Chapter 236 - 236 234 Both the Book and the Sword Are Good

Words : 1478 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

236: Chapter 234: Both the Book and the Sword Are Good 236: Chapter 234: Both the Book and the Sword Are Good Yun Rong’s little hand trembled, and she almost dropped the little booklet in her hand onto the ground. Her voice also changed, “Erotic drawings?” Baili An feigned ignorance with a desire to learn, “Erotic drawings? What is that?” Fang Geyu glared at him with hardly suppressed irritation, her little face blushed, her eyes brimming with shame, yet she still tried to maintain her composure. She stiffened her neck and disdainfully said, “It’s the kind of picture that depicts what you and Jiujiu were doing that day, got it?” A mushroom cloud abruptly exploded above Baili An’s head, his fingers that had just touched the booklet vigorously rubbed on the table surface, as if a cat were scraping at the table. He stuttered, “What kind of painter would… this is so boring.” As he spoke, he looked towards the greatly renowned Fourth Sword and suddenly felt that this person was quite unfitting. Yun Rong cleared her throat with a light cough, her face not blushing, her heart not pounding, except for the trembling of her hand just now, her face didn’t show any hint of difference. Fourth Sword looked at him with an expression that was both mocking and dismissive, with a teasing eye, “I wouldn’t have guessed, you little corpse demon seem to know how to have fun. Nevertheless, I really didn’t know that Master Xuan Shui was so talented in all eighteen skills, and this book isn’t some kind of album after all.” She idly flipped through the book to show the two of them a glimpse. Within the book, not to mention any intertwined and pathetic scenes, one couldn’t even find a tiny figure. The pages were filled with tiny written characters. When flipping through, a faint fragrance of fresh ink could also be felt. On the approaching side, it carried an air of elegance and spirituality, far different from the vulgarity Fang Geyu had suggested. Fang Geyu let out a small gasp, incredibly surprised, “Is this really a work by Master Xuan Shui?” Yun Rong pointed to an imprint on the page, “There’s no doubt about it.” Fang Geyu flipped through a couple more pages with a strange expression, her face beaming with fascination. It was actually— A collection of stories about the sorrowful love between men and women. Although it lacked the indecent descriptions she had imagined, they were all short love story anthologies. Though the book wasn’t an album of erotic drawings, it did somewhat preserve the image of her, the Fourth Sword. But such romantic storybooks… it turned out to be what Fourth Sword was reading. Moreover, she had even encouraged the younger generation to read it with her. What kind of obsession was this? Suddenly, Baili An lightly gasped, his gaze landing on the red seal in the book. The color was pale, and with just a few strokes, a vivid lotus was outlined. Following his gaze, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Yun Rong’s lips. This little corpse demon, indeed, had a natural talent for swordsmanship. Baili An’s gaze was fixed as he picked up a clean chopstick with three fingers and wielded it chaotically in the air. The tip of the chopstick made a whizzing sound, and although its movement was disorderly and without rhythm, within that chaos, there was an indescribable harmony. The chopstick’s tip finished with a flourish, and with a soft pfft, several small streaks of sword light flew out, marking the old window. The ancient yellowed wood was instantly pierced with a delicate lotus mark, its edges still burning with a faint yellow sword fire. Yun Rong’s eyes shone brightly as she watched Baili An holding the chopstick, and she even felt the urge to touch his hand. Fang Geyu was stunned, having not realized that this little romantic storybook concealed sword techniques. Baili An set down the chopstick and mused, “Its power isn’t as great as the Lingxu Swordsmanship.” Yun Rong said nothing but simply supported her cheek with one hand, her gaze smiling as she watched him. The flickering sword fire leaped upon the wooden window and sank into the depth of her eyes, enamoring and profound. Baili An reached for the book titled “Elegant Collection” from Fang Geyu and started to earnestly page through it, parsing each word and phrase. The small tavern was momentarily silent except for the soft sound of turning pages. Even the usually sharp-tongued young mistress quieted down, sitting and watching Baili An, not interrupting. Baili An read slowly, thoroughly interpreting each page of the story several times before turning to continue his perusal. His fingers were steady as he turned the pages, and Yun Rong knew that although his reading was slow, the moment he turned a page implied that he had thoroughly absorbed its content. Her smile grew deeper. She suddenly had a feeling that, if this child was well instructed, he could certainly earn a place among the Thirteen Swords. The heavy snow ceased, and in the sky above, a round moon had made its appearance without notice. In the small Bashu noodle house during the daytime, there were a few scattered patrons. There weren’t many customers; among five, three were certainly not human. In the border city, there was no shortage of homeless little ghosts. Having paged through to the last, having fully interpreted the content, Baili An closed the book and returned it to Yun Rong. He rubbed his brow, his eyes revealing a hint of fatigue, but his face still bore a smile, expressing his respect, “Master Xuan Shui, truly remarkable.” Yun Rong tucked away the book and asked, “How so remarkable?” Baili An answered, “The stories are quite enjoyable.” Yun Rong frowned slightly, “Is that it?” “Then, the Sword Intent hidden within the stories is also quite formidable.” Clearly, Yun Rong was not quite satisfied with his response, “Are you suggesting that such exquisite Sword Intent is inferior to the stories in the book?” Baili An smiled, “It seems that Master Xuan Shui holds his own stories in higher regard than the Sword Intent. The real intrigue lies in the stories. The few strokes of profound Sword Intent hidden within serve as an embellishment. Perhaps it was an unconscious infusion while being affected by the stories when the pen was laid down.” Yun Rong could not concur, “In the three thousand great thousand worlds, there is no place devoid of mortal coils. Only the path of the sword stands supreme and solitary. How could these petty loves of men and women surpass the eternal and immortal Sword Dao.” Baili An shook his head, saying, “Who one is, lies within oneself. The small self and the vast universe. To Lady Yun Rong, the Sword Dao is your universe, but to a storyteller, the stories in the book are their universe. The lady of the Fourth Sword could perceive the Sword Intent through the stories in the book, whereas Master Xuan Shui wrote about the universe’s little stories through Sword Intent. Writers, swordsmen, in the three thousand worlds, amidst the mortal world, everywhere lies the Great Dao, and everywhere withers. Both pen and blade can remain immortal through the ages, yet the sharpness of a sword’s edge may eventually meet its breaking point, so who is to speak of supremacy?” He smiled faintly, “Having said that, I have seen Lady Yun Rong’s sword movements; that day amidst the vast ocean, your mere presence was enough to rid thousands of miles of demons and purify the seas. Although the Sword Intent within this book is exquisite, it is far from comparing to your prowess, Lady Yun Rong.” Yun Rong didn’t continue to argue but instead fell into a certain contemplation. Baili An expressed some regret, “The book is good, and the swordsmanship as well, it’s a pity that the stories have no endings – quite the regret.” Fang Geyu leaned on the table, playing with the candle flame with a silver needle, and exclaimed, “Oh, I remember now. Before Master Xuan Shui started painting, he did indeed write some novellas, and they were quite popular with the people of the time. However, one day he suddenly changed his style and overnight released thirteen erotic albums, which turned out to be more popular than the novellas. Overnight, the sales from those albums far exceeded the sales of the books for three years, and since then, Master Xuan Shui has produced far more paintings than writings, and his infamous reputation has overshadowed his talent for writing. Over time, people have indeed forgotten that he was once known for his writing as well.”

Chapter 236 - 236 234 Both the Book and the Sword Are Good

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