My Home's Ancient Well Connects to the Martial Arts World

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Immortal Spring Manor

After leaving the Demon Meat Shop, Ye Xing could clearly feel that Xia Yan, the girl in the red skirt, had grown colder toward him. Still, determined to salvage his reputation and fix the terrible impression he’d made, he didn’t lose heart.

They had plenty of time on the road, so Ye Xing started rambling on, telling her all sorts of strange and curious anecdotes.

At first, the girl in the red skirt refused to acknowledge Ye Xing, but she was, after all, just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. When she heard a particularly interesting story, she finally couldn’t help but ask a question or two.

As they interacted more, the two gradually warmed up to each other. Xia Girl discovered that, aside from the incident with the bag, this buzz-cut cad didn’t seem so frivolous after all. He even gave off an impression of being steady and knowledgeable, knowing a great deal about all sorts of strange things.

Pedestrians came and went on the street in an endless stream. The two walked and talked, quickly leaving Phoenix Town and arriving on the Yellow Earth Official Road, heading toward White Cloud Mountain Immortal Spring Manor.

”HYAH! HYAH! HYAH HYAH HYAH!”

CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP!

Dust billowed on the Yellow Earth Official Road as a Martial Artist, a Great Saber strapped to his back, gripped the reins of his powerful steed and galloped past, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

”Hey, Xia Girl, let me ask you something. Around here, how would one go about learning Martial Arts?” Ye Xing asked, his gaze filled with envy as he watched the Martial Artist gallop past.

”You join a Sect! There are many Sects near Sunset City. But you can’t. You’re too old!” Xia Girl laughed.

”Come on, don’t mess with me. I’m only twenty-three. How is that old? I’m in the prime of my youth!” Ye Xing said, frustrated.

”Hee hee, I mean it’s too late for you to start learning Martial Arts. We Martial Artists start building our foundation around five or six years old, and ten at the absolute latest. You’re already twenty-three. If you start now, you’ll be more than ten, nearly twenty years behind everyone else. It’d be a miracle if any Sect agreed to take you!” the red-skirted girl giggled.

”Er—” Ye Xing was left speechless by her words. ”Isn’t there any other way?” he asked with a wry smile.

”Of course there’s a way. If you have enough money, you can bribe the Elders of those Sects for a spot as a disciple. But you’ll face a lot of restrictions after joining. And since you’d be starting so late, you probably wouldn’t get much attention within the Sect anyway. You’d be better off buying a Secret Manual to cultivate on your own. It’s much more liberating to be a Loose Cultivator!” Xia Girl said.

”But where can I buy a Martial Arts Manual?” Ye Xing’s eyes burned with fervor as he quickly asked, ”And about how much do they cost?”

”Ten Thousand Treasures Tower has plenty of Martial Arts Manuals, but most of them are Yellow-tier Manuals!” Xia Girl said. ”The most basic Yellow-tier Manuals cost about a hundred Gold Coins. Mid-Upper Grade ones cost several hundred, maybe even close to a thousand Gold Coins. As for Profound Tier or higher, like Earth-tier Manuals, you’ll only have a chance to buy those at an auction!”

...

Immortal Spring Manor was located halfway up White Cloud Mountain. The scenery was pleasant and beautiful, a wonderful place for a retreat.

The moment he stepped into the manor, Ye Xing felt as if he had entered a paradise on earth.

The ground was paved with iridescent, multi-colored pebbles. Peach trees were planted all around, and in the flowerbeds, a hundred flowers bloomed as rainbow-colored butterflies danced gracefully among them. A captivating, sweet fragrance filled the air of the entire courtyard.

Led by Xia Girl, Ye Xing walked along several stone paths. In the distance ahead, he saw a waterfall, like a bolt of silver silk, cascading down. Next to the waterfall stood a pavilion. Inside the pavilion was a White Jade Guqin, where a Snow-clothed Woman was plucking the strings with a light flick of her fair hands. Beautiful notes burst forth from her fingertips, the sound of the guqin melodious and lingering.

’? How is that possible! She only heard it once last night, and she already memorized it?’ Ye Xing’s eyes were filled with utter astonishment. ’Her memory is just too heaven-defying. And the way she plays it... it sounds even more beautiful than the original recording.’

The melody of went from soothing to impassioned. At its climax, a fearsome sound whistled out from the guqin, and columns of water shot up from the surface of the lake at the base of the waterfall, splashing everywhere.

The piece ended, and the music stopped.

”Miss, I’ve brought the stinking scoundrel.” The maid in red, Xia Yan, announced as she led Ye Xing into the pavilion.

”Little Yan, do not be rude to our guest!” the Snow-clothed Woman chided, her lovely, delicate brows furrowing slightly.

”Hee hee!” Xia Girl playfully stuck out her tongue, made a face at Ye Xing, and then promptly retreated. This left Ye Xing not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The Snow-clothed Woman gave Ye Xing an apologetic look with her beautiful eyes, then took out the MP3 player Ye Xing had given her. ”I’ve asked you to come here today, Young Master, to inquire how to use this musical instrument. This humble one is slow-witted; I’ve observed it for a long time but still can’t figure out how to turn it on.”

”Haha, this instrument is called an MP3 player!” Ye Xing laughed. ”It’s actually very simple.”

Ye Xing took the MP3 player from the Snow-clothed Woman, snapped open the battery cover, inserted two batteries, and pressed play.

Instantly, a guqin melody began to play.

Ye Xing had sensed that the Snow-clothed Woman preferred guqin music, so most of the songs downloaded on the MP3 player were classical Chinese guqin pieces, with only a few pop songs mixed in.

As another beautiful guqin piece played, the Snow-clothed Woman’s clear, beautiful eyes sparkled with delight. ”Oh, right, Young Master, what are these two white cords for?”

”Those are earbuds. When you put them in your ears, only you can hear the music; no one else can,” Ye Xing explained.

”How magical. This instrument must be a rare treasure, and quite valuable.” The Snow-clothed Woman’s beautiful eyes shimmered as she asked, ”May I ask the value of this instrument, Young Master?”

”Haha, it’s not worth much,” Ye Xing laughed. ”I promised you last night. This is a gift for you!”

”I cannot accept a reward for no merit. Please, Young Master, state its price,” the Snow-clothed Woman insisted.

Ye Xing could see that the Snow-clothed Woman was a woman of strong principles and probably wouldn’t accept his MP3 player easily. He immediately laughed, ”Haha, well, if you insist on paying, then one Silver Coin will be enough.” ’To be precise, one Silver Coin is probably about right. This MP3 player wasn’t expensive back on Earth. Of course, if I were to sell them on this Martial Arts Continent in the future, that would be a different story.’

”You jest, Young Master. How could such a rare treasure, seldom seen in this world, be worth only a single Silver Coin?” The Snow-clothed Woman’s beautiful eyes flashed. She took out a Gold Ticket and handed it to Ye Xing. ”This is a Gold Ticket for one thousand Gold Coins. Please accept it, Young Master!”

”One thousand Gold Coins!!!”

Ye Xing was startled on the spot, his gaze fixed on the gleaming Gold Ticket. ”Isn’t this a bit... a bit... too much!”

What did one thousand Gold Coins even mean? It was an astronomical sum. An ordinary person couldn’t spend that much in a lifetime. It was even questionable whether some Landlords had that much in their entire family fortune.

”One thousand Gold Coins is not too much! The melodies in your instrument are unique and will be of great benefit to my Sound Skill Cultivation. It is worth the price! Also, I see you are carrying Demon Beast Meat. I happen to have a Body Tempering Pill here. Consuming it will temper your physique and help you absorb the Energy from the Demon Beast Meat!” As she spoke, the Snow-clothed Woman took a White Jade Pill Bottle from her sleeve and offered it to Ye Xing. She added gravely, ”It is but a small token of my esteem. Please accept it, Young Master. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to return this instrument to you!”