Singing with a Sword

The following is the main text of the novel "{?$article_title?}" ({?$jieqi_title?}) provided by {?$jieqi_sitename?}. Please enjoy! Upon seeing Yi Ranxiao, the young man immediately bowed respectfully and smiled, "Senior, I am Wu Jingrun!" Yi Ranxiao suddenly realized and instinctively said, "Oh, so it's you!"

This Wu Jingrun was Xiang Wuju's last disciple. After Yi Ranxiao destroyed the Divine Fist Gang, it was he who came up with a brilliant plan to defuse the pressure from the imperial authorities. Afterwards, he requested to join the Divine Wind Hall, but Yi Ranxiao refused. After that, Yi Ranxiao never saw him again. So why did he come to see me today?

"You need something from me?" Yi Ranxiao asked calmly. Wu Jingrun replied, "Senior, I've come to ask you to accept me as your disciple!" With that, he knelt down on the ground.

Yi Ranxiao immediately took a step to the side, dodging the other party's kneeling ceremony. His face turned cold as he said, "Take you as a disciple? Didn't I make it clear last time? I will not accept you into my Shenfeng Hall."

Wu Jingrun looked at Yi Ranxiao pleadingly: "Senior Yi, I... I sincerely want to join your sect, and I want to become your disciple and cultivate under your guidance!"

Yi Ranxiao frowned, thinking to herself, "You, who once betrayed your master, are a scourge to me! How could I possibly accept you as my disciple?"

"You can leave!" Yi Ranxiao didn't say anything more, just coldly uttered these three words.

Wu Jingrun remained kneeling on the ground and said, "Senior, if you don't accept me as your disciple, I will kneel here forever!" Yi Ranxiao wouldn't waste her time on him and said unhappily, "Suit yourself, kneel if you want, I will not accept you as my disciple." After saying that, she closed the door, went into the house, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Yi Ranxiao opened the door and saw Wu Jingrun still kneeling on the ground. Looking at his eyes, they were swollen and dark, indicating that he had indeed been kneeling all night without sleeping.

Yi Ranxiao shook her head and said, "Why bother? I have things to do and need to go to Ruyang City. You should get up and leave quickly!" Unexpectedly, Wu Jingrun said, "No! If Senior doesn't accept me as your disciple, I will stay kneeling here and never get up!"

Yi Ranxiao gave him a disapproving look, "Stubborn!" Then she left the inn, exited Xiaohu Town, and headed straight for Ruyang City. After another day of travel, by evening, curiosity made Yi Ranxiao want to go back and see if Wu Jingrun was still kneeling there. But then she thought, a whole day and night had passed, how could that guy still be kneeling there?

So Yiran Xiao continued her journey, and by evening of the following day, she had reached the city closest to Ruyang. She was curious to see if Wu Jingrun was still kneeling there. However, reason convinced her that the man had surely already left. So, after resting for the night in this city, Yiran Xiao continued her journey, finally arriving in Ruyang that evening.

Three days have passed since he left Xiaohu Town. Reason tells Yiran Xiao that he must have left, but curiosity keeps nagging at her, making her want to go back and see the truth!

Xiao tossed and turned all night, and finally decided to return to Xiaohu Town to find out what was going on!

On this return journey, Yiran deliberately sped up, arriving at the inn in Xiaohu Town just as dawn broke. When she was about a thousand meters away from the inn, she saw hundreds of people gathered outside.

"Why are there so many people so early in the morning?" Yi Ranxiao asked curiously as he walked over. Before he could even ask a question, some people started chatting nearby, and the truth surprised Yi Ranxiao greatly!

It turns out there's a "madman" in this inn who's been kneeling in front of a guest room for three days and four nights! No matter how the innkeeper or the waiters try to get him to leave, he just won't go! He just kneels in front of the guest room without eating, drinking, or moving!

This person…this person is clearly Wu Jingrun! For a moment, Yi Ranxiao was somewhat moved; this guy had actually been kneeling here the whole time! Suddenly, Yi Ranxiao had the idea of ​​taking him as a disciple!

Just as the people outside were saying, Wu Jingrun really had been kneeling there for three days and four nights! The shopkeeper was frantic with worry; this guy had been kneeling in his shop the whole time, which was seriously affecting business! He had chased him away countless times, but he wouldn't leave! He even sent thugs over to use force, but this guy was actually quite capable; he just knelt there and wouldn't budge, and the thugs couldn't do anything to him!

If the hard approach doesn't work, let's try the soft one! Early in the morning, the shopkeeper came to earnestly persuade Wu Jingrun to get up quickly, saying that a man's knees are worth their weight in gold, and that he should cherish his time... Just then, Yiran Xiao arrived!

Wu Jingrun glanced at the person out of the corner of his eye and immediately turned to look! The person who had come was indeed Senior Yi!

"Senior Yi... Senior Yi..." Wu Jingrun murmured. Yi Ranxiao looked at him and smiled, "Get up!"

"I won't get up!" Wu Jingrun said stubbornly. Yi Ranxiao smiled helplessly and said, "How can I accept you as my disciple if you don't get up?"

……

……

In this very room of the inn, Yi Ranxiao completed the ceremony of accepting a disciple, accepting Wu Jingrun's kneeling obeisance and drinking the tea he offered. As Yi Ranxiao drank the tea without any suspicion, a sinister smile flashed across Wu Jingrun's mind!

Wu Jingrun was a smart man. When his beloved master, Xiang Wuju, was about to be killed by Yi Ranxiao, he did not rush over to protect his master with his life like a hot-blooded youth. He understood that the only outcome would be that both master and disciple would die under Yi Ranxiao's sword!

Therefore, he had to survive, to find an opportunity to kill Yi Ranxiao! Killing Yi Ranxiao openly and honestly to avenge his master was far too difficult for him! Therefore, he could only approach Yi Ranxiao and kill him by surprise! That's why he was the first to "betray" him that day, hoping to gain favor and request Yi Ranxiao to let him join the Divine Wind Hall, but unfortunately, he failed!

However, he persevered and finally came up with this method today. He moved Yi Ranxiao by kneeling for a long time and made him agree to take him as his disciple. In that cup of tea, he put a slow-acting poison: the poison of black astragalus!

This black astragalus herb is a rare medicinal herb, unavailable even to some renowned physicians. However, Wu Jingrun obtained one by chance and immediately refined it into a poison. This poison is colorless and odorless; if a cultivator consumes it, their vital energy will suddenly be depleted after five hours, temporarily turning them into a mortal!

That would be the time for Wu Jingrun to avenge his master!

……

……

On the same day, Qian Xiaomo and her father, Qian Xiaotian, also arrived in Xiaohu Town with a group of people. Among them was a mysterious old man in black robes.

"Revered Great Wizard Adolf, is your poison ready?" Qian Xiaotian asked the old man.

The old man named Adolf smiled slightly: "Chief Qian, don't worry, I have already refined my white astragalus herb into a colorless and odorless poison! As long as that guy named Yiran Xiao drinks it, he will immediately lose his Yuan power and temporarily become a mortal! At that time, he will be at your mercy!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Xiaotian couldn't help but reveal his brightest smile. A few days ago, when he heard that Yiran Xiao had led the Shenfeng Hall to defeat the Xianfeng Hall, he panicked, realizing that the Shenfeng Hall had suddenly become very powerful! And Yiran Xiao had successively eliminated Chen Dasheng and Xiang Wuji's groups, clearly intending to wipe out the evil forces in Jianling City! Therefore, Qian Xiaotian deduced that Yiran Xiao's next target would definitely be his own Axe Gang!

Therefore, Qian Xiaotian decided to strike first and sent someone to find the great wizard named Adolf, asking him to poison Yi Ranxiao. Today, his subordinates brought news that Yi Ranxiao had appeared in Xiaohu Town, taking Wu Jingrun, Xiang Wuji's disciple from back then, as his apprentice. However, Yi Ranxiao did not leave in a hurry, but instead stayed at an inn, giving Wu Jingrun some simple guidance in cultivation.

Sure enough, Qian Xiaotian immediately led his men over.

"Great Wizard Adolf, are you absolutely certain?" Qian Xiaotian asked, still somewhat worried, after all, Yi Ranxiao was too strong. Adolf laughed, "Don't worry, Chief Qian, White Astragalus and Black Astragalus are both extremely rare medicinal herbs. The poison made from them is colorless and odorless, and ordinary cultivators would never detect it! And aren't you confident in my poisoning methods?"

Suddenly, he smiled greedily and said, "But Chief Qian, have you prepared your gold coins? You should know that the rarity of this White Astragalus Grass is almost comparable to that of a celestial artifact. This White Astragalus Grass is worth almost half of my entire fortune."

Qian Xiaotian smiled and said, "Master, don't worry, I've prepared the gold coins. As long as it's done, I'll give them all to you!" In reality, he was bleeding inside. The price this great wizard was asking for was almost ten years' worth of his Axe Gang's expenses! But to kill Yi Ranxiao, he had no choice but to go all out!

Before long, the group arrived near the inn. Adolf personally scouted the terrain around the inn in preparation for using the poison that night…

Meanwhile, at the inn, Yi Ranxiao briefly explained the essence of several techniques she had comprehended to Wu Jingrun. Wu Jingrun's aptitude for cultivation was average, and it took Yi Ranxiao quite a while to forcefully instill the principle of "sword light surging" into him.

"Huh? Master, to learn this technique, I have to learn the sect's basic swordsmanship first?" Wu Jingrun was a bit overwhelmed. "When will I ever finish learning that?"

"Jingrun, on the path of cultivation, remember, never be impatient for quick success! You must cultivate step by step!" Yi Ranxiao instructed earnestly. To be honest, it was his first time being a master, and he was quite happy, so he didn't complain at all about how much he had to say. "Do you understand, Jingrun?"

Wu Jingrun sneered inwardly, thinking about other things: Five hours have passed, and the poison of the black astragalus herb is about to take effect! Hmph, that will be the moment you, Yi Ranxiao, die! But Yi Ranxiao, you are indeed too naive. I only knelt for three days and four nights, and you believed me! Haha, all this is your own fault for being too careless!

While harboring malicious thoughts, Wu Jingrun outwardly bombarded him with a barrage of questions about cultivation. Yi Ranxiao patiently explained, and after a while, she casually picked up the cup of tea on the table and gulped it down…

On a building across the street, the great wizard Adolf, Qian Xiaotian, and Qian Xiaomo watched the scene unfold. Just moments ago, Adolf had used his most powerful poisoning technique: using his telekinesis, he had injected the poison powder of the white astragalus herb into the ground. Under his control, the powder slowly moved underground, then to the ground beneath the street, then to the inn across the street. It then emerged from the ground, entered the inn's walls, and finally reached the floor of Yiran Xiao's room. After traveling for a while, it entered the table leg, then the tabletop, and then... the poison powder entered the teacup! Next, the poison seeped through the teacup into the tea!

Poisoning done!

And Yi Ranxiao, completely unsuspecting, drank the cup of tea!