395 Incantation (2/2)
”You're too stubborn. If I can't get you to recite the manuals, wouldn't I stand to lose a lot?”
”I'll teach you the incantation for concentration first. Let him go.”
”No way, no way,” replied Old Man Mu as he shook his head repeatedly.
Shangguan Ru remained silent as they remained in a stalemate. Old Man Mu was the first to concede. ”Alright, alright, we'll do it your way. But you have to tell me first - what's the purpose of the incantation for concentration? Why do I have a feeling that what you recited was all gibberish?”
”You have steel your heart first before you can master swordcraft. The incantation allows one's heart to be firm and unmoved by whatever is happening on the outside.”
Old Man Mu lifted his head as he thought about the mannerisms of both the Dragon King and Maid Lotus. He felt that there was some logic in Shangguan Ru's words. ”How do I steel my heart? I couldn't understand a single word of what you said.”
”There's no need to understand the words. The manual itself is hidden in the tones of the words. In the beginning, recite the incantation loudly. After you are used to it, you can practice silent reading. It works too.”
”It's that simple?”
”Yes.”
”Alright, I believe you. You are a good lady after all. Come in.”
Bits of flesh were scattered all over the ground before her, and blood was splattered all around the area. Shangguan Ru knew that once she had entered his formation, no one else could get her out of it. Old Man Mu was trying to test her by making her walk in on her own.
Old Man Mu observed her, amused, as he gave her instructions to walk into the formation without triggering the booby traps. ”Take seven steps forward - normal steps, not too big or too small - then take three steps to your right. After which, leap up by five feet and step on the tree branch. Reach your left hand forward and spring away by six steps...”
Shangguan Ru successfully made it into the formation under his guidance. She stood opposite him and lowered her gaze to the prone Blessed Child, feeling a little relieved to see that he was not dead.
”Since you're in my formation now, let me remind you,” said Old Man Mu. His attitude had taken a drastic turn - he was treating Shangguan Ru as a captive now. ”I'm not only skilled in killing, I'm even better at torture. I admire you, but if I find out that you are playing a trick on me, you'd better think of a way to take your own life, because I'll make you suffer so much that you'll wish you were dead.”
Shangguan Ru was not her brother, Shangguan Fei. When facing the old man's threats, she did not cower in fear but lifted her head up defiantly. ”Not everyone is like you,” she retorted.
Old Man Mu patted his chest as he laughed. ”That's good. I wouldn't be able to take it if everyone was the same as me,” he said.
He then sized Shangguan Ru up, as if it were the first time he had seen her. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable. ”You claimed to have never practiced the Dajue Book of Swordcraft before but say that I can learn the incantation for concentration using the tones of the words. Furthermore, you can remember its contents word for word...”
”The incantation is just a foundation. If one doesn't learn swordcraft, it's pointless to practice it.”
”There's some use in it even if the practitioner doesn't plan to learn swordcraft. Is your stubbornness a result of practicing the incantation?”
Shangguan Ru had no comeback for him and coughed once before beginning to recite the entire incantation.
It was extremely long, and Old Man Mu stopped her after she recited over a thousand words. ”Wait, wait. It's all messed up and now I'm lost. How did you manage to memorize it?”
”If you read it every day, you'll memorize it gradually. You can start off by trying to memorize 500 words, and see how it works out.”
”Makes sense,” replied Old Man Mu. He lifted his head and gave Shangguan Ru a glance. ”It's going to be daybreak soon; we have to hurry up. If the Dragon King gets serious and sends hundreds of his minions to break my formation, I won't be able to handle them.”
The old man always claimed to be smart and as it turned out, it was not entirely an exaggeration. After only listening to the five hundred oddly-sounding words a few times, he unexpectedly could memorize all of them.
”You won't sneak up on me while I'm practicing, will you?”
”You don't have to specifically practice the incantation. In fact, you don't even have to think about it - all you have to do is to memorize it by heart. It won't affect your other activities.”
”That incredible?” Old Man Mu felt it was a little unbelievable. ”Why didn't you present it to your dad? With it, I believe he would have forgiven all your transgressions.”
Shangguan Ru refused to reply him and Old Man Mu offered an explanation on her behalf. ”A father who kills without mercy produces a girl without any killing desire... Sigh, having children can be so unpredictable. Luckily, I'm not dragged down by all that.”
Old Man Mu continued muttering to himself and began reciting the incantation that Shangguan Ru taught. He was still a little wary of her and thus diverted some of his attention in case she tried to move against him.
After repeating the 500 words a few times over, Old Man Mu realized he was starting to feel something. ”Weird, it's really weird! Why do I... feel more frustrated the more I recite it? It seems as if I especially dislike the incantation.”
”It's always like this when someone starts to practice it.”
Shangguan Ru was also reciting the incantation herself, from beginning to the end. She did not make a single mistake until now and this further increased Old Man Mu's trust in her.
It would soon be dawn and Old Man Mu's current location was full of luscious vegetation, giving him all the cover from sunlight that he could possibly want.
The unconscious Blessed Child finally woke up. Shangguan Ru stopped reciting and stood in front of him, obscuring his view of the bloody surroundings. ”Don't be afraid, you are safe now. Follow me out,” she said.
She was like a fairy who had come down to earth to the boy. He was so moved that he kept nodding his head and got up to his feet before moving to stand at her side, away from Old Man Mu.
”Close your eyes,” Shangguan Ru said as she took hold of his elbow, preparing to leave the formation.
Old Man Mu had been quiet as he observed Shangguan Ru, but he was puzzled now. ”Where are you going?”
”To bring him out of the forest,” she replied.
”I don't think I've agreed to let the hostage go!” said Old Man Mu. He was getting angry - he called the shots here and no one could come and go as he or she wished.
Shangguan Ru did not reply or stop. She took a step out according to Old Man Mu's previous instructions.
”Stop!” shouted Old Man Mu. He leaped out with one step, wanting to teach the 'good lady' a lesson.
However, he soon realized that something was not right; extremely wrong in fact. Shangguan Ru was using Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills and could easily avoid his attacks. ”This is not possible!” he thought.
He was so shocked that his face lost color. He did not understand why he would hesitate at the very last moment when he attacked Shangguan Ru as if he could not bear to kill her.
He looked exactly like a starving lion that could not bear to hunt down a fat deer standing right in front of it, and it was beyond his imagination...