Chapter Six: Sword Aura

After ten days, Su Yuan had grown quite close with his classmates, thanks to the modern ghost stories he adapted from remnants in his mind. Some students were so frightened by his tales that they didn’t dare walk home alone. Seeing the mixture of fear and curiosity in the children's eyes and feeling their admiration grow, Su Yuan’s vanity was deeply satisfied.

But the good times didn't last. When parents noticed their children were distracted and absent-minded, they confronted the school. The teachers then strictly forbade their students from listening to such sordid and lowly tales. As a result, Su Yuan’s loyal audience dwindled to just one: his own teacher, the old man who had once praised him in front of everyone as a rare talent of the age.

After spending the day chatting idly with the old man, Su Yuan slung his bag over his shoulder, containing “The Hundred Maidens of Xuantian” and “Records of the Southern Dynasties,” and made his way home. On the way, he ran into the little girl who had played the bride before. She seemed to be alone, with no other children around. When the fair-skinned girl saw Su Yuan, her expression was as if she had seen a ghost, and she bolted away in terror.

Feeling mischievous, like an adult teasing a child, Su Yuan started chasing after her, imitating the demons from his ghost stories with exaggerated gestures. The girl, already frightened, was now terrified out of her wits.

As they ran, Su Yuan realized they had strayed from the path—they were now deep within a forest where the sun was setting, crows cawed mournfully, and the atmosphere was chilling and eerie. Concerned, he called out to the girl, “Hey, stop running! We’ll get lost if we’re not careful!” But whether she didn’t hear him or was simply too afraid, she kept running, turning left after a dozen paces and disappearing further into the woods.

Worried about her safety, Su Yuan had no choice but to give chase, but after only a few steps, his foot triggered a massive net that wrapped around him, hoisting him, net and all, up into the air. It seemed to be a hunter’s trap, and now he was the prey.

Su Yuan wasn’t too worried; hunters would check their traps eventually, and he could ask them to let him down. But he was anxious about the little girl—would she get lost or encounter wild animals?

Filled with remorse, Su Yuan hung from the tree like a swing as night fell. The temperature dropped, and hungry and cold, he could only pray the hunters would come soon.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting silver patterns on the ground. Not far away, footsteps crushed fallen leaves, slow and deliberate. Su Yuan thought the hunter had arrived and shouted, “Is someone there? Please help!”

But when he saw the approaching figure, he fell silent in terror. The person was tall and dressed in dark clothes, his face covered with a black cloth, his head wrapped in a dark scarf, exposing only his eyes. “Could I have run into a bandit?” Su Yuan thought despairingly. It was bad enough to be transmigrated, but to die so soon after arriving was truly miserable.

The man in black stopped three paces away, dragging a long, narrow blade with one hand. He glanced at the boy hanging in the air and, with a casual flick of his sword, sent a gust of energy that swept up the leaves from the ground. Su Yuan barely had time to exclaim, “Sword energy!” before he felt himself falling—only to be caught midair by the man’s other hand.

Su Yuan was stunned. Witnessing sword energy and lightness skill from martial arts novels firsthand was more astonishing than seeing cannons or airplanes. How could anyone be so impressive? Su Yuan made up his mind: he would learn martial arts and become a great hero—standing up for justice wherever he went!

Still in the man's arms, Su Yuan remembered the little girl and hurriedly pleaded, “Hero, there was a little girl who ran into these woods earlier. I don’t know if she’s in danger—could you help find her?”

A smile flickered in the man’s eyes. “She’s fine. She’s already gone home.” For some reason, Su Yuan trusted this man completely, and his worries finally eased.

Carrying Su Yuan, the man left the forest. Once they were out, Su Yuan recognized the way home. The man set him down, but as Su Yuan turned to kneel in thanks, the man stopped him with a single hand.

Su Yuan was about to beg the man to teach him martial arts, but before he could speak, the man seemed to read his mind. “Are you able to endure hardship?” he asked.

Born in the north, Su Yuan was no stranger to hardship. He had helped his parents harvest wheat and corn under the blazing sun, dug up peanuts, and when he moved south, he was puzzled by how his peers would take a taxi even for short distances. No matter how poor the food or crude the rented room, he never thought of it as suffering, only sometimes as unfairness.

“Yes!” Su Yuan replied without hesitation. The man in black told him to come to this spot every night at midnight, rain or shine.

For the sake of his martial arts dream, Su Yuan agreed without a second thought.

Watching Su Yuan's departing figure, the man in black said dispassionately, “The little girl you chased knew there were traps for catching prey there...”