Song of Adolescence

Chapter 233 The Earthly Branches and Twelve Hours

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The injured assassin suddenly stood up and placed the short dagger he’d been holding into his mouth and bit down. Then, he took out a medicine bottle from his clothes and sprinkled the potion onto the wound on his chest. The bleeding stopped, but his expression turned even more fierce and sweat covered his head. He looked like he was in extreme pain.

"Perpetuated yin powder." Xie Xuan’s eyes widened in amazement. "Using such drugs on yourself… No wonder the Hidden River assassins are called the most terrifying killers under Heaven."

"Perpetuated yin powder?" Li Fansong thought about it and said, "I've heard of this medicine which can completely numb your pain. But, the medicine is extremely addictive. After using it once, you’re hooked for life."

"It’s said that the Confucian Sword Immortal has read tens of thousands of books and is well-informed of all under Heaven. As expected, you’re very experienced and knowledgeable." The assassin kept his medicine bottle and the short dagger in his hand. "Then you should also be familiar with this Earthly Branches and Twelve Hours formation?"

"An inescapable net, nowhere to escape, no means to break, extinguish all life. Known to be the Hidden River’s encirclement formation of death," Xie Xuan said slowly. "It’s said that once you’re trapped in the formation, whichever direction you try to break through from, you will encounter the joint forces of all twelve people. Each person’s timing is absolutely precise, and they will never let the prey escape. You’re trying to entrap me."

"When the Hidden River kills, our price is always clearly stated. How much we work is equivalent to how much we’re paid. You are the Confucian Sword Immortal. Your head is worth a lot of money, and someone will have to pay a high price in order to kill you. We’re not interested in such an unprofitable business. So, we’re only going to trap you," the assassin said softly.

Xie Xuan nodded. "This formation is indeed difficult to break. I’ll have to think about it." As soon as he said the words, he sat on the ground and took out a bottle and several tea cups from his bookcase. He poured two cups of tea and passed them to Li Fansong and Fei Xuan. "Drink these two cups of herbal tea. This formation is difficult to break. I need to think for a while."

Li Fansong accepted the cup of herbal tea hesitantly, and said in a daze, "Mister Xie… this?"

"This encirclement formation is a siege formation. Only when you’re attempting to break through will they release their murderous intent. If we do this, they will not move rashly, but they will be easily exposed if they move." Xie Xuan said calmly, "I have to think about it. How to break it."

"But, what about shiniang…" Fei Xuan said hesitantly.

"You’ve gotten used to calling this shiniang. Don’t worry, although there are twenty Spider Shadows killers and Kui over there, Lei Hong is still with Li Hanyi and her qi deviation. Zhao Yuzhen was willing to die for Li Hanyi and he killed three Tang Clan elders, and injured two Hidden River Heads of Houses. Lei Hong is not any less capable." Xie Xuan drank a cup of tea slowly. "If you want to worry about others, you need to solve the immediate problem before you. Urgent matters cannot be solved with anxious hearts."

Li Fansong thought through the words and bowed his head. "This disciple has noted it."

So the three of them sat down and drank Xie Xuan's herbal tea slowly, looking as though they were not in a hurry.

The Hidden River assassin didn't expect such a scene. He’d thought that the three of them would be anxious to break through the encirclement, but in the end, they just sat down on the ground like that.

Fei Xuan exclaimed, "Mister, this tea is delicious."

"This tea is the most popular herbal tea among the Nanjue people. It’s a mixture of four types of flowers, honeysuckle, wild chrysanthemum, frangipani, and silk cotton. Put them all in a pot, then add five bowls of clear water. Boil until the five bowls are reduced to one and once it’s cooled, it’s ready for drinking. The land of Nanjue is extremely hot and humid. Drinking this tea is refreshing for your heart and spleen," Xie Xuan explained mildly.

Li Fansong was full of admiration. "Mister is really as knowledgeable as the rumors say."

Fei Xuan rolled his eyes. "Little shishu, you’re already worshipping him with your eyes. It’s way too obvious."

Li Fansong suddenly remembered something. "My shifu said to me as he was leaving that I will have two fated teachers in my life. One was him, and the other was out in the world, and that he was not inferior to him. Could he have meant you, Senior?"

Xie Xuan frowned slightly. "I have never accepted a disciple."

Fei Xuan was even more dumbfounded. "Little shishu, didn't you say at the time that you only needed one shifu who was Sectmaster shizu, and you would not allow another in your heart?"

Li Fansong turned a blind eye to Fei Xuan’s words, and his eyes were still full of thirst. “Before I met Mister, I did feel that no one in the world could compare to shifu, but now that I’ve met Mister, I finally understand that the style of a sword immortal is not without its undeserved reputation…"

Fei Xuan couldn't stand it anymore. He shut his mouth, turned his head aside, and drank his tea on his own. Xie Xuan simply returned a smile, and did not say if he would accept this disciple, nor did he reject him.

The lead assassin stuck out his tongue and licked his chapped lips, before he sneered coldly. This was the first time he’d met such an opponent, but fortunately, he was a very patient person. Since these three people were not in a hurry to break the formation, he also sat down in peace and took a few pills that would heal his wounds. Silently, he began to cultivate his internal energy to heal his wounds.

Six hours passed by in this way. The sky grew dark, and a crescent moon rose.

"Mister, how long are we going to keep sitting like this?" Fei Xuan finally couldn't help asking.

Xie Xuan took out a pancake from the bookcase behind him, tore it into three portions and handed them to Fei Xuan and Li Fansong. "No hurry. We’ll see after we eat this pancake."

Li Fansong accepted the pancake and didn't speak. He was just thinking that Xie Xuan, the Confucian Sword Immortal, was a little more enigmatic and inscrutable than his shifu, the Daoist Sword Immortal.

"I'm thinking, what swordplay can break this formation," Xie Xuan said suddenly. "Mount Li’s Galeforce Sword may be able to pierce a hole with the swiftness of its swordplay, but it’s too dangerous. If they’re willing to sacrifice themselves, they only need to forfeit five of their killers and they’ll be able to kill us."

"On the other hand, Fallen Moon Pavilion's Moon Seizing Sword is too slow. Heavenly Sword Pavilion's One Sword Over Heaven may be able to give us a decisive opportunity, but the follow through is weak, so it won’t mean much in the end. Snow Moon City’s Boundless Sword Rain can truly give us a fighting chance but it needs to pair with Unrivaled City’s Fallen Swallow Turns Back. However, the core formula for these two swordplays are too different. If you forcefully join them together, it’ll be hard to avoid injury…" Xie Xuan continued to speak indifferently as he rattled off tens of examples of swordplays, as if he was casually considering each of them.

Li Fansong had practiced swordsmanship for over ten years. Naturally, he’d heard of these swordplays. But, the more he heard, the more apprehensive he became. "Mister, do you know all these swordplays?"

Xie Xuan nodded. "These swordplays are not difficult to learn. Of all the swordplays under Heaven, I don’t know your Boundless Swordplay of Qingcheng Mountain, I can’t cultivate the Sword Heart Formula of Sword Heart Tomb, and the Unrivaled City’s flying sword technique is also unfathomable. As for the rest, I may not know a thousand of them, but am familiar with eight hundred. I’ve read all books under Heaven, and that naturally includes all sword manuals under Heaven.”

Li Fansong was even more dumbfounded. "Mister is truly a man akin to god."

"When my shifu taught me the Way, he told me to read six thousand collections of books. Later, someone once asked me, you claim to know all knowledge under Heaven, so do you know about swords? The first time I held a sword, I was very confused. But when I raised the sword, countless books of ancient records flashed through my mind. I realised then, that all the swordplays under Heaven were already stored in my heart." Xie Xuan drank another cup of tea, swallowed the last bit of the pancake, and then suddenly stood up. He put away the flask of tea and all the tea cups.

"Mister?" Li Fansong was puzzled.

Xie Xuan packed up all his things unhurriedly and walked forward slowly in the moonlight. Then, he spoke in a mild manner, "Let’s go. Time to break the formation."

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