Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

Lu Fang awkwardly chuckled, picked up Xie Xiaoyi, said goodbye to Ning Hua, and walked briskly out of Cuiwei Temple.

He lowered his voice:

"My grand-aunt will not stay here for long. She is used to being carefree and has not returned to the sect for more than ten years."

Don't blame her for being sharp-tongued; she's just all bark and no bite.

"No, no! Daoist Ninghua is of high moral character and great prestige; how could I possibly take offense?"

Lu Fang's lips twitched slightly.

Highly respected and virtuous?

Haha, this is the first time someone has addressed my grandmaster uncle like that.

As soon as the two turned the corner of the stone steps leading to the main hall, they smelled an incredibly strong aroma of wine that wafted into their nostrils on the wind.

Xie Xiaoyi sniffed, her eyes lighting up: "It smells so good!"

"It smells good." Lu raised his chin and pointed to the mountain peak shrouded in clouds and mist on the left.

"That's the left peak, where my uncle Li Qinglian lives. He's known as the Qinglian Hermit and nicknamed the Wine Immortal."

The wine he brews can warm your entire body with just one sip, and even ease the bottleneck in your cultivation.

Li Qinglian, the Immortal of Wine?

I have drunk his "Cold Pool Fragrance".

As Xie Xiaoyi murmured that name, the image of Fu Yaoqin instantly popped into his mind.

He thought of Fu Yaoqin, of the Cold Pool Fragrance they drank together, and of the soft touch of Fu Yaoqin nestled in his arms.

As he was thinking, his hands became uncontrollable.

Xie Xiaoyi stared into thin air, as if Fu Yaoqin were standing right there, and stretched out his hands.

He made a "grabbing half a ball" gesture from a distance, and his fingers even unconsciously squeezed it.

This action seemed utterly inexplicable to Lu Fang.

He stopped, stared at Xie Xiaoyi's hand, then looked at his wistful expression, raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Third brother, what are you doing? Practicing your claw skills against thin air? And why do you look so lewd?"

Xie Xiaoyi, without batting an eye, withdrew his claws and began to speak earnestly:

"I'm dreaming of fine wine, and my hand is grasping... a wine glass! Yes, a wine glass."

Lu Fang's lips curled slightly:

"Really? The way you're looking at it doesn't seem like you're grabbing the glass, it looks like you're about to eat it!"

Xie Xiaoyi continued to spout nonsense:

"Brother, you don't understand. As the saying goes, 'When things reach their most wonderful state, the form follows the spirit!'"

I didn't want to drink from the wine cup; my spirit was already drunk, and my body followed the way, unable to control myself!

The two talked, but their feet never stopped moving.

After walking a few steps, I saw several white cranes spreading their wings and circling above the plum grove, their calls clear and melodious.

"That's the right peak," Lu Fang said softly. "Another senior martial uncle, Lin Hejing, lives there. He's known as Master Hejing, and he's a semi-recluse."

He loved only two things in his life: plum blossoms and cranes. Everyone said he took plum blossoms as his wife and cranes as his children.

Xie Xiaoyi stood on tiptoe to look: "Doesn't that martial uncle really care about sect affairs?"

"Mind your own business." Lu Fang curled his lip. "He spends all his time holed up in the plum grove, either playing the zither or feeding the cranes. You won't see him at a sect meeting for eight hundred years."

But don't underestimate him. If it really came down to a fight, ten of you wouldn't be enough for him.

After chatting for a few more minutes about sect matters, Lu Fang led Xie Xiaoyi to the arranged accommodation, a quiet little courtyard next to the back mountain.

Once everything was arranged, Lu Fang suddenly said with a smile:

"After all that noise, your muscles must be a bit stiff. The back mountain is wide open; how about we have a little sparring session with the eldest brother?"

Xie Xiaoyi's eyes lit up. He rubbed his wrist and said with a roguish smile, "That suits me perfectly! I also want to try out the physique of the Vajra Saintly Realm."

"Alright, let's call it a day, brothers." Lu Fang raised an eyebrow, his tone crisp and straightforward.

"But brother, you didn't bring your Seven Star Sword Box with you." Xie Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow and reminded him, his hand already on the scabbard of Guan Canghai behind his back.

"Why would I need the Seven Star Sword Box if I were to fight you?" Lu Fang sneered, full of confidence.

"Then how do we compete?" Xie Xiaoyi pressed.

"I'll borrow your sword."

As soon as Lu Fang finished speaking, he slightly raised his palm, and the wooden sword made by Hua Lingshu flew out of his bag and landed steadily in his palm.

The moment the wooden sword entered his hand, Lu Fang flipped his wrist, pointing the sword at the ground, his robes fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze:

"Lu Fang, the personal disciple of the True Martial Dao Sect Master."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xiaoyi drew his sword, "Viewing the Vast Ocean," from behind his back. The sword rang out clearly, cutting through the wind, and his roguish smile vanished completely.

"Xie Mo, disciple of the peerless physician Hua Tianyi."

The two swords, one made of wood and the other of iron, gleamed faintly in the sunlight. The air behind the mountain seemed to solidify, and the tension between them was palpable.

Lu Fang sheathed his wooden sword and said with a faint smile, "I've long heard that the 'Eight Sword Techniques' are all increasingly powerful. I'd like to see for myself. Brother, draw your sword!"

Xie Xiaoyi's eyes gleamed with fighting spirit. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and said in a deep voice, "Then I must offend you!"

Having said that, Guan Canghai's sword rang out again, and with a swift gust of wind, it shot out, aiming straight for Lu Fang's face.

Lu Fang slightly twisted his wrist, and the wooden sword blocked horizontally. With a soft "clang," it precisely struck the opening on the spine of Guan Canghai's sword.

Xie Xiaoyi's sword strike faltered, and Lu Fang had already stepped aside, his expression calm, as if he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.

"The sword strike is fast enough, but the follow-through is insufficient."

Lu Fang commented calmly, and before Xie Xiaoyi could change his move, the wooden sword had already swung towards his wrist.

Xie Xiaoyi spun around to dodge, then swung his sword, "Sword Two: Breaking Wood," horizontally. The energy generated by his Vajra Body sent the surrounding vegetation flying, and the blade cut towards Lu Fang with a whooshing sound.

Lu Fang lightly touched the ground with his toes, his body leaping up. The wooden sword pressed down lightly from above, landing precisely at the turning point of the sword move, dissipating most of the force, and he landed leisurely.

Xie Xiaoyi thought to himself:

"The Starry Sky Mystery Realm is indeed as Grandmaster Hua Youwu said; it can see through other people's weaknesses at a glance and defeat them in one fell swoop."

He gritted his teeth, and suddenly thrust out his sword, the Three Armor Piercing Sword, its energy piercing through the air and heading straight for Lu Fang.

"That was a very good sword strike." Lu Fang's eyes narrowed slightly as he held his wooden sword upright to block the attack. Starlight swirled on the blade as he barely managed to catch the blow.

"Just not bad?"

Xie Xiaoyi pressed his advantage relentlessly, unleashing a flurry of sword strikes: Sword Four - Splitting Stone, Sword Five - Plucking Stars, and Sword Six - Chasing the Moon. The three sword strikes flowed in rapid succession.

In one swift motion, the sword energy unleashed by his Vajra Physique layered upon layer, overwhelming Lu Fang.

Lu Fang managed to deflect the first two sword strikes using his Starry Sky Profound Realm cultivation, but the continuous force of Sword Six Chasing the Moon left him with no way to avoid it.

As the sword energy flowed, he finally stopped merely defending and didn't attack. With a sudden flick of his wrist, the wooden sword hummed, and a condensed sword energy burst forth from the blade. "Go!"

"Finally, Big Brother's getting serious?" Xie Xiaoyi smirked, "That's perfect!"

The two sword energies collided in mid-air, and with a loud "bang!" the mountain wind blew backward.

Before the aftershocks had subsided, Xie Xiaoyi's sword momentum surged again. Sword Seven Piercing the Sun gathered its full power, and the azure light swelled into a pillar as it thrust straight forward.

Lu Fang frowned, swung his wooden sword horizontally, and a second sword aura, carrying the power of stars, met the attack.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The two sword energies collided repeatedly in mid-air, the shockwaves spreading out in layers, stones flying, grass and trees falling, and the continuous booming sounds making people's eardrums vibrate.

When Lu Fang looked up at Xie Xiaoyi, the nonchalant look in his eyes vanished completely:

"I never imagined that you, brother, having entered the Vajra Saint Realm, would be able to fight me to this extent."

"Then, with this next strike, I will show no mercy."