Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

This applies to martial arts competitions, and it also applies to playing chess.

Now, although he has taken refuge in the Confucian school and become a disciple of Master Fu Shang, the father of his senior brother Fu Nian, he has not forgotten the time when his master was hunted down by the Luo Wang. Even though his master temporarily settled the karma with his own death, there are still some past events that are not convenient to mention.

"Excellent chess skills, both of you!" Just then, another voice rang out clearly from the side.

Fu Nian originally wanted to continue talking to Yan Lu, but upon hearing this voice, he immediately turned his head and saw Xu Qing standing to the side watching the game.

This made him feel a chill.

Even though Xu Qing was right beside them, neither he nor Yan Lu noticed her presence unless she spoke up.

This is an incredibly strange thing. Either he and Yan Lu were so engrossed in playing chess that they didn't notice anything around them, or this person's strength had reached its peak, and he had become one with the surrounding world.

"And who are you, sir?" Fu Nian leaned towards the latter, and a sense of vigilance arose in his heart as he cautiously asked.

"My name is Qing, and I am here today to pay my respects to the Confucian school!" Xu Qing calmly explained to Fu Nian.

Fu Nian murmured the name "Qing" softly, certain that he had never heard of this person before.

Chapter 159 I Don't Understand Chess, Confucian Swordplay

After arriving in Sanghai, I did indeed run into many acquaintances in a short period of time.

These are all relatively well-known characters from the original work.

Of course, Xu Qing knows them, but they don't know Xu Qing.

"Sir, you also understand Go?" Fu Nian, unaware of Xu Qing's thoughts, asked him again.

He was actually quite frustrated while playing chess with Yan Lu.

Yan Lu's progress is really too fast.

If, in the early days when Yan Lu was just learning Go, he could defeat Yan Lu with his rich experience, then as Yan Lu gradually became more familiar with Go, his Go skills became increasingly superb.

At the beginning, there was a difference of more than ten points, then a few points, half a point, and now Yan Lu can be evenly matched with him.

Either it will end in a draw like it is now.

Either you can win five out of ten games.

Overall, the record is always 50/50.

Upon hearing Xu Qing praise their chess skills, Fu Nian immediately had the idea of ​​playing a game with Xu Qing.

Xu Qing understood Fu Nian's meaning and shook his head, saying, "I can only understand a little about Go; it would be too difficult for me to play it."

A strange light flashed in Fu Nian's eyes, but he finally said, "I was being presumptuous."

Xu Qing smiled and said, "It's nothing."

He then asked Fu Nian and Yan Lu, "What are your names?"

Although he recognized the two, he still needed to ask them a few questions after the formal conversation.

"I am Fu Nian!"

"This is my junior brother, Yan Lu!"

Fu Nian already knew Xu Qing's title, so he naturally didn't hesitate to reveal his own name.

"Fu Nian? Fu... I don't know Mr. Fu Nian and Sect Leader Fu Shang?" Xu Qing asked Fu Nian.

“He is my father!” Fu Nian revealed the relationship between himself and Fu Shang.

"I see!" Xu Qing understood. It turned out that the position of head of the Little Sage Manor and the leader of the Confucian school was not only passed down from master to disciple, but also from father to son, which made perfect sense.

After all, the title of Duke Yansheng will be passed down from father to son for generations.

"Sir, is there any important matter that brings you to my Little Sage Manor?" Fu Nian asked Xu Qing.

"How do you know?" Xu Qing asked Fu Nian.

Although Fu Nian is young, he already has the demeanor of a future leader of Confucianism.

"It's just a feeling," Fu Nian said, revealing his thoughts. "When Mr. Qing suddenly appeared beside my junior brother Yan Lu and me earlier, we were completely unaware."

"This already demonstrates Mr. Qing's remarkable strength."

“Someone like you coming to Little Sage Village is definitely not here for something trivial.”

Xu Qing paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're not wrong to think that way."

"Unfortunately, you're still wrong. I'm not the one in charge of this trip to Little Sage Manor. I'm just a fellow traveler. The real person in charge has gone to discuss matters with your father, who is also the head of the Fu Shang Sect."

"I had nothing to do, so I took a stroll around Xiaoshengxianzhuang and that's how I met you."

Xu Qing made no attempt to hide anything and recounted the whole story.

Although he was quite interested in what the person who came with Xu Qing wanted to talk to his father about.

However, Fu Nian did not neglect Xu Qing because of this, but nodded in a deep voice, "I see."

As he spoke, he volunteered, "Sir, you are new to Xiaoshengxianzhuang and not very familiar with this place. I happen to have some free time, so I'll show you around the village."

Xu Qing did not refuse, "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Fu Nian."

"It's nothing," Fu Nian said gently.

Then, under Fu Nian's guidance, Xu Qing began to explore the Little Sage Village. As for Yan Lu, he did not follow, but instead packed up the chessboard and left temporarily.

Xiaoshengxianzhuang is quite large, with its green tiles and white walls winding around the sparsely populated stone path, and the air is filled with a faint scent of ink and the aroma of books.

Confucianism emphasizes the Six Arts of a Gentleman, and the manor has corresponding places for their study.

Dozens of wooden targets stood in the archery range, with arrow shafts inserted diagonally beside the bullseye; the chariots in the martial arts arena were covered with blue cloth, and fresh mud still clung to their wheels; while the sword dojo where Confucian scholars discussed swordsmanship in the original work was just an ordinary building among them.

Upon reaching the library located to the north, Xu Qing stopped in his tracks. The three-story pavilion was entirely constructed of nanmu wood, with intricate cloud patterns carved on the window lattices. Sunlight streamed through the paper windows, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

He suddenly recalled the fire in the original work that burned down half of the library. The flames seemed to hold countless untold secrets. Even years after the fire, some people still secretly sneaked into the place to search for them, but were eventually scared away by Xunzi.

Today, those secrets probably still lie quietly deep in the bookshelves, waiting to be sealed away by time.

"Is Mr. Qing interested in my collection of Confucian books?" Fu Nian noticed his gaze and asked softly.

"I have always loved reading." Xu Qing looked at the eaves of the library, his voice filled with emotion. "Ever since I stepped into this sacred Confucian land and heard the sound of reading coming from the manor, I couldn't help but feel a thirst for knowledge. I've heard that the Little Sage Manor has a collection of ten thousand volumes. If I could see them, it would be a great fortune in my life."

Upon hearing this, Fu Nian slowly shook his head: "The library is an important place for Confucian scholars, and it contains many rare books. Even Confucian disciples need the sect leader's permission to enter. However, if you really have this intention, I will ask my father for permission in the future."

"Mr. Fu Nian, you are very kind," Xu Qing said to Fu Nian.

He could understand why Confucian scholars valued libraries so much. In those days, recording and copying books was no easy task. Although cloth and other materials could be used for recording, they were too expensive. The most common mediums were bamboo slips and wooden slips. A single book required countless scrolls. It was precisely because recording was so difficult that many books were unique copies.

Of course, literacy rate is also a problem.

The literacy rate was already low, and the writing systems of the seven countries were all different.

The two continued on their way, with Fu Nian occasionally pointing to buildings along the way and explaining: "That's the School of Rites, where the disciples study the Zhou rites every morning; around the corner is the Music Hall, which houses various musical instruments such as the qin, se, and chime bells..."

Upon reaching a spacious pavilion, Fu Nian stopped and said, "This is the Kendo Hall."

"Is Master Fu Nian a master of swordsmanship?" Xu Qing asked, feigning curiosity.

He naturally knew that the young man before him would one day wield the Tai'a Sword, create his own Saint King Sword Technique, and even surpass Xiaomeng, the leader of the Heavenly Sect, in the Confucian Sword Debate.

"I have a smattering of knowledge," Fu Nian replied modestly.

"This kendo dojo isn't a forbidden area, is it?" Xu Qing asked, his gaze sweeping over the dojo as if pointing something.

"Sir, are you interested in swordsmanship?" A hint of surprise flashed in Fu Nian's eyes.

Xu Qing smiled and said, "It's not that I'm interested in the kendo dojo, but rather in the sword itself."

“When Mr. Fu Nian invited me to play chess, I was not very good at it. But if it’s swordsmanship, or anything related to swords, it’s a different story.”

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Fu Nian also became interested.

At this stage, Fu Nian is not yet the future leader of Confucianism, bearing the heavy responsibility of the entire Confucian school.

He was a young man, though quite mature.

But occasionally he also displays some youthful vigor.

"Why don't we go in and take a look?" Fu Nian suggested to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing naturally felt it would be impolite to refuse.

The kendo dojo is very large.

Inside, there were some protective gear and some wooden swords.

Although swordsmanship is not among the Six Arts of a Gentleman, archery and chariot driving are included. In those days, the requirements for a true Confucian scholar were very high; one needed to be able to shoot arrows and drive chariots.

The sword is a tool of gentlemen; it is unclear whether Confucian scholars in other places have studied it.

In any case, Xiaoshengxianzhuang claims to be the orthodox Confucian school, which has been passed down from the seventy-two disciples of Confucius in the past. Their Confucian scholars are certainly not weaklings.

Besides reading and writing, they also needed to practice martial arts.

"They're all wooden swords!"

Looking at the swords displayed on the shelf for practice, Xu Qing was somewhat disappointed.

"Swords have no eyes; after all, this is just for practice, so it's impossible to use real swords," Fu Nian explained to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing nodded without saying anything.

He just picked one up randomly, without making any selections.

After all, these wooden swords are all standard designs and are basically the same.

"Mr. Fu Nian, let's begin."

Xu Qing held the wooden sword and looked at Fu Nian.

“Mr. Qing…” Fu Nian stared in astonishment at Xu Qing holding a wooden sword.

Xu Qing smiled and said, "Mr. Fu Nian brought me into this kendo hall, wasn't it because he wanted to have a match with me?"

"I don't understand Go, but I'd be happy to spar with someone in swordsmanship."

Upon hearing this, Fu Nian wanted to explain further, but ultimately swallowed the words that were about to come out.

Instead, he picked up a wooden sword and bowed respectfully to Xu Qing, saying, "Please instruct me, Mr. Qing!"

Fu Nian is different from Yan Lu. Because Yan Lu studied the Sitting in Oblivion Mind Method, he emphasized a state of mind where "only by not contending can no one in the world contend with him." He did not pursue victory, nor did he care about defeat. Therefore, because of the Sitting in Oblivion Mind Method, he was always able to achieve a draw, a 50/50 situation.