The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

On the mountainside, beside the waterfall, the harmonious sounds of the qin and xiao (traditional Chinese stringed instruments) flowed like a mountain stream, never ceasing.

To others, this might be a rare and beautiful sound, but to Qu Feiyan, it meant only one thing—boredom.

It's that song "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" again; I'm so tired of hearing it.

Qu Feiyan rested her chin on her hand and let out a long sigh. Her gaze followed the stream cascading down the waterfall, watching the winding water disappear into the layers of trees. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head: why not follow this stream downstream and see where the waterfall eventually flows to?

Let's do it right away, as long as we're not too far away.

After walking about a hundred steps, just as Qu Feiyan was about to leave in high spirits, a whistling sound faintly drifted over.

It's the sound of swords! Who is it?

Qu Feiyan stopped abruptly, straining her ears to find the source of the sound was not far downstream. She wanted to go back to her grandfather to tell him, but she didn't hear any sounds of weapons clashing or metal striking metal; it sounded more like someone practicing swordsmanship.

So her curiosity overcame her vigilance, and she lowered her body and used her lightness skill to quietly move downstream. After walking a few dozen steps, she saw a young man practicing swordsmanship with his back to her on the open ground by the stream.

The iron sword in his hand was wide and thick, and his swordplay was bold and sweeping, exuding an imposing aura. The blade whistled as it passed, demonstrating the swordsman's solid strength and skill.

Qu Feiyan couldn't help but secretly praise: What excellent swordsmanship!

Although she had never seen this sword technique before, having been influenced by her grandfather since childhood, she could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary farming skill, but a superior sword technique that had reached a high level of proficiency and mastery.

People from the Hengshan Sect? The thought had barely crossed her mind when she dismissed it, as this swordsmanship was completely different from the Hengshan Sect's light, agile, and unpredictable style.

Qu Feiyan continued to observe with curiosity. She saw that after the man finished practicing a set of sword techniques, he stared blankly at the sword in his hand, muttering to himself, though she couldn't tell what he was saying. Then, she saw him sometimes frustrated, sometimes overjoyed, sometimes wielding the sword and practicing, and sometimes standing there in a daze for a long time.

Qu Feiyan was completely bewildered, her mind filled with confusion: "This person certainly has a handsome appearance, but... could it be that he's gone mad from practicing swordsmanship?"

Just as she was secretly grumbling to herself, Shen An suddenly made a move.

Instead of practicing from the beginning, he started directly with the move "Eternal Dragon". However, when he was about to finish the move, he forcefully twisted his wrist, trying to redirect the sword's momentum to the next move, "Layered Green and Floating Blue".

This change was extremely abrupt, completely disrupting the original rhythm of the Songshan swordplay. Shen An froze, stumbled, and almost fell. His swordplay thus became incoherent and utterly powerless.

Qu Feiyan suppressed a soft laugh, and her initial wariness lessened considerably.

I thought he was some kind of expert, but he's just a delusional idiot.

Attempting to improve sword techniques? Let alone his superior swordsmanship, even those martial arts styles like the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Saber and the Tendon-Splitting and Bone-Dislocating Hand are all refined through generations of experience and bloodshed in countless life-and-death battles.

This guy is only in his early twenties, and he wants to create his own sword techniques? How arrogant! How ignorant!

She had seen true geniuses before.

Involuntarily, Qu Feiyan recalled that aloof and proud figure—the Holy Maiden, who was recognized as a genius by everyone in the sect and even praised by the Eastern Sect Leader.

That Holy Maiden possessed unparalleled martial arts talent, mastering any martial art with ease. However, even someone as exceptionally talented as her could only draw upon the strengths of others and integrate the various martial arts she learned; she might not dare to claim that she could innovate upon the paths laid by her predecessors.

Thinking of this, Qu Feiyan simply crossed her arms and leaned leisurely against a tree, ready to see what kind of trouble this overconfident guy could cause.

Meanwhile, Shen An also stopped. The timing of the connection, the angle of the force exertion, the coordination of the body... countless details kept replaying in his clear mind. An almost instinctive martial arts intuition allowed him to grasp the key point in an instant.

A moment later, he drew his sword again, using the same moves.

This time, he no longer forced himself to complete the move, but instead focused all his attention on feeling the "momentum" of the sword as it was swung. The feeling of his internal energy flowing through his meridians became clearer, rolling heavily like mercury, supporting him to complete this clumsy change of move.

Just as the "Eternal Dragon" was about to exhaust his strength, he suddenly lowered his waist and abdomen, using his body as an axis to throw off the massive momentum!

boom--!

This time, the sword moves were still awkward, but the heavy iron sword drew a trajectory that was completely different from before!

Shen An rested for a moment and then began his third attempt.

Having learned from his previous two experiences, he was much more at ease this time. His body danced with the sword's movements, his steps no longer confined to their original positions. Every turn of his waist and every swing of his arm served only one purpose—to perfectly transfer the power of the previous sword strike into the next!

One sword, two swords, three swords...

"Really?" Qu Feiyan, watching from afar, stared in disbelief, her mouth slightly agape. She rubbed her eyes to confirm that what she was seeing was not just her wild imagination.

Just as she was reeling from the shock, Shen An's power reached its peak. The iron sword in his hand seemed to have turned purplish-blue, yearning for a cathartic release.

"Layer upon layer of verdant green!"

With a loud shout, Shen An poured all the continuous and layered terrifying kinetic energy into his final sword strike, slashing heavily down at a pine tree beside him that was thicker than a bowl!

Then came a loud, teeth-grinding "crack!"

In Qu Feiyan's wide-eyed gaze, the sturdy pine tree was actually cut in half by this sword! The upper half of the trunk shot straight into the sky, rolled over, and crashed to the ground with a "bang," stirring up a cloud of dust.

Shen An had no time to rejoice in his progress. At this moment, he felt as if his strength had been completely drained and the internal energy in his meridians was almost dried up. If he hadn't used his sword to support his body in time, he would have staggered and fallen to the ground.

Meanwhile, Qu Feiyan, who was hiding in the shadows, no longer wanted to say anything. She just stood there blankly, her hand covering her mouth had fallen limply at some point, and her eyes, which always sparkled with cunning and liveliness, were now almost vacant.

She felt that it wasn't the guy in front of her who was crazy, but herself.

How could that be...?

How long has it been since he decided to work on improving his sword techniques?

She clearly remembered that just moments before, she had been thinking about making a fool of him.

When he first made the changes, wasn't he just as ridiculous as someone trying to imitate the way others walk in Handan?

How could this be... this is...

That's it?!

Could he really be the legendary Shaolin patriarch Bodhidharma who crossed the river on a reed and founded Zen martial arts, or the Wudang patriarch Zhang Sanfeng who attained enlightenment at the age of one hundred and created Tai Chi Chuan and sword... a martial arts saint who appears only once in all time?

This is really...

This is so much fun!

Qu Feiyan's eyes darted around, her gaze sweeping over the light purple dress she was wearing. She frowned slightly, then crouched down and quietly retreated from where she had come from.

After about half an incense stick's time, when she returned to Shen An's vicinity, she had changed her appearance:

The eye-catching purple dress she once wore was gone, replaced by a gray, faded coarse linen dress. Her long, glossy black hair was casually tied back with a strip of cloth, and she carried a small bamboo basket filled with muddy wild vegetables and mushrooms.

Qu Feiyan looked at her reflection in the stream, then patted some mud on her face before nodding in satisfaction. She then deliberately stepped on the withered branches and leaves as she walked towards Shen An.

"rustle……"

No, someone's coming! Shen An had just calmed his heavy breathing when he heard footsteps behind him. He was startled, turned around abruptly, and his hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword.

Fortunately, looking at the village girl in front of him, who was about thirteen or fourteen years old, plain-looking and timid, Shen An breathed a sigh of relief, and then warned himself that he could not be so careless next time.

"What's wrong, little girl? Where are your family?"

If it were an experienced martial arts practitioner, they would probably immediately notice that the skin on this little girl's hands and the back of her neck was as white and smooth as jade, and as radiant as snow, which was completely out of place with her coarse linen clothes. No matter how delicate a farm girl is, she would never be.

Shen An had only been there a day, and since the characters in his previous life's period dramas were mostly like this—at most, they'd smear some ash on their cheeks as a sign of professionalism—he didn't immediately notice anything amiss, truly believing Qu Feiyan to be a naturally beautiful village girl. His only suspicion was why this little girl dared to approach after hearing the strange noise.

The girl's eyes were like those of a frightened deer; she glanced at him once and dared not look again. Her eyelids lowered quietly, and she replied to him in a trembling voice, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz:

"I...I went out with Grandpa to chop wood, but I lost him...I heard a loud noise over here, and I was worried something had happened to Grandpa, so I came to check..."

Now that makes sense, Shen An put aside his doubts for the time being and said to the "village girl" in front of him, "What direction is your grandfather roughly in? I'll take you to find him."

Qu Feiyan's heart skipped a beat. This was no way to go looking for someone! She quickly changed the subject.

She timidly raised her head, her eyes sparkling with admiration: "Great hero... did you chop this tree down? Is this martial arts? It's amazing..."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Shen An didn't become smug. Instead, he frowned and looked at her seriously: "Young lady, you're too bold. The martial world is dangerous, and not everyone who knows martial arts is a good person. In the future, if you hear any noise like this, run as far away as possible, understand? Never approach strangers easily out of curiosity."

These words, spoken in a didactic tone, caused Qu Feiyan to pause in surprise. She blinked her large, watery eyes, a moist smile appearing deep within them, and asked Shen An, "Aren't all people from prestigious sects like yours good people?"

"Of course," Shen An replied decisively, "there are many bad people even within the righteous path."

"Then... are there good people in the Demonic Sect too?" Qu Feiyan looked at him hopefully.

"There are good people in the Demonic Sect too..." Shen An readily agreed. He remembered that the world of Swordsman was a mix of good and evil, but upon closer inspection, he couldn't think of anyone.

Ren Yingying? Anyone who glances at her has their eyes gouged out; she's a pure enchantress.

Qu Yang? Don't be fooled by his later reformation; how did he become an elder of the Demonic Sect if he hadn't done anything heinous before?

It seems that Qu Feiyan is the only good person in the Sun Moon Cult...

Wait, what?! Qu Feiyan?!

Shen An stiffly turned his head to look at the girl in front of him, who was beaming with joy after getting the answer she wanted.