Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 251 - 244 Ma Jingxuan

Chapter 251: Chapter 244 Ma Jingxuan

"Madam is truly talented," both elderly maids showed a look of admiration. "But what about Su Rou... what should we do?"

"No worries, I will handle it myself," the woman said, as if everything was under her control.

"Madam." Suddenly, from the distant courtyard bridge, a maid came running hastily, and the first thing she said was:

"Madam! The red flower said it won’t stay long, it will leave soon, and now it is asking to go into seclusion to rest and not to be disturbed, even for meals."

"Has she really refused?" the woman paused slightly, then an idea crossed her mind, "I’ll go see for myself."

"Madam wants to see for herself? But it makes sense, with your innate ability, you will certainly be able to..." an old maid almost let her words slip and quickly covered her own mouth.

"Let’s go, all of us together," the woman said indifferently.

A group of people marched grandly out of the main courtyard and headed toward another courtyard along the corridor.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the courtyard where Lin Xin resided.

An old maid stepped forward intending to knock on the door, but suddenly the noble woman’s expression changed.

"Wait."

She stopped the person about to knock, seemingly sensing something, a silver talisman symbol briefly flashed between her eyebrows.

She then looked toward the courtyard again, showing a slightly different expression.

After a brief pause, she returned to her previous cold demeanor and signaled the servant to knock on the door.

*******************

Lin Xin was inside the room fiddling with a cyan fish lamp, but then he heard a commotion outside.

"Sir, Miss Xuan’er is here!"

"Hmm?"

He frowned slightly. After all, he was staying here, at someone else’s house; it would be improper not to come out and meet the hostess in person.

Packing up the cyan fish lamp, he pushed the door open to see that a small group of people had already entered the courtyard, several robust men protecting a few women and elderly maids at the center.

One of the women, surrounded by the crowd as if she were the moon amongst stars, exuded nobility. Her moon-white color long dress just touched the ground, a string of fine black pearls hung around her neck, her long hair reaching her shoulders, tied with a slender silver ribbon.

"Are you Mr. Red Flower?" The woman was very polite, a stark contrast to her previously condescending tone. "It is indeed rude of me not to have visited for so long."

"Miss Xuan’er is too courteous. It is I who am at fault, having lingered here for several days without yet paying a visit to the host. If anyone should apologize, it should be me," Lin Xin replied politely.

After exchanging pleasantries and introducing themselves, Lin Xin learned that this woman was indeed the de facto leader of the Ma Family’s estate. She appeared young, but was actually over fifty years old—Huang Yuqing, the original wife of Ma Yan, who commanded the City Guard Army.

A mother’s status is elevated by her son’s, and Huang Yuqing had a daughter who was training at the powerful Kunlin Sword Sect nearby. Given her outstanding talents and the resources provided by the family, she had come to ask Lin Xin to serve as her daughter’s chief steward.

"Since you currently have nowhere else to go, why not accompany my Xuan’er to the sword sect? Once you join the sect, it will be easier for you to get to know the customs of the Central Prefecture. Whether you stay or leave afterward, it will be entirely up to you," Huang Yuqing offered, her stance much humbler than before.

Not only was Lin Xin surprised by her sudden change of attitude, but even the group that came with her exchanged glances, unsure why she had altered her demeanor so drastically.

At the moment, Lin Xin really had nowhere else to go, and he found that the woman’s proposal was indeed appealing.

He was, after all, from the Southern Prefecture, a stranger in a strange land without a proper identity or guide. Over the past few days, after reading the local records, he had come to understand that without a guide, leaving the local area would be illegal; the Government would automatically categorize him as a fugitive or a troublemaker.

But with a clean identity or a guide, he would be free to travel.

The Government here was indeed a colossal entity that even governed cultivators.

Upon further thought, he suddenly remembered he also had another identity—as a high-level member of a local division of the Radiance Society.

The true headquarters of the Radiance Society was actually in the Central Prefecture, mostly spread across major sects. Unfortunately, without a communication tool, it was troublesome to contact the local division of the Radiance Society.

He glanced at Huang Yuqing; perhaps settling down here temporarily was an appealing option.

"May I ask what cultivation realm your daughter is currently in?" he inquired.

"As for cultivation... I’m not quite sure, but when she returned home the year before last, she was already in the Dust-Transforming Realm," Huang Yuqing replied.

Dust-Transforming Realm?

Lin Xin was unfamiliar with the local terms for cultivation realms, and he frowned.

"The Kunlin Sword Sect is a purely divine ability sword sect that focuses primarily on cultivating sword technique divine abilities; beyond that, I’m not very clear," Huang Yuqing briefly explained.

After a moment’s consideration, Lin Xin agreed to Huang Yuqing’s proposal. It would be an opportunity to openly see what the local Martial Arts Cultivation World was like. When Xuan’er returned, if both sides were still agreeable, then he would accept the position.

However, the condition was that he needed a clean identity, registered with the Government, and provided with as much clearance as possible for travel.

The arrangement would allow him to enjoy the same accompaniment and cultivation privileges of the Kunlin Sword Sect, except he could not learn the sect’s sword manual; otherwise, he could enjoy all other benefits.

Additionally, the Ma Family also sent a fixed amount of Jade Money and pills every month.

Lin Xin had nothing much to do anyway, so he decided to change his identity and experience what was different about the Sect in Central Prefecture.

His foundation in the way of the Dragon King was already established, and he was currently relying on the Qingyu Lamp to suppress the decay in his body, waiting only to understand the local rules and powers before he could contemplate a solution.

Before a solution was found, temporarily concealing his identity was also a method. As for the Western Extreme Land, it was natural to solve the physical problems first, and everything else had to be put aside.

The two reached an agreement on the terms and then discussed the details.

Several days later, Ma Yuan and his daughter visited again, checking on Lin Xin who had been staying in the Ma Family residence for over a week.

At the same time, the Ma Family began to decorate with lanterns and streamers, as the upcoming star of the family, Ma Jingxuan, had returned home.

***********************

The main courtyard was bustling with noise, and the flow of carriages and people was endless.

In contrast, Lin Xin’s side was unusually quiet.

He stood alone in a corner of the courtyard that the sunlight couldn’t reach, holding a copy of the Lotus Sutra and reciting it silently.

With the continuous recitation of the Buddhist Scripture, Lin Xin clearly felt the previously numb areas in his body gradually beginning to recover sensations of tingling and pain.

The Qingyu Lamp continued to release a faint warmth in his chest.

In the past few days, he had also figured out that the Qingyu Lamp only reacted when the Buddhist Scripture was being recited, and it was almost indistinguishable from an ordinary gem at other times.

Thud thud thud.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Mr. Honghua, Miss Xuanxuan has come to visit."

The voice of the maidservant Xiaodie, who had been assigned to tend to him, came from outside.

"Please come in," Lin Xin said as he put down the book and looked toward the courtyard gate, sensing the presence of someone approaching.

The gate was slowly pushed open, and several beautifully dressed, delicate women entered, one after the other.

All of them appeared to be about eighteen years old. Quickly following these women, another figure entered, carrying a slender longsword on her back, wearing white long boots, and wrapped in a jet-black cloak.

Most importantly, this person was also a woman, not very tall, but shockingly plump. What should have been the attire of a beautiful heroine now appeared comically like a ball of meat.

Upon entering, the women’s eyes quickly focused on Lin Xin.

The cloaked plump lady, in particular, began observing Lin Xin attentively and discreetly.

"Mr. Honghua, I am Ma Jingxuan. If there are no objections, we can head to the Sword Sect together starting tomorrow," she said.

"You are Ma Jingxuan?" Lin Xin glanced around, somewhat disbelieving that the plump lady was the person herself, and scanned over the other beautiful women again, unable to sense any Spiritual Energy or Inner Qi fluctuations. However, as there were no fluctuations around the plump lady either, he was confused about who was who.

The plump lady’s gaze remained calm.

"Sir, there’s no need to look further; I am Ma Jingxuan."

"......"

Upon hearing her voice, Lin Xin still found it hard to believe that this extremely plump woman before him was Ma Jingxuan, the daughter born to the beautiful Huang Yuqing. His gaze reluctantly shifted to the others, and after finding no sensations, reluctantly settled on the plump lady.

"Many people say I don’t resemble my mother at all but rather look exactly like my father," Ma Jingxuan explained lightly, as if she had seen this reaction often.

"Hmph, another who judges by appearances! With Xuanxuan’s gifted wit, when she rises rapidly in the future, she will certainly make all those who looked down upon her see her true value!" a beautiful woman declared indignantly, though her flattering seemed somewhat insincere.

Lin Xin also felt helpless.

As a martial artist, encountering someone as overweight as Ma Jingxuan described as gifted, he was seeing this for the first time.

"You must have also realized, sir, that I am not a genius. It was only because my master valued my perseverance that he took me in as a disciple," Ma Jingxuan remained exceptionally calm.

"To see a martial artist as... as plump as the lady, it’s indeed my first time," Lin Xin replied honestly, appreciating the young girl’s openness and honesty, his older self still fixated on appearances, felt somewhat superficial.

"Sir is too polite. I don’t know why, but no matter how I exercise and burn it off, my body just keeps on gaining weight. It was alright when I was younger, more balanced, but now it’s getting more and more out of control," Ma Jingxuan sighed.

"Have you consulted a Medical Dao Cultivator?"

"I’ve seen many, and no one can find the reason," Ma Jingxuan revealed a hint of sadness in her eyes, she was, after all, only in her twenties. No matter how mature, her natural disposition occasionally showed through.

For a moment, Lin Xin wasn’t sure how to console her, so he randomly mentioned some motivational examples and stories to try to lighten the mood.

However, Ma Jingxuan recovered faster than he did, quickly regaining her composure and began discussing the preparations needed for the journey, the specific route, and precautions.

As Lin Xin listened, he subtly picked up some hints. Unlike others, he had spent a long time in the Sect and was very familiar with its various records and systems. As he listened to Ma Jingxuan discussing how to handle matters at the Sword Sect, he realized that Ma Jingxuan might not be the talented genius the Ma Family described, but was simply an ordinary disciple, nothing more.