bookbashuk Chapter 102 Transferring Li Donglai
Chapter 102 Transferring Li Donglai
Chapter 102 Transferring Li Donglai
Shen An took the letter; it felt slightly heavy in his hand. He tore off the sealing wax, pulled out the letter, and quickly scanned it.
The letter was written in strong, vigorous handwriting, with precise wording and seemingly plausible reasons:
It is said that the group of masters from the Songshan Sect will soon depart south to Hengyang to attend Liu Zhengfeng's "Golden Basin Washing Hands" ceremony. Due to the large size of the group, for safety reasons, some supplies and personnel will be transported by water. Therefore, Li Donglai, the outer sect manager, is hereby dispatched to immediately meet them at Yueyang Wharf, the starting point of the waterway. With his familiarity with the rivers and lakes, he will be responsible for coordinating and escorting the fleet on its southward journey.
"Transferring Li Donglai?" Feng Changrong leaned over to look, nodded, and said with a sudden realization, "I see. It makes perfect sense that the elders of our sect are going south and need a local expert like Li Longtou, who is familiar with the waterways, to make arrangements."
"Yes, the sect's transfer order is to be obeyed." Shen An handed the order to Feng Changrong. "Xiangtan is, after all, the traditional territory of the Hengshan Sect. We don't have any enemies there, so it's relatively peaceful. Now that the business is on track, with Li Qingde around, stabilizing the situation shouldn't be difficult. You should immediately send someone to Xiangtan to deliver the order, instructing Li Donglai to put aside all his affairs and set off immediately without delay."
Although the transfer order came suddenly, and Shen An vaguely felt that something was wrong, considering the grandeur and safety of the large contingent of the Songshan Sect heading south, it was indeed reasonable and beyond reproach.
Without giving it much thought, the two quickly turned their attention back to the bustling expansion project in front of them.
As night fell, the daytime hustle and bustle gradually subsided, with only a few distant barks of dogs and the faint sound of hammering echoing through the workshop as workers raced to forge the Light Sound Sword.
Now that the surrounding area has been bought up, Bailianfang can operate at night without worrying about disturbing the neighbors.
In the inner courtyard, the moonlight was like water.
After a day of supervising the work, Shen An felt a bit stiff, so he went to the courtyard and slowly practiced a set of palm techniques. Once his blood and energy were flowing smoothly, he saw Qu Feiyan also carrying a light short sword, practicing alone under the moonlight.
The girl's swordsmanship was agile but lacked a solid foundation. Although her moves were exquisite, there was always a slight sluggishness in her transitions. She relied entirely on her innate intelligence to support her.
Shen An then stepped forward, casually broke off a branch, and began feeding her.
"Your sword is too fast, and your heart is too fast."
Under the moonlight, two figures clashed. Qu Feiyan's short sword moved like a streak of light, like a firefly, unpredictable, cunning, and ruthless. However, no matter how swift her swordplay was, Shen An's ordinary tree branch always managed to strike first in the simplest and most direct way.
It wasn't that Shen An's martial arts skills had reached such a high level, but rather that he completely overwhelmed her in terms of strength, senses, and speed. His tree branch always managed to precisely strike the spine of her sword, instantly dissolving her fierce attacks and rendering them ineffective.
"When facing an enemy, you need to clearly see their moves in order to make the most effective response. If you only focus on your own moves, you'll create too many openings."
"But—" After several more attacks were easily thwarted, Qu Feiyan finally stopped, somewhat unwilling to give up. She rubbed her wrist, which was slightly numb from the shock, and the moonlight reflected on her delicate eyebrows, which were tightly furrowed together.
She argued, "Wouldn't it be too slow to figure out his moves before I figured out how to respond? I need to see him move first to know where he's going to hit before I can block or retaliate!"
The girl's tone was full of confusion. She felt that the principle of martial arts should be like this: the enemy should make the first move, and then I should respond.
However, this seemingly ordinary complaint suddenly startled Shen An.
You need to see the opponent's move first before you can respond.
One came, one went.
One went, and the other returned.
The relaxed and carefree expression on his face slowly froze, the branch in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and he seemed to be frozen in place, staring blankly ahead.
"Brother An?"
Qu Feiyan tilted her head in surprise when she saw that he suddenly stopped reacting.
She waited a moment, and seeing that he still didn't move, she couldn't help but move closer and wave her little hand in front of his eyes.
"Hey? What's wrong with you? Did I just give you an epiphany?"
Her tone was somewhat joking, but she quickly stopped laughing.
She could clearly see that there was no smile on Shen An's face, and an invisible chill emanated from him, making the surrounding air seem to drop several degrees.
"Brother An, you—you're scaring me."
Qu Feiyan felt a pang of panic, gently tugged at his sleeve, and her voice trembled slightly.
Shen An seemed to be awakened by her touch. He took a long, silent breath and then slowly exhaled. He turned his head to look at Qu Feiyan, and the coldness in his eyes instantly melted away, turning into his usual gentleness.
"It's nothing," he forced a smile, reaching out to ruffle her hair, his voice a little hoarse, "I was thinking about some things and got a little distracted. It's late, you should get some rest."
Having said that, he said no more, turned around and strode out of the courtyard, his steps somewhat hurried.
Qu Feiyan stood there blankly, watching his hurried departure, her heart filled with doubt and unease.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The heavy, urgent knocking sounded particularly jarring in the quiet of the night, waking Feng Changrong from her sleep.
He sat up with a start, wide awake, his first thought being: Something's happened!
"Who?!" he shouted, grabbing his outer robe with one hand and the sword by the bedside with the other.
"It's me, open the door!" Shen An's deep and suppressed voice came from outside the door.
Feng Changrong's heart skipped a beat. He dared not delay and quickly got out of bed and opened the door.
Outside the door, Shen An was standing in the shadow of the moonlight, his face appearing somewhat pale in the cold moonlight.
"Senior brother? It's so late—is there some commotion at the Liu residence? Or has something happened in the city?" Feng Changrong's heart jumped into his throat, and he asked anxiously in a low voice.
"Neither." Shen An stepped into the house, closed the door tightly behind him, and locked it.
This solemn gesture only intensified Feng Changrong's unease.
"Senior brother, what exactly—"
"Do you remember that transfer order?"
"Transfer order? Of course I remember, I just received it this afternoon." Feng Changrong was puzzled.
Shen An didn't explain, but stared at him: "I'm asking you, when did you report Liu Zhengfeng's retirement from the martial arts world to your sect?"
"It was four days ago, around dusk, just like when I wrote to you, my senior brother. The messenger was on an urgent horse." Feng Changrong remembered the exact time of this important event perfectly.
"How long would it take a messenger on a fast horse to get from here to Mount Song?"
"Traveling day and night, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should arrive in three days."
"What if the sect receives the letter and sends someone back with the order?" Shen An's voice grew even colder.
"It will also take three days," Feng Changrong answered subconsciously, and then his expression changed.
He wasn't stupid, just not as perceptive as Shen An. Now, as Shen An guided him step by step, a terrifying thought was beginning to emerge in his mind.