I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 73 Master, the Man in Black Robes

"Brother, your hair is so long and black!"

A little girl, around ten years old, pointed at Pei Ju's hair and said in a crisp voice. She was wearing a modern ancient-style outfit, her face was flushed, and her hair was damp with sweat. She was holding a wooden sword upside down in her hand.

"Is it pretty?" Pei Ju couldn't help but smile.

"It looks beautiful. How did you do it?" the girl asked curiously.

"No need to use shampoo," Pei Ju said with a smile.

"Then what should we use to wash it?" the girl pressed.

"Water is fine, but the main thing is to prevent the body's energy from evaporating through the scalp, then your hair won't get oily," Pei Ju said with a smile.

"Really? Are you a Taoist priest?" the girl asked, looking at the hair coiled up on Pei Ju's head.

“Taoist priests are generally those who have received ordination. I haven’t received ordination, so I’m not one,” Pei Ju said.

"Oh, you're so old, are you still taking a Level 1 certificate exam here?" The girl's big eyes were full of curiosity.

“Yes, I wanted to take the exam before, but I was delayed by some things and didn’t get to,” Pei Ju explained.

"Big brother, you must be very powerful, right? Where is your sword?" the girl asked again.

"I forgot to bring it. I'm not very good either, just average. Do you know the swordsmanship that's being tested now?" Pei Ju found that talking to her seemed to make him feel a little better.

"Yes, big brother! Don't you know how?" the girl said.

"Hmm, it's been too long since I practiced, I've forgotten. Could you teach me again?" Pei Ju asked.

"Okay." After saying that, the girl looked around in front of Pei Ju to make sure no one was passing by and would disturb her, and then immediately assumed a sword stance.

Pei Ju didn't know why the sword technique for the assessment had to be changed, but when he carefully watched the sword technique being practiced by this girl who was probably not even ten years old, he found that the current sword technique was simpler and more concise.

He thought that the reason so many children were taking the certification exam was probably to lower the difficulty. However, from the perspective of physical training, this set was not as good as the previous set. But from the perspective of actual combat, this set was better.

This set is simpler, without so many fancy and difficult moves.

However, if you can fully master, understand, and apply the previous set of skills, it can be very impressive. Many things are not about how impressive they are, but about how the person using them uses them.

For example, a tree, if used properly, can be made into furniture; a knife, if used properly, can be used to chop hard bones. Different techniques are used in different scenarios; it all depends on how they are used.

Pei Ju watched quite attentively; the girl's rehearsal could only be described as smooth, without any pauses.

After she finished her rehearsal, she stopped in her seat with a serious expression. Pei Ju clapped lightly and said, "You did a very good job."

Just then, a beautiful woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses walked over quickly and called out, "Wanwan, what are you doing here? Don't run around!"

"Mom, I'm teaching this big brother swordsmanship," the girl named Wanwan said proudly.

"Don't talk nonsense," said the beautiful woman with gold glasses. Then she looked at Pei Ju, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, and apologized, "I'm sorry, the child doesn't know any better and talks nonsense."

She knew that lecturing others in certain situations was taboo.

“No, she is indeed teaching me,” Pei Ju said. “Logically speaking, I should call her Master.”

Upon hearing Pei Ju's words, a hint of wariness appeared in the beautiful woman's eyes.

With his keen intuition, Pei Ju could easily sense her momentary wariness, so he remained silent and simply smiled slightly at the girl.

The young girl, Wanwan, happily asked, "Mom, I'm a master now! Will you really call me master from now on?"

Pei Ju smiled and said, "Sure."

The beautiful woman said, "I'm sorry, the child is ignorant. Our assessment is coming up soon, and we need to go over there."

She didn't think her daughter could really teach the other person anything, so in her opinion, Pei Ju was deliberately getting close to her daughter, and in this way, by praising a child.

"What a waste of such a beautiful face," the beautiful woman thought to herself as she led the girl away.

The girl waved at Pei Ju, who sat there and raised one of his folded hands in a gesture of greeting.

The girl was taken back to her group, and then it was said, "Wanwan, how many times has your mother told you not to talk to strangers?"

"Oh, I see." The girl glanced at Pei Ju and immediately said, "But, Mom, I already have an apprentice."

"Don't talk nonsense. You don't even know what kind of people they are. What if they are bad people?" the woman admonished.

"No way, big brother must be a good person," the girl retorted crisply.

"Some people may seem nice, but they may have other ideas. You can't judge a book by its cover."

"What does 'you can't judge a book by its cover' mean?" the young girl asked.

While a mother and daughter were exchanging wits, Pei Ju was mentally rehearsing the sword technique the girl had just demonstrated.

For him, once he grasped one skill, he grasped all others. He could memorize sword moves at a glance. He practiced them in his mind only to reinforce his impression, since he had never practiced them before.

After waiting for about an hour, it was finally his turn. Meanwhile, the girl Wanwan had already finished her exam. They were about to leave when they saw Pei Ju going up for the exam, so she insisted on watching. Thus, Pei Ju went up and demonstrated his swordsmanship.

The beautiful woman's gaze sharpened further; she was now certain that this person with such good looks was suspicious.

Because what she saw was that Pei Ju's swordsmanship was so good, even better than her daughter's teacher. He actually lied to her daughter, saying he didn't know swordsmanship. Her daughter was too easily fooled.

"Come on, come on, look, this guy is a fraud. Look how good his swordsmanship is, yet he claims he can't do it. Remember, the more handsome a man is, the more likely he is to lie."

“He’s my disciple. My master said that a master should encourage his disciple. Wanwan taught him swordsmanship,” the girl argued.

"What are you saying? Stop talking nonsense and let's go home." The beautiful woman pulled her daughter home.

The girl pouted and remained silent, but when she got home, she told her grandmother that she had taken on a disciple, and when she met her father and grandfather, she also said that she had taken on a very important disciple.

When I was in school, I told my classmates that when I was taking the swordsmanship certificate exam, I received a senior apprentice who was also very good-looking.

After Pei Ju finished the exam, he was about to leave when someone suddenly called out, "Pei Ju?"

Pei Ju turned around and saw someone; he recognized the person at a glance.

Wang Jing.

"Teacher Wang." Five years isn't much of a change for a middle-aged person; the real change is in a teenager. Five years is enough for a teenager to become a young adult, and with changes in makeup and clothing, they can be very difficult to recognize. However, Wang Jing, being a swordsman, had sharp eyes.

"It really is you. I didn't even recognize you when I saw you down there. You've changed so much." Wang Jing was holding a teacup and wearing a red and black outfit.

Pei Ju smiled and said, "It's alright, it's just that my hair has grown a bit long."

“No, the longer hair is just an external change.” Wang Jing continued to scrutinize Pei Ju, saying, “Your change is internal; your temperament has changed drastically.”

Pei Ju smiled but did not answer. Of course he knew that things would change after so many changes in his family. In this world, everyone changes, which is why people who stick to their ideals and beliefs are so precious.

"Where are you working now?" Wang Jing asked again.

"To be a musical actor in a theater," Pei Ju said without hiding anything.

"A musical actor? You're singing? You've entered the entertainment industry?" Wang Jing asked in surprise.

"No, I just learned to play the xiao (vertical flute) in Xijiang. My neighbor next door is a theater director. He heard about it and asked me to play the xiao backstage."

"Oh, I just saw that your swordsmanship is very good. Would you like to be a coach?" Wang Jing asked.

Pei Ju instinctively wanted to refuse; he didn't really want to interact with or talk to people.

“If you don’t have any other work, I think you could try working for me for a while,” Wang Jing said.

"I've only passed Level 1," Pei Ju said tactfully.

“My judgment is never wrong. With your agility and swordsmanship, you are already a master swordsman. I can’t be sure how skilled you are, but I feel that I am not as good as you,” Wang Jing said seriously.

"How about this, come work as a private instructor at my fencing school. I only accept high-end private clients, not regular instructors. I'll recommend you to my clients, and I'll contact you when someone needs you. It's very flexible and convenient," Wang Jing said earnestly.

Pei Ju thought for a moment and said, "I still have work at the theater. I'm afraid there might be a conflict."

"This time can be adjusted; we can discuss it with the guests later," Wang Jing replied quickly.

Pei Ju thought about it and felt it wasn't a bad idea. After all, he had come to Haishi with his swordsmanship skills, so being an instructor for others would be putting his knowledge to good use. Moreover, he was well aware that he had problems, one of which stemmed from the negative emotions he had developed after learning swordsmanship in the Spirit Field, and the other was the death of his grandfather.

The combination of these two reasons caused a deep sense of melancholy to seep into his soul, which was difficult to eradicate.

This is why Senior Sister Yu asked him to go down the mountain and return to Haishi.

Five years of tranquility in the mountains had not cured him, so she sent Pei Ju back to the bustling city.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” Pei Ju said.

Wang Jing was very happy and immediately took out his phone to write down Pei Ju's phone number. After the two said goodbye, someone walked up to Wang Jing.

"Mr. Wang, who is this person? She looks quite special, very beautiful."

“The child of an old friend of mine has grown up. I think his swordsmanship is quite good, so I invited him to be a private instructor at our sword-fighting school.”

"Didn't he just start teaching level one here?"

“This is just appearance. This child is very good. When he came to the sword-making school to learn swordsmanship, his skill level was far superior to that of his peers.” Wang Jing said, “Moreover, I feel that he has become a bit unsociable now. I don’t know if there is something wrong with him. I hope he can interact with more people and I hope he can get better.”

He has met many people and is very good at judging people, so he has a nickname: King Jing with Golden Eyes.

Pei Ju took the bus home and sat by the window, watching the scenery outside flash by. His vision was unfocused, so the scenery was only reflected in his pupils and did not enter his mind.

The image began to blur, and sunlight streamed through the bus window, falling on him and making his pale skin appear even more like jade, smooth and delicate.

Someone quietly took out a camera and captured the scene.

The view through the window was reflected in Pei Ju's pupils as a dazzling display of light and color. Suddenly, a black dot appeared within this dazzling display.

And this black spot will reappear after a period of time.

That's a person.

A person dressed in black.

The other person's black clothes looked very old, and his face was also old, full of wrinkles. He was an old man with white hair, but his eyes were greenish.

This person is not from the Longxiang Republic.

The moment Pei Ju saw him clearly, he saw him standing next to the bus stop on the street, and the other person's gaze followed his car. He was certain that the other person was looking at him. Then, as his car disappeared from his sight, he could no longer see him.

But a little while later, when he was leaving at the next bus stop, he saw the other person standing there watching the bus leave.

Pei Ju narrowed his eyes.

The world is becoming increasingly bizarre, and ordinary people may not even realize they've encountered something strange, but someone like him can tell at a glance that he's being targeted by some kind of anomaly.

He didn't know if it was by chance or intentional, because just a few days ago he had killed someone from the Underground Club in that alley, and then he had returned to the Demon-Slaying Sword Hall.

Also, I was attacked once while I was at home.

So he got off at the stop where he needed to transfer. After getting off, he stood under the bus stop sign waiting for the bus and for other people.

A car drove by, but he didn't get on because the 'person' he was waiting for hadn't arrived.

Sunlight shines on the leaves overhead, and some light leaks through the leaves, falling on the ground in patches of light.

A chill ran through him as he sensed someone watching him. He turned his head and saw an old man in a black robe, with disheveled white hair, standing there looking at him.

The other person's deep blue eyes were filled with emotion.

Generally speaking, the older a person is, the fewer emotions they show in their eyes; their expression becomes very simple, even dull. However, this person's eyes are full of love, envy, enthusiasm, and affection. He stands in the middle of the sidewalk, and people walk past him without bumping into him; they naturally avoid him.

He parted the crowd like a stone in the river.

Pei Ju reached out and broke off a branch, stripped off the leaves, scattered them in the flower bed, and walked towards the old man.

However, the moment he walked toward the old man, the street scene on both sides suddenly blurred, and then suddenly solidified. People who hadn't been looking at him suddenly stopped and turned around or turned their heads to look at him.

Countless eyes and faces were fixed on one person, and the invisible pressure was enough to suffocate one. Moreover, these were not ordinary eyes, but eyes filled with countless negative emotions.

In that instant, Pei Ju felt negative emotions surging towards him like a torrent.

(End of this chapter)