Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 189: Chapter 162: Don’t Overthink It

Xie Yuan was stunned by Mu Chaoyun’s words for a moment before he spoke.

"Ah, that’s great news. You’ve gotten a lot of your color back these past few days. Although your face is still pale as a sheet... but you’ve always been like that."

Mu Chaoyun pursed her lips and said softly,

"Actually, I’ve been fully healed for a few days now. With injuries this severe, it wasn’t easy to recover without any lasting damage, even with my level of cultivation... It’s all thanks to your care."

Her injuries had been grave to begin with, and she had made them worse by desperately swallowing a handful of medicinal pills at the time. But during this period, Xie Yuan had used his handyman identity to acquire high-quality Spiritual Medicine during his purchasing trips down the mountain. It was much easier to get Spiritual Medicine in Cloud Mountain Town, which lay at the foot of the Sword Sect, than in Yunzhao County. That, combined with Deng Wan’s silver notes, left Xie Yuan feeling quite flush with cash.

On the mountain, the two had to avoid being seen while brewing the medicine. However, since Xie Yuan worked in the woodshed, he found an opportunity every day to prepare the medicine and deliver it for Mu Chaoyun to take.

Xie Yuan chuckled, not taking the credit.

"It’s mostly thanks to your knowledge of medicine. I was just the errand boy."

Hearing this, Mu Chaoyun gave a faint smile, which left Xie Yuan momentarily dazed.

Though faint, her smile was like a snow lotus blooming on a celestial mountain, dimming the moonlight for an instant.

’I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile before... well, aside from a cold smirk.’

Her usually cold face had become gentle and charming in a way he had never seen before. The image was instantly seared into the depths of Xie Yuan’s heart.

But before he could get his fill, Mu Chaoyun seemed to sense something and her smile faded, making him let out a subconscious sigh.

Mu Chaoyun’s face grew warm when she heard him. The night wind blew, making her hair sway gently. Tucking a few strands back, she gazed at the full moon beyond the cliff and said in a low voice,

"Now that my injuries are healed, it’s time for me to leave."

Xie Yuan’s brow twitched, and he said with some reluctance,

"But you just joined the Sword Sect... Don’t you want to go see what’s on Sword Peak?"

Mu Chaoyun shook her head and said faintly,

"I only came here to find a safe place to rest and recuperate. As for Sword Peak... one of these is enough for me to comprehend. I don’t have your immense confidence. Besides, the one on Sword Peak is most likely related to Swordsmanship. The one I have is a better fit for me."

Xie Yuan nodded silently. The Eight Trigrams Lotus was a perfect match for Mu Chaoyun’s Cultivation Technique... No, it would be more accurate to say that the Mu family’s Cultivation Technique itself was derived from the Eight Trigrams Lotus, making it her ’natal’ Black Celestial Book, so to speak. The page on Sword Peak was clearly far less suitable for her than the Eight Trigrams Lotus.

He sighed softly.

"So, what are your plans now?"

"Yanzhou. I’m going to check out the Golden Dragon Trading Company and see if I can find anything. They’ve always worked with my family to transport goods. It’s possible some information was leaked along that route, which drew our enemies to us..."

Mu Chaoyun said grimly.

Yanzhou was located northeast of Yunzhou, past the entire Beidu Mountain Range. It directly faced the West Desert and was a border province of the Great Li Dynasty. It was a chaotic place where good and evil mingled, and the waters ran deep and murky.

Xie Yuan nodded slightly.

"You’ll have to be extra careful then... and watch out for Lu the Third."

Mu Chaoyun fiddled with the Eight Trigrams Plate in her hand and nodded.

"I’ve made some calculations these past few days. Lu the Third isn’t a major threat. Deng Wan is dead, and now that I’ve recovered, I won’t fall for his traps again. Plus, I’ve made some progress discussing the Celestial Concealment Skill with you recently. It won’t be so easy for him to track me anymore."

Xie Yuan’s Celestial Concealment Skill had reached Minor Success, surpassing Mu Chaoyun’s. Lately, he had been the one teaching her, which had benefited her greatly.

Hearing this, Xie Yuan relaxed a little and sighed.

"Well, take care on your journey. I’m afraid I’d just slow you down if I went with you, so I’ll just stay here and cultivate for a while."

Mu Chaoyun looked at him and said gently,

"You’re not a burden. It’s just that once I get there, I’ll also need to plan for the long term. You’re fine here at the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect. This is a treasure trove of a place—the Spiritual Qi is abundant, and the Sect is righteous. Even if you’re discovered... the worst that could happen is they’d put you in confinement. If that happens, I’ll come and rescue you."

Hearing Mu Chaoyun make a rare joke, Xie Yuan chuckled.

"In that case, Master, don’t keep me waiting too long."

"Don’t call me Master..."

Mu Chaoyun said with a hint of exasperation, looking at Xie Yuan.

"You take care of yourself."

"Yeah, you too, take care...!"

Before Xie Yuan could finish his sentence, he felt something soft and fragrant lean into his arms, and he froze completely.

Mu Chaoyun had stepped forward and given him a light hug.

Under the full moon, their two shadows merged into one, indistinguishable from each other.

After a moment, Mu Chaoyun let go, turning her face away toward the cliff’s edge, her cheeks burning slightly.

"It’s just a farewell hug. Don’t read too much into it."

With that said, she quickly stood up and walked briskly back to her quarters, almost as if she were fleeing.

Xie Yuan sat there dumbly for a while, the faint fragrance still lingering in his arms, his heart in turmoil.

’She really made my heart pound...’

Xie Yuan shook his head. The two of them had shared even more intimate contact before, but that was all out of necessity while fleeing and fighting. It didn’t count.

But this light hug now left Xie Yuan with a strange feeling, one he couldn’t help but savor.

He just didn’t know when they would see each other again after this final parting.

Xie Yuan pulled up his sleeve, looked at the two lotus petals, and a smile appeared on his face.

’She left something in my care here, and there’s still the Celestial Cyan Fruit... Our entanglement is a tangled mess that can’t be sorted out. Our connection can never be severed. We’ll definitely meet again.’

The next day, Mu Chaoyun reported to the Outer Sect that she had received a letter about a gravely ill family member and requested a leave of absence to return home.

Since Xie Yuan was staying behind, and they had come up the mountain together under false identities, she naturally had to put on an act.

In any case, she had just joined and hadn’t even fully learned the introductory Swordsmanship. If she left for a while and never returned to the mountain, the matter would simply fizzle out. There were always disciples who couldn’t stand the austere life of mountain cultivation and ran away.

Xie Yuan walked Mu Chaoyun to the start of the mountain path. Watching her retreating figure, he suddenly felt an emptiness in his heart.

Though it was still chilly on the mountain, it was already early summer at its base.

All told, they had spent the time from spring to summer together—not a short period.

Left alone on the cliff, Xie Yuan practiced silently under the moon for several days before he slowly grew accustomed to it.

’I have to practice in secret here. Fortunately, with the Celestial Concealment Skill, I don’t need to worry as long as I don’t do something suicidal in front of a Grandmaster. At least, in all this time, no Grandmaster has ever come to this part of the Outer Sect.’

’But if I want to go to Sword Peak...’

Xie Yuan pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.

’If I perform well, handymen can be assigned to work at the Main Peak Hall. That’s very close to Sword Peak. I could even sense it from the Main Peak’s mountain pass, so I might have a chance there.’

’I’ll see what this page of the Black Celestial Book is like. If it’s any good, I’ll consider getting a disciple’s identity and make my own long-term plans...’

[Black Celestial Book: (85/200)]

While Mu Chaoyun was recuperating on the mountain, she had entrusted the Eight Trigrams Lotus directly to Xie Yuan for safekeeping, allowing him to study and comprehend it whenever he wished. He had made some progress over the past several days, and now it remained to be seen if Sword Peak could help him advance further.

Xie Yuan had his plan, but his immediate short-term goal was also to request leave to go down the mountain.

He wanted to go back and check on Yunzhao County.

However, a handyman naturally didn’t have the same freedom as a disciple. He had just arrived on the mountain, and it was too soon to ask for a vacation.

Of course, he had his personal freedom; he could leave whenever he wanted. But he wouldn’t be welcomed back if he did. Xie Yuan still had things he was interested in on this mountain, so he didn’t want to just up and leave.

The only way was to perform well, please the foremen, and have them grant him a favor.

Xie Yuan nodded. He decided it was time to start grinding.

From that day on, the other handymen in the woodshed, and indeed handymen elsewhere who already disliked Xie Yuan, found him even more detestable.

Chopping firewood, boiling water, cooking meals, sweeping and cleaning, making beds—he did everything short of warming them. He even snatched work away from the other handymen.

Most of the handymen were simple folk. Just doing the work would have been one thing, but his other tactics—like deliberately throwing trash on the ground only to pick it up in front of a foreman, or using his Inner Power to break a sweat before he even started working—were completely beyond their comprehension.

’Time to show you guys the shocking power of the information age...’

Xie Yuan thought to himself.

’That Zhang Mountain is diligent, sure, but why is he so infuriating? It’s one thing to chop wood, but why did he have to go and carve "Good Fortune" on the logs? He’s still faster than us, and now the foreman has increased our daily workload because of him!’

The other handymen thought, grinding their teeth in frustration. A rate-buster was a public enemy in any world.

Zhang Mountain, the name of the identity Xie Yuan had borrowed, reminded him of an old acquaintance.

Finally, one day, as Xie Yuan was chopping wood, a few disciples in white robes approached.

Xie Yuan had seen them coming long ago, but he only pretended to notice them now. He respectfully stood up, brushed off his gray clothes, and shouted,

"Greetings, Senior Brothers!"

His shout made the official Outer Sect disciples stop in their tracks, their arrogant demeanor faltering. They glanced at each other until their leader cleared his throat and asked pretentiously,

"You’re Zhang Mountain?"

"I am! How may I help you, Senior Brother?"

"Hmph! I’ve heard from the other junior brothers in the woodshed that you’re arrogant and tyrannical, that you bully them. Is this true?"

"Absolutely not!"

Seeing that Xie Yuan was self-righteous and not the least bit flustered, with no intention of explaining himself, the white-robed disciples were momentarily at a loss for how to proceed.

The leader had to clear his throat again and flick his sleeve.

"I don’t want to hear your excuses! Let me tell you, I’m in charge of the woodshed, and the junior brothers here are on good terms with me. If you bully them, you’re making an enemy of me! So, what are you going to do about it?"

Xie Yuan shook his head.

"I haven’t broken any Sect rules, nor have I bullied anyone."

The leader’s eyes lit up, and he yelled,

"If I say you broke them, you broke them!"

"Are you trying to use your status to bully me?"

Xie Yuan asked, taking a step forward with his axe in hand and raising an eyebrow.

The disciple glanced at his hand and smirked.

"So what if we are?"

Xie Yuan stared at him for a moment, and the woodshed fell silent.

Just as everyone thought he was about to explode and braced themselves, they saw him toss his axe aside and walk out.

"I’m going to report this to the Deacon!"

The disciples were stunned. Seeing Xie Yuan walk out, they hurriedly pulled him back, laughing awkwardly.

"Junior Brother, we were just joking! Don’t be so hasty... Someone will explain it to you. Farewell!"

After saying this, the disciples, who had arrived with such bluster, left just as hastily.

Xie Yuan watched the fleeting figures outside the window, frowning. He muttered in confusion,

"What the hell is that Deacon up to..."

Outside the woodshed, the Outer Sect disciples reported to Cui Zhi with awkward expressions.

"Master Cui, he’s not following the script!"

"I’m really not cut out for this..."

"Your acting really is a pile of shit."

"You’re just as bad! But I have to admit, these lines are pretty fun to say..."

The white-robed disciples, faces full of innocence, burst into laughter.

Cui Zhi gave a warm smile.

"You’ve all worked hard. Yes, you can all go back to your cultivation now."

The lead disciple asked curiously,

"Master Cui, what was all that about? Can you really learn anything from a test like that?"

"Trust your Master. In the storybooks... this is how it’s done out in the world. With a test like this, couldn’t you see that the boy is upright and resolute, calm and composed, and knows when to advance and when to retreat?"

Cui Zhi said proudly.

The disciple looked thoughtful. Master Cui had traveled widely and was very knowledgeable. If he said so, it must be true.

"I suppose so. But Master Cui, is all this really necessary just to make him a senior handyman?"

"He hasn’t been here long, after all. When we in the Outer Sect evaluate someone, we naturally have to observe them from multiple angles. Besides, I mainly think he’s capable of being more than just a handyman..."

Cui Zhi said, stroking his beard.

The disciples exchanged glances. ’Looks like Master Cui wants to make him an official disciple?’ Thinking back to Zhang Mountain’s imposing manner just now, they had to admit he did seem promising.

Cui Zhi glanced toward the woodshed and nodded slightly.

’This Zhang Mountain is indeed not bad. I heard he wants to go home for a few days. Let’s grant him his leave so he can set his mind at ease. When he comes back, I’ll have him work at the Main Peak Hall and observe him some more.’

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