Chapter 25: Parting with the Divine Eagle, Entering Xiangyang

  At this time, the divine eagle had returned, with two mountain chickens placed beside it, and several snake gallbladders. He was deeply grateful for the divine eagle's virtuous protection.

  Calling out to the divine eagle, Song Qing returned to the mountain cave, lit a fire, roasted and ate two pheasants, then took snake gall and sat in meditation.

  On the second day, Song Qing didn't go to the waterfall to practice, but instead returned to his original small mountain residence and brought some daily necessities into the cave. He also made arrangements with the villagers that they wouldn't need to specially kill venomous snakes in the future.

  Then Song Qing Book lived in the valley, with the divine eagle as his companion. In the morning, he practiced swordplay by the waterfall, and in the afternoon, he fought against the divine eagle. At night, he took snake gall to cultivate his internal strength, repeating this cycle over and over again.

  One day, two days, three days... one month, two months, three months...

  The flowers have faded from the spring red, too hastily, and in the blink of an eye it's already October, the season when osmanthus fragrances fill the air.

  Song Qing has been in the valley for more than a year. But the harvest is also unimaginable.

  Song Qingxue's swordsmanship was not only precise and swift, but his internal strength had also made tremendous progress. Just a year ago, Song Qingxue had just broken through the marrow washing boundary and entered the ranks of third-rate masters. A year had passed, and now Song Qingxue had consecutively broken through three layers of the "Pure Yang Child's Cultivation Method", entering the fourth layer, which was not slow at all.

  "Pure Yang Child's Work" is the second inner skill of Wudang Sect, divided into twelve layers, each passing through the twelve regular meridians.

  The first layer is to open the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian,

  the second layer is to open the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian,

  followed by the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian,

  Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian,

  Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian,

  Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian,

  Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian,

  Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian,

  Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian,

  Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian,

  Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian,

  Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian,

  and finally the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian.

  Every time you break through one layer of the twelve regular meridians, your internal strength will advance by one level. When you have broken through all twelve regular meridians, your internal strength will increase by more than double.

  Song Qingchu has now opened up four meridians in the Twelve Regular Meridians, which means that his internal energy is now more than four layers thicker than it was a year ago. In fact, this is not all, because every time one opens up a layer of the Twelve Regular Meridians, their internal energy will advance by one level. This is just a general way of speaking, but some people may not stop there. For example, Song Qingchu has been continuously taking snake gall, which not only makes his internal energy cultivation more rapid, but also has the effect of tempering his body. Of course, this also includes tempering his sinews and meridians. Therefore, Song Qingchu's sinews and meridians are actually wider than those of other people, which means that every time he opens up a layer, the increase in internal energy is not just one level, but one and a half levels. Don't underestimate this extra half level - after four layers, Song Qingchu's internal energy is more than two levels greater than that of others.

  If it can be said that Song Qingchu was just a third-rate master a year ago, now he can be considered a good hand among the third-rate masters.

  "It's time to go." Song Qing Shu sighed, looking around at everything in Jianmo Valley. The more than a year he spent here was the happiest time for him, every day carefree and accompanied by his divine eagle and sword.

  "It's just a pity that I don't belong here." Song Qing said with a sigh, "It's been two years since I left Wudang, and it's time to go back."

  Since he had already made up his mind, Song Qingchu no longer hesitated and returned to the mountain cave. He said to the divine eagle: "Elder Eagle, your great kindness can never be repaid. I still have some unfinished business in the Jianghu world, so let's part ways for now and meet again later." He bowed deeply and also bowed several times to the tomb of Dugu Qiubai, then turned around and left the valley. The divine eagle escorted him all the way to the entrance of the valley, where they hugged each other tightly before reluctantly parting ways.

  Song Qingchu left with his long sword and luggage after parting ways with the Divine Eagle. Since he had been living in the deep mountains for a long time, his clothes were inevitably damaged, so he took the road to Xiangyang, planning to rest for a while in the city of Xiangyang before making further plans.

  After entering Xiangyang, Song Qingchu first found a clothing store and bought a set of clothes. Looking at the time, it was almost noon, and he felt hungry in his stomach, so he searched for a small hotel on the street to have lunch. He entered the store and sat down, casually ordering a pot of wine and several dishes, eating and drinking slowly.

  "What a sin! A flower-like girl was ruined!"

  A sigh from the adjacent seat caught Song Qing's attention. He glanced sideways and saw that the people sitting there were two middle-aged men who looked like merchants.

  But then one of them suddenly said, "That killer who's as cruel as a thousand knives doesn't have even half a bit of human nature. Not only does he ruin people's reputations, but he also kills to silence! Including the young lady from the Liu family, six girls in total have fallen victim to his evil hands, and the youngest one, Miss Wang, was only thirteen years old. I heard that all the girls who were raped by him were killed to silence them."

  "What a ridiculous thing!" Another person slapped the table and shouted angrily, "Can't the officials come and handle it?"

  "Alas! Let's not mention it." One of them waved his hand and sighed, "It was because they reported to the authorities that these families were killed and silenced."

  When Song Qing heard this, a surge of anger rose from the bottom of his heart and filled his chest. He had lived to be twenty years old in his previous life, and was still in the prime of his youth, with a strong sense of justice and a desire to right wrongs. Moreover, in his previous life, he had lived in a society governed by law, where such heinous crimes rarely occurred. Although he knew that this world was different from his previous one, and he had cultivated powerful martial arts skills, he had never thought of playing the role of a hero or going around righting wrongs. However, even as an ordinary person, he still had his own bottom line. At this moment, Song Qing felt that the actions of the flower thief, who could no longer be called human, had far exceeded his tolerance.

  You claim to be a formidable flower thief, so you shouldn't lack money. There are brothels here that operate openly and honestly, why not choose those instead of harming innocent people?

  After finishing dinner, Song Qingyu did not continue on his journey, but instead returned to a nearby inn and stayed there. For the entire afternoon, he meditated in his room, cultivating his energy and storing up his spirit. By evening, after having dinner again, he practiced a set of Wudang soft palm exercises in his room to loosen up his muscles and bones. When the sky had completely darkened, he took his long sword and quietly opened the window, leaping out with a swift motion. While airborne, he flipped backwards, landing lightly on the rooftop. Standing on the rooftop, he got his bearings, unfolded his body, and swiftly sprinted towards a tall building in the distance that he had spotted earlier.

  It is said that 'on a dark and windy night, it's time to kill people and set fires'.

  Tonight, there are no stars and no moon. Standing at the top of this three-story building, it's probably pitch black for ordinary people. But these aren't problems for Song Qing Shu. Song Qing Shu focuses his eyes, uses all his might to listen, and observes the surrounding situation with rapt attention.

  Under the pitch-black sky, time passed bit by bit. Song Qing heard the third watch drumbeat coming from below. Just as he thought there would be no harvest for tonight, a figure suddenly flashed across the rooftop in the distance to his left. Song Qing's spirit shook, and with one foot on the ladder cloud, he flew down from the rooftop, rushing after that figure in hot pursuit.

  The person in front had a rather uncommon skill in lightness kung fu. Song Qing didn't want to be discovered by the other party, so he kept his distance and quietly followed from afar.

  Two people, one in front and one behind, flew over the rooftops of various buildings within the city. Song Qing saw that figure leap over a high wall and enter a large mansion. He sped up his movements and arrived at the edge of the wall, first climbing onto the top to observe inside. He saw that figure rush towards the backyard and sneak into a small building with an exquisite structure, obviously for female residents. Song Qing saw that a room on the second floor suddenly emitted a faint light, so he tiptoed over to the bottom of the building, jumped up to the rooftop, used his "Inverted Bead Curtain" skill, hooked his toes onto the flying eaves, and hung upside down from the window sill to peek inside.