sheng invited him into a carriage and asked, “Why did you choose the Konghe Institute over the Konghe Army, Divine Doctor?”
“Someone owes me a favor, and I owe someone else,” Mo Sigui grinned.
The former was Lou Mingyue and the latter An Jiu.