The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

In Tian Boguang's eyes, the guards of Bailianfang were practically useless, and Shen An and Li Qingde never imagined that a martial arts master would do such a thing. Like a fallen leaf blown by the night wind, he silently bypassed all the sentry posts, following the route he had scouted during the day, and headed straight for the room he had carefully observed and which had always been off-limits to anyone.

The door lock was an exquisite eight-treasure auspicious lock, but it was only a matter of a few breaths before Tian Boguang's nimble fingers could unlock it.

His greatest skill was his lightness of foot, followed by his ability to pick locks and untie ropes; his swift knife could only rank third.

"Click".

With a soft sound, he slipped inside.

The room was pitch black, with only a few slivers of moonlight seeping in, but to a master of night travel like him, it was no different from daytime.

Tian Boguang's gaze instantly locked onto the sandalwood box in the corner of the room, which was locked with several chains.

"Hmph, they're making quite a fuss about it."

Tian Boguang sneered, and his thin, cicada-wing-like razor was drawn. With a flash of light, he sliced ​​through the thumb-thick chain one by one, leaving a smooth, mirror-like cut.

He eagerly opened the box. As the lid was slowly lifted, moonlight streamed in from the window, falling precisely on the "wreckage" lying quietly on the red silk.

Tian Boguang's heart skipped a beat.

He slowly extended his hand, his movements so gentle as if he were afraid of startling some beautiful woman.

When his fingertips touched the greasy, smooth wooden handle, a cool yet warm sensation sent a shiver down his spine.

"Good...good sword..." he murmured to himself, his eyes revealing an almost obsessive greed.

He carefully lifted the "wreckage" and brought it to his nose, taking a deep breath.

An indescribable, extremely complex fragrance instantly entered his nostrils and rushed straight to the top of his head.

The initial scent was the captivating fragrance of ambergris. But beneath this exquisite aroma lay an extremely deep and rich undercurrent, like the natural oils from the skin of jade worn for years, and even a hint... a faint, almost imperceptible scent, similar to the vibrant, life-giving aroma of a young woman's sweat after exercise!

"It's her! It smells like K-On!"

Tian Boguang's breathing became heavy, and a sickly flush rose on his face. His nose, which had seen countless women, imagined this complex scent as the unique and vibrant "fairy fragrance" that a fairy disdained to use ordinary cosmetics and had developed through years of diligent sword practice!

His gaze lingered greedily over every inch of the "wreckage".

To him, the rust stains all over her body, speckled like sweat, were no longer ugly corrosion, but rather marks left by the sweat the fairy had shed while practicing her sword in the deep valley.

He held the sword in both hands, gently pressing the hilt, which had been handled by countless strong men and Li Qingde, against his cheek, rubbing it back and forth, feeling its "warmth".

"Fairy... I can feel it... I can feel your warmth from back then..."

Half an incense stick later, he closed his eyes, a smile of extreme satisfaction, almost distorted, on his face.

K-On!

I, Tian Boguang, will never see your people again.

But from this day forward, your sword will belong to me, Tian Boguang!

Day and night, I will carry it with me, using my hands to feel your warmth; using my breath to savor your lingering fragrance...

This can be considered as sleeping side by side with you, my fairy, and flying together!

Hahaha... Hahahaha!

Tian Boguang let out a suppressed, neurotic chuckle, and with a flash, he embraced his "fairy" and disappeared into the vast night.

-----------------

"What?! It's lost?!"

The next morning, in the study, Shen An's expression was rather interesting.

No way, when did Old Li, with his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and honest appearance, learn this trick? How come he's so good at hype after I just tried it out a little? Did he time travel too?

Shen An looked at Li Qingde again with suspicion.

Li Qingde showed no sign of acting; his face was ashen, beads of sweat mixed with terror rolled down his forehead, and he trembled like a leaf.

Hmm, doesn't seem like it. Looks like it's really lost.

However, it might not be impossible to make use of it; Shen An had a plan in mind.

"Senior brother! Last night... last night a thief broke in and... stole that 'remains'! It's all my fault, I thought the defenses were strong enough, but I didn't expect..."

He knelt down with a thud, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. "Senior brother, the Sword Testing Tournament is the day after tomorrow, and now our prized weapon has been stolen! What... what are we going to do? Even if we... we can't make another one in time! If word gets out, our Hundred Refinements Workshop will become a laughingstock throughout the entire martial arts world! It's all my fault for being negligent in my defenses; I deserve to die!"

Li Qingde was truly terrified. He had been the one who executed this plan, and now that such a huge blunder had occurred, he felt that his future, and even his life, were in grave danger.

However, to his surprise, Shen An, who was behind the desk, showed no anger after hearing his panicked report. Instead, she put down her teacup and helped him up from his kneeling position.

"Who is the thief? Do you have any clues?"

"Completely...completely unaware..." Li Qingde swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "There wasn't a single clue at the scene. All we saw was that the steel chain binding the box had been cleanly severed by some kind of sharp weapon, the cut as smooth as a mirror. This person's martial arts...must be terrifyingly high."

"Who is the most notorious bandit in the martial arts world today?"

Li Qingde was taken aback, his mind momentarily blank, not understanding why his senior brother would ask this at such a crucial moment. There were many notorious bandits in the martial arts world; did they all have to be blamed for thefts? But he still answered honestly, "If we're talking about the most infamous lone bandit... I'm afraid... I'm afraid it has to be Tian Boguang, the Lone Bandit of Ten Thousand Miles."

"Tian Boguang?" Shen An's eyes lit up. "Great, great! He's the one!"

In the past, he might have been afraid that Tian Boguang would come knocking on his door, but now that he has two great masters, Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng, by his side, he is only afraid that Tian Boguang will not come.

Instead of being angry, Shen An clapped his hands and laughed.

"Senior...Senior Brother?" Li Qingde was completely dumbfounded. He looked up at Shen An, with only one thought in his mind: It's over, Senior Brother Shen has gone crazy.

"Junior Brother Li, don't worry." Shen An stopped laughing. "You're not only blameless, but you've actually done something good."

"Have...have merits?" Li Qingde felt like his brain had turned into mush.

"Of course!" Shen An patted his shoulder, his eyes shining brightly. "The 'wreckage' you created was enough to attract a renowned figure like Tian Boguang to steal it in the dead of night. This shows just how skilled you are at creating fakes that are indistinguishable from the real thing! Doesn't this prove that our 'story' has deeply resonated with people?"

"But...but Senior Brother..." Li Qingde still couldn't understand, "Tian Boguang is a womanizer, obsessed with picking flowers, I've never heard of him being interested in any weapons...what if it's not him..."

"Does it matter whether he stole it or not?" Shen An interrupted him. "As long as the whole martial arts world believes it was him, that's enough."

"Even so... what will the event do if the items are lost?"

"What should we do?" Shen An walked to the window, gazing at his inner courtyard not far away, from which the faint sound of a zither drifted. He smiled gently, "Junior Brother Li, spread the word about this matter properly."

Senior Brother Shen seems to have truly gone mad. This is Li Qingde's only thought right now.