Chapter 13

Formation of the Four Gentlemen

Moxiang was able to meet the four independent guards when he was appointed as the deputy leader. Fewer than thirty people attended his inauguration ceremony. At this time, Moxiang received a small jade plaque with a dragon that seemed to be alive, symbolizing his position as deputy leader. Originally, he should have also received a weapon from the leader, but since it was not yet completed, he used the Moxiong Sword as a substitute.

His guards consisted of three men and one woman, all of whom were high-level experts who did not emit demonic aura, as per Moxiang's request. From this, it was clear that they were not practitioners of orthodox demonic arts. They seemed to have worked in various fields such as assassins and spies. The leader introduced them as Yulian (Jade Lotus), Huanshou (Illusory Longevity), Mashiz (Horse Breeder), and Chenchun (Dawn Camellia). Moxiang, not particularly interested, led them to the thatched cottage and asked:

"Do you have any aliases?"

Chenchun answered on behalf of all of them:

"No, we don't. Since we haven't been formally active, we don't have aliases."

"Then, would it be alright if I ask about your previous occupations?"

"Yes, I and Yulian were part of the Shadow Corps until recently. We are now retired."

Then, Mashiz continued:

"I worked in the Law Enforcement Division."

Finally, Huanshou said:

"I was part of the Black Assassins."

Hearing this, Moxiang felt a sense of familiarity.

"I was also part of the Black Assassins. It's nice to meet you. Meeting a fellow assassin... But instead of using names, how about we use different titles?"

"We will follow your orders."

"I don't intend to force you. Since there are four of you, how about we call you the Four Gentlemen? Plum (梅), Orchid (蘭), Chrysanthemum (菊), and Bamboo (竹). You can each choose one."

"The custom is for the owner to name the independent guards. The leader's guards are called the Ten Blood Dragons, and they wear red headbands with their ranks written on them. 'Four Gentlemen' sounds good, but it doesn't feel very demonic, does it?"

"That's fine. It's a very good name. If anyone complains, bring them to me. I'll take care of them. How about we decide on individual titles?"

Then, the only woman, Yulian, spoke up:

"I'll choose Orchid."

"That's good."

Moxiang agreed, and Mashiz quickly followed:

"I'll choose Bamboo. The others sound too masculine..."

Then, Chenchun, not to be outdone, said:

"I'll choose Plum. It seems better than Chrysanthemum."

Moxiang looked at Huanshou and asked:

"Would you mind being Chrysanthemum?"

"I'm fine with anything."

"Then it's settled. I'll be practicing martial arts at home from now on, so you can all go back and rest. You don't need to guard me, so feel free to practice martial arts, drink, or do whatever you want."

Then, Plum said:

"We can't do that. We are the independent guards of the deputy leader..."

"Nothing will happen inside the sect. How about this: guard me only when I go outside. If I'm assigned a task, there's a good chance we'll face powerful experts, so it's best for you to train hard. I don't want to see my first subordinates die in front of me."

"We understand."

A month later, Moxiang summoned the Four Gentlemen. They came to Moxiang, wondering what had happened. Moxiang said to them:

"I called you because I forgot something. I want to see how skilled you are. Follow me."

Moxiang led them to a spacious area and instructed them to take turns wielding weapons. Plum was the first to step forward.

"I will use a saber."

"Show me all your skills. Hidden weapons are fine too. Use any means necessary and attack me without hesitation."

They began their sparring match. Plum's martial arts were quite impressive, but not outstanding enough to be part of the independent guards. They sparred hard, and after 70 moves, Moxiang said:

"Plum, you're quite good. But you still have a lot to improve. I understand your skill level now. Next, I want to see Orchid's skills."

Orchid stepped forward. Her martial arts were slightly inferior to Plum's, but her lightness skill was a bit better. She excelled in orthodox sword techniques and hidden weapon skills. Next, Bamboo stepped forward. As a former member of the Law Enforcement Division, he had the best martial arts among the Four Gentlemen. Chrysanthemum, a former member of the Black Assassins, was skilled in concealing killing intent and stealth techniques, but his martial arts were the weakest among the Four Gentlemen. However, his unconventional killing sword techniques were quite advanced.

After the sparring matches, Moxiang thought for a moment and said:

"Your martial arts are roughly at the same level. But Bamboo is the best, so you will be the leader."

"Thank you."

"Your skills are not below the average independent guards. This is because I asked for people who emit less demonic aura, not those with the highest martial arts. So, I will have to help you improve your skills. Come to me one by one in the morning. I will teach you martial arts for about two hours each. The rest of the time, you can train on your own."

They all expressed their gratitude, as being personally taught by such a remarkable expert was a great honor and a rare opportunity.

"Thank you for your kindness, Deputy Leader."

A Chance Encounter

While training the Four Gentlemen, Moxiang spent the rest of his time on his own practice. He marveled at the vast and deep path of martial arts, and continued his relentless training day by day.

One day, Moxiang felt that his progress had stalled and wondered if there was a problem with his training method. He would wake up at 4 a.m., practice qi cultivation for about an hour and a half to start the day, meditate on the veranda until one of the Four Gentlemen arrived, train and guide one of them for about two hours, and then have breakfast with the food they brought. After breakfast, he would rest until 10 a.m., then go to a waterfall and meditate while being hit by the water for four hours. After dinner at 6 p.m., he would either meditate in his room, practice lightness skills, tend to the flower garden, or read martial arts manuals. This training was initially very helpful, as the sect's martial arts manuals were extensive and covered various techniques.

When Moxiang started reading numerous martial arts manuals, the sect's leadership was initially tense, but they realized he was not trying to master them but was looking for unique techniques. Moxiang was curious if there were any martial arts that used different methods from what he knew. However, most of the techniques were similar, with only slight variations in forms, and did not deviate from a certain pattern.

Occasionally, the orthodox sect's techniques contained unique content. These techniques often had great depth. However, this was only for a short time, and the manuals from the Blood Sect's treasure vault were even more useless. While there were occasionally techniques that approached new methods and were quite useful, the majority were deceptive techniques that could only fool those with low internal energy.

The initial meditation-based training was helpful in organizing the questions and thoughts that arose from reading various manuals. However, as time passed and there were fewer manuals to read, it became less useful. Therefore, Moxiang wanted to change his training method, but he had no clear idea of what to do. Since he had already surpassed the peak of demonic arts, sparring with other experts in the sect was not very useful, and the various training challenges in the sect, which were challenging for others, were like child's play to him. One day, Bamboo, who had come to learn martial arts, saw Moxiang deep in thought and, after waiting for a while, gently asked:

"Deputy Leader, what's wrong?"

Moxiang, coming to his senses, asked:

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you think is impossible? The harder it is for humans, the better. I'm trying to find a new training method, but I can't think of a good one."

"Impossible... How about climbing the cliff on the western side of the Ten Thousand Mountains?"

"That's easy for me."

"Then, how about walking across the Yangtze River?"

"That's a good idea, but the Yangtze is too far, and I need the leader's permission to go."

"Then, breaking rocks? No... Wait! There's a pine forest about five li south of here. How about counting the leaves?"

"Counting leaves... That's a good idea. How did you think of that?"

"I heard that a troublesome expert appeared at Shaolin Temple, and they used this method to restrain him. If he could count the leaves of a thousand pine trees, he could leave."

"What happened?"

"There are strong winds twice a day due to the terrain. In the afternoon, warm air blows into the valley, and in the evening, cold air blows out. The pine leaves shake and fall, making it impossible to count them. He eventually grew old and died in the pine forest. From the amount of training he did, he must have been a remarkable person."

"Thanks for the idea. How many pine trees are there?"

"There are about 3,000. The conditions are similar, except there's no wind."

"Got it. Thanks for the advice. Let's start the training..."

Moxiang went to the pine forest every day to count the leaves. He quickly realized that excellent mental arithmetic, vision, and lightness skills were necessary. He counted the leaves day by day, and although he could only count ten trees at first, he gradually improved and the number increased.

The progress was slow, to the point where he felt that the answer to the ultimate martial arts might not be found here. However, he continued counting the leaves, as the number of leaves he counted each day was always more than the previous day. Even in winter, the pine trees retained their leaves, and his training continued. After he started counting the leaves, he would go to the pine forest every morning, and the Four Gentlemen would come to learn martial arts from him, bringing food for the day.

One day, Orchid brought the food and said to Moxiang:

"Deputy Leader..."

"What is it?"

"Actually, Wuliang wants to apologize and see you."

"Really? It's been almost two years. Alright, I'll go now."

When Moxiang arrived at the sword forge, Wuliang bowed and apologized:

"Deputy Leader, please forgive me."

Moxiang, surprised, helped him up and asked:

"What's wrong?"

"I... I need more time to make the sword."

"Why? Is it not going well?"

"That's... I need more time to infuse it with my essence."

"Why? Did you fail to make the sword?"

"Yes, I failed. It's not just a minor failure... I made the sword, but I need to destroy it and start over. That's why I came to see you."

"You made the sword? Then it's done. Give it to me. I don't need a perfect sword."

"But..."

"It's fine. Give it to me."

Reluctantly, Wuliang brought out the sword he had hidden in a corner.

"Here it is. It's my greatest failure..."

Moxiang smiled as he took the sword.

"It's fine. It looks good..."

Moxiang slowly drew the sword. A 2.3-foot-long, thin blade with a faint dark glow, similar in shape to the Moxiong Sword he currently carried.

"It's very good. I like it. Don't worry so much. What's wrong with it?"

"I wanted to create a demonic sword that would be remembered in the sect's history, but this... It's neither a demonic sword nor a divine sword. It's strange."

"A demonic sword or a divine sword, it's still a sword, isn't it?"

"They are different. A demon should carry a demonic sword to enhance the power of demonic arts. This sword makes it difficult to use powerful demonic arts."

"Is that so? Let's see."

As Moxiang gathered his essence, the Moxiong Sword hummed and emitted a strong demonic aura. Wuliang, whose internal energy was weak, stepped back in fear. Moxiang then roared and unleashed a move toward the sky.

"Shatter the Moon!"

Powerful blue sword beams shot into the sky, emitting intense demonic aura. Moxiang laughed and said:

"See? Isn't it good?"

"That's impossible... This sword has both demonic and righteous energy. I was shortsighted. I only thought about why it was a failure and didn't realize that your internal energy is a mix of demonic and righteous energy... This sword will only reach its full potential in your hands."

Moxiang then handed the Moxiong Sword he was carrying to Wuliang.

"Destroy this one."

Moxiang attached the new Moxiong Sword to his sword belt and said:

"The scabbard seems too luxurious."

Wuliang smiled shyly.

"Few in the martial world would recognize the scabbard as overly luxurious, so don't worry."

"Still, thank you."

As Moxiang was about to leave, Wuliang hurriedly gave him a dagger.

"This is a dagger I made to match the Moxiong Sword. I named it Moying (Ink Shadow)."

"Good name. I'll use it well."

"This dagger is too good to be used for skinning deer."

Moxiang smiled, praising the craftsman's skill and dedication, and returned to his residence.