May's weather stirred up waves of heat in Jiangning City. When the lazy chime of wind chimes drifted by, in a somewhat desolate courtyard, emerald green ivy climbed all over the loess walls. Wildflowers and weeds grew luxuriantly in the yard, grasshoppers leaped out and then vanished, crickets chirped from beneath bricks and stones, sometimes butterflies flew in, and a bird stood on a vine-covered frame preening its feathers, chirping as it spread its wings and flew away, the vines swaying gently, scattering golden leaves to the ground.

She sat beneath the frame near the corner of the wall, her sword placed among the weeds at her side. It was morning, and the voices of children reciting poetry drifted from behind the wall, rhythmic and pleasant.

Occasionally, that person's voice would also carry over: "...Xiangyuan, De Zhi Zei Ye, this sentence means..."

"...Zilu did not appreciate the so-called hermit behavior..."

"...Regarding this, I remembered a story I once read..."

The voice sounded somewhat casual, without the constant use of classical phrases or the frequent quoting of sages, unlike the teachers she had met before, making her feel...unsteady.

The way he spoke was not as pleasing as the essays recited by those students, but she could actually understand him. Occasionally, he would tell the students stories, like a free and easy private school. The students were also unreliable, occasionally saying: "Teacher, Teacher..." or "Teacher Liheng..." asking strange questions or chatting and laughing with their teacher about the stories.

So impolite! If it were back home, such children would have their palms beaten until they were swollen, and they would have to stand in the sun for an entire day!

However, although the voice lacked the dignity of a teacher and the casual language was not as pleasant as the students' recitations, she sometimes felt that what this person said seemed to make some sense.

In the morning, he would come over once, bringing some food and supplies, enough for a day's needs. But if he came over at noon, he would also bring some hot meals. In the afternoon, he would do some strange things in that room, occasionally saying a few words to her, and she would answer casually.

She hadn't officially met him, because she couldn't quite see through this person yet. When he came, she would often sit on the rafters, watching him coldly, or go out through the window to the backyard. The little maid would often come over as well, sitting on the steps of the outer veranda, talking to the master of the house about random things she had seen and heard. From this, she learned that his family ran a cloth business.

After the little maid finished chattering, she would often pester him to tell stories, like the bizarre and fantastical *A Chinese Ghost Story*, which he hadn't finished, perhaps because he had already told it to the maid on the road that day. Now he was telling a novel called *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, its plot vaguely similar to the current situation in the world, except that the Wu Dynasty had been changed to the Song Dynasty.

It was in such a summer afternoon, in a quiet courtyard, that a man named Ning Yi, while doing his strange experiments, told strange stories, while the little maid sat in the front courtyard, and the woman in black, hugging her ancient sword, sat in the grass in the back, listening to the martial arts world, the Jianghu, the heroes, the gangs, like two separate worlds from reality.

When it was time to leave in the evening, the little maid would habitually turn around and say, "Lingdang, see you tomorrow."

Her voice was sweet, melting into the sunset's reddish glow.

***************

Since the first two days had passed, Ning Yi had not deliberately tried to manage anything.

There are many ways to make people think you are sincere enough, the best way is usually: you are really sincere.

Not thinking too deliberately about what to do, not acting too deliberately about what to do, although that woman occasionally answered a few words, she was unwilling to really meet him for a conversation, and he didn't care. Preparing a day's worth of food in the morning, and if he could come over at noon or in the evening, he would try to bring some hot meals, the other party's injuries should be serious, but anyway, it was a time of refuge, and he couldn't be too picky.

He also brought her some supplies every day, buying an extra set of black clothes for her to change into. He occasionally said a few words outside, telling her how to be careful with the things in the room, which ones she could touch and which ones she shouldn't. The other party might think he was strange, but there was no need to explain anything for the time being.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, his life rhythm returned to the daily routine of teaching, strolling, and doing experiments. When he returned home on the afternoon of the tenth day of the fifth month, Su Tan'er had not yet returned, and Xiaochan had also gone out, the courtyard was empty. He returned to the room to sort out some things, and when he turned his head, he suddenly saw a figure at the door. At first glance, he thought it was Xing'er, the slightly taller of the three maids, but when he opened the door, he realized it wasn't.

After opening the door, the woman stood there quietly, wearing the green dress that Ning Yi had bought for her, looking at him, her heroic and cold figure and gaze.

Ning Yi breathed a sigh of relief: "You're taking too much of a risk..."

The patrols of the officers and soldiers outside were still strict. No matter what her purpose was, following him like this was really defying the odds. After hearing Ning Yi say this, the woman seemed to frown in confusion, then turned to leave. She seemed to want to return the way she had come, preparing to climb over the wall, when Ning Yi suddenly stopped her: "Wait." Then he pointed in the direction of the side door, "Go that way, I'll drive the carriage."

Soon after, the carriage left the side door of the Su residence, circling around towards the school. Halfway there, he only heard the woman say: "I already know where your house is..." She was also someone who had licked blood from the edge of a knife, cautious in nature. She didn't need to say more after this. When the carriage reached the side of the small courtyard, there was no one on the road under the setting sun. The woman lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped directly into the courtyard over the wall, leaving words that quietly echoed nearby: "My name is Lu Hongti."

In this way, they had finally gotten to know each other.

The next day, the woman no longer avoided meeting Ning Yi. In the days that followed, they could roughly say some things to each other. A few days later, in the afternoon, Ning Yi was doing experiments outside, the sky was getting dark, and thunder and lightning rumbled as it began to rain, a torrential downpour that seemed to want to submerge the entire Jiangning City. The house leaked in such heavy rain, and Ning Yi put a few buckets in the inner and outer rooms to catch the water, making a tinkling sound. Xiaochan didn't come today, and Ning Yi sat on a chair in the outer room to rest for a while, casually asking about martial arts.

Separated by only a wall, Lu Hongti, who was sitting on the bed in the inner room looking at the rain scene through the window, smiled: "You heard those romance stories and really want to learn martial arts? What is the Song Dynasty?"

Ning Yi laughed "Heh": "No matter what, it's always interesting."

"Interesting is really interesting." Lu Hongti was silent for a moment, "But after all, it's just a romance story, this world... There are no major sects, not many Jianghu heroes, not so much gentleness, and Jianghu rules. There are only bandit gangs and big robbers. What you say may sound good, but in reality, a group of desperadoes doesn't have so many rules. If they encounter the poor and weak, they will rob and kill them. If they encounter officials oppressing the good, or the same strong thieves, they will shake hands and let them go, avoiding them for good luck... Great heroes, where are there any great heroes who truly serve the country and the people?"

"Not even one?" Ning Yi asked indifferently.

"...Maybe there are a few."

Ning Yi smiled and changed the subject: "How powerful are you in the Jianghu?"

"I've heard of a few people, but I haven't fought them, the rest... are all bullies and ruffians, what Jianghu are they?" Her tone contained some pride, but also some displeasure, but it wasn't directed at Ning Yi. "I can beat a few dozen, but I can't beat dozens or hundreds. In the army, I'm nothing."

"So you've been on the battlefield..."

There was a pause on the other side, then she laughed: "You really want to learn martial arts? My martial arts?"

"Uh, if I can learn..."

"If I teach you, do you know what will happen?"

From the previous sentence, Ning Yi roughly knew that something was wrong, so he tentatively asked: "Your martial arts, is it only suitable for women to practice?"

"No, if a man learns it, he might be even more powerful." She laughed, speaking easily and decisively.

"Then... I'm not asking to become a master, although I'm past the age, but I'm intelligent and knowledgeable, can I reach the second-rate level?" Anyway, the other party was not very sincere, Ning Yi imagined, making up a few words.

"Heh." She laughed, "If you learn my martial arts and don't have enough perseverance, giving up halfway, that's your luck. If you really have perseverance and practice diligently, then I can guarantee that you won't live past five years..."

Ning Yi was silent for a long time: "What exactly is this internal energy?"

Lu Hongti said: "The so-called internal energy is nothing more than some breathing and exhalation methods. Ordinary exhalation methods, if practiced for a long time, have the effect of strengthening the body, but the truly profound internal energy, its breathing method, is actually extremely extreme, controlling the human body with the rhythm of breathing. If children practice it, over time, their bodies will adapt to this breathing method, their bodies are inherently malleable, and their internal organs will change accordingly. After that, they can exert force in certain extreme ways, and they can adapt to the huge burden brought by this exertion..."

"However, the body of an adult has already taken shape. If you want to exert force in an extreme way, the damage itself is extremely great. If you have perseverance and continue to exercise with a breathing method that contradicts your current one, after a few years, your organs will shift, and you will cough up blood and die weakly. Others only think that children practice with half the effort, while adults practice with twice the effort, but in reality, it is not so... Now you understand that what you said in that romance novel, that adults can also practice, and that they can become masters by getting good skills, is all fantasy..."

Outside, the rain was pouring down and the weather was gloomy. Ning Yi sat there stunned for a long time before he understood what internal energy was all about, controlling the breathing method from a young age, and in turn transforming his body and organs. Kung fu is practiced from a young age, because children can adapt to transformation. He had some thoughts in his mind, and after a while, he took out his notebook and pen: "Write it down, write it down..."

Feeling that Ning Yi didn't seem very discouraged, Lu Hongti was also a little confused, but she didn't plan to get to the bottom of the question. After a while, she felt bored: "Now that there's nothing to do, why not tell me how the story of *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* goes on?"

"It's all speculation, it's better not to say it..." Ning Yi said casually, and the other side fell silent. A few seconds later, he laughed, "Just kidding, just kidding, but it looks like the martial arts in my story are more interesting after all. Haha, okay, I'll count this as my win today. We were talking yesterday about the scene where the Six-Vein Divine Sword fights the Buddha's Palm..."

"...Flame Saber." After a moment, Lu Hongti's voice came faintly from the inner room, sounding like a vengeful spirit.

Ning Yi moved the stool away a little, to avoid another sword being poked through the wall...