Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Inside the inn’s main hall.

Jiang Ran found a seat, and a waiter hurried over to take his order.

After a few casual questions, Jiang Ran ordered several dishes.

In addition to the inn’s specialty recommended by the waiter, he also ordered two pounds of mutton, a plate of peanuts, and a jar of five-year-old Huadiao wine.

The waiter cheerfully went to the kitchen to pass on the order.

Li Tianxin sat down across from Jiang Ran.

”So, is it poisoned or not?”

”It’s not, it’s not.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand.

”Why are you nagging endlessly like a woman?”

”...You’re the woman!”

Li Tianxin shot Jiang Ran a cold glare.

Jiang Ran stared at Li Tianxin for a moment, his eyes scanning him from head to toe, inch by inch.

Li Tianxin grew uncomfortable under his gaze.

”Why are you staring at me like that?”

”I was just thinking... you look like a man from head to toe.

”But this Jianghu is unfathomable. Who knows if there’s some strange martial art or bizarre technique out there.

”Something that could completely change a person’s appearance, making a woman look like a man.

”Right, you mentioned the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records before. Are there any martial arts like that in it?”

”I don’t know.”

Li Tianxin shot Jiang Ran a sidelong glance.

”But I do know that in the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records, there is a martial art that can turn a man into a woman.”

”The Sunflower Manual?”

Jiang Ran blurted out.

”What’s that?”

Li Tianxin was confused.

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively.

”It’s nothing. Just a martial art. It’s said to turn a man into a woman, but only in temperament, not in a literal, physical sense.”

”Oh?”

Li Tianxin was suddenly intrigued.

”Tell me more. How does one’s mindset change from a man’s to a woman’s? Is there some trick to it?”

”I suppose it has to do with the first two lines...”

Jiang Ran said with a smile, ”I’ve never seen the manual myself, but I’ve heard that its opening lines make things very clear. The first two lines are... ’To master this divine art, you must first castrate yourself!’”

”!”

Li Tianxin was taken aback. ”Then how would a woman cultivate it?”

Jiang Ran thought for a moment. ’In my past life, I saw people discuss this question online, but most of the answers were too vulgar to repeat.’

He shook his head. ”How would I know?”

Li Tianxin seemed a little disappointed, saying thoughtfully,

”So martial arts like this really do exist in the world.

”There’s also a martial art in the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records that can turn a man into a woman.

”Women are forbidden from cultivating it. If they try, death is certain.

”A man, on the other hand, will constantly change during his cultivation... until he completely becomes a woman.

”And that is when the greatest trial arrives.”

”What trial?”

Jiang Ran gave Li Tianxin a curious look.

Li Tianxin said,

”Do you remember what I said before? The Demon Sect reveres the great freedom of the Celestial Demon, where all things begin from the heart.

”If the person cultivating this art comes to truly believe in their heart that they are a woman, in line with their physical and external changes, then there will be no problem.

”But since they were originally a man, if the thought that they are still a man lingers in their heart, it will conflict with the Heart Method. In a mild case, they’ll become erratic and unstable, sometimes acting like a man, sometimes like a woman.

”In a severe case... they fall into an eternal slumber. They aren’t dead, but they might as well be.”

Jiang Ran went, ”Oh.”

”A vegetative state.”

”...”

Li Tianxin found the term novel, then finally asked,

”Are you sure it’s not poisoned?”

”I’m sure.”

Jiang Ran was getting tired of answering. Fortunately, the waiter arrived with their food just then.

He inspected the dishes to confirm whether they were poisoned.

”This is an old establishment. It should be fine.”

Li Tianxin didn’t stand on ceremony, grabbing a pair of chopsticks from the side and digging in.

Jiang Ran gave Li Tianxin a thoughtful look.

’It wasn’t that he was surprised Li Tianxin knew this was an old inn... Jiang Ran had heard the same from the people of Benma County when he was asking for directions earlier. This inn had been open for decades.’

Jiang Ran mulled it over. Only after Li Tianxin had finished a steamed bun did he speak.

”So, what about your share of the bill?”

”??”

Li Tianxin was taken aback. ”What do you mean?”

”You’re eating my food and not paying?”

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow.

”...Fine.”

Li Tianxin pursed his lips, took a money pouch from his robes, and pulled out two pieces of broken silver to hand to Jiang Ran.

But Jiang Ran waved him off.

”Don’t insult my eyes with such crude things.”

”What do you want, then?”

Li Tianxin was taken aback.

Jiang Ran smiled. ”When we have a moment later, how about you be my sparring partner again?”

”...”

After a moment of silence, Li Tianxin surprisingly nodded. ”Fine.”

”So agreeable?”

Jiang Ran was a little surprised.

”Sparring with you is extremely dangerous, but... I improved a great deal that day.”

Li Tianxin said, ”I get a free meal and I can advance my martial arts. You’re not going to actually kill me, so why wouldn’t I agree?”

”In that case, maybe I shouldn’t be buying you a meal. I should be asking you for silver instead...”

Jiang Ran felt like he was getting the short end of the stick.

Li Tianxin shot Jiang Ran a sideways glance, not bothering to say any more.

The two of them ate and drank in silence. Li Tianxin drank tea, while Jiang Ran drank wine.

Li Tianxin was a teetotaler.

Jiang Ran didn’t mind; he found drinking alone even more enjoyable.

As they were eating and drinking, they heard the sound of crying from outside.

The voice sounded young. Jiang Ran looked toward the source and saw a young girl by the side of the road, about fourteen or fifteen years old.

Her clothes were shabby, but her face was washed clean. A straw marker was stuck in her hair.

Her face was streaked with tears as she clung to the ankle of a Jianghu man.

”Please, I’m begging you, just agree! I can do anything! Please, buy me! I don’t even want silver, you...”

Before she could finish, the man kicked her away.

”Get lost! Where did a little beggar like you come from? You’re nothing but skin and bones. What use would I have for you?”

With that, the man turned and left.

The girl’s face fell in disappointment. She knelt there, her eyes fixed hopefully on the pedestrians in the street.

However, Jiang Ran noticed that the girl wasn’t looking at the ordinary commoners. She was specifically watching the Jianghu people who carried sabers or wore swords.

Whenever one of them passed by, she would cry and beg for a moment. When they ignored her, her face would fill with disappointment again.

Jiang Ran and Li Tianxin exchanged a look.

This practice of selling oneself was not uncommon.

A straw marker in the hair meant one was selling their life.

She had just said she didn’t want silver, and she was specifically looking for a buyer among the Jianghu people...

It was likely she had run into a problem that only someone from the Jianghu could solve.

As Jiang Ran thought of this, an idea suddenly struck him.

Perhaps he could find a lead for his hired-blade mission with this young girl.