Sword from Songshan

Chapter 16 Heading to Songshan
"Goodbye!"

"treasure."

Three days later, at the entrance of Shihe Village.

Lu Nanxing and Wang Tiandong stood opposite each other, one clasping his fists and the other bowing.

Then they turned around, one running west and the other east.

Wang Tiandong went to the county town to study, and Lu Nanxing went to Songshan School.

Although they had gone to great lengths to find the Ganoderma lucidum in Kaifeng City, they were ultimately unable to recover it due to the old man's interference.

Fortunately, good times came after bad times, and the two of them gained something else.

Wang Tiandong found more than 40 taels of silver in Bingchen's house, and extorted more than ten taels from Chen Aqi. Together with the few taels of silver he had saved up, he not only collected the 50 taels of silver as the apprenticeship gift, but also had a little surplus.

In comparison, Lu Nanxing, who chose the sword manual, did not get much silver, and it was still far from the one hundred taels of silver required by the Songshan Sect.

However, he accidentally gets acquainted with Songshan Sect's undercover agent Bingchen, and learns important information that the Yellow River Gang is about to defect to the Sun Moon Sect.

"With this information, I should be able to change to a peripheral disciple status!"

Walking on the road, Lu Nanxing was confident.

Wouldn't it be simple to bring the information to Songshan Sect and give him the status of an outer disciple as a reward?
Lu Nanxing took out half a copper coin from his arms and a smile appeared on his face.

This was Bingchen's identity certificate as a secret agent, and now it can be used to prove the reliability of Lu Nanxing's intelligence.

"Hurry up and get going!"

The plan was well planned. Lu Nanxing was so excited at the thought that he would soon join the Songshan Sect as he wished and complete the class transition, that he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Shihe Village is about three hundred miles away from Songshan Mountain. Lu Nanxing has no carriage, so he has to walk, which takes about seven or eight days.

He carried a bag on his shoulders, which contained two sets of clothes, a few days' worth of dry food, more than ten taels of silver, two secret manuals, and some commonly used herbs. He also had a full water bag and a long sword on his waist. He was considered to be traveling light.

Lu Nanxing had no worries and didn't think about anything else at this moment. He just focused on getting on his way.

After leaving the village, there is a small road. It rained last night and the road is muddy and difficult to walk on.

After more than two hours of hard walking, we finally got onto the official road. Although it was still muddy, it was not so bad that we couldn't get out.

Looking at the time, it was almost 9:00, and I was already hungry after walking for so long. I found a bluestone by the roadside to sit down, took out a piece of hard dry food from my bag, and swallowed it with water.

While eating breakfast and resting, there were many pedestrians and horses on the official road. Looking at the galloping horses, Lu Nanxing just showed envy when the horse's hooves stepped on the puddle and splashed him with mud.

He stood up angrily and yelled curses at the horse's butt. But the rider ignored him and whipped his horse whip. Soon Lu Nanxing couldn't even see the horse's butt.

He clenched his fists helplessly, sat back on the bluestone, carefully scraped off the mud on the dry food, and reluctantly continued to put it into his mouth.

However, the next time a fast horse passed by, Lu Nanxing, who had learned his lesson, quickly stood up and moved away from it.

When you are away from home, the hardships on the road are endless.

Fortunately, no danger was encountered.

Thinking that everything would change as long as he joined the Songshan Sect, Lu Nanxing's mood became bright again and he hurried on his journey.

After walking like this for three or four hours, it was already evening.

There is no village in front and no shop behind, but fortunately, there is an abandoned temple not far below the official road.

"Not bad." Walking into the dilapidated temple, the roof had been in disrepair for a long time and had a skylight. It rained heavily last night and there was still a lot of water inside.

But there are still four walls standing, which is much better than sleeping in the wild.

While there was still some time before dark, Lu Nanxing tidied up a little. In fact, he just cleared out a dry place in the corner where he could sleep at night.

Due to the heavy rain last night, there were no dry branches or firewood to be found, so there was no way to start a fire.

Fortunately, it is summer now and the weather is hot, so I can sleep soundly even without a bonfire at night.

However, it is impossible to dry the trouser legs that are wet with mud and water.

After a whole day's journey, Lu Nanxing was already very sleepy. At night, he leaned against the wall and fell into a deep sleep.

Late at night, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of hurried horse hooves.

He grabbed the long sword beside him, then looked through the crack in the wall. He saw a group of people dressed in martial arts clothes riding fast horses down the official road, and they happened to whiz past the ruined temple.

Seeing that they did not stop and gradually walked away, Lu Nanxing breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they did not enter the ruined temple.

In the dead of night, in this small, dilapidated temple, two groups of strangers suddenly met and it was easy for a conflict to occur. It would be a great loss if they died in such a confused manner.

After the group of people left, Lu Nanxing felt uneasy until more than half an hour later, when he fell into deep sleep again.

It felt like I hadn't slept for long, but it was already daybreak.

Lu Nanxing stood up and stretched his stiff body. How could he sleep well if he curled up in the corner? Then he drew out his sword and performed the Songshan sword technique three times before continuing on his way.

At noon, the sun was blazing brightly and the heat was unbearable. Lu Nanxing came across a forest on the side of the road, and the shade of the trees was pleasant. He simply went to the forest to rest and wait until the temperature was slightly lower before continuing on his journey.

The journey is not far, there is no deadline, and there is no need to rush.

After resting for a while, Lu Nanxing practiced Songshan swordsmanship again.

Just like before, under the guidance of the toxin, every time can be done accurately.

Every time he practiced like this, he felt that he had made great progress, which made Lu Nanxing more and more encouraged.

Before he knew it, he had been practicing for an hour or two. It was getting late and the sunlight was no longer as strong. Lu Nanxing ate something, put on his bag and slung his sword over his shoulders, then continued on his way.

Compared with yesterday, today's luck was much worse. After getting off the official road, the road was rugged and difficult to travel on, and there was not even a dilapidated temple. When night came, we could only sleep outdoors under the tent.

Fortunately, the area around here is not a desolate place, so there are usually no wild animals around. As for mosquitoes, Lu Nanxing brought mosquito repellent herbs, so he slept soundly that night.

The following days were similar to the previous two days, with a section of official road and a section of small road. The official road was wide and flat, while the small road was difficult to walk on. When they came across a town, they went in to buy some dry food and fill up their water bags. As for accommodation, an inn cost several hundred coins a night, and Lu Nanxing was determined not to spend the money.

Since he was not in a hurry, Lu Nanxing practiced Songshan swordsmanship during his journey.

As they gradually approached Songshan, with the help of the small wooden tripod, Lu Nanxing's Songshan swordsmanship continued to improve. In just a few days, at first glance, it seemed as if he had mastered it for two or three years.

"Huh? That's..."

Five or six days passed in a flash, and they were only two or three days away from Songshan. That afternoon, Lu Nanxing was on his way as usual, when he suddenly saw a group of people fighting on the road ahead.

Several carriages loaded with goods were parked on the side of the road, with escort flags flying on them.

Could it be that someone was robbing the escort?
Lu Nanxing widened his eyes, stopped immediately, and then prepared to take a detour.

When you are away from home, it is better to do less than to do more.

(End of this chapter)