Sword Snow Stride Book 1 Chapter 58

Book 1 – White Horse Out of Liangzhou
Chapter 58 – Water Drops vs. Water Armor

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The strange figure wearing a bright red armor, like a divine troop, celestial general – standing barehanded without holding any weapons, firmly in the middle of the trail. The thick mask seemed to cover his entire face. In the pouring rain, all around the majestic armored man the fog pervaded the air. _{Translated by foxs}

The Jiu Dou Mi old Taoist Wei Shuyang cried out in horror, “Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren [talisman general red-armored man, see last chapter] of the southern kingdom of the past has died long time ago. It is said that he assassinated the late emperor. Both the person and the armor were peeled off by the Da HuanGuan [big/chief court eunuch] who cursed people as cats using bare hands. His body and armor were hanged on the king’s banner pole, many Jianghu figures who admired his reputation came to personally see the badly mangled scene. The bright red armor is unique and unmatched under the heavens, moreover, it has been confirmed by Cao Guanzi, it could not be faked. This man in red armor, what is going on here?!”

The entourage had stopped. Shu Xiu and Yang Qingfeng, one on the left the other on the right, came out from the rear to Lu Qiantang’s side, their expressions tensed. Three people, three secret books, how could they be easy to obtain? Most of the assassins who dared to provoke Shizi Dianxia must have enough weight. What’s more, the person in front of them appeared openly on the road. Forget about other things, merely his courage and insight made the three people ashamed of being inferior. The ups and downs of the officialdom are based on the skill to weigh up someone’s words and observe their facial expression. Making a living in Jianghu, one had to watch the other side’s qi. The most taboo was to make mistakes, otherwise no matter how powerful the character, there would be the day the ship would capsize in the gutter. Didn’t the Sword God Li ChunGang, that kind of understanding-the-mystery, unequalled unique martial art master of all mysteries, lose to Wang Xianzhi, who was at the time only considered a newborn calf? To put it more closely, Wu Liuding, the young swordsman who was born of the Wu Family Sword Tomb, never registered or told anyone about his family clan when he met anyone, he was merely traveling all the way southward, relying on his sword all the way killing people. Those who died under his single-handed dull sword, weren’t all unlucky eggs who often got their shoes wet while walking by the river? _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Xu Fengnian was neither worried nor impatient, he just stared wide-eyed at the Hong Jia Fu Ren, and said with great interest “Wei Yeye, exactly what thing is this Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren? Wearing the red armor, would he be extra powerful? If that’s the case, I have to go get a set to wear.”

Smiling bitterly, the Jiu Dou Mi old Taoist said, “Dianxia, this is not something you can wear casually. The origin of the red armor of the past was dark and gloomy, and unclear. There are only some hearsays that it was a set of ancient armor from the Tianshi Fu of the Longhu Shan. Longhu Shan passed it down for several generations, and so several Tianshi [celestial master] drew talismans on it. Think about it, how many lines of pellet [pills], books and ink scrolls were carved on it? Generally speaking, it was a Taoist school’s immortal weapon used to suppress evil spirits, but for some reason it unexpectedly wandered about destitute in Jianghu. First it went to the Tianji Lou [mystery-known-only-to-heaven building] of Shangyin Academy, doing all kinds of treacherous tricks. For this reason, Longhu Shan almost started fighting with Shangyin Academy. When it came back out to Jianghu, it was worn by the Hong Jia Ren, sabers and spears cannot enter, water and fire cannot invade, but the armored man was like a walking corpse. Dying under the hands of the Ju Huan [giant court eunuch] Han Shengxuan’s hands is not necessarily not some kind of relieve [Buddhism concept: free from worldly worries]. The red armor with talisman before our eyes seems to be slightly different from the rumors.” _{Translated by foxs}

Waving his hand, he dismissed Qing Niao’s attempt to hold an umbrella for him, and then he called the six-year-old phoenix to perch on his arm. At this time, Xu Fengnian, who was drenched by the rain like a chicken falling into the soup, was still in the mood to stretch out his fingers to tease the clear white luan. He joked, “Maybe it’s the Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren of the past’s offspring. Since the older one is a Fu Jiang [talisman general], the younger one should be called a Fu Bing [talisman soldier]. Wei Yeye, don’t you think so?”

Drenched by the rain, the three white strands of Wei Shuyang’s fluttering white beard had turned into three small braids. Reaching out to stroke the beard, naturally there was no sesame seed, mung bean air of an immortal. Awkward, he pulled his hand back and spoke slowly, “Dianxia‘s remark is indeed like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies [idiom: unconstrained in style].”

Xu Fengnian laughed mischievously and said, “Wei Yeye, your patting the horse’s butt is really like an antelope hanging its horns.”

One old, one young, they burst into loud laughter, virtually eliminating the overwhelming murderous intent at the end of the path over yonder. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Squinting his eyes, Xu Fengnian spoke quietly, “Lu Qiantang’s Chixia Sword, Shu Xiu’s Bao Pu Jue [embracing simplicity, see Chapter 51], and Yang Qingfeng’s Yu Gui Zhu [technique to drive/control ghosts], I want to see if these three actually have the qualification to live in Wudi City.”

The old Taoist priest did not seem to hear these ruthless, criticizing words. Riding his hose forward, he passed the carriage several dozen paces, his pair of sleeves shook, the rain above his head seemed to hit an iron panel, it bounced away with an explosion.

After drawing his sword and stopping his horse, Lu Qiantang waited for Shu Xiu and Yang Qingfeng to catch up before urging his horse to rush like crazy. From the moment he picked up the ‘Wo Long Gang Yu Jian Shu’ on the fifth floor of Ting Chao Ting, he already thought of the day he must stake his life like this moment, only it came much earlier than expected, but where’s the harm in that? To learn the sword immortal to control the sword, one must use every single one of formidable opponent as the grindstone to sharpen the sword’s heart to an extremely pure level, only then one could hope to obtain the essence of the way of the sword. Finally, it would reach the immortal realm of what the old Sword God Li ChunGang said, “Open the mouth to spit out, it will be a flourishing sword qi, chopping the vastness of the stars hanging over wild plains.”

In the world, how many hundreds of thousand young knights-errant learning the sword are there?

Who wouldn’t want to chop with one sword, that even ghosts, gods, immortals and Buddhas cannot match? _{Translated by foxs}

Lu Qiantang was already very tall and sturdy, and the steed he was riding was a rarely seen imposing spirited horse even more, momentarily the horse’s hooves trampled the mud on the trail, splashing it everywhere. One man, one horse, it was unstoppable.

Perhaps the murderous intent was aroused by the swordsman Lu Qiantang, so that even the charming woman Shu Xiu who could only moan on the bed let out a heavy cold snort. Amidst the oppressive sound of the heavy rain hitting the trail, it was particularly ear-piercing.

Without needing to hold the horse’s reins, Yang Qingfeng still controlled the speed of his horse accurately to perfection. He slowly bent down and placed both of his deathly-pale-like-snow hands on the horse’s neck.

The empty-handed southern kingdom’s man in red armor merely stood straight without moving, letting the three men and three horses charge forward with increasing momentum.

Through the dense rain curtain, the great swordsman Lu Qiantang could almost recognize clearly the Sanskrit inscriptions on the red armor, unexpectedly they were combination of both Buddhist and Taoist intricately carved inscriptions of the snatching-the-heaven quality. Merely a quick glance made him feel the qi mechanism in the pit of his stomach congealed, suppressing the distracting thoughts in his heart. Roaring angrily, he spat out all the turbid qi in his heart. Borrowing the abundant momentum of the galloping horse, he hacked down an overbearing-without-equal sword strike.

In an instant the curtain of rain seemed to be torn apart. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

The raindrops that unfortunately came into contact with this giant sword seemed to have landed on a piece of hot metal, it turned into a puff of vapor with sizzling noise.

The man that resembled the rumored Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren raised his hand like a giant puppet, stiffly but quickly. His five fingers, which were covered in red armor like his face, attempted to grab Lu Qiantang’s sword strike, which all essence, qi, and spirit intention have been trained to the realm of the sword life pressing to the extremity.

As they brushed past, the Chixia Sword, which blade was very red, and the five red-armored fingers also rubbed against each other violently, creating a massive string of sparks.

The man in red armor failed to grab the sword, but Lu Qiantang’s, who had already made his name in Nan Tang [Southern Tang] kingdom at the age of thirty, sword strike also failed.

Lu Qiantang already took advantage of the right time and the favorable location before hacking down this sword strike, but the man in red armor merely stood still as if in daze, gently raised his hand, and he neutralized everything.

Surprised, Shu Xiu found out that Yang Qingfeng increased his speed to rush out, unexpectedly he wanted to use brute-force technique by charging his spirited horse to violently crush the red-armored man. _{Translated by foxs}

The instant Lu Qiantang and the red-armored man brushing past each other, Yang Qingfeng, who was hunched over and pressing his hands onto the horse’s neck, leaped up.

The spirited horse’s eyes oozed thick blood as it charged toward the red-armored man like crazy.

First there was an explosion.

Followed by the shocking sound of the horse’s bones shattering cun by cun as if it crashed onto the mountain, that even Xu Fengnian some distance away was able to hear loud and clear.

The man in red armor did not move a single jot, the horse with its head and neck broken died suddenly in front of him.

Shu Xiu did not care how impressive this red-armored man was, she did not care about the dread in her heart even more. Flying off the horse, her figure like bolting-away rabbit, she leaped forward, her pair of fair and clear palms pressed on the chest of the freak’s armor, she suddenly exerted force. With her and him as the center, countless raindrops exploded, filling the world around them!

After all, Shu Xiu was known for her deep and thick inner power, the man in red armor finally shook slightly. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

It did not matter whether he moved a cun or a chi, as long as he moved, even if it was a far cry from falling down, it was still tens of millions of times better than not moving.

Once her strike succeeded, Shu Xiu borrowed the reaction force to bounce back, both feet drew a straight line in the mud, so her skirt was covered with mud.

Behind the man in red armor, Lu Qiantang, the person and the horse, rushed out more than ten zhang. Suddenly he pulled the reins, so that the horse’s hooves rose high in the air before dropping down heavily, leaving two holes in the muddy path.

Lu Qiantang turned the horse’s head around. He took a deep breath, his expression was grave beyond compare.

Floating between Lu Qiantang and the man in red armor, Yang Qingfeng’s expression still did not show any emotion, but his hands were somewhat whiter so that others could almost see clearly the blue veins popping out on the back of his hands. The veins were much denser than that of ordinary people.

These three people working together before managing to shake this weird armored man’s body?

Wei Shuyang spoke to himself, “Fortunately, I can ascertain that he is not the Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren, one of the four great grandmasters of the past. Could it be that Shizi Dianxia did hit the nail on the head, that this is just a later generation’s imitation?” _{Translated by foxs}

Xu Fengnian shouted, “Wei Yeye, go stop Ning Emei and the Feng character battalion, leave the matter here to the three people.”

At the front, the old Taoist priest who was going to render assistance was stunned for a moment, he acknowledged the order and left.

Xu Fengnian lightly pressed his legs on the horse’s belly to come to the side of the carriage. Driving the carriage, Qing Niao held up a delicate oil-paper umbrella.

This was the only graceful and subdued scene in the midst of heavy murderous aura on the muddy trail.

His face was hit by the sudden wind and heavy rain, Xu Fengnian clicked his tongue and said, “Sure enough, only in a fight to the death can you see the true qualities of a martial art master. Lu Qiantang’s sword is really at the peak of the sword moves. Yang Qingfeng’s tricks only look good, but nothing good to be said about it. On the contrary, I really underestimated Shu Xiu, this poniang.”

Qing Niao nodded, she asked a very crucial question, “Dianxia, this armored man is the only one? The Feng character battalion is not coming, do you think it’s a wise decision?” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Xu Fengnian smiled and said, “How could it be only one Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren puppet? Maybe there is a second and third ones crouching in the dense forest lining the trail, perhaps there are four or five in total, because according to my calculation, two red-armored men can safely defeat Lu Qiantang, three people, one red-armored man can defeat a hundred-man Feng character battalion. Even with Da Ji Ning Emei providing support, most like it would end up both sides suffer. If there is another one, won’t we have to personally go into battle? The man in the carriage is a top secret, even I don’t know his identity. No matter how much the master of this red-armored man possesses great magical power, he could never figure it out. Therefore, tit for tat, probably only that red-armored man and the glaring-like-a-tiger-watching-its-prey behind the scenes martial art master remained, and they can easily take my head. If it is as I think, without the old man in sheepskin fur coat, I will be in tragic situation. Even though you are the ‘Bing’ [C] suicide squad painstakingly cultivated by Xu Xiao himself, a puppet that could go all out at the risk of your life, you may not necessarily be able to protect me leaving Yingchuan alive.”

Qing Niao looked at the calmed-face Shizi Dianxia, she hung her head down, and spoke softly, “It’s Qing Niao who is useless.”

Xu Fengnian shook his head and laughed, he said, “To me, useless people are not because they don’t have enough skill, but they are unwilling to hand their lives over to me. Haha, Qing Niao, raise your head, this Shizi loves to see your cold appearance, you are extremely beautiful but aloof, more beautiful and moving than those nuxia [heroines] whose name do not reflect the reality.”

Qing Niao blushed.

Xu Fengnian looked at the with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent battlefield over there, he shook his arm to let the clear white Luan fly out. Both hands separately held Xiudong and Chunlei, he said with a ferocious smile, “Although this might be the worst plan, with my worth, I guess I am worth their treating it with such caution. His Niang’s, five puppets, are they trying to play gold [or metal], wood, water, fire, and earth [the five elements]?” _{Translated by foxs}

A corner of the curtain behind Qing Niao was lifted up, and two heads, one above the other, poked out.

Jiang Ni did not speak, only her eyes grew big.

The old man pulled the piece of sandalwood stick pinning his bun, but in its place was something that even if he thought until his brains exploded, Xu Fengnian would never have guessed; the Shen Fu!

What were these two buffoons [lit. living treasures] doing?!

Narrowing his eyes, the old man laughed and said, “Xiaozi, this melon head of yours is really not bad, those three losers under you are against the Water Armor of the Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren. Look at the weather. If it wasn’t pouring down on the arena, wouldn’t it let you, this worthy person, down too much? Let laofu kindly remind you, the earth armor might come out from under your horse’s belly and tear you in half. The fire armor is standing on the hillside six hundred paces northeast of you, the wood armor is crouching on a tree three hundred paces southwest of you. As for the golden armor, huh? Either he is not coming or this highly able person conceals his qi and breathing? Or he is looking to give your Feng character battalion light cavalry some trouble? It really makes laofu worry. If you don’t give me a happy word, xiao yatou and I will go back to Liangzhou. Fighting and killing are too boring, at most you will call people to help you put away the dead bodies.”

Xu Fengnian laughed and said, “Then let me guess again, Xu Xiao made a preliminary agreement with you, but did he ever mention that you are not allowed to get your hands on weapons?” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

The old man’s eyes grew wide, he stretched out his only arm to show his innocence, “Xiaozi, do you see what’s in laofu’s hand?”

Xu Fengnian stretched out a hand and said, “Hand over Shen Fu to me for safekeeping.”

Jiang Ni protested loudly, “That is mine! Mine!”

Xu Fengnian ignored the innocent and unaffected little clay figurine, he just fixed his gaze at the old man.

The old man shook his head, he said, “All right, all right. Remember, this time laofu make my move, it’s not for you, but for the xiao yatou.”

Xu Fengnian smiled and withdrew his hand, the meaning couldn’t be more obvious. Jiang Ni puffed up her cheeks in anger, wishing she could take back Shen Fu and jab that treacherous-like-fox repulsive face a hundred times.

While she was distracted, the old man already stooped down and went out of the carriage at an unspeakable speed, and stretched out his fingers to flick. _{Translated by foxs}

‘Pop!’

A drop of water was flicked and floated out.

Xu Fengnian’s head snapped to follow this nothing-out-of-the-ordinary water droplet flying toward the end of the trail.

One drop.

Two drops.

Ten drops.

Thousands of drops.

Strung together to become a line.

And converged to become a sword.

From Xu Fengnian’s vantage point, the line went straight to the Fu Jiang Hong Jia Ren’s chest.

The water sword lightly penetrated the as-if-unpenetrated-by-diamond Fu Jiang Shui Jia Ren [talisman general water armor man].

The sword qi filling the whole sky burst and exploded.

The puppet collapsed with a loud bang.

Watching this, Xu Fengnian was dumbstruck, he quickly closed his eyes.

Between heaven and earth, everything returns to silence. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Xu Fengnian replayed the scene of the sword qi trajectory that was like the Azure Dragon [one of the four symbols of the Chinese constellations] emerging from the water – over and over in his mind.

Water sword versus water armor.

Wei Yeye, you said that there are four levels of the first rank, above Jin Gang is Zhi Xuan [see Chapter 56].

Turns out a flick of mysterious principles is Zhi Xuan.